RICHMOND READERS

Ricky Banks
MUSIC STAR!

Ricky Banks is tired. He wants

to change his life. He does not
want to be a famous rock star.
He and his wife, Donna, leave
London. They move to the
country for a quiet life. But do
they find it?
.................................................
Arthur McKeown comes from
Northern Ireland. He works at
the Ulster Business School in
the University of Ulster. Arthur
is married and has two children.
He lives with his family in
Belfast.

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STARTER LEVEL
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 RICHMOND READERS

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S T A R T E R L E V E L (300 headwords)
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The Man from Peru
Ricky Banks – Music Star!
Supercomputerman Radio Boy
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L E V E L 1 (500 headwords)
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Oscar Jack’s Game
Maria’s Dilemma Permission to Leave
The Boy from Yesterday The Black Mountain
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L E V E L 2 (800 headwords)
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Saturday Storm
Craigen Castle Mystery
Jason Causes Chaos Where’s Mauriac?
The Road through the Hills
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L E V E L 3 (1200 headwords)
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Cold Feet A Christmas Carol
The Canterville Ghost and Other Stories
Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde
A Trip to the Stars Frankenstein
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L E V E L 4 (1800 headwords)
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Dracula Jane Eyre
The Adventures of Tom Sawyer
A Trip to London
Sense and Sensibility
Ricky Banks
MUSIC STAR!
...................................

ARTHUR MCKEOWN

Richmond
P U B L I S H I N G
 Richmond Publishing
19 Berghem Mews
Blythe Road
London W14 OHN

© Arthur McKeown 1998

Published by Richmond Publishing® 1998
First published 1998

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval
system or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical,
photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior permission of the
publishers.

ISBN: 84-294-5385-7

Printed in Spain by

Cover Design: Blue Pig Design

Cover Illustration: Geo Parkin

Illustrations: Maggie Ling

 C HAPTER O NE

On the road
R icky Banks is a rock star. He is tall and thin and
attractive. He is 26 years old. At the moment he is
sleeping. He is in a big bed in a big bedroom in
an expensive hotel in Manchester in the north of
England. It is eleven o’clock in the morning.
Ricky is rich. He has expensive clothes. He wakes
up. He gets up and puts on a white shirt and
orange trousers. He drinks some strong black
coffee. Then he plays his electric guitar quietly. He
plays and thinks. He is not happy.

He plays and thinks. He is not happy.

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Ricky and Donna live in a beautiful house with a swimming pool

Ricky is a famous rock star. His group are the

★
Rockers. They are always on tour . Ricky and the
Rockers usually play in student clubs and at
discos. They go to universities in a lot of different
countries every year. They are on television a lot.
They are in the newspapers a lot.
Ricky’s wife is a writer. Her name is Donna. She
works at home. She does not go on tour with
Ricky. She does not like trains and aeroplanes.
When he is away, Ricky calls Donna on the
telephone every day. He loves her.
Ricky and Donna do not have any children. They
live in a beautiful house in the centre of London.
Their house has lots of rooms and an indoor
swimming pool. But they do not have a garden.
Ricky likes gardens.

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 T H E G I R L O N T H E B E AC H
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C HAPTER T WO

Big news!

Ricky is talking on the telephone to a young woman.

It is eleven-thirty in the morning. Ricky is

talking on the telephone. He is talking to a young
woman. Her name is Zoe.
‘Good morning, Mr Banks,’ Zoe says.
‘Hello,’ Ricky says. ‘How can I help you?’
‘I work for a television company,’ Zoe says. ‘We’re
making some programmes called Pop Music People.
We want to make a programme about you. Ben
Turner, your manager, says you like to talk about
your music.’

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‘That’s very interesting,’ Ricky says. ‘What do you

want to know?’
‘Can I meet you at the hotel today?’ Zoe asks. ‘We
need some information for the programme. I want
to ask you some questions.’
‘Come about one o’clock. Would you like to have
lunch in the hotel restaurant?’
‘Oh yes, that’s a great idea!’ Zoe says. ‘I can be
there at one o’clock.’
‘Good,’ Ricky says. ‘Let’s talk then.’
He puts the telephone down.
‘What’s she going to ask me?’ Ricky thinks. ‘What
am I going to say?’
■ ■ ■

Ricky and Zoe are sitting in the hotel restaurant.

It is two o’clock in the afternoon and they are
talking. She is 25 years old and very beautiful.
They are drinking coffee after their lunch.
Zoe asks Ricky questions about his life. She
writes down his answers.
‘Are you from London?’
‘Yes, I am,’ says Ricky.
‘Tell me about your school,’ Zoe says.

