Exercises Modulo 2.3.2

Exercise 2

Read the following text and answer the questions.

When I woke up on that bright Sunday morning, I did not know that was to be the worst day of my life. It started off as just another Sunday. After grabbing some biscuits to munch, I decided to have some fun with my new roller-blades. They were given to me by my uncle on my eleventh birthday. I was not very good at the sport but strangely, everything went smoothly that morning. That was why I disobeyed my parents.

If I had only listened to their advice, I would not be what am I today. My parents would only allow me to play with my roller-blades on the driveway of my house and they had told me often enough not to use them on the road. But I was so confident that morning that I forgot their warning and ventured on to the road.

I was enjoying myself for about fen minutes when I saw a car speeding down the road towards me. I wanted to move to the side of the road but somehow, I lost my balance. I hurt my knee and although I fried to get up I could not. Before I knew what was happening, the car hit me and I was thrown ten meters away. Then I lost consciousness and the next thing I knew was I was in a hospital. My family members were gathered around my bed. They kept on telling me that everything was going to be all right but their anxious faces told me a different story. It took me a while to realize that I could not move my right leg.

I looked down at my leg but it was not there. What I saw was a bandage at the knee and there was nothing else below if. I screamed and shouted for perhaps a minute. If took the doctor and two strong male nurses to hold me down. Then I felt a needle penetrating the skin of my left arm. I knew I was given an injection. Slowly, everything went dark.

When I woke up the next morning the first person that I saw was my mother. She had obviously stayed at my side the whole night and she looked old and worried. She held my hand and fold me that I had lost my right leg in the accident. I was too shocked to cry.

For a long time after that I was filled with self-pity. I kept on asking myself why if had to happen to me. When the doctor encouraged me to walk with crutches, I yelled at him. I made everybody including my family very miserable. It was not easy to face life with only one leg.

I am thankful now that my family were there when I needed them most. Despite my rude behavior, they stood by me and encouraged me to use the crutches. That was more than a year ago. Now, I am fitted with an artificial leg and am learning how to walk with if. All I want to do now is to tell other young people that sometimes their parents know best. As for me, I will never be able to roller-blade again. But if you still have two good legs to do so, make sure that you do it at a safe place.


1. The accident might not have happened if

2. What did the writer do as soon as he saw the speeding car ?

3. When the writer regained consciousness, he knew that

4. The writer made everyone miserable probably because

5. In the passage, the phrase stood by means

6. What lesson has the writer learnt from the accident ?

7. Where was the writer playing with his roller-blades before he went on to the road?

8. How did the writer's mother show her love for the writer?