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Unit 3
1. Where did Sophia and her mother live? __________________
2. Normally Sophia woke up to the sounds of the _______________ and _______________.
3. (i) What was a special event on Agalega? __________________
(ii) On which island did it take place? __________________
4. Who was the only person having a van on the south island? __________________
5. How did the people travel from one island to the other when the tides were high?
___________________________________
All the islanders waited impatiently for the arrival of the ship, the ‘Mauritius Pride’. Nobody
went to work on such a day. We woke up early as usual and waited for the van of Uncle
Richard. He was the only one who had a means of transport on the south island. If we did not
see him, we walked along the sand and coral paths.
My friends and the few other villagers went together as a family. We chatted all the way and
even played our musical instruments. As children, we dreamt of the luxuries like toys, cakes,
books, biscuits, the latest gadgets and new clothes that the ship carried. As the tides were high,
we had to travel by boat to the north island where the ship would anchor.
We were always early, so we had to wait. The two hundred islanders of the villages of Vingt-
Cinq and La Fourche were already on the beach. The children were busy making sand dunes
with sand, shells and seawater. Our parents brought coconut water for us. On that day we did
not feel hungry.
When we heard the horn of the ship, all our ears were alert. We stopped whatever we were
doing. We stood up, jumped and shouted with joy. We could see the ‘Mauritius Pride’! We
were all excited. The ship had nally reached our shores but it anchored in deep waters at
high sea. We looked at it for many hours. The ship was the Santa Claus of the children!
Activity 1c: Read the text again and answer the following questions as you do so.