Mr. Hodges was the owner and editor of a small newspaper. He always tried to bring his readers the latest news.

One day, he received an excited telephone call from someone who claimed that he had just come through a big flood in a village up in the mountains. He described the flood in great detail, and Mr. Hodges wrote it all down and printed it in his paper that evening. He was delighted to see that no other paper had got hold of the story.

Unfortunately, however, angry telephone calls soon showed that he had been tricked, so in the next day's paper he wrote: We were the first and only newspaper to report yesterday that the Village of Green Bridge had been destroyed by a flood. Today, we are proud to say that we are again the first newspaper to bring our readers the news that yesterday's story was quite false.

A    Which of these sentences are true (T) and which are false (F)? Write T or F in the boxes.

1. Mr. Hodges edited his own newspaper.
2. Someone telephoned that there had been a big flood.
3. People who had been in the flood were angry that Mr. Hodges had written about it.
4. He printed another report in his paper, repeating that there had been a flood.
5. He wrote in the report that the people who had said that there had been no flood were liars.
6. There had not really been a flood at all.

B     Answer these questions.

1. What work did Mr. Hodges do?
2. What was his aim in his job?
3. What news did someone give him one day?
4. How did the person give him the news?
5. What did Mr. Hodges do then?
6. What gave him a lot of pleasure?
7. How did he discover that he had been cheated?
8. What correction did he print in his paper the next day?

C    Put one of these words in each space.

at    by   for   in   of   or   out   of   to   under   with

Mr. Hodges was... his way... his office one day... the company... one of his reporters when someone offered him some information...exchange... some free advertising in his paper. ... reply ... the man's offer, Mr. Hodges suggested that he should come and discuss things at his home, as he was ... touch ... the business the man was talking about, so he could not really understand what was being offered.

... the time ... this offer, Mr. Hodges had already been informed secretly,...means... a telegram, about this matter; but... the sake ...not giving away the secret, he did not say anything to the man who was trying to sell him information... regard... the same subject. The man came to see Mr. Hodges that night, ... cover ... darkness.