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 B I G N E W S !
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‘I don’t remember my school,’ Ricky says. ‘I like

music. I like singing and playing the guitar.’
‘Tell me about your group,’ Zoe says. ‘Ricky and
the Rockers are famous in Europe and America.’
‘We go to a lot of different cities and towns on
tour every year,’ Ricky says. ‘Manchester - Milan -
Madrid - Montreal. We go by train and by
aeroplane. We usually visit three or four
universities a week. It’s hard work. But we like
singing and playing our music.’
‘Do you like your job, Ricky?’ Zoe asks.
‘Yes, Zoe, I do,’ Ricky says. ‘But sometimes I feel
tired. I work hard. Donna, my wife, doesn’t like
my life. She wants to live in the country. She
doesn’t like living in a city.’
‘Are you going to leave the group?’ Zoe asks.
‘Maybe. I want a house with a big garden,’ Ricky
says. ‘I want to grow flowers and vegetables.’
‘This is big news! Thank you, Ricky,’ Zoe says.
‘I’m going to talk to the camera people. They
want to film you this evening.’
Zoe leaves the restaurant.
‘She’s nice,’ Ricky thinks.

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‘I want a house with a big garden. I want to grow flowers and

vegetables.’

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 TA L K I N G TO T H E RO C K E R S
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C HAPTER T HREE

Talking to the Rockers

It is four o’clock in the afternoon. Ricky Banks is
in his hotel room. He is talking to the Rockers.
Their names are Barry, Larry and Harry.
Barry is sitting on a sofa. He is 26 years old. He is
wearing a green shirt and brown jeans. Larry is
sitting on a chair. He is 27 years old. He is tall. He
is wearing a blue shirt and black jeans. Harry is
standing near the window. He is 28 years old. He
is wearing a yellow shirt and red jeans.
‘When are we going home?’ Barry asks. ‘We’re in
a different city every night - Manchester or Milan
or Madrid or Montreal.’
‘Yes, I feel tired,’ Larry says. ‘I want to go home.’
‘I want to see my family,’ Harry says. ‘I want to
see my children.’
‘We’re all tired,’ Ricky says. ‘But the last concert is
in two weeks. We can have a holiday next month.
Our contract with Ben ends then. Perhaps we
★
don’t want to sign a new one ...’

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‘Perhaps we don’t want to sign a new contract…’

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 TA L K I N G TO T H E RO C K E R S
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The Rockers are happy.

‘We can have some time at home,’ Barry says.
‘We can talk to our friends,’ Larry says. ‘We can go
to restaurants with them. We can go to the cinema
in the evening. We can go to discos and night
clubs. We can have normal lives.’
‘We can see our families,’ Harry says. ‘We can
sleep and read books and listen to music - other
people’s music.’
‘Yes, let’s have a holiday,’ Ricky says. ‘Let’s think
about the future.’

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C HAPTER F OUR

‘What shall I do?’

R icky Banks is at home in London. He is talking
to his wife, Donna. She is young and thin and
attractive. Ricky and Donna are sitting on the
sofa, drinking tea.
‘I’m happy to be at home, Donna,’ Ricky says.
‘The Rockers are tired. I’m tired, too. Five years
on tour with no holiday is a long time. We all
need a holiday.’
Donna drinks some tea.
‘I work very hard,’ Ricky says. ‘And I have a big
problem with my work. I haven’t got any good
ideas for new songs. People say my music is
boring now. It’s always the same.’
‘I like your music,’ Donna says.
‘I want to change my life. We’re rich. We’re very
rich. We can sell this house. We can go and live in
the country.’
‘Ricky, that’s a great idea,’ Donna says. She puts
her arms round him. ‘No more concerts! No more

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 ‘ W H AT S H A L L I D O ? ’
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‘Ricky, that’s a great idea,’ Donna says.

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tours! No more nights in hotels! We can leave

London.You know that I don’t like cities. Let’s
move to the country. Let’s buy a little house with
a garden.’
■ ■ ■

Ricky and Donna have an invitation to a party

the next day. Donna is ill. She does not want to
go. She does not like parties. So Ricky goes
without her.
Ricky sees Ben, his manager, there. He talks to
him.
‘Ben, I’m tired,’ Ricky says. ‘I want to stop
working.’
‘What!’ Ben says. ‘You’re famous! You’re rich! You
can’t stop now!’ His face is red and he is very
angry. Ricky and the Rockers are his number one
client.
‘Ben, I have a serious problem with my music.
Lots of people say my new songs are boring. They
are no different from the old songs. I haven’t got
any new ideas.’
Ben says nothing.
‘I want to be with Donna,’ Ricky says. ‘Donna
wants to leave London, Ben. We want to live in
the country.’

