INTERMEDIATE

Units 3–4
Reading and Speaking A fairy tale ending

1 These people are children’s writers. Can you match them with their books?
Writer Book
AA Milne The Lord of the Rings
JK Rowling Harry Potter
JRR Tolkein Winnie the Pooh
Have you read any of the books or seen the films? Tell your class about it.

2 These phrases are from the article. Guess the meaning of each one.
1 a fairy tale ending
a a perfect, happy end b the end of a fairy’s life
2 a dream come true
a you wake up frightened b what you want happens
3 household name
a someone famous b someone you live with
4 knock down with a feather
a hit someone with a bird b be very surprised
Read the article and check.
3 Read the article again. Are the sentences true (✓) or false (✗)?
1 Clive Woodall knew he would be famous.
2 He wrote One for Sorrow: Two for joy with his first wife.
3 His sons loved the story.
4 His second wife helped him to find a publisher.
5 Franc Rodham made the arrangement with Disney.
6 Franc Rodham enjoyed the book a lot.
7 Clive Woodall wasn’t surprised when Disney bought the story.
8 Clive Woodall hasn’t given up his job.
9 Clive Woodall writes whilst sitting in his garden.
10 One for Sorrow: Two for joy is about two little boys and their father.

Vocabulary
4 Match the words in A with the meanings in B.
A B
1 demanded (v) a a business arrangement or agreement
2 instalments (n) b very pleased and excited (2 words)
3 contacts (n) c to hold someone’s interest
4 deal (n) d ask for something strongly
5 grip (v) e useful people you know in business or through work
6 thrilled (adj) f parts of something delivered at different times
7 delighted (adj) g very bad; unpleasant
8 evil (adj)

What do you think?

5 Think about the name of your favourite book or writer when you were a child. Make
notes about what you liked and what you know about the writer’s life.
6 Work in a group. Discuss your books/writers and ask each other questions.

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Reading and Speaking
A fairy tale ending
THE DREAMS of supermarket
manager Clive Woodall have come
true: he has published his first book,
One for Sorrow: Two for joy, and
sold the story to the world-famous
Disney studios for one million
dollars (£550,000).
Clive Woodall, 46, wrote One for
Sorrow: Two for joy as a bedtime
story for his young sons when his
first marriage ended eleven years ago.
The boys were so interested in the
story that they demanded lots of new
instalments. He wrote in every spare
moment and the finishing touches
were done on his honeymoon with
his second wife, Trish.
It was through Trish that the
1 a small bird with a red chest; 2 large black and white birds
Page 2 www.oup.com/elt/headway
INTERMEDIATE Units 3–4 A fairy tale ending
book was shown to a film maker,
Franc Rodham. He loved it so much
that he published it for Clive and
used his contacts in the film
industry to arrange the deal with
Disney. Franc Roddam said: ‘One
for Sorrow: Two for joy is a
beautiful story and it grips you from
the first page. I’m thrilled to be
behind this project. I know that
Clive Woodall is going to be a
household name.’
Clive is celebrating his success
with his sons, who are now 21 and
17, and Trish. He said ‘You need
luck to get something published! I
was already delighted when the
book appeared in the shops. Then
Headway © Oxford University Press
when I heard that Disney wanted it,
you could have knocked me down
with a feather.’
The cash from Disney means
Clive has reduced his working
hours at the supermarket. He now
works at home two days a week
writing his next book. He writes
sitting at his dining room table
looking out onto his garden – which
contains about 20 bird feeders.
One for Sorrow: Two for joy is a
children’s fairy story. It is about
Birddom, a place where a robin1 is
given the difficult job of saving the
world from the evil magpies2.
© The Guardian, 2002
PHOTOCOPIABLE