Summer Holidays at the Beach (Topic: Summer)

Summer holidays at the beach

Many Australian families spend their summer holidays at the beach. My family usually go camping on the Great Ocean Road or we visit my grandparents who live on the Gold Coast. Either way, we often spend the whole day at the beach. We build sand castles and play with our beach ball in the shallow water. Sometimes I look after my little sister. She hasn't learnt to swim yet and therefore she has to wear a swim ring in the water. My mum makes us put sunscreen on every two hours, even if it's not sunny or we're sitting in the shade. The sun is very strong in Australia and she doesn’t want us to get sunburnt. That’s why we always have to wear sunglasses and a hat as well. My silly brother usually puts on way too much sunscreen. He thinks it’s funny.

Sometimes we eat fish and chips on the foreshore, I love it! But I love it even more when my parents pack a picnic and we eat together as the sun sets over the water. After dinner mum sometimes buys us ice creams. While we wait, I sit in a beach chair and my dad sleeps in a hammock strung up between two palm trees. Once there was a dog that had crept over and was quietly trying to eat the rest of our picnic, no one noticed what was about to happen. Luckily mum saw the dog as she was returning with our ice creams. In a rush to shoo the dog away she tripped on my little sister’s bucket and an ice cream flew out of her hand, arched through the air and landed directly on my head. Eeeck, what a mess! Never mind. At least I was able to wash it off in one of the beach showers.

Hooray for mum! She had saved the picnic from the dog and she even gave me her ice cream!

Reading Comprehension Questions

Read the text. Are the following statements true or false?

1. Australian families often go to the Gold Coast for the summer holidays.[In the text: Many Australian families spend their summer holidays at the beach.]
   
   • True
   • False
2. We put sunscreen on twice a day.[In the text: My mum makes us put sunscreen on every two hours, even if it's not sunny or we're sitting in the shade. The sun is very strong in Australia and she doesn't want us to get sun burnt.]
   
   • True
   • False
3. The story teller likes eating fish and chips more than having a picnic.[In the text: Sometimes we eat fish and chips on the foreshore, I love it! But I love it even more when my parents pack a picnic and we eat together as the sun sets over the water.]
   
   • True
   • False
4. The family gives their picnic leftovers to their dog.[In the text:Once there was a dog that had crept over and was quietly trying to eat the rest of our picnic, no one noticed what was about to happen.]
   
   • True
   • False
5. Not everybody ate an ice-cream.[In the text: Hooray for mum! She had saved the picnic from the dog and she even gave me her ice-cream!]
   
   • True
   • False