A TEST OF TRUE LOVE

A TEST OF TRUE LOVE

 

Introduction 

What do you call a friend who you only know through letters?

How would you feel meeting one for the first time.

In this lesson you are going to read about young Lieutenant Blandford and his first 

meeting with a friend he had been writing letters for over a year. Read and find out 

his experience.

Before you read the whole story, do the following vocabulary exercise first. 

Below is a list of words. In the paragraph indicated, find its antonym. Page [ 12 ]

1. Aged -(1)  

Answer : young 

2. Softly - (2)

Answer : hard 

3. Forget - (3)

Answer : remember 

4. Cowardly -(4)

Answer : brave 

5. Distantly - (6)

Answer : near

6. Collected - (7)

Answer : donated

7. Stopped - (8)

Answer : started 

8. Irregularly - (9)

Answer : regularly 

9. Accepted -(10)

Answer : refused 

10. Extinguished - (11)

Answer : leaped

11. Softness - (12)

Answer : firmness

12. New - (15)

Answer : worn 

13. Well ironed - (15)

Answer : rumpled

14. Insincerely - (17)

Answer : truly

15. Having no value - (18)

Answer : precious  

LISTEN CAREFULLY                                                    Page [16]

Your teacher will read aloud paragraphs 1 to 5. Listen carefully and complete the 

table below. 

The young man's profession
The young man's name	Lieutenant Blandford
Who he was waiting for
Where she was expected to come
When she was expected to arrive
One word to describe him at this moment

Answer - 

The young man's profession	Army Lieutenant
The young man's name	Lieutenant John Blandford
Who he was waiting for	Hollis Meynell
Where she was expected to come	New York's Grand Central Station
When she was expected to arrive	6 o'clock
One word to describe him at this moment	Thrilled

READ AGAIN 

Read paragraphs 2 to 17 and complete the following statements .

1. Lieutenant  Blandford was very eager to meet this girl because he was soon going to meet the woman who had occupied much of his thoughts, the woman he had never seen, yet whose words had meant a great deal to him. 

2. The girl wrote to him suggesting that when he was afraid he should imagine her voice saying ''Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I shall fear no evil... "

3. The first girl he saw at the station could not have been her for two reasons.

They were she was only eighteen years old 

   and she was wearing a wrong flower. 

4.  Lieutenant  Blandford had lied about his age being 32 because he feared that she would not like him because he is younger than her. 

5. Lieutenant  Blandford came to know her through the book 'Of Human Bondage'. 

6. He succeeded in contacting her by her address which he found in a New York telephone book. 

7. After 13 months of correspondence he felt that he loved her and that she loved him. 

8. Hollis Meynell decided not to send her photo to the lieutenant for two reasons . One was She strongly believed that how she looked didn't matter. She may be plain looking and wanted Blandford to accept her as she was  and She said that love which depended on looks only disgusted her. 

9. Fill in the table with words to describe and contrast the young woman he first 

thought to be Hollis, and the old woman who appeared to be her.  Page [17]

Young Woman	Older Woman
She was thirty years old ,very charming, confident and  intelligent young woman. Her figure was tall and slender. Her light hair lay back from her ears in waves. Her eyes were blue as flowers. Her lips and chin had a gentle firmness. In her pale  green suit, she looked as though spring time had come alive.	She was forty years old, fat, simple , gentle and helpful woman. She had a pale , plump face that looked very kind and gentle. Her gray eyes were warm and friendly. Her graying hair was tucked under a worn hat and her thick ankled feet were thrust into flat shoes.

READ FURTHER

Read paragraphs 18 to 21 and answer the following questions. 

1.Why did Lieutenant Blandford decide to walk up and meet the older lady after all? 

Answer :  Lieutenant Blandford decided to walk up and meet the older lady because she was a huge moral support to him. She had encouraged him when he felt fear during the war.

2. What positive qualities did the lieutenant notice in the older woman's face? 

Answer : He noticed that her pale , plump face was gentle and kind , her gray eyes were warm an friendly.

3. What was the lieutenant's mark of identity for the girl? 

Answer :Lieutenant's mark of identity for the girl was the worn copy of ''Of Human Bondage''.

4. What did the older lady say when Lieutenant Blandford approached her? 

Answer : The older lady said that she doesn't recognise him and that a young lady had asked her to pose in her place wearing the rose in her coat. She further told him that she was waiting for him in the restaurant across the street and also that it was a test of some kind. 

5. Which one was the real Hollis Meynell? 

Answer : The young lady in the green suit was the real Hollis Meynell.

6. Why had Hollis Meynell asked the older lady to pose in her place? 

Answer : Hollis Meynell had asked the older lady to pose in her place in order to test the genuineness of Lieutenant Blandford's affection.

7. Do you think Lieutenant Blandford passed the test. How?

Answer : Yes, Lieutenant Blandford passed the test because he chose the old lady over the young lady. His sincerity, truthfulness and faithfulness helped him pass the test.

LET'S WRITE  Page [ 20]

You are Lieutenant Blandford. After meeting Hollis Meynell you sit up late at night writing a page of your diary. Below is its beginning. Complete it. 

2-11-1944

Today has been my life's most unforgettable day. I've never known the hands of a clock move so slowly as it did today while waiting for the 6 o'clock train to arrive at the Central Station. I was so eager to meet her today, to see her in front of my eyes. My heart was beating fast and my  eyes were fixed at the clock .  Soon I was going to meet the woman who had occupied my thoughts for the past 13 months. I was feeling impatient, nervous and at the same time very thrilled. It was four minutes to six. A girl passed by me, I looked closely and found that she was wearing a wrong flower. Besides, she was just 18, and Hollis had told me that she was 30.

It was one minute to six, I lighted another cigarette and suddenly my heart leaped. I saw a beautiful young woman coming towards me. Her figure was tall and slender, her light hair lay back from her ears in waves. Her eyes were as blue as flowers, her lips and chin had a gentle firmness. In her pale - green suit she was like spring time itself. I thought that she was the one I am waiting for. But then I saw another woman with the rose. I walked towards her and noticed that woman was almost forty years old. Her face was pale and plump. Her graying hair tucked under a worn hat and her thick ankled feet were thrust into flat shoes. For a moment, I got perplexed and my attention was suddenly divided between the two women. But there was no mistake about the rose on older woman's rumpled coat. So I decided to walk up and meet her. I introduced myself as Lieutenant John Blandford and asked her for dinner. The woman replied that she doesn't recognise me and that a young lady had asked her to pose in her place wearing the rose in her coat. She further told me that she was waiting for me in the restaurant across the street. I was completely startled , the older woman said 'it was a test of some kind '. I was overjoyed and thrilled to meet her so I just ran and went to the restaurant. It was a very lovely evening with Hollis. I never knew that she was such a brilliant woman. She is indeed a beautiful woman with high intellect whom I love so dearly. 

 

If you found this article helpful, then don't forget to share it and follow English Learning!