We Wave and Call - J. McGregor
PART 1
And sometimes it happens like this: a young man lying face down in the ocean, his limbs hanging loosely beneath him, a motorboat droning slowly across the bay, his body moving in long slow ripples with each passing shallow wave the water moving softly across his skin, muffled shouts carrying out across the water and the electric crackle of waves sliding up against the rocks and the birds in the trees and the body of the young man lying in the ocean, face down and breathlessly still.
limbs - arms and legs, ripple - wave of expansion, shallow - not deep, muffled - not clear or easy to understand, crackle - a noise like on a bad telephone line,
You open your eyes, blinking against the light which pulses through the water. You look down at the sea floor, hearing only the hollow suck and sigh of your own breath through the snorkel, seeing the broken shells, the rusting beer cans, the polished pieces of broken glass. Black-spiked sea-urchins clinging to the rocks. Tiny black fish moving through the sea-grass. A carrier-bag tumbling in tight circles at the foot of the shoreline rocks. You hold out your hands, seeing how pale they look in the water, the skin of your fingers beginning to pucker a little. The sea feels as warm as bath water, and you´re almost drifting off to sleep when you hear the sudden smack and plunge of something hitting the water nearby.
blinking - opening and closing your eyes quickly, hollow - empty, suck - inhalation, sigh - exhale audibly (with relief), snorkel - mask with breathing tube, to rust - oxidise, sea urchin - animal as shown in photo above, to cling - to hold tight, to tumble - fall, to pucker - to wrinkle, to drift off to sleep - slowly and in a relaxed way, smack - hit
You turn your head, and see a young boy sinking through the water, his knees to his chest and his eyes squeezed shut. Above, way up in the air, another three boys are falling from a high rocky outcrop, their shorts ballooning out around their hips, their hair rising their mouths held open in anticipatory cries. One of them flaps his hands, trying to slow his fall. The other two reach out and touch the tips of their fingers together. All three of them look down at the water with something like fear and joy.
Your friends are watching as well, sprawled across a wide concrete ledge jutting out over the sea. Claire turns and looks for you, waving, brushing the knots from her wet tangled hair. Her pale skin is shiny with sun cream and sea water.
to squeeze - to apply pressure, to flap - to move like wings, to sprawl - lie in a relaxed way, arms and legs out, knots - if you don´t brush your hair you get these, tangle - lots of strings in a confused mess
VOCABULARY SUMMARY AND EXERCISES
limbs - arms and legs, ripple - wave of expansion, shallow - not deep, muffled - not clear or easy to understand, crackle - a noise like on a bad telephone line, blinking - opening and closing your eyes quickly, hollow - empty, suck - inhalation, sigh - exhale audibly (with relief), snorkel - mask with breathing tube, to rust - oxidise, sea urchin - animal as shown in photo above, to cling - to hold tight, to tumble - fall, to pucker - to wrinkle, to drift off to sleep - slowly and in a relaxed way, smack - hit
to squeeze - to apply pressure, to flap - to move like wings, to sprawl - lie in a relaxed way, arms and legs out, knots - if you don´t brush your hair you get these, tangle - lots of strings in a confused mess
The bird its wings and flew away
The little baby was to its mother.
If you can´t swim, stay at the end of the pool.
There´s a in the rope. Can you untie it?
The side of the boat was old and had started to
My brother is always on the sofa watching video games.
The old tree was completely inside. We loved to go inside when we were children.
The cat had been playng with the wool and it was very .
She had something in her eye and couldn´t stop
The little boy was being very rude. In the end his father his bottom .
The cat had been playng with the wool and it was very .
