Lesson 6: The Boat in the Storm
That night, Nora could not sleep. The light in the boat was still in her mind.
Suddenly, she heard a loud noise outside. The wind was strong, and the sea was rough. Sam woke up quickly.
“Did you hear that?” he asked.
They looked out of the window and saw something strange. The old boat was back. It was moving across the dark water without anyone inside.
Nora felt afraid, but she wanted to know the truth. They quietly left the house and ran toward the beach.
When they arrived, the storm became stronger. The waves crashed against the rocks. Then, the boat stopped near the shore.
Sam stepped forward and touched it.
Inside, they found a small metal box.
Vocabulary Summary
storm | noise | rough | dark | afraid | truth | quietly | arrive | crash | shore | step | touch | metal | box | suddenly
Grammar: Past Simple (was / were + regular verbs)
We use the Past Simple to talk about finished actions in the past.
Verb “to be” in the past:
- I / He / She / It → was
- You / We / They → were
Examples from the story:
- The sea was rough.
- The wind was strong.
- They were afraid.
Regular verbs in the past: Most verbs add -ed
- arrive → arrived
- touch → touched
- want → wanted
Examples:
- They arrived at the beach.
- Sam touched the boat.
- Nora wanted to know the truth.
Negative:
We use did not (didn’t) + base verb
- They did not see anyone.
- She didn’t sleep.
Questions:
- Did you hear that?
- Did they find the box?
Short answers:
- Yes, they did.
- No, they didn’t.