aa a ne ee igh \, Tina lives on the streets of London. She has a friend but he goes away suddenly. What can she do? How can she get new friends, some money and a home? Will she be happy? Penguin Readers are simplified texts designed in association with Longman, the world famous educational publisher, to previde a step-by- step approach to the joys of reading for pleasure. The series includes original stories, contemporary titles based on today's best-selling media hits, and easily accessible versions of the literary classics published by Penguin around the world. Each book has an introduction and extensive activity material. They are published at coven levels from Easystarts (200 words) to Advanced (3000 words). ® Series Editors: Andy Hopkins and Jocelyn Potter 6 Advanced (3000 words) [J contemporary 1 5 Unperinermediae (2300 words) Classics 4 armed (1700 word) Bh Ove ese et innra Pen aT ISBN 0-582-40113- 8 LONGMAN | Published and distributed by | | il tl ore 1136 Pearson Education Limited 0582140Streets of London Now my home was a box on the streets of London . . . I slept on the streets every night, often in the rain. In the day .. . I got a little money, but I was always hungry. Tina has no work and no home. She lives on the streets of London. She finds a new boyfriend, Jimmy, but he goes away suddenly. What can she do now? How can she get new friends, some money and a home? She is an artist — her clever pictures can help her. But will she be happy? Cherry Gilchrist lives in Bristol with her family, ewo cats and a dog. She is a writer, but she sells Russian art too, She often goes to Russia. She likes to read, to sing, and to cook — when she has time!Dictionary words: © Some words in this book are dark black. Find them in your dictionary or try to understand them with no dictionary frstStreets of London CHERRY GILCHRIST Level 1 Series Editors: Andy Hopkins and Jocelyn PotterPearion Edaction Limited “Edinburgh Gus, Harlow, sex C20 JE, gland snd Astcined Compania trouphot th md ISDNO 582401135 Ft publahe by Pegi Books 1956 “This dion fiscpubsed 1998 ‘Second impression 1999 “Tent copyright © Chrey Gleb 1996 Maersione copyright © David Can (enna Moston Agency) 1996 ‘All nghsresered “The mont gh ofthe author and fhe last has been ered ‘Typeset by Dats Iotration Limited Bonga, Sok Set in 12/14 Laeteomp Beno Prine in Spain by Mae Cromo, SA Pint Madi) Al igi reed opr of tae pian may be np, sod ‘nail pom moon i ay om ar bo mss eon, mecha phy ete, thn the ‘rr ten psi of the Paies Publi by Passos Education Listed in anocistion with ‘Penguin Books Ld, both companie beg subsidiaries of Paronenterested in me? And you're from a newspaper? + T'll alk to yout And I'llstart with the streets of London, Who likes living there? Not me, You're cold all the time. You have no home. And a lot of the time you have no money, no food. Friends? Yes, you have friends, But that’s not easy. Sometimes you're lucky, and your friends aren't. Do you want to hear it all and write it down for your newspaper? OK, here it isI was sevgnteen, and my family came from Scotland loved art and I wanted to go to art school. My mother and father didn’t understand, ‘Art isn’t work,’ my mother said. ‘You can’t live on pictures, Tina.’ I left home and went to art school. For six months 1 was happy. ‘You're good,’ people said. Then, one day, I had no money for my room. I didn’t want to ask my father for money. ‘You can’t stay'here,’ the woman in the house said. ‘No money, no room.’——3 ) Til go to London. I > [can work there and get \ some money easily. Then } A til come back to art SL_school, nt to a lot of shops and cafés but I couldn’t find work. She's working in France for six months.On the first night, I stopped at a shop door. I wanted to sleep there. I was very tired. Then a man hit me on my arm Get up! Go away from here! at aes ‘Are you the police?’ I couldn’t see him well, and the street was dark. He hit me again. ‘This is my place. I sleep here.’ “Where can I go?” He didn’t listen. I got up and he threw my bag at me. ‘Don’t come back,’ he said.Little girls play with boxes — they make houses from . IPs a good game. But now my home was a box on the streets of London, And that was a very bad game. I slept on the streets every night, often in the rain, In the day I asked people for money. ‘Have you got some money for a cup of coffee, please?” - ‘Why are you asking me? You can work! The country is going wrong because of you young people!” T got a litle money, but I was always hungry.Then, one day, I met Jiminy on the street, Jimmy's Irish — he has black hair and blue eyes, He played some Irish music, afid smiled a lot a: people. Then he smiled at me. Oh yes! I wanted to talk to him. “What's your name?” he asked me. ‘Tina? Right, Tina, let’s go and eat,’ he said. ‘People gave me a lot of money this morning!” 