Mary's mother was early seventy, and Mary and her husband wanted to give the old lady a nice birthday present. She liked drinking tea, so Mary ordered an electric machine which made the tea and then woke you up in the morning. She wrapped it up in pretty paper and brought it to her mother on her birthday. Then her mother opened the package. Mary showed her how to use it.

Before you go to bed, put the tea in the pot and the water in the kettle,' she explained to the old lady, 'and don't forget to switch the electricity on. Then, when you wake up in the morning, your tea will be ready.'

After a few days, Mary's mother rang up and said, "Perhaps I'm being rather silly, but there's one thing I'm confused about: why do I have to go to bed to make the tea?

A         Which of these sentences are true (T) and which are false (F)? Write Tor F.

1. Mary's mother was old.
2. She did not like tea very much.
3. Mary set her mother a nice present by post.
4. The machine switched itself on in the morning.
5. The kettle did not need electricity.
6. Mary's mother thought she could only make the tea when she was in bed.

B           Answer these questions:

1. How old was Mary's mother?
2. What did Mary and her husband buy her mother?
3. Why did they choose this for her?
4. What could the machine do?
5. What happened when Mary brought her mother the present?
6. What did Mary tell her mother?
7. What did Mary's mother do a few days later?
8. What did she tell Mary on the telephone?