A Christmas Carol
Before Reading CHAPTER 2 WHILE READING
ACTIVITIES ANSWERS
BEFORE READING ACTIVITIES (PAGE 60)
ACTIVITY 1 BEFORE READING
Students will find out as they read that the best
answer is number 3.
ACTIVITY 2 BEFORE READING
1 Scrooge is a cross, miserable, mean old man, who
hates Christmas and is only interested in making
money.
2 Bob Cratchit is Scrooges clerk and he works in a
cold office with a small fire.
3 Jacob Marley, Scrooges partner, is dead.
4 Frightening things happen to Scrooge on Christmas
Eve, and he sees four ghosts.
5 By Christmas Day, Scrooge is a changed man.
ACTIVITY 3 BEFORE READING
Encourage discussion. Possible answers:
1 Yes, most people give presents to family and friends.
2 The traditional meal is roast turkey with vegetables,
followed by a Christmas pudding.
3 It is a holiday for almost everybody, so most people
stay at home or perhaps go away for a few days.
Some people go to church.
4 Many people visit friends or family.
5 Merry Christmas! And a Merry Christmas to you
too!
ACTIVITY 4 BEFORE READING
Encourage discussion. Open answers.
ACTIVITY 5 BEFORE READING
Students will find out as they read that the yes
answers are numbers 6 and 7.
While Reading
CHAPTER 1 WHILE READING
1 Scrooges nephew to Scrooge, about Scrooge and his
money.
2 Scrooge to his nephew, rudely refusing to go to his
nephews house for Christmas dinner.
3 The gentleman collecting for the poor, to Scrooge,
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about the prisons and workhouses; many poor
people preferred to die, rather than go to those
places.
4 Bob Cratchit to Scrooge, apologizing for taking a
day off work on Christmas Day.
5 The ghost of Jacob Marley to Scrooge, warning
Scrooge to lead a better life.
OXFORD BOOKWORMS LIBRARY STAGE 3
STAGE 3
1 When the clock struck one, light shone into
Scrooges bedroom, and a ghost appeared.
2 The ghost took Scrooge back to his past, and
Scrooge remembered it well.
3 Scrooges eyes were wet because he was crying.
4 Old Fezziwig gave his clerks a party on Christmas
Eve.
5 Scrooge had once wanted to marry a girl called Belle.
CHAPTER 3 WHILE READING
1 Where . . .? Outside in the cold, snowy streets.
2 Why . . .? To make them kinder or to stop them
arguing.
3 Who . . .? Tiny Tim, his son.
4 Why . . .? Because he only paid Bob fifteen shillings
a week, and she thought he was a hateful, hard,
unfeeling, mean old man.
5 Who . . .? Scrooges nephew, his family and friends.
6 Who . . .? Two sad and terrible children, who were
Crime and Need.
CHAPTER 4 WHILE READING
1+11 Scrooge was more afraid of the last of the
spirits than he had been of the others.
2+9 The spirit showed him shadows of things which
hadnt happened yet, but would happen in the
future.
3+14 From the businessmens conversations Scrooge
learnt that nobody cared about the man who
had died.
4+13 The three women sold Scrooges clothes because
he had paid them very badly when he was alive.
5+8 A young family had to pay some money to
Scrooge so they were happy to hear of his death.
6+10 When Scrooge wanted to see sadness at a death,
the ghost showed him the Cratchits after Tiny
Tim died.
7+12 In the churchyard, the ghost pointed at a grave
which had Scrooges name on the gravestone.
BEFORE READING CHAPTER 5
Students will find out as they read that the yes
answer is number 1 and that Scrooge will go to
his nephews house, to have dinner with them on
Christmas Day.
After Reading
ACTIVITY 1 AFTER READING
Possible answers:
W IFE : Youre home early, Bob! Its only three oclock!
Whats happened? Was Mr Scrooge angry because
you were late this morning?
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B O B : No, not at all. In fact, he shook my hand and
wished me a merry Christmas!
W IFE : But Mr Scrooge never says that. He hates
Christmas!
B O B : I know. At first I thought he had gone crazy! He
always used to say that Christmas was humbug. He
was always miserable and cross, but now hes happy
and cheerful.
W IFE : But why has he changed, Bob?
