A Cup of Kindness:

Stories from Scotland Retold by Jennifer Bassett

1 In which story do these things happen? The d ___ Donald only takes the drovers away

comprehension Test
Pigeon, Donald and the Drovers, Andrina, when they give him a lot of money.
The Confession, The Day I Met Sean e ___ Captain Torvald lives alone, but a girl
Connery.
called Andrina comes to help him.
a A man receives a letter from a woman he
f ___ Captain Torvald once married a woman
knew long ago. ………………
called Sigrid and they had a child.
b A man tells a story which isn’t true.
g ___ Ian explains that there was money in
………………
one of the stolen washing machines.
c Some men stay alone on an island in the
h ___ The detective thinks that Ian should go
dark. ………………
to prison.
d A young woman follows a man to his
i ___ Marina has liked Sean Connery for a
room. ………………
long time.
e A man doesn’t want to go out and
j ___ Sean Connery talks kindly to Marina.
celebrate. ………………
20 marks
20 marks
4 Match the Scottish words from A with a
2 Who said this? Match a number from A with definition from B.
a letter from B.
A
A
1 ___ wee
1 ___ ‘You’ll know now that me and the boat
2 ___ Hogmanay
are old but honest …’
3 ___ och
2 ___ ‘You should take good care of yourself,
4 ___ Gaelic
you all alone up there. There’s still a
5 ___ ye
greyness in your face …’
3 ___ ‘I’m in terrible danger. I mean, there’s a B
price on my head now.’ a the Celtic language of Scotland
4 ___ ‘Ah, tea.’ b an expression of surprise
5 ___ ‘No, it belongs to me. I am not taking c you
it to any other person.’ d very small
e New Year’s Eve
B
a Ian in The Confession. 20 marks
b Donald in Donald and the Drovers.
5 In which story can you find these things?
c Jan in The Pigeon.
The Pigeon, Donald and the Drovers, Andrina,
d Miss Stewart in Andrina.
The Confession, The Day I Met Sean Connery.
e Sean Connery in The Day I Met
a Some shortbread on a tray. ………………
Sean Connery.
b A chair with its front legs shorter than its
20 marks back legs. ………………
c A hot-water bottle and a hot toddy drink.
3 Are these sentences true (T) or false (F)? ………………
a ___ Jan once had a wife and a daughter, but d A shoe-box with soft tissue paper in it.
they died in a prison camp. ………………
b ___ Ella is angry about the pigeon and she e Some oars. ………………
shouts at Jan.
c ___ The drovers have come to the islands to 20 marks

buy cattle. Total marks

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 A Cup of Kindness:
Stories from Scotland
Setting
Choose the best answer.
1 In The Pigeon, Ella and her family are going
out because it is _____.
a ■ Christmas ​b ■ New Year  b ■ a strange, but friendly
​c ■ her birthday ​d ■ her son’s birthday
2 Jan now lives in Scotland, but he comes from
_____.
a ■ Poland ​b ■ Germany ​c ■ France ​
d ■ England
3 The story of Donald and the Drovers happens
on the _____.
a ■ Orkney Islands ​b ■ Shetland Islands ​
c ■ Outer Hebrides ​d ■ Inner Hebrides
4 The three drovers want Donald to take them to
a _____ on the island of Benbecula.
a ■ farm ​b ■ restaurant ​c ■ hotel ​
d ■ market
5 The story Andrina happens _____.
a ■ on the island of Orkney ​b ■ on the
island of South Uist ​c ■ in the city of
Aberdeen ​d ■ in the city of Glasgow
6 Captain Torvald lives _____.
a ■ in a flat above a post office ​b ■ on a
small houseboat ​c ■ in a dark, cold house  ​c ■ a pretty girl of twenty
​d ■ in a warm, modern house
7 The story of The Confession happens in the
_____ at a police station.
a ■ restaurant ​b ■ corridor ​c ■ office ​
d ■ interview room
8 Ian tells a story about things stolen from a
_____.
a ■ police car ​b ■ lorry ​c ■ bus  ​c ■ puts Ian in prison ​
​d ■  nightclub
9 The Day I Met Sean Connery happens at the
BBC _____ in Glasgow.
a ■ children’s cinema ​b ■ information centre ​
c ■ television building ​d ■ radio building
10 Marina sits and watches people in the BBC
_____ for an hour.
a ■ restaurant ​b ■ shop ​c ■ gardens ​
d ■ corridor
20 marks
oxford bookworms LIBRARY STAGE 3 1
Retold by Jennifer Bassett
Characters
MULTIPLE-CHOICE test
Choose the best answer.
11 Ella is _____ woman.
a ■ a worried and quiet ​
 
