— Yes, of course, Mrs. Howard, I mustn’t boast, but it really is a comfort to have such a hardworking boy as Robert.

— You needn’t apologize, Mrs. Parker. It’s very natural for you to feel proud. Will he go to the university, do you think?

— Well, he may, or he may not. You see, we can’t really tell until he takes his scholarship examination.

-Oh, I’m sure he’ll win a scholarship.

-Yes, we hope he will. He’s done well in all his exams up to now. But we daren’t count on his winning one. If he doesn’t win a scholarship he may go to a Technical college.

-Would he like to do that? What’s he studying now? Is he studying science?

-Yes, and I think he’s getting on quite well at it. He’s certainly working very hard. Why, this very afternoon, although it’s such a fine day, he’s been down at the library, working all the time.

-Hello, Mum. Good afternoon, Mrs. Howard. It’s lovely day, isn’t it? Well, the Rovers won, Mum.

-The Rovers, Robert? Why, where have you been?

-At the football match, of course.

-Haven’t you been at the library?

-No.

-But I thought…

 

-Don’t worry, Mrs. Parker. A library is quite the wrong place for a boy on such a fine afternoon.