The Last Sherlock Holmes Story
Before Reading While Reading
ACTIVITIES ANSWERS
BEFORE READING ACTIVITIES (PAGE 60)
ACTIVITY 1 BEFORE READING
Encourage students to speculate and to make
guesses, but do not tell them the answer. They will
find out as they read that the answer is number 4.
ACTIVITY 2 BEFORE READING
1 A locked box.
2 For fifty years. / From 1926 to 1976.
3 In 1888.
4 In London.
5 Jack the Ripper.
6 Because they were unable to stop the murders or
catch the killer.
ACTIVITY 3 BEFORE READING
1 Conan Doyle was a real person, who lived from
1859 to 1930. He is famous for writing the Sherlock
Holmes stories.
2 Sherlock Holmes was not a real person, but is
probably the most famous detective in fiction.
3 Dr Watson was not a real person, but is famous for
being Holmes’s friend in the Conan Doyle stories.
4 Jack the Ripper was a real murderer, famous because
of the horrible crimes he committed in London
in the 1880s and 1890s, and because he was never
caught and nobody ever found out who he really
was. (Jack the Ripper was the name given to him by
the newspapers of the time.)
ACTIVITY 4 BEFORE READING
Do not give the answer now, but encourage
speculation. Because of the double mystery in
this story, none of these answers is exactly right,
although numbers 3 and 4 are true in a way. The
real answer is given in Chapter 5, when Watson
finally understands that ‘the fight with Moriarty
was a battle that was taking place inside his
[Holmes’s] own head’.
ACTIVITY 5 BEFORE READING
Encourage students to speculate and to make
guesses, but do not tell them the answers. They will
© Oxford University Press
find out as they read that the best answers (though
they are only partly true) are 1c, 2a, 2d and 2e.
OXFORD BOOKWORMS LIBRARY STAGE 3
STAGE 3
FOREWORD AND INTRODUCTION WHILE READING
1 What . . .? A packet of papers, which told a terrible
story.
2 When . . .? In 1976.
3 What . . .? They said Watson was lying, or that he
was sick when he wrote the story.
4 Who . . .? Arthur Conan Doyle (ACD)
5 What . . .? He thought it was wild and fantastic
rubbish.
6 Who . . .? Dr Watson.
CHAPTER 1 WHILE READING
1 He sometimes became violent, and he also began to
use cocaine.
2 Because someone was murdering women in
Whitechapel, and the police were unable to find the
killer.
3 They planned to send policemen dressed in women’s
clothes into the streets of Whitechapel, and in this
way they hoped to catch the killer.
4 He planned to live among the poor people for three
days, and talk to them, and listen to everything that
they told him.
5 ‘No time to rip.’
CHAPTER 2 WHILE READING
1 Watson knew nothing about Professor Moriarty.
2 Holmes thought Moriarty killed to amuse himself,
because he wanted a fight to the death with Holmes,
and because he wanted to destroy the world they
knew.
3 Holmes knew when Jack the Ripper would kill again.
4 Lestrade had to obey Holmes’s orders.
CHAPTER 3 WHILE READING
1 He was keeping Moriarty busy and playing games
with him, while Moriarty chased him all over the
country.
2 He was murdering women in different places in
Whitechapel. If you made a diagram of the places,
with lines between them, it made the letter ‘M’.
3 Because he was afraid that his friend could not fight
Moriarty on his own.
4 He kissed her.
5 Because he fell asleep.
6 He was singing.
42 ฀ THE LAST SHERLOCK HOLMES STORY
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CHAPTER 4 WHILE READING
1 T
2 F Holmes sent a second telegram to Watson to say
that Moriarty was dead.
3 T
4 F Mary said she was not afraid of the Whitechapel
murderer.
5 F When Holmes came back to London, he didn’t
want to talk about the death of Moriarty.
6 F Watson and Holmes worked on some new cases
together.
BEFORE READING CHAPTER 5
Encourage students to speculate and to make
guesses, but do not tell them the answers. They will
find out as they read that Holmes dies, and Jack the
Ripper and Moriarty die with him.
After Reading
ACTIVITY 1 AFTER READING
1+9, 2+12, 3+7, 4+10, 5+8, 6+11
A PR IL 1891, L O N DO N
I know Moriarty is alive, because he has killed another
woman. And he will kill again and again, if I don’t
stop him. I tried to explain this to Watson in my
hidden message, but the stupid fellow didn’t under-
stand my letter. Never mind. He has agreed to help
me in my fight, and together we will follow this evil
