OXFORD BOOKWORMS COMPREHENSION TEST

Stage 2
Songs from the Soul: Stories from Around the World

1 In which story can you find these things? 4 Are these sentences true (T) or false (F)?
Complicity, The Luck of Four, Chinna a Keshto wants to stay in the village and keep
and Muthu, The Deceivers, Treason. the same life.
a A yellow butterfly. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . b Emma and Jimmy live on a farm in the
b A little goat. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . country.
c A fat chicken. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . c Sam always gives Chai free tea when he
d A lottery ticket. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . comes to the coffee-shop.
e A computer. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . d Samy learns that he has won some money.
e Nachiappa Gounder kills the goat and then
    20 marks 
the rain suddenly starts.
2 Who said this? Match a number from A f Bill tells his wife the bad news immediately.
with a letter from B. g Linda has met her husband’s family before.
h Kanna looks very pretty when she goes to
A
the big house.
1 ___ ‘If you can catch one, you can have i Kanna will stay and work for the
one.’ ‘grandmother’.
2 ___ ‘Hey, what login name are you using?’ j Gbenga chats to an American man on the
3 ___ ‘They say I haven’t got long, my love, Internet.
but you’ll be fine without me.’
    20 marks 
4 ___ ‘They don’t want to see me. They
disowned me years ago.’
5 Are these sentences true (T) or false (F)?
5 ___ ‘I don’t like it here, Pa, let’s go.’
A
B 1 ___ ‘If you can catch one, you can have
a Emeka in The Strange Child one.’
b Bill in With Sincere Intent 2 ___ ‘Hey, what login name are you using?’
c Kanna in Treason 3 ___ ‘They say I haven’t got long, my love,
d Cbenga in The Deceivers but you’ll be fine without me.’
e Dan in Complicity 4 ___ ‘They don’t want to see me. They
disowned me years ago.’
    20 marks 
5 ___ ‘I don’t like it here, Pa, let’s go.’
3 In which story do these things happen?
With Sincere Intent, The Luck of Four, B
Treason, The Strange Child, The Evening a Emeka in The Strange Child
Train. b Bill in With Sincere Intent
c Kanna in Treason
a A husband tells his wife some funny
d Cbenga in The Deceivers
stories. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
e Dan in Complicity
b A father says that his son is dead.
..................     20 marks 
c A man becomes very ill and dies.
..................     Total marks 
d A son talks excitedly about life in the city.
..................
e A father keeps a terrible secret from his
daughter. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
    20 marks 

1 © OXFORD UNIVERSITY PRESS PHOTOCOPIABLE 

OXFORD BOOKWORMS COMPREHENSION TEST ANSWERS
Stage 2
Songs from the Soul: Stories from Around the World

1
a Treason
b Chinna and Muthu
c Complicity
d The Luck of Four
e The Deceivers

2
1 e
2 d
3 b
4 a
5 c

3
a With Sincere Intent
b The Strange Child
c The Luck of Four
d The Evening Train
e Treason

4
a T
b F
c T
d T
e F
f F
g F
h T
i T
j F

5
1 d
2 c
3 a
4 e
5 b

2 © OXFORD UNIVERSITY PRESS PHOTOCOPIABLE 

OXFORD BOOKWORMS MULTIPLE CHOICE TEST
Stage 2
Songs from the Soul: Stories from Around the World

SETTING d  grandmother’s

Choose the best answer. 9 The house in Treason is _____.

1 In The Evening Train, Keshto lives _____. a  old and untidy
a  on a large farm b  dark and ugly
b  in a noisy city c  big and beautiful
c  in a small town d  small and pretty
d  in a quiet village 10 Gbenga in The Deceivers is on a computer
2 Keshto makes and cooks delicious_____ in _____ in Nigeria.
cakes. a  a library
a  rice b  a cyber café
b  potato c  an office
c  tea d  a hotel
d  chocolate     20 marks 
3 Emma and Jimmy in Complicity visit a
_____ with their mother. CHARACTERS
a  farm
b  shop Choose the best answer.
c  mine 11 Keshto’s son, Karthik, wants to go to _____.
d  house a  the city
b  the sea
4 In The Luck of Four, Chai goes into Samy’s
c  a different village
_____ shop.
d  a different country
a  book
b  clothes 12 Emma and Jimmy’s _____ had an accident
c  coffee at the mine.
d  cake a  neighbour
b  father
5 In Chinna and Muthu, there has been no
c  brother
_____ in the village for a long time.
d  uncle
a  rain
b  work 13 Chai and Samy are _____.
c  milk a  brothers
d  hot weather b  cousins
c  friends
6 In With Sincere Intent, Bill is in a _____.
d  workers in a café
a  hotel
b  hospital 14 Chai is _____.
c  school a  large and unhealthy
d  café b  ill and very thin
c  young and healthy
7 In The Strange Child, Linda travels to
d  old and small
Emeka’s _____.
a  village 15 Chinna is the son of the village _____.
b  office a  doctor
c  room b  chief
d  shop c  teacher
d  postman
8 At the beginning of Treason, Pa tells Kanna
they are going to her _____ house. 16 Bill and his wife _____.
a  friend’s a  talk angrily
b  teacher’s b  don’t say anything
c  cousin’s c  don’t talk much

