OXFORD BOOKWORMS COMPREHENSION TEST

Stage Starter
Oranges in the Snow
1 Are these sentences true (T) or false (F)?
4 Match the place in A with the description
a ___ Mary Durie is a scientist.
in B.
b ___ Mary Durie is Joe’s assistant.
c ___ Mary and Joe are in Alaska. A B
d ___ The flower can see in the dark. 1 Spain a They do the
e ___ Joe is the thief. experiment here.
f ___ A man in a beard fights Joe. 2 a cupboard b The thief puts Joe
g ___ The thief drinks the liquid. here.
h ___ Mary and Joe go to the airport to find 3 the restaurant c The thief meets the
the liquid. man in the hat here.
i ___ The man with long hair is the thief. 4 the laboratory d There are three planes
j ___ The thief smells of oranges. here.
5 the airport e The oranges come
    20 marks  from here.

2 Put the following events in the story in     20 marks 

the right order. Number them 1–10.
5 Match a word from A with a definition
a ___ The liquid turns yellow.
from B.
b ___ Mary and Joe go to the airport.
c ___ Mary finds Joe in a cupboard. A B
d ___ Mary and Joe find the thief. 1 curtain a you are this when many
e ___ Mary and Joe find a flower in Alaska. people know you
f ___ Mary and Joe talk to one of the pilots. 2 experiment b you use this to lock a door
g ___ Mary and Joe see three planes. 3 famous c you close this so people
h ___ Mary and Joe begin the experiment. can't seen in through a
i ___ The thief fights with Joe. window
j ___ Mary closes the curtain of the 4 heat d somebody who takes
laboratory. things without paying
5 key e an important fruit in this
    20 marks  story
6 lock f you do this when you are
3 Who says this? Who do they say it to? happy
Joe, the man with the beard, the man 7 orange g worth a lot of money
with the hat, Mary, the pilot 8 smile h close a door so that
a ___ ‘Everything’s ready now.’ people can't open it
……………… to ……………… 9 thief i something you try to do in
b ___ ‘This is very valuable.’ a laboratory
……………… to ……………… 10 valuable j make something hot
c ___ ‘A man . . . with a beard. A smell of . . .
    20 marks 
oranges.’
……………… to ………………
    Total marks 
d ___ ‘Everyone on my plane smells of
oranges.’
……………… to ………………
e ___ ‘I have it.’
……………… to ………………
    20 marks 

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OXFORD BOOKWORMS COMPREHENSION TEST ANSWERS

Stage Starter
Oranges in the Snow
1 5
a T 1 c
b F 2 i
c T 3 a
d F 4 j
e F 5 b
f T 6 h
g F 7 e
h T 8 f
i F 9 d
j T 10 g

2
a 4
b 7
c 6
d 10
e 1
f 9
g 8
h 3
i 5
j 2

3
a Joe to Mary.
b Mary to Joe.
c Joe to Mary.
d The pilot to Mary.
e The man with the beard to the man with the
hat.

4
1 e
2 b
3 c
4 a
5 d

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OXFORD BOOKWORMS MULTIPLE CHOICE TEST

Stage Starter
Oranges in the Snow
SETTING 9 At the airport the shop is _____.
a  open
Choose the best answer. b  closed
1 It is a _____ night. c  expensive
a  cold and rainy d  big
b  rainy and windy
10 At the airport there is _____ in the waiting
c  hot and windy
room.
d  cold and windy
a  nobody
2 Mary Durie is doing an experiment in _____. b  the man with the beard
a  a classroom c  a pilot
b  a forest d  a dog
c  a laboratory
    20 marks 
d  her home
3 Before the experiment Mary feels _____. CHARACTERS
a  a little afraid
b  a little tired Choose the best answer.
c  very angry 11 Mary Durie is a _____.
d  very hungry a  teacher
4 The special flower grows in _____. b  scientist
a  Texas c  doctor
b  Alaska d  detective
c  California 12 Joe is Mary’s _____.
d  Florida a  assistant
5 In the experiment, Joe and Mary put some b  brother
_____ on the flower. c  husband
a  liquid d  friend
b  sugar 13 Mary’s boss is playing _____.
c  hair a  football
d  smoke b  basketball
6 Outside the laboratory there is a _____. c  tennis
a  cat and a dog d  rugby
b  cat and a fish 14 The strange man behind the car drops
c  cat and a seal _____.
d  dog and a seal a  a postcard from Alaska
7 Joe and Mary find _____ planes at the b  a photo of Alaska
airport. c  a book about Alaska
a  two d  a plane ticket to Alaska
b  three 15 Mary finds Joe in the _____ with a scarf
c  four over his mouth.
d  five a  cupboard
8 The planes are _____. b  laboratory
a  all black c  waiting room
b  all white d  restaurant
c  all blue 16 Joe has a lot of _____ on his hands.
d  different colours a  food
b  sticky tape
c  soap
d  liquid

