Step Four B2.1
READING & TRAINING
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Wilkie Collins
The Woman in White
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6 He fell in love with her. 7 She seems to have a trusting nature. She tells Walter not to compliment her because ‘I’ll believe everything you say to me.’ 8 A little girl who Laura and Marian’s mother treated very kindly. She came to Limmeridge from Hampshire with her mother. 9 Because her clothes were old. 10 The realization that the woman in white and Laura looked alike. Page 20 – exercise 3 Open answers. Page 20 – exercise 4
KEY TO THE EXERCISES AND EXIT TEST
1C 2B 3D 4D 5A 6B 7C 8D 9D 10A 11B 12D Page 21 – exercise 5
About the Author
Chapter ONE
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Page 8 – exercise 1
1 He was born in 1824 and died in 1889. 2 He was a painter. 3 He worked in the tea trade and then studied law. 4 Charles Dickens 5 Household Words. 6 They combined aspects of gothic novels and detective stories. 7 They created feelings of fear, excitement and curiosity. 8 The Woman in White, 1860; No Name, 1862; Armadale, 1866 and The Moonstone, 1868. 9 ‘Make them laugh, make them cry, make them wait.’ 10 It is told by several narrators. Each one saw the events that he or she describes.
1B 2D 3A 4C 5E Page 8 – exercise 2 1 July 2 job 3 London 4 young and thin 5 behind a tree 6 aristocrats 7 kind
1 Walter and Marian. 2 Walter is listening to Marian tell him about her mother’s letter, but he is also watching Laura. 3 Open answer.
Suggested answer Dear Helen, I’m sure you remember Laura Fairlie. Her father and I were close friends. Now that he is dead and cannot protect her, I feel responsible for her. I feel as if she were my daughter. She is going to get married soon, and I must obtain the best marriage settlement possible for her. Unfortunately, I do not like the changes in the marriage settlement proposed by Sir Percival’s lawyer. It says that Sir Percivial will inherit twenty thousand pounds if she dies. This gives him a reason to want her dead. For now, he seems very kind and loving. In any case, I wrote to Mr Fairlie telling him not to accept the changes suggested by Sir Percival. He wrote back saying that he was too ill to argue! Can you imagine that? Oh, I feel so worried for Laura. I hope I can help her. Your husband, Vincent Page 33 – exercise 3
Page 21 – exercise 1
1 Marian refused to help Sir Percival. 2 Mr Gilmore agreed to ask Sir Percival about the letter. 3 Walter offered to carry Laura’s drawing materials. 4 Walter promised to show Laura his book of drawings. 5 Percival’s friend refused to lend him any more money.
1F 2E 3B 4B, F 5A 6F 7C 8D 9B 10F 11C Page 19 – exercise 2
Page 22 – exercise 2
1 His Italian friend Pesca found it for him. 2 She asked him if he knew any aristocrats. 3 She was relieved. 4 She had escaped from his asylum. 5 They are half-sisters – they have the same mother but different fathers.
Page 32 – exercise 2
Chapter TWO 1D 2B 3C 4E 5A 1 sign 2 property 3 debts 4 will 5 inherited
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1 quickly 2 happy 3 in 4 good 5 secret 6 touch 7 smell 8 heart 9 and 10 But Page 31 – exercise 1 1E 2H 3G 4B 5F 6A 7J 8I 9D 10C
Chapter THREE Page 33 – exercise 1 1 22 December 2 Italy 3 engagement 4 drawings 5 charming and friendly 6 Central America
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Victorian Asylums
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1 T 2 F – She did not break her engagement with Sir Percival because it was her father’s dying wish. 3 F – She had changed a great deal: she once talked a lot and was irritating, and now she says little and does nothing but roll cigarettes for her husband. 4 F – Count Fosco said that he left Italy for political reasons. 5 T 6 T 7 F – She refused to sign it because Percival would not give her time to read it first. 8 T
1 2 3 4
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1 The Countess, because Laura’s husband was out of the country. 2 In Cumberland. 3 Did Count Fosco ever give Laura any medicine? Was Count Fosco ever alone in the room with Laura? 4 He suspected that he killed Laura by poisoning her.
