Mystery and Adventure

Penguin Readers Factsheets

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T e a c h e r’s n o t e s

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Classic Stories

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Mystery and Adventure

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Edited by Will Fowler

PRE-INTERMEDIATE

S U M M A R Y

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© Pearson Education 2001

unromantic story of soldiers in battle: the wounds, the pain and the fear. The Turn of the Screw by Henry James: A young governess is either seeing ghosts or imagining things – or perhaps someone is trying to frighten her. The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain: Huckleberry Finn is helping his friend Jim, a slave, to escape to a state where there are no slaves, but men with guns come looking for him. Huckleberry cleverly helps his friend. The Secret Agent by Joseph Conrad: Mr Verloc is a secret agent, paid by the Russians to bomb London, but will he be able to do it?

BACKGROUND AND THEMES The stories in this book are either Mysteries or Adventure. Some of the mysteries are detective fiction with the plot centred round a murder. The first novel of this kind in English was William Godwin’s Caleb Williams published in 1794. It was one of the first to try to understand the mind of a murderer. Sir Arthur Conan Doyle later does the same in his Sherlock Holmes stories. His first, ‘A Scandal in Bohemia’, in 1891 was an immediate success. Perhaps the most original detective fiction came from the American writer Edgar Allan Poe. In 1841, ‘Murders in the Rue Morgue’ first appeared in Graham’s Magazine. It was the first of five short stories, which earned Poe the title ‘father of the detective story’. In Britain, Sir Robert Peel started the first police force in 1821 and not long after that, Dickens wrote about police work in his novels. But the first great English writer of detective fiction was Wilkie Collins with The Woman in White (1860) and The Moonstone (1868) – both in the Penguin Readers Series. The ghost stories in this book are more examples of mysteries that have become famous in English and American literature. Adventure stories, such as The Count of Monte Cristo written by Alexandre Dumas and The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain take readers to far away places, to times when life was very different from life today. Almost all of the stories in this book were written between 1830 and 1914, when popular novels were new in publishing. More and more people were learning to read, so there was a greater demand for fiction. People did not have TVs in their homes, and films were only just starting to be made. All of these novels can be found in the Penguin Readers Series.

MYSTERY AND ADVENTURE

n Classic Stories Mystery and Adventure, you will find short pieces (extracts) from fourteen classic mystery and adventure novels from British and American literature. Before each extract, there is information about the writer of the book, their lives and the plot of the story. There is a three-page Introduction that gives some background information and an Extract Wordlist at the back of the book. Extracts are taken from the following Penguin Readers: Frankenstein by Mary Shelley: Victor Frankenstein is a man who studies science and decides that he can create life by using parts of dead bodies. He makes a monster who soon learns to hate his creator. The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas: In prison Edmond Dantes learns the secret of a hidden treasure, but before he can begin his adventures in search of it, he must escape from the prison from which no one has ever escaped before. Dracula by Bram Stoker: Count Dracula is a vampire who lives in a castle in Transylvania, but decides to move to England. Vampires can be kept away by the sign of the Cross, but can the Count be killed? The Fall of the House of Usher and Other Stories by Edgar Allen Poe: Horrible murders take place in the rue Morgue – is there a madman on the loose with extraordinary strength? Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte: Poor, plain Jane loves her handsome employer, Mr Rochester. But what is the dark secret of Thornfield Hall and who lives in the attic? A Scandal in Bohemia by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle: The famous detective, Sherlock Holmes, has to discover why a man pays a young woman to cut off her hair and to wear another woman’s clothes. Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson: The good Dr Jekyll seems very friendly with the evil Mr Hyde – but who is this mysterious Mr Hyde? The Thirty-nine Steps by John Buchan: On the run from the police, Richard Hannay has to solve the mystery of the thirty-nine steps to prove that he is not a murderer. The Man With Two Shadows and Other Ghost Stories by Thomas Hood: In ‘The Picture on the Wall’ we learn that George has sailed to the Arctic, but his picture on the wall seems to change, and the room gets very cold; what can be happening to George? The Return of Sherlock Holmes by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle: Holmes once again solves the mystery by seeing things that no one else notices. The Red Badge of Courage by Stephen Crane: An

