Reading
The Interrogation
Before you start reading, study the following vocabulary:
Interrogation
Forgive
Promise
Be involved in something
List
Concern
Polish
Avoid
Whenever I make a stupid mistake, I try to forgive myself and go on with life. We must live in order to learn, I say. We must be positive to make the most of life.
All right, this morning I poured the milk into the coffee pot instead of the coffee cup. I missed the bus. I forgot to take the books back to the library. This evening I ran out of potatoes. I did not call a friend as promised. I know I will not get to bed on time. Furthermore, I have no clean clothes for tomorrow.
None of this makes me a bad person. Of course, I am not very well organized. I can live with not being organized, but I am worried about what could happen in the future.
If I am ever involved in an important event, the authorities will question me. Will they believe me?
The problem is not that I will have lie to hide something. I have nothing to hide. I can let people know everything about my life. I am just afraid that no one could possibly accept my explanations for my actions. How could I make people believe that I am just disorganized?
"You left the fruit and vegetable shop at 10 o'clock. Why did you return to the shop five minutes later?" these authorities will ask.
"I went back to buy some tomatoes," I will say. "I forgot them the first time."
"You should write a list to be sure you remember things," they will answer.
"I did write a list, but I forgot the list," I will say with a red face.
Or the authorities might want to know why I waited in front of a certain museum on a certain day. Was I waiting for someone?
"I was waiting for the museum to open," I will have to tell them.
Then they will remind me that the day was a Monday and that museums are often closed on Monday.
"I have been trying to remember that for years," I will answer sadly.
The next question will concern the day I wore my dark green skirt with my bright orange shoes. The outfit was unusual.
"Was this strange outfit a signal?" they will ask. "Did you wear this unusual clothing in order to give a message to someone?"
"I didn't have anything else to wear," I will admit.
"You have a wardrobe full of clothes and a cupboard full of shoes and boots," the authorities will answer.
"All my other clothes needed to be ironed. The other shoes needed to be polished," I will try to explain.
Do you understand my problem? No one could possibly believe such things. In the future I will have to avoid all contacts with authorities. I've been trying to get organized for years. I haven't succeeded yet.
Questions
Choose the correct explanation...
- Why did the narrator wear a dark green skirt and bright orange shoes?
- This article describes:
- She poured milk into the coffee pot because…
- The narrator is disorganized because…
- The narrator thinks that...
Are the following statements about the article correct?
1. The article describes everyday problems.
2. Being well organized is not important to her.
3. The narrator must hide something from the authorities.
4. The narrator does not plan her life carefully.
5. She has a bad memory.