The Village Clock Tower

Level: B2

Our vicar is always raising money for one cause or another, but he has never managed to get enough money to have the church clock repaired. The big clock which used to strike the hours day and night was damaged many years ago and has been silent ever since.

One night, however, our vicar work up with a start: the clock was striking the hours! Looking at his watch, he saw that it was one o’clock, but the bell struck thirteen times before it stopped. Armed with a torch, the vicar went up into the clock tower to see what was going on. In the torchlight, he caught sight of a figure whom he immediately recognized as Bill Wilkins, our local grocer.

‘Whatever are you doing up here Bill?’ asked the vicar in surprise.

‘I’m trying to repair the bell,’ answered Bill. ‘I’ve been coming up here night after night for weeks now. You see, I was hoping to give you a surprise.’

‘You certainly did give me a surprise!’ said the vicar. ‘You’ve probably woken up everyone in the village as well. Still, I’m glad the bell is working again.’

That’s the trouble, vicar,’ answered Bill. ‘It’s working all right, but I’m afraid that at one o’clock it will strike thirteen times and there’s nothing I can do about it.’

We’ll get used to that, Bill,’ said the vicar. ‘Thirteen is not as good as one, but it’s better than nothing. Now let’s go downstairs and have a cup of tea.’

Glossary

arm- to provide all the information, skills, or equipment you need to do something

catch sight of- to see someone or something

cause- an aim, belief, or organization that a group of people support or fight for

come up- to come to a particular place

damage- to cause physical harm to something or to part of someone’s body

get used to- to become familiar with something so that it no longer seems surprising, difficult, etc.

go on- to happen

grocer- someone who owns or works in a shop that sells food and other things used in the home

immediately- without delay; at once

local- relating to the particular area you live in, or in the area you are talking about

manage- to succeed in doing something, especially after trying hard

raise- to collect money that you can use to do a particular job or help people

recognize- to know who someone is or something is because you have seen, heard, experienced, or learned about them in the past

repair- to fix

start- a sudden movement of your body, usually caused by fear or surprise

strike- if a clock strikes the hours, its bell makes a sound according to what time it is

torch- a small electric lamp that you carry in your hand

vicar- a priest in the Church of England who is in charge of a church in a particular area

Collocations

raise money for a cause

manage to do something

have something repaired

a clock strides the hours

with a start

wake up with a start

a bell strikes

armed with something

in the torchlight

catch sight of someone or something

in surprise

give someone a surprise

get used to something or doing something