1 Reading
a Read the beginning of a story. Put the events in the order they happened.
___ She walks to the hotel.
___ Jill finds evidence the hotel isn’t closed.
___ She asks for help.
___ Jill switches on a light.
_1_ Tony gets married.
___ Jill opens a letter.
___ Tony invites Jill to visit him.
___ She finds where the smell is coming from.
___ Jill’s car breaks down.
The hotel was in darkness. Feeling tired from the walk, I stopped and looked around. What was going on? The place was obviously open – there were some cars and an unfamiliar smell from somewhere. It was strange finding a hotel – I couldn’t remember seeing it on my map, but here it was.
If only my car hadn’t broken down in the middle of nowhere, making me look for help. The trip hadn’t been my idea. Tony had kept asking me to visit him and his new wife and I had finally agreed. ‘A few hours by car, Jill …’ Tony had said.
I called out: ‘Is anybody here? I need some help with my car.’ Silence. Feeling guilty, I went inside. That strange smell was getting stronger and I went towards it, almost falling over in the dark. Thankfully, I found a light switch and turned it on. I wish I hadn’t.
I saw a table with lots of food on, meat, vegetables, fruit, cakes. All of it had gone off and was rotten. Reaching for the door, I wanted to get out but I noticed something else on that terrible table: a letter marked ‘For Jill from Tony’. Inside it said simply, ‘You were too late for the party.’ What could it mean?
b Read the story again and tick (✓) the most appropriate answers.
1 How did Jill get to the hotel?
a By car.
b On foot. ✓
c It doesn’t say.
2 What could Jill smell when she got there?
a Something difficult to recognise.
b Something she instantly recognised.
c Something unpleasant.
3 How did Jill find the hotel?
a By following directions.
b From memory.
c By chance.
4 What happened to the car?
a There was a technical problem.
b There was an accident.
c It ran out of petrol.
5 Why did Jill criticise Tony?
a He had lied to her.
b He refused to visit her.
c He underestimated the journey.
6 What did Jill feel guilty about?
a Having negative feelings about Tony.
b Disturbing the hotel guests.
c Turning on the light.
7 What did Jill feel when she turned on the light?
a Relief.
b Respect.
c Regret.
8 What stopped Jill running out of the room?
a She saw the message.
b She smelled the food.
c The door was locked.
Answer
a 4, 5, 6, 7, 1, 9, 2, 8, 3
b 2 a 3 c 4 a 5 c 6 b 7 c 8 a
2 Writing Skills – Making a story interesting
a Match 1-6 with a-f to make sentences.
1 Walking away down the road, _d_
2 Holding my head in my hands,
3 Shouting at the top of my voice,
4 Feeling weak and dizzy,
5 Not being in the best of moods,
6 Listening for a warning signal,
a I began to cry.
b I had to sit down for a moment.
c I hid behind a tree and waited.
d I resisted the temptation to look back.
e I sat in a corner and ignored everyone.
f I tried to get her attention.
b Complete the pairs of sentences with the gerunds and verbs in the box.
|
feeling / felt hearing / heard hiding / hid holding / held realising / realised |
1 a ……Hearing…… her voice shouting ‘Come back’, I resisted the temptation to look back at her.
b Lying down on the ground and holding my breath, I ……heard…… someone walking a meter away from me.
2 a ……………….. weak and dizzy, I had to sit down for a moment.
b It ……………….. good to see Tom up and walking again after the accident.
3 a Darkness came and we soon ……………….. that we were completely lost.
b Not ……………….. my mistake, I carried on as if nothing had happened.
4 a Listening for a signal, I ……………….. behind a tree, waiting anxiously.
b It was a terrible day, ……………….. from the criminal who wanted to find him.
5 a The poor girl ……………….. her head in her hands, crying with frustration.
b An old man came up, ……………….. a cup which he then offered to me.
Answer
a 2 a 3 f 4 b 5 e 6 c
b 2 Felling, felt 3 realised, realising 4 hid, hiding 5 held, holding
3 Writing
Choose one of these first lines and continue the story. Write three paragraphs.
Looking into the terrible storm, I thought, ‘How are we going to get out of this?’ I shook hands and hurried away, hoping I’d never see him again.
Answer
Suggested answer
I shook hands and hurried away, hoping I’d never see him again. Jones had given me the information I wanted. It was all there on the flash drive, all for quite a reasonable price considering how valuable it would be to me. Well, not only me. Many people would be interested in what was going on in Wilkinsons and they would soon find out.
I had met Jones by chance in a café. Talking over a coffee, I soon found out that he worked for Wilkinsons, the company that had sacked me so unfairly. ‘My chance for revenge,’ I thought, putting some extra sugar in my coffee. We soon came to an arrangement. It was all very simple and logical: he was helping me with some information and I was helping somebody else who hated Wilkinsons.
I went home and looked at the files on my computer. ‘Wow! This is incredible!’ I said to myself, wondering how Jones had managed to get access to all this material. Suddenly the phone rang and I heard Jones’s voice. ‘Destroy the files!’ he had time to cry out before the phone went dead, leaving me frightened and confused. I had to make a decision, and fast.