PIRATE T R E A SU R E

It is 1607. Tom Creek’s pirate boat, The Black Star, goes

down in the sea. Tom Creek loses all his treasure. As the
boat goes down he shouts, ‘This is my treasure and no
other m an’s. I curse this treasure - forever.’

M any years pass. M any men try to get the treasure.

M any men die.

It is 2009. There is a new expedition to the Black Star.

The boat is called The Sardine. John West, his wife M ae,
and their friends want to get the treasure. They are not
afraid o f Tom Creek’s curse. Som e o f them think there
is no curse.

Are they right or are they mad?

 ?fi?ATE TzeASoee

T h is is m y tr e a s u r e a n d no o th e r
B e c a re fu l,
m a n ’s. I c u r s e th is tr e a s u r e - fo re ver.
a m Tom C re e k ,
T h is is Tom C r e e k ’s c u rs e !
a n d I fe e l an g ry.
D o n 't d o th a t
a g a in .
2 Pirate Treasure
ir Pirate Treasure 3
Pirate Treasure

L isten ! “T h e b o a t is
c a lle d T h e S a rd in e .
J o h n W est a n d his
w ife M a e o w n it.
T o m o rro w th e y a r e
g o in g to fin d Th e
B la c k S ta r ’s
tre a s u re . A r e th ey
a fra id o f
6 Pirate Treasure
Pirate Treasure 9
10 Pirate Treasure
Pirate Treasure II
12 Pirate Treasure
 —

14 Pirate Treasure

I
 Pirate Treasure 15

John,
th e r e ’s
tro u b le .

Lo ok a t all th a t tre a s u re .
L e t’s d ive a g a in
B e c a re fu l.
to m o rro w .
I th in k his fo o t
is b ro k e n .

T h a n k s , boys.
Pirate Treasure 17
18 Pirate Treasure
Pirate Treasure 19
20 Pirate Treasure

B a c k in th e b o a t I kn o w You m en !
I u n d e rs ta n d
W h a t d o w e d o no w ? Tom C r e e k ’s
c u rs e now. I
know w h at
to do.
I don t know

O .o

C om e back! ^
M ae! C o m e back! |
T h e r e ’s a s h a rk
in th e w ater.

T h e r e 's m o re th a n
o n e s h a rk , Jo hn .
L o o k a t this.
Pirate Treasure
22 Pirate Treasure
Pirate Treasure 2^
24 Pirate Treasure
 25

GLOSSARY

boat you travel across the sea in this

broken in more than one piece
captain the m ost im portant man on a boat
curse to make som ething bad happen to another person
dive to go a long way under the sea
escape to run away from something
expedition when people go somewhere to look for
something
fight something that happens when people are angry
with each other
fish an animal that swim s in the sea
forever for a very long time
full a bag is full when it has lots o f things in it
mad when a person is not norm al
rich when you have lots o f money
safe when no one can hurt you
swim to move through water
this is the life we say this when everything is good
treasure im portant things that you can get a lot of
money for
trouble problems
world the planet Earth
P irate T reasu re

ACTIVITIES
 29

ACTIVITIES

Before Reading

1 Look at the front and back cover o f the book. N ow answer

these questions.

1 W hat is John West looking for?

a □ Treasure,
b □ Fish,
c □ Love.

2 Where is he looking?
a □ Up a hill,
b □ Under the sea.
c □ In a city.

3 Who is Tom Creek?

a □ A diver,
b □ John West’s friend,
c □ A pirate.

2 Guess what happens. In the story . . . Yes No

1 Tom Creek loses som e treasure. □ □

2 Tom Creek finds som e treasure. □ □
3 John West’s friends run away. □ □
4 they see a dolphin. □ □
 30

ACTIVITIES

While Reading

1 Read pages 1-3, and answer these questions.

1 When does The Black Star go down?

2 Who says ‘I curse this treasure forever’?
3 When does a big wave hit a boat?
4 When does a door shut under the sea?

2 R ead p ages 4 -6 . W hat are the m issing words?

1 ‘Tomorrow they are going to find The Black Star’s _____

a □ treasure b □ pirate c □ sandwiches

2 ‘Are you m ad? There is n o .’

a □ shark b□ sun c□ curse

3 ‘We are all g o o d . Let’s find the treasure.’

a □ pirates b □ men c□ divers

4 ‘D on’t go to The Black Star. M y men . . . they are a ll____

a □ angry b □ dead c□ afraid

3 Read p ages 7-11, and answer these questions.

1 H ow does Barry Barnes leave the room ?

2 W ho sees a dolphin?
3 W hat can they see on the screen?
4 Why can ’t they dive today?
 ACTIVITIES: While Reading 31

4 Read p ages 12-15, and answer these questions.

1 On page 12, why does Joh n say, ‘M ae, you can ’t dive’ ?
2 O n p age 13, why does Joh n say, ‘T h at doesn’t look
go o d ’ ?
3 O n page 14, why does the diver say, ‘L ook at th at’ ?
4 On page 15, why does M ae say, ‘John , there’s trouble’ ?

