Alexander’s Bridge

The sun sank rapidly; the silvery light had faded from the bare boughs and the watery twilight was setting in when Wilson at last walked down the hill, descending into cooler and cooler depths of greyish shadow. His nostril, long unused to it, was quick to detect the smell of wood smoke in the air, blended with the odour of moist spring earth and the saltiness that came up the river with the tide.

He crossed Charles Street between jangling street cars and shelving lumber drays, and after a moment of uncertainty wound into Brimmer Street. The street was quiet, deserted, and hung with a thin bluish haze. He had already fixed his sharp eye upon the house, which he reasoned should be his objective point, when he noticed a woman approaching rapidly from the opposite direction. Always an interested observer of women, Wilson would have slackened his pace anywhere to follow this one with his impersonal, appreciative glance. She was a person of distinction he saw at once, and, moreover, very handsome. She was tall, carried her beautiful head proudly, and moved with ease and certainty. Wilson noted her dress, too, - for, in his way, he had an eye for such things – particularly her brown furs and her hat. He got a blurred impression of her fine colour, the violets she wore, her white gloves, and, curiously enough, of her veil, as she turned up a flight of steps in front of him and disappeared.

Wilson was able to enjoy lovely things that passed by him as completely and deliberately as if they had been dug-up marvels, long anticipated, and definitely fixed at the end of a railway journey. For a few pleasurable minutes seconds he quite forgot where he was going, and only after the door had closed behind her did he realize that the young woman had entered the house for which he too was headed.

by Willa Cather

ANSWERS

1. Brimmer Street struck Wilson as being

A. noisy and full of traffic.

B. empty and peaceful.

C. smelly.

D. all of the above.

2. The young woman seemed

A. unremarkable.

B. ill at ease.

C. refined.

D. in straitened circumstances.

3. The young woman’s clothes denoted

A. extreme poverty.

B. a lack of taste.

C. good taste and a comfortable income.

D. none of the above.

4. Wilson

A. was absolutely fascinated by the young woman.

B. hardly even noticed the young woman.

C. was horrified by the young woman’s appearance

D. immediately noticed where she was going.