Catching the Bus (Philippa Gregory)

Before reading:
1) In the field of UK education, what is the eleven plus? Is it still in effect?
2) Who wrote Great Expectations? How long is it? Who is the main character in the novel?
Note: In this story, the writer mentions Lady Macbeth, a character in Shakespeare’s tragedy
Macbeth. At the beginning of the play, Macbeth, a brave Scottish general, receives a prophecy
from three witches, who tell him that he will be king of Scotland. Macbeth tells his wife, Lady
Macbeth, about the prophecy and, driven by ambition, she suggests her husband kill the king so
that the prophecy becomes true. At a point in the play, Lady Macbeth takes a dagger.
After reading:
A) Answer the questions using the words in capitals.

1) What had Lizzie’s mother SET HER HEART ON? Why? (1)
SET YOUR HEART ON SOMETHING/DOING SOMETHING
to want to get or achieve something very much:
She's set her heart on having a pony.

2) What did Lizzie’s father want to use the NEST EGG for? Why? (TRICKLE) (2)
NEST EGG
an amount of money that has been saved or kept for a special purpose:
Regular investment of small amounts of money is an excellent way of building a nest egg.

TRICKLE
If liquid trickles somewhere, it flows slowly and without force in a thin line:
Blood trickled out of the corner of his mouth.

3) Who SNORTED WITH LAUGHTER and why? (3)

SNORT
to make an explosive sound by forcing air quickly up or down the nose:
He did an impression of a horse snorting.
Camille snorts when she laughs.
informal By this time I was snorting with laughter (= laughing a lot and loudly)

4) When did Lizzie hear a GROAN, a JANGLE, a CREAK and a CLICK? What produced those
sounds in each case? (3-4)
GROAN
to make a deep, long sound showing great pain or unhappiness:
He collapsed, groaning with pain.
"Not again," he groaned (= said in a low unhappy voice).

JANGLE
to make a noise like metal hitting metal:
He jangled his keys in his pocket.
The wind-chimes jangled gently in the tree above us.
 CREAK
When a door, floorboard, etc. creaks, it makes a long low sound when it moves or
is moved:
The door creaked on its hinges.
I heard the floorboards creak as he crept closer.

CLICK
to make a short, sharp sound, or to make something do this:
The door clicked shut behind her.
Can you hear that strange clicking noise?
UK Paul clicked his fingers (= moved his thumb against his middle finger to make
a short sharp sound) to attract the waiter's attention.
Soldiers click their heels (= bring them sharply together) when they stand to attention.

5) Why did Lizzie’s mother DIP her fingers in water and FLICK it on the clothes? (CREASED)
(5)
DIP
to put something into a liquid for a short time:
Dip the fish in the batter, then drop it into the hot oil.
She dipped her toe into the pool to see how cold it was.
FLICK
to move or hit something with a short sudden movement:
flick something from something: He carefully flicked the loose hairs from the shoulders of
his jacket.
flick something off something: She quickly flicked the crumbs off the table.
Horses flick their tails to make flies go away.
CREASED
If cloth, paper, etc. creases, or if you crease it, it gets a line in it where it has
been folded or crushed:
The seat belt has creased my blouse.
It's a nice dress, but it creases very easily.

6) What did Lizzie’s parents buy ON THE NEVER-NEVER? What for? (7)
ON THE NEVER-NEVER
using a system of payment in which part of the cost of something is paid immediately and
then small regular payments are made until the debt is reduced to nothing:
 I don't like buying things on the never-never because they charge you such a lot in interest.

7) What JUDDERED when her mother was doing the washing? (8)
JUDDER
(especially of a vehicle) to shake violently:
The train juddered to a halt.

8) Who CHIPPED IN so that Lizzie could have all her school supplies? What with? (9)
CHIP IN
to give some money when several people are giving money to pay for something together:
They all chipped in £100 and bought their mother a trip to Greece.

9) Who SCOWLED and when? (9)

SCOWL
to look at someone or something with a very annoyed expression
The boy scowled at her and reluctantly followed her back into school.

B) Find…

1) …..at least two examples of comparisons (pages 2, 4 (x2), 9, 10 and 12)

2) ….five absolute constructions (pages 5 and 13)
3) …..two examples of intertextuality.

C) Complete the sentences with the correct preposition.

1) She folded the handkerchiefs IN half. (5)

2) ‘What’s she’s going to do with GCE’s when she is married and with a baby ON the way?’ asked
Lizzie’s father.
3) The bus came round the corner and the queue shuffled as it drew UP
4) I glanced back at my mum and she was beaming AT me.

D) Use the words in capitals in exercise A to fill in the blanks. You will need to use some of the
words more than once. There are others you won’t need. Make any necessary changes in tense.

1) Something was obviously wrong with the car and eventually it just __________________ to a
halt.
2) This shirt is too ________________ to wear.
3) The tears ________________ down her cheeks.
4) The first few fans started to ________________ into the stadium.
5) Her bracelets ________________ on her wrist.
6) He paused and ________________ a mosquito off his arm.
7) I walked to the front door, checked my watch, and ________________ the porch light on and
off three times.
8) We all __________________ to buy Amy a graduation present.