SEVENTH GRADE
The Hunger Games: Book review
Read the following story. Then answer questionnaire about it.
Luciana met John in the Holy Week of 2004. It was Luciana’s 21st
birthday and she and her friends went to a club. They wanted to dance, but they
didn’t like the music so Luciana went to speak to the DJ. ‘This music is
awful,’ she said. ‘Could you play something else? The DJ looked at her and said
‘Don’t worry; I have the perfect song for you.’
Two minutes later he said: ‘The next song is by Coldplay. It’s called
Yellow and it’s for a beautiful girl who is dancing over there.’ Luciana knew
that the song was for her because she was wearing a yellow dress. When Luciana
and her friends left the club the DJ was waiting at the door. ‘Hi, I’m John,’
he said to Luciana. ‘Can I see you again?’ So Luciana gave him her phone
number.
Next day John phoned Luciana and invited her to dinner. He took her to a
very romantic French restaurant and they talked all evening. After that John
and Luciana saw each other every day. Every evening when Luciana finished work
they met at 5.30 in a coffee bar in the High Street. They were madly in love.
One evening in October, Luciana was at work. As usual she was going to
meet John at 5.30. It was dark and it was raining. She looked at her watch. It
was 5:20 p.m.! She was going to be late! She ran to her car and got in. At 5:25
she was driving along the High Street. She was going very fast because she was
in a hurry.
Suddenly, a man ran across the road. He was wearing a dark coat so
Luciana didn’t see him until it was too late. Although she tried to stop, she
hit the man. Luciana panicked. She didn’t stop and she drove to the coffee bar
as fast as she could. But when she arrived John wasn’t there. She phoned him,
but his mobile was turned off, so she waited for ten minutes and then went
home.
Two hours later a police car arrived at Luciana’s house. A policewoman
knocked at the door. ‘Good evening, Madam,’ she said, ‘Are you Luciana Guerreo?
I’d like to speak to you. Can I come in?’.
EIGHT GRADE
Introduction
The Hunger Games is a book by the American author Suzanne Collins. It was published in 2008 and has sold millions of copies. It is the first book for young readers to sell a million electronic books and you can buy it in 26 different languages. The Hunger Games is now a very successful film. It made 152.5 million dollars in its first weekend in North America!
A Fight to the Death
The story is set in the future, after the destruction of North America. The country is called Panem. There are twelve poor districts governed by the rich Capitol. There was a thirteenth district in the past but the Capitol destroyed them because they rebelled.
The Capitol organises the Hunger Games every year to punish the districts. One boy and one girl aged 12 to 18 fight in a battle. Only one person will live. The chosen teenagers are called “tributes”. The whole country must watch the games on television.
The story is about Katniss Everdeen, a sixteen-year-old girl. Her father died and now she has to kill animals for her family to eat. Her younger sister, Prim, is chosen to be a “tribute”, but Katniss volunteers to go instead. The other “tribute” from District 12 is a boy named Peeta.
Where did the idea for The Hunger Games come from?
One night in 2003, Suzanne Collins was watching TV. It was at the time of the US invasion of Iraq. The only programmes she could find on TV were ‘reality’ programmes of young people competing to win a million dollars and news programmes about the war. Suzanne says that the two things started to mix together in her head and she had the idea for The Hunger Games.
She has always found news programmes of wars upsetting. When she was a child, her father was a pilot in the US airforce and he fought in Vietnam. It was a very frightening experience for her.
Too much violence?
Some parents in the US have complained about the violence in the book. But Suzanne says she was very worried about how much violence we see on TV nowadays. Suzanne is also worried about the amount of reality TV we watch. “We put too much of our lives on TV,” she says. “And we care less for people because of this.” She said that writing about death and violence in the story was the hardest thing for her to do and she hopes it will make people think about what they watch in future.
Brendan Dunne
- See more at: http://learnenglishteens.britishcouncil.org/study-break/easy-reading/hunger-games-book-review-level-1#sthash.EM7Np6wq.dpuf
QUESTIONS
NINETH GRADE
LOVE IS BLIND
Deshi likes the girl, but does she like Deshi?
Hi Lang
I’m writing in English to practise. I’m sorry I didn’t answer your email. I started school the day after we arrived in Boston and I’ve got too much work to do. I hate it here. I can’t understand what people are saying. The accent is very strange.
I miss Shanghai and I miss playing in the band with you. I try to practise the guitar, but the neighbour who lives opposite is angry because his daughter plays the violin and he said the noise disturbs her. I saw her staring out of the window at me. I think she hates me too. She’s really beautiful...
Hey, I’ve got to stop. My mum just came back from work and I haven’t finished my homework.
