He was sure he had heard a cat somewhere nearby in the otherwise silent village. Nikolai was doubtful: cats are not known for obeying orders. They traced the cat to the basement of a bombed-out house, and she proved to be a thin, nervous, wretched-looking thing; but a bit of sausage worked wonders, and before long Piotr, murmuring reassurances, had tied the telephone line onto her like a harness. ‘Pop her into the pipe at this end,’ he told Nikolai, ‘and I’ll go to the next manhole and tempt her with sausage.’ It took a lot of sausage, but it worked. Soon the line was laid, and the Germans none the wiser.
Senior Lieutenant Zaitsev, the battery commander, listened impassively to their report. After testing the line, he ordered them to enrol the cat in the Soviet Army, and issue her rations. ‘What is her name?’ he asked, now with a hint of a smile.
‘I don’t know’ Piotr admitted. ‘She’s a stray.’
‘Well, you recruited and trained her’ said the Lieutenant. ‘You’d better name her too.’
Perhaps thinking of Britain’s recent raids in support of the USSR’s northwest front,* Piotr said ‘Let’s call her Miss, in honour of the English.’ Everyone seemed happy with this, including Miss, who declared herself ready to draw her first rations.
Based on an account entitled ‘Guerilla Cat’ written by Ovadi Savich (1896-1967), and collected in “Russians Tell the Story: Sketches of the War on the Soviet-German Front from ‘Soviet War News’” (1944), edited by Nikander Strelsky (1893-1946) and his wife Katherine.
* On July 30th, 1941, the aircraft carriers HMS Victorious and HMS Furious began attacks on the port of Kirkenes in Norway’s far north, and the nearby Finnish port of Liinakhamari in Petsamo. Operation EF, as it was dubbed, was not a success, but it showed London’s awareness of their new ally, who had asked them to do what they could to prevent the important Russian port of Murmansk from falling into enemy hands.
Précis
Fortunately, Piotr knew where to find a cat. They coaxed the half-starved creature through the pipes with sausage, dragging the wires behind her until the subterranean communications were complete. The battery commander, much impressed, enrolled the cat in the army, but wanted her named before she claimed her rations. So Piotr christened her ‘Miss’, in honour of their English allies. (60 / 60 words)
Fortunately, Piotr knew where to find a cat. They coaxed the half-starved creature through the pipes with sausage, dragging the wires behind her until the subterranean communications were complete. The battery commander, much impressed, enrolled the cat in the army, but wanted her named before she claimed her rations. So Piotr christened her ‘Miss’, in honour of their English allies.
Variations: 1.increase the length of this precis to exactly 65 words. 2.reduce the length of this precis to exactly 55 words. 3.introduce one of the following words into the precis: about, must, not, or, since, unless, whether, who.
Archive
Word Games
Sevens Based on this passage
Suggest answers to this question. See if you can limit one answer to exactly seven words.
Variations: 1.expand your answer to exactly fourteen words. 2.expand your answer further, to exactly twenty-one words. 3.include one of the following words in your answer: if, but, despite, because, (al)though, unless.
Jigsaws Based on this passage
Express the ideas below in a single sentence, using different words as much as possible. Do not be satisfied with the first answer you think of; think of several, and choose the best.
Spinners Find in Think and Speak
For each group of words, compose a sentence that uses all three. You can use any form of the word: for example, cat → cats, go → went, or quick → quickly, though neigh → neighbour is stretching it a bit.
This exercise uses words found in the accompanying passage.
1 Admit. Senior. Up.
2 End. Soil. Soon.
3 Gun. Miss. Order.
Variations: 1. include direct and indirect speech 2. include one or more of these words: although, because, despite, either/or, if, unless, until, when, whether, which, who 3. use negatives (not, isn’t, neither/nor, never, nobody etc.)
High Tiles Find in Think and Speak
Make words (three letters or more) from the seven letters showing below, using any letter once only. Each letter carries a score. What is the highest-scoring word you can make?
Your Words ()
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