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 ‘ W H AT S H A L L I D O ? ’
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‘What! You’re famous! You’re rich! You can’t stop now!’

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‘You can’t live in the country!’ Ben says. ‘You’re a

rock star! You have concerts in Europe, in
England, in America, in Australia ...’
‘Ben, our contract with you ends next month. We
are not going to sign a new contract. You have
concerts in Europe, England, America and
Australia. We do not have any concerts.’
Ben walks away.
■ ■ ■

Ricky knows other people at the party. Zoe is

there. Ricky tells Zoe about his problems.
‘My wife wants to live with Ricky Banks, ex-rock
star. My manager wants to manage Ricky and the
Rockers, famous rock group. I can’t write good
songs. What shall I do?’
They dance. They have a good time.
Zoe tells Ricky about her husband.
‘We are very different,’ she says. ‘My husband likes
sport - football and Formula One. I like parties
and music. I don’t see him much. He’s in Portugal
now, watching the Grand Prix.’
Ricky looks at Zoe. He gets their coats. They go
to Zoe’s house in a taxi. She sits near him in the
taxi.

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 ‘ W H AT S H A L L I D O ? ’
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Ricky sees faces in his head. He sees his wife,

Donna. He sees Ben’s face. He sees the Rockers’
faces. He sees the faces of the people at his
concerts. He looks at Zoe’s face next to him ...

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C HAPTER F IVE

Listening to the birds

Ricky opens his eyes the next morning. He
thinks about the night before.
‘What time is it?’ he asks.
‘Ten o’clock,’ Donna says. She puts a cup of coffee
on the table next to the bed.
He calls Ben on the telephone. Ben doesn’t speak
to him. He doesn’t call Zoe.
■ ■ ■

It is a hot day in June. Ricky is working in the

garden. Birds are singing in the trees. The sky is
blue. Ricky thinks he is happy.
He likes the country. He and Donna have a big
house with lots of rooms. They have a very big
garden.
He and Donna eat the fruit and vegetables from
the garden.
Donna is happy too. She likes living in the
country. She is happy because Ricky does not go
away from home. He is not tired these days.

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Donna puts a cup of coffee on the table next to the bed.

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Ricky and Donna get up early. In the morning,

Ricky works in the garden. Sometimes he thinks
about Zoe. What is she doing now? He looks at
the beautiful country, he looks at the beautiful
river at the bottom of his garden. It is always there,
it never changes. He thinks about London with its
busy streets. He pictures Zoe: she is having lunch
in an expensive restaurant, she is having a good
time with her television friends, tonight they are
going to a night club ...
Donna works in her study. She writes.
Ricky and Donna always have lunch in the
kitchen. In the afternoon, they usually go for a
long walk in the country. When they are walking,
Ricky thinks about music and writes songs in his
head. Donna writes stories in her head. They like
their life in the village, far away from London. In
the evening, they watch films on television or read
or visit their friends in the village.
Ricky and Donna do not have any problems. They
have a lot of money in the bank.
Sometimes now Ricky goes to a music group in the
village. He likes singing and playing his guitar. He
sings and plays country music with three other men.
‘Country music is different from rock music,’
Ricky thinks. ‘I like playing country music.’

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 L I S T E N I N G TO T H E B I R D S
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Ricky pictures Zoe: she is having a good time with her television
friends.

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C HAPTER S IX

Ricky and Friends

It is a cold day in November. There are no birds
in the trees. The sky is grey.
‘It’s very cold again,’ Ricky says. ‘I can’t work in
the garden today.’
‘What are you going to do today, then?’ Donna
asks.
‘I want to play my guitar this morning,’ Ricky
says. ‘I want to play my new song. I need to work
on it.’
Ricky has a country music group now. His new
country music group are Ricky and Friends. The
Friends’ names are Fred, Ned and Ted. They all
live in Ricky’s village.
Fred is 33 years old. He is short and fat with
brown hair. He plays the fiddle very well. Ned is
44 years old. He is tall and has a black beard. He
can sing very well and he plays the accordion. Ted
is 55 years old. He has a big moustache and a red
face. He can sing and play the drums very well.

