A Beach Outing

Gopal and his and family like to go to the beach during

weekends and school holidays. On some weekends, his
parents bring him and his sister, Meena, to the seaside. Last
weekend, they went to Pulau Pangkor.
After checking into the chalet, Meena eagerly
(1)______________________to go swimming. She and her
brother put on their swimsuits. They
(2)______________________. They could see that the tide
was quite high. Happily, they walked out into the water and
swam. Their parents shouted at them to be careful and not
to (3)______________________.
After a good swim, the whole family had a picnic
(4)______________________. Their mother had prepared
many types of sandwiches. There were chicken, egg, tuna
and sardine sandwiches. The sandwiches
(5)______________________on a mat on the sand. Next to
the sandwiches were bottles of mineral water. Their mother
had also brought a flask of hot tea. She knew their father
liked a cup of hot tea after eating sandwiches. The whole
family (6)______________________.
After eating, Gopal’s mother cleared the cups and
bottles on the mat. Suddenly, they heard someone shouting
for help. Gopal (7)______________________into the sea
and saw a child struggling in the water. The strong wave
(8)______________________. The child
(9)______________________in the water.
It (10)______________________ that she could not
swim. And there were no lifeguards around.
 Gopal could hear more shouts. A girl was saying
between sobs, “My little sister is going to drown. Please
someone save her!”
The girls standing around her also started crying. They
(11)______________________for they could not do
anything to save the little girl. Gopal knew he
(12)______________________. He ran to the sea. He
swam as fast as he could to the child. In a few minutes, he
reached the little girl. With his strong arms, he grabbed the
child and pulled her to him.
Meena and her parents
(13)______________________on the shore. They were
worried for Gopal. No doubt he was a good swimmer but
the waves were very strong. But they
(14)______________________when they saw him
swimming back to the shore with the child
(15)______________________.
There was a big crowd of people by then. They saw
Gopal carrying the little girl towards a deckchair. She was
still alive! The girl’s sister ran to her. She thanked Gopal
for saving her little sister’s life.
She kept on saying, “Thank you, thank you! You are so
brave.” The crowd of people heard this. They too admired
Gopal’s bravery and quick action. Soon all of them
(16)______________________Gopal’s family, especially
his parents, were so proud of his brave deed. After packing
all their stuff, Gopal and his family
(17)______________________.
headed home contentedly
were clapping and cheering him on.
looked far out
enjoyed the sandwich meal to their
hearts’ content
holding onto him
was sweeping the child away
was drifting
swim too far out
walked to the shoreline
hurried everyone
were helpless
was obvious
felt relieved
were standing anxiously
were spread out
under a shady coconut tree
must act fast
headed home contentedly
were clapping and cheering him on.
looked far out
enjoyed the sandwich meal to their
hearts’ content
holding onto him
was sweeping the child away
was drifting
swim too far out
walked to the shoreline
hurried everyone
were helpless
was obvious
felt relieved
were standing anxiously
were spread out
under a shady coconut tree
must act fast
A Beach Outing
 Gopal and his and family like to go to the beach
during weekends and school holidays. On some
weekends, his parents bring him and his sister, Meena, to
the seaside. Last weekend, they went to Pulau Pangkor.
After checking into the chalet, Meena eagerly
hurried everyone to go swimming. She and her brother
put on their swimsuits. They walked to the shoreline.
They could see that the tide was quite high. Happily,
they walked out into the water and swam. Their parents
shouted at them to be careful and not to swim too far
out.
After a good swim, the whole family had a picnic
under a shady coconut tree. Their mother had prepared
many types of sandwiches. There were chicken, egg,
tuna and sardine sandwiches. The sandwiches were
spread out on a mat on the sand. Next to the sandwiches
were bottles of mineral water. Their mother had also
brought a flask of hot tea. She knew their father liked a
cup of hot tea after eating sandwiches. The whole family
enjoyed the sandwich meal to their hearts’ content.
After eating, Gopal’s mother cleared the cups and
bottles on the mat. Suddenly, they heard someone
shouting for help. Gopal looked far out into the sea and
saw a child struggling in the water. The strong wave was
sweeping the child away. The child was drifting in the
water.
It was obvious that she could not swim. And there
were no lifeguards around.
 Gopal could hear more shouts. A girl was saying
between sobs, “My little sister is going to drown. Please
someone save her!”
The girls standing around her also started crying.
They were helpless for they could not do anything to
save the little girl. Gopal knew he must act fast. He ran
to the sea. He swam as fast as he could to the child. In a
few minutes, he reached the little girl. With his strong
arms, he grabbed the child and pulled her to him.
Meena and her parents were standing anxiously on
the shore. They were worried for Gopal. No doubt he
was a good swimmer but the waves were very strong.
But they felt relieved when they saw him swimming
back to the shore with the child holding onto him.
There was a big crowd of people by then. They saw
Gopal carrying the little girl towards a deckchair. She
was still alive! The girl’s sister ran to her. She thanked
Gopal for saving her little sister’s life.
She kept on saying, “Thank you, thank you! You are
so brave.” The crowd of people heard this. They too
admired Gopal’s bravery and quick action. Soon all of
them were clapping and cheering him on. Gopal’s
family, especially his parents, were so proud of his brave
deed. After packing all their stuff, Gopal and his family
headed home contentedly.