Unfortunate Incidents

Drowning

“Stop burning all the food or we will throw you into the canal!” James half jokingly teased his friends. The aroma of the barbequed food lingered tantalizingly in the air as the merry-making went about during James’ birthday party. Peals of laughter rang in the air as presents were opened and exclaimed over.

Suddenly, vociferous screams resounded through the air. “Help! Help! Somebody please help me!” Everyone’s heads spun in all directions trying to pinpoint the source of the voice. From the corner of his eye, James saw an elfin girl running hysterically towards them. Desperation was etched all over her face. When James and his friends reached her, “Sam… Sam… fell into the canal!” she sobbed breathlessly. The poor girl was on tenterhooks. The boys sprang into action immediately.

The boys climbed over the metal parapet and started combing meticulously along the slopes of the canal. The recent downpour had turned the usually subdue flowing canal into a pulsing sea monster. Currents swirled in the murky treacherous torrents. There was no sign of any flailing hands or desperate struggling of a drowning person. Suddenly, a helpless whine drifted over the roar of the water to James’ ears. James had spotted the victim! “Over there… by the branch!” he bellowed urgently and broke into a sprint, pointing to a black spot a few metres away.

Without hesitation, James grabbed a nearby branch and stepped gingerly into the precarious water. Realizing what James had in mind, the rest of the boys immediately formed a human chain behind him, each grabbing hold of the others’ hand in a death grip. Like an expert juggler, James finally got to Sam. After what seemed like eternity, both James and Sam finally made it to safety.

James handed Sam over to the poor girl who was already in sobs and tears. When Sam barked and started spewing water out of its mouth, everyone laughed in great relief. The little puppy had managed to stay afloat after falling into the canal. All the boys looked at James in admiration and he was really glad that he had managed to save a drowning puppy as a birthday present for himself!

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What the words and phrases mean…

1	half jokingly teased	speaking not seriously
2	aroma of the barbequed food lingered tantalizingly	a pleasant smell of food in the air tempting people’s appetite
3	peals of laughter	laughing loudly
4	vociferous screams	shouting loudly in a high-pitch voice
5	resounded through the air	echoed in the air
6	pinpoint the source of the voice	locate where the sound is coming from
7	from the corner of his eye	to look from the side of one’s eye
8	elfin	small-sized
9	hysterically	anxious and in great need of help
10	desperation was etched all over	a very worried expression
11	sobbed breathlessly	gasped heavily while crying
12	on tenterhooks	in great anxiety
13	metal parapet	a low protective metal wall
14	combing meticulously	searching very carefully
15	subdue flowing	controlled water movements
16	pulsing sea monster	strong currents of the waters
17	currents swirled in the murky treacherous torrents	dirty waters moving in circular motions forming very dangerous currents
18	flailing hands	hands moving wildly
19	bellowed urgently	shouted hastily
20	broke into a sprint	running very fast suddenly
21	stepped gingerly	walked cautiously
22	precarious	dangerous
23	had in mind	considering
24	in a death grip	hands held tightly
25	after what seemed like eternity	a  short moment that felt like a long time
26	made it to safety	returned safely from danger
27	in sobs and tears	crying very sadly
28	spewing water out of its mouth	vomiting water
29	looked … in admiration	showed respect

Train Crash

The sky was overcast. Dark clouds loomed above giving the sky an ominous feel though rain would come crashing through any time soon. The ride was really bumpy. Being trapped in a small cabin for the next six hours was sheer mental torture. However, thoughts of seeing Grandpa and all my favourite cousins warmed my heart, making this all well worth it!  

“BANG!!” A sudden explosion followed by an earth-shattering jerk shook through the entire train. Everyone was thrown off their seats as the train tilted perilously to its side. I landed on the floor of the cabin in the most ungracious manner, banging my head in the process. Chaos reigned in the train as passengers flew into a panic. The train finally came to a full halt. My train had run off its track!

A glance outside to the once picturesque sights of calm hills filled with greenery was now a major nightmare. To keep my balance was like attempting mission impossible. Everyone was lunging for the emergency exits. People were going berserk just to save their own lives. There was no time to spare. Anxiety charged through my veins. I grabbed the nearest suitcase off the rack and headed for the nearest window. With all my might, I heaved it at the window smashing it. I climbed out of the cabin and onto the muddy tracks. The sight that greeted me challenged my sanity.

