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UNIT 6
LESSON 1: DONNA
Hi, I’m Donna. I am fourteen years old and I live in the middle of nowhere. Perhaps you don’t believe me, but it is the truth. I live in Canada and there is nothing but acres and acres of farmlands and forests around our house.
My mum and dad are farmers, so we are living on a very large farm. We have got cattle, sheep, horses and chickens. And my parents also have large crops of corn to feed the animals and lots of vegetables to eat ourselves.
My school is thirteen kilometers away from home, and because the roads are not really good around here, my parents have to drive us to school with the four-wheel-drive every day. With us, I mean my two brothers and my sister and me.
You may think that that’s convenient, but it’s not. Probably you go to school by bike, which you may not like. But I am really jealous of you. You can choose when to stay at school or go home. The four of us always have to leave home at the same time and return at the same time. I can never stay longer, because our ‘taxi’ has arrived. I can’t stay in bed for another hour if I haven’t got a lesson the first period.
The kids from my school who live nearby go on foot. Children who live a little farther away can go by bike. Lots of kids have to go by school bus. There are even a few kids who come to school by boat because they live on the other side of the lake. There are no trains in our area, and the nearest airfield is 100 kilometres away. If we have to take a plane, we have to go to the airport by bus or coach or car.
In winter, we still go to school by car, but when we are at home we can use the snow scooters. That’s really fun. Of course we are wearing helmets otherwise it’s too dangerous. Maybe you think that snow is soft when you fall off the scooter, but that’s not true. It is as hard as stone.
When I’m 18, I think that I’m going to get my motorbike license. Then I will be free to go where and when I want.
Words
in the middle of nowhere
perhaps
believe
the truth
acres
farmlands
forests
cattle
sheep
horses
chickens
crops
corn
feed
vegetables
roads
us
four-wheel-drive
convenient
by bike
may not like
jealous
choose
stay
leave
return
the first period
nearby
on foot
farther
by school bus
even
by boat
side
the lake
area
nearest
airfield
airport
in winter
still
use
snow scooters
wearing
helmets
otherwise
dangerous
soft
fall off
true
stone
motorbike license
