Developing Skills: Connect for Junior Secondary Learners 2A

Poems and Songs Package 1 of 4

Extra reading and comprehension – poems and songs (Unit 3)

A Very Strange Letter
Read the following poem.

A Very Strange Letter

By Anonymous

My water bill
Is here again
Regular like rain
‘Please pay the sum indicated’
5 I sigh and reach for my credit card
‘Please check you are the correct recipient’
(I am)
Or am I?
I look again and notice
10 My name is nowhere to be seen
Instead the previous occupant’s name
Appears top left-hand side:
MR WARLOCK BARNABY
Now who on earth was he?

15 There’s more.
‘When our inspectors visited
They were forced to fit new pipes.
Your flat was in a terrible state.’
I look around, remembering that
20 My flat was spotless when I moved in
(I’m sure)
Or am I?
I remember the floor being damp
But it soon dried out.
25 I bite my nails, read on.
‘The amount shown –
HKD $24,000 – reflects the work
Undertaken, including the
Removal of the bloodstains
30 Covering every wall…’

I drop the letter in fright

It’s twelve o’clock at night
Outside I hear a roar
There’s somebody at the door –
35 ‘Barnaby here – let me in!’

© Aristo Educational Press Ltd. 2017

Developing Skills: Connect for Junior Secondary Learners 2A
Poems and Songs Package 2 of 4

Extra reading and comprehension – poems and songs (Unit 3)

A Very Strange Letter

A Choose the best answer and blacken the circle next to the corresponding letter.

1 How does the writer feel in stanza 1? 4 In line 20, ‘spotless’ means _____.

1. confused  A dirty

2. scared  B bloody

3. bored  C clean

4. angry  D bright

 A 1 and 2
5 Why was the floor damp when the
 B 1 and 3 writer moved in? Because of _____.

 C 2, 3 and 4  A the occupant

 D 3 and 4  B the neighbour

 C the inspectors
2 In line 11, what is a ‘previous
occupant’?  D Warlock Barnaby

 A someone who used to be

someone’s neighbour 6 In stanza 3, why does the writer ‘drop
the letter in fright’? Because _____.
 B someone who used to know
someone  A the water bill is very large

 C someone who used to live  B he sees blood on the walls

somewhere
 C a friend is visiting him late at
 D someone who used to do night
something
 D he is scared of the previous
occupant
3 The writer can’t find _____ on the bill.

 A his name

 B his address

 C the amount to pay

 D the previous occupant’s name

© Aristo Educational Press Ltd. 2017

Developing Skills: Connect for Junior Secondary Learners 2A
Poems and Songs Package 3 of 4

Extra reading and comprehension – poems and songs (Unit 3)

B Use information from the poem to fill in the blanks below.

1 What simile does the writer use in stanza 1?

2 Why is the simile suitable?

Because both _____________ and _____________ are _____________.

3 Who does ‘your’ refer to in line 18?

C Use information from the poem to answer the following questions.

1 What is the correct order (1-5) of the events mentioned in the poem? The first one has
been done for you.

The writer moves into the flat.

1 Water inspectors visit the flat.

The writer prepares to pay a water bill.

The writer has an unexpected visitor.

The writer notices a problem with his bill.

2 Which of the following objects or details are mentioned in the poem? Mark each picture
with a tick () in the box if it is mentioned and a cross () if it is not.

A B C

D E F

© Aristo Educational Press Ltd. 2017

Developing Skills: Connect for Junior Secondary Learners 2A
Poems and Songs Package 4 of 4

Extra reading and comprehension – poems and songs (Unit 3)

A Very Strange Letter

Answer key

A
1 B
2 C
3 A
4 C
5 C
6 D

B
1 regular like rain
2 (water) bills … rain … regular / normal / inevitable
3 Warlock Barnaby

C
1 2
1
3
5
4

2 A  B  C 
D  E  F 

© Aristo Educational Press Ltd. 2017