Escape in New York
Transcript of Escape in New York
Before Reading
1. Have a close look at the cover and say everything you can about it.
help box: in the background, in the
foreground, on the left, on the right, at
the top, at the bottom, in the middle…
2. Can you spot the Niagara Falls on a map?
3. Do you know the origin of the word “Niagara”? Look for information about it on the internet.
4. What is the best English synonym for this word?
thunder
awful noise
5. What do you expect to read?
a fairy tale
a science fiction story
a detective story
a love story
«Niagara» is derived from the name given to a branch of the locally residing native Neutral Confederacy, who are described as being called the «Niagagarega» people; or it comes from the name of an Iroquois town called «Ongniaahra», meaning «point of land cut in two»
Chapter 1: A Meeting at Niagara Falls
1. Listen and tick the correct information:
1. Where does the scene take place?
in New York City
in Niagara Falls
2. Who are the main characters?
Betty
Kevin
Bella
Cathy
3. Where did they meet?
in a restaurant
in a coffee shop
2. Listen again and pick out information about Kevin and Cathy. Then fill in the chart:
Last name
Age
Nationality
Plans
Kevin
Patterson
17
Canadian
He plans to go to New York to work as a tourist guide
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Last name
Age
Nationality
Information about her family
Physical description
Cathy
3. Tick the correct informations.
The facts:
Kevin has found a job as a tourist guide in New York City.
Kevin is still a student.
Kevin’s never been to New York City.
Kevin’s already lived there.
Kevin loves the place where he’s living and doesn’t want to
move away.
Kevin thinks his place is boring.
Cathy is an orphan and an only child.
Cathy is an orphan but she’s got a brother.
Cathy tells him her secret.
Cathy doesn’t tell him her secret.
They’re going to meet again.
Cathy refuses to see him again.
O’Brien
17
Irish
her parents died; she also has a brotherblue eyes, dark hair
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Their feelings:
Kevin and his mother don’t get on well.
Kevin and his mother get on well.
Kevin is shrewd.
Kevin is not clever.
Cathy is outgoing.
Cathy is unfriendly.
Cathy misses her brother.
Cathy hates her brother.
4. Listen again and choose the best summary.
summary one: While sitting in a coffee shop Kevin, a
young Canadian boy, has made up his mind: he’s moving to
New York because he can’t stand his future stepfather. He’ll
earn his living there as a tour guide and stay at his Aunt Bella’s.
Cathy, a girl he has just made friends with, looks scared. He’s
ready to help her, but unfortunately she must go back to school
in Niagara Falls and refuses to give him her address.
summary two: While sitting in a coffee shop Kevin, a young Canadian boy, has made up his mind: he’s moving to New York because he can’t stand his future stepfather. He’ll earn his living there as a tour guide and stay at his Aunt Bella’s. Cathy, a girl he has just made friends with, looks scared. He wants to help her: she refuses but agrees to give him her address in New York.
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5. Speak about these points:
1. Why does Kevin decide to sit down at Cathy’s table?
2. Why doesn’t Cathy want to talk about her problems?
Chapter 2: Mrs O’Brien
1. Group work.
Group 1: Concentrate on Mrs O’ Brien’s physical portrait. Pick out
the following elements.
– Face?
– Hair?
– Clothes?
– Appearance?
Group 2: Concentrate on Mrs O’ Brien’s personality. Read the
sentences and match them with the adjectives that best describe
her personality.
aggressive friendly nosy kind
nasty warm-hearted scornful mild
violent fishy respectable
She seemed full of anxiety.
Because she doesn’t know Kevin.
heavystraight brown hair, cut short above her ears
long black boots and a thick grey coatlike a soldier
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1. “I told you to meet me at the car at 4.30. It’s now 5 o’clock.
What have you been doing?”
2. She looked suspiciously at Kevin. “Who’s this?” she asked Cathy.
3. “You make friends quickly, I see!”