B O B : He said that he learnt a lesson last night that he
will never forget. I dont know what happened to
him, but I do know that he sent the big turkey that
arrived yesterday!
W IFE : Mr Scrooge paid for our Christmas dinner? Oh
my!
B O B : But the best news is this, my dear. Hes going to
pay me thirty shillings a week instead of fifteen!
W IFE : But thats twice as much! Oh my, oh my!
B O B : And he wants to help us with the family, and be a
second father to Tiny Tim.
he was younger. You see, our father was a cold, hard
man, who didnt love Ebenezer at all. And so, as a
child, Ebenezer too became cold, and spent a lot of
time alone. When he was older and started work, he
began to show an unhealthy interest in money, and
that was the reason why he never married. There was
ACTIVITIES ANSWERS
a girl who loved him once, a beautiful young woman
called Belle. But when she realized that he would
always love money more than her, she married another
man. Poor Ebenezer! I know that you, with your warm
heart, will feel sorry for him, now that Ive told you
this. Take care of yourself, my dear boy, and think of
me sometimes, when I am gone.
Your loving mother
ACTIVITY 5 AFTER READING
Possible answers would be:
1 You should always try to be kind and generous and
cheerful, and think of other people.
2 Nobody likes a cross, mean, miserable person.
3 The most important thing in life is to live a good
W IFE /HMYOHMYOHMY
7ELL'ODbless Mr
and happy life.
Scrooge!
4 It is never too late to change (your way of life).
ACTIVITY 2 AFTER READING
ACTIVITY 6 AFTER READING
s "OB#RATCHITA clerk with a long white scarf
This is just one possibility:
s %BENEZER3CROOGEAn old man with red eyes, white
Ebenezer Scrooge did not do everything that he had
hair, and a cross voice
promised. He did pay Bob Cratchit thirty shillings
s 3CROOGESNEPHEW&REDA young man with a happy
a year, but poor Bob had to work very hard for it. It
laugh
was too late for Scrooge to change his ways, and soon
s 3CROOGESSISTERA warm-hearted little girl
he became as mean and miserable as he had been
s 'HOSTOF#HRISTMAS0ASTA figure with long white
before. There was no extra wood for the fire in Bobs
hair, but soft, young skin
office, and Scrooge never became a good friend to the
s 'HOSTOF#HRISTMAS0RESENTA figure with long
Cratchits or a second father to Tiny Tim. Sadly, Tiny
brown hair and a warm, friendly smile
Tim died later that year. The Cratchit family were
s 'HOSTOF#HRISTMAS9ETTO#OMEA tall, silent figure
very unhappy, but they tried to be cheerful and were
in a black robe
always kind to each other.
s "ELLEA beautiful young girl who loved a
Scrooges heart grew colder and colder, until one day
cold-hearted man
he was found dead in his bed by one of the cleaning-
s -R&EZZIWIGA large, kind-looking old gentleman
women. Now he lies in the graveyard, in the cold, hard
s 4INY4IMA little boy who could not walk
ground, and nobody cried at his death or put flowers
s *ACOB-ARLEYA spirit who had been unable to rest
on his grave.
for seven years
ACTIVITY 7 AFTER READING
ACTIVITY 3 AFTER READING
Good titles:
s #HARACTERSFROM3CROOGESPASTBelle, Jacob Marley,
s Mr Ebenezer Scrooge
Scrooges sister, Dick Wilkins, Mr and Mrs Fezziwig
s The Ghosts of Christmas Eve
s #HARACTERSFROMHISPRESENTTiny Tim, Fred, Bob
s Time to Change
Cratchit
Interesting titles, but they dont tell us much about
ACTIVITY 4 AFTER READING the story:
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Correct order: 3, 1, 7, 4, 9, 6, 10, 5, 8, 2 s Humbug!

My dear Fred, s The Wings of the Night
I dont think I have long left to live now, so this will Titles not relevant to the story:
probably be my last letter to you. Before I die, theres s A Cheerful Man
one thing I want to ask you try to be a good friend s Tiny Tim
to your uncle Ebenezer. I know he seems to hate s Merry Christmas
people, but remember that he had a difficult life when

OXFORD BOOKWORMS LIBRARY STAGE 3 17 A CHRISTMAS CAROL

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