Good Deeds

A Good Deed

Tim’s stomach was churning again. Clutching his abdomen tightly, Tim weaved his way through the crowded shopping mall frantically trying to locate the nearest toilet. The shopping mall was like packed snow with shoppers milling around. The whole shopping mall was like a jamboree for children and adults. Jovial chatters filled the air, while some families had babies bawling at the top of their voices. The synergy of the boisterous crowd and the merriment all around was making Tim feel horrible. He felt like he was stuck in a maze. With each passing second, Tim’s stomach churned more violently increasing his urgency for the loo.

Tim broke into a run the minute he saw the toilet sign. Running as fast as his legs could carry him, Tim dashed into the fist vacant cubicle. Almost literally ripping his pants off him, Tim finally found relief. When he got his act together, he rushed out of the miniscule space all ready to hit the arcade. As he was washing his hands, suddenly “ring… ring… ring…” a familiar sound reverberated through the empty toilet. Tim craned his neck high and low to locate the source of the sound. Then he found it! A brand new mobile phone, vibrating and ringing away in one of the cubicles. It was the phone that Tim was saving up for.

Staring at his fortunate find, Tim contemplated seriously. Knitting his brows together earnestly, Tim weighed out his conscience and his desire to nick the phone for himself. Just then, the little gadget came alive with its lively ringtones again.

After some major dithering, Tim decided to do the right thing. “Hello, hello may I know who is on the line?” a fretful voice spoke. Tim explained politely that he had found the phone and was now in the toilet. The other party heaved a sigh of relief and thanked Tim copiously for responding. Tim offered to meet the mobile phone’s owner at the information counter of the shopping mall.  

A dashing gentleman appeared and walked towards Tim in steady strides to claim his phone. Tim handed over the phone with only a slight tinge of disinclination in him. The gentleman was so relieved to have his mobile phone back that he gave Tim a reward of $100, thanking Tim for being a boy of integrity. Tim beamed a proud grin and his stomach seemed to have miraculously recovered too. Now he was really all ready to hit the arcade for his favourite games.  

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What the words and phrases mean…

1	stomach was churning	feeling queasy in the stomach
2	clutching his abdomen tightly	holding the stomach area tightly
3	weaved his way through the crowded shopping mall	walked in a threading manner in and out of a crowd
4	like packed snow with shoppers milling around	crowded with people shopping around
5	jamboree	event filled with activities and entertainment
6	jovial chatters filled the air	cheerful sounds of people talking
7	bawling at the top of their voices	crying and screaming loudly
8	synergy of the boisterous crowd and the merriment all around	the mixture of a lively crowd and people having fun
9	stomach churned … violently	a very bad stomach-ache
10	urgency for the loo	the immediate need to use a toilet
11	running as fast as his legs could carry him	running very fast
12	got his act together	regained composure
13	miniscule space	a very tiny area of space
14	hit the arcade	to go to a place filled with electronic games
15	sound reverberated	sound echoed
16	craned his neck high and low	stretched one’s neck when looking for something
17	contemplated seriously	thought over a decision seriously
18	knitting his brows together earnestly	frowning in deep thoughts
19	weighed out his conscience and his desire	measured his sense of right and wrong against his needs
20	little gadget came alive	small electronic device activated; a ringing mobile phone
21	after some major dithering	having hesitation
22	fretful	anxious
23	thanked Tim copiously	thanked Tim profusely
24	a dashing gentleman	a very handsome man
25	walked towards Tim in steady strides	walked confidently in the direction of Tim
26	a slight tinge of disinclination	a sense of reluctance
27	being a boy of integrity	an honest boy
28	beamed a proud grin	smiled proudly

Using Wits to deal with Aunt Abigail

The stream of sun rays filtered through the curtains showering my bedroom in its brilliance. I stretched my arms and lazed in bed. It was the first day of school holidays, the first day of a whole week of fun and freedom. I could sleep late every day and laze all I want. There were no more tests or examinations to worry about. I smiled like a Cheshire cat lapping a bowl of milk.  

Whistling my favourite tune, I made my way downstairs for breakfast. My happiness was short-lived when I saw a familiar face sitting at the breakfast table with my mother. It was my mother’s sister, Aunt Abigail. Horror struck me! Aunt Abigail was a nightmare to be with. She was a bespectacled thin wiry woman. Her hair was constantly pulled into a tight little bun at the back of her nape. However what I disliked most was her high-pitched nasal voice.

“There you are, Jeanie. Aunt Abigail is here to visit us,” my mother’s voice rang out with a tinge of warning. “She’s going to be staying with us for a week. You’ll be sharing your room with her so make sure she’s comfortable.” No! My head spun and I felt cornered. I opened my mouth to protest but the look my mother shot me was sufficient in cutting me off. With that, the two of them continued drinking their tea and I knew I had been dismissed. I padded out of the house not believing that this was happening to me. My holidays were ruined. Just then I had a brainwave. My face lit up in delight as my impish mind formulated a plan.