3 © OXFORD UNIVERSITY PRESS PHOTOCOPIABLE 

OXFORD BOOKWORMS MULTIPLE CHOICE TEST
Stage 2
Songs from the Soul: Stories from Around the World

d  talk and laugh a  Samy

b  Chai
17 Linda and Emeka have been married for
c  a customer
three _____.
d  the kitchen-boy
a  days
b  weeks 25 ‘There is no need to be afraid. We will break
c  months a pumpkin for the Gods. It is a present from
d  years our land, from our own fields.’
a  Chinna
18 Linda has never met Emeka’s _____.
b  the village priest
a  family
c  Chinna’s father
b  boss
d  Chinna’s mother
c  best friend
d  doctor 26 ‘Do you know where to turn off the electricity
in the house?’
19 Kanna is _____ little girl.
a  one of the nurses
a  an unhappy
b  Bill
b  an ill
c  Bill’s wife
c  a pretty
d  Bill’s son
d  a rich
27 ‘I know nothing about your past life, or your
20 In the chat room, Gbenga says he is _____.
family. . .’
a  a guy from Nigeria
a  Emeka
b  a girl from the US
b  Emeka’s father
c  a student from Nigeria
c  Emeka’s brother
d  an architect from Kentucky
d  Linda
    20 marks 
28 ‘She’ll learn. She’s very quick to learn.’
a  the maidservant
DIALOGUE b  the ‘grandmother’
c  Papa
Who said this?
d  Kanna
21 ‘I know a man in the city . . . He can help me
to start a food stall. I will get rich . . .’ 29 ‘I hope you’ve told her everything. I don’t
a  Keshto want her crying and sobbing.’
b  Karthik a  Papa
c  Behula b  the maidservant
d  one of the train pasengers c  Kanna
d  the ‘grandmother’
22 ‘You know what we said . . . A chicken for a
jug.’ 30 ‘Can you please spell Prescott?’
a  Dan a  the young guy sitting opposite Gbenga
b  Johnny b  Gbenga
c  Jimmy c  Celia
d  Rose d  a young woman in the café
    20 marks 
23 ‘Not the man he was since that accident. Eh,
Rose?’
VOCABULARY
a  Emma
b  Jimmy Choose the best answer.
c  Dan
31 a small, simple building with only one room
d  Johnny
a  stall
24 ‘How about giving me one of your numbers? b  hut
You always get good luck.’ c  palace

4 © OXFORD UNIVERSITY PRESS PHOTOCOPIABLE 

OXFORD BOOKWORMS MULTIPLE CHOICE TEST
Stage 2
Songs from the Soul: Stories from Around the World

d  bird 40 to be slow to speak because you are not

sure
a  forgive
32 when something is very, very big b  chat
a  narrow c  puzzle
b  tiny d  hesitate
c  long
    20 marks 
d  huge
33 an area of short grass in a park or in front of
PLOT
a house
a  lawn Choose the best answer.
b  yard 41 At the end of The Evening Train, Keshto
c  hill understands that his son will _____.
d  mine a  stay in the village
34 to cry very noisily b  leave the village
a  chat c  stop making potato cakes
b  sob d  sell his food stall
c  wink 42 Emma looks at her mother. She thinks she
d  nod has _____.
35 when food is very good and nice to eat a  a secret
a  disgusting b  some good news
b  beautiful c  a lot of money
c  delicious d  a serious illness
d  cool 43 Samy knows that the number four sounds
36 to laugh in a silly way like ‘_____’ in Chinese.
a  shout a  good luck
b  giggle b  good health
c  smile c  a new job
d  whisper d  death

37 a small wave on the water of a lake or pond 44 When Samy watches TV, he learns that
a  ripple _____.
b  brake a  he has won money
c  flash b  Chai has won money
d  roll c  Chai is very ill
d  Chai has died
38 a person who is the leader or boss of a
group of people 45 Chinna like the goat and he takes it to
a  guy _____.
b  government a  his house
c  maidservant b  the village priest
d  chief c  Atacama
d  Namib
39 water that shoots up inot the air, and tehn
falls down again 46 At the end of Chinna and Muthu there is
a  waterfall _____.
b  lake a  a big blue sky
c  fountain b  some rain
d  river c  some very hot weather
d  some cold weather
47 Bill tells his wife that he’s going to _____.

