Oxford International English 4

CONTENTS PG 10-11

Historical fiction
This story takes place in Canada in 1908.

Anne is an eleven-year-old orphan, who has been adopted by Marilla and Matthew Cuthbert. Anne is delighted by her new home at Green Gables and her new friends and school in Avonlea.
Anne's First Day

The Avonlea school was a whitewashed building with big windows. It was furnished with comfortable, old-fashioned desks that opened and shut. Over the years, generations of school children had carved their initials onto the wooden lids. Behind the schoolhouse was a brook where all the children put their bottles of milk to keep them cool and sweet until dinner hour.

Marilla felt worried when she first sent Anne to school. Anne was such an odd girl.

How was she going to get on with the other children? And was she going to manage to keep quiet during her lessons?

But things went better than Marilla had hoped. Anne came home that evening full of happy chatter.

“I think I like school here/’ she announced. tI didn’t really like Mr Phillips, the master, though.

“Anne, I don’t want to hear you talking 20 about your teacher like that,” said Marilla, sharply. “I hope you were a good girl.”

“Of course I was,” said Anne. “And I didn’t even have to try hard to be good. I had scrumptious fun playing outside, but I’m 25 dreadfully far behind the others in lessons. Though no one has an imagination like mine. We had reading and geography and Canadian history and dictation today. Mr Phillips said my spelling 30 was disgraceful and he held up my slate so everyone could see it. I was so embarrassed!”