Pages 43-44 – exercises 2-3
will not discuss everything makes me want to has lost her wears simple clothes
1 T 2 F – People were afraid to go to asylums because of the crowded conditions and often inhumane treatment. 3 F – They thought just the opposite: that strictness and discipline were essential to good mental health. 4 T 5 T 6 F – They could be put into asylums. 7 F – She was a writer who fought for better conditions in asylums. 8 T
Page 45 – exercise 5 A B C D E F G
4 – lawyer, settlement 2 – aristocrats, asylum 7 – document, tame 3 – student 1 – drawing, nieces 6 – wedding 5 – future
Chapter FOUR Page 52 – exercise 1 1C 2A 3C 4A 5B
Chapter FIVE
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Open answers.
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9 8 L A W Y E R S 12 W H I S P E R 13 E B C L 15 S I G N A A M 16 V I L L A G E L Y
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1 Laura, Walter and Anne. No, he wasn’t. 2 He became happy and laughed. 3 Because she had been out on the ledge in the rain. 4 Count Fosco. 5 The housekeeper at Blackwater Park. 6 Paris 7 By the lake. 8 London 9 Because the journey to Cumberland was too long. 10 Because she had already gone to London. 11 The doctor. 12 She died in London of heart disease.
Page 68 – exercise 3 1 but 2 even 3 and 4 by 5 since 6 always 7 through 8 when 9 in 10 before Page 68 – exercise 4 Open answers.
Chapter SIX Page 69 – exercise 1 1 Laura and Marian 2 Laura is supposed to be dead. Open answer. Page 69 – exercise 2 1B 2C 3C 4A 5A Page 78 – exercise 1 1K 2E 3J 4G 5C 6A 7H 8D Page 79 – exercise 2 1 successful 2 idolised 3 Interestingly 4 readers 5 inspiration 6 biographers 7 original 8 novelist 9 unattractive 10 courageous 11 openly 12 married Page 79 – exercise 3 1 library 2 Laura died 3 ill 4 London 5 in the asylum 6 Mrs Catherick 7 mother 8 his property and title
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Chapter SEVEN Page 80 – exercise 1 1F 2F 3F 4T 5T Page 87 – exercise 1 A6 B4 C2 D7 E1 F8 G3 H9 I extra heading J5 Page 87 – exercise 2 1 Because she did not want to sign a document revealing her secret. 2 Because she was thankful that Walter had caused Sir Percival’s death. 3 Major Donthorne. 4 The key to the vestry. 5 Expensive presents. 6 Because he thought that Sir Percival was his wife’s lover. 7 Because she too was guilty of forgery and could end up in prison for many years. 8 He had to produce a birth certificate and to do this he needed to show that his parents were legally married. 9 He thought that Anne knew his secret. 10 He had her sent to an asylum. 11 To show the doctor from the asylum where Laura was hiding. 12 He didn’t want to cause Marian pain. Page 88 – exercise 3 1E 2C 3H 4D 5F 6A 7B Extra sentences: G Page 89 – exercise 4 Elements in common to be noted: • Two sisters who are very close • An older sister is like a mother because their real mother is dead • The younger sister is going to marry an aristocrat
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• The older sister has extreme doubts about this aristocrat • The aristocrat is not really an aristocrat
Chapter EIGHT Page 89 – exercise 1 1 T 2 F – She could remember nothing of the time from her leaving Blackwater Park and her escape from the asylum. 3 F – He wrote a letter to her former employer. 4 T 5 F – He had never even met Sir Percival. 6 T Page 95 – exercise 1 1A 2A 3D 4D 5C 6D 7A Page 96 – exercise 2 Suggested answer: Without a doubt Marian and Count Fosco are the most interesting characters in the book. First, of all, they are both very unusual. Marian has an unattractive face but she is very intelligent, loving and courageous. She is the one who keeps Count Fosco from doing everything he plans. She is Count Fosco’s perfect adversary. And that is saying a lot because Count Fosco is a big character in many different ways. First, physically he is enormous. He is obviously evil, but he is also very charming. Marian says he has a face like the great general Napoleon Bonaparte. He is also very intelligent. He is the character that ‘creates’ the story. The strange idea of eliminating Laura by changing her into Anne was his. Finally, Fosco becomes even more
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interesting when he, just like the reader, admires Marian very much. We may like Walter and Laura but they are too much like standard heroes. Page 97 – exercise 4 1 called 2 whose 3 They 4 in 5 of 6 which 7 The 8 between 9 that 10 about 11 who 12 made 13 that Page 97 – exercise 5 1 whispered 2 recognise 3 improved 4 protect 5 betray 6 join 7 haunts 8 buried
Chapter NINE Page 98 – exercise 1 1A 2B 3C 4A 5B Page 106 – exercise 1 1 F – He had to hurry before Fosco left London. 2 T 3 F – He adored her passionately. 4 T 5 F – He said they were enough. 6 T 7 F – The blond man with the scar killed Fosco. 8 F – He was killed because he had betrayed the Brotherhood. 9 F – She wasn’t wealthy because Sir Percival and the Count had already spent all of her money. 10 T Page 106 – exercise 2 Suggested answer: The ideal woman of Victorian England was physically attractive, and often
