Unit 9.4

Comprehension MCQ

During the reign of King Stephen, it was common practice to dig pits to catch the wolves that often attacked livestock. One morning, farm workers checking the wolf traps that ringed the Suffolk village of Woolpit found that they had caught not wolves but two young children, a boy and a girl. They were both green. They were dressed in green skin. They had green skin. Their hair was green. The children could talk, but not in any language the farm workers could understand. Not knowing what else to do with their find, the men took the children to the castle of Sir Richard de Calne, the local squire. Sir Richard examined the children with astonishment, decided they must be hungry as well as strange, and ordered to have them fed. But his staff could not persuade them to eat. They both looked as if they could do with a good meal, yet they refused everything that was placed before them. Eventually one of the cooks gave them green beans and got lucky. Perhaps because of the familiar colour, the children ate them. They survived on beans for several days, but were gradually persuaded to add other food to their diet. After a month or so, they were eating normally. Despite this, the boy pined away and died. His sister remained healthy. Sir Richard’s staff actually succeeded in teaching her to speak English. Once the girl could make herself understood, she told a strange story. She and her brother, she said, had been born and bred in a “Christian land” named St Martins. It was a strange country. Everything was green: trees, plants, grass, animals, houses, even people. There was no sun in the land – it was bathed in perpetual twilight. But the children could see a land of light across a river near their home. The boy and girl, it seemed, were the children of a shepherd and often tended his flocks. While doing so, they were caught up by a whirlwind and dropped near the village of Woolpit. The girl later changed this story. According to her second version, she and her brother heard bells while tending the flock. They followed the sound and discovered an underground passageway. After some hesitation, they entered. Fumbling through the darkness, they followed the passage until it emerged again above ground. But now they were in a different world, a world of clear skies and bright light. They were exploring when they fell into the wolf pit where they were found.

5 10 15 20

1. The farm workers dug pits to catch ______________.

(1) wolves
(2) animals
(3) children
(4) livestock ( )

2. “Their find” (line 7) in the passage refers to ______________.

(1) two wolves
(2) the wolf traps

(3) the local squire

(4) two green children ( )

3. Sir Richard decided that the children must be hungry from their ______________.

(1) colour
(2) speech

(3) dressing

(4) body language ( )

4. Which word in the passage has the same meaning as “convinced”?

(1) pined
(2) found

(3) emerged

(4) persuaded ( )

5. The best adjective to describe the girl’s story is ______________.

(1) realistic
(2) authentic
(3) incredible

(4) believable ( )