4. Then she took Cathy’s arm and pulled her to her feet. Holding
Cathy’s arm firmly in hers, she marched to the door.
Group 3: Concentrate on Cathy’s reaction. Read the sentences
and match them with the corresponding adjectives.
petrified cheerful frightened
delighted relaxed hopeless
1. Suddenly he saw her freeze.
2. The stepmother stood beside Cathy, who sat quite still, not
looking at her.
3. Cathy turned back and looked hard at Kevin.
2. Sum up the chapter orally.
3. Act the scene. Somebody can record the scene to observe and comment on it later with your teacher.
nosy
fishy
scornful
aggressive
petrified
relaxed
hopeless
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4. Tick the right statements. When the statements are wrong, correct them.
1. Mrs O’Brien is Cathy’s stepmother.
2. Cathy left her bag in the coffee shop.
3. Her bag was empty.
4. Kevin doesn’t know where to find her in New York.
5. Kevin is absolutely sure her new friend is in danger.
6. Betty makes fun of him because she’s jealous.
7. Kevin will wait for another week before going to New York.
5. Answer the questions.
1. Why did Cathy lie about Kevin’s identity?
2. Tick the adjective that best describes Cathy’s state of mind:
anxious relaxed curious enthusiastic
3. Which passage proves it?
4. What about the key Kevin found in Cathy’s purse? What could it
open?
There was a handkerchief and a purse with a few coins in it.
Betty makes fun of him because he’s too excited.
Kevin asks Aunt Bella if he can get to New York earlier that week.
To protect Kevin.
She looked hard at Kevin.
Her front door in New York.
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Chapter 3: Journey to New York
1. Tick “Right” or “Wrong”.
1. Before leaving for the USA, Kevin went on board
the Maid of the Mist with the tourists. R W
2. Kevin didn’t forget the precious key. R W
3. Kevin had some problems with the Immigration
Officer. R W
4. Kevin was given a lift to New York by a truck driver. R W
5. The policeman in the park arrested him because
he hitch-hiked from Canada. R W
6. Kevin has got a Green Card. R W
7. His aunt lives in Greenwich Village. R W
2. Now sum up what happens in this chapter.
3. Write the dialogue between Adam, the Texan truck driver, and Kevin, on their way to New York.
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Chapter 4: Morning in New York
1. Read the whole chapter and fill in the grid.
Time of day
Itinerary
Most important event
2. Write Kevin’s diary entry saying what happened in this chapter. Use the Past Simple.
3. Class work.
1. The word “subway” is used in American English. Do you know
the British English word for “subway”?
2. What do you know about the New York subway?
morning
168th St and Broadway, Columbus Circle, to 53rd St and 5th Av.
He thought he had seen Cathy.
underground
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Team A: Ask your friends questions to complete the blanks.
(Place?) The first American subway was built in
in 1897. The New York subway was inaugurated on October,
27, 1905. (What time?) At p.m. that evening, the
subway opened to the general public. (How many?) More than
people got in the cars. They paid a nickel each to
take their first ride under Manhattan. The system now has 26
lines and 468 stations in operation. (How long?) The longest line
stretches more than miles. (How much?) The cheapest
fare costs $ The system runs 24 hours a day, seven days
a week.
Team B: Ask your friends questions to complete the blanks.
(Date?) The first American subway was built in Boston in (Date?) The New York subway was inaugurated on At 7 p.m. that evening, the subway opened to the
general public. More than 100,000 people got in the cars. (How much?) They paid a each to take their first ride under Manhattan. (How many?) The system now has 26 lines and
stations in operation. The longest line stretches more than 32 miles. The cheapest fare costs $2. (How many?) The system runs hours a day, days a week.