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OXFORD BOOKWORMS MULTIPLE CHOICE TEST

Stage Starter
Oranges in the Snow
17 The dog is eating _____ under the table. 24 ‘Joe! Is that you?’
a  a flower a  Mary
b  an orange b  Mary’s boss
c  a shoe c  the man with the beard
d  some bread d  one of the policemen
18 The man with the long hair on the blue plane 25 ‘Remember there are bad men out there. Be
wants to sell Joe _____. very careful, Mary.’
a  some flowers a  Joe
b  a dog b  Mary’s boss
c  a watch c  the lorry driver
d  an orange d  one of the policemen
19 The man with the beard and white coat is in 26 ‘Oh dear! I can’t find my keys.’
the _____. a  Joe
a  plane b  Mary
b  waiting room c  the lorry driver
c  shop d  the pilot of the yellow plane
d  restaurant
27 ‘He works on the plane and he is not the
20 At the airport the police _____ see in the man you want.’
dark. a  Mary
a  can b  Mary’s boss
b  can’t c  the man with the beard
c  learn to d  one of the policemen
d  begin to
28 ‘That’s my coat!’
    20 marks  a  Joe
b  Mary
DIALOGUE c  the lorry driver
d  the pilot of the red plane
Who says or writes this?
29 ‘Everyone on my plane smells of oranges.’
21 ‘Everything’s ready now. We can do the
a  the man with the beard
experiment.’
b  one of the policemen
a  Joe
c  the pilot of the yellow plane
b  Mary’s boss
d  the pilot of the blue plane
c  the man with the beard
d  the pilot of the blue plane 30 ‘Good ! Now we can make lots of money.’
a  Joe
22 ‘Something is happening. I feel different. My
b  Mary
legs and my hands hurt …’
c  Mary’s boss
a  Joe
d  the man with the hat in the restaurant
b  the man with the beard
c  the pilot of the yellow plane     20 marks 
d  one of the policemen
VOCABULARY
23 ‘We must be careful. This is very valuable.’
Choose the best answer.
a  Joe
b  Mary 31 cloth that covers a window
c  the lorry driver a  curtain
d  one of the policemen b  wall
c  floor
d  paper

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OXFORD BOOKWORMS MULTIPLE CHOICE TEST

Stage Starter
Oranges in the Snow
32 when you want to make something hot, you 40 if you buy something, this man brings it to
do this to it your home or work
a  cut a  runner
b  heat b  detective
c  drop c  policeman
d  hold d  delivery man
33 a box or space with a door where you keep     20 marks 
things
a  table PLOT
b  fridge
Choose the best answer.
c  cooker
d  cupboard 41 Joe and Mary do an experiment on _____.
a  a small flower
34 you do this when you feel happy
b  a very big flower
a  run
c  a lot of flowers
b  cry
d  a tree with flowers
c  smile
d  forget 42 Joe and Mary make something to help
people _____.
35 you open and lock doors with this
a  run faster
a  key
b  learn more quickly
b  knife
c  sleep very well
c  pen
d  see in the dark
d  mirror
43 Joe and Mary make some yellow _____ with
36 a person who takes something that is not
the flower.
theirs
a  tea
a  killer
b  food
b  thief
c  liquid
c  visitor
d  paper
d  driver
44 Joe and Mary _____ the liquid.
37 when something is worth a lot of money
a  sell
a  rich
b  buy
b  poor
c  drink
c  cheap
d  drop
d  valuable
45 Somebody _____ the bottle, notebook and
38 when a lot of people know a person
white coat from the laboratory.
a  famous
a  takes
b  nice
b  buys
c  beautiful
c  plays with
d  pleased
d  drops
39 when you let something fall to the ground
46 Joe and Mary look for a man with a _____.
a  stay
a  gun
b  leave
b  beard
c  drop
c  cat
d  put
d  bag