5 Read pages 16-19. Are these sentences true or false?

T F
1 Joh n thinks The Black Star is bad. □ □
2 They can see a dolphin in the water. □ □
3 They run away from the shark. □ □
4 The shark sees som e blood. □ □

6 Read pages 20-24, and answer these questions.

1 On page 20, why does Joh n say, ‘M ae, com e b ack ’ ?

2 On page 21, why does M ae say, ‘They aren’t interested in
m e’ ?
3 On page 22, why does M ae ask, ‘W hat do you think,
little one’ ?
4 On page 23, why does M ae say, ‘N o more. I’m too tired’ ?
5 On page 24, why does the dolphin say, ‘ Ow! It’s them
again ’ ?
 32

ACTIVITIES

After Reading

1 Tell the story to a friend. Use these w ords.

pirate / b oat / curse / d ead / treasure / shark / dolphin /

w om an / t/it'e / expedition

2 Fill in the speech bubbles to write a different ending.

 A C T IV IT IE S : A fter Reading 33

3 Put these speech bubbles in the correct order. N u m ber

them 1-6.

a □ ‘ . But I am a w om an.'
b □ ‘D on ’t be afraid o f the shark. I know what to d o .’
c □ ‘Fight them boys. T h e Black Star is our b o a t.’
d □ ‘I can ’t stay here. I m ust find her now.’
e □ ‘Be careful. I think his foot is broken.’
f □ ‘H ey! You really are d e a d .’

4 M atch the beginnings and endings o f these sentences.

1 The Black Star is . . .

2 Joh n West tries to get the treasure . . .
3 Joh n cuts his hand . . .
4 M ae is not hurt by the curse . . .
5 The dolphin does . . .

a) and a shark com es.

b) not get a fish.
c)Tom C reek’s pirate boat.
d) in his b oat, T h e Sardine.
e) because she is a w om an.
34

ABOUT THE AUTHORS

M ark F oster and P h illip B u rro w s h ave w o rk e d as a

w rite r / illu strato r team since 1991 . T h e y w ere b orn three years
and m an y m iles ap art, but th ey are very n early tw in s. T h e y drive
the sam e car, w o rk on th e sam e co m p u ters, and w ear the sam e
W ellington b o o ts - but n ot at the sam e tim e! T h e y spend all the
m oney th ey get from w ritin g on ga d g ets, but please d o n ’t tell their
w ives. M a rk and Phill have w orked togeth er o n several B o o k w o rm s
titles, in clu d in g Taxi o f Terror, Orca, and Last Chance (Starters).
W hen th ey m eet to w rite , th ey like to g o to expensive h otels, eat
chips d ipped in co ffe e, and laugh at th eir o w n jokes.
 35

O X F O R D B O O K W O R M S LIBRARY
Classics • Crime & Mystery • Factfiles • Fantasy & Florror
Human Interest • Playscripts • Thriller & Adventure
True Stories • World Stories

The o x f o r d b ook w orm s lib ra r y provides enjoyable reading in

English, with a wide range of classic and modern fiction, non-fiction,
and plays. It includes original and adapted texts in seven carefully graded
language stages, which take learners from beginner to advanced level. An
overview is given on the next pages.

All Stage 1 titles are available as audio recordings, as well as over eighty
other titles from Starter to Stage 6. All Starters and many titles at Stages
1 to 4 are specially recommended for younger learners. Every Bookworm
is illustrated, and Starters and Factfiles have full-colour illustrations.

The o x f o r d b o o k w o r m s l i b r a r y also offers extensive support. Each

book contains an introduction to the story, notes about the author, a glos­
sary, and activities. Additional resources include tests and worksheets,
and answers for these and for the activities in the books. There is advice
on running a class library, using audio recordings, and the many ways of
using Oxford Bookworms in reading programmes. Resource materials are
available on the website <www.oup.com/bookworms>.

