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Narrative: An Accident in the Desert
Read and answer the questions
Two tourists were driving along the track when it suddenly started to rain. They were surprised because they were in the desert and it did not usually rain there. They slowed down because they could not see through the windscreen. The rain beat down on their car, and they decided to stop and have a look outside. The driver opened the door and stepped outside. The next thing he knew was that he was sliding down a slope at a speed which he could do nothing to control.
The passenger's name was Fred. He climbed out of the other side. He had not seen what had happened to the driver. He called out his friend's name. There was no reply. He went round the other side of the car, but his friend wasn't there. He scratched his head. Just then he heard a faint voice calling out his name; he looked down and saw his friend, James, at the bottom of a deep sand dune. James was lying in an awkward position with his leg bent beneath him. Fred was no doctor but it looked like the leg might be broken.
Fred was in a quandary, and he didn't know what to do. James was the one who usually made the decisions and he was in no position to do so at that time. Then Fred remembered that they had a mobile phone with them and that he could ring for an ambulance. There was only one slight problem: James had the phone. There was only one thing to do and Fred did it. Unfortunately, the rain was coming down harder and harder and before he knew it Fred was hurtling down the slope himself. Fred landed on top of James who groaned and called him an idiot. Fred was not in a position to deny the allegation.
Fred realized, however, that James was not as badly hurt as he first thought as he had insulted him just like he always did. It turned out that the leg was all right after all and they soon clambered back up the slope and reached their car. At first they did not see the funny side of what had happened but when one of them started to laugh the other on soon joined in. They laughed and laughed and laughed.
Questions
- Does this essay have an introduction?
- Does this essay have a conclusion?
- Which tense is used to introduce the story?
- What are the main tenses used?
- Are there any examples of the past perfect? Could you have used the simple past instead in all these cases?
Vocabulary in context
What do these words mean?
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