Read the text then answer the questions. You should get 10 out of 15 to achieve
competency. Time allowed to complete assessment is 40 minutes.
Sophie’s Celebration
When the phone rang one morning in February, Sophie could see on the call
display screen it was Mark. They had been friends since they worked together at
Hungry Jacks, twenty years ago. Every year, they would meet and go to a
restaurant for Sophie’s birthday.
“Hi Sophie, how’re you? You thought I’d forgotten, didn’t you,” Mark said. “Where
would you like to go for your birthday this year?
“What about the restaurant in Westfield on level 6?” Sophie suggested. “I was
there last week and the dessert is delicious. That’s my favourite.”
“It sounds great, Mark replied. “Okay, Westfield then. I know which one you
talking about. Meet you there at seven on the seventeenth.”
On the evening of the seventeenth Mark arrived at the restaurant exactly at
seven o’clock. There was no sign of Sophie, but this didn’t worry Mark. Sophie
was often late – they used to joke that she’d be late for own funeral.
He sat down on the table to wait. By eight o’clock he was beginning to feel
embarrassed. ‘Maybe I should order an entrée while I wait,’ he thought, and
called a waiter over.
“Some spring rolls please…….and the rice paper rolls, “he said.
“What about having a crispy pancake?” The waiter suggested. “It’s very popular.”
“I’ll wait for my friend to arrive and order it then, “ Mark replied. “It’s her
favourite.”
By eight –thirty he was beginning to get worried. ‘I wish Sophie had a mobile, ‘ he
thought. ‘Anyway I’ll phone her home and see if she is there. I hope she’s alright.’
When he called the number, no one answered the call.
By ten o’clock Mark was very worried indeed. By now he had finished his dessert
of deep fried ice cream. Most of the time he’d been worrying about where Sophie
could be. What could have happened and why she hadn’t turned up? Was she
upset with him? Had she forgotten? Was she unwell?
Mark took his unopened present and headed home alone. As he stepped into his
apartment, the phone rang. It was Sophie.
“Where were you?” she asked in an accusing voice. “I waited for you in the
restaurant for an hour. Then at eight o clock I had dinner on my own. Which
restaurant did you book? I told you the restaurant on level 6 Westfield but the
owners didn’t know what I was talking about when I asked them about the
booking”
Reading Narrative adapted from CSWE III 1998
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“I was in Westfield level 6 restaurant,” Mark answered, starting to feel slightly
irritated. “I booked it the day I spoke to you. I got the number out of my contact
list. “It’s called the Chat Thai.
“No it’s not,” Sophie replied. It’s called Xanthi. It’s next to Spiedo.
“Oh no, groaned Mark. “Don’t tell me you were just a few metres away all the
time. I should have confirmed the restaurant with you, as we go to both of them
often.”
They both started to laugh. Then Mark said, did you enjoy the moussaka?
“No I didn’t”. Sophie replied. “Did you like the crispy pancake?”
“I didn’t have it, “he said, “because I was waiting for you and it’s your favourite.”
Reading Narrative adapted from CSWE III 1998
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Question Sheet
Name: ____________________________________ Date: _________
Sophie’s Celebration
1. Number the events in the order they occur in the text.
□ a. Sophie and Mark agreed to go to a restaurant in Westfield.
□ b. Mark phoned Sophie at home but no one answered.
□ c. Mark waited at the Thai restaurant for an hour without eating.
□ d. Sophie called Mark later that night.
□ e. Mark invited Sophie to a restaurant on her birthday.
□ f. They both started to laugh
2. What was Sophie’s favourite Thai dish?
__________________________________
3. What time was dinner booked for? ______________________________________
4. How did Mark feel during the dinner? ____________________________________
5. Why the present was not opened? _______________________________________
6. Where was Xianthi located? ____________________________________________
7. What is the moral of the story? _________________________________________
8. A narrative has the structure: Orientation, Complication, Evaluation and Resolution.
Each of the four sentences below introduces a stage in the narrative.
Match each one to the stage it introduces by writing the stage in the space provided.
The first one has been done for you.
Narrative stage
Sentence
_____________
There was no sign of Sophie
_____________
“I should have confirmed the restaurant with you, as we go to
both of them often.”
Orientation
When the phone rang one morning in February, Sophie could
see on the display screen that it was mark.
_________________
“I hope she’s alright.”
Reading Narrative adapted from CSWE III 1998
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