E 68
Reading project
Benny and Omar Benny Shaw’s life is going to change very soon: His father – his ‘da’ – has to go and work in Tunisia, and he wants to take his family with him. If he does not go, he will lose his job. After difficult goodbyes and the first language problems at the airport in Tunisia, the Shaw family arrives at Marhaba village – a ‘walled camp’ 1 as Benny calls it – near the city of Sfax. On their first day in Marhaba, the village manager Talal Khayssi comes to give the Shaws – Benny, his father, his mother, and his little brother George – an introduction to their new life in Tunisia. There are many things that Benny has to learn about life in Tunisia – and about himself. “Here in Africa, things are not the same as in Europe,” said Mister2 Khayssi. “There are certain things to be careful of. A scorpion sting3, for example …” “Excuse me?” “A scorpion, Madam4. A small insect with a poisonous5 sting. It lives in Africa.” “I know what a scorpion is, Mister Khayssi.” “Do not worry, Madam. In three years we have only seen one scorpion in Marhaba village. And never once a snake6.” Benny started to listen. “Snakes? Now, wait a minute!” Talal Khayssi smiled. “Please, young man, let me continue. If – and this is a big if – you have a scorpion sting, you have more than one hour to get to a hospital.” “Oh, sure, that’s great then.” “Benny! Sarcasm is not going to help us here.” “There is a nurse7 at the factory. And I have here a paper which says ‘I have been bitten by a scorpion’ in French and Arabic.” “What about English?” “I thought you spoke English, Mister Shaw. In any case, the nurse’s English is not so good.” “That makes me feel better.” “You really need not worry about this, Mrs Shaw. The chances are very small.” “What about snakes then?” asked Da. Talal Khayssi looked at his papers. “Snakes, as I say, have never been seen in the village. They do not like to climb walls.” He laughed nervously. “Also, your children are too big: A snake could not eat them whole.”
walled camp !wC:ld *kxmp? • 2 Mister !*mIstE? • 3 sting !stIN?• 4 Madam !*mxdEm? • 5 poisonous !*pCIznEs? • snake !sneIk? • 7 nurse !n3:s?
1 6
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