Songs from the Soul: Stories from Around the World Retold by Jennifer Bassett
oxford bookworms LIbrArY stage 2 1 © oxford unIversItY press photocopIAbLe
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1 In which story can you find these things? Complicity, the Luck of Four, Chinna and Muthu, the Deceivers, treason.a A yellow butterfly. ………………b A little goat. ………………c A fat chicken. ………………d A lottery ticket. ………………e A computer. ………………
20 marks
2 Who said this? Match a number from A with a letter from B.
A
1 ___ ‘If you can catch one, you can have one.’
2 ___ ‘Hey, what login name are you using?’3 ___ ‘They say I haven’t got long, my love,
but you’ll be fine without me.’4 ___ ‘They don’t want to see me. They
disowned me years ago.’5 ___ ‘I don’t like it here, Pa, let’s go.’
B
a Emeka in The Strange Child.b Bill in With Sincere Intent.c Kanna in Treason.d Gbenga in The Deceivers.e Dan in Complicity.
20 marks
3 In which story do these things happen? With sincere Intent, the Luck of Four, treason, the strange Child, the evening train.a A husband tells his wife some funny
stories. ………………b A father says that his son is dead.
………………c A man becomes very ill and dies.
………………d A son talks excitedly about life in the city.
………………e A father keeps a terrible secret from his
daughter. ………………
20 marks
4 Are these sentences true (T) or false (F)?
a ___ Keshto wants to stay in the village and keep the same life.
b ___ Emma and Jimmy live on a farm in the country.
c ___ Samy always gives Chai free tea when he comes to the coffee-shop.
d ___ Samy learns that he has won some money.
e ___ Nachiappa Gounder kills the goat and then the rain suddenly starts.
f ___ Bill tells his wife the bad news immediately.
g ___ Linda has met her husband’s family before.
h ___ Kanna looks very pretty when she goes to the big house.
i ___ Kanna will stay and work for the ‘grandmother’.
j ___ Gbenga chats to an American man on the Internet.
20 marks
5 Who are these people? Match a name from A with a sentence from B.
A
1 ___ Keshto2 ___ Rose3 ___ Chai4 ___ Chinna5 ___ Gbenga
B
a … is always hoping for lucky numbers.b … wants to get money from a stranger.c … is a person with a secret.d … doesn’t want to lose his son.e … isn’t sure if his father is angry with him.
20 marks
total marks
Songs from the Soul: Stories from Around the World Retold by Jennifer Bassett
oxford bookworms LIbrArY stage 2 1 © oxford unIversItY press photocopIAbLe
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SettingChoose the best answer.
1 In The Evening Train, Keshto lives _____. a ■ on a large farm b ■ in a noisy city
c ■ in a small town d ■ in a quiet village2 Keshto makes and cooks delicious _____
cakes. a ■ rice b ■ potato c ■ tea d ■ chocolate 3 Emma and Jimmy in Complicity visit a _____
with their mother. a ■ farm b ■ shop c ■ mine d ■ house4 In The Luck of Four, Chai goes into Samy’s
_____ shop. a ■ book b ■ clothes c ■ coffee d ■ cake5 In Chinna and Muthu, there has been no
_____ in the village for a long time. a ■ rain b ■ work c ■ milk
d ■ hot weather6 In With Sincere Intent, Bill is in a _____. a ■ hotel b ■ hospital c ■ school
d ■ café7 In The Strange Child, Linda travels to
Emeka’s _____. a ■ village b ■ office c ■ room d ■ shop8 At the beginning of Treason, Pa tells Kanna
they are going to her _____ house. a ■ friend’s b ■ teacher’s c ■ cousin’s
d ■ grandmother’s9 The house in Treason is _____. a ■ old and untidy b ■ dark and ugly
c ■ big and beautiful d ■ small and pretty 10 Gbenga in The Deceivers is on a computer in
_____ in Nigeria. a ■ a library b ■ a cyber café c ■ an office
d ■ a hotel
20 marks
CharactersChoose the best answer.
11 Keshto’s son, Karthik, wants to go to _____. a ■ the city b ■ the sea c ■ a different
village d ■ a different country 12 Emma and Jimmy’s _____ had an accident at
the mine. a ■ neighbour b ■ father c ■ brother
d ■ uncle 13 Chai and Samy are _____. a ■ brothers b ■ cousins c ■ friends
d ■ workers in a café 14 Chai is _____. a ■ large and unhealthy b ■ ill and very thin
c ■ young and healthy d ■ old and small 15 Chinna is the son of the village _____. a ■ doctor b ■ chief c ■ teacher
d ■ postman 16 Bill and his wife _____. a ■ talk angrily b ■ don’t say anything
c ■ don’t talk much d ■ talk and laugh 17 Linda and Emeka have been married for
three _____. a ■ days b ■ weeks c ■ months
d ■ years 18 Linda has never met Emeka’s _____. a ■ family b ■ boss c ■ best friend
d ■ doctor 19 Kanna is _____ little girl. a ■ an unhappy b ■ an ill c ■ a pretty
d ■ a rich 20 In the chat room, Gbenga says he is _____. a ■ a guy from Nigeria b ■ a girl from
the US c ■ a student from Nigeria d ■ an architect from Kentucky
20 marks
Songs from the Soul: Stories from Around the World Retold by Jennifer Bassett
oxford bookworms LIbrArY stage 2 2 © oxford unIversItY press photocopIAbLe
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DialogueWho said this?