I avoided Aunt Abigail for the entire day till bedtime. When she sashayed into my room, I was ready for her. “Oh my, why is your room so warm? What happened to the air-conditioner?” Aunt Abigail grumbled in her perpetual complaining tone. In a saccharine voice, I sweetly explained to her that the air-conditioner had broken down and gestured to the leaking pipes. Then I suggested a shower to cool her off. Grumbling under her breath, Aunt Abigail shuffled into the bathroom. “Argh! Why is the water cold? Where’s the hot water?” her shrill shrieks rang out from within the bathroom. I apologised fervently to Aunt Abigail and explained that the heater was down too. Being such a stifling night, I thought she would have enjoyed the refreshing cold water.

Aunt Abigail was oblivious to my explanation. She stormed out of my room, towing her bags in her wake. My plan had worked! I danced a little victory dance in my room and patted myself on my shoulders. Hopefully, Aunt Abigail would not return for a long, long time.

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What the words and phrases mean…

1	sun rays filtered through the curtains	sunlight passed through the curtains
2	lazed in bed	to be lazy and stay in bed
3	smiled like a Cheshire cat lapping a bowl of milk	a fictional cat with a broad smile on its face; to show satisfaction
4	happiness was short-lived	joy that did not last
5	a nightmare to be with	difficult to get along with
6	bespectacled thin wiry woman	a thin and lean woman wearing glasses
7	high-pitched nasal voice	sharp voice that is produced through the nose
8	a tinge of warning	a hint of caution
9	felt cornered	felt trapped
10	cutting me off	breaking the line of communication
11	dismissed	ceased to be of consideration
12	padded	walked
13	had a brainwave	had an idea
14	face lit up in delight	face brightened in happiness
15	impish mind	to think mischievously
16	formulated a plan	came up with a plan
17	sashayed	walked in a showy manner
18	perpetual	lasting for a long time
19	saccharine voice	excessively sweet voice
20	shuffled	walked with feet sliding against the floor
21	apologised fervently	said sorry with great emotion and zest
22	stifling night	very hot and stuffy night
23	oblivious	unaware
24	stormed out	walked out in an angry manner
25	towing her bags in her wake	pulling her bags behind her

The Dog Edward Saved

The evening sky was overcast in a mixture of purple and red clouds. Thunder rumbled softly in a distance, signalling imminent rain. Despite that Edward was still in high spirits as it was Friday. Edward was looking forward to spending his weekend with his new PSP games. He hastened his steps as a gentle drizzle started to fall from the sky.

As the rain got heavier, Edward opted for the shortcut home. He decided to cut through the quiet back alley of the old shophouses. Not wanting to be soaked to the skin, Edward broke into a run. Suddenly, a distinctively ferocious bark resounded in the dark alley. “Woof! Grrrr! Woof! Woof!” Edward froze on the spot. Fear pulsated in him. His heart palpitated against his ribs. The growl escalated to an ominous snarl. Edward’s palms turned clammy as his legs started trembling uncontrollably. Merciless rain started pouring down in torrents. Edward was caught between the devil and the deep blue sea. It was either he ventured forward valiantly to run all the way home or he could back out of the alley. A deafening thunder jolted Edward out of his momentous stupor and he raced forward, sprinting like an Olympic athlete.

When he was confronted with the source of the threatening snarl, Edward was shocked. It was a small Jack Russell. The poor animal was stuck. Blood stained its furry hind legs that were caught in between the openings of a rusty drain cover. On seeing Edward, it flashed its most intimidating defence for itself, its teeth. Thinking on his toes, Edward shrugged off his school bag in a bid to win the dog’s trust. Then he bent down very slowly, inching his arms forward in a comforting manner and crooning softly. He gently stroked the dog’s body giving it assurance. The Jack Russell’s malicious snarl softened to a whine. Edward knew he had finally won its trust. He set about to try to free the poor dog’s hind legs. Rain pelted down heavily on both man and animal, both were thoroughly drenched. After a tedious struggle, Edward succeeded in freeing the trapped animal. He took out his P.E. t-shirt and wrapped the injured dog gingerly.

When he reached home, his mother was all set to give him an earful. However, the sight of the poor animal saved Edward from a stern reproach. They called the SPCA and the dog was collected from Edward’s house to be treated. Edward would forever remember that particular rainy Friday.  

