Reading Practice Passages: The cookie thief

Nasreddin and the Pot One day Nasreddin borrowed a pot from his neighbour Ali. The next day he brought it back with another little pot inside. "That's not mine," said Ali. "Yes, it is," said Nasreddin. "While your pot was staying with me, it had a baby." Some time later Nasreddin asked Ali to lend him a pot again. Ali agreed, hoping that he would once again receive two pots in return. However, days passed and Nasreddin had still not returned the pot. Finally Ali lost patience and went to demand his property. "I am sorry," said Nasreddin. "I can't give you back your pot, since it has died." "Died!" screamed Ali, "how can a pot die?" "Well," said Nasreddin, "you believed me when I told you that your pot had a baby." COMPREHENSION QUESTIONS PART ONE? Who was the owner of the pot? A Nasreddin B Ali C the baby How many times did Nasreddin borrow the pot? A once B twice C three times How many pots did he give back the first time? A none B one C two Why was the neighbour happy to lend his pot a second time? A He was greedy. B He was a good neighbour. C He had lots of spare pots. How many pots did Nasreddin return the second time? A none B one C two What probably happened to the pot? A It died. B The neighbour took it back. C Nasreddin kept it. The Cookie Thief by Valerie Cox A woman was waiting at an airport one night, With several long hours before her flight. She hunted for a book in the airport shops. Bought a bag of cookies and found a place to drop. She was engrossed in her book but happened to see, That the man sitting beside her, as bold as could be. Grabbed a cookie or two from the bag in between, Which she tried to ignore to avoid a scene. So she munched the cookies and watched the clock, As the gutsy cookie thief diminished her stock. She was getting more irritated as the minutes ticked by, Thinking, "If I wasn't so nice, I would blacken his eye." With each cookie she took, he took one too, When only one was left, she wondered what he would do. With a smile on his face, and a nervous laugh, He took the last cookie and broke it in half. He offered her half, as he ate the other, She snatched it from him and thought... oooh, brother. This guy has some nerve and he's also rude, Why he didn't even show any gratitude! She had never known when she had been so galled, And sighed with relief when her flight was called. She gathered her belongings and headed to the gate, Refusing to look back at the thieving ingrate. She boarded the plane, and sank in her seat, Then she sought her book, which was almost complete. As she reached in her baggage, she gasped with surprise, There was her bag of cookies, in front of her eyes. If mine are here, she moaned in despair, The others were his, and he tried to share. Too late to apologize, she realized with grief, That she was the rude one, the ingrate, the thief. How many times in our lives, have we absolutely known that something was a certain way, only to discover later that what we believed to be true ... was not? COMPREHENSION QUESTIONS PART TWO Where was the poem "The Cookie Thief" set? At the railway station On the road At the airport 2. Who is the poet of this poem " The Cookie Thief"? William Wordsworth William Shakespeare Valerie Cox Ruskin Bond 3. What did the lady purchase at the airport shop? A water bottle A book and a cookie bag A handbag A travelling bag 4. Where did the lady put her cookie bag? On the chair Under the chair In her purse between herself and the man 5. The man sitting next to her was trying to diminish her stock. What stock is referred here? coffee cookies juice none of the above 6. Why was the woman getting angrier with each passing minute? Her flight was getting delayed. The man sitting next to her was eating her cookies. The man was taunting the lady. The man was disturbing the lady a lot. 7. What did the woman find when she opened her bag on the flight? Her bag of cookies was missing. Her money was missing. She found her bag of cookies in the purse Her book was not there in the bag. 8. If you were the man in this case, what would you do? 9. Come up with an alternative ending for this story.