Women were screaming, children were crying and men were bellowing above the din for their wives and kids. Dead bodies were strewn everywhere. I groped my way through the turmoil and destruction, doing what I could to help those injured. Fortunately, the rescue team reached the crash site in record time. I was whisked away to one of the hospitals to be treated. I felt thankful to be alive but my heart was heavy knowing that not all were lucky to be so.

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What the words and phrases mean…

1	sky was overcast	the sky was cloudy
2	dark clouds loomed above	rain clouds covered the sky
3	ominous	threatening
4	sheer mental torture	to bring about mental suffering or pain
5	warmed my heart	caused pleasure
6	an earth-shattering jerk	a violent jolt
7	tilted perilously	slanted dangerously to one side
8	chaos reigned	confusion broke out
9	flew into a panic	became very terrified
10	came to a full halt	came to a complete stop
11	picturesque sights	scenic and beautiful surroundings
12	lunging	a sudden forward movement
13	people were going berserk	people were becoming crazy
14	no time to spare	to waste no time
15	anxiety charged through my veins	felt worried
16	heaved	lifted with great effort or force
17	challenged my sanity	tested one’s state of mind
18	bellowing above the din	shouting loudly above the noise
19	strewn everywhere	scattered all over the place
20	groped my way	blindly find one’s way around
21	turmoil and destruction	confusion and damage
22	in record time	very quickly
23	whisked away	moved swiftly away

Car Collision

School was finally over for the week. Being totally bored by the monotony of school, Edwin was feeling over the moon. More importantly, he was extremely exultant about the approaching weekend. Edwin’s spirits were immediately buoyed by the prospect of a weekend of relaxation. The arrival of Edwin’s weekend materialised with the clanging of the dismissal bells.

While Edwin was walking along the hectic road to head home from school, an unconscious smile sneaked onto his handsome face. He envisaged getting his hands on his PlayStation. Out of the blue, a deafening crash interrupted the flow of Edwin’s sweet thoughts. It was such a terrible symphony that even the deaf Beethoven would be able to hear. Coming to an abrupt stop, Edwin turned the corner to investigate the source of the thunderous sound. Edwin’s eyes went saucer-wide when he realised an accident had occurred at the traffic junction. A commotion of crowd had gathered in no time.

Acrid white fumes were ascending into the sky, shattered glass tinged with blood was scattered along the road. Metal crumpled into a heap from the sheer force of the collision. Traffic on the road and the human traffic on the pavement came to a standstill. Two men staggered out of their respective cars. One of them was drenched in blood that was oozing out from his forehead. The latter had some nasty cuts on his face. It was a ghastly sight!

A moment of paralysis struck Edwin, he was stunned speechless. He could not believe he was witnessing the aftermath of a car collision. It was a really painful scene to look at. The gentleman beside Edwin wasted no time, he took out his mobile. To Edwin’s utter astonishment, the guy called the news radio station instead of the police! Edwin was totally appalled by his response. In that second of heated anger, Edwin gave that man a stern tongue-lashing for his inconsiderate behaviour.

Visibly embarrassed by Edwin’s curt berating, the gentleman’s face turned red with shame. “Now, you can either call the police or take your hypocritical concerns elsewhere!” Edwin boomed in a stentorian voice. Without further delay, the man made the police report. Within minutes, the police and the ambulance arrived at the scene. Medical assistance was rendered swiftly to the injured. As eyewitnesses, the police rounded the gentleman and Edwin for their statements. Edwin was commended for his prompt actions, while the gentleman apologised for his earlier inconsiderate behaviour. The news that night reported that the accident occurred because one of the drivers tried to beat the red light. After that incident, Edwin concluded that both motorists and pedestrians should always observe traffic regulations.   

