THE PHANTOM COACH. The Gothic Craze

Size: px

Start display at page:

Download "THE PHANTOM COACH. The Gothic Craze"

Kelly Little
5 years ago
Views:

1 W. W. Jacobs Amelia B. Edwards E. A. Poe Bram Stoker G o thic SHORT STORIES Notes on the Authors Page 6 exercise 1 a. Edwards b. Poe c. Stoker d. Jacobs e. Edwards f. Poe g. Stoker THE MONKEY S PAW Page 8 exercises 1, 2 Page 8 exercise 3 1. cold and wet 2. his son Herbert 3. a red face 4. three drinks years 6. better off Page 17 exercise 1 1. B 2. C 3. D 4. C 5. A 6. A Page 19 exercise 2 a. I wish my brother were home today. b. I wish I could dance. c. I wish there was a lift. d. I wish I lived in a big city. e. I wish we had 200 pounds. f. I wish I could speak Spanish. Page 19 exercise 3 1. translation 2. Oriental 3. collection 4. Arabic 5. unlike KEY TO THE EXERCISES AND EXIT TEST 6. astonishing 7. Chinese 8. definitive 9. explorer 10. European Page 20 exercise 1 1. F 2. T 3. F 4. F 5. F 6. F 7. T Page 26 exercise 1 a. It looked rather ordinary. b. It was playful and ironic. c. He was from the firm where Herbert worked, and he had come to tell the Whites that Herbert had been killed. d. The man from the firm told her that Herbert was not in any pain. e. He was caught in some machinery. f. Because Herbert had been a good worker. g. Because the amount of money the firm gave him was exactly the amount he had wished for. Page 27 exercise 2 1. had died 2. walked 3. told 4. explained 5. had come 6. was 7. needed 8. had found 9. refused 10. had told 11. was 12. closed 13. was 14. had pretended 15. had learned 16. was 17. rubbed 18. had given 19. came 20. saved Page 27 exercise 3 Page 28 exercise 1 1. B 2. C 3. B 4. C 5. A Page 29 exercise 2 a. 6 b. 2 c. 3 d. 4 e. 5 f. 1 Page 38 exercise 2 2. d 3. c 4. b 5. g 6. a 7. f 8. e Page 38 exercise 3 Possible answers: 2. If Morris hadn t joined the army and gone to India, he wouldn t have got the monkey s paw. 3. If the Whites had finished paying for their house, they wouldn t have wanted to wish for If Morris hadn t told Mr White about the paw, Mr White wouldn t have been interested in having it. 5. If Morris hadn t brought the paw with him to the Whites house, they wouldn t have been tempted to make a wish. 6. If Mr White hadn t taken the paw from the fire, it would have burned. 7. If Herbert hadn t suggested to wish for 200, Mr White probably wouldn t have made a wish. 8. If the Whites hadn t made a wish, Herbert wouldn t have been killed at work. Page 38 exercise 1 a. Sad and empty, with time passing slowly. Page 40 exercise 4 b. He says that Herbert s body was so badly mutilated that he could hardly recognise him. c. She says that she is not afraid of the son she nursed. d. Because she had such a strange and unnatural expression on her 6 face as she waited for him to make the wish. e. Because nothing happened. f. A quiet knock at the door. 10 g. Because Mrs White had to get a chair to reach the top bolt of the door. h. The knocking stopped. 1 2 C F 3 C H I L L E D E E 4 5 C E 7 M S F A K I R 7 S W E A T T M T N A 8 9 T A L I S M A N T R S T R 11 E E C R E E P T 12 B L I N D R 13 B P A 13 P A W O I P E 14 J U G G L E R S E E O R C 16 C R E E K 17 O R D E R E P E Page 41 exercise 5 Page 42 exercise 6 Finally Mrs White managed pull the bolt and the door slowly opened. A gust of cold air blew into the house and with it came something that looked like a small tree covered with rags. Mrs White was not frightened because this strange apparition did 2