4. Now say what you know about the New York subway. You can record your text at home and send it to your teacher.
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Chapters 5, 6 and 7: Aunt Bella / The Search for Cathy Begins / Eleventh Avenue
1. Listen and circle the words which describe Aunt Bella.
charitable clever admirable helpful
angry witty eccentric conventional
boring generous unpleasant
2. Listen again and pick out information about her.
1. Aunt Bella’s age
2. Aunt Bella’s occupation
3. How she helps Kevin find Cathy’s address in New York
4. The part of the city she lives in
5. The reason why she asks him to be careful
between forty and fifty
She helps the different ethnic groups of the city
She calls the boarding school she used to go to, and says she’s an old friend of the family.
West Side
It is a poor and dangerous neighborhood so she’s worried about him getting into trouble.
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3. How well do you know The Big Apple? the monuments or places that you can see in New York City and cross out those you can see in London.
Tower Bridge Brooklyn Bridge
Piccadilly Circus
The Mall
The UN Building
The ThamesHyde Park The Hudson River
The City
Rockefeller Center Broadway
4. Who are the characters in these chapters? their names.
Betty
Aunt Bella
Cathy
the policeman
Mrs O’Brien
the security guard
Rob Masterman
a bald man Kevin
5. Listen again and finish the sentences.
1. Kevin couldn’t talk to Cathy on the phone because
2. He couldn’t get straight into the apartment house because
3. He was thrown out of the lobby by
Mrs O’Brien told him she didn’t want to see him.
there were two locked turnstiles between the lobby and the elevators.
the security guard.
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6. Match the words with their definitions.
1. a skyscraper
2. a subway station
3. a district
4. stories
5. cheap
6. an apartment house
7. advertisements
8. damaged houses
9. poor
a. rich
b. a building with different apartments in it
c. posters to persuade you to buy a product
d. a place where you can travel under the ground
e. houses in bad condition
f. a part of a city
g. expensive
h. a very tall building
i. levels of a building
1 2 3 4 5
6 7 8 9 b
h d f i g
c e a
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Chapter 8: Danger?
1. Number the sentences in the right order.
He had a hot chocolate at the Rockefeller Center.
He got out of West Side as quickly as he could.
He ate a hot dog in a snack bar.
He went past a great cinema and entertainment venue.
He went into the Lincoln Center for a couple of concert tickets.
He saw the building of his future company.
2. Answer the questions.
1. Why does Aunt Bella want her nephew to give up?
2. What is Kevin’s decision?
Chapter 9: Kevin Tries Again
1. Pick out the key words (nouns, verbs, adjectives, time expressions…). Then describe the scene.
2. Decide which summary is the best.
summary 1: The next day Kevin went back near the apartment
house to get some more information. The street was peaceful.
Mothers were going shopping, children were playing. He spent
two hours there before deciding to stop watching.
12
34
56
Because he may get hurt.
To go on finding out what he can.
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summary 2: The next day Kevin went back near the apartment house to get some more information. The street was peaceful. Mothers were going shopping, children were playing. He saw Mrs O’Brien behind her window and he had to leave quickly.
3. Listen again and finish the sentences.
1. He was walking back up the street when he
2. He couldn’t see the driver because
3. The car was driving on
4. The car was going fast and tried to
5. Fortunately, Kevin was able to
6. And the car
4. Answer the questions.
1. Was Kevin hurt?
2. Who do you think was behind the driving wheel?
3. Why do you think the mysterious driver wanted to kill him?
heard the sound of a car behind him.
the sun was shining on the windshield
the wrong side of the road.
run over him.
dodge it.
hit the wall of the house and then disappeared up the street.
Yes, he had cuts.
The bald man.
Because he wanted to know more than he should.
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5. Answer the questions about the young woman.
1. Does she know the driver? Who is he?
2. Why doesn’t she want to give evidence against him?
6. You’re a reporter and you watched the scene. Write an article to report about the incident.
Chapters 10 and 11: Being Followed / Home again
1. Write the questions:
1. Where/Kevin/look?
2. Where/be/the Oldsmobile?
3. Where/he/take the bus?
4. He/sit in the bus?
5. What/the Oldsmobile/do?
6. When/Kevin/get off?
7. Where/Kevin/go?
Yes, everybody knows him.
