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While readingIntroduction1 Read the Introduction in your book. Then

close your book and try to answer these questions. Check your answers in the book.

a In what year was Montague Rhodes James born?

b What did his father do? c Where did he go to university? d What did he do at Christmas every year?

the ash-tree2 Decide if the people in the story should have

done these things or not. Explain your answer. a Hang Mrs Mothersole b Cut the tree down c Sir Richard: move to his grandfather’s room d Start building on the graveyard e Open the bible again

a school story3 Are the following sentences true (T) or

false (F)? a John tells Edgar a story about his

school days. c b Sampson had travelled a lot and told

his students stories about places he’d been to. c

c The gold coin had the letters G.W.S. and the date 24 July 1865 on both sides of it. c

d Samson got very frightened when he read the paper with red ink on it. c

e McCleod saw Sampson make a sign to the tall, thin man. c

f The boys at the school never saw Sampson again. c

g Edgar visits Ireland five years after John tells him the story. c

h His friend found an empty well in the corner of his garden. c

the Curtains4 Complete this summary of the story. Use one

of the following words in each gap. moving realises hair curtains terrified copying show instead

One day while James Denton is in London to buy some (a) ………………, he goes into a bookshop, where he buys a book. When he gets home, his aunt is not pleased that he has bought another book (b) ……………… of curtains. However, the next day she begins to (c) ……………… some interest in a drawing pinned inside the book and James suggests (d) ……………… it to make the curtains. A few weeks later, when the curtains are in his home, James can’t stop looking at them because he feels they are (e) ……………… . The next night, he wakes up and (f ) ……………… that something is in his room. It is nearly human but has no face – only (g) ……………… . He rushes to his friend’s room, (h) ……………… .

the Flies5 Look at this list of words. Do they belong to

Mr Davis or the young man? quiet, handkerchief, pale, heart, hanging, annoyed,

polite, rude Write sentences about the two characters using

these words.

the locked room6 The sentences below tell the story in the

order in which things happened. Use them to re-tell the story in this order.

a rich man lived in tall red house b murdered for money c stone moved d ghost in bedroom e house made into pub f student finds locked room g owners tell student story h student stays with writer i house empty and garden untidy

the Painting of—ngley Hall7 Answer the following questions. a Who is Mr Bentnall? b Describe the painting Mr Williams buys. c Five people notice changes in the painting.

Who are they? d Who used to own Anningley Hall? e Why did the Gawdy family want revenge?

What did they do?

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8 Complete the article about the Francis family. stealing used to be has seen disappeared was caught was shocked September 1802 Mystery and Horror in Anningley Anningley Hall (a) ……………… yesterday by

the disappearance of a small baby: the youngest member of the Francis family. This (b) ……………… the country home of this family for a long time: an impressive house in a beautiful park next to the church. However, no members of this family are now living; the last baby boy of the family (c) ……………… mysteriously last night.

Nobody (d) ……………… who took the baby but people suspect that it was a member of the Gawdy family. Some time ago, Tom Gawdy (e) ……………… stealing by Sir John Francis, the father of the child, and Gawdy was hanged for his crime. People say that the Gawdy family wanted revenge and that they took it by (f ) ……………… the last child of the Francis family.

lost Hearts9 Answer the following questions. a What makes Mr Abney want to kill three

children? ……………………………………………… b In his dream, who does Stephen see in the

bath? ……………………………………………… c Why does the story end happily for Stephen? ………………………………………………

10 Which of the following adjectives describe the character or feelings of the people in the story? The number of adjectives for each person is in brackets. Look up unsociable in your dictionary.

comfortable to be with excited friendly frightened nervous uneasy unsociable angry worried a Mr Abney (1) b Mrs Bunch (3), c Stephen (3), d Parkes (2)

Martin’s lake11 Fill the gaps in these sentences. a Old John Hill is …………………… by the

writer and his friend to tell the story about Martin’s Lake.

b Ann worked at the hotel. She was an …………………… young girl and not very …………………… .

c George Martin came to the hotel every …………………… . Ann used to hear him singing the song and …………………… out to meet him.

d George Martin’s parents found a …………………… for him, but when she found out about ……………………, she …………………… to marry him. George Martin …………………… ever meeting Ann.

e A week later, Ann …………………… .