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What the words and phrases mean…

1	bored by the monotony	dulled by repeating activity
2	feeling over the moon	feeling extremely happy
3	extremely exultant	very excited
4	spirits were immediately buoyed	in high-spirits; cheering up
5	prospect	a future idea
6	materialised	became real
7	the hectic road	a busy road
8	envisaged	visualised something
9	a terrible symphony that even the deaf Beethoven would be able to hear	an extremely loud and disturbing noise
10	eyes went saucer-wide	forced one’s eyes to open widely
11	acrid white fumes were ascending into the sky	unpleasant-smelling smoke rising skywards
12	metal crumpled into a heap	metal all crushed up
13	sheer force of the collision	pure force of two cars that clashed into each other
14	came to a standstill	no activity
15	staggered	walked unsteadily
16	latter	the second of two persons
17	a ghastly sight	a horrifying view
18	a moment of paralysis	loss of ability to move due to shock
19	stunned speechless	loss of speech due to shock
20	aftermath	after effects of an incident
21	utter astonishment	a very rude shock
22	appalled	disgusted
23	a stern tongue-lashing	scolding made very strictly
24	visibly embarrassed	obviously humiliated
25	curt berating	direct lecture
26	hypocritical concerns	insincere care and concern
27	boomed in a stentorian voice	loud and powerful voice when scolding someone
28	rendered swiftly	help given very quickly
29	commended for his prompt actions	praised for reacting quickly
30	motorists and pedestrians	drivers and road users
31	observe traffic regulations	follow rules and regulations

Tsunami

Dappled sun rays filtered through the canopy of leaves creating mysterious shadows. A gentle breeze caressed my raven black hair as I skipped my way to the beach for some sun tanning. Suddenly, the tranquillity of my peaceful surroundings was shattered by piercing screams. Throngs of people were running helter-skelter away from the beach. Screams of the word ‘tsunami’ reverberated through the air.

My eyes grew wide as saucers. I saw a pillar of water as high as a three-storey building in the distance. It was bearing straight towards me! Without hesitation, I whipped a hundred and eighty degrees turn and took to my heels. I knew I had to find higher ground to escape the wrath of the raging waves. The roaring of the tumultuous waves grew louder and louder. I was too late. Being no match for the waves, I was soon swept away. I struggled to grab hold of something, but the force of the water was simply too strong.

“Someone save me!” I gasped at intervals, between great gulps of salty and murky water. Just as I thought I was going to die, I felt strong arms pulling at me. Coughing and spluttering, I was dragged onto the rooftop. Fellow survivors had saved me from the grip of the grim reaper. They were my saviours, my heroes! We tried to save as many others as we could. Finally after what seemed like eternity, the flash floods ceased. All around us was the macabre sight of destruction and death. The tsunami disaster killed many and injured countless others.

We were stranded on the rooftop till the rescue squad arrived. For the rest of the day, we went from house to house helping people to salvage their belongings and locate missing family members and friends. The rescue workers combed through the rubble in the hope of finding survivors.

My heart filled with sorrow for those who had lost their loved ones in this tragedy. I prayed that they would be strong and pick themselves up. Nevertheless, I felt thankful that I had survived the ordeal.   

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What the words and phrases mean…

1	dappled sun rays filtered through the canopy of leaves	patches of sun rays shone through the shelter of leaves
2	raven black hair	very black hair
3	tranquillity of my peaceful surroundings	serenity of the calm place
4	throngs of people	a lot of people
5	running helter-skelter	running in all directions
6	tsunami	a large ocean wave caused by underwater volcanic activity
7	my eyes grew wide as saucers	eyes opened very wide
8	bearing straight towards me	heading in your direction
9	whipped a hundred and eighty degrees turn	to turn around completely
10	took to my heels	ran off quickly
11	escape the wrath	flee from the anger of
12	raging waves	strong waves
13	tumultuous waves	very violent and turbulent waves
14	gasped at intervals	panted now and then
15	murky water	dark and dirty water
16	coughing and spluttering	coughing and spitting out (water)
17	grip of the grim reaper	clutches of death
18	saviour	person who rescues another person from danger
19	after what seemed like eternity	after what felt like a long time
20	ceased	stopped
21	macabre sight	chilling display
22	stranded	to be stuck somewhere and unable to leave
23	salvage their belongings	to save from loss
24	combed through the rubble	searched through the ruins
25	my heart filled with sorrow	felt very sad
26	had survived the ordeal	managed to get through the difficulty