Because that would be signing her death warrant.
Where did Kevin look?
Where was the Oldsmobile?
Where did he take the bus?
Did he sit in the bus?
What did the Oldsmobile do?
When did Kevin get off?
Where did Kevin go?
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2. Read the text again and find the answers.
3. Ask your friends these questions and compare your answers.
4. Drawing time! Pick out information about the driver and draw his portrait.
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5. Read the chapter to find out:
1. What Kevin did before going home and why
2. What Aunt Bella advises him to do
3. Why he doesn’t agree with her
6. Mini webquest. Group work. How well do you know Central Park?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Central_Park
Location
When it opened
Where it’s located
Opening hours
http://www.centralparknyc.org/visit/general-info/rules-regulations/
Wild animals
Dogs in the park
Driving speed limit
center of Manhattan
In 1857
Between 110th Street to 59th Street.
All year, it only closes from 1am to 6am.
Not allowed.
Dogs allowed, but not in playgrounds, fountains. battlefields.
25 mph
He got off the bus because he was being followed.
Go to the police.
Because they would not believe him.
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http://www.centralparknyc.org/visit/things-to-do/sports/
Make a list of the activities you can do in the park.
7. Make a poster about Central Park with the elements above.
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Chapter 12: The Guide
1. Listen and finish the sentences.
1. Kevin’s first day at work was on
2. He was welcomed by his boss, who was called
3. His employer liked him immediately because he had a
4. His partner for the job was
5. He enjoyed the job at once and almost forgot for a time.
6. But he was still afraid of meeting
2. Listen and complete.
1. Origin of the tourists
2. Name of the building
3. Tallest building in 1973 in the USA
4. Location of the tallest building in the USA nowadays
5. Location of the tallest buildings in the world nowadays
6. Time it takes to go up the 80th floor
7. Kevin’s way of talking
good bad
the bald man.
Monday.Mr Swift
nice sense of humor.
Mrs Richter, or Debbie.Cathy
Texas.
The Empire State Building.
The World Trade Center
Chicago
Asia
less than one minute
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3. Say what you now know.
4. Find more information about the Empire State Building on the internet. Write the dialogue between a tourist and a guide. Then, act the scene at school.
http://www.esbnyc.com/
Chapter 13: What is Going on?
1. Match the words and their synonyms.
dress almost not
widewalk be understandable
guy match
hardly pavement
fit together man
make sense put on clothes
2. Read and find out:
1. What Kevin decided to do
2. Why he is wearing different clothes
Going back to Cathy’s apartment.
Not to be recognized.
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3. Read the whole chapter and find as many details as you can about the young boy and the Puerto Rican girl.
The boy The girl
Age
Clothes
Standard of living
Possible job
4. Kevin’s thoughts. Find the answers to these questions.
1. Why didn’t Mrs O’ Brien want Cathy to see him?
2. What was suspicious in the boy’s behaviour?
5. Can you imagine what is really going on? Write it down.
14 18
smart clothes the smartest clothes
high high
dealer dealer
She may have something to do with a drug gang.
Their standard of living.
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Chapter 14: The Statue of Liberty
1. Listen from “That day...” (page 51, line 1) down to “His eyes met hers” (page 52, line 5) and answer the questions.
1. What tour Debbie and Kevin are on today?
2. Where are they going after their stop in Wall Street?
3. Who do you think is the woman in a gray coat?
2. Let’s make suppositions.
1. What was Mrs O’Brien doing in the bank?
2. What about the big bundle of bank notes?
3. Why did Kevin stare at the big bundle of bank notes?
4. What do you think could happen after this “unexpected
meeting”?
3. Listen and find what place Debbie is talking about.
1. Who told Debbie about this place? Why?
2. What was the problem with the doctors?
If you want to know more about this place, visit this website:
http://www.nps.gov/elis/index.htm (Say as much as you can)
The Statue of Liberty from Battery Park and Wall Street.
To Battery Park.
