Page 111 - DENG102_COMMUNICATION_SKILLS_II

Communication Skills-II

notes Always is in this part of the country. Go kind of light on your wife, Mr. Moore.’
`I won’t hurt her,’ said Jim.
He stood and watched the buckboard jolt away. He kicked his feet reluctantly in the dust. The hot
June sun showed its face over the hills and flashed viciously on the bedroom window.
Jim went slowly into the house, and brought out a nine-foot, loaded bull whip. He crossed the
yard and walked into the barn. And as he climbed the ladder to the hay-loft, he heard the high,
puppy whimpering start.
When Jim came out of the barn again, he carried Jelka over his shoulder. By the water-trough he
set her tenderly on the ground. Her hair was littered with bits of hay. The back of her shirtwaist
was streaked with blood.
Jim wetted his bandana at the pipe and washed her bitten lips, and washed her face and brushed
back her hair. Her dusty black eyes followed every move he made.
`You hurt me,’ she said. `You hurt me bad.’
He nodded gravely. `Bad as I could without killing you.’

The sun shone hotly on the ground. A few blowflies buzzed about, looking for the blood.

keywords

Bandana: A large handkerchief usually figured and brightly colored.
Barn: A large farm building used for storing farm products and sheltering livestock.
Buckboard: A four-wheeled wagon of simple construction meant to be drawn by a horse or other
large animal.
Sheriff: In principle a legal official with responsibility for a county.
Shirtwaist: A woman’s blouse or bodice styled like a tailored shirt.
Whimpering: To cry or sob with soft intermittent sounds.

exercises

1. Match the following words to the definitions or synonyms listed below.
stiffened, coroner, whip, barn, nod

(a) A large building on a farm in which grains are kept.
(b) A piece of leather or rope which is fastened to a stick, used for hitting animals or
people.
(c) Something that cannot be easily bent or moved.
(d) An official who examines the reasons for a person’s death, especially if it was violent
or unexpected.
(e) To show agreement, approval or greeting.
2. Answer the following questions according to the text above or the story.
(a) What kind of wife was Jelka?
(b) Was Jim a faithful and honest husband?
(c) Do you have any idea whose body was carried by the Sheriff? Give reasons.
3. What is your opinion about Jim’s reaction at the end of the story? (Write a short composition
of about 120 words.)

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