Instruction: Read the text and answer the questions that follow.
Where Has My Baby Gone?
Rudi and Katja Keet had been looking forward to visiting their friends who live in Assen, a town in north-eastern Netherlands. It was the first time since the birth of their son six months ago that the whole family was going on an outing.
On Saturday, 26 September 2009 at 7.30 in the morning, the family’s luggage was stacked in the hall of their townhouse in Utrecht, waiting to be loaded into the car: travel cot, clothes, diapers and toys. Katja, a beautiful 32-year-old woman rummaged around the kitchen while Rudi, a slim, athletically built 37-year-old man, started to load everything into the car.
Their car, a black Volvo S40, was parked in front of their house on Ondiep Street, just a stone’s throw away from the city centre. You could already smell the autumn leaves in the chilly morning air. Rudi started the car to warm up the engine. When everything was set, he put Daniel in the back seat, where the cheerful little blonde baby looked out inquisitively from his car seat.
When Daniel was nice and snug in the back seat of the car with the engine running, Rudi quickly went into the hall, just a few feet away.
“C’mon Katja, let’s go!” The young blonde turned off the light in the kitchen and followed her husband. At that moment, they heard the car door slam. Rudi turned around and saw a strange man who looked in his thirties sitting behind the wheel of the family car. The man had light brown skin and his hair was thick and curly. While the young father ran towards the car, he looked the thief straight in the eye. Then the man put his foot firmly down on the accelerator.
“My baby! My baby!” Rudi and Katja cried out, chasing after their car. The stranger sped off and made a left turn at the end of the street.
There was a cab waiting at the nearby intersection, right in front of a bus stop. Rudi ran up to the cab, and pointed to the car in the distance and tried to explain what happened. He got into the cab and started the chase. At the following intersection, however, the car with baby Daniel in it took a sudden left, as the cab driver and Rudi turned right.
Katja, who was watching all of this from a distance, hailed a bus to stop. She got on and told the driver: “Call the police! Call the police! Someone has just stolen our car with our baby in it!” The bus driver looked at her uncomprehendingly. Katja realised she had been speaking in Russian. In her best Dutch she tried to explain what happened. The bus driver called the police immediately, but told her he had to continue on his schedule.
Katja was left standing all alone on the kerb of a busy street. Traffic was rushing around her. She felt the ground tilt beneath her. Her baby Daniel might be gone forever.
Adapted from www.rdasia.com.my
Answer the questions below.
1.Where was the family going to?(1 mark)
2.Why did Rudi leave his son in the car?(1 mark)
3.What was actually happening when they heard the sound of the door car slam?(1 mark)
4.State two actions taken by Rudi and Katja to save their baby.(2 marks)
5.The bus driver did not understand what Katja was trying to say. Why?(1 mark)
6.What does the phrase “She felt the ground tilt beneath her” mean?(2 marks)
7.In your own words, give a suggestion on what we should do to ensure children’s safety.(2 marks)
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