Mrs O Brien.
Earle’s grandmother because it was awful.
They had to examine all the immigrants.
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4. Group work. Choose between the two activities. The two documents below can help you.
GROUP 1: You’re a tourist guide. Use this information and prepare
your guided tour. Then, act the roles of the tourist and guide with
a classmate.
GROUP 2: Create a leaflet for tourists about the Statue of Liberty.
Document 1
The Statue of Liberty is located on Liberty
Island in New York Harbor. This monument
was a gift to the USA from France as a mark
of friendship between the two nations
during the American Revolution.
Its original name is "Liberty Enlightening
the World." It pictures a woman freed from
tyranny (the chain at her feet is broken).
She holds a torch that is a symbol of liberty.
The copper statue was built in France by Frédéric Auguste
Bartholdi. It was finished in July, 1884. It was brought to
the USA in 350 pieces on a French ship called the "Isere" (in
June, 1885). The statue was re-assembled in the USA and was
completed on October 28, 1886.
There are 354 steps inside the statue and its pedestal.
There are 25 viewing windows in the crown. The seven rays of
Liberty's crown symbolize the seven seas and seven continents
of the world. Liberty holds a tablet in her left hand that reads
"July 4, 1776".
Adapted from Enchantedlearning.com
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Document 2
dimensions of the statue of liberty
Height from ground to tip of torch 93 m
Length of nose 1.37 m
Length of head (chin to top of head) 5.26 m
Length of right arm 12.80 m
Width of mouth 0.91 m
Ground to top of pedestal 46.94 m
Chapter 15: Fast-Food Restaurant
1. Look for the words (page 102) in the grid.
K E S N F T P U C T K Y F R I
E D T C R H L I C R S K E N E
K I Y Z E X A U O A P K I R C
O O R C N P S U Q S U M E H K
V L O T C B T K P H C H E N P
E M F O H O I P X C T A I R J
S W O G F Y C P R A P V E E P
P Z A O R R M V E N E T S M T
O E M K I S A O Q S N E S E G
O F B J E B T C K U R Z W E S
N E O J S R E M O T S U C E F
S Y X R X O R C A F L R T D I
F J E A K M I S C A F A E O Y
Q Q S W J S A J E Z L E T O E
V E Q N Y S L M S P M S E F O
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CHEAP KNIVES COFFEE
MEAL
COUNTER
PLASTIC MATERIAL
PLATESCUSTOMERS
SPOONS FOODFRENCH FRIES
STYROFOAM
BOXES TRASH CANS
FORKS
2. What are your eating habits? What do you like best? Write it down.
3. Test your memory! While they were eating their beefburgers, Kevin told Debbie everything that had happened since his meeting with Cathy at Niagara Falls.
1. Recap orally what happened so far.
2. Write a dialogue between Debbie and Kevin on the whole story
and act the scene.
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Chapter 16: A Trip to Harlem
1. Baldie’s itinerary. Follow Baldie’s route on the map (page 36).
Johnnie was walking along the sidewalk. Finally he turned
up West on 34th Street and went into Madison Square
Garden. A big match between two heavyweight boxers was
going to take place there the following evening. Kevin had
often been to this big sports arena to watch basketball and
hockey matches. Johnnie came out again. He looked angry,
and Kevin guessed that there were no tickets left. Johnnie
walked up Seventh Avenue to Broadway and Times Square.
In Times Square he examined the advertisements outside
the movie theaters and then finally entered the subway.
Kevin followed him and got into the next car without being
seen. In the corner on the other side of the car there were
two big youths who kept looking at him and talking to one
another in a low voice.
At 125th Street and Lenox Avenue, Johnnie got out.
The two youths got out too, and ran up the steps in front
of Kevin. Johnnie walked away from the station. Kevin
hesitated a second before following him. He was now in the
middle of Harlem, and it was getting dark. This was a part
of New York where his aunt had told him not to go.