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 R I C K Y A N D F R I E N D S
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Ricky and Friends play in the pub in the village.

Lots of people come to see them. One day Ricky
telephones Ben. Ben comes to see them.

Lots of people come to see Ricky and Friends.

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C HAPTER S EVEN

Back on the road

Ricky Banks is in a big bed in a big bedroom in
an expensive hotel in New York. It is eleven
o’clock in the morning. Ricky is sleeping. There
is a guitar on the floor near the bed.
Ricky goes to lots of different towns and cities in
Europe and America with Fred, Ned and Ted.
They play country music in clubs and hotels.
Donna is at home in their house in the country.
She likes the country. She does not like city life.
She is writing a new story. It is about a woman.
The woman’s husband is a music star. She leaves
her husband. She goes to live with a man in the
next village. He has a computer business.
The telephone rings in Ricky’s bedroom. It is
Zoe.
‘Good morning, Ricky,’ Zoe says.
Ricky sits up. ‘Zoe? Hello, how are you?’ he asks.
‘I’m fine. I work for a different television
company now,’ she says, ‘here in New York. We’re

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 BAC K O N T H E ROA D
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Donna is writing a new story about a woman. The woman leaves

her husband.

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The telephone rings in Ricky’s bedroom. It is Zoe.

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 BAC K O N T H E ROA D
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making some programmes called Country Music

People. We want to make a programme about you.’
■ ■ ■

Ricky and Zoe meet for lunch. Zoe is very

beautiful. Zoe asks Ricky lots of questions and
writes down his answers.
‘What are you doing this evening?’ Ricky asks.
‘I’m not playing a concert tonight. Let’s go to a
restaurant and then a night club.’
‘Great!’ says Zoe. ‘Jack can come too. He’s my
husband - my new husband. Let’s meet at nine.
★
The children are usually asleep by eight.’

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E X E R C I S E S

A Comprehension
Choose the best answer - a, b or c.
1 Ricky is a famous
a rock star.
b banker.
c gardener.
2 Donna is a
a banker.
b writer.
c computer programmer.
3 Zoe works for a
a bank.
b computer company.
c television company.
4 Which of these cities do Ricky and the Rockers not visit?
a Milan
b Madrid
c Moscow
5 Larry is
a 33 years old.
b 24 years old.
c 27 years old.
6 Who is wearing a blue shirt and black jeans?
a Barry.
b Larry.
c Harry.
7 Donna does not go to the party because
a she is tired.
b she is ill.
c she is going to a concert.

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....................................................................................................................

8 When he is working in the garden, Ricky thinks about

a Donna.
b Zoe.
c his vegetables.
9 Who is 44 years old and has a black beard?
a Fred.
b Ned.
c Ted.
10 Who does Zoe work for in New York?
a A television company.
b A restaurant.
c A computer company.

B Working with language

1 You can find all these words in the story about Ricky
Banks. Write a sentence with each word.
expensive garden television programme country
disco city village guitar beard concert
2 Choose the right verb to complete each sentence. Put it
in the correct form.
live make say telephone stand talk watch sing
be play
1 Harry ... near the window.
2 Zoe is going to ... to the camera people.
3 Ricky likes ... the guitar.
4 Donna wants ... in the country.
5 Ben ... nothing.
6 Donna and Ricky ... rich.
7 ÔHeÕs in Portugal now, ... the Grand Prix.Õ
8 Birds ... in the trees.
9 One day Ricky ... Ben.
10 ÔWe ... some programmes called Country Music People.Õ

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....................................................................................................................

C Activities

1 Would you like to live in a city or in the country? Make

one list of good things about life in a city and another list
of good things about life in the country.
2 Work in pairs.
a Either: One of you is Ricky. The other is RickyÕs friend.
You are in Ricky and DonnaÕs kitchen at the beginning of
Chapter 6. The friend gives Ricky some advice. Have a
conversation.
b Or: One of you is Ricky. The other is Zoe. You meet for
lunch in New York. Ricky is now a famous country music
star and Zoe interviews him.
c Or: One of you is Donna. The other is Zoe. Donna still
lives with Ricky. She is at home in her kitchen. Ricky is in
a hotel in Madrid with Ricky and Friends. Zoe interviews
Donna for her television programme, Famous PeopleÕs
Partners.
3 You are Zoe. Write an article about either Ricky or
Donna for a magazine.

G L O S S A R Y
asleep (adj) sleeping
on tour to go from city to city, playing a concert in every place
sign (v) to write your name on something - here, a contract

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