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SS/Chapter 1: The Boy Who Lived

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The Start of a Strange Day for Mr. Dursley When woke the W grayMr. and Mrs. Dursley starts, up on was dull, Tuesday our story there nothing about the cloudy sky outside to suggest that strange and mysterious things would soon be happening all over the country. Mr. Dursley hummed as he picked out his most boring tie for work, and Mrs. Dursley gossiped away happily as she wrestled a screaming Dudley into his high chair. None of them noticed a large, tawny owl flutter past the window. At half past eight, Mr. Dursley picked up his briefcase, pecked Mrs. Dursley on the cheek, and tried to kiss Dudley good-bye but missed, because Dudley was now having a tantrum and throwing his cereal at the walls. Little tyke, chortled Mr. Dursley as he left the house. He got into his car and backed out of number fours drive. It was on the corner of the street that he noticed the first sign of something peculiar a cat reading a map. For a second, Mr. Dursley didnt realize what he had seen then he jerked his head around to look again. There was a tabby cat standing on the corner of Privet Drive, but there wasnt a map in sight. What could he have been thinking of ? It must have been a trick of the light. Mr. Dursley blinked and stared at the cat. It stared back. As Mr. Dursley drove around the corner and up the road, he watched the cat in his mirror. It was now reading a sign that said Privet Drive no, looking at the sign; cats couldnt read maps or signs. Mr. Dursley gave himself a little shake and put the cat out of his mind. As he drove toward town he thought of nothing except a large order of drills he was hoping to get that day. But on the edge of town, drills were driven out of his mind by something else. As he sat in the usual morning traffic jam, he couldnt help noticing that there seemed to be a lot of strangely dressed people about. People in cloaks. Mr. Dursley couldnt bear people who dressed in funny clothes the getups you saw on young people! He supposed this was some stupid new fashion. He drummed his fingers on the steering wheel and his
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eyes fell on a huddle of these weirdos standing quite close by. They were whispering excitedly together. Mr. Dursley was enraged to see that a couple of them werent young at all; why, that man had to be older than he was, and wearing an emerald-green cloak! The nerve of him! But then it struck Mr. Dursley that this was probably some silly stunt these people were obviously collecting for something yes, that would be it. The traffic moved on and a few minutes later, Mr. Dursley arrived in the Grunnings parking lot, his mind back on drills. Mr. Dursley always sat with his back to the window in his office on the ninth floor. If he hadnt, he might have found it harder to concentrate on drills that morning. He didnt see the owls swooping past in broad daylight, though people down in the street did; they pointed and gazed open-mouthed as owl after owl sped overhead. Most of them had never seen an owl even at nighttime. Mr. Dursley, however, had a perfectly normal, owl-free morning. He yelled at five different people. He made several important telephone calls and shouted a bit more. He was in a very good mood until lunchtime, when he thought hed stretch his legs and walk across the road to buy himself a bun from the bakery. Hed forgotten all about the people in cloaks until he passed a group of them next to the bakers. He eyed them angrily as he passed. He didnt know why, but they made him uneasy. This bunch were whispering excitedly, too, and he couldnt see a single collecting tin. It was on his way back past them, clutching a large doughnut in a bag, that he caught a few words of what they were saying. The Potters, thats right, thats what I heard yes, their son, Harry Mr. Dursley stopped dead. Fear flooded him. He looked back at the whisperers as if he wanted to say something to them, but thought better of it. He dashed back across the road, hurried up to his office, snapped at his secretary not to disturb him, seized his telephone, and had almost finished dialing his home number when he changed his mind. He put the receiver back down and stroked

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his mustache, thinking no, he was being stupid. Potter wasnt such an unusual name. He was sure there were lots of people called Potter who had a son called Harry. Come to think of it, he wasnt even sure his nephew was called Harry. Hed never even seen the boy. It might have been Harvey. Or Harold. There was no point in worrying Mrs. Dursley; she always got so upset at any mention of her sister. He didnt blame her if hed had a sister like that but all the same, those people dressed in cloaks
[Text 1997 by J. K. Rowling] [Chapter 1 illustration 1998 by Warner Bros.]

7. What did Mr. Dursley see on his way to work today?

8. Describe a perfectly normal morning at work for Mr. Dursley

SS/Chapter 1: Comprehension
1. What day is it when this story starts, and how is the weather? 9. Mr. Dursley heard something that made him scared what was it?

10. Why did he decide not to call his wife? 2. What time does Mr. Dursley go to work?

3. How does Mr. Dursley get to work?

4. What was the first sign of something peculiar that Mr. Dursley noticed?

11. Match these words to their synonyms: suppose a. kiss strange b. eye look c. angry peck d. funny enraged e. think 12. Match these words to their opposites: dull a. uneasy confident b. normal happy c. distribute peculiar d. interesting collect e. upset 13. Try to match names with descriptions: Mr. Dursley a. tantrum Mrs. Dursley b. nephew Dudley c. gossiping Harry d. enraged

5. What is the name of the company where Mr. Dursley works?

6. What does this company sell?

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SS/Chapter 1: Skill Focus Making Inferences

Writers do not always give all of their information in the text. Sometimes you have to figure out or guess about information that is not directly stated. This is called making inferences. Look at the inferences below. Write Y next to the inferences that can be made, and N next to the inferences that cannot be made. For each inference, list a clue from the text that supports or disproves that inference.