She had something in her eye and couldn´t stop
The little boy was being very rude. In the end his father his bottom .
flapped, clinging, shallow, knot, rust, sprawled, hollow, tangled, blinking, smacked
We Wave and Call - J. McGregor
PART 2
Claire turns and looks at you, waving, brushing the knots from her wet tangled hair. Her pale skin is shiny with sun cream and sea water.´We´re making a move now,` she calls; ´you coming?`
The others are already standing up, brushing bits of dirt from their skin and shaking out their towels. You lift the mask from your face and take the snorkel from your mouth and tell her you´re staying in a bit longer. You`ll catch them up on a minute, you say.
They pick up the sun-cream and water bottles, the paperback books, the leaflets from the tourist information office in town. The girls lift up their damp hair, squeezing out the water and letting it run down their backs. Andy buttons his shirt and straps into his unlaced trainers.´We´re not waiting for you,` says Claire and that is fine. You´ll be out in a minute or two.
knots - what you get if you don´t brush your hair, tangled - long strings in a confused mess, to make a move - leave, snorkel - a mask with a breathing tube, leaflet - small paper books with information in, damp - slightly wet to squeeze - apply pressure, unlaced - not tied,
The night before, sitting at a table outside one of the old cafés in the old town,the girls had got up to go to the toilet together, leaving their tall glasses of beer on the table and tugging at their skirts. Andy had caught your eye and lifted his drink in salute, and you had both smiled broadly at your good fortune. Nothing had needed to be said. You´d left behind long months of exams and anxieties and the flat grey east of England and landed suddenly in this world of cheap beer and sunshine, of clear blue seas and girls who wore bikinis and short skirts and slept in the room next door. It felt like something you´d both been waiting years for; something you have long been promise. It felt like adulthood. The girls have made it clear by their pointing out of the waiters and boys on scooters, that they´re more interested in the locals than in the two of you but there is still a chance. A feeling that something could happen: that anything could happen. It seems worth thinking about, at least.
to tug - to pull, broadly - widely,
to tug - to pull, broadly - widely,
steep - almost perpendicular, drifting away - moving slowly away from.
VOCABULARY SUMMARY AND EXERCISES
knots - what you get if you don´t brush your hair, tangled - long strings in a confused mess, to make a move - leave, snorkel - a mask with a breathing tube, leaflet - small paper books with information in, damp - slightly wet to squeeze - apply pressure, unlaced - not tied, to tug - to pull, broadly - widely, steep - almost perpendicular, drifting away - moving slowly away from.
You have to the tube to get the toothpaste out
I got really tired climbing up the hill.
We had better ! It´s getting late.
The clothes were still a bit when I brought them in. We need some sunshine to dry them well.
I went to the tourist office to get some about things to do.
squeeze, steep, make a move, damp, leaflets
VOCABULARY SUMMARY AND EXERCISES
You have to the tube to get the toothpaste out
I got really tired climbing up the hill.
We had better ! It´s getting late.
The clothes were still a bit when I brought them in. We need some sunshine to dry them well.
I went to the tourist office to get some about things to do.
squeeze, steep, make a move, damp, leaflets
We Wave and Call - J McGregor
Part 3
You put the mask over your eyes and lie back for a while, looking up at the steep sides of the bay, kicking yourself to send yourself drifting away from the rocks. You´re not sure you ever want to get out. At home the beach is a few minutes away, and you´ve grown up running in and out of the sea. But you´ve never really swum; there, you run in, shouting against the shock of the cold, and run out as soon as you can. Here you could sleep in the clear warm water. You watch the others making their way up the path between the pine trees and oleander bushes. A bus drives along the road at the top of the hillside, stops near the gap in the railings and moves off. A young couple on a scooter overtake it, the boy riding without a shirt or a helmet, the girl wearing knee length wraparound skirt and a bikini to, her hair flowing out from behind her. Birds hang still in the warm currents of air drifting up the side of the hill. The grasshoppers sound out their steady scraping sound. The air is thick with the scent of crushed pine needles and scorched rosemary, heavy with heat.