2 not seem to have anything human about it, but gradually she recognised and then she saw. She recognised her son s shirt, a piece of his trousers and the shine of his belt buckle. At first this recognition brought her joy, but then she saw. She saw her son s hair on a crushed, bloody mass, bones coming out of the fabric and one whole hand (the only part of Herbert that had survived the machine s maw) which seemed to want to caress her. She fought with herself a moment to block out everything but her son s beckoning hand, but she could not chase from her sight the other horrible details. The battle lost, she screamed to her husband, Get the paw, dear God, get the paw! THE PHANTOM COACH Page 44 exercise 1 A. 1. going 2. ago 3. as 4. it 5. of 6. change 7. but 8. in 9. which 10. getting C. Open A frightening supernatural experience. Page 52 exercise 1 A. 6 B. 3 C. 8 D. 5 E. 2 F. EXTRA HEADING G. 4 H. 7 I. 1 Page 52 exercise 2 a. F. He had only told one other person. b. T. c. F. He said it was very common for people to get lost. d. F. He merely accepted his presence. e. T. f. T. g. F. He believed in the supernatural. h. F. He told Jacob to take him to the crossroads where the night mail for Dwolding stops. Page 53 exercise 3 1. anybody answer my 2. if he was going 3. snow did not stop 4. loved each other 5. I had not broken 6. even though I received 7. without saying 8. will cost you much less Page 54 exercise 1 1. gun on his shoulder 2. excited his imagination 3. the stone wall 4. three miles 5. the wall 6. a night mail coach 7. the four passengers 8. the master s talk of the supernatural Page 54 exercise 2 Page 61 exercise 1 a. Four. b. Because the road was steep and dangerous. c. Three. d. It was rotten and in disrepair. e. The strange smell inside made him feel sick. f. They looked dead: their faces glowed with the light of putrefaction; their clothes were rotten; and only their eyes were living and menacing. g. She believed that he had fallen over a precipice into the snow below. h. The place where the night mail coach had fallen nine years earlier. Page 61 exercise : the master started to live alone : the accident happened : the last time the master saw a stranger : August: the narrator got married Page 62 exercise 3 a. Wine makes me feel sleepy. b. Will you let me sleep on your sofa tonight? c. My parents will let me go to the party if I finish my homework. d. I will let you go, if you tell me the name of the other criminals, said the policeman. e. The policeman made them move their car. f. Red roses always make me think of my boyfriend in Paris. g. I m sorry but I can t let you come in if you don t have a ticket. Page 63 exercise 4 Yesterday I treated a young man named James Murray who had fallen over a precipice and broken his arm. This young man was quite fortunate because he fell into some snow, which broke his fall, and because he was found by some shepherds. Otherwise, he would have surely died. When he was conscious he asked to talk to me alone. He told me that he had not simply fallen over the precipice but that he had been inside a night mail coach. What is more, he told me that this night mail coach was actually a phantom coach. He also told me that he had been in the house of a professor of some kind who studies the supernatural. This professor s servant led him to the wall where the accident happened, and told him about a night mail coach that had gone over the precipice nine years ago. This part of the story I know is true because I myself have met that odd professor of ghosts, and I have also heard about that horrible accident. I am quite certain, though, that James Murray s physical and mental suffering excited in his brain the vision of this phantom coach. However, Mr Murray would not listen to me. He says that he believes and will always believe in the evidence of his senses: in other words, he is sure that he was the fourth passenger of a phantom coach. Page 63 exercise 5 Page 63 exercise 6 1. had lost his way 2. snowstorm was coming 3. old man with a lantern 4. student of the supernatural 5. story of his life 6. return to Dwolding 7. night mail coach 8. hour and a quarter 9. had been an accident 10. the four passengers inside 11. saw a coach coming 12. three passengers inside 13. neither moved nor spoke 14. falling to pieces 15. the passengers were dead 16. jump out of the coach 17. When he woke up 18. had been the fourth passenger The Gothic Craze Page 70 exercise 1 a. It was nearly synonymous with the Dark Ages. b. They were often set in Medieval times and described haunted houses, castles, dungeons, secret passageways, flashes of lightning, screams, bloody hands, ghosts, graveyards, corpses coming to life 3 4

