I. Read the text. II. Answer the questions:

II. Answer the questions:

1) What did Mary’s father do in India?

2) Was Mary a pretty child?

3) Did Mary think about other people?

4) Why didn’t Kamala come?

5) How did Mary find out what had happened to Kamala?

III. Complete the sentences:

1) She had a thin ….. face and thin yellow hair.

2) In fact she was a very ….., ….., bad tempered little girl.

3) Some of the house servants were missing and everybody looked …...

4) It’s ….. to stay in this town.

5) You should go to the hills, where there’s …...

NANCY DREW
by Carolyn Keene

THE CASE OF CAPITAL INTRIGUE

" Taxi! Taxi! " Nancy Drew waved down a cab and, when the yellow car stopped in front of her, climbed inside. She tossed her long, reddish-blond hair over her shoulder and settled back gratefully in her seat.

" Where to? " the driver asked, glancing at her in his rearview mirror.

" The White House, please. The visitor's entrance, " Nancy replied, trying to sound as if she took a taxi to the White House every day of the week.

When Nancy's friend George Fayne had snagged an internship as a photographer's assistant at the White House, she had immediately invited Nancy to visit. Nancy hadn't needed to be asked twice.

I am going to the White House, and I am not going as a tourist, she reminded herself proudly. The cab stopped at the corner of Seventeenth Street and Pennsylvania Avenue. " Say hello to the president for me, " the taxi driver said as he lifted her suitcase out of the trunk.

" Will do, " Nancy replied. She felt so good, she tipped him an extra dollar.

Inside the White House, everything was silent and still. The West Wing lobby had the air of an old luxury hotel, complete with marble columns, polished antique furniture, and thick carpeting. Nancy paused and took a deep breath. " Well, here I am, " she murmured to herself, feeling just a little daunted by the fact.

An elderly woman emerged as if from nowhere. " Of course you are, dear, " she said kindly. " But the question is, Who are you? "

Nancy laughed, relieved by the woman's sense of humor. " Nancy Drew, " she said. " I'm here to see George Fayne in the photographer's office."

" Certainly. Please have a seat, and I'll let her know you're here."

Nancy sat down in a deeply cushioned wing chair and chuckled to think that George had already made herself known. It wasn't long before her friend came striding through a set of double doors at the far end of the lobby. Her collar-length dark curls bounced with each long step of her gait. The two friends embraced in a hug.

" Come on. Now I'll show you my office." George's office turned out be one in a row of at least a dozen cubicles barely bigger than walk-in-closets. On the corridor wall outside her office hung scores of one-by-two-foot photographs of the president and his staff. George turned toward her cubicle. " Have a look while I call in our lunch."

Nancy suddenly found herself alone with the golden hummingbird. She went back over to the table to admire it. Picking it up gently, she found it was incredibly heavy for such a delicate object. As she set the bird back down, Nancy thought she heard someone approaching. She went to the door, but no one seemed to be around.

Nancy walked back into the room. I suppose I could at least be helpful, she thought. She took George's light meter and held it in front of the hummingbird. The lighting was fine/ maybe too bright.

Suddenly, Nancy noticed the light meter's needle fall. A shadow had been cast over the hummingbird, and if was coming from behind her. Nancy began to turn around. " Who's there? " she said. That's when she felt something slam into the back of her head. She tried to keep her balance but fell to the ground, helpless and unconscious.

Glossary:

luxury – розкіш

rearview mirror – дзеркало заднього виду

daunt – залякувати

emerge – з’являтись, виникати

relieve – заспокоїти

chuckle – радіти, сміятись, хіхікати

stride – крокувати (великими кроками)

gait – хода, алюр

cubicle – невеличка перегороджена спальня в шкільному гуртожитку

hummingbird - колібрі

slam – хлопати, вдарити

snag – сучок, перепона