If it was not so cold the author would have

Directions: Read the passage and answer the question that follows.

It was a very cold evening and so few people were seen out on the streets. I did not go out myself although it was my habit not to keep indoors after sunset. So I closed all the doors and windows of my room, took the book which had been lying opened on the table, and tried to read it. The cold was getting so severe that I started shivering, so I wrapped myself up with a bigger blanket. But I could not continue reading the book because I was nearly rendered incapable of turning the pages.