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OXFORD BOOKWORMS LIBRARY STAGE 4 6 XXX

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Black Beauty Stage 4
OXFORD BOOKWORMS LIBRARY STAGE 4 6 BLACK BEAUTY
Before Reading
BEFORE READINGACTIVITIES (PAGE 76)
ACTIVITY 1 BEFORE READING
1 Black Beauty, a horse.
2 He had a pleasant home and kind owners, and was
able to gallop around in a large field.
3 He has been well trained and always behaves well.
He never bites or kicks or runs away, however tired
or hungry he feels.
4 They had to work hard, in all kinds of weather.
Some owners were kind, but many were cruel,
whipping and beating their horses.
ACTIVITY 2 BEFORE READING
Encourage students to speculate and to make
guesses, but do not tell them the answers. They will
find out as they read that the answers are numbers
1, 4, 5 and 6.
ACTIVITY 3 BEFORE READING
Encourage students to speculate and to make
guesses, but do not tell them the answers. They
will find out as they read that the yes answers are
numbers 1, 3 and 4.
While Reading
CHAPTERS 1 AND 2 WHILE READING
Until he was four years old, Black Beauty lived in a
field and was able to gallop (race) around with other
young horses. Then he began his training. He had to
learn to wear a saddle on his back and a bridle on his
head, with a cold metal bit in his mouth. When he
pulled a carriage behind him, he had to wear a heavy
collar on his neck and blinkers against his eyes.
He was lucky with his next home. He lived in a
pleasant stable with Merrylegs, a fat little pony, and
Ginger, a tall brown mare. His new master, John the
groom, and James the stableboy were all kind people.
CHAPTERS 3 TO 5 WHILE READING
1 Gingers master, Mr Ryder, to his son Samson, about
the bad-tempered way Samson was treating Ginger
during her training.
2 John the groom, to James, about Ginger becoming
gentler and more like Black Beauty.
3 Merrylegs, the pony, to Black Beauty and Ginger,
explaining why he had thrown two boys off his
back.
4 A horse, Sir Oliver, to Black Beauty, explaining why
his tail had been cruelly cut short.
5 Sawyer, the builder, to Mr Gordon, explaining why
he was whipping his pony, who had turned into the
Park gates when his owner had wanted him to go
straight on.
6 Black Beautys master, Mr Gordon, to his wife, after
Beauty had saved him and his groom John from
being drowned in the river, by refusing to cross the
(broken) bridge.
7 John Manly to his master, Mr Gordon, about the
young stableboy, James.
BEFORE READING CHAPTER 6
Encourage students to speculate and to make
guesses, but do not tell them the answers. They will
find out as they read that the fire is in a stable, the
horses are in danger, Black Beauty escapes, and
James is very brave.
CHAPTERS 6 TO 8 WHILE READING
1 What . . .? Smoking a pipe.
2 Why . . .? Because the stable was full of smoke.
3 Why . . .? So that the horse wouldnt be frightened
of the flames and smoke, and he would be able to
lead him out.
4 What . . .? He didnt put a warm cloth on him, and
only gave him cold water.
5 Why . . .? Because Black Beauty became very ill,
and Joe knew that it was his fault, although he had
meant no harm.
6 Why . . .? Because the man was whipping his horses
cruelly.
7 What . . .? She wanted him to use the bearing reins
to make them hold their heads higher.
8 What . . .? Lady Gray told York to make the bearing
reins very tight, and Ginger knew that would be very
painful, so she decided to fight.
9 What . . .? He galloped to fetch help, with a
workman on his back.
BEFORE READING CHAPTER 9
Encourage students to speculate and to make
guesses, but do not tell them the answers. They
will find out as they read that the yes answers are
numbers 2, 4 and 7.
CHAPTERS 9 TO 11 WHILE READING
1 F Black Beauty fell because his foot was cut and
bleeding, and causing him great pain.
2 T
3 F The grooms son stole Black Beautys oats and
fed them to his fathers chickens.
4 F Jerry Barker took great care of his horses.
5 T
6 T
7 F When Jerry got a new job in the country, Mr
Grant promised to find a comfortable place for
Black Beauty.
