A small town had a city dump where people could leave their own garbage. A lot of people used to load their garbage cans into the backs of their cars and take them to the dump to get rid of them, instead of waiting for them to be collected from their homes or offices.

One evening the owner of a store in this town put his garbage cans in his van and drove to the dump. He had just left his garbage there, when a young man arrived in a very old, beat-up car, turned around, drove backwards down the hill where the garbage was piled and unloaded his.

While he was doing this, the engine of his car died. He tried to start it again several times, but he wasn't successful, so he finally said to the driver of the van, "Could you please give my car a push?"

"Which way?" the man answered.

A.   Answer these questions:

1. What did a lot of people do with their garbage cans?
2. What was the young man's car like?
3. What did he do when he came to the garbage dump?
4. Why couldn't he drive away again?
5. What did the young man ask the driver of the van to do?
6. What did the driver answer?

B.     Which of these answers are true? Write down the questions and the correct answers.

1. How could a person get rid of his garbage in the small town?

1. Only by taking it away himself.
2. Only by waiting for it to be collected.
3. Either by taking it away himself, or by waiting for it to be collected.

2. How did the owner of the store get rid of his garbage?

1. He walked to a dump with it and left it there.
2. He drove to a dump with it and left it there.
3. He left it outside his store to be collected.

3. Why couldn't the young man drive away after he left his garbage?

1. Because the engine of his car wouldn't start.
2. Because there was a hill in front of his car.
3. Because there was a pile of garbage in front of his car.

4. What did he want the driver of the van to do?

1. To push his car away from the garbage.
2. To push his car down the hill.
3. To push his car into the pile of garbage.

C.    Write this story, putting one word in each blank space. You will find all the correct words in the story.

People throw away more ________ now than ever before in our history. What a waste it is! Our ______ cans fill up faster than anyone can _________them on to trucks to take them away, but luckily I am the _________ of a small van, and when I want to get _________ of my garbage, I can put the cans in it and take them away myself. I don't have to wait for them to be ________ from my home.

At first I didn't know of a __________where I could take them, and_______ around for days to find one. _______I was ________ in finding one. I was really happy when I _________ my first cans there, and drove away.