Out of the Ashes Reading Answers

Out of the ashes

Uppark, a huge eighteenth-century home in Sussex, caught fire on the afternoon of August 30, 1989. Builders had been fixing the lead on the top for a year and, ironically, were planned to finish the next day, August 31st. The fire department was on the scene within fifteen minutes of the alarm being called, yet nothing from the superb collection on the first floor stayed except an oil painting of a dog that the firemen picked up as they withdrew from the fire.

95 percent of the contents from the ground floor and basement were saved thanks to the bravery and fast action of the previous owners, the Meade-Featherstonhaugh family, and the staff, stewards, and visitors to the house, who formed human chains to pass the valuable porcelain, furniture, and paintings out onto the lawn. The National Trust's conservators were mobilised as the blaze raged on, and local stationers were notably opened that evening to produce the large supplies of blotting paper that were badly required in the rescue process.

Uppark was totally available to the sky the next morning. The bottom floor and basement were covered in a sludge of wet charcoal, and burnt and fallen beams lay among the smoke in every room.  It had been a stage of full destruction. Following the initial shock, the days following the fire were full of findings. The National Trust's archaeologists and conservators sprung into action, first laying out the site in a grid and then recovering everything down to the last door handle with the help of volunteers. Each fragment's location was documented, and the waste was placed in a plethora of dustbins before being transmitted and organised.

The Red Room carpet, thought to be completely gone, was found covered around the remains of a piano three weeks later, and there was huge excitement when remnants of the lantern from the Staircase Hall were rescued out of the debris of two fallen floors. There was also a fortunate saving for the State Bed. Staff who had fled the scene at 3 a.m. on the night of the fire thought it would be lost forever, but when they returned the next morning, it was mostly unharmed. The silk-hung bed was dismantled and passed out piece by piece by firemen, who were overseen by the National Trust's conservators from outside the Tapestry Room window. The ceiling caved in twenty minutes later.

The effort of fixing Uppark was unmatched in the National Trust's history. The first question was whether it should even be done. Whatever had not been damaged by the fire had to be left exposed to the elements. After contacting several professionals and obtaining permission from the National Trust's Executive Committee, the restoration work started within a month. It was carried out for three primary reasons. Following the fire, it became clear how much of the structure, with its lavishly painted interiors, survived, to destroy the house, as one critic urged, would have been vandalism.

Furthermore, because the house was insured, the repairs would not need the National Trust to use its own assets. Finally, much of Sir Matthew Featherstonhaugh's and his son Harry's amazing collection acquired expressly for Uppark in 1747, had been spared. These antiques belonged nowhere else, and restoring the house to its original state would allow them to be seen and enjoyed once more.

Question 1 - 6

Choose the correct letter, A - D.

1. Builders had been repairing the lead on the roof for a year and, ironically, were scheduled 

A. to finish within a week
B. to finish on the next morning
C. to finish the next day
D. to finish with two days

2. Nothing from the magnificent collection on the first floor survived except 

A. an oil painting of a dog 
B. a boy struggled 
C. a barking dog
D. a crying baby

3. People on the ground floor and basement were saved thanks to the courage and quick 

A. action of the firefighters
B. action of the previous owners
C. action of the current owners
D. action of the neighbours

4. Uppark was completely open to the 

A. everyone
B. all children
C. all people around them
D. sky the next morning

5. After contacting several experts and receiving approval from the National Trust's Executive Committee, the restoration work began

A. in the next day
B. within a year
C. within a week
D. within a month

6. Restoring the house to its original state would allow them to be 

A. living happily
B. seen and enjoyed once more.
C. missing the old house
D. get together with everyone

1. C. to finish the next day 

Explanation: Paragraph 1 - Builders had been fixing the lead on the top for a year and, ironically, were planned to finish the next day, August 31st. 

2. A. an oil painting of the dog 

Explanation: Paragraph 1 - The fire department was on the scene within fifteen minutes of the alarm being called, yet nothing from the superb collection on the first floor stayed except an oil painting of a dog that the firemen picked up as they withdrew from the fire.

3. B. action of the previous owners 

Explanation: Paragraph 2 - 95 percent of the contents from the ground floor and basement were saved thanks to the bravery and fast action of the previous owners,...

4. D. sky the next morning

Explanation: Paragraph 3- Uppark was totally available to the sky the next morning.

5. D. within a month

Explanation: Paragraph 5 -  After contacting several professionals and obtaining permission from the National Trust's Executive Committee, the restoration work started within a month. 

6. B. seen and enjoyed once more 

Explanation: Paragraph 6 - These antiques belonged nowhere else, and restoring the house to its original state would allow them to be seen and enjoyed once more.