The Present. It was Mia's birthday. She opened the small box slowly. Inside was a key. „A key?" she said. Her dad smiled and pointed at the window. In the garden stood a blue bike with a big red bow. Mia ran outside. „Thank you!" she shouted. The bike had a lock — and now she knew what the key was for.
1True or false?
Find the sentence in the text and compare.
a)It is Mia's birthday.
b)The box is big.
c)There is a bike in the box.
d)The bike is blue.
e)The key is for the bike lock.
2Answer with a short sentence.
The answers are in the text — the last one you have to work out.
a)What is in the box?
b)Where is the bike?
c)What colour is the bow?
d)How does Mia feel?
3Find the words in the text.
Read the sentences one by one.
a)a word for „langsam"
b)a word for „zeigte auf"
c)a word for „Schleife"
d)a word for „Schloss (am Fahrrad)"
4Write two sentences: What will Mia do next?
Use will.
a)She will …
The Present. It was Mia's birthday. She opened the small box slowly. Inside was a key. „A key?" she said. Her dad smiled and pointed at the window. In the garden stood a blue bike with a big red bow. Mia ran outside. „Thank you!" she shouted. The bike had a lock — and now she knew what the key was for.
1True or false?
Find the sentence in the text and compare.
a)It is Mia's birthday.true
b)The box is big.false
c)There is a bike in the box.false (a key)
d)The bike is blue.true
e)The key is for the bike lock.true
2Answer with a short sentence.
The answers are in the text — the last one you have to work out.
a)What is in the box?A key.
b)Where is the bike?In the garden.
c)What colour is the bow?Red.
d)How does Mia feel?Happy / excited.
3Find the words in the text.
Read the sentences one by one.
a)a word for „langsam"slowly
b)a word for „zeigte auf"pointed at
c)a word for „Schleife"bow
d)a word for „Schloss (am Fahrrad)"lock
4Write two sentences: What will Mia do next?
Use will.
a)She will …e.g. She will ride the bike to school. She will show it to her friends.
The Last Bus. Jamal checked his phone: 22:47. The last bus left at 22:50, and the stop was two streets away. He ran. Behind him, footsteps — quick, then quicker. He didn't turn round. At the corner, the bus was already there, doors open. He jumped in, breathing hard, and only then looked back. A girl of about his age stood at the stop, holding out his wallet. „You dropped this," she said, just as the doors closed.
1Answer the questions in full sentences.
Use the simple past, like the story.
a)Why is Jamal in a hurry?
b)What does he hear behind him, and how does he react?
c)Who was following him and why?
d)What is the problem at the end of the story?
2Find the words in the text.
Read the text again slowly for each question.
a)a word that means „ran fast and jumped into"
b)a word for the thing you keep money in
c)two words that show Jamal is afraid
d)the sentence that changes the whole story
3Explain the effect. Write one or two sentences each.
Think about suspense: what the reader knows and what the reader expects.
a)Why does the author write „quick, then quicker" instead of „the footsteps got faster"?
b)Why don't we learn until the end who the girl is?
c)What do you think Jamal feels when the doors close?
4Write what happens next in five to seven sentences.
Keep the tense (simple past) and the tone (short sentences, suspense).
a)Does he get his wallet back? What does the girl do?
The Last Bus. Jamal checked his phone: 22:47. The last bus left at 22:50, and the stop was two streets away. He ran. Behind him, footsteps — quick, then quicker. He didn't turn round. At the corner, the bus was already there, doors open. He jumped in, breathing hard, and only then looked back. A girl of about his age stood at the stop, holding out his wallet. „You dropped this," she said, just as the doors closed.
1Answer the questions in full sentences.
Use the simple past, like the story.
a)Why is Jamal in a hurry?(text)
b)What does he hear behind him, and how does he react?Because the last bus leaves in three minutes and the stop is two streets away.
c)Who was following him and why?He hears footsteps that get quicker. He doesn't turn round and keeps running.
d)What is the problem at the end of the story?A girl of his age was following him because he had dropped his wallet.
2Find the words in the text.
Read the text again slowly for each question.
a)a word that means „ran fast and jumped into"jumped in
b)a word for the thing you keep money inwallet
c)two words that show Jamal is afraide.g. He didn't turn round. / breathing hard
d)the sentence that changes the whole story„You dropped this," she said, just as the doors closed.
3Explain the effect. Write one or two sentences each.
