Grade 7 Comprehension passage

Moving on

When we set out down the Trace that morning, I wasnt feeling too joyful. It was very strange to be
going down Sooklal Trace in a motorcar. People stopped whatever they were doing in their yards and
peered at us. Some were taking water from their barrels at the side of the road, washing clothes, or
bathing. Some waved, or looked puzzled when they recognized me.

The car was old, and it made a lot of noise over the bumps and holes in the road. The worst part
was that my father kept trying to make conversation with me above the noise.

So you like plenty books, eh? Well, we will see what we can do. I have one or two books myself, you
know.

He was very impressed with the box of books I had put into the car along with the suitcase.

I like a little reading now and then, you know. Although I wasnt as bright as you I didnt get pick to go
secondary school. I only make it to seventh standard.

But your Tantie Velma will help you with your lesson. Yes,man, she is the one in the family with
education. She was a high-school girl, too, you know! he glanced over at me again and looked back just
in time to swerve away from Mr. Popos dog, sunning itself in the middle of the Trace. He cursed the dog
under his breath, then put on his smile again.

yes, man, she just waiting to measure you up for your uniform.

This brightened me a little. I began to feel excited about school again.

The government secondary school was the biggest and most modern thing in La Puerta. I used to look at
it with awe when I went with Ma and Carlyle to sell the cocoa. It was not one building, but several,and
all of them two storeys high.

I looked at the students with awe, too: the way they looked over the streets in their plaid uniforms,
talking and laughing gaily, as if they owned the town.

And now I had been given a place at this school! My name was right there in the newspapers, among all
the other children who passed the Common Entrance Examination: Johnson, Laetitia Christina. It was a
Sunday, and Uncle Jamesie was home for the day with Tantie Monica and the children. Pappy right away
sent Uncle Leroy out the road to knock on Rampies side door for a bottle of rum and some sweet-
drinks.

I would be the first one ever, the first one in the family to go to secondary school. Pappy made speech
after speech about the new and blessed day that was dawning in the land. The celebration went on until
Uncle Jamesie realized that darkness would catch them walking out the Trace if they didnt leave in a
hurry.

By then, even Ma was tipsy, dancing with us one by one. Two days later, my father appeared out of the
blue. He, too, was bursting with pride.
(Extract from The Life of Laetitia by Merle Hodge)

1. What is the mood of the narrator in paragraph 1?

2. Where was the narrator going?
3. What in the passage, shows that the car was old?
4. What details in the passage suggest that Trace was a rural community?
5. On what day did her father visit Laetitia?
6. With whom did Laetitia spend her early days?
7. How did Laetitias family feel about her success in the examination?
8. He was very impressed with the box of books. (line 9) What does this suggest about Laetitia?
9. How do you think Laetitias father knew about her success/
10. What kind of person was Laetitias father?