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The article below is a gapped text. Read the base text (designated with figures), ignoring the gaps. Summarize the story briefly and do the tasks which follow.
The Au Pair ’s Tale
Amanda Harrison was 18 and had just left school. She wanted a year out – a year of fun, travel and excitement far from home. America beckoned and like many girls in the gap year, she signed up to be an au pair with a family in Boston.
(The first paragraph mentions a family in Boston. The next paragraph will probably give you more information about them.)
[1]
She had been told by the agency to expect a new-born baby. She was puzzled when she found that there was no baby in the house and the lady was obviously not pregnant. This made her feel a little apprehensive and she found it difficult to settle down. She remembers receiving a lot of flattering comments at this time about her accent, dress sense and general behavior which put her at her ease, to some extent.
(The paragraph above says that there was no baby. The paragraph after the gap mentions a baby. Which paragraph links these two?)
[2]
“The couple behaved as if they had a new toy,” said Amanda. “For the first two weeks, they were buying expensive outfits for the baby to wear. They would wheel me and the baby out to show us off.” But it was she, the young British student with no childcare qualifications and experience limited to babysitting and voluntary work in a primary school, who was left holding the baby.
(Which paragraph gives further information about how Amanda cared for the baby?)
[3]
When the two of them were brought in to be shown off to friends and the adoptive mother would pick up the child, “she would crane her neck around trying to watch me”. The baby would cry. “Your natural instinct is to pick her up.” But when Amanda did, and the baby quietened, the mother did not like it. “The mother wasn’t really interested in the child at all. The baby screamed when she went near. It was like psychological warfare between me and the mother.”
(The paragraph above says that Amanda was not getting on with the mother. What about the father? The paragraph after the gap mentions ‘the new car’. Where is this mentioned first?)
[4]
Amanda was certainly not allowed to use the new car, or either of the other two the couple owned, which made it difficult to get out of the house. So much for the 45 hours’ work and alternate free weekends written into the contract. She knew what was happening was not right but took the blame on herself. “I just thought it was my fault because I didn’t know any better. And I was too proud to admit that I had made a mistake. After moving away from home and going to America, I just didn’t want to accept that things were not going well, I just didn’t know what to do.”
(The paragraph above says that Amanda did not know what to do. Does she find a solution to her problem?)
[5]
Leaving the child was hard for Amanda. “It was such a wrench to leave her after four months because I felt as if she was my baby. I felt guilty about severing the close bond I had with her. It was lacerating. I felt a great sense of loss. Thank God I was fine with her and loved her, but they should have somebody with loads of experience with new-born babies.”
Task 1
Read the missing paragraphs. Try to decide where the paragraphs fit. The clues in brackets (given in the base text) will help you. Check your answers by reading the whole article in sequence. Does it make sense?
[A]
Luckily, she knew another au pair not far away to whom she voiced her fears. This girl told the agency’s local representative what was going on. “She had a chat with me and said, ‘Right – we’re getting you out of there now.’ She picked me up and I was out.” She had been with the family for four months. The agency placed another girl with them after that. She lasted five months. She pretty much had a nervous breakdown. They made her wash the dogs and clean out the swimming pool. “I dread to think how the baby felt, losing two careers in less than a year.”
[B]
A week after her arrival, an adopted new-born baby was delivered to the house. Amanda was very surprised, but so were all the couple’s friends. The couple seemed to enjoy surprising everybody. She had been initially introduced to their circle as “the daughter of a British friend”. And then …guess what! Suddenly they had a baby and she was the nanny.
[C]
“The mother expected me to do everything. I had to, because she didn’t return from work until late in the evening. I was looking after the baby 24 hours a day. She was sleeping in my bed for about the first two months. I had total responsibility. I was the one getting up in the night. What was the child to think? It was like I was her mother.”
[D]
The couple she was sent to was in the medical profession. The husband was a doctor and the wife an anaesthetist. They had a huge house with a swimming pool. “It was quite awesome,” said Amanda. “Everything made a big impression on me.”
[E]
Amanda wasn’t getting on with the husband either. “The car of the season was a Jaguar. The man said it was a beautiful car. Then he told me he had a toy in the garage. It was a new black Jag. I said my father had one just like it. He didn’t talk with me for a week. He must have thought that I came from a poor family.” In fact, as Amanda later realized, he did think that anyone taking such a job must be poor. “It was just one example of the lack of communication and understanding between us,” said Amanda bleakly.
Task 2
The article is an account of an emotional experience, and the writer describes in some detail how Amanda and other characters felt about what was happening. Find adjectives and expressions that describe:
- how Amanda felt when she first arrived in Boston;
- the effect on Amanda of the flattering comments;
- the adoptive parents’ feelings about the baby;
- Amanda’s relationship with the adoptive mother;
- Amanda’s feelings when she realized things were not right;
- How she felt when she had to leave the baby behind.
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