The house looked deserted. It seemed that nobody had lived in it for many years. But they had no choice. It was raining cats and dogs and strong winds were starting to blow. They quickly needed to hide from the coming storm.
As they were coming to the door, Mark noticed that someone moved the curtain at one of the windows.
‘Guys, I think we’re being watched,’ said Mark to others.
‘How do you know?’ asked Jack.
‘I saw that the curtain in one of the windows moved. I think somebody was standing at the window and watching us.’
Jack looked at the other two friends. Harry had an injured leg and he had to take some rest.
‘We have no choice. We are going in. If there are people living here, they will let us wait out the storm inside, I hope,’ said Jack. ‘Let’s knock on the door and see what happens.’
When they came to the big wooden door, they noticed that there was no door handle. And there was no keyhole either!
‘That’s strange, isn’t it?’ said Mark and looked at Jack.
‘Yeah,’ said Jack and knocked on the door three times. There was no answer. ‘Hello! Is somebody at home? We need some help, please,’ shouted Jack but again, nobody replied.
He looked at Mark and other and then he knocked at the door again, this time much stronger.
As he touched the door, it suddenly opened and they could smell old dusty air, which was coming from inside. Jack pushed the door. The old hinges creaked as the door opened. There was nobody inside. Only darkness and dusty air.
‘Hello,’ shouted Jack to the darkness, but there was no reply.
‘Let’s go,’ he said, and stepped into the house.
to have no choice /tʃɔɪs/ (nemať na výber) – to be in a situation where you have to do something
rain cats and dogs – (liať ako z krhly) – to rain very heavily
curtain /ˈkɜːtn/ – (záves/záclona) – a piece of cloth that is hung to cover a window
injured /ˈɪndʒəd/ – (zranený) – physically hurt; having an injury
handle /ˈhændl/ – (kľučka) – the part of a door, window, etc. that you use to open it
keyhole /ˈkiːhəʊl/ – (kľúčna dierka) the hole in a lock that you put a key in
dusty /ˈdʌsti/ – (zaprášený, prašný) – full of dust; covered with dust
hinge /hɪndʒ/ – (pánt) – a piece of metal, plastic, etc. on which a door, lid or gate moves freely as it opens or closes
creak /kriːk/ – (škrípať) – to make the sound that a door sometimes makes when you open it or that a wooden floor sometimes makes when you step on it
Sparrow's English Reader 