2 Nivel Básico EOI Alcalá de Guadaíra

It was three o'clock...

... on an afternoon in May. I, Richard Hannay, was a single man in the great city of London, but I was bored. The city didn't interest me any more. This was my first visit to Britain since my childhood. My father took me from Scotland to Africa at the age of six.

When I was a young man I worked as an engineer. My Salary was good and I had a comfortable life, but for years I dreamt of going back to Britain. But now that I was here, nothing was as good as I hoped - I was bored with the old buildings, the theatre, the people and I had no friend to go about with.

That evening I had a meal in a restaurant and went to the theatre. As I walked back to my flat, I made a promise to myself. "I'll stay for one more day and if nothing interesting happens, I'll take the next boat back to Africa."

I was just putting my key in the door when a man run up to me. I was surprised. It was a neighbour - who lived on the top floor.

"Can I speak to you?" He said. "Can I come in for a minute?" He sounded worried.

I opened the door and we went inside. Immediately he ran into the bedroom, looked all around it and ran back again. "Is the door locked?" he asked.

"Of course it is" I said.

"I'm sorry about this," he said, "but my life is very difficult at the moment. Will you do something for me?"

"I'll listen to you," I said. "I can't promise more than that."

He poured himself a drink of my whisky. "Forgive me," he said. " I'm very worried. You see, at this moment I am a dead man."

I sat down in an armchair and lit my pipe. "What does it feel like?" I asked. I thought he was probably crazy.

He smiled. "No, I'm not crazy," he said, "but I'm in a bad trouble and I need your help. Will you help me?"

from The Thirty-Nine steps by John Buchan (Penguin Readers)

Read the text WITHOUT using a dictionary and answer the following questions (write the answers as an attached comment to this post):

1. Why isn't Richard happy with his life in London?
2. What was his job in Africa?
3. Why does Richard think his neighbour is crazy?
4. Do you think Richard will help his neighbour?

Below there's an audio version of the text. Click on 'play' to listen to it.

Matt's presentation : Hometown --> Knoxville, Tennessee

The largest city in the State of Tennessee is Memphis, home of the Memphis Grizzlies.

The second largest city is Nashville, which is also the State's Capital City.

And the third largest city is Knoxville, population 200.000.

One hour away by car from Knoxville is the Smokey Mountains National Park

Matt lives in the outskirts of Knoxville, in a peaceful, quiet neighbourhood in the woods. His family own a typical American house with a front and back yard, a driveway and a deck (terrace) where they meet their friends and do barbecue parties.

'Rocky top' is the anthem of the Tennessee State University

Lyrics:

Wish that I was on ol' Rocky Top
Down in the Tennessee hills
Aint' no smoggy smoke on Rocky Top
Ain't no telephone bills
Once I had a girl on Rocky Top
Half bear, the other half cat
Wild as a mink,
but sweet as soda pop
I still dream about that.