Dave's ESL Cafe's Student Discussion Forums

[fw]

Hello everyone.

Here is a comprehension-check type question that I found in the unified university entrance exam done in Japan last Saturday.

Is sentence #1 below true or false according to the passage below? The passage, which I have adapted a little, is originally from some novel. It goes as follows.

My mother and I went into mountains to spend a day by a stream and I accidentally had my fingers injured there. We had to see a doctor in town immediately, but there was no car available. We were all scared. Just then, a small blue truck came up the road in front of us. Mom started waving and yelling, and the truck stopped. The driver took us to a doctor in town.

1. A truck approached us from behind us.

The given answer was FALSE, but I am not certain about it.
My question is: When you read the passage above, does every one of you imagine the truck approaching �us� NOT from behind �us�? It seems to me that the possibility of the truck approaching �us� from behind �us� can�t be excluded. What do you think?

Best regards,
fw

[Sirius]

If the truck "came up the road in front of us" then how could it have approached you from behind?

[lotus]

Hi fw,

Sirius' logic is impeccable.

However, I believe the sentence was poorly written and that your instincts are correct.

Let's change "just then" to "suddenly" and look at the sentence.
Suddenly, a small blue truck came up the road in front of us.

First, how does a truck "suddenly" come up to you if it has been in your view for some time? Secondly, most people (in the U.S.) walk on the right side of the road when they are stranded. If the car was coming from the opposite side of a two lane road, (and it didn't do a U-turn to come from behind), it would have to illegally (and dangerously) cross the road median and pull up right in front of you, head on!

In the U.S., when a vehicle comes up on the road next to you, it usually means it's coming from behind. Example:

A hitchhiker walked down the road and stuck his thumb out to hitch a ride. He walked for a long time without anyone picking him up. Suddenly, a Volkswagon, coming up the road, pulled next to him. The driver asked him if he needed a ride. The hitchhiker said "yes" and climbed aboard.

Let's say he was hitchhiking on a one-lane country road. If he noticed a vehicle in front of him, you might say:
Suddenly, he noticed a vehicle down the road. He waved furiously and the vehicle stopped in front of him.

Let's go back to the last part of the original paragraph.

"We were all scared. Just then, a small blue truck came up the road in front of us. Mom started waving and yelling, and the truck stopped. The driver took us to a doctor in town."

The sequence of events:
1. truck came up the road "in front" of them
2. mom started waving and yelling
3. truck stopped

Why would mom need to "wave and yell" if the truck was in front of them already? The truck couldn't go anywhere if it was a one lane road.
It's more likely that it was a two lane road and that the truck was "passing" in front of them. That's why mom had to wave and yell.

I believe the author meant to say:
"Just then, a small blue truck came up the road and passed in front of us. Mom started waving and yelling, and the truck stopped."

This is a very common scenario.


--lotus

[fw]

Thank you, Sirius and lotus, for your comments.

They are really interesting; especially the one from lotus is.

fw