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OXFORD BOOKWORMS LIBRARY STAGE 4 7 BLACK BEAUTY
The farmer who bought Black Beauty at a horse fair
was a kind owner. He gave Black Beauty a long rest,
with good food, before making him do some light
work.
The Blomefield family, three ladies, were Black
Beautys last owners. The work was easy and pleasant,
and Black Beauty had the best and kindest of grooms
in Joe Green, whom he had known many years before.
ACTIVITY 2 AFTER READING
Suggested answers:
JOHN: When did the fire start?
JAMES: Some time in the middle of the night. I was
asleep, but I woke up when I smelt the smoke, and
ran down to the stable.
JOHN: And how bad was it when you got there?
JAMES: Terrible! The roof was burning and there was
thick black smoke everywhere.
JOHN: I expect it was hard to get the horses out.
JAMES: Yes, they were really frightened. I had to put
my scarf over Beautys eyes to get him out, and then
I went back for Ginger.
JOHN: Did anyone find out how the fire started?
JAMES: They think Dick Towler started it with his
pipe, when he went up to put some hay down. Of
course, he says he put his pipe down before he went
up there, but nobody believes him.
JOHN: Anyway, you did really well to save our horses.
The masters very pleased with you.
ACTIVITY 3 AFTER READING
3 GRAY: Now tell me exactly what happened, York.
6 YORK: Im afraid we lost control of Ginger, my
lord, and had to cut the horses out of the
harness.
5 GRAY: But what made Ginger behave so badly?
2 YORK: I think the bearing rein was too tight for her,
sir.
9 GRAY: Well, why was the bearing rein so tight?
4 YORK: Her ladyship asked me to make it tighter, sir.
1 GRAY: Women dont understand horses, York! In
future take orders only from me, not from my
wife.
8 YORK: Right, sir. Shall I try Ginger in the carriage
again?
7 GRAY: No, better not. Put another horse in next
time.
ACTIVITY 4 AFTER READING
Open answers. Encourage as much discussion as
possible.
If appropriate to the students culture, the
discussion could be extended to include some of
these statements on animal welfare and rights:
1 Animals should never be kept in captivity.
2 Animals feel and suffer, just as humans do.
BEFORE READING CHAPTERS 12 AND 13
Do students expect a happy or a sad ending to this
story? Encourage speculation and discussion, but
do not tell students what happens.
After Reading
ACTIVITY 1 AFTER READING
1 Nicholas Skinner: pulling a cab
2 Lord and Lady Gray: carrying a rider, pulling a
carriage
3 The Blomefield family: light work, pulling a
carriage
4 Mr Barry: carrying a rider
5 A baker: pulling a delivery cart
6 Mr Gordon: carrying a rider, pulling a carriage
7 A farmer: light work, pulling a carriage
8 A man from Bath: pulling a carriage
9 Jerry Barker: pulling a cab
Order of owners:
6, 2, 8, 4, 9, 5, 1, 7, 3
Suggested descriptions:
Mr Gordon was a kind, good-tempered man, who
used Black Beauty for riding and pulling a carriage.
He was a good judge of horses and treated them
well, as did his grooms.
Lord and Lady Gray also used Black Beauty for
riding and pulling a carriage. Lord Gray was
sensible, but his wife was proud and too interested
in fashion. She wanted the horses heads held up
unnaturally high with the bearing rein, which made
the work of pulling a carriage much harder for the
horses.
The man from Bath kept horses and carriages for
hire, and Black Beauty worked as a job horse for all
kinds of driver.
Mr Barry used Black Beauty for riding. He meant
well, buying the best oats and good food, but
he knew little about horses and was unlucky in
the grooms he hired. One of them stole the oats
meant for Black Beauty, and the next was lazy
about cleaning, and Black Beauty became thin and
unhealthy.
Jerry Barker used Black Beauty for pulling a
London cab. This was hard work, but Jerry always
made Black Beauty as comfortable as possible. He
had plenty of food and fresh water, and a days rest
every week.
