Complete the text with words or phrases below:
were on the point of / would / was to be / were supposed to / were leaving /
was going to be /
were going to be / was about to say
Florence Bell
Florence Bell was born on the first day of 1900. As one of eight children, she left school at the age of 14.
'In those days, young girls (1)
____
were supposed to
help
their mothers around the house,' she remembers. She was never terribly keen on school anyway: 'It was very
strict,' she says. 'I remember the headmistress bringing us all into her study, as we (2)
____
were leaving
school the next day. She said this (3)
____
was going to be
the worst day of our lives....
I (4)
____
was about to say
"No it isn't, it's the best!",
but I decided to keep quiet. You couldn't afford to be cheeky in those days.'
At the age of 16, she met Leslie parsons, the man who (5)
____
would
later become her husband. After becoming engaged in 1918,they (6)
____
were on the point of
getting married in 1920, when Leslie lost his job and the wedding
had to be postponed. 'We always knew things (7)
____
were going to
be
hard.' said Florence. 'Finding a job was very difficult in those days.' It was eight years before Leslie
and Florence could finally afford to marry: soon afterward they moved into the small terraced house in north London
which (8)
____
was to be
their home for the next sixty-five years.
Neither of them ever had any desire to move.
'Yes, I've enjoyed it on the whole. The only thing is, if I came back, I'd have a bit more money.'