Test 5 ENGLISH Form 9
Listening Comprehension
Questions on the text:
1. What was Mrs McNally doing at the beginning of the text?
What did she see? 2 cr
2. Was she surprised at what she saw? Why (not)? 2 cr
3. What were her children doing? 2 cr
4. Why did Ronan run into the house? 2 cr
5. Mrs McNally screamed "No, Ronan!"
What do you think was she afraid of? 2 cr
6. What (had) happened the day before? the days before? 5 cr
7. How did the neighbours react to the soldiers? 2 cr
No longer on the text:
What do you think the soldiers were looking for? Explain, please.
Text:
Mrs McNally* stood and looked out of the kitchen window. Six soldiers carrying rifles,
tools and black plastic bags had just entered the house opposite. She knew them and she
knew what they wanted. They had visited her the day before: a visit she will never
forget.
In the little garden in front of her house her son and daughter, aged 8 and 5, were
playing.
They were holding long sticks in their hands: toy rifles. Ronan* had seen the soldiers,
too. He ran into the house.
"Ma, it's them again. It's the soldiers that took my school bag. Shall I go and wait outside
the McDonnels' * house? Then when they come out I can hit them with my rifle."
"No, Ronan", Mrs McNally screamed, "I've told you before. You mustn't do that. It was
wrong of them to take your bag, but you must not go near the soldiers. They are very
dangerous men."
Ronan looked up at her. He hadn't understood. But how can you expect an eight-year old
child to understand what was happening in Belfast? She didn't really understand herself.
Mrs McNally was afraid. She had heard terrible stories of Catholics beaten by soldiers,
and children shot at with plastic billets because they had said too much.
She looked around the room. Her kitchen looked awful. There were holes in the walls and
the kitchen floor was covered in bricks* and dirt. They had already visited ten houses in
her road; hers had been the eleventh. They had destroyed Mrs McNally's kitchen floor,
taken her pictures off the wall, moved all her furniture and opened all her cupboards.
They had taken away her clothes, letters and photographs in black plastic bags. They had
stopped her son on the way to school. They had taken his bag and asked him lots of
questions. He had come home crying.
She stood at the window and watched the scene. A growing number of people had come
out onto the street. They held up their hands and shouted rude words as they stood in
front of the McDonnells' house. Then the soldiers came out of the house. They didn't look
at the crowd but walked to their army vehicle, each carrying a black plastic bag.
(The text is based on a factual article which appeared in New Statesman and Society,
27.10.1988)
Annotations:
McNally, Mc Donnell proper names
Ronan
a brick - G: Ziegelstein
Listening Comprehension
Questions on the text:
1. What was Mrs McNally doing at the beginning of the text?
What did she see? 2 cr
2. Was she surprised at what she saw? Why (not)? 2 cr
3. What were her children doing? 2 cr
4. Why did Ronan run into the house? 2 cr
5. Mrs McNally screamed "No, Ronan!"
What do you think was she afraid of? 2 cr
6. What (had) happened the day before? the days before? 5 cr
7. How did the neighbours react to the soldiers? 2 cr
No longer on the text:
What do you think the soldiers were looking for? Explain, please.
Text:
Mrs McNally* stood and looked out of the kitchen window. Six soldiers carrying rifles,
tools and black plastic bags had just entered the house opposite. She knew them and she
knew what they wanted. They had visited her the day before: a visit she will never
forget.
In the little garden in front of her house her son and daughter, aged 8 and 5, were
playing.
They were holding long sticks in their hands: toy rifles. Ronan* had seen the soldiers,
too. He ran into the house.
"Ma, it's them again. It's the soldiers that took my school bag. Shall I go and wait outside
the McDonnels' * house? Then when they come out I can hit them with my rifle."
"No, Ronan", Mrs McNally screamed, "I've told you before. You mustn't do that. It was
wrong of them to take your bag, but you must not go near the soldiers. They are very
dangerous men."
Ronan looked up at her. He hadn't understood. But how can you expect an eight-year old
child to understand what was happening in Belfast? She didn't really understand herself.
