I wanted to publish this story together with the Para-olympics in Paris. I was watching it on television. It shows how positive attitudes, strength, determination are not qualities limited to those athletes in the Olympics we saw earlier this summer, but that persons with disabilities are no different and share the same qualities.
The heroine in my story today, The Winds of Bolonia (B1 level) is about a young girl in a wheelchair. Her story is a success story, not because she learns how to be better than her disability but because she HAS a disability.
1) Why was the wind a problem on the island of Bolonia?
2) What was Ainimos' favourite hobby?
3) Why was Animos in a wheelchair?
4) Did Animos pass the university entry exam?
5) Why did Animos feel positive at the end of the story?
The vowels (a, e, i, o, u) have been taken out (unless the word begins with a vowel). Read the definition and guess the word in bold.
1) pnfl adj. (hurts very much)
2) lkd frwrd t v. past (waited for an event and wanted it to happen soon)
3) prvntd v. past. (stopped her from doing something)
4) sns of hmr (be funny, know how to make people laugh; laugh at good jokes)
5) old-fshnd adj. (not modern, not in fashion)
6) hpfl adj. (feeling good about what is going to happen)
7) at lng lst (in the end, finally)
8) rmnd qt (continued not saying anything)
9) cldn’t blv hr eys (she saw something but she didn’t think it could be true)
10) injrd v. past (hurt yourself e.g. in an accident)
1) Because it blew the sand. It was so painful that the tourists preferred to stay in their hotel and swim in the pool, and even the local people stayed away.
2) She loved learning, especially about literature, because the stories had characters, heroes and heroines who, like Animos, wanted to be free. (Perhaps, you could also say she loved sitting by the sea in her wheelchair.)
3) Animos, just two years old, was sitting in the child seat in the back of the car. They were driving too fast perhaps, or something went wrong with the car. It went off the road and fell – down and down…
4) No she didn't. ‘I failed,’ she said quietly. ‘I needed a seven to pass, and I got a six point five (6.5).’
5) Because she managed to run without the wheelchair! So she says: If I could go that far without a wheelchair, how far could I go with a wheelchair?
1) painful
2) looked forwards to
3) prevented
4) sense of humour
5) old-fashioned
6) hopeful
7) at long last
8) remained quiet
9) didn't believe her eyes
10) injured
Copyright © 2024 Practising English
All rights reserved