21 ‘I know a man in the city … He can help me to start a food stall. I will get rich …’
a ■ Keshto b ■ Karthik c ■ Behula d ■ one of the train passengers
22 ‘You know what we said … A chicken for a jug.’
a ■ Dan b ■ Johnny c ■ Jimmy d ■ Rose
23 ‘Not the man he was since that accident. Eh, Rose?’
a ■ Emma b ■ Jimmy c ■ Dan d ■ Johnny
24 ‘How about giving me one of your numbers? You always got good luck.’
a ■ Samy b ■ Chai c ■ a customer d ■ the kitchen-boy
25 ‘There is no need to be afraid. We will break a pumpkin for the Gods. It is a present from our land, from our own fields.’
a ■ Chinna b ■ the village priest c ■ Chinna’s father d ■ Chinna’s mother
26 ‘Do you know where to turn off the electricity in the house?’
a ■ one of the nurses b ■ Bill c ■ Bill’s wife d ■ Bill’s son
27 ‘I know nothing about your past life, or your family …’
a ■ Emeka b ■ Emeka’s father c ■ Emeka’s brother d ■ Linda
28 ‘She’ll learn. She’s very quick to learn.’ a ■ the maidservant b ■ the ‘grandmother’
c ■ Papa d ■ Kanna 29 ‘I hope you’ve told her everything. I don’t want
her crying and sobbing.’ a ■ Papa b ■ the maidservant c ■ Kanna
d ■ the ‘grandmother’ 30 ‘Can you please spell Prescott?’ a ■ the young guy sitting opposite Gbenga
b ■ Gbenga c ■ Celia d ■ a young woman in the café
20 marks
VocabularyChoose the best answer.
31 a small, simple building with only one room a ■ stall b ■ hut c ■ palace d ■ pond 32 when something is very, very big a ■ narrow b ■ tiny c ■ long d ■ huge 33 an area of short grass in a park or in front of
a house a ■ lawn b ■ yard c ■ hill d ■ mine 34 to cry very noisily a ■ chat b ■ sob c ■ wink d ■ nod 35 when food is very good and nice to eat a ■ disgusting b ■ beautiful c ■ delicious
d ■ cool 36 to laugh in a silly way a ■ shout b ■ giggle c ■ smile
d ■ whisper 37 a small wave on the water of a lake or pond a ■ ripple b ■ brake c ■ flash d ■ roll 38 a person who is the leader or boss of a group
of people a ■ guy b ■ government c ■ maidservant
d ■ chief 39 water that shoots up into the air, and then falls
down again a ■ waterfall b ■ lake c ■ fountain
d ■ river 40 to be slow to speak because you are not sure a ■ forgive b ■ chat c ■ puzzle
d ■ hesitate
20 marks
Songs from the Soul: Stories from Around the World Retold by Jennifer Bassett
oxford bookworms LIbrArY stage 2 3 © oxford unIversItY press photocopIAbLe
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49 When Pa leaves Kanna at the house, the _____ goes too.
a ■ pretty girl b ■ ‘grandmother’ c ■ maidservant d ■ yellow butterfly
50 Gbenga thinks that he is chatting to an American man, but he’s really talking to a _____.
a ■ young Nigerian woman b ■ Nigerian detective c ■ man in the same cyber café d ■ one of his good friends
20 marks
Total marks
PlotChoose the best answer.
41 At the end of The Evening Train, Keshto understands that his son will _____.
a ■ stay in the village b ■ leave the village c ■ stop making potato cakes d ■ sell his food stall
42 Emma looks at her mother. She thinks she has _____.
a ■ a secret b ■ some good news c ■ a lot of money d ■ a serious illness
43 Samy knows that the number four sounds like ‘_____’ in Chinese.
a ■ good luck b ■ good health c ■ a new job d ■ death
44 When Samy watches TV, he learns that _____. a ■ he has won money
b ■ Chai has won money c ■ Chai is very ill d ■ Chai has died
45 Chinna likes the goat and he takes it to _____. a ■ his house b ■ the village priest
c ■ a secret place d ■ his father 46 At the end of Chinna and Muthu, there is
_____. a ■ a big blue sky b ■ some rain
c ■ some very hot weather d ■ some cold weather
47 Bill tells his wife that he’s going to _____. a ■ die soon b ■ come home c ■ get better
d ■ help her with the house 48 When Linda speaks to Emeka’s father, she
learns that Emeka _____ three years ago. a ■ was very ill b ■ ran away c ■ died
d ■ had a son