Please write back soon. I want to hear about what you’re doing in London. Can you understand the accent?
Deshi
PS: I think I’m in love!
Deshi turned off the computer and opened his English book, but it was difficult to concentrate on irregular verbs. He couldn’t stop thinking about the girl in the building opposite. She had beautiful eyes. He opened his bedroom window and looked across the street. Her window was open too and he could hear her practising classical music on her violin. She was very good. “She probably hates rock music!” thought Deshi. “Have you finished your homework?” Deshi’s mum opened the door. “Quick! Dinner is in half an hour!” He wasn’t hungry.
Deshi couldn’t sleep that night and he was late for school the next morning. He ran out of the house and there she was! She was sitting in her dad’s car with the window open. Deshi dropped his schoolbag and she turned to look at him. He couldn’t move. Her eyes were green. He’d never seen anyone with green eyes before. He smiled at her but she just stared at him like he didn’t exist. Deshi could feel his face turning red. He picked up his bag and ran for the bus.
School didn’t go well that day. He failed a maths test and the English teacher shouted at him for not concentrating. At lunch time, he wasn’t hungry. The food in the cafeteria just made him feel sick. And then he had to stay late after school for extra English and missed the bus. He decided to walk home. He was crossing the park near his street, thinking about his school back in Shanghai and how he missed it. Then, he saw her. She was sitting on a bench with her dog. “Oh no, she’s seen me,” he thought. He waved at her but she just ignored him again. “Idiot!” he said to himself. “Why did I wave? Now she really hates me.” Later that evening, Deshi was practising his guitar with the headphones on. His friends in Shanghai thought he was very good but now he didn’t want anyone to hear him playing. He was thinking about getting a a classical guitar when his mum came into the room. She had a letter in her hand. “The postman made a mistake,” she said. “This is for the building across the street. Can you take it over while I’m making dinner?” “OK, mum!” said Deshi.
Deshi thought about how unhappy he was as he went down the stairs. His mum had no time for him, she was always working. School was really difficult and he had no friends in Boston. He was outside the building opposite when the door opened. “Oh no, it’s her!” he thought. The girl was about to come down the steps when she dropped something. Without thinking, Deshi picked it up. “Hello?” she said, frightened. “Who’s there?” Deshi was confused. “Er, I live across the street.” “Are you the boy who plays the guitar?” she said. “Hi, I’m Helen. I really like your music and I’m sorry my dad complained.” Deshi looked at what he was holding. It was a white stick. She was blind.
Brendan Dunne
- See more at: http://learnenglishteens.britishcouncil.org/study-break/easy-reading/love-blind-level-1#sthash.gJaPtrXt.dpuf
TENTH GRADE
THE CANTERVILLE GHOST
When the American, Mr Otis, bought Canterville Castle, everyone told him that this was very foolish, as the place was haunted. But Mr Otis answered, “I come from a modern country, where we have everything that money can buy. And if there were such a thing as a ghost in Europe, we would have it at home in one of our museums.”
A few weeks later, on a lovely July evening, Mr Otis, his wife and their children, Washington, Virginia and the twins, went down to their new home. When they entered the avenue of Canterville Castle, the sky suddenly became dark and a spooky stillness was in the air.
Mrs Umney, the housekeeper, led them into the library of the castle, where they sat down and began to look around. Suddenly, Mrs Otis saw a red stain on the floor just by the fireplace and said to Mrs Umney, “I am afraid something has been spilt there.”
“Yes, madam,” said the old housekeeper in a low voice, “blood has been spilt on that spot.”
“How terrible,” said Mrs Otis; “I don't want any blood-stains in my sitting-room. It must be removed at once.”
The old woman smiled and answered, “It is the blood of Lady Eleanore de Canterville, who was murdered on that spot by her husband, Sir Simon de Canterville, in 1575. Sir Simon disappeared seven years later. His body has never been found, but his ghost still haunts the Castle. The blood-stain is a tourist attraction now and it cannot be removed.”
“That is all nonsense,” said Washington, the eldest son of the Otis family, “stain remover will clean it up in no time,” and he took a bottle of stain remover out of his pocket and cleaned the spot. But as soon as the blood-stain had disappeared, a terrible flash of lightning lit up the room and a fearful peal of thunder made the whole building shake.
There was a horrible storm that night, but apart from that nothing scary happened. The next morning, however, when the family came down to breakfast, they found the terrible stain of blood once again on the floor. Washington cleaned it a second time, but the second morning it appeared again. The third morning it was there, too, although the library had been locked up at night by Mr Otis himself.