steep - almost perpendicular, railings - metal bars, grasshoppers - insects which make a typical noise we hear in summer (see video), to scrape - to move a rough or sharp object over a surface, crushed - pressed, flattened, pine needles - long sharp leaves of the pine tree, scorched - burnt, rosemary - aromatic bush
steep - almost perpendicular, railings - metal bars, grasshoppers - insects which make a typical noise we hear in summer (see video), to scrape - to move a rough or sharp object over a surface, crushed - pressed, flattened, pine needles - long sharp leaves of the pine tree, scorched - burnt, rosemary - aromatic bush
A long the bay, at the bottom of a steep flight of steps cut straight from the rock, there´s another small bathing jetty. A girl in a black swimming costume sits on the edge, her feet in the water, a white towel hanging over her head, reading a book.
jetty - wooden platform over water,
jetty - wooden platform over water,
Further along, where the bay curves round to form a long headland jutting out into he sea, there´s an ugly concrete hotel with its name spelt out in white skyline letters. Half the letters are missing, and when you look again you see the whole place is a ruin; the windows shot to pieces gaping holes blown in the walls, coils of barbed wire rolling across the golden sands. Shreds of curtain material hang limply from windows and patio doors, lifting and dropping in the occasional breeze.
to jut out - to be longer, bigger than the main part, to gape - to be wide open barbed wire - metal cable with spikes for defense, shreds - torn, destroyed, in pieces
VOCABULARY SUMMARY AND EXERCISES
steep - almost perpendicular, railings - metal bars, grasshoppers - insects which make a typical noise we hear in summer (see video), to scrape - to move a rough or sharp object over a surface, crushed - pressed, flattened, pine needles - long sharp leaves of the pine tree, scorched - burnt, rosemary - aromatic bush, jetty - wooden platform over water, to jut out - to be longer, bigger than the main part, to gape - to be wide open barbed wire - metal cable with spikes for defense, shreds - torn, destroyed, in pieces
We were almost in the concert. There were so many people pushing to get to the front.
The dog tore the newspaper into
Oh no I´ve burnt the rice! I´ll have to the pan to clean it.
After the long hot summer, the grass was completely
is used for cooking. It smells wonderful.
crushed,shreds, scrape, scorched, rosemary
to jut out - to be longer, bigger than the main part, to gape - to be wide open barbed wire - metal cable with spikes for defense, shreds - torn, destroyed, in pieces
VOCABULARY SUMMARY AND EXERCISES
steep - almost perpendicular, railings - metal bars, grasshoppers - insects which make a typical noise we hear in summer (see video), to scrape - to move a rough or sharp object over a surface, crushed - pressed, flattened, pine needles - long sharp leaves of the pine tree, scorched - burnt, rosemary - aromatic bush, jetty - wooden platform over water, to jut out - to be longer, bigger than the main part, to gape - to be wide open barbed wire - metal cable with spikes for defense, shreds - torn, destroyed, in pieces
The dog tore the newspaper into
Oh no I´ve burnt the rice! I´ll have to the pan to clean it.
After the long hot summer, the grass was completely
is used for cooking. It smells wonderful.
crushed,shreds, scrape, scorched, rosemary
We Wave and Call - J. McGregor
Part 4
Shreds of curtain material hang limply from the windows and patio doors, lifting and dropping in the occasional breeze.
You hear some girls screaming, and look round to see a group of boys soaking them with water bottles, laughing when the girls scramble to their feet and retaliate with flat stinging hands. The sounds carry softly across the water.
to soak - to get very wet
You´d seen a map, this morning, at the entrance to the city walls, marked with clusters of red dots. The red dots were to show where mortar shells had landed during the war, where fires had started, where roofs had come crashing in.
