Introduction
Victorian cartoonist Charles Ross recounts a remarkable tale from 1783, about a Sicilian businessman who quite literally owed his life and the life of his whole family to their pet cats.
JUST before the earthquake at Messina,* a merchant of that town noticed that his Cats were scratching at the door of his room, in a state of great excitement. He opened the door for them, and they flew down-stairs and began to scratch more violently still at the street-door.
Filled with wonder, the master let them out and followed them through the town out of the gates, and into the fields beyond, but, even then, they seemed half mad with fright, and scratched and tore at the grass. Very shortly the first shock of the earthquake was felt, and many houses (the merchant’s among them) came thundering in ruins to the ground.
Messina has suffered several earthquakes, of which the quake of December 28th, 1908, which killed about 100,000 people, was the most destructive. Ross, however, must be thinking of the Calabrian earthquakes of 1783, a series of tremors over February and March that killed over 30,000 people and destroyed much of the ancient city, exceeding 5.9 in magnitude.
Précis
In 1783, a businessman in Messina was urged downstairs by his pet cats. Not content with that, the cats now scrabbled at the front door, so the merchant and his bewildered family followed them out to an open grassy spot away from town. And just in time, for at that moment an earthquake struck, destroying the family’s house. (58 / 60 words)
In 1783, a businessman in Messina was urged downstairs by his pet cats. Not content with that, the cats now scrabbled at the front door, so the merchant and his bewildered family followed them out to an open grassy spot away from town. And just in time, for at that moment an earthquake struck, destroying the family’s house.
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: besides, despite, if, not, or, ought, unless, whereas.
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 Let. State. Tear.
2 Ground. Into. Open.
3 Fill. Grind. Scratch.
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.)
Add Vowels Find in Think and Speak
Make words by adding vowels to each group of consonants below. You may add as many vowels as you like before, between or after the consonants, but you may not add any consonants or change the order of those you have been given. See if you can beat our target of common words.
hds (5+1)
heads. heeds. hideous. hides. hoods.
hods.
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