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What the words and phrases mean…

1	evening sky was overcast in a mixture of purple and red clouds	cloudy evening sky
2	thunder rumbled softly	low sound of thunder
3	imminent rain	rain is about to come
4	hastened his steps	increased speed of walking
5	gentle drizzle	light rain
6	opted for	chose to
7	soaked to the skin	totally wet due to being caught in the rain
8	distinctively ferocious	obviously behaving in a fierce manner
9	froze on the spot	remained motionless due to shock
10	fear pulsated in him	felt very frightened
11	heart palpitated against his ribs	heart beat very fast due to fear
12	growl escalated to an ominous snarl	a bark that became louder and fiercer
13	palms turned clammy	sweaty hands due to being frightened
14	merciless rain started pouring down in torrents	rain falling heavily
15	caught between the devil and the deep blue sea	caught in between two difficult situations
16	ventured forward valiantly	moved forward bravely
17	momentous stupor	in a serious trance
18	sprinting like an Olympic athlete	running as fast as a professional runner in a competition
19	confronted	came face to face
20	most intimidating defence	putting up the most powerful protection
21	thinking on his toes	quick-thinking
22	shrugged off	removed an object from one’s shoulder
23	giving it assurance	providing security
24	malicious	nasty
25	rain pelted down heavily	rained heavily
26	tedious struggle	a great effort to accomplish a tough mission
27	all set to give him an earful	all prepared to scold someone
28	a stern reproach	a strict lecture

A Heroic Act

“Come and buy things from here! $2 for a shirt! Come here, come here! Cheapest bargain in the world!” the hawker was shouting at the top of his voice, trying to attract the passers-by to buy his items.

My elder brother and I were visiting the night market. It was his day off from his hectic job as a policeman. We meandered through the crowd hunting for mouth-watering food and great bargains. My elder brother was munching on the delicious Chinese sausage while I was happily eating my favourite food, Chinese herbal eggs. While savouring our food, we spied a middle-aged woman bargaining with the hawker over a second-hand radio. I shook my head in amazement. I could never understand why Singaporeans are so ‘kiasu’. They always want to spend less money and save more.

As we made our way further into the boisterous crowd, the noise reached a deafening level just like that in a wet market with the meat and vegetable sellers shouting, trying to sell their products. Suddenly, my brother dumped his half-eaten sausage into my hands and ran off like the wind. I was flabbergasted. Then I realised that he was running towards a young teenager. The young teenager had small beady eyes which were darting from side to side. He was stealthily stretching his hand into a woman’s bag to get the purse in it!

“Police! Stop there!” my elder brother exclaimed. When the young teenager saw my brother running towards him, he wasted no time in escaping. He hunched his narrow sloping shoulders and weaved through the crowd. My brother was undeterred and was hot on his heels. Other policemen patrolling around the market heard the commotion and joined in the chase. I always wanted to be a policeman. Seeing this golden opportunity to catch some real-life action, I followed them without hesitation.

My brother and the policemen chased the young teenager down a narrow lane and cornered him at a dead end. I could see the teenager trembling as the police got closer. Beads of cold sweat dotted his forehead when he realised he was done for. In desperation, the teenage boy grabbed a pole lying on the ground and started swinging and hitting wildly. Everyone tried to jump out of harm’s way. My brother and another policeman managed to pounce on the teenage boy. In the midst of the scuffle, I saw the policeman drop his pistol! The teenage boy dived for the pistol and pointed it at the nearest man. It was my brother!

“No!” I screamed in anguish. “Click, click, click...” the trigger sounded ominously as the teenager struggled with it haplessly. The other policeman swiftly rounded on the teenager and pinned him to the ground. Fortunately, the safety clasp of the pistol was engaged so no harm was done to my brother. It was certainly a close shave. I was immensely relieved and thoroughly inspired to be a great policeman myself in the future.    

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What the words and phrases mean…

1	shouting at the top of his voice	shouting as loud as he could
2	hectic job	a very busy job
3	meandered through the crowd	strolled through the crowd
4	mouth-watering food	very delicious food
5	savouring our food	slowly enjoying the taste of the food
6	spied	caught sight of
7	boisterous crowd	noisy crowd
8	noise reached a deafening level	became extremely noisy
9	flabbergasted	at a loss for words
10	small beady eyes	small, round and shiny eyes
11	(eyes) darting from side to side	looking around swiftly
12	stealthily	secretly
13	wasted no time in escaping	did not hesitate to run away
14	hunched his narrow sloping shoulders	thin shoulders which were bent
15	weaved through the crowd	moved forward in a zigzag manner
16	undeterred	not put off
17	hot on his heels	to be close behind
18	seeing this golden opportunity	realising that the time is suitable
19	cornered him at a dead end	to be closed into a place with no other way out
20	beads of cold sweat dotted his forehead	a nervous reaction
21	done for	doomed for death or destruction
22	in desperation	in a state when all hope is lost
23	jump out of harm’s way	to stay away from danger
24	in the midst of the scuffle	in the middle of a fight
25	dived for the pistol	pounced on the gun
26	screamed in anguish	shouted in agony
27	ominously	menacingly
28	haplessly	lucklessly
29	rounded on	turned on and attacked
30	engaged	interlocked and meshed
31	close shave	a narrow escape
32	immensely relieved	extremely glad
33	thoroughly inspired	totally motivated