501 Critical Reading Questions

Critical Reading Questions
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35)
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With a smile that was graveyard of yellow sincerity, Nigel pushed
the dish back to me and said, “I’d get used to the grub, mate. It ain’t
so bad. Besides, this is the freshest it’ll be on the voyage.”
After dinner, Nigel showed me our berth. It was a tiny lightless cub-
byhole near the bow of the boat that was barely six feet long and only
five feet high. There was a small area where I could stow my clothes,
and at night we would string up our hammocks side by side with two
other boys, both of whom were on duty at the moment.
That night when we were under way, the boat ran into a vicious
Atlantic storm. The waves tossed the 
Alba
around like it was a tiny raft.
The ship made such noises; I was afraid it would simply break apart at
any moment. The seawater that crashed upon the deck leaked through
the planks and dripped upon my head. It would have bothered me if
I were not already horribly seasick. As I lay there miserably rocking
back and forth in my damp hammock, I asked myself, “What have I
gotten myself into?”
450.
According to both passages, it is not uncommon for ships to