Inference: 1. Mr. Dursley prefers to wear uninteresting clothes to work. 2. Mrs. Dursley is a very quiet lady who doesnt like to talk much. 3. Dudley is a calm and quiet baby. 4. Mr. Dursley thinks that people in funny clothes are perfectly normal. 5. Mr. Dursley lives outside the city but works in the city. 6. Mr. Dursley prefers not to look out the window when he is in his office. 7. Mr. Dursleys office is located in a tall building. 8. Most people have seen owls before. 9. Several people work in Mr. Dursleys office. 10. Mr. Dursley is very kind to the people that work for him. 11. Harry Potter is Mr. Dursleys sisters son. 12. Mrs. Dursley is always happy to get news about her sister. 13. Mr. Dursley was not happy to see strange people in cloaks next to the bakery. 14. Mr. Dursley knows Harry Potter very well. 15. The strange people in cloaks are very nervous and scared about something.

Clue from Text:

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SS/Chapter 1: Critical Thinking

1.

What kind of person does Mr. Dursley appear to be? from the text to describe his character.

Try to use examples

2.

Do you have an idea who the strange people in cloaks are? Who are they, and why do you think they are out in public everywhere?

3.

Later in the chapter, the Dursley family will find Harry Potter on their doorstep. How do you think they will react? Why?

4.

Make a chart to show which things in the text you would find normal, and which ones you would find unusual. Normal Events: Unusual Events:

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SS/Chapter 1: The Boy Who Lived

dull to suggest that hum pick out gossip away wrestle high chair tawny flutter peck tantrum tyke chortle back out notice sign peculiar realize jerk tabby in sight trick blink stare mind drill drive out traffic jam about cloak bear funny getups suppose huddle weirdo enraged nerve strike that stunt obviously collect back to concentrate on swoop in broad daylight gaze overhead (adj) (v) (v) (v) (v) (v) (n) (adj) (v) (v) (n) (n) (v) (v) (v) (n) (adj) (v) (v) (adj) (n) (n) (v) (v) (n) (n) (v) (n) (adj) (n) (v) (adj) (n) (v) (n) (n) (adj) (n) (v) (n) (adv) (v) (adj) (v) (v) (n) (v) (adv)

Reading: English to English Wordlist

boring, not interesting [here=] to show that, to reveal that sing without words and without opening ones mouth choose, select talk fast about unimportant things [here=] move by force a special chair for babies, raised higher than normal chairs light brown color fly, move wings quickly [here=] kiss quickly, like a bird movement angry mood/temper, crying and screaming in anger [expr.] small child, small dog (affectionate) laugh, chuckle move backwards (esp. car or vehicle) [here=] see [here=] evidence, indication strange, uncommon, unusual understand, know, notice move quickly/suddenly black and gray/blue color (esp. cat) vision, visible deception, fooling s.b. to see or think s.th. close and open ones eyes very quickly look hard at, focus ones eyes for a long moment [here=] thoughts, thinking electric tool for creating holes or putting in screws move or push out a busy crowd of cars that cant move because there are too many [here=] around, be somewhere large coat, usually with a hood for the head and no arm sleeves [here=] tolerate, put up with, accept [here=] strange, peculiar, not normal [expr.] clothes, clothing combinations in a particular style think, guess a group, close together strange or funny person, a non-normal person very angry [here=] bravery, daring [here=] occur to s.b. that, appear, look like to s.b. trick, act, attempt to fool or impress people clearly, easy to see [here=] get money by asking people for donations [here=] back towards, not facing think about fly, fly down and then up in a curve in bright light, during the daylight when anyone can see look or stare with interest above, high

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SS/Chapter 1: The Boy Who Lived

perfectly owl-free yell mood stretch eye uneasy bunch clutch catch dead fear flood dash snap at disturb seize dial receiver stroke mustache unusual point upset mention blame (adj) (adj) (v) (n) (v) (v) (adj) (n) (v) (v) (adj) (n) (v) (v) (v) (v) (v) (v) (n) (v) (n) (adj) (n) (adj) (n) (v)

Reading: English to English Wordlist

[here=] very [expr.] without owls, no owls shout, talk or call loudly feeling make longer, move muscles look at, stare worried, anxious, not happy, nervous group hold tightly [here=] hear not alive [here=] not moving worry, feeling of being scared, fright move quickly over a big area (esp. water) move or run very quickly speak quickly and angrily bother, interrupt grab, hold tightly choose telephone numbers when making a telephone call part of telephone that one holds when listening and speaking touch lightly/gently small beard/hair above mouth and below nose strange, not normal, uncommon [here=] bonus or benefit angry and sad talk, announced casually accuse, be angry at someone for something they do

Reading: Expressions and Phrases

nothing to suggest that for a second put s.th. out of ones mind have s.th. driven out of ones mind by not help noticing drum ones fingers the nerve of s.th/s.b! gaze open-mouthed at stretch ones legs catch a few words of stop dead be flooded with fear think better of s.th. come to think of it, no point in doing s.th. not blame s.b. but all the same, no indication, no evidence of something for a brief/quick moment forget about, not think about anymore forget about s.th. because of something else forced to see or know, even if one doesnt mean to tap ones fingers (like a drum roll), when bored or impatient the bravery/courage of s.b., (esp.) when they are doing a bad thing look in surprise or interest at, with the mouth open in amazement get some quick exercise, do some walking hear some of the words s.b is saying stop suddenly and completely, in complete surprise or shock be scared suddenly change ones mind, decide not to do s.th = if I think a little more about it, when I think seriously about it nothing to be gained, nothing good if one does something understand s.b.s situation, feel the same way as s.b. else however

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