1
Frank Minot
2
Little Boo
3
Ed Devlin
4
Jack
5
Jill
a
white teeth, golden hair
b
short legs, round face
c
tall, keen sparkle in his eye
d
black eyes, red cheeks
e
sweet-faced, rosy cheeks
3
a. This chapter is called
The Catastrophe
. What catastrophe do you think
might happen? In pairs, predict what you think is going to happen next.
I think there is going to be a fight between Joe and Jack.
Project
You have decided to enter the Louisa May Alcott drawing competition.
Read the extract again, then choose a scene to draw for the competition. Is
your picture similar to any other student’s in your class?
Louisa May Alcott
(1832-1888) was born in Germantown, Pennsylvania, the
second of four sisters. At an early age, Louisa and her family moved to
Massachusetts, where she lived for most of her life. Her father was a teacher,
and he encouraged Louisa to keep a diary. She started to write at the age of
16. Alcott used her diary to help her write about her own life and
experiences. One of her most famous books is
Little Women
,
which is based on the life of her family. She wrote
Jack and Jill:
A Village Story
in 1880. Alcott has been called the ‘novelist of
children’ for her ability to reflect the teenage point of view.
Jack and Jill
tells the story of life in rural New England at the
turn of the century. It tells of how the friendship between
the two main characters is tested by a terrible accident.
With the help of their friends and family, they put their
bad luck behind them and get on with their lives.
1
Read the title and the author’s biography. What do you think the novel is about?
How could Alcott’s own experiences have helped her write the novel? Look at
the picture. What time of year is it? What are the children doing?
d. Match the highlighted words to their synonyms in the list.
boy
serious
smarter
guy
gathered
playful
generously
first-rate
protected
shy
b. Listen and check if your guesses were correct.
2
a. Read the extract and match the characters with their descriptions, then
make up sentences about them. Finally explain the words in bold.
b. Which of the characters is:
serious; clever; good-natured;
popular; protective; patient
? Underline the
words/phrases/sentences which imply the character.
c. Which of the characters can you see in the pictures? Describe them.
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