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had a light complexion and hair. She did not have a strong character in many situations. However, if there was a question of morality she could be quite strong. This comes out in The Woman in White when Laura, a typical Victorian heroine, refuses to sign a document for her husband because she does not think it is right: she must read it first. Also, the Victorian woman became heroic and strong when she sacrificed herself. In The Woman in White Laura marries a man who is obviously bad because she wants to respect her father’s dying wish. With regard to the man she loves, she is very dependent. She totally accepts his opinions (unless, of course, she believes they are morally wrong), and she waits for him to save her in any difficult or dangerous situations. Page 107 – exercise 3 Open answer. Page 107 – exercise 4 1 parents 2 title 3 impostor 4 fatal 5 married 6 opera 7 member 8 kill 9 proof 10 conspiracy 11 traitor 12 heir Page 107 – exercise 5 A B C D E F G
7 – traitor, heir 4 – opera 1 – parents, title 5 – member, kill 2 – impostor 6 – proof, conspiracy 3 – fatal, married
© 2007 Black Cat Publishing, an imprint of Cideb Editrice, Genoa, Canterbury
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8 Laura refused to sign Sir Percival’s document because Marian had told her not to.
1 Answer the following questions. 1 What was Walter’s Italian friend’s name? 2 What was Walter’s job? 3 What surprised Walter about Marian when he first met her? 4 Who wrote the anonymous letter to Laura that said she should not marry Sir Percival? 5 Why did Mr Gilmore not want Mr Fairlie to agree to Sir Percival’s marriage settlement?
9 Mrs Catherick told Walter Sir Percival’s secret because she wanted her revenge on Sir Percival. 10 Walter thought that Pesca would recognise Fosco because they had both left Italy many years earlier. 11 When Laura’s true identity was legally proved, she became a rich woman. 12 Pesca killed Fosco.
6 Why would Count Fosco receive money if Laura died? 7 Why was Sir Percival so desperate to find Anne Catherick? 8 What was Fosco’s opinion of Marian’s description of him in her diary? 9 How did Anne Catherick die? 10 How was it possible to convince people that Laura was Anne? 11 What did Walter discover when he went to visit Laura’s grave?
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12 Why, in the end, was the discovery of Sir Percival’s secret of no use to Walter? 13 Who gave Walter the legal proof that of Laura’s true identity?
2 Say whether statements are true (T) or false (F), and then correct the false ones. 1 The woman in white had very sad memories of her time in Limmeridge. 2 Anne Catherick was alone on Hampstead Heath because she had run away from her mother. 3 Laura and Marian had the same mother but different fathers. 4 Mr Frederick Fairlie was an energetic, courageous man. 5 Walter had to leave Limmeridge House because Marian discovered his love for Laura. 6 Laura married Sir Percival because her father had wanted her to. 7 Sir Percival put Anne in the asylum because he thought that she knew his secret.
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Exercise 1
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1 Pesca. 2 He taught drawing. 3 Even though she had a graceful figure, she was ugly. 4 Anne Catherick. 5 Because the settlement gave Sir Percival a financial reason to want Laura dead. 6 He would receive the money through his wife, who was to receive ten thousand pounds if Laura died. 7 He thought that she knew his secret. 8 He thought it was brilliant. 9 She died of heart disease. 10 Anne had looked like a thinner and paler version of Laura, and so, after Laura’s illness, she looked almost exactly like Anne. 11 He discovered that Laura was not dead. 12 As soon as he discovered the secret, Sir Percival died. Therefore, Walter could not use his knowledge of the secret to force Percival to sign a confession that Laura was actually alive. 13 Count Fosco.
1 F – She had happy memories because Mrs Fairlie, Laura’s mother, was kind to her. 2 F – She had escaped from an asylum. 3 T 4 F – He was a lazy hypochondriac. 5 F – He had to leave because Laura was already engaged to be married and her future husband was coming. 6 T 7 T 8 F – She did not sign because Sir Percival did not let her read the document. 9 F – She told Walter because she thought that Walter was responsible for Percival’s death and she was thankful. 10 T 11 F – Percival and Fosco had spent all her money. 12 F – The blond man with the scar killed Fosco.
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