3 c. After the publication of The Castle of Otranto. d. He noted that the relationship was often very intense. e. He was obsessed with creating life. f. Ann Rice and Stephen King are two examples mentioned in the text. g. Because Gothic elements are still particularly present in literature and films. THE FALL OF THE HOUSE OF USHER Page 72 exercise 1 1. grim 2. ghastly 3. melancholy 4. oppressive 5. sullen 1. d 2. c 3. b 4. a 5. e Page 73 exercise 2 Page 73 exercise 3 1. autumn day 2. poetic or beautiful 3. childhood friends 4. personal friend 5. works of art 6. been handed down from father to son. 7. were ruined and crumbling. 8. books and musical instruments. Page 81 exercise 1 1. C 2. B 3. C 4. C 5. B 6. A 7. B Page 83 exercise 2 a. 3 b. 4 c. 2 d. 1 Page 83 exercise 3 a. give back b. give up c. gave out d. give away e. gave out Page 84 exercise 4 She gave up trying to live. OR She gave up her fight against her disease. Page 84 exercise 1 a. F. He stopped playing music and painting. b. T c. T d. F. He took him away from the window. e. T Page 91 exercise 1 a. There was a whirlwind and a strange glowing vapour. b. He had a kind of mad laughter in his eyes. c. A knight who breaks into the home of an evil hermit and finds a dragon there, which he then kills. d. The sound of wood cracking apart, a shriek and a metallic ringing sound. e. He died of fear. f. Yes, he did. He said that he would not die from any particular danger, but from fear. His sister did not actually kill him, but he died of the terror of that moment. g. It was the moon shining through the widening crack in the house. h. The house itself felt apart and then into the dark lake; Roderick died of fear and Madeline, in the end, died from her efforts to escape from the vault. Page 91 exercise 2 a. The narrator explained it scientifically : the glow came from lightning or from the rotten plants. b. Usher, it seems, felt that it was connected with his sister s attempts to escape from the vault. Page 91 exercise 3 Page 92 exercise 4 1. B 2. B 3. D 4. A 5. B 6. A 7. A Page 93 exercise 5 1. C 2. A 3. B 4. E D not used THE JUDGES HOUSE Page 96 exercise 1 1. C 2. A 3. C 4. C 5. A 6. B 7. B Page 97 exercise 2 1. mathematics 2. three hours 3. three weeks 4. an absurd prejudice 5. three month s 6. many years Page 107 exercise 1 1. D 2. A 3. C 4. C 5. A 6. B 7. B Page 109 exercise 2 a. 4 b. 5 c. 1 d. 2 e. 3 Page 109 exercise 3 a. speak my mind b. make up your mind c. keep my mind on d. be out of your mind e. I ve changed my mind f. Make up your mind Page 110 exercise 1 1. C 2. C 3. B 4. A 5. B Page 119 exercise 1 a. Because he thought that he would have a hallucination during the night and need to ring the bell to call for help. b. Because it was of the Judge, who was seated in the same room where he was and who had the same eyes as the huge rat Black Cat Publishing, an imprint of Cideb Editrice, Genoa, Canterbury c. They had the same eyes and evil look. d. So that Malcolm could not call for help. e. The Judge disappeared from the picture. f. He lifted his black hat and put it on his head. g. Because Malcolm was swinging from it. Page 120 exercise 2 a. go b. open, run c. standing d. squeaking e. saying f. telling g. burning h. rain Pages 120, 121 exercises 3, 4 Page 122 exercise 5 April 6th 1898 A few days ago a young man named Malcolm Malcolmson came to our town to study for a mathematics examination. He came here because he felt that there would be no distractions. Unfortunately, he decided to live in that old Jacobean house which had belonged to an infamous hanging judge. Mrs Witham had told him all about this evil judge so I became worried. I felt, as a doctor, that a young man who was studying for long periods of time all alone in an old house would be susceptible to hallucinations. This is why I told him about the alarm bell and its use. I know that it was his choice to hang himself, but I cannot help feeling to blame for this tragedy. 5 6