12 Answer these questions. a After Ann disappears, what does George

Martin do that makes it seem likely that he murdered Ann? Name three things.

……………………………………………… b What happens to George Martin? ………………………………………………

the two Cousins13 Match a–e with 1–5 to complete the

sentences. a ‘I didn’t see him very well …. . b ‘If you’ll wait for a moment …. . c ‘Well, yes, I did fall …. . d ‘I looked more closely at him this time …. . e ‘No, he hasn’t been back here himself …. . 1) and it was because I saw something.’ 2) but he did send me some money and

asked me to send him a book.’ 3) I’ll run and get it for you now.’ 4) but I think he was an elderly man, quite

short, wearing a black coat.’ 5) and saw that his skin was dry and brown

and dusty.’

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Progress testlevel 4 Teacher Support Programme

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the ash-tree1 What happened first? Number the sentences, 1–9.

a c Sir Matthew sees some kind of animal running down the ash-tree.

b c He orders some of his servants to cut the ash tree down the next day.

c c Sir Richard Fell meets William Crome.d c That night, Sir Matthew dies. His body is

completely black.e c Sir Richard’s body is found, dead and

completely black.f c The people see something that looks like an

enormous spider, coming out of the ash-tree.g c Sir Matthew and the vicar go for a walk in the

gardens of Castringham Hall.h c The servants lock Sir Matthew’s room that day

and it stays locked up for the next forty years.i c Sir Matthew decides that Mrs Mothersole is a

witch and has to die.

2 Which story do these sentences belong to? Write the name next to each sentence. The Curtains A School Story The Fliesa Mr Sampson carried an old gold coin which he

found on a trip to Turkey. ……………………b ‘Don’t tell me you’ve bought more horrible books,

James.’ ……………………c People say there are bodies under those

old stones: the bodies of dead soldiers ……………………

d The thing came up to him: no eyes, no nose, no mouth. Only hair. ……………………

e We were not allowed to use red ink: it was against the rules. ……………………

the locked room3 Match a–e and 1–5 to complete the sentences.

a A young student once arrived at …. .b The locked room had no carpets and no pictures.

There was only …. .c He made a plan: he would see the room again just

before he took …. .d The pile of old clothes walked towards him with

…. .e Nobody would want to stay in the pub if they

heard about …. . 1) a bed in the corner. 2) a knife in its jacket and dried blood down its

shirt.

3) the four o’clock train. 4) the strange thing in the room. 5) a public house to spend some quiet time.

the Painting of—gley Hall and lost Hearts4 Choose the correct answer.

a Mr Williams decided he would return the picture to the shop because …. .

1) it was too expensive. 2) he hadn’t ordered it from the shop. 3) it was just an ordinary country house and three

letters in a corner.b How did the picture change? …. . 1) First there was a person, then it was on his

hands and knees and finally it carried a baby. 2) First the house had three rows of windows,

then only two. 3) First there was a baby, then it disappeared.c People were surprised when Mr Abney offered to

take care of his cousin because …. . 1) they thought he was too old for that. 2) they thought he loved books more than people 3) he asked too many questions.d After Mrs Bunch told him about the little boy and

girl who disappeared, Stephen …. . 1) left the house because he was afraid. 2) had a very frightening dream about a body in

the bath. 3) went out to look for the two children.e The ghosts of the little children came back …. . 1) to kill Mr Abney. 2) to read the book about black magic 3) to become the new owners of the house.

Martin’s lake and the two Cousins5 Are these sentences true (T) or false (F)? Correct

the wrong ones. a George Martin did not marry the beautiful

rich lady because he was in love with Ann. c

b He killed Ann and then was hanged for this. c

c Every time Garrett wanted to get the book for Mr Eldred, it was not in its place. c

d He had to take a holiday because of the horrible thing he saw in the library. c

e The book contained a secret map. c