0He took me to a café and we ate some hot food. | talked to him about Scotland, and art school, and my box house on the streets of London. “Are you homeless too? Do you live on the streets?” Lasked him. “Yes, but I’m happy. [love my music. It’s important to —_[1){\f me. People like to hear it. i T can go back to Ireland, | but it’s OK here. Do you | want to work with your to you?”Suddenly there were two important things — art and Jimmy. He gave me the money for some new paints, ‘And I was not cold on the streets now. I slept in Jimmy’s arms every night. In the day we worked in Trafalgar Square. A lot of people go there; it’s very famous. Jimmy played his music, And I painted pictures of London. I sold some of them. You'll remember T gota lictle money, not a lot, But I was happy again. 12“We can find a flat!” I said to Jimmy. ‘We can get the money for it now.” ‘Perhaps,’ said Jimmy. ‘But I want to go to other towns too. We can go to places near the sea!” ‘I don’t like it on the streets,’ I said. ‘I want a home.” Jimmy did not answer me. In the morning he said, “Tina, I'm going to Birmingham for a few days. I want to see a friend there. Stay in our usual place I'll come and find you there.” pall wy : ie nt i aan W A HK a 'Lworked in Trafalgar Square for six days. Jimmy didn’t come back. It rained; the rain washed the paint off some of the pictures. Please! Look at this-one! “He can’t do this to me!” I thought. ‘Please, Jimmy, come back. I'm cold and hungry again. I want you here, with me.’Later in the week the sun came back. Jimmy didn’t. I could not sell my pictures. I sat there; I didn’t paint. I watched people in the square. A lot of people give bread to the birds there — Trafalgar Square is famous for its birds. A little boy came with his mother and father. “Bread! Bread! The birds want bread!” ‘No, Wayne. We're going home now.’ I took my pencil. He had an interesting face. [ drew a funny picture of him, cinema EZe% 32 25 6‘Graham has a long nose- Put that in the picture, please. Iell look very funny. And Annabel is fat — put that in too, please! People smiled at me all day now, but I didn’t want to smile. I had money. I wasn’t hungry. But Jimmy wasn’t with me.Ie was ten days later. Where was Jimmy? I sat in the square and drew. I looked up suddenly. A man stood there. Jimmy! —but no, it wasn’t Jimmy. ‘like your pictures,’ he said. “Thanks.” I didn’t want to talk. “They're good. I know about art,’ “Oh yes?" I said. What did he want? It’s dangerous on the streets sometimes. ‘T can find work for you. I have’an art studio. My name's Martin. What’s your namie?” 18I went to the studio with Martin. Photographers and artists worked there. They sold pictures to magazines and newspapers. It was big and exciting. I didn't think about Jimmy all day. your pictures. wen find a room for you, 191 loved my work in the studio. I made new friends there. I lived with three of the studio artists in a big old house. Then one day Martin took me into his office He gave me a magazine. They want you to draw for them every week, Tina. Can you do it? The name for your pictures will be look for interesting people. Then draw them: funny, sad, old, young ~ find interesting faces. OK? 20Two weeks later, I was near Trafalgar Square. I heard music — Jimmy’s music. He saw me and stopped. Tina! | looked for yout Twas late — I'm Sorry. But I came back and I couldn't find you. But it’s No, Jimmy. It's not OK. And it wor't be 2I'm famous now — you know that. The Streets of London pictures were famous and I got a lot of money for them. At twenty I bought my first studio. A lot of artists worked for me there. I had a new boyfriend, Jake. He’s a famous photographer — you know that too. People saw us in the streets and said, ‘Look! there’s Tina Robertson, the artist! And Jake Brown! Did you see his photos in the newspaper this week?" We dressed well, ate well and drank well. And I had a lot of money now. Yes! It was a good, good time.But I always remembered my box home on the streets of London. And then, one day near the river, met a young homeless girl. She painted pictures too. They were pictures for children; some were pictures of animals. They were very good. | ike this black cat. Can | buy it? Then I thought: ‘Shall I give her some work? Yes, perhaps I can help her. Martin helped me. Now I can help her.’ 23Her name was Rose. She was dressed very badly, but she was beautifill. She was cighteen. I took her to * the studio; I gave her work, money, food and a room. “That girl has got a beautiful face,’ said Jake. ‘I want to take some photos of her.” “She’s working,’ I said. “There isn’t time for that.’ He smiled at her. But she didn’t smile back. 24Rose painted some good children’s pictures and we sold them easily. But she was not very friendly. I wanted to like her but she was a difficult girl. ‘Can you finish these pictures by lunch-time? The magazine wants them this afternoon.” ‘T don’t know. Can they wait? I don’t like to work too quickly.’ ‘Fhelped you, Rose. You were homeless. You got this work easily. But in my studio you finish work on time. Do you understand?”Jake and I had a beautiful flat in Chelsea*. One evening, he didn’t come home with me. ‘Why is Jake staying? All the other artists went home at six o'clock, as Yes, | want to i | finish a painting, ‘Oh! You're working late, too! Jake came home at six o'clock in the morning. *Chelsea is an interesting place in London, near the River Thames, Artist like it 26Do you (wart to leave me? Do (yeu want to be with . Rose? "You don’t understand,’ he said. ‘She has a beautifil and interesting face. She can be a model. Rose and I will be famous. I can sell photos of her to the big magazines. My work is important to me.’ ‘I wanted to help Rose,’ I said. ‘And I do too!” he said. 7I talked to Rose in my office. “Who do you think you are? You came here with my help! You were homeless, on the streets.” *You were homeless too, Tina,’ she said. "You're the same as me. But you don’t remember.’ "Yes, I do. I helped you because of that.” ‘No. “I’m important now,” you think. “I'll help Rose. She'll want to work for a famous, important sudio.” It’s all for you, not for me.’ 8Are you writing all this down? Good. I’m finishing now. Rose left the studio, and Jake left me. Rose is a famous model now; her name is in all the magazines. Her beautiful face and Jong legs find her a lot of work. It was a difficult time for me, but I'm not sad now. Am { happy? Yes — I love my work, my studio and my home. I have boyfriends and money. Bue there’s one thing — perhaps you can help me?T want to see Jimmy again. I think of him and I'm sad, Did I want to leave him? No, but I wanted a home and money. But friends are important. I know that now. Sometimes I go to Trafalgar Square; I sit and watch the birds, I look for Jimmy. I want to hear his music again, But he doesn’t come. Please, put this in your newspaper for me: ‘Jimmy Riley — you played Irish music on Trafalgar Square — your old friend Tina wants to sce you.’ Perhaps he'll read it ‘And perhaps we'll meet and talk again, on the streets of London. 30EXERCISES Vocabulary Work Look again at the ‘Dictionary Words’ in this story. beautiful leave craw music sell hungry buy model help studio bird magazine funny paint home 1. Find six verbs. Write six sentences with the verbs. 2. Find three adjectives. Write three sentences with the adjectives. 3. Find two nouns for PLACES. Write two sentences with the nouns. 4 Write two sentences with these words: a modelmagazine b bird/music Comprehension ‘Answer these questions: Pages 1-2 “a Onpage 1, who is talking? b_ Where does she come from? Pages 3-5 © Where is Tina's friend, Lucy? 4. Why did the man in the shop door hit Tina? Pages 6-7 ‘@ Which country does Jimmy come from? 1 What did they have to eat at the café? Pages 8-10 (@. What did Tina and Jimmy do in Trafalgar Square? Why did Jimmy go to Birmingham? Pages 11-13 | What is Trafalgar Square famous for? J Who wanted to buy Tina's picture of Wayne, the ite boy? 31Pages 14.15 k Where did Martin take Tina to? | What did the people do there? Pages 16-18 m Where did Tina see Jimmy again? 1 Who was her new boyfriend, after she was famous? Pages 19-21 ‘0 Who came to work in Tina's studio? What pictures did she paint? Pages 22-24 @. Where is Chelsea? 1 Why was Tina angry with Rose? Pages 25.26 5 What was the ‘one thing’ Tina wanted? Why do you think she wants this? Discussion 1. Are there homeless people in your country? Why do you think there are, or are not? 2. Inthis story, money, fiends, work and a home are all important. Which of these things are important to you? Why? 3. Tina draws pictures for magazines. Which magazines do you like to read? Why? Writing 1 You are Jimmy. You read the newspaper one day: Tina wanis to see you. Write a letter to her (100 words). Do you want to ‘see her? Why or why not? What are you doing now? Put this in the letter too, 2 You are the woman from the newspaper. Start to write Tina's story (80-100 words). Give your readers the answers to these questions: Where is Tina from and why did she come to London? Where did she live and what happened to her in her first weeks in London?