The Oxford Bookworms Collection is a series for advanced learners. It

consists o f volumes o f short stories by well-known authors, both classic
and modern. Texts are not abridged or adapted in any way, but carefully
selected to be accessible to the advanced student.

You can find details and a full list of titles in the Oxford Bookworms
Library Catalogue and Oxford English Language Teaching Catalogues,
and on the website <www.oup.com/bookworms>.
36

TH E OXFO RD BO O KW O RM S LIBRARY
GRADING AND SAMPLE EXTRACTS

STARTER • 250 HEADWORDS

present simple - present continuous - imperative -
can/cannot, must - going to (future) - simple gerunds ...

H er phon e is ringing - but where is it?

Sally gets o u t o f bed an d lo o k s in her bag. N o phone.
She lo o k s under the bed. N o phone. T h en she lo o k s
behind the door. T h ere is her phone. Sally picks up her
phon e an d answ ers it. Sally’s Phone

STAGE I • 400 HEADWORDS

... past simple - coordination with and , but , o r -
subordination with before, after, when, because, so ...

I knew him in Persia. H e w as a fa m o u s builder and I

w orked w ith him there. For a tim e I w as his frien d, but
n ot for long. When he cam e to Paris, I cam e after him —
I w anted to w atch him . H e w as a very clever, very
d an gero u s m an. The Phantom o f the Opera

STAGE 2 • 7OO HEADWORDS

... present perfect - will (future) - (don’t) have to, must not, could -
comparison o f adjectives - simple if clauses - past continuous -
tag questions - askJtell + infinitive ...

W hile I w as w ritin g these w ords in my diary, I decided

w hat to do. I m ust try to escap e. I sh all try to get dow n
the w all o u tside. T h e w indow is high above the gro un d,
but I have to try. I shall take so m e o f the go ld with m e - if
1 escap e, p erh ap s it will be helpful later. Dracula
 •37

STAGE 3 • IOOO HEADWORDS

... should, may - present perfect continuous - used to - past perfect
— causative - relative clauses — indirect statements ...

O f course, it w as m ost im portant that no one should see

Colin, Mary, or Dickon entering the secret garden. So Colin
gave orders to the gardeners that they must all keep away
from that part o f the garden in future. The Secret Garden

STAGE 4 • I4OO HEADWORDS

... past perfect continuous - passive (simple forms) -
would conditional clauses - indirect questions —
relatives with where!when — gerunds after prepositions/phrases ...

1 was glad. N ow Hyde could not show his face to the world
again. If he did, every honest man in London would be
proud to report him to the police. D r Jekyll and M r Hyde

STAGE 5 • 1800 HEADWORDS

... future continuous — future perfect —
passive (modals, continuous forms) —
would have conditional clauses — modals + perfect infinitive . . .

If he had spoken Estella’s name, I would have hit him. I was so

angry with him, and so depressed about my future, that I could
not eat the breakfast. Instead I went straight to the old house.
Great Expectations

STAGE 6 • 25OO HEADWORDS

... passive (infinitives, gerunds) - advanced modal meanings -

clauses o f concession, condition

When I stepped up to the piano, I was confident. It was as if

I knew that the prodigy side of me really did exist. And when I
started to play, I was so caught up in how lovely I looked that I
didn’t worry how I would sound. The Joy Luck Club
B

Pirate Treasure
Tom C reek's tre a s u re is u n d e r th e sea.
^ (2 , M any m en try to get th e tre a s u re , but m any
m en die.
-»
O ur boat is ready. W e are a ll good divers.
■a > 'S t* u 2 C L e t-S f jnd th e treas u re! Yes?' says John

W est to his w ife and frien d s. Yes! A rr! Ooohh!' they shout.

They a re a ll ready to go - but are they afraid of Tom C reek's

curse? (Word count 950)

TH R ILLER
^ < STAGE 6

i STAGE 5
B & ADVENTURE

C o ve r im a g e by A la m y Im a g e s
< STAGE U
(D ive r fin d s s u n k e n tre a s u re /D a v id F le e th a m )
< STAGE 3
STARTER 250 H e a d w o rd s
< STAGE 2

” « STAGE 1

I < S TAR TER

BOOKWORMS

T H E O X F O R D B O O K W O R M S L IB R A R Y : G ET M O R E F R O M Y O U R R E A D IN G

OXPORD
U N I V E R S I T Y P R E SS
9780194793643
OXFORD

w w w .oup.com /elt