Read the text. Quickly the boys inside the room and shone their flashlights around

Fill in the gaps:

Quickly the boys … inside the room and shone their flashlights around. The first thing they noticed was the flooring - recently … Frank snapped on a light switch beside the entrance.

The boys blinked in the sudden glare of two high-watt … suspended from the low ceiling. The next instant both spotted a small, hand-printing ….

,, The … workshop! ” they cried out.

On a wooden table at the rear of the room were a …, etching tools, zinc …, and a large pan with little compartments containing various colors of …. At the edge of the table was a portable ….

Frank picked up a piece of paper, rolled it into the …, and typed a few lines. Pulling it out, he showed the … to Joe.

Say true, false or don’t know:

1. Joe picked all the tools.

2. Frank pushed the door and it opened.

3. Joe and Frank were brothers.

4. They were looking for a little cat.

5. They found the counterfeiters’ workshop.

Answer the question:

1. How did they find a secret room?

2. How did they understand that the secret room was behind the shelves?

3. What was in the secret room?

The Voice in the Air
(Mr.Poppers penguins)
by Richard and Florence Atwater

That evening, when the little Poppers had been put to bed, Mr. and Mrs.Popper settled down for a long, quiet evening. The net living room at 43 12 Proudfoot Avenue was much like all the other living rooms in Stillwater, except that the walls were hung with pictures from the National Geographic Magazine. Mrs.Popper picked up her mending, while Mr.Popper collected his pipe, book, and his globe. From time to time Mrs.Popper sighed a little as she thought about the long winter ahead. Would there really be enough beans to last, she wondered.

Mr.Popper was not worried, however. As he put on his spectacles, he was quite pleased at the prospect of a whole winter of reading travel books, with no work to interrupt him. He set his little globe beside him and began to read.

" What are you reading? " asked Mrs. Popper.

" I am reading a book called Antartic Adventures. lt is very interesting. It tells all about the different people who have gone to the Souht Pole and what they have found there."

" Don't you ever get tired of reading about the South Pole? "

" No I don't. Of course I would much rather go there than read about it But reading is the next best thing."

" I think it must be very boring down there, " said Mrs. Popper. " It sounds very dull and cold, with all that ice and snow."

" Oh, no", answered Mr.Popper. " You wouldn't think it was dull if you had gone with me to see the movies of the Drake Expedition at the Bijou last year."

" Well, I didn't, and I don't think any of us will have any money for movies now, " answered Mrs.Popper, a little sharply. She wasn't at all a disagreeable woman, but the sometimes got rather cross when she was worried about money. " If you had gone, my love, " went on Mr.Popper, " you would have seen how beautiful Antarctic is. But I think the nicest part of all is the penguins. No wonder all the men on that expedition had such a good time playing with them. They are the funniest birds in the world. They don't fly like other birds. They walk erect like little men. When they get tired of walking they just lie down, and slide on their stomachs. It would be very nice to have one for a pet."

" Pets! " said Mr.Popper." First it's Bill wanting a dog then Janie begging for a kitten. Now you and penguins! But I won't have any pets around. They make too much dirt in the house, and I have enough work now, trying to keep this place tidy. To say nothing of what it costs to feed a pet. Anyway, we have the bowl of goldfish."

" Penguins are very intelligent, " continued Mr.Popper.

Listen to this, Mamma. It says here that when they want to catch some shrimps, they all crowd over to the edge of an ice bank. Only they don't just jump in, because a sea leopard might be waiting to eat the penguins. So they crowd and push until they manage to shove one penguin off, to see if it's safe. I mean if he doesn't get eaten up, the rest of them know it's safe for them all to jump in."

" Dear me! " said Mrs.Popper in a shocked tone. " They sound to me like pretty heathen birds."

" It's queer thing, " said Mr.Popper, " that all the polar bears live at the North Pole and all the penguins at the South Pole. I should think the penguins would like the North Pole, too, if they only knew how to get there."

At ten o'clock Mrs.Popper yawned and laid down her mending. " Well, you can go on your reading about these heathen birds, but I am going to bed. Tomorrow is Thursday, September thirtieth, and I have to go to the first meeting of the Ladies' Aid and Missionery Society."

Glossary:

1. cross – сердитий;

2. erect – прямо;

3. shrimp – креветка;

4. edge – край;

5. to shove off – скинути, відштовхнути;

6. gueer – дивний.