It was the only sign you could see at first that anything had happened here. Everything in the town seemed neat and clean and smooth: the streets polished to a shine, the ancient stonework unaffected by the destruction which had so recently poured down on it. But when you had looked closer you had seen that the stonework of the historic city walls alternated between a weathered grey and the hard white gleam of something new. there were whole streets boarded off from the public, piled with rubble. There were buildings whose frontages had been cleaned and repaired but which were still gutted behind the shutters. And in a tiny courtyard workshop, and under the shade of a tall lemon tree, you´d seen a fat shouldered stonemason carving replica cornices and crests, the shattered originals laid out in fragments in front of him, glancing over his shoulder as if to be sure that no one could see. You´d
wondered how long it would take for this rebuilding to be complete.
clusters - small groups, gleam - shine, rubble - piles of stone, old bricks etc, gutted - completely emptied, shade - place where there is no sun, shattered - destroyed, in pieces to glance - look quickly
to trail - drag, bushes - very low trees, to catch up with - reach
VOCABULARY SUMMARY AND EXERCISES
to soak - to get very wet, clusters - small groups, gleam - shine, rubble - piles of stone, old bricks etc, gutted - completely emptied, shade - place where there is no sun, shattered - destroyed, in pieces to glance - look quickly, to trail - drag, bushes - very low trees, to catch up with - reach
He was running so fast I couldn´t him.
catch up with, bushes, glanced, rubble
We Wave and Call - J. Mcgregor
Part 5
You turn your face into the water for one more look before you get out, sucking in warm air through the snorkel. You catch sight of a larger fish than the ones you´ve seen so far. Something silver-blue, twice the length of your hand, drifting slowly between the rocks. It flicks its tail and glides away and you push back with your legs to glide after it, trying not to splash. It slows again, leaning down to nibble at the wavering tips of seaweed, and as it flicks into another glide you follow, watching from above, quietly kicking your legs to keep pace.
to glide - move silently and smoothly, to nibble to eat in very small pieces, to flick - short fast movement, to keep pace - maintain the same speed
to glide - move silently and smoothly, to nibble to eat in very small pieces, to flick - short fast movement, to keep pace - maintain the same speed
And you think about last night. About what might have happened with Jo. Walking between the cafe and the bus stop, the alleys crowded, the buildings still giving out the heat of day, the sky overhead squeezed between window boxes and washing lines and women leaning out to smoke and look down at the crowds below. You lost sight of the others for a while, and then Jo was there, saying something touching two fingers against your chest. What did she say? It could have been nothing. But there were her fingers against your chest. That smile and turn. Walking behind her and all the side alleys and courtyards that might have been ducked into. And then catching up with the others at the bus stop and nothing more being said.
You watch the fish flick its tail beneath you, stopping and starting through the sea grass, and you curl your body across the surface to keep pace, the sun hot and sore against your back.
To squeeze - to fit something into a small space, alleys - small, narrow side streets, sore - painful.
It happened once, last year,at a party after the exams. In the back garden kissing against the wall of the house, and for what must have been only a few minutes there was nothing but the taste of her mouth, the movements of her hands, the press of her body. And then she´d stopped, and kissed you on the cheek, and walked unsteadily into the house, and nothing had been said about it since. It might have been nothing.
The soft wet bite of her lips, the trace of her fingers, the thin material of her skirt in your hand, the weight of her warmth against you. It was probably nothing at all.
You look up out of the water, turning to see if she has reached the top of the path. Maybe she´ll hang back and wait. You´re further out than you´d realised.
VOCABULARY SUMMARY AND EXERCISES
VOCABULARY SUMMARY AND EXERCISES
to glide - move silently and smoothly, to nibble to eat in very small pieces, to flick - short fast movement, to keep pace - maintain the same speed, to squeeze - to fit something into a small space, alleys - small, narrow side streets, sore - painful.