The bakers driver, Jakes, was stupid and cruel.
It was hard work for the horse pulling the heavy
cart, but Jakes used the bearing rein because it was
fashionable, and because he thought that other cart
drivers would laugh at him if he didnt.
Nicholas Skinner was a cab owner, who made his
drivers and his horses work long hours, seven days a
week.
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3 Cruelty to animals should receive the same
punishment as cruelty to children.
4 Some kinds of animal or insect, which are dangerous
or harmful, should be allowed to die out.
5 A cat makes the best possible pet.
6 Humans need animals more than animals need
humans.
7 No live animals should be used in scientific
experiments or cosmetic testing.
ACTIVITY 5 AFTER READING
Words across: freedom, mare, tight, fashion, bridle,
groom, race, ruin, cart
Words down: temper, field, grass, treat, harness, rein,
kick, whip, gallop, gentle, carriage, saddle, trot, hoof,
rider, pony, master, stable
ACTIVITY 6 AFTER READING
How I wish I could live in a field, not a stable! Never
to wear harness again or to pull a carriage behind
me! To feel soft grass under my feet, and to have the
freedom to gallop where I want, without a heavy rider
(saddle) on my back! Why do humans treat us so
badly? They care more about fashion than about us.
Oh no, she wants the bearing rein shorter today. I can
see how tight hes made it on Beauty. No, I wont have
it! Im going to kick my way out of this . . .
This is Ginger, harnessed to a carriage outside Lord
Grays house. York has just shortened the bearing
rein on Black Beauty, and is about to do the same
to Ginger, who has decided she cant stand it any
longer and is about to kick herself out of the
carriage.
ACTIVITY 7 AFTER READING
1 The sentence is: Cruelty is everybodys business.
(page 36) John Manly said it to Joe Green.
2 Joe had seen a man cruelly whipping two horses,
and had reported the man to his employer. John was
telling Joe that he had done the right thing.
3 Open answers.
OXFORD BOOKWORMS LIBRARY STAGE 4 8 BLACK BEAUTY
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ACTIVITY 8 AFTER READING
Suggested answers:
1 By refusing to cross a bridge, which was in fact
broken, Black Beauty had probably saved the lives of
Mr Gordon and his groom. Mr Gordon showed his
understanding of and love for horses, when he talked
about an animals instinctive feeling for a situation,
and awareness of danger.
2 Black Beauty was hot and sweating after the ride to
and from the doctors, and should have been given a
warm drink and had a cloth put over him. Joe had
failed to do those things and John, who cared very
deeply about horses, was angry with him.
3 Joe Green was offering to help the cart-driver
lighten the load on the cart, to make it easier for the
horses to pull it. This showed how much Joe cared
for horses, and wanted to make their lives more
comfortable.
4 Lady Gray was telling York to use a tighter bearing
rein, as it was fashionable at the time for carriage
horses to have their heads held high. This showed
her complete lack of feeling for horses; she was
only interested in fashion and the way she and her
carriage horses looked.
5 The gentleman farmer was warning Mr Barry, his
neighbour, that somebody must be stealing the oats
he had provided for his horse, as Black Beauty was
in surprisingly poor condition. This showed what a
good judge of horses he was; he understood them
much better than Mr Barry did.
6 The woman passer-by was telling the bakers driver,
Jakes, that Black Beauty couldnt use all his strength
when wearing a bearing rein. She was trying to
persuade the driver that the bearing rein was going
out of fashion because it was a cruel and harmful
practice.
7 Nicholas Skinner wasnt prepared to keep or look
after a horse that couldnt work. To him, horses
were just part of his business, a means of making
money.
C F R E E D O M R M A R E U
T I G H T E L F A S H I O N
T E Y H R I G S C A H D M E
T L V A E E A G A D O E A R
E D B R I D L E R D O R S Y
M G T N N W L N R L F B T S
P R R E K H O T I E O D E T
E A E S I I P L A T Y P R A
R S A S C P S E G R O O M B
B S T U K R A C E O S N I L
N R U I N E C A R T S Y S E
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