5 © OXFORD UNIVERSITY PRESS PHOTOCOPIABLE 

OXFORD BOOKWORMS MULTIPLE CHOICE TEST
Stage 2
Songs from the Soul: Stories from Around the World

a  die soon
b  come home
c  get better
d  help her with the house
48 When Linda speaks to Emeka’s father, she
learns that Emeka _____ three years ago.
a  was very ill
b  ran away
c  died
d  had a son
49 When Pa leaves Kanna at the house, the
_____ goes too.
a  pretty girl
b  ‘grandmother’
c  maidservant
d  yellow butterfly
50 Gbenga thinks that he is chatting to an
American man, but he’s really talking to a
_____.
a  young Nigerian woman
b  Nigerian detective
c  man in the same cyber café
d  one of his good friends
    20 marks 

    Total marks 

6 © OXFORD UNIVERSITY PRESS PHOTOCOPIABLE 

OXFORD BOOKWORMS MULTIPLE CHOICE TEST ANSWERS
Stage 2
Songs from the Soul: Stories from Around the World

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

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

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

7 © OXFORD UNIVERSITY PRESS PHOTOCOPIABLE 

OXFORD BOOKWORMS BOOK ACTIVITY ANSWERS
Stage 2
Songs from the Soul: Stories from Around the World

BEFORE READING chicken, but first they have to catch the

For these activities, encourage students to
exchange ideas, and to speculate and to
guess. Do not tell them the answers that
are factual; they will find out the answers
as they read.
Activity 1 The Evening Train
Open answers. Encourage discussion.
Activity 2 Complicity
The right guess is 3.
Activity 3 The Luck of Four
Open answers. Encourage discussion.
Activity 4 Chinna and Muthu
The right guesses are 1 and 4.
Activity 5 With Sincere Intent
Open answers. Encourage discussion.
Activity 6 The Strange Child
1 Y 2N
Activity 7 Treason
1 Kanna’s father has lied to her.
2 Kanna does not have a grandmother.
chicken.
3 + 16 +18
Chai is a very fat man who spends a lot of
money on lottery tickets, and is not very
nice to his friend Samy.
4 + 12 + 23
Chinna knows what happens in a sacrifice and
he loves the little goat, so he takes her
away and hides her in a secret place.
5 + 15 + 19
In the hospital Bill tells his wife a funny story,
which makes her laugh, but his real
message is a sad one for them both.
6 + 9 + 22
Linda drives to her husband’s village, because
she wants to meet his family, but she
learns a terrible secret about her husband.
7 + 14 + 17
Kanna’s father takes his young, pretty
daughter and leaves her in the house of a
woman who is not her grandmother.
8 + 11 + 21
Gbenga thinks it is clever to use a false name,
but he isn’t so clever after all, because the
guy opposite him is doing the same thing.
Activity 2
Open answers.

Activity 3
Activity 8 The Deceivers
1
The true answers are 1 and 2. D E L I C I O U S
2
B U T T E R F L Y
3
C H A T
4
C H I C K E N
5
AFTER READING G I G G L E
6
F O R G I V E
Activity 1 7
L O T T E R Y
1 + 13 + 20 8
S A C R I F I C E
Keshto needs help to make his potato cakes,
but his son Karthik wants to move to the
city and does not want to help his father Activity 4
any more. 1 The word is deceiver, from the story The
2 + 10 + 24 Deceivers.
Emma, Jimmy, and their mother go to the farm 2 Open answer.
because the farmer says they can have a
Activity 5

8 © OXFORD UNIVERSITY PRESS PHOTOCOPIABLE 

OXFORD BOOKWORMS BOOK ACTIVITY ANSWERS
Stage 2
Songs from the Soul: Stories from Around the World

Open answers. The young girl watches,

and her mother runs, laughing,
to catch a chicken.
Activity 6
The first haiku is about With Sincere Intent; the
The Luck of Four
second haiku is about The Strange Child.
Unlucky number.
Notes for the teacher:
He gives away the ticket,
This activity helps students to think about the but the bad luck stays.
stories they have read, and what they see
as the themes, or points of interest in the
story. It also helps them to practise the key Chinna and Muthu
vocabulary of the stories. There are no right Rain. What will bring rain?
or wrong answers for this activity, provided Buy the priest with two good fields,
that the haiku accurately reflects some and let the goat go.
aspect of the story.
 For classroom work, students can work Treason
in pairs or small groups to write their
Flowers in my hair,
haiku. When all the groups have
bangles on my wrists,
finished, there can be a guessing
a gate that shuts behind me.
competition, with other groups guessing
which story each haiku is about. Other
possibilities include a haiku recital (each The Deceivers
group in turn reads out their haiku to the He uses a name
class), and a poster display. to deceive; he forgets that
 If students are doing their reading at two can play that game.
home, writing a haiku is a creative way
of showing they have read and
understood the story. Haiku can be
written in students’ own reading diaries,
or shared with the class. A good way is
to keep a big ‘Reviews Book’ in the
classroom, and each student writes their
haiku in the book for other students to
read.
 Haiku don’t rhyme or scan, but must
keep to the 5 / 7 / 5 syllable rule. They
can be one long sentence, or a number
of short sentences, or just phrases. They
can be funny, or sad. Avoid using
characters’ names. These examples for
the other stories in this book show some
different ways language can be used in
haiku.
The Evening Train
He waits for his son,
potatoes ready to cook,
but help does not come.

Complicity

9 © OXFORD UNIVERSITY PRESS PHOTOCOPIABLE