D
"Mum," Sarah said to her mother, "why does everybody look so sad? You and Dad never smile. And when Ben and I laugh about something at school, Mr Hewitt gets angry and tells us to stop. Ben says that Mr Hewitt is grumpy. That's why he never laughs or smiles. But what about you and Dad? Why do you never smile?"
Mrs Kent sighed. Why was Sarah always so happy and cheerful? She said, "Maybe there is nothing to smile about. Your father and I work very hard. We have no time for silly laughter. With thirty kids like you in class who talk all the time, why should Mr Hewitt smile?"
Now Sarah sighed, too. She went to see her dad. "Dad," she said, "why are you always so sad?"
"I'm not sad. I'm just tired," he said.
"But you never smile!"
"What is there to smile about?" he asked her.
And again Sarah sighed. She was starting to feel sad, too. "I'll go and see Ben. He'll cheer me up," she thought. Ben was her best friend. And he always made her smile.
The next morning, Sarah was walking to school when she saw Ben. "Ben," she shouted, "I had a really strange dream last night."
"Me too," said Ben. "But tell me your dream first."
"Well," said Sarah, "it was a bit scary. There was a horrible man. He was dressed in black, and his head was like a skull. And he had huge empty eyes."
"And big black tears were running out of his eyes and down his skull," Ben added.
"And the skull was ... Hey!" Sarah shouted. "How do you know that? How do you know what happened in my dream?"
"Because I had the same dream," said Ben. "Then the man said, 'I am the Lord of Tears, and soon I will be the master of the world. Soon there will be no more laughter and no more smiles. Soon there will only be tears.' And then I woke up."
"I woke up when he said that, too," said Sarah.
"But I also had another dream," said Ben.
"And in that dream I heard a lovely voice. And it said, 'Go and find the Lord of Tears. And take away the Mirror of Smiles.'"
"I had that dream, too," Sarah shouted.
"'Follow the setting sun. Bring back laughter and fun!'"
Sarah and Ben packed some food, a warm jumper each and their flutes to play along the way.
—Taken from The Lost Smile
( )12. How did Sarah's parents feel at the beginning of the story?
A. Sleepy.
B. Happy.
C. Excited.
D. Sad.
(
)13. Who was crying in Sarah's dream?
A. Sarah herself.
B. Ben.
C. The Lord of Tears.
D. Mr Hewitt.
(
)14. How many dreams did Ben have according to the story?
A. One.
B. Two.
C. Three.
D. Four.
(
)15. Which is the right order of the following events?
a. Sarah met Ben on the way to school.
b. Sarah felt sad too when her parents weren't happy.
c. They packed some food, clothes and flutes.
d. They told each other their dreams.
e. Mrs Kent sighed because she had nothing to smile about.
A. e-b-a-d-c
B. e-c-b-d-a
C. b-d-e-a-c
D. b-d-a-e-c