We Wave and Call - J. McGregor
Part 6
Part 6
You are further out than you´d realised. It would be better to head back now, to pull yourself up onto the concrete ledge, let the sun dry the water from your back while you gather your things together and hurry along the path to join the others. You pull your arms through the water, feeling the pleasant stretch of the muscles across your legs and back. You kick with your legs, hard, and your feet and shins slap against the surface, and you realise how long it´s been since you last swam properly like this, actually covering a distance. You should do it more often you think, stopping for a moment to tuck the snorkel into the headband of your mask, spitting out a mouthful of seawater. You launch off again, enjoying the way your body cuts through the water, the air on your back, the sea sliding across your skin. The snorkel slips out of place, spilling water into your mouth and you have to stop again, coughing to clear it from your throat.
gather - collect, shin - lower front part of leg, to slap - to hit, to tuck - put inside, to launch - to push, start, to spill - to let a liquid fall
gather - collect, shin - lower front part of leg, to slap - to hit, to tuck - put inside, to launch - to push, start, to spill - to let a liquid fall
You see the others on the path and you see a bus passing along the road, and you see the birds hanging in the warm air rising up against the side of the hill.
You take off the snorkel and mask. They´re getting in the way, and you´ll be back to the steps quicker without them strapped to your face. You try to swim with them held in one hand, but they slap and splash against the surface and drag you down, and you´re not getting anywhere like that so you stop and tread water for a moment. You´re further out than you thought.
strapped - connected to (by a long piece of material)
gather - collect, shin - lower front part of leg, to slap - to hit, to tuck - put inside, to launch - to push, start, to spill - to let a liquid fall, to strap - connect to (by a long piece of material)
All the people from the town to hear what the mayor had to say.
In the past it was common for children to be across the face for rudeness.
I red wine on the carpet and spent ages trying to clean it.
The rocket was from a secret location.
He all of the equipment onto the top of the car and set off.
He was kicked in the while playing football.
gathered slapped, spilled, launched, strapped, shin
strapped - connected to (by a long piece of material)
VOCABULARY SUMMARY AND EXERCISES
All the people from the town to hear what the mayor had to say.
In the past it was common for children to be across the face for rudeness.
I red wine on the carpet and spent ages trying to clean it.
The rocket was from a secret location.
He all of the equipment onto the top of the car and set off.
He was kicked in the while playing football.
gathered slapped, spilled, launched, strapped, shin
We Wave and Call - J. McGregor
PART 7
The afternoon´s quieter now. No one´s jumped from the outcrop for a while. The teenagers on the ledge have started to gather their things together and drift back up the long twisting path to the road. The girl reading the book on the other jetty has gone. The back of your neck feels as though it might be starting to burn. It probably would be good, after all, to catch the bus with the others. You think about just dumping the snorkel and mask, but it seems a bit over the top. There´s nothing like that happening here. There´s no problem. You can´t be more than a hundred, maybe a hundred and fifty yards from the shore.You tie them to the drawstring of your swimming shorts instead and swim on.
This morning, in the old town, ducking into an art gallery to escape the glaring heat, you´d found the city´s war memorial, unmarked on the tourist maps. It had looked like another room of the gallery at first, and you´d drifted into the circular space expecting more vividly coloured paintings of wheat-fields and birch-woods and simple peasant folk labouring over ploughs. But there were no paintings, only photographs. Black and white photographs from ceiling to floor. Row after row of young faces with dated haircuts, thin moustaches, leather jackets and striped tracksuit tops.The photos were blown up to more than life-size, and one or two had the ink smudge of a passport stamp circled across them. There were names, and dates, and ages: twenty-two, fifty-seven, fifteen, nineteen, thirty-one.