Penguin Readers Factsheets T e a c h e r’s n o t e s Communicative activities


ACTIVITIES BEFORE READING THE BOOK 1 Make sure your students understand the words adventure and mystery. Put students in pairs and ask them to discuss these questions: (a) What is the best mystery story you have read (or seen in the cinema)? (b) What is the best adventure story you have read (or seen in the cinema)? (c) What kind of books do you like to read? Why? 2 Ask students to open their books to pages 52-53. Put the students into two groups. Ask one group to find the 16 words that are about people. Ask the other group to find the 12 words about fighting. Give them enough cards so that they can write the word on one side and the definition on the other. Check that they have chosen the correct words, then let them make flashcards. When they have finished making them, give the students time to study the words and their definitions, helping them with pronunciation. Then they can divide the cards and test each other. After, the groups can swap sets of flashcards.

ACTIVITIES AFTER READING A SECTION Chapters 1–4 1 Put these words on the board: breathe, chemistry, create, human, experiment, laboratory, monster (they are all in Frankenstein and in the extract wordlist) and grave, governor (in The Count of Monte Cristo and extract wordlist). Put the students in pairs. One is Frankenstein, the other is Edmond Dantes. Ask them to try to use these words as they tell each other about what happens to them in the stories. They can also ask each other questions. 2 Put students into small groups and ask them to discuss these questions: (a) Why do you think Dracula and The Murders in the Rue Morgue are so popular? (b) What films have you seen that have almost the same story as these?

Chapters 10–14 Put students in pairs and ask them to choose one of the stories in this section (except The Red Badge of Courage) and to prepare a role-play between two speakers from the story. Give them time to choose and prepare, then ask each pair to perform their role-play for the rest of the class.

Glossary Chapters 1–4 century (n) a period of 100 years character (n) a person in a book, play or film details (n) a small fact or piece of information about something hero (n) someone who is remembered for doing something very brave or very good horror (adj) a strong feeling of great shock, anxiety, and fear or something that makes you feel this method (n) a way of doing something narrator (n) someone who tells the story in a book, play or film novel (n) a long written story in a book, usually about people and events that are not real poet (n) a person who writes poems treasure (n) a collection of valuable things like gold, silver or jewels that has usually been hidden vampire (n) an evil spirit (in human form) in stories that bites people’s necks and sucks their blood

Chapters 5–9 ghost (n) the spirit of a dead person that some people believe they can see or feel governess (n) a woman who lives with a family and teaches the children at home, especially in past times housekeeper (n) someone whose job it is to do the cooking, cleaning etc in a house or hotel publish (v) to have a book, magazine, or piece of writing printed, and offered for sale to the public representative (n) someone who is chosen to do things, speak, vote etc for someone else

Chapters 10–14 captain (n) the person in command of a ship Civil War (n) the war between the southern states and northern states in the US from 1861–65 (the term civil war refers to a war between groups of people from the same country) politics (n) ideas and activities that are concerned with how a country or area is governed and who has power society (n) a large group of people who live in the same country or area and share the same laws, customs and ways of doing things

Chapters 5–9 Write these names on cards: Jane Eyre, Violet Hunter, John Enfield, Richard Hannay, and Lettie. Make enough cards so that you can give one to each student. Several students can have the same name, if necessary. Put students into small groups. Tell them that they are meeting for the first time and they each have a strange story to tell (some students may have had the same experience!). They can begin their conversation by asking, ‘What’s the strangest thing that has ever happened to you?’ Your students will probably need ten or fifteen minutes to prepare before they begin their conversations. At the end they can decide who has the strangest story.


Published and distributed by Pearson Education Factsheet written by Coleen Degnan-Veness Factsheet series developed by Louise James

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Student’s activities Classic Stories

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Mystery and Adventure

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Students can do these exercises alone or with one or more other students.

