Literature B1+ Units

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Emma by Jane Austen intermediate 5

‘Emma Woodhouse was very pretty, very clever and

EMMA
very rich. She was charming too and she had many
friends. Emma always thought she was right. Most of

ABOUT THE STORY her friends agreed with her. Only Mr Knightley thought
she was wrong.’

Emma is a matchmaker – she thinks she knows who

should marry whom. But Emma’s matchmaking causes

Emma tells the story of Emma Woodhouse, a pretty, clever and rich young lady, who often
mistakes and unhappiness. And Emma is so busy
taking an interest in others’ lives that she does not
notice her own, growing feelings for a man she
believes is just a friend.

thinks she is right when she is not. The story begins when Emma attends the wedding of

JANE AUSTEN
• Extra grammar and vocabulary exercises
• Notes about the life of Jane Austen

her best friend to Mr Weston. Because Emma thinks she is responsible for their marriage,
• Points for Understanding comprehension questions
• Glossary of difficult vocabulary
• Free resources including worksheets, tests and author
data sheets at www.macmillanenglish.com/readers

she decides she is an excellent matchmaker and proceeds to try to find suitable husbands • Audio CD/download available for this title

for her friends. She tries to match her friend Harriet with a young man, Mr Elton, but is
1 Starter MACMILLAN READERS

unsuccessful as Mr Elton ends up proposing marriage to Emma instead. Emma refuses

This series provides a wide variety of enjoyable reading
Emma

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2 Beginner
3 Elementary material for all learners of English. Macmillan Readers
are retold versions of popular classic and contemporary
4 Pre-intermediate
titles as well as specially written stories, published at
Jane Austen
and Mr Elton moves away, only to return at a later date with a wife. Mr Weston has a
5 Intermediate
six levels.
6 Upper

british english

son from his first marriage – Frank Churchill – and he returns home to visit his father. In
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A1 A2 B1 B2 C1 C2
I S B N 978-0-230-03527-0

the extract below, Emma, Mr Weston, the Eltons, Frank Churchill and a friend of Emma’s Use your Macmillan

father, Miss Bates, go on a picnic.

English Dictionary 9 780230 035270
with this book. MACMILLAN READERS

  ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Jane Austen (1775–1817) was an English novelist, best known for her works of
romantic fiction. Her stories are about people from the higher social classes and are
often focused on women marrying to improve their position in society and secure
economic stability. She uses irony to satirise many of her characters, both male
and female. Austen was not famous during her lifetime; her books were published
anonymously, and it was only after she died that people began to learn about her.

Box Hill ‘You are the one who is talking, Mr Churchill’,

Next day the weather was fine, and everyone got
ready for the visit to Box Hill. Mr and Mrs Weston
had made all the arrangements and everything
was well planned. Everyone except Mrs Weston
5 made the seven-mile journey to Box Hill in their
carriages. Mrs Weston was expecting a child and
on this day she felt very tired. She agreed to stay
at Hartfield with Mr Woodhouse.
The countryside around them was beautiful, but
10 no one seemed happy. The weather was very hot
and the visitors were soon tired. They did not
want to walk very far. Mr and Mrs Elton walked
away by themselves. They did not talk to anyone.
Things were a little better when everyone sat
15 down on the grass to eat the picnic. Mr Weston
had brought lots of delicious cold food and drink
for everyone.
Frank Churchill sat next to Emma and began to
pay her a lot of attention. His conversation was
20 lively and interesting. Emma laughed at his words,
but she did not really feel happy. Emma was not
sure if Frank was happy or not.
Emma said at last. ‘Everyone else is silent. Why is
25
that? What is everyone thinking about?’
Frank suddenly stood up. ‘Why is everyone so
quiet?’ he said loudly. ‘We have all come here to
enjoy ourselves. But no one looks happy. Why not?
Ladies and gentlemen, you heard Miss Woodhouse.
30
She wants to know what each of you are thinking!’
Some people laughed, but the Eltons looked angry.
‘Mr Churchill is not telling the truth’, Emma said
with a laugh. ‘I do not want to know what everyone
is thinking. I cannot ask that’.
35
‘Well, then, I have a better idea’, Frank said. ‘There
are eight of us here. This is what you must do. It is
Miss Woodhouse’s wish - everyone must say one
very clever thing, or two things that are quite clever,
or three things that are very dull’.
40
‘Oh that will be easy for me’, Miss Bates said
happily. ‘Three dull things. Yes. I shall be able to
think of three dull things very easily!’
‘Only three things Miss Bates? That might be a
problem,’ Emma said. ‘You will find it difficult to say
45
only three dull things at one time, I am sure.’

