1 Reading
a Read the review of Nineteen Eighty-Four and tick (✓) the correct answer.
The reviewer thinks that …
a the book isn’t very interesting.
b the book is based on a true story.
c life in Oceania is described very well.
d the ending isn’t very good.
Nineteen Eighty-Four was written by George Orwell in 1949 and is set in the future, in 1984. After a nuclear war, Great Britain has become part of the totalitarian state of Oceania and everybody is controlled by the Party and its leader, Big Brother.
Although Winston Smith works for The Ministry of Truth, he secretly hates the Party and would like to oppose Big Brother. One day he meets and falls in love with Julia, a woman who also works at The Ministry of Truth and secretly hates Big Brother. However, it is very dangerous for Winston and Julia to have a relationship because love is illegal in Oceania.
Nineteen Eighty-Four is a really exciting novel. It’s interesting to read and it describes the world of Oceania and Big Brother very well, so you can really imagine what life is like in a future totalitarian state after a nuclear war. Winston and Julia are wonderful characters and their illegal love affair is described very well. You can really understand how they feel.
I couldn’t put the book down and I thought the ending was very clever. I can definitely recommend it. It’s the best novel I’ve read for ages!
b Read the review of Nineteen Eighty-Four again. Are the sentences true or false?
1 Big Brother is the leader of Oceania.
2 Everybody knows that Winston hates the Party.
3 The reviewer thinks that the story is a bit boring.
4 The reviewer thinks the descriptions of people’s lives in 1984 are very good.
5 The reviewer thinks Nineteen Eighty-Four is a book other people should read.
Answer
a c
b True: 1, 4, 5; False: 2, 3
2 Writing Skills – Positive and negative comments; Linking: although, however
Complete the sentences with although or however.
1 ……Although…… I enjoyed the novel, the story is quite complicated.
2 The descriptions of London during the war were so realistic. …………………, sometimes they were a bit long and dull.
3 The story was quite exciting, ………………… the book was too long for me to finish on holiday.
4 The characters were described very well. …………………, there are so many of them that sometimes I forgot who they were.
5 ………………… the ending was rather sad, I really enjoyed the book and would definitely recommend it.
6 It’s a brilliant book, ………………… the story is sometimes a bit hard to follow.
Answer
2 However 3 although 4 However 5 Although 6 although
3 Writing
Choose one of the following:
1 Write a review of a book you’ve read. Describe the characters, the descriptions and the story, and give your opinion of the book.
2 Read the notes below and write a review of the children’s novel, War Horse, by Michael Morpurgo.
Notes for book review
Book: War Horse
Author: Michael Morpurgo
Story summary:
– about horse called Joey, sold to British Army at beginning of First World War
– sent to France, ridden by Captain Nicholls
– Captain Nicholls killed in fighting, so Joey given to a younger soldier, Warren
– J becomes friends with another horse, Topthorn: lots of adventures
– later, J and T taken by Germans
– T killed, but J works for German army until end of war
Review:
– War Horse written for children, but really enjoyed it
– story: v. interesting
– characters: described v. well
– can imagine what WW1 was like
– beautiful story, but v. sad: made me cry
– happy ending: at end of war J returned to Albert (his original owner before J was sold to army)
– couldn’t put it down – definitely recommend …
Answer
Suggested answer
War Horse by Michael Morpurgo is the story of Joey, a horse that is sold to the British Army at the beginning of the First World War. He is sent to France and is ridden by Captain Nicholls. However, Captain Nicholls is killed in the fighting and Joey is given to a younger soldier called Warren. While he is with Warren, Joey becomes friends with another horse called Topthorn and they have lots of adventures during the war. Later in the story, Joey and Topthorn are taken by the Germans. Topthorn is killed, but Joey works for the German army until the end of the war.
Although this book was written for children, I really enjoyed it. The story is very interesting and the characters are described very well. You can really imagine what the First World War was like. It’s a beautiful story, although it’s also very sad and it made me cry. However, there is a happy ending because at the end of the war Joey is returned to Albert, who was his original owner before he was sold to the army. I couldn’t put the book down until I got to the end and I can definitely recommend it.
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