Introduction
Mrs White does everything she can for her kittens, but she can’t do what her humans do, and she starts to wonder if she’s a failure as a mother.
MRS Tabby* White’s kittens thought their mother was the cleverest mother in the world.
She washed them and caught mice for them and taught them how to creep up on unwary things.
But she feared she was not clever enough; so, after watching Cook carefully, she tried to pour milk from a jug. But her paws were clumsy and she broke it.
After watching Nanny, she took her kittens from their basket and tucked them neatly under the covers of the guest-bed, but the guest didn’t want to share, and threw them out again.
She took shoes from the baby, and put them on the kittens’ paws, but they gnawed the shoes to ribbons, so Nanny smacked them.
She took her kittens to the bathroom and scrubbed them with soap and water, but it made their eyes smart, and she couldn’t dry their fur.
And Mrs Tabby White reflected, that you can be too clever by half.
Précis
An over-eager mother cat took it into her head to do for her kittens all the clever things human mothers do. Eventually, she realised that cats are just as clever in their own way, but not before she and her kittens had all been scolded, smacked, and made thoroughly miserable. (50 / 60 words)
An over-eager mother cat took it into her head to do for her kittens all the clever things human mothers do. Eventually, she realised that cats are just as clever in their own way, but not before she and her kittens had all been scolded, smacked, and made thoroughly miserable.
Variations: 1.increase the length of this precis to exactly 55 words. 2.reduce the length of this precis to exactly 45 words. 3.introduce one of the following words into the precis: about, despite, if, must, otherwise, unless, whereas, who.
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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. 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 After. Basket. Smack.
2 Enough. Put. Watch.
3 Bathroom. Cook. Half.
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 ()