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Activities before reading the book

Activities while reading the book Chapters 1–4 1 Put these sentences from Frankenstein in the correct order. Write 1, 2, 3 etc. (a) _____ Mr Waldeman took me to his laboratory and showed me his experiments. (b) _____ After a few months, I began to create human form. (c) _____ I studied the human body. (d) _____ I saw his yellow eyes open. He breathed and moved his arms and legs. (e) _____ Mr Waldeman told me to forget everything that I already knew. (f) _____ I discovered the secret of life. (g) _____ I received letters, but I did not answer them. (h) _____ After nearly two years of this experiment, I looked at the ugly monster and I was afraid. 2 Answer these questions about Edmond Dantes in The Count of Monte Cristo. (a) Who is Edmond Dantes? (b) Why is he in prison? (c) Why does he get inside the bag after he takes Faria’s body out? (d) What is he afraid of? (e) What happens to him?


Chapters 5–9 1 Talk to another student about Jane Eyre. What do you still not know and want to know after reading this piece of the story? 2 A Scandal in Bohemia and Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde are mysteries and in the stories strange things happen. Work with another student and write a conversation between Violet Hunter and Mr Enfield. They are talking about the strange things that have happened in their lives. When you finish, you can role-play your conversation for the other students. 3 Match (a) – (d) with (i) – (iv) to make sentences. Which sentences are from The Thirty-nine Steps and which are from The Man with Two Shadows? (a) His enemies killed him (b) I was not surprised (c) He sat too close to Lettie (d) Scudder’s enemies were probably outside the building, (i) when he decided to travel to the Arctic on the Pioneer. (ii) so I had to leave secretly. (iii) because he knew their plans. (iv) and seemed more like her lover than George.

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1 Read the words in italics at the top of the Introduction. Which story is a mystery and which is an adventure, do you think? Why? 2 Read the Introduction, then write the names of the stories under the descriptions below. Talk to another student. Which stories would you like to read? Why? (a) A scientist wants to make life, but makes a monster. _____________________________________________ (b) A scientist becomes two people: one good and one bad. _____________________________________________ (c) A governess sees a ghost during the day. _____________________________________________ (d) A young boy escapes from his bad father and helps a slave to escape. _____________________________________________ (e) A young soldier tells his feelings in his first battle. _____________________________________________

3 Why are these things important in the story Dracula? (a) vampire (b) Dracula’s breath (c) Jonathan’s shaving mirror (d) blood 4 Are these sentences about The Murders in the Rue Morgue true or false? Write T or F, then compare your answers with another student’s. Explain why the false sentences are not true. (a) _____ Dupin thinks the Parisian police do not work very hard. (b) _____ The police look too closely, so they do not see what Dupin can see. (c) _____ Dupin thinks the newspaper’s opinions are not important. (d) _____ Dupin knows he can solve the mystery because the murderer’s voice was unusual. (e) _____ The murderer’s hair was the hair of a madman.



Student’s activities Chapters 10–14 1 Answer these questions. (a) Why did Sir Arthur Conan Doyle call his book The Return of Sherlock Holmes? (b) How does Holmes help Detective Hopkins? (c) Why did Stephen Crane call his book The Red Badge of Courage? (d) How does Henry change after he fires his first shot? 2 Are these sentences about Peter Quint true or false? Correct them if they are false. (a) The housekeeper sees him on the roof of the tower. (b) He has red hair, and a round face, with strange eyes. (c) He was the master’s servant until the master died. 3 Below are answers to questions about the characters and the writers of The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn and The Secret Agent. Write the questions. (a) No, it was really Samuel Langhorne Clemens. (b) Because he didn’t want them to find Jim on the raft. (c) Because they wanted Poland to be free. (d) four (e) Because it is a famous building used for science and people today love science.

Activities after reading the book 1 Look back at the Contents on pages iii and iv. Choose two or three books that you would like to read. Write a letter to one of the characters in each of the books and ask questions about the story. 2 Choose one story and write what happens next.

Published and distributed by Pearson Education Factsheet written by Coleen Degnan-Veness Factsheet series developed by Louise James

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