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OXFORD BOOKWORMS MULTIPLE CHOICE TEST

Stage Starter
Oranges in the Snow
47 The red plane is full of _____.
a  computers
b  televisions
c  flowers
d  fish
48 The man with the beard in the restaurant
only has one _____.
a  shoe
b  leg
c  arm
d  eye
49 The thieves try to _____ Joe, Mary and the
police.
a  find
b  stop
c  run away from
d  kill
50 In the end the police _____ the thieves.
a  kill
b  arrest
c  laugh at
d  lose
    20 marks 

    Total marks 

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OXFORD BOOKWORMS MULTIPLE CHOICE TEST ANSWERS

Stage Starter
Oranges in the Snow
SETTING
1 d PLOT
2 c 41 a
3 a 42 d
4 b 43 c
5 a 44 c
6 d 45 a
7 b 46 b
8 d 47 d
9 b 48 a
10 a 49 c
50 b
CHARACTERS
11 b
12 a
13 c
14 d
15 a
16 b
17 c
18 c
19 d
20 b

DIALOGUE
21 a
22 a
23 b
24 a
25 b
26 c
27 d
28 a
29 d
30 d

VOCABULARY
31 a
32 b
33 d
34 c
35 a
36 b
37 d
38 a
39 c
40 d

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OXFORD BOOKWORMS BOOK ACTIVITY ANSWERS

Stage Starter
Oranges in the Snow
BEFORE READING Joe points to the man in the coat. The two men
1 run away. One of them wears only one shoe.
1 T The police arrest them.
2 T
3 F
AFTER READING
1
2
Mary Durie and Joe are doing an experiment
1 Mary Durie is a famous scientist.
using a special flower. They make a liquid that
2 Her laboratory is in Alaska.
can help people see in the dark. A man who
3 She has an assistant called Joe.
smells of oranges attacks Joe. The man takes
4 Some people steal her idea.
the special liquid and Joe’s coat. Mary finds Jo
with sticky tape round his hands and mouth. Joe
3 and Mary follow the thief to the airport. They go
1 a The story is exciting. into a restaurant and see two men with the liquid.
2 a The oranges are on the plane. ‘Run !’ shouts one of the men and they both
leave the restaurant fast. The police arrest the
men and Mary and Joe get their special liquid
WHILE READING
back.
1
1 T 2
2 T
1 To tie up Joe. / To keep Joe in the
3 F
cupboard.
4 F
2 To see in the dark.
5 F
3 To write about the experiment.
6 T

3
2
1 The notebook, the flower, the small bottle
1 a Mary is looking for Joe.
and Joe’s coat.
2 b Joe is in the cupboard.
2 In Alaska.
3 a The thief is wearing only one shoe.
3 Because they don’t drink the special liquid.
4 a Mary says, ‘Where is the thief?’
4 Everyone on the blue plane smells of
oranges – he was on the blue plane. 5 The
3 pilot of the blue plane. 6 To the left (to a
1 The pilot points to the building at the airport. man delivering oranges), to the right (to the
2 There are boxes of oranges near the blue airport), and straight on (and then back to
plane. the laboratory).
3 Mary sees a dog running after a seal.
4 The man on the jet sled wears a funny hat. 4
5 The man with the long hair is putting boxes
The correct order is:
in the lorry.
2, 3, 6, 5, 4, 1
6 The liquid in the little bottle turns yellow.
2 Mary drinks the liquid.
3 Someone steals the bottle.
4 6 Joe is in the cupboard.
Two men come in and sit at a table. One wears a 5 Mary talks to the pilot.
white coat. The other one wears a funny hat. The 4 The thieves are in the restaurant.
man in the coat gives the other man a notebook. 1 The police arrest the two men.
Joe and Mary come into the restaurant.

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