SESSION 2003

A soldier had started writing letters to her from overseas. The soldier

remembered her from when he used to go into the Library. But she didn't remember

him. However, she replied in a friendly way to his first letter and a correspondence

sprang up between them. He told her where he had lived in the town and she walked

5 past the house so that she could tell him how things looked there. He told her what

books he'd read and she gave him some of the same kind of information. In short, they

both revealed something of themselves and feelings warmed up on either side. On his

side first, as far as any declarations went. She was not one to rush in like a fool. At

first, she simply thought she was being kind. Even later, she didn't want to reject and

10 embarrass him. He asked her for a picture. She had one taken, it was not to her liking,

but she sent it.He asked if she had a sweetheart and she replied truthfully that she did

not.He did not send any picture of himself nor did she ask for one, though of course

she was curious as to what he looked like. It would be no easy matter for him to have a

picture taken in the middle of a war. Furthermore, she did not want to seem like the sort

15 of woman who would withdraw kindness if looks did not come up to scratch.

He wrote that he did not expect to come home. He said he was not so afraid of

dying as he was of ending up like some of the men he had seen when he was in the

hospital, wounded. He did not elaborate, but she supposed he meant the cases they

were just getting to know about now - the stumps^lof men, the blinded, the ones made

20 monstrous with burns. He was not whining² about his fate, she did not mean to imply

that. It was just that he expected to die and picked death over some other options and

he thought about her and wrote to her as men do to a sweetheart in such a situation.

When the war ended, it was a while since she had heard from him. She went on

expecting a letter every day and nothing came. Nothing came. She was afraid that he

25 might have been one of those unluckiest of soldiers in the whole war - one of those

killed in the last week, or on the last day, or even in the last hour. She searched the

local paper every week, and the names of new casualties were still being printed there

till after New Year's but his was not among them. Now, the paper began to list as well

the names of those returning home, often printing a photo with the name, and a little

30 account of rejoicing. When the soldiers were returning thick and fast there was less

room for these additions. And then she saw his name, another name on the list.he

had not been killed, he had not been wounded –he was coming home to Carstairs,

perhaps was already there.

It was then that she decided to keep the Library open, though the flu was raging.

35 Every day she was sure that he would come, every day she was prepared for him.

Sundays were a torment. When she entered the Town Hall she always felt he might be

there before her, leaning up against the wall awaiting her arrival. Sometimes she felt it

so strongly she saw a shadow that she mistook for a man. She understood now how

people believed they had seen ghosts. Whenever the door opened she expected to

40 look up into his face. Sometimes she made a pact with herself not to look up until she

had counted to ten. Few people came in, because of the flu. She set herself jobs of

rearranging things, else she would have gone mad. She never locked up until five or ten

minutes after closing time. And then she fancied that he might be across the street on

the Post Office steps, watching her, being too shy to make a move. She worried of

45 course that he might be ill, she always sought in conversation for news of the latest

cases. No one spoke of his name.

It was at this time that she entirely gave UP on reading. The covers of books

looked like coffins to her, either shabby³ or ornate , and what was inside them might as

well have been dust.

50 She had to be forgiven, didn't she, she had to be forgiven for thinking, after such

letters, that the one thing that could never happen was that he

wouldn't approach her, wouldn't get in touch with her at all? Never cross her thresholds, after such avowals?

Funerals passed by her window and she gave no thought to them, as long as they were

not his. Even when she was sick in the hospital her only thought was that she must get

55 back, she must get out of bed, the door must not stay locked against him. She

staggered to her feet and back to work. On a hot afternoon she was arranging fresh

newspapers on the racks and his name jumped out at her like something in her feverish

dreams.

She read a short notice of his marriage to a Miss Grace Horne. Not a girl she

60 knew. Not a Library user.

Alice MUNRO, Open Secrets: Vintage 1994

¹ Stump : what is left of a tree after it has been cut down

²whine: to complain

³shabby: which looks old and in bad condition ornate : with a lot of decoration

5 threshold: seuil

Comprehension

1. Answer in your own words

a. Who are the two main characters? ............................................................................................................................................................................................................................................

b. Where did they meet?

c. What is her 'ob?

d-Give two things that they have in common. ............................................................................................................................................................................................................................................

2. Lines I to 15,

a. The soldier makes two requests. Quote them

What do they reveal about his feelings?...............................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................

b,How does the woman respond?

c. Find the expressions or words that show that she is

reserved: (1 expression ......................................................................-

considerate: ( 2 expressions )…………………………………………………….

honest (1 adverb) …………………………………………………………………….

3. Lines 16 to 22

a. Quote two expressions which show that he has no illusion about what is going to happen to him. ........................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................

c. Why are the men referred to as "cases" (line 18)

4. Lines 16 to 33. True or false? Eck the right box and justify your answer by quoting the text.

5. Lines 34 to 49.................................................................................................................................................................................................................

a. In what ways does her routine change? ..................................................................................................................................................................................................................

b. What ways does her routine change ? ..................................................................................................................................................................................................................

6. Lines 38 to 60

a. Find three words which refer to death. ..................................................................................................

b. What have they got to do with her own story? ..................................................................................................................................................................................................................

7-Lines 50 to 52 Explain why she asks herself these questions? ..................................................................................................................................................................................................................

8. What do the last two sentences of the text suggest? (40 words)

.................................................................................................................................................... .................................................................................................................................................... .................................................................................................................................................... ....................................................................................................................................................

Expression

You must answer question 1 AND question 2

QUESTION 1 : The soldier tells the same story to a friend. Imagine his version of events. (150 words)

QUESTION 2 : There are various ways of communicating today. Which do you prefer and why. (150 words)

Question1.......................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................