The following night, all doubts about the existence of the ghost were finally removed forever. At eleven o'clock the family went to bed and some time after, Mr Otis was awakened by a strange noise in the corridor, outside his room. It sounded like the clank of metal, and it came nearer every moment. Mr Otis got up and looked at the time. It was exactly one o'clock. So Mr Otis put on his slippers, went to the door and opened it. There, right in front of him, stood the ghost - his eyes were as red as burning coals; long grey hair fell over his shoulders and from his wrists and ankles hung heavy chains.
“My dear Sir,” said Mr Otis, “you must oil those chains. It's impossible to sleep with such a noise going on outside the bedrooms. I have therefore brought you this bottle of lubricator, and I will be happy to supply you with more if you require it.” With these words Mr Otis laid the bottle down, closed his door and went back to bed.
Shocked, the Canterville ghost stood quite motionless for a moment, but then he growled angrily. Just at this moment, the twins appeared on the corridor and threw a large pillow at him! The ghost hastily escaped through the wall, and the house became quiet again.
When the ghost reached his small secret chamber, he took a deep breath. No ghosts in history had ever been treated in this manner!
ELEVENTH GRADE
Cheat!
Friends or exams? Which are more important?
Mo was waiting outside her class. She was feeling sick. She always felt sick in exam week. She had two exams that day. Physics was first and she hated physics, it was her worst subject. But this was the last day of exams! Terry looked back at her from the front of the line, then looked away quickly. Mo thought she looked guilty. She didn’t have a problem with physics. She didn’t have a problem with anything!
“Hi, Mo, it’s your favourite exam today” said Nima as she arrived. Terry looked back again. “What’s wrong with her?” said Nima. “I thought you were friends.” “Yes, so did I,” said Mo. “but she hasn’t spoken to me for two weeks.” She promised to help me revise for the physics exam, but then she ignored all my calls and texts. And when I rang her house, her mum told me she was busy. She doesn’t remember who her friends are!” said Mo angrily. “Are you listening Maureen Quinn?” Mr Reed was talking to the class and the other students were going into the exam room. Mo gave Nima a worried look and followed them.
Mo couldn’t answer question number five, it was too difficult. She looked up and saw Terry sitting in the next row. Mo was surprised. Terry was holding her phone under the table and she was reading from it. Mo didn’t know what to think. Is that how Terry always got good grades? She felt really angry at Terry but didn’t know what to do. She thought about telling the teacher, but what would everyone else think of her? It wasn’t fair! Mo never cheated and she failed lots of exams. Terry had already put her phone away when Mo looked up again. She looked back at Mo and smiled sadly. “Stop writing and put your pens down” said Mr Reed as he started to collect the exam papers. Oh no, Mo hadn’t answered two of the questions. She was going to fail again!
Mo wanted to talk to Terry at lunch time, but she couldn’t find her in the dining hall. The next exam was history. That was Mo’s favourite subject but she didn’t feel good. She was angry with Terry. Nima went home for lunch every day, so she couldn’t talk to her either. Mo went to the library to study. She didn’t know what to do about Terry. She thought about telling a teacher, but everyone would hate her if she did that. “It wasn’t fair!” she thought. “Terry was getting good grades by cheating all that time. And I thought we were friends!” Just then, Mr Reed walked past her table. “Mr Reed...”
Mo was sitting behind Terry again in the history exam that afternoon, but Terry didn’t take her phone out. Maybe she didn’t need to cheat at history. Mo was feeling bad again, but she had no problems with the exam. Why did she tell Mr Reed? But it was too late now. He wanted her to look at him and nod if she saw that Terry had her phone in the exam. She was on the last question, when she saw that Terry had her phone under the table. Without thinking, Mo looked up and nodded to Mr Reed. Terry was looking at her phone and didn’t hear him as he walked silently up to her table. He didn’t say anything. Terry looked, surprised. He picked up her exam paper and pointed to the door, to tell Terry to go outside. Terry started crying as she walked to the door. Everyone was staring at her and Mo felt really sorry now.
She was leaving school, when she heard footsteps behind her. It was Terry. “Mo, wait!” she called. “I want to talk to you.” Mo could see Terry had been crying, her face was pale and her eyes were red. Mo couldn’t speak. “Listen, I’m really sorry I didn’t answer your calls. but we’re having a terrible time. My dad had a heart attack and he’s in hospital. He had a big operation today and I was very worried. I know it was stupid, but I was reading texts from my mum to see how it was going, but Mr Reed caught me. He thought I was cheating. But he believes me now. I’m sorry I didn’t tell you what was happening. I know you’re a good friend. Will you forgive me?”
Brendan Dunne
- See more at: http://learnenglishteens.britishcouncil.org/study-break/easy-reading/cheat-level-1#sthash.jlVvTs2A.dpufQUESTIONS
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