Think about suspense: what the reader knows and what the reader expects.
a)Why does the author write „quick, then quicker" instead of „the footsteps got faster"?The short, repeated words sound like the footsteps themselves. The reader feels the speed and the fear.
b)Why don't we learn until the end who the girl is?The reader shares Jamal's fear. The surprise at the end only works because we didn't know.
c)What do you think Jamal feels when the doors close?Relief that he is safe, then shock and probably embarrassment: he ran away from someone who wanted to help.
4Write what happens next in five to seven sentences.
Keep the tense (simple past) and the tone (short sentences, suspense).
a)Does he get his wallet back? What does the girl do?Own text. Check: simple past, five to seven sentences, a clear ending.
The Interview. Devon had practised the answers for a week. At 9:58 he sat in the waiting room of Harper & Sons, tie too tight, hands too cold. The door opened. „Mr Okafor?" A woman with grey hair and trainers led him into an office with no desk, only two armchairs and a window full of sky. „Forget your answers," she said before he had sat down. „Tell me about the last time you were wrong." Devon opened his mouth. Nothing came out. Then, slowly, he started to laugh — and so did she.
1Answer the questions in full sentences.
Quote a short phrase from the text for each answer.
a)What do the details „tie too tight, hands too cold" tell us about Devon?
b)What is unusual about the office and the interviewer? Name two things.
c)Why is her question a surprise for Devon?
d)How do you understand the ending? Is the interview going well or badly?
2Look at the language.
Short sentences slow the reader down or create tension. The tense of the first sentence looks back from the story's time.
a)Find two very short sentences. What effect do they have?
b)The author writes „a window full of sky". Explain what the picture tells us about the room and the mood.
c)Which tense is the first sentence in? Why?
3Character: Devon and the interviewer. Write three adjectives for each and give one piece of evidence from the text for each adjective.
e.g. nervous — „hands too cold"
a)Devon:
b)The interviewer:
4Write the next part of the story in eight to ten sentences: Devon's answer.
Simple past for the story, direct speech for the answer.
a)What was the last time he was wrong? Keep the tone: short sentences, one surprising detail.
The Interview. Devon had practised the answers for a week. At 9:58 he sat in the waiting room of Harper & Sons, tie too tight, hands too cold. The door opened. „Mr Okafor?" A woman with grey hair and trainers led him into an office with no desk, only two armchairs and a window full of sky. „Forget your answers," she said before he had sat down. „Tell me about the last time you were wrong." Devon opened his mouth. Nothing came out. Then, slowly, he started to laugh — and so did she.
1Answer the questions in full sentences.
Quote a short phrase from the text for each answer.
a)What do the details „tie too tight, hands too cold" tell us about Devon?(text)
b)What is unusual about the office and the interviewer? Name two things.He is very nervous and has prepared too much — the tie and the cold hands show his fear.
c)Why is her question a surprise for Devon?The office has no desk, only armchairs; the interviewer has grey hair but wears trainers and doesn't ask a standard question.
d)How do you understand the ending? Is the interview going well or badly?He has practised answers to normal questions; she asks about a failure, which he hasn't prepared.
2Look at the language.
Short sentences slow the reader down or create tension. The tense of the first sentence looks back from the story's time.
a)Find two very short sentences. What effect do they have?„The door opened." / „Nothing came out." They create tension and show the moment of shock.
b)The author writes „a window full of sky". Explain what the picture tells us about the room and the mood.The room is light and open, without the usual barriers of an office; the mood is unexpected and free.
c)Which tense is the first sentence in? Why?Past perfect (had practised) — it happened before the story begins, in the week before the interview.
3Character: Devon and the interviewer. Write three adjectives for each and give one piece of evidence from the text for each adjective.
e.g. nervous — „hands too cold"
a)Devon:Devon: nervous („hands too cold"), well-prepared („practised for a week"), honest / able to laugh at himself („started to laugh").
b)The interviewer:Interviewer: unconventional („trainers", „no desk"), direct („Forget your answers"), warm („so did she").
4Write the next part of the story in eight to ten sentences: Devon's answer.
Simple past for the story, direct speech for the answer.
a)What was the last time he was wrong? Keep the tone: short sentences, one surprising detail.Own text. Check: eight to ten sentences, simple past, direct speech, one surprising detail.
Read twice
First read for the story: who, where, what happens. Then read for the questions: find the exact place in the text and read the sentences around it.
Where is the suspense?
Look at what the reader knows and what the character knows. Short sentences, unanswered questions and details that are mentioned but not explained create tension.
„Behind him, footsteps — quick, then quicker."
Talking about effect
Name the device or detail, quote it, and say what it does to the reader: „The short sentences make the reader feel Jamal's panic."