glaring - bright, blinding, peasant - country person who lives on the the land, plough - farm machinery used to prepare the earth for planting, row after row - many horizontal lines, dated - old fashioned, to blow up - increase the size, ink - the liquid used for creating text, smudge - dirty mark
There were candles burning on a table in the middle of the room, a bouquet of flowers, a ragged flag. Some of the boys in the photographs had looked the same age, and had the same features, as these teenagers jumping from the rocks, and squirting water at girls, boys who would have been half the age now when the war happened. You wonder if any of them lost brothers, cousins, uncles, fathers. You wonder if any of them remember much about it; if they duck into that cool whitewashed room every now and again to remind themselves, or if they prefer instead to leap from high rocks into the warm ocean, to ride motor scooters with the sun browning their bare chests, to lie with long limbed girls in the scented shade of aged and twisting trees
bouquet - bunch, ragged - in poor condition, flag - a piece of cloth used to symbolise a nation or group, features - physical characteristics, bare - naked, uncovered, scented - perfumed
VOCABULARY SUMMARY AND EXERCISES
to gather - to collect, jetty - platform over the sea, to dump - to throw away, shore - land nest to the sea glaring - bright, blinding, peasant - country person who lives on the the land, plough - farm machinery used to prepare the earth for planting, row after row - many horizontal lines, dated - old fashioned, to blow up - increase the size, ink - the liquid used for creating text, smudge - dirty mark bouquet - bunch, ragged - in poor condition, flag - a piece of cloth used to symbolise a nation or group, features - physical characteristics, bare - naked, uncovered, scented - perfumed
The bride was carrying a beautiful of flowers.
The child was dressed in clothes and had no shoes.
In Autumn the trees are . All their leaves have fallen to the floor.
I bought a candle today. It smells lovely.
The horse pulled the across the field, preparing the land for the corn.
They peasants the corn at the end of the summer.
Did I really wear that shirt. I thought it was great but now it looks really .
Oh no the printer has run out of .
We walked along the , our feet leaving prints in the wet sand.
Some people just things at the side of the road instead of taking them to the recycling bins.
The bride was carrying a beautiful of flowers.
The child was dressed in clothes and had no shoes.
In Autumn the trees are . All their leaves have fallen to the floor.
I bought a candle today. It smells lovely.
The horse pulled the across the field, preparing the land for the corn.
They peasants the corn at the end of the summer.
Did I really wear that shirt. I thought it was great but now it looks really .
Oh no the printer has run out of .
We walked along the , our feet leaving prints in the wet sand.
Some people just things at the side of the road instead of taking them to the recycling bins.
Perhaps when you get back no one will want to go to the trouble of laying the food out on the terrace and clearing it all away again. Perhaps you´ll all go to the pizzeria down at the dockside and sit at a table on the street, picking the labels off cold bottles of beer while you watch the old women offering accommodation to the tourists coming off the boats. Perhaps Jo will catch your eye and keep you talking until the others have moved on, and shift her chair so that her leg touches you.
Swimming with the mask and the snorkel tied to shorts is worse than holding them. They´re dragging out between your legs like an anchor, pulling you back. You stop and tread water again, breathing heavily. You only paid a few pounds for them. They can go. You can always tell the others you left them behind by mistake. You unpick the knots and let them fall away. They hang in the water for a moment, lifting and turning in the current. You watch them sink out of view, and realise you can´t see the bottom.
anchor - heavy metal object used to keep boats stationary, to tread water - to stand in deep water moving the legs
The others are at the top of the pathway now, and one of them leans out to look down at the ledge where your things are still gathered in a heap. You wave, but whoever it is turns away and steps through the gap in the railings, crossing the road to join the others at the bus stop out of sight.
heap - pile
You take a breath and swim, fiercely, lunging throught he water, blinking against the salt sting, heaving for air, and there´s a feeling running up and down the backs of your legs like the muscles being stretched tight but you keep swimming because you´ll be there soon, climbing out, pulling yourself back onto solid ground, and you keep swimming because there´s a chance that the current has been pushing you away from the shore, and you keep swimming because this isn´t the sort of thing that happens to someone like you.
blink- open and close your eyes rapidly, sting - hurt like when you get vinegar in a cut
VOCAB SUMMARY AND EXERCISES
anchor - heavy metal object used to keep boats stationary, to tread water - to stand in deep water moving the legs, heap - pile blink- open and close your eyes rapidly, sting - hurt like when you get vinegar in a cut
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