Chapter 2: England.
Mary had an uncle in England. His name was Archibald Craven. “You must go to him,” the officers said. Mary didn’t want to go, but she didn’t have any option.
One week later, Mary was on a ship to England. She was very nervous.
The journey was long but finally, Mary arrived in England. A woman met her. “Hello, Mary,” she said. “I’m Mrs Medlock. I work for your uncle.”
Mrs Medlock and Mary travelled to her uncle’s house by train.
Mary asked Mrs Medlock about her uncle. “His wife was your father’s sister,” Mrs Medlock said. “She died when she was young. It was terrible for him. Now he’s always alone. He doesn’t like people.”
“I hope he likes ME,” said Mary, worried.
“Be patient,” said Mrs Medlock. “He’s difficult.”
“Your uncle lives in a cold , remote place. His house is 600 years old,” explained Mrs Medlock. “There are 100 rooms, but most of them are locked. There’s a big garden and a lot of trees. You can play there.”
“I don’t want to play there,” thought Mary, sadly. “I want to play in my garden in India.”
It was cold and dark when they arrived at the train station. A servant met them and helped them with their bags.
They travelled for a long time to Mary’s new home. It was very late when they arrived at the house. Mrs Medlock took Mary to her room. Mary got into her bed and went to sleep immediately.
When Mary woke up, she saw a young servant girl next to her bed.
MARY: – Who are you?
THE SERVANT: – I’m Martha. I’m your servant.
“When will I meet my uncle?” asked Mary.
“I don’t know,” said Martha. “Mr Craven doesn’t like meeting people.”
Mary ate breakfast and then dressed in warm clothes for the cold English weather. She went into the garden and an old man smiled at her. He was Ben, the gardener. A red robin looked at Mary and started to sing. Then it flew across the garden. Mary followed it.
The robin sat on a high wall and looked at Mary again. “It’s singing to me,” Mary thought. “It wants to show me something, but what?”
Then Mary saw a door in the wall. She tried to open it. It was locked.
MARY: – Why is the door locked? What’s in there?
Write a summary of this chapter. The summary must include an answer to the following questions:
- Did Mary have an uncle in England? Did she go to him?
- Who was Mrs Medlock? What did she tell Mary about her uncle?
- Did they arrive very late at the house? Why?
- Who was Martha? Who was Ben?
- What did a robin do in the garden?
Chapter 3 (1st part): Dickon.
Mary went to the house to talk to Martha. “I met the gardener and a robin,” she said. “I saw a door in a high wall. I wanted to open the door, but it was locked. Why? What’s in there?”
“It’s a garden,” Martha told Mary. “A long time ago when your uncle was a young man, he was married to a beautiful, young woman. They loved to be in that garden. She loved the roses there. But one day, she fell from a tree in the garden, and then she died.”
“That’s very sad,” said Mary.
“Yes,” said Martha. “After that, Mr Craven locked the door. He didn’t want to enter that garden again.”
The next morning, Mary went outside again. She ran to the wall round the locked garden. A boy sat under a tree, near the wall. He had red hair and blue eyes and he played a small flute. A little red fox was near the boy and a black bird sat on the boy’s shoulder. The robin sat on the wall.
“Are you Mary?” asked the boy.
“Yes,” answered Mary. “Who are you?”
“I’m Dickon,” answered the boy. “I’m Martha’s brother. My sister told me about you.”
“I’m happy to meet you,” said Mary. “Please help me. I want to go inside that garden.”
Write a summary of this chapter:
- What did Martha tell Mary about the locked door in the garden?
- Who did Mary meet near the wall round the locked garden the next morning?
SOME MORE IRREGULAR VERBS
22. To meet………met……..met……(conocer a alguien, reunirse)
23. To choose……chose…..chosen….(escoger, elegir)
24. To take……….took…….taken….(tomar, llevar, coger)
25. To get…………got………got…….(conseguir)
To get up……..(levantarse)
26. To fly…………flew…….flown…….(volar)
27. To sit………….sat……….sat………..(sentarse, posarse)
28. To sing……….sang…….sung………(cantar)
29. To show……..showed…shown……(mostrar, enseñar)
30. To tell…………told………told……….(contar, decir)
31. To fall…………fell……….fallen…….(caerse)
32. To run…………ran……….run………..(correr)
