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    A woman and her husband were staying at a holiday house in Indonesia overlooking rainforests. One morning, the woman went back to their house alone to retrieve money and encountered a large bird similar to an emu by their front door. When she approached it, it hissed aggressively at her. She made the mistake of running away, and it chased her back to the dining room where the others were. It was later revealed to be a cassowary, a large and dangerous bird native to the area. Her husband initially found her fear amusing but changed his attitude when he confronted the angry cassowary himself. They had to use chairs and doors to fend it off and escape back inside safely.

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    7th icse

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    A woman and her husband were staying at a holiday house in Indonesia overlooking rainforests. One morning, the woman went back to their house alone to retrieve money and encountered a large bird similar to an emu by their front door. When she approached it, it hissed aggressively at her. She made the mistake of running away, and it chased her back to the dining room where the others were. It was later revealed to be a cassowary, a large and dangerous bird native to the area. Her husband initially found her fear amusing but changed his attitude when he confronted the angry cassowary himself. They had to use chairs and doors to fend it off and escape back inside safely.

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    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
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    Download as docx, pdf, or txt
    843 views2 pages

    Reading Comprehension

    Uploaded by

    manojboa
    A woman and her husband were staying at a holiday house in Indonesia overlooking rainforests. One morning, the woman went back to their house alone to retrieve money and encountered a large bird similar to an emu by their front door. When she approached it, it hissed aggressively at her. She made the mistake of running away, and it chased her back to the dining room where the others were. It was later revealed to be a cassowary, a large and dangerous bird native to the area. Her husband initially found her fear amusing but changed his attitude when he confronted the angry cassowary himself. They had to use chairs and doors to fend it off and escape back inside safely.

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
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    Download as docx, pdf, or txt
    of 2

    ICSE Comprehension

    Read the following passage carefully and answer the questions that follow:
    My husband Pele and I were staying in a holiday house overlooking the beautiful, lush rainforests
    of Indonesia. The glass walls framed a fine view across the Bagon Valley to what had been the
    summer palace of President Suharto.
    The first morning we strolled hand in hand up a winding pathway, heading to the main building for breakfast. But
    once we arrived at the dining room, I realized we’d forgotten our money, so I volunteered to run back to the house.
    Making my way down the path, I turned the last corner only to find a giant bird, similar to an emu, standing outside
    our front door.
    “Hey baby, what are you doing?” I cooed, moving slowly so as not to frighten it. Having a deep, abiding fascination
    with all creatures great and small, I wanted a closer look. This was my first mistake.
    As I came within a few meters, he took a big breath and let out a nasty hiss, stopping me in my tracks.
    “That’s not very friendly,” I said, clueless. He hissed again, and I promptly made the second mistake of turning and
    running, instead of backing away slowly. As I rounded the corner I heard his razor-sharp claws scrabbling on the
    cobblestones.
    “Oh!”
    His steps sounded like a drum as they hit the ground, quickly coming too close for comfort. I suddenly changed
    direction and headed into the trees. Dodged in and out of the foliage. I hoped my tactic would fool him. A crash
    behind me indicated no such luck.
    Jumping over a small bush, I found myself out in the open and not far from the dining room. Picking up speed, I
    bolted over the plants and rockeries surrounding the perimeter and dashed through the gate. When I turned to
    close it, the bird was nowhere to be seen.
    I didn’t realize it and at the time, but I had just come face to face with a cassowary, a bird also found in Australia’s
    north Queensland rainforests. Cassowaries weigh 50 kilos or more, stand about 180 centimetres tall and have
    saber-like toenails that can open a human from chin to groin like a zipper and kill humans.
    “What’s wrong?” Pele asked as I stumbled back into the dining room.
    “A big bird chased me all the way from the house,” I replied.
    “What?” he asked incredulously. “You’re scared of a bird?”
    “It’s as big as me and very mean,” I said in a rather sulky voice.
    “Oh, all right,” he laughed. “I’ll come with you.”
    Much to Pele’s amusement, I stayed behind him on the path and held onto the back of his shirt as we approached
    the corner of the house.
    “See! There it is. Look at the size of the thing!”
    Pele chuckled at the hysteria in my voice. “It’s all right,” he soothed.
    Calmly and confidently he walked toward the cassowary.
    “Shoo! Go on, get out,” he said.
    He made actions with his arms as if it were a pigeon on a window ledge. The response of the cassowary was the
    same as before: a big hiss and a step forward.
    “Hmm,” said Pele and stopped, not so sure of himself. He tried again. “Go on.”
    The cassowary then ran a few paces at us, hissing aggressively, so we quickly retreated around a corner of the
    house. Pele picked up a rock the size of his hand and threw it hard, hitting the bird squarely in the chest. It didn’t
    budge.
    “What are we going to do?” I pleaded. This time, Pele picked up a cane chair.
    “Stay behind and I’ll keep him back. When we get to the door, open it.”
    Again, I held on to the back of his shirt and we started towards the door. This greatly displeased the already
    annoyed cassowary. Charging at us he ripped at the chair with those lethal claws. Pele stopped to steady the chair –
    and possibly his resolve.
    Pele threw the chair at the bird and slammed the door shut. Ducking the flying cane, the bird ran straight at the
    glass wall, only to bounce off.
    But it didn’t slow down at all. Pecking and scratching at the glass, it continued the assault with a sickening ferocity.
    It was another 15 minutes before the bird weakened and slowed its attack. Thirty minutes later, we quietly opened
    the door and crept back to the main building.
    Find words from the passage which mean the same: [5]
    a. leisurely walk
    b. attraction
    c. undergrowth plant life
    d. in amazement
    e. violently

    Answer the following questions:


    a. Where did Pele and his wife go on the first morning? [2]
    b. Why did his wife need to return? [2]
    c. What was Pele's wife's first mistake when she saw the bird? [2]
    d. How did the bird react to the lady's third mistake? [2]
    e. Use the word "framed" (line 2) in a sentence of your own. [2]
    f. What did she do after the reaction of the bird? [2]
    g. Describe the Cassowary. [2]
    h. Why did Pele find the situation amusing at first? Why did he change his attitude? [2]
    i. With close reference to the last paragraph of the extract describe how the couple got back into their room. [2]
    j. Give a suitable title to the above passage and justify your answer. [2]

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