Hard Times class5

 

                                            Hard Times

Read the story.

Until I came to be owned by Nicholas Skinner, I never knew the utter misery of a cab horse's life. Skinner had a low set of cabs and drivers. He was hard on the men, who were hard on the horses. Here, we had no Sunday rest, and this was the heat of summer.

On some Sunday mornings, a party of fast men would hire the cab for the day - four of them inside and another with the driver. I had to take them ten or fifteen miles out into the country, and back again. None of them ever got down to walk up a hill, however steep it was, or however hot the day was, unless the driver was afraid I should not manage it.

Sometimes I was so exhausted that I could hardly touch my food. How I longed then for the bran mash with nitre that Jerry used to give us on Saturday nights in hot weather. My driver had a cruel whip with something so sharp at the end that it sometimes drew blood. He would even whip me under the belly and flip the lash out at my head. These took the heart out of me, but still I did my best and never hung back, for as poor Ginger said, it was no use; men are the strongest.

Sometimes I wished I might, like Ginger, drop down dead at my work and be out of my misery. One day my wish very nearly came to pass.

I had already done a good share of work starting from eight in the morning, when we got a fare at the railway station. It was a party of four: a loud man with a lady, a little boy, a young girl, and a great deal of luggage. While the man got the luggage loaded, the girl came and looked at me.

'Papa,' she said, 'I am sure this poor horse cannot take us and all our luggage so far, he looks

so weak and worn out. Do take a second cab. I am sure this is wrong and very cruel.'

'Nonsense, Grace, get in at once, and don't make all this fuss.'

My gentle friend had to obey. When all was ready, the driver gave his usual jerk at the rein and slash of the whip and drove out of the station.

The load was very heavy and I had had neither food nor rest since morning. Yet I did my best. I managed till Ludgate Hill, but after that, I struggled to go on, despite the constant use of rein and whip. Suddenly, my feet slipped from under me, and I fell heavily to the ground on my side. The suddenness and the force with which I fell beat all the breath out of my body. I lay perfectly still. I had no power to move. I thought that now I was going to die.

Write T for true and F for false.

T - Nicholas Skinner was the horse's owner for a period of time.

F - There was no Sunday rest for the cab drivers or the horses under Skinner's ownership.

F - Jerry was a kind cab driver who owned the horse, not another horse himself.

T - The horse was sometimes so exhausted that he could hardly touch his food.

F - It was a party of four people who took the cab from the railway station: a loud man with a lady, a little boy, and a young girl.

Answer these questions.

1.    What did the horse have to do on some Sunday mornings?

The horse had to take a party of fast men on a cab ride, often traveling ten or fifteen miles into the country and back.

2.    How did the driver of the cab treat the horse?

The driver treated the horse cruelly, using a sharp whip that sometimes drew blood and showing no compassion.

3.    Who do you think Ginger was? What happened to her?

Ginger was another cab horse who experienced harsh treatment. It is implied that she met a tragic fate, possibly dying from exhaustion or injury.

4.    What happened when the horse reached Ludgate Hill?

The horse struggled under the heavy load and eventually fell heavily to the ground, feeling breathless and believing it was going to die.

 

Find the antonyms of the following words from the passage.

kind: cruel

energetic or refreshed: exhausted, worn out

soft: hard

weakest: strongest

quiet: loud

blunt: sharp

disobey: obey

fearless: afraid

 

Fill in the blanks with words from the passage.

1)    The people of the town were poor and lived their lives in misery.

2)    Help your parents and do your share of work around the house.

3)    Unable to understand the lesson, the students looked at the teacher in despair.

4)    I will chop the onions and you could manage the potatoes.

Fill in the blanks with the -ly forms of the given adjectives.

1)    Sometimes he was so tired that he could hardly touch his dinner. (hard)

2)    The hill rose steeply from the ground. (steep)

3)    The little girl groomed the horse gently. (gentle)

4)    The driver hit the horse with his constantly sharp whip. (constant)

5)    The man treated the animals at the farm cruelly. (cruel)