A VOCABULARY FOCUS
carriage (line 6): a vehicle with wheels pulled by horses, used in the past before cars were invented
expecting a child (line 6): to be pregnant with a baby
picnic (line 15): an outdoor meal usually eaten sitting on the grass
to pay (someone) a lot of attention (line 19): to listen and speak to someone with great interest
dull (line 39): boring

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 Literature
Emma by Jane Austen
  Before reading
1 You are going to read a novel by Jane Austen.
Austen’s novels are often about people who
belonged to the higher social classes, also
known as ‘polite society’. She often described
the behaviour of people in social situations, such
as parties, visits and outings. Read About the
author. Work in pairs and make some predictions
about how people in ‘polite society’ might have
behaved in such situations. Think about the
following areas:
a acceptable and unacceptable topics of conversation
b expected behaviour for men and women
c any other relevant social conventions.
2 Look at the picture and read About the story.
In the same pairs, discuss who you think the
different characters in the picture are. How do
you think they are feeling? What might they be
saying to each other?
  While reading
1 Read the extract and answer the questions.
1 Where are the people?
2 Why don’t they want to walk far?
3 Who does most of the talking?
4 What is Emma concerned about?
5 What does Frank suggest they do?
6 How do you think Miss Bates feels about his
suggestion?
2 Read the extract again and answer the questions.
Find examples from the text to support your
answer to each question.
1 What is the general mood of the group? Why are
they feeling/behaving like this?
2 How do the different characters contribute to the
general atmosphere/mood?
3 What does this extract show us about the behaviour
of people in polite society?
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B1+ Units
3 Read the final line of the extract again and discuss
these questions in pairs or small groups.
‘Only three things Miss Bates? That might be a
problem,’ Emma said. ‘You will find it difficult to
say only three dull things at one time, I’m sure.’
1 Why do you think the word 'only' is in italics? What
does Emma mean by this?
2 What does this tell us about Emma’s opinion of
Miss Bates?
3 What does this tell us about the kind of person
Emma is?
4 Look at these adjectives that could describe some
of the characters. Choose one or two for the
characters below. Then compare your answers in
pairs. Do you agree with each other?
bad-tempered  •  boring  •  confident  •  outspoken
polite  •  rude  •  sarcastic  •  shy  •  sociable  •  unsociable
Miss Bates  
Emma Woodhouse  
Frank Churchill  
The Eltons  
  After reading
1 The main characters in the extract are Emma and
Frank. Read the extract again and discuss these
questions in pairs.
1 What do we know about the character of Emma?
Use your imagination to extend on what you know
from the text. What do you think she looks like?
What do you think she is like?
Then do the same for Frank.
2 Look back at the predictions you made in Before
reading 1 about expected behaviour in this kind
of society. Does Emma’s behaviour conform to
this? Which parts of the extract show this?
3 Look again at the end of the passage. In pairs,
think about how the story will develop. Think
about the following and make notes:
■ How will Miss Bates react to Emma’s comment?
■ How will the rest of the group react to Emma’s
comment?
■ How will the game proceed?
4 Now write a short dialogue between Emma, Miss
Bates and the rest of the group to continue the
extract.
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