Printable version
It is sitting quietly in the middle of my kitchen table, beside a pile of unwanted gas bills. I am sitting in the middle of a café beside a group of noisy office workers, and I don't know why I can't just go home and open it. The letter arrived three days ago and I can't touch it, don't even want to look at it, but cant stop thinking about it. I've been going to work, going back home, watching the television and going to bed, and trying to ignore it. But it still sits on my kitchen table and it's driving me out of my mind.
I know my life will change forever the moment I read the words written in the letter. My world will never be the same again, it can't be, it's impossible. This is it: the turning point of my life and I can't stop it. I know I must read it now. I stand up, pick up my bag and umbrella and leave the cafe. Within thirty minutes I am standing at my front door. I put the key in the lock and with my heart beating loudly, I push open the door and enter my apartment. My cat, Felix, runs to meet me, rubbing his black and white face against my leg, and purring a soft welcome.
I walk into my small, cold kitchen. It is still sitting on my kitchen table, just where I put it three days ago. I place my keys next to to letter and sit down on a chair. All it is, is paper and ink, but paper and ink have the power to change the world. My hand reaches out and picks it up. The address is handwritten, the stamp is unusual. My finger finds a small gap in the flap of the envelope. I slide a knife into the gap and slit open the envelope. I carefully remove the folded letter and place the empty envelope on the table in front of me. My shaking hands unfold the white paper and I begin to read....
Adjectives
unwanted:
Not wanted or needed.
noisy:
Making a lot of noise.
impossible:
Not possible, cannot be done.
handwritten:
Written by hand, not typed or printed.
shaking:
Moving up and down or side to side very quickly, again and again.
Verbs
ignore:
To behave as if you have not seen or heard something or someone.
beat
(heart): For your heart to work it makes repeated movements.
rub:
To move something like your hand or a cloth across a surface while you
are pressing down on it.
purr:
The noise a cat makes when it is happy. This action.
place:
To put something somewhere carefully.
slide:
To move easily and smoothly over a surface.
slit
open:
To open something by making a straight and narrow cut.
unfold:
To open something that was made small by being folded.
Nouns
a
pile:
A large amount of the same thing in one place, usually in a tidy way.
a
(gas) bill:
The letter you receive that tells you how much you have to pay for the
gas you used.
a
moment:
A particular point in time, very short.
a
(door) lock:
A thing for making sure the door cannot be opened. It needs a key.
a
flap:
A thin piece of paper, cloth, or metal that is fixed one side, and is
easy to lift up.
an
envelope:
The paper cover for a letter. You write the address on it, and put a
stamp on it.
Expressions:
"in
the post":
A letter has been sent, but not yet arrived.
"drive
me out of my mind":
Make me go crazy.
"turning
point":
The time when an important change starts.