Mrs McNally was afraid. She had heard terrible stories of Catholics beaten by soldiers,
and children shot at with plastic billets because they had said too much.
She looked around the room. Her kitchen looked awful. There were holes in the walls and
the kitchen floor was covered in bricks* and dirt. They had already visited ten houses in
her road; hers had been the eleventh. They had destroyed Mrs McNally's kitchen floor,
taken her pictures off the wall, moved all her furniture and opened all her cupboards.
They had taken away her clothes, letters and photographs in black plastic bags. They had
stopped her son on the way to school. They had taken his bag and asked him lots of
questions. He had come home crying.
She stood at the window and watched the scene. A growing number of people had come
out onto the street. They held up their hands and shouted rude words as they stood in
front of the McDonnells' house. Then the soldiers came out of the house. They didn't look
at the crowd but walked to their army vehicle, each carrying a black plastic bag.
(The text is based on a factual article which appeared in New Statesman and Society,
27.10.1988)
Annotations:
McNally, Mc Donnell proper names
Ronan
a brick - G: Ziegelstein
Lösungsvorschlag Klasse 9 Englisch Klassenarbeit 5b
Zu 1:
Mrs McNally stood and looked out of the kitchen window, seeing six soldiers entering
the house opposite hers and coming out with black plastic bags. While the soldiers
are in the house, more and more people come to the McDonnells’ house to shout at
the soldiers.
Zu 2:
Mrs McNally was probably not surprised, because the soldiers had visited her the day
before and ten other houses in her road.
Zu 3:
Her eight year old son Ronan was playing in the garden with his five year old sister.
When the boy saw the soldiers, he ran into the house to tell his mother.
Zu 4:
Ronan ran into the house, because he wanted to tell his mother about the soldiers.
Another reason is that he wanted to beat them up, because they had taken his
school bag before and stolen other things from the other people in the road.
Zu 5:
Mrs McNally was afraid of the soldiers beatening up her son for saying too much. The
soldiers seem to be very dangerous and Mrs McNally does not want her children to
be in any danger.
Zu 6:
The day before, the soldiers were at Mrs McNally’s house, destroying the kitchen and
taking what they wanted. The soldiers took Mrs McNally’s clothes, the furniture and
opened all her cupboards to look for something they would like to take away. They
seem to be quite brutal, as Mrs McNally’s kitchen has got holes in the walls and is
very dirty as well.
When her son Ronan went to school, the soldiers took his school bag and asked him
a lot of questions which made him run home crying.
Similar things happened to ten other families living in the road.
Zu 7:
The neighbours come out when the soldiers enter the McDonnells house. They shout
rude things showing their hatred against them.
Zu 1:
Mrs McNally stood and looked out of the kitchen window, seeing six soldiers entering
the house opposite hers and coming out with black plastic bags. While the soldiers
are in the house, more and more people come to the McDonnells’ house to shout at
the soldiers.
Zu 2:
Mrs McNally was probably not surprised, because the soldiers had visited her the day
before and ten other houses in her road.
Zu 3:
Her eight year old son Ronan was playing in the garden with his five year old sister.
When the boy saw the soldiers, he ran into the house to tell his mother.
Zu 4:
Ronan ran into the house, because he wanted to tell his mother about the soldiers.
Another reason is that he wanted to beat them up, because they had taken his
school bag before and stolen other things from the other people in the road.
Zu 5:
Mrs McNally was afraid of the soldiers beatening up her son for saying too much. The
soldiers seem to be very dangerous and Mrs McNally does not want her children to
be in any danger.
Zu 6:
The day before, the soldiers were at Mrs McNally’s house, destroying the kitchen and
taking what they wanted. The soldiers took Mrs McNally’s clothes, the furniture and
opened all her cupboards to look for something they would like to take away. They
seem to be quite brutal, as Mrs McNally’s kitchen has got holes in the walls and is
very dirty as well.
When her son Ronan went to school, the soldiers took his school bag and asked him
a lot of questions which made him run home crying.
Similar things happened to ten other families living in the road.
Zu 7:
The neighbours come out when the soldiers enter the McDonnells house. They shout
rude things showing their hatred against them.
