Introduction
Jane Loudon was a pioneering science fiction writer, whose novel “The Mummy!” of 1827 was a landmark in the genre. She also wrote an engaging account of her family pets that included several anecdotes about cats.
IT is generally said that male cats do not like kittens. We had, however, an instance to the contrary. A strange cat had two kittens in the stable belonging to our house; and one day, pitying the wretched condition of the cat, when I saw her in the garden, I ordered her some milk.
A large Tom-cat we had, watched our proceedings very attentively, and while the cat was lapping the milk, he went to the stable, and brought one of the kittens in his mouth, and placed it beside the saucer, and then fetched the other, looking up in my face and mewing when he had done so, as much as to say, “You have fed the mother, so you may as well feed the children,” which we did; and I must add, for the credit of Tom’s character, that he never attempted to touch the milk himself.
Abridged
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.
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 Condition. Face. Look.
2 Male. Mouth. Well.
3 Contrary. Touch. Very.
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.)
Adjectives Find in Think and Speak
For each word below, compose sentences to show that it may be used as an adjective. Adjectives provide extra information about a noun, e.g. a black cat, a round table, the early bird etc..
This exercise uses words found in the accompanying passage.
1 Wretched. 2 Large. 3 Orderly. 4 General. 5 Attentive. 6 Better. 7 Best. 8 Male. 9 Strange.
Variations: 1.show whether your adjective can also be used as e.g. a noun, verb or adverb. 2.show whether your adjective can be used in comparisons (e.g. good/better/best). 3.show whether your adjective can be used in attributive position (e.g. a dangerous corner) and also in predicate position (this corner is dangerous).
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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