A bike idea: words from a story-like text
A story chapter is more than a list of events. When you read one, ask three questions. What is the problem or challenge? What does the main character do about it? What value does this show, such as honesty, respect or determination? Then learn the key words with the help of the context. If a character finds a situation depressing, the sentence will usually show that it is sad and hopeless. If someone is proud, the sentence will show that they are happy about something good that has been done. Honest means telling the truth; worth tells us how important or useful something is, as in The old bike is worth saving. After a chapter, check yourself with True or False items: find the sentence first, because a statement is true only if the text says so. Your book has Chapter One of a serial story on pages 20–21. Read it after this lesson and ask yourself the same three questions. Here we practise with our own text.
| Question | What to look for | Example from our text |
|---|---|---|
| What is the problem? | something that is wrong or difficult | Many useful bikes were thrown away. |
| What does the character do? | the actions, in order | He fixed and painted old bikes. |
| What value does it show? | a good quality in the actions | Generosity and honesty. |
| How does someone feel? | feeling words and what causes them | His mother was proud. |
Ramy is fifteen, and every evening he repairs old bicycles in a small space behind his uncle’s shop. At first he found it depressing to see so many bikes thrown away in the street, because many of them were still useful. He asked himself what an old bike was really worth, and he decided that it was worth a second chance. He fixed the chains, painted the frames and gave the bikes to children who could not buy one. Some neighbours laughed at his idea, but Ramy was honest about his plan and told everyone exactly what he was doing. After three months he had given away forty-two bikes: twelve in the first month, fourteen in the second and the rest in the third. His mother said that she was proud of him. Ramy says that a small idea can bring a big change if you keep working at it.
Chapter questions. Choose a story you have read, a film or a family story. Write the problem, the main character’s actions (three, in order) and one value it shows. Then tell it to a grown-up in four sentences.