There are men I know who wake themselves at any time to the minute. They say to themselves, as
they lay their heads upon the pillow, “Four-thirty”, “Four-forty-five” or “Five-fifteen”, as the case may
be; and as the clock strikes, they open their eyes. It is really wonderful, the more one thinks about
it, the greater the mystery grows.
In my own case my inner watchman is, perhaps, somewhat out of practice. He does his best, but
he is overanxious. He worries himself, and loses count. I say to him, maybe, “Five-thirty, please”,
and he wakes me with a start at 2:30 a.m. I look at my watch. He suggests that, perhaps, I forgot
to wind it up. I put to my ear- it is still going. But my inner watchman is confident it is 5:30 a.m., if
not a little later. To satisfy him, I put on a pair of slippers; there is no need to describe. Everything-
especially with a sharp corner- takes a delight in hitting him. When you are wearing a pair of strong
boots, things get out of your way. When we move among furniture in slippers and no socks, it comes
at you and kicks you.
I return to bed bad-tempered, and take half an hour to get to sleep again. From four to five my inner
watchman wakes me every ten minutes. I wish I had never said a word to him about getting up. At
5 a.m. he goes to sleep himself, and leaves it to someone else to wake me up, which they do half
an hour later than usual.
a) What does the speaker find wonderful?
b) Why does the speaker have to go downstairs in the middle of the night?
c) Whom does the speaker describe as ‘my inner watchman’? Why?
d) In what frame of mind does he get back to bed? Why?
e) Does the speaker consider his inner watchman reliable? Why or why not?
Answers
Answer:
There are men I know who wake themselves at any time to the minute. They say to themselves, as
they lay their heads upon the pillow, “Four-thirty”, “Four-forty-five” or “Five-fifteen”, as the case may
be; and as the clock strikes, they open their eyes. It is really wonderful, the more one thinks about
it, the greater the mystery grows.
In my own case my inner watchman is, perhaps, somewhat out of practice. He does his best, but
he is overanxious. He worries himself, and loses count. I say to him, maybe, “Five-thirty, please”,
and he wakes me with a start at 2:30 a.m. I look at my watch. He suggests that, perhaps, I forgot
to wind it up. I put to my ear- it is still going. But my inner watchman is confident it is 5:30 a.m., if
not a little later. To satisfy him, I put on a pair of slippers; there is no need to describe. Everything-
especially with a sharp corner- takes a delight in hitting him. When you are wearing a pair of strong
boots, things get out of your way. When we move among furniture in slippers and no socks, it comes
at you and kicks you.
I return to bed bad-tempered, and take half an hour to get to sleep again. From four to five my inner
watchman wakes me every ten minutes. I wish I had never said a word to him about getting up. At
5 a.m. he goes to sleep himself, and leaves it to someone else to wake me up, which they do half
an hour later than usual.
a) What does the speaker find wonderful?
b) Why does the speaker have to go downstairs in the middle of the night?
c) Whom does the speaker describe as ‘my inner watchman’? Why?
d) In what frame of mind does he get back to bed? Why?
e) Does the speaker consider his inner watchman reliable? Why or why not?