4 The Monkey s Paw a. What does Sergeant Morris think of Mr White s desire to travel to India? b. Why did Mr White have a hard time making a wish at first? c. What did Mr White wish for in the end? d. Before his wish actually came true, what made Mr White think that the monkey s paw was truly magical? e. Who thought of using the paw to bring back Herbert? f. Why did it take some time for Herbert to come home after Mr White had made the second wish? a. Sergeant Morris himself had never tried to make a wish with the monkey s paw. b. The third wish of the first man who owned the monkey s paw was death. c. Sergeant Morris said that the wishes always came true in some incredible way. d. The firm of Maw and Meggins gave the Whites two hundred pounds because they felt responsible for Herbert s death. e. Mr White was worried about what Herbert would look like if he came back to life. f. Herbert never entered the house. Score /12 The Phantom Coach a. Why has James Murray only told one other person about his strange experience? b. What did the master of the house study? c. How many people died in the accident? d. How many inside passengers did James Murray see in the phantom coach. a. James Murray met a friendly old man on the moors when he was lost. b. The master of the house received many visitors. c. James Murray was not very impressed by the master s talk about the supernatural. d. The stone wall was broken because the night mail coach had crashed through it nine years earlier. The Fall of the House of Usher a. Why did the narrator and Roderick Usher know each other? b. What was the nature of Roderick Usher s disease? c. What was the storm like? d. What were the sounds they heard while the narrator was reading the book? a. Roderick Usher wanted to see the narrator because he felt lonely. because he hoped that his company would make him feel better. b. Roderick Usher believed that his home was alive. c. In the end, the narrator too began to feel that the house was alive. d. Roderick Usher was killed by the terror he felt when his sister fell on him. 7 PHOTOCOPIABLE 2004 Black Cat Publishing PHOTOCOPIABLE 2004 Black Cat Publishing 8

5 K E Y T O T H E The Judge s House a. Why did Malcolm Malcolmson decide to go Benchurch? b. What animals made a lot of noise in the old house? c. What had been the original use of the rope of the alarm bell? d. Why did the alarm bell ring? a. The Judge s House was a modern building that looked like a castle. b. The Judge s House had been empty for a long time because its rent was too high. c. Mrs Witham screamed when Malcolm told her that he had tried to hit the rats with a poker. d. Malcolm noticed that the huge rat had eyes just like those of the Judge in the painting. TOTAL Score /36 The Monkey s Paw 1. a. He thinks that he is better off at home. b. Because he felt that he already had everything he needed. c. Two hundred pounds. d. It moved in his hand when he made the wish. e. Mrs White. f. Because the cemetery was two miles away from their home. 2. a. F. He had made three wishes and was sorry he had. b. T c. F. He said that they came true in a way that seemed perfectly natural. d. F. They gave them money in consideration of Herbert s service to the firm. e. T f. T. The Phantom Coach 1. a. He doesn t want anybody to try and convince him that his strange experience was just a hallucination. b. He studied the supernatural. c. Seven: 4 inside passengers, the coachman, the guard and an outside passenger. d. Three. 2. a. F. The man he met was old, but he was not in the least friendly and did not offer to help him. b. F. James Murray was his first guest in four years. c. F. His talk had excited his imagination. d. T. The Fall of the House of Usher 1. a. They had been childhood friends. b. He suffered from extreme acuteness of the senses so that the could only tolerate certain tastes, sounds, light and textures. c. There was a whirlwind that blew a strange glowing vapour around the house. d. They heard Madeline escaping from the family vault. 2. a. F. He wanted to see him. b. T c. T d. T The Judge s House 1. a. Because it was a quiet little town without any of the attractions of the seaside or countryside, and so he could dedicate all his attention to studying. b. Rats. c. It had been the rope that the Judge had used to hang his victims. d. Because Malcolm s body swung from its rope. 2. a. F. It was a Jacobean building that looked like a fortress. b. F. It had been empty for a long time because people had an absurd prejudice, i.e., it had been the home of an evil hanging judge. c. F. She screamed when he had told her that he had hit the biggest rat with a Bible. d. T. 9 PHOTOCOPIABLE 2004 Black Cat Publishing PHOTOCOPIABLE 2004 Black Cat Publishing 10

A Princess of Mars, Part Three

10 August 2012 MP3 at voaspecialenglish.com A Princess of Mars, Part Three BOB DOUGHTY:Now, the Special English program, American Stories. Last week we broadcast the second of our programs called A Princess