Helen was going to have her first baby very soon. One evening it was time to take her to the hospital, so her husband, Sam, helped her get into the car and drove her there. A nurse took Helen to her room and told Sam that he could go home and she would call him when the baby arrived, but Sam said he would rather wait at the hospital. The nurse smiled and said, "There's a waiting room at the end of the hall."

Sam was walking anxiously up and down in the corridor at about midnight when the nurse came out of his wife's room and said, with a happy smile, "Which would you have preferred, a boy or a girl?"

"A girl," answered the husband. "I have an older sister, and she was always very kind to me when I was a child."

"Well," said the nurse, "It's a boy this time."

"That's all right," answered Sam cheerfully. "That was my second choice."

A      Answer these questions:

1. Why did Sam take Helen to the hospital?
2. What did a nurse tell Sam?
3. What did Sam say to her?
4. What was Sam doing at about midnight?
5. What did the nurse ask him?
6. Why would he have preferred a girl?
7. What did the nurse say then?
8. And what did Sam answer?

B     Which words in the story mean the opposite of:

1. calmly
2. cruel
3. liked less
4. sadly
5. younger

C      Complete the second sentence in each pair (both sentences have the same meaning):

Example: a. The nurse told Sam, "I'll call you when the baby arrives."

                b. The nurse said that she would call Sam when the baby arrived.

1. a. "It's time for you to go to the hospital," Sam said to Helen.

    b. "It's time you _____________________,"Sam said to Helen

2. a. "It's too bad that I don't have a more comfortable car to take you in," Sam said.

    b. "I wish I _______________________________," Sam said.

3. a. "It's silly for you to worry so much!" Helen answered, laughing.

    b. "If only you ________________________!" Helen answered, laughing.

4. a. Sam had said, "I prefer to have a daughter first," but actually Helen had a son.

  b. Sam _______________it if Helen _________________ a daughter first, but actually she had a son.

5. a. It's too bad that there aren't two babies, because then they would be company for each other!

   b. If there _____________________, they _________________________.