Homework

• 1. Add the correct question tag
• 2. Complete with had better or would rather
• 3. Answer using complete sentences
• 4. Reading comprehension
  • The Adventure of the Speckled Band

1. Add the correct question tag

1. She is your sister, __________?
2. They don't live here, __________?
3. He can speak English, __________?
4. You haven't been to Japan, __________?
5. We should leave now, __________?
6. She will come tomorrow, __________?
7. You like chocolate, __________?
8. She didn't call, __________?
9. I'm late, __________?
10. They were happy, __________?

2. Complete with had better or would rather

1. You __________ study tonight. The exam is tomorrow.
2. I __________ stay home than go out in this rain.
3. She __________ not forget her passport.
4. We __________ eat at home. The restaurants are too expensive.
5. You __________ hurry. The train leaves in five minutes.
6. I __________ you didn't tell anyone about this.

3. Answer using complete sentences

1. You're studying English, aren't you? How long have you been studying?
2. Would you rather live in the city or in the countryside?
3. What is something you'd better do this week?
4. Would you rather have more money or more free time?

4. Reading comprehension

The Adventure of the Speckled Band

One morning in the spring of 1883, a young woman came to visit my friend Sherlock Holmes at our apartment in Baker Street. Her name was Helen Stoner, and she was clearly very frightened.[1]

"Mr. Holmes, I am afraid that I am going to die," she said. "My sister Julia died two years ago, and I believe the same thing is going to happen to me."

Holmes asked her to tell us everything. Helen explained that she and Julia were twins.[2] They lived with their stepfather,[3] Dr. Grimesby Roylott, in an old manor[4] house in the countryside. Their mother had died years before and had left them money, but Roylott controlled it. If either sister married, Roylott would lose a large part of that money.

Roylott was a violent and dangerous man. He had lived in India for many years and had brought back strange habits and even stranger animals — a cheetah[5] and a baboon[6] walked freely around the garden. Nobody in the village liked him. Everyone was afraid of him.

Two years ago, Julia had become engaged[7] to be married. A few days before the wedding,[8] Helen heard Julia scream in the middle of the night. She ran to her sister's room and found Julia standing in the doorway, her face white with terror.[9]

"Helen! It was the band! The speckled[10] band!" Julia whispered. Then she collapsed[11] and died.

The police investigated but found nothing. The door was locked from the inside, the windows had shutters[12] that were closed, and the walls and floor were solid. There was no explanation.

"I thought about it every day for two years," Helen told Holmes, "but I could not understand what she meant by 'the speckled band.'"

Now Helen herself was engaged to be married. Three days ago, Roylott had told her she needed to move to Julia's old room because of repairs[13] to her wall. That first night in the new room, she heard something Julia had described before she died: a low whistle[14] in the dark, in the middle of the night. She was terrified and came to Holmes the next morning.

Holmes agreed to investigate. That afternoon, we traveled to the manor. Roylott was not at home. Holmes examined Julia's room very carefully. He found three things that were strange.

First, there was a rope hanging from the ceiling next to the bed. It looked like a bell pull,[15] but when Holmes pulled it, no bell rang.[16] It was a fake.[17]

Second, there was a small opening[18] in the wall near the ceiling. It did not lead outside — it connected directly to Roylott's room next door.

Third, the bed was bolted[19] to the floor. It could not be moved. It was placed directly under the rope and the opening in the wall.

"Watson," Holmes said to me, "this is a very dangerous situation. We must stay here tonight."

That night, we sat in the dark in Julia's room and waited. Helen was safely[20] in another part of the house. For hours, nothing happened. Then, at three in the morning, we saw a light through the opening in the wall. Roylott was awake. We heard a soft sound — the low whistle.

Holmes struck[21] a match[22] and hit the rope with his cane.[23] Something moved quickly up the rope and disappeared through the opening.

Suddenly, from the next room, we heard a terrible scream. We ran to Roylott's room. He was sitting in his chair, dead. Around his head was wrapped[24] a strange yellow snake with brown spots[25] — a swamp[26] adder,[27] one of the most poisonous[28] snakes in India.

"The speckled band," said Holmes.

Holmes explained everything. Roylott had trained the snake to go through the opening, down the rope, and onto the bed. He used the whistle to call it back. It was the perfect murder — no one would find any evidence.[29] Julia had died from the snake's bite[30] on the night before her wedding. And now Roylott had tried to do the same to Helen, because her marriage would also cost him money.

When Holmes hit the snake, it went back through the opening, angry, and bit the first person it found: Roylott himself.

"I cannot say that I am sorry," said Holmes.

Arthur Conan Doyle (1892). Adapted version

[1] frightened ['fraɪtənd] - very afraid

[2] twins [twɪnz] - two children born to the same mother at the same time

[3] stepfather ['stɛpfɑðər] - a man married to your mother who is not your father

[4] manor ['mænər] - a large country house with land

[5] cheetah ['tʃi:tə] - a large, very fast wild cat with spotted fur

[6] baboon [bæ'bu:n] - a large monkey

[7] engaged [ɪn'geɪdʒd] - having formally agreed to marry

[8] wedding ['wɛdɪŋ] - the ceremony at which two people get married

[9] terror ['tɛrər] - extreme fear

[10] speckled ['spɛkəld] - covered with small spots or marks

[11] collapse [kə'læps] - to fall down suddenly

[12] shutters ['ʃʌtərz] - wooden or metal covers on the outside of a window

[13] repairs [rɪ'pɛrz] - work done to fix something broken

[14] whistle ['wɪsəl] - a high sound made by blowing air through the lips

[15] bell pull [bɛl pʊl] - a cord you pull to ring a bell and call a servant

[16] ring [rɪŋ] - to make the sound of a bell (past: rang)

[17] fake [feɪk] - not real; an imitation

[18] opening ['oʊpənɪŋ] - a hole or gap

[19] bolted ['boʊltɪd] - fixed firmly in place with metal screws

[20] safely ['seɪfli] - out of danger

[21] strike [straɪk] - to hit; to light (a match) (past: struck)

[22] match [mætʃ] - a small wooden stick used to make fire

[23] cane [keɪn] - a walking stick

[24] wrap [ræp] - to wind or fold around something (past: wrapped)

[25] spots [spɑts] - small round marks

[26] swamp [swɑmp] - an area of very wet, soft land

[27] adder ['ædər] - a type of poisonous snake

[28] poisonous ['pɔɪzənəs] - containing poison; able to kill or harm

[29] evidence ['ɛvɪdəns] - facts or objects that prove what happened

[30] bite [baɪt] - a wound made by teeth or fangs

Answer based on the text.

1. Why was Helen Stoner afraid?
2. What were Julia's last words?
3. Why would Dr. Roylott lose money if Helen or Julia married?
4. What three strange things did Holmes find in Julia's room?
5. What was "the speckled band"?
6. How did Roylott die?
7. What do you think of Holmes's final words?