Ted Brown's dream as a child was an unusual one: he wanted to fly. What was more unusual was the way in which he made his dream come true. After high school, he wanted to join the U. S. Air Force but he failed because of his poor eyesight. However, his dream remained. At the age of 33, Ted was a truck driver in Los Angeles. One day, while sitting outside in his garden, he watched planes fly overhead and an idea came to him: to use balloons to fly. A few weeks later, Ted bought 42 huge balloons. He tied them to a chair and then he sat down in the chair with some beer, sandwiches and a gun. His plan was to fly to 10 meters above his garden, enjoy a few hours in the air, and then shoot some balloons with his gun to get back down. But things did not go as he planned. Once his friends cut the ropes under Ted's chair, the 42 balloons flew into the sky at an astonishing speed until about 4000 meters above the ground with Ted and his chair. He didn't shoot any of the balloons because he was afraid he might break the balanee of his "plane". Ted stayed in the sky with his beer and sandwiches for 14 hours, cold and frightened. Planes heading towards Los Angeles' busy international airport reported the strange sight. And Ted' s balloons caused great danger to them. At last, Ted gathered his courage to shoot a few balloons and slowly landed on the ground, where many policemen were waiting for him. Ted made his dream come true, but it cost him: he was fined $ 1,500 for breaking the law about air safety. When asked by a reporter why he had done it, Ted answered, "A man can't just sit around and do nothing; he should have his dream and go for it. " What are the answers to this following set of questions: 1. What did Ted want to do?
2. Did he join the Air Force?
3. Did he try?
4. When?
5. Why didn't he join?
6. When did Ted buy to help him fly?
7. What did he use for a seat?
8. Did he attach the balloons to his seat?
9. Was it tethered?
10. How old was he at this time?
11. What was his occupation?
12. After the chair was launched how fast did it fly?
13. What did he take with him?
14. Anything else?
15. What else?
16. What did he need that for?
17. What would that do?
18. How high did he intend to go?
19. How high did he go?
20. Did it cost him?
Answer: 1. fly
2. no
3. yes
4. After high school
5. poor eyesight.
6. balloons
7. a chair
8. yes
9. no
10. 33
11. truck driver
12. at an astonishing speed
13. beer
14. sandwiches
15. a gun
16. to shoot some balloons
17. get him back down
18. 10 meters above his garden
19. 4000 meters above the ground
20. yes

CHAPTER FOUR.

DIVERS MATTERS.

Charles Hazlit, Esquire, was a merchant and a shipowner, a landed proprietor, a manager of banks, a member of numerous boards and committees, a guardian of the poor, a volunteer colonel, and a good-humoured man on the whole, but purse-proud and pompous. He was also the father of Aileen.

Behold him seated in an elegant drawing-room, in a splendid mansion at the "west end" (strange that all aristocratic ends would appear to be west ends!) of the seaport town which owned him. His blooming daughter sat beside him at a table, on which lay a small, peculiar, box. He doated on his daughter, and with good reason. Their attention was so exclusively taken up with the peculiar box that they had failed to observe the entrance, unannounced, of a man of rough exterior, who stood at the door, hat in hand, bowing and coughing attractively, but without success.

"My darling," said Mr Hazlit, stooping to kiss his child--his only child--who raised her pretty little three-cornered mouth to receive it, "this being your twenty-first birthday, I have at last brought myself to look once again on your sainted mother's jewel-case, in order that I may present it to you. I have not opened it since the day she died. It is now yours, my child."

Aileen opened her eyes in mute amazement. It would seem as though there had been some secret sympathy between her and the man at the door, for he did precisely the same thing. He also crushed his hat somewhat convulsively with both hands, but without doing it any damage, as it was a very hard sailor-like hat. He also did something to his lips with his tongue, which looked a little like licking them. What are the answers to this following set of questions: 1. Is Charles Hazlit a busy guy?
2. Does he participate in charity?
3. Does he have a daughter?
4. What is her name?
5. How old is she?
6. When is her birthday?
7. Does he have a gift for her?
8. What is it?
9. Whose was it?
10. What kind of box is it?
11. Has it be a while since it was open?
12. when was the last time?
13. What kind of house do they have?
14. Where is it?
15. Of what kind of town?
16. What room are they in?
17. Does he have other kids?
18. Is someone else around?
19. Who?
20. What is he holdnig?
Answer:
1. yes
2. yes
3. yes
4. Aileen
5. 21
6. today
7. yes
8. a small, peculiar, box
9. her mother's
10. a jewel-case
11. yes
12. the day her mother died
13. a mansion
14. at the "west end"
15. a seaport town
16. a drawing-room
17. no
18. yes
19. a man of rough exterior
20. his hat