Johnnie walked west along 125th Street for a block and
then turned north. Kevin was glad he did not have far to
go. Johnnie entered a house, smaller than most, in 127th
Street, one block from the station.
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2. Have you heard about Harlem? Pick out as many details as you can in the text and then find some information on the internet.
3. Read from “Johnnie walked west…” (page 60, line 11) down to “fast-food restaurant” (page 60, line 21) and choose the best summary.
number one: Hidden in a safe place, Kevin spent a long
time watching Johnnie and his young helpers. Afterwards,
he was sure that something wrong was going on there. They
must be traffickers.
number two: Hidden in a safe place, Kevin spent a long time watching Johnnie and his young helpers but he couldn’t see what was going on because it was too dark.
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Chapter 17: Cathy Calls
1. Match the words and their synonyms.
a crook
stuff
bug
a go-between
smuggle
a mediator
import or export prohibited goods
a dishonest person
goods
a microphone
2. Listen from “She spoke fast…” (page 63, line 1) down to “she gets the drugs from” (page 63, line 21). Concentrate on Cathy’s stepmother. Say what you learn about her.
3. Listen from “From the apartment…” (page 64, line 1) down to “you must say so honestly” (page 64, line 20). Pick out the nouns, the verbs and the adjectives. Underline the words which helped you understand this passage and say what you know about Cathy’s situation.
4. Kev can’t wait to help his friend, but he couldn’t write her message properly and he doesn’t remember it well. Can you sum it up orally?
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5. Listen down to the end and find out:
1. How Aunt Bella will be able to help Kevin and Cathy
2. Why Cathy doesn’t want him to use the key to free her
Chapters 18 and 19: Getting Help / Things Go Wrong
1. How well did you read? Some information is wrong. Correct it.
Kevin needs help to get Cathy out of her apartment. She
has been locked in by her stepmother because she knows
too much about the drug racket. He asks his aunt Bella to
drive him to Cathy’s place. Tomorrow will be the big day!
Cathy’s brother might be caught by the police! Kevin told
Debbie’s friend the whole story before.
The next day the boy and his aunt set off for Battery
Park and wait for the police. Mrs. O’Brien doesn’t appear
but they see Baldie leaving the house, carrying two large
leather bags.
Kevin tricks the security guard: he wants him to get out
of the building. In the meantime, Debbie goes upstairs to
Cathy’s apartment.
Washington Squareappeared a
Kevin
because she knows the Lieutenant at the Precinct and she’ll arrange things.
because Johnnie’s downstairs and she’s frightenend.
Debbie
stepmother
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2. Read chapter 19 again and write…
1. who the man in the dark raincoat might be
2. why Kevin is impatient
3. why they tricked the security guard
4. why Kevin is not afraid of Baldie
Chapters 20 and 21: Finding Cathy / Cathy Comes to Stay
1. Find out:
1. what happened after Cathy left Niagara Falls
2. what Johnnie is looking for
3. what happened to Mrs O’Brien
2. Listen and pick out the nouns, the verbs and the adjectives. Underline the words which helped you understand this passage. Look at your notes and recap orally.
Washington Squareappeared
the bald man
because the police doesn’t arrive so he thinks something is wrong
to get into the apartment
because he learned a bit of karate
her stepmother left her with a man and they took the train to New York
the special key
Johnnie killed her
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3. Answer the questions.
1. How did Kevin manage to be stronger than Baldie?
2. Why were the police late?
3. Why was Aunt Bella right to be afraid of Johnnie?
4. Where is Cathy going to stay now?
4. When it was all over, Kevin went on writing his diary. Imagine what he wrote.
5. Read the last two chapters again and turn them into a comic strip. You can use large sheets of paper to pin them up in your classroom or in your bedroom. Here are some tips to help you.
1. Cathy and Kevin meet again.
2. Baldie, the nasty guy.
3. The fight.
4. All’s well that ends well!
He learnt karate so well.
Because there was an accident.
Because he’s a murderer.
In Aunt Bella’s home.
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