Chapters 1–4

1 Match each person (a–f) from Chapter 1 with a description (i–vi).

(a) Rafael

(b) Miguel

(c) Anita

(d) Rodrigo

(e) Clara

(f) Pablo

(i) He is the narrator’s younger brother. F

(ii) He is a mad man. A

(iii) He is the shopkeeper. D

(iv) He is the narrator’s uncle. B

(v) She is a young, beautiful girl. C

(vi) She is Rafael’s mother. E

Who, in Chapter 1 …

(a) had a terrible secret? Rafael

(b) told their stories to the narrator? Marta-Miguel-Rosa

(c) lied to the narrator? Nobody

(d) saw Rafael in the boat-house? The doctor-Pablo

(e) had long hair and a beard? Rafael

(f) threw stones at Rafael? Kid of the village

(g) lives in the house at the end of the village? Rafael-Clara

(h) called to the narrator to help him? Rafael

(i) studied to be a doctor? The narrator

(j) did the narrator find on the beach when he went back 12 years later? Rafael

3 Put in order the story of Manuel’s death from Chapter 2.

(a) Manuel became weak and sleepy. 10

(b) Manuel fell asleep and his heart stopped.

(c) Manuel said to Rafael, ‘Be a good son. Help your mother´.

(d) Manuel smoked a cigarette. 7

(e) Manuel went cold.

(f) Manuel went into the water to do something with the nets. 2

(g) Manuel went white. 8

(h) Something happened to the nets. 1

(i) Suddenly a shark attacked Manuel. 3

(j) The men put a shirt round the top of Manuel’s legs. 6

(k) The other men pulled Manuel into the boat. 5

(l) The shark bit off one of Manuel’s legs. 4

1. H

2. F

3. I

4. L

5. K

6. J

7. D

8. G

9. E

10. A

11. C

12. B
 a. Anita was a beautiful girl.
b. That was a small village
c. She was good reading books.
d. He brought back picture magazines and smalls story books.
e. People liked to listen to the little Anita.
f. Rodrigo had big plans for Anita.
g. Rodrigo didn’t want a poor fisherman to be Anita’s husband.
h. They are probably living in another town
i. Anita told and read stories to her little brothers and sisters.
j. My uncle smiled and looked at his watch, it is a long and estrange story.

5-Tell the story of Chapter 3. Use phrases from Exercise 6.

Anita was a good girl. That was a small village. She was good reading books. He
brought back picture magazines and smalls story books. Rodrigo didn’t want a poor
fisherman to be Anita’s husband. Rodrigo had big plans for Anita. People liked to listen
to the little Anita. My uncle smiled and looked at his watch, it is a long and estrange
story.

6 -These sentences about the information in Chapter 4 are not correct. Find the mistakes and
correct them.

(a) Anita was two years older than Rafael.

Anita was two younger older than Rafael.
(b) The soldier’s name was Carl.
The soldier’s name was Carlos.
(c) He fought in America and many other places.
He fought in Africa and many other places.
(d) He had a small boat with a sail.
He had a small boat with an engine.
(e) He saw Anita telling a story to a group of fishermen.
He saw Anita sitting by the corner of the shop.
(f) Soon the soldier came twice a week, on Tuesdays and Sundays.
Soon the soldier came twice a week, on Thursdays and Sundays.
 (g) The soldier was a stranger and people didn’t like him.

The soldier was a stranger and people like him.

(h) He bought Miguel a cassette player but they had not electricity in the village so he
couldn’t use it.
He bought Miguel a cassette player but they had not electricity in the village but he
brought Miguel batteries for every two week.
(i) One day Rodrigo found his daughter in her bed, cold and dead.
One day Rodrigo didn’t find his daughter in her bed.
(j) Rodrigo was angry because Anita’s clothes and favourite things weren’t there.
(k) Miguel watched the soldier go out to his boat with Anita.
Miguel didn’t watch the soldier go out to his boat with Anita.
(l) Rafael went mad because Anita went away with the soldier.

Chapters 5–12

1 What strange things happened on the night that Anita disappeared?

2 Complete these sentences about the information in Chapter 6. Use one of the following
words in each sentence.

anchor animal beach boat cassette clothes coast donkey engine meal music
noise paraffin player ring rocks shop song stories village

1- The soldier arrived in his ___ in the early afternoon.

2- He lowered his ___ a few metres from shore.
3- He didn’t pull his boat onto the ___
4- He didn’t want to break the ___
5- He went to Rodrigo’s ____
6- He had a big can of ____ for Rodrigo’s new lamp.
7- He had a ____ with Rodrigo.
8- He came to the café and told lots of funny ___.
9- Rafael came to the café in his best ____
10- Suddenly the soldier took a ___ from his pocket.
11- Miguel took it and put it in the___.
12- It was a love ___.
13- The soldier went about ten o’clock and they heard the ____ of his engine.
14- Rafael stood up and started to dance to the ___
15- The next morning the news about Anita went around the ___ like fire.
16- Rafael went down the ___ in his boat to look for Anita.
17- Santiago couldn’t find his____ and said Anita took it.
18- Some fishermen found Rafael in the afternoon in a quiet place near the high___.
19- He was like a mad ____.
20- He had the gold ___ on a fishing line round his neck.

3 Which of these adjectives and phrases does Marta use to describe Anita in Chapter 8.
• always in trouble

• lazy

• angry

• fingernails

• beautiful

• lucky

• clear voice

• never helped

• clever

• never worked

• full of stories

• proud

• happy

• strange and silly

• in love

• ideas

• kind

• terrible

• long and pink

• very good child

Chapter 9

true or false or we don’t know?

(a) Anita stayed with her parents that night and talked to the soldier.

(b) Anita took things out of her box and put them in a bag.

(c) Anita sometimes met the soldier in the same place that she met Rafael.

(d) Anita’s ‘true prince’ was the soldier.

(e) Anita was wearing the gold fish ring when she left.
(f) Anita gave the fish ring back to Rafael and told him about her plans.

(g) Rafael went mad because she didn’t come back.

(h) Marta wrote a story about a magic ring.

Chapters 13–15

1- The doctor asks himself some questions in Chapter 13, but cannot find a good answer for
any of them. Complete his answers.Then check with the information in Chapter 13.

(a) Did Rafael kill someone? Who did he kill? Not the soldier because … Not Anita because …
(b) If the soldier was killed, who killed him? Not Rafael because … Not Anita because …

(c) If Anita was killed, who killed her? Not Rafael because … If the soldier killed her, why …

2- The doctor thinks of someone to explain all the information.

Who does he think of?

What does he think happened?

Why, in the end, does he decide this is also impossible?

Check your answers with the chapter.

3 Put in order these events from the murder (Chapter 14 and 15).

(a) Anita stopped meeting Rafael.

(b) Rafael gave Anita the gold ring.

(c) Rafael killed Santiago’s donkey, cut it up and put the pieces in the sea near the high rocks.

(d) Rafael made a plan to kill the soldier.

(e) Rafael saw Anita meeting the soldier in secret at a special place near the high rocks.

(f) Rafael tied the donkey’s back legs to the soldier’s boat.

(g) Rafael went to the café and saw the soldier there.

(h) That Sunday, the soldier arrived at the village.

(i) The soldier came to the village.