murderer. It is too dangerous to stay here in Watson’s
house as I am sure that Moriarty and his men are
watching it. Yes! I have just seen one of his men in the
garden so I must call Watson and we must leave at
once!
ACTIVITY 2 AFTER READING
A PR IL 1891, SW IT Z ER L AN D
I have enjoyed myself since we left England. I knew
that something was wrong when I found my bedroom
door was locked in Watson’s house. I tried to hit the
man who came in, but he jumped away. And then there
was the letter to Lestrade, which said that I was the
Whitechapel murderer – what rubbish! I took it from
the cook’s hand while Watson was calling the cab
– but it wasn’t Watson, of course. No, Moriarty had
killed my poor friend and taken his place. I know this
man is Moriarty because I have seen him
injecting himself with cocaine, and Watson would
never, never do that. The end will come today. M has
asked me to walk with him to the Reichenbach Falls,
which is a wild and lonely place. I know he will try to
shoot me there, but he will not succeed because I have
put blanks in his gun. He is clever, but I will destroy
him! It will be the last and greatest success of my life!
OXFORD BOOKWORMS LIBRARY STAGE 3
ACTIVITY 3 AFTER READING
The hidden message on page 41 is every third word
in the letter:
The professor is alive. He killed Flora White. My
letters are read but I follow him night and day. This
time he will not escape.
ACTIVITIES ANSWERS
The hidden message in the note here is every fourth
word:
I have gone to Europe with an old friend. Don’t worry
about me. The police know everything.
Dr Watson wrote the note to his wife Mary, just before
he left his home to travel to Europe on his final
journey with Holmes.
ACTIVITY 4 AFTER READING
If students need help with this, encourage them to
look at links in the language, for example:
I hear that . . . – You’ve heard then / You weren’t
able? – No, I couldn’t.
3 L EST R ADE ฀ ฀ ฀ ฀ ฀฀ ฀ ฀
just returned from Switzerland.
6 W AT SO N : Yes, Inspector, that’s right. I got back
yesterday.
9 L EST R ADE : And I hear that there has been a sad
accident.
2 W AT SO N : Ah, you’ve heard the news then. Yes, it
was terrible – terrible. We have lost a great man,
Inspector.
5 L EST R ADE : Mm. But how did it happen? Did Mr
Holmes fall from the path?
8 W AT SO N : Yes, er . . . yes, he – he just fell over the
edge.
10 L EST R ADE : And you weren’t able to help him – to
catch him before he fell to his death?
4 W AT SO N : No, I couldn’t do anything. I was, er, too
far away.
1 L EST R ADE : Too far away. I see. Were you and Mr
Holmes having an argument, perhaps?
11 W AT SO N : An argument? No, of course not! We
never argued. Holmes was too clever for me to
argue with him.
7 L EST R ADE : He was a clever man, that’s true. Clever
. . . and dangerous. Let’s hope that we have no
฀ ฀ ฀ ฀ ฀ ฀
Doctor.
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43 ฀ THE LAST SHERLOCK HOLMES STORY
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 ACTIVITY 5 AFTER READING
This letter can be finished in various ways. This
answer is an example.
When I read the story in your newspaper, I felt very
sad and very angry. You say the papers in Dr Watson’s
box show that Sherlock Holmes was the murderer
ACTIVITIES ANSWERS

called Jack the Ripper, but I am sure that this is not

true. Everyone knows that Sherlock Holmes was a
great detective, a good and wise man, who never hurt
anyone in his life.
I think Dr Watson was lying when he wrote that
report. Or perhaps he was sick and did not know what
he was doing. You say that you have checked all the
facts that you can but I am sure that most people will
not believe a word of this horrible story.
ACTIVITY 6 AFTER READING
In Conan Doyle’s books Sherlock Holmes is a very
clever (intelligent) detective. His friend, Dr Watson,
who helps him with his cases, is not very intelligent
(clever), and Holmes often has to explain things to
him. Holmes can change his appearance in many
different ways, and not even Watson can recognize
him. It is true that ACD’s Holmes does not like
women, but he does not murder them and cut their
bodies to pieces with a knife.
ACTIVITY 7 AFTER READING
Open answers. Encourage discussion.
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OXFORD BOOKWORMS LIBRARY STAGE 3 44 ฀ THE LAST SHERLOCK HOLMES STORY

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