​c ■ an unkind and angry ​
d ■ a kind and motherly
12 Jan is now Ella’s _____.
a ■ neighbour ​b ■ husband ​c ■ visitor ​
d ■ cleaner
13 Donald has two jobs. He is a ferryman and a
_____.
a ■ shoemaker ​b ■ farmer ​c ■ doctor ​
d ■ teacher
14 The three drovers are very _____ men.
a ■ generous ​b ■ mean ​c ■ kind ​d ■ ill
15 Captain Torvald now has a _____ life.
a ■ quiet, but very happy ​
b ■ busy and interesting ​
c ■ rich and exciting 
​d ■ hard and lonely
16 Andrina is _____.
a ■ Torvald’s grandmother 
​b ■ the postmistress from the village 
 
​d ■ an older Australian woman
17 Ian is a man who likes to _____.
a ■ ask questions ​b ■ sit quietly 
​c ■ talk a lot ​d ■ write things down
18 The detective at the police station _____.
a ■ doesn’t listen to Ian ​
b ■ listens carefully to Ian 
d ■ pushes Ian
19 Sean Connery is Marina’s _____.
a ■ close neighbour ​b ■ distant cousin ​
c ■ dream person ​d ■ important boss
20 When Marina first meets Sean Connery, she
finds he is very _____ and looks great.
a ■ tall ​b ■ small ​c ■ young ​d ■ thin
20 marks
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 A Cup of Kindness:
Stories from Scotland
Dialogue
Who said or wrote this?
21 ‘You came with me last year. And you enjoyed
it. Don’t you remember?’
a ■ Alec ​b ■ Robert ​c ■ Jan ​d ■ Ella
22 ‘Don’t you remember a child? A small girl?
Fair hair, soft smooth hair, blue eyes always
laughing.’
a ■ Angus ​b ■ Robert ​c ■ Jan ​d ■ Ella
23 ‘Ye can have the night’s part for nothing.’
a ■ Catriona ​b ■ one of the drovers ​
c ■ a fisherman ​d ■ Donald
24 ‘We’ll miss the best cattle. They’re always sold
first.’
a ■ Donald ​b ■ Catriona ​c ■ one of the
drovers ​d ■ a travelling salesman
25 ‘I suppose everyone in the island knows that
Andrina – that girl – has been coming all
winter up to my place.’
a ■ Captain Torvald ​b ■ Isaac Irving ​
c ■ Stanley the postman ​d ■ Tina Stewart
26 ‘I wish I knew that grandfather of mine. Gran,
do you think he’s lonely?’
a ■ Tina Stewart ​b ■ Andrina ​c ■ Sigrid ​
d ■ Isaac Irving
27 ‘Tony’s my brother, two years younger than
me, but he was always the clever one.’
a ■ Eddie Hart ​b ■ Andy Horrigan ​
c ■ Ian ​d ■ the detective
28 ‘Come on now, it’s time you were home. Your
mum will be worried about you.’
a ■ Tony ​b ■ Malc ​c ■ Ian 
​d ■ the detective
29 ‘BBC coffee is always terrible.’
a ■ Marina McLoughlin ​b ■ Sean Connery ​
c ■ Kevin Costner ​d ■ Kenneth
30 ‘Expect you’ve not had this for a wee while.
Go on, put some in your pocket for later.’
a ■ Marina McLoughlin ​b ■ Sean Connery ​
c ■ Agnes ​d ■ Veronica
20 marks
oxford bookworms LIBRARY STAGE 3 2
Retold by Jennifer Bassett
Vocabulary
MULTIPLE-CHOICE test
Choose the best answer.
31 a shirt for a woman
a ■ blouse ​b ■ dress ​c ■ cardigan ​
d ■ scarf
32 a tall cupboard where you can put your clothes
a ■ drawer ​b ■ box c ■ scullery ​
d ■ wardrobe
33 the land along the edge of the sea
a ■ river ​b ■ shore ​c ■ hill ​d ■ pit
34 a boat that takes people on short journeys
across a river or the sea
a ■ hut ​b ■ tide ​c ■ ferry ​d ■ truck
35 a round metal container with a handle, for
carrying water
a ■ bucket ​b ■ brick ​c ■ plate ​d ■ skip
36 a thing that gives light
a ■ croft ​b ■ oar ​c ■ lamb ​d ■ lamp
37 a large vehicle for carrying cargo on the roads
a ■ lorry ​b ■ ledge ​c ■ slip-road ​
d ■ roundabout
38 liquid that comes through your skin when you
are hot
a ■ dust ​b ■ sweat ​c ■ make up ​
d ■ spirit
39 when something is very surprising
a ■ ordinary ​b ■ shameful ​c ■ amazing ​
d ■ huge
40 a flat object that you can use for carrying
drinks
a ■ case ​b ■ basket ​c ■ handle ​d ■ tray
20 marks
© Oxford university press photocopiable
 A Cup of Kindness:
Stories from Scotland Retold by Jennifer Bassett

Plot

MULTIPLE-CHOICE test
Choose the best answer.
41 Jan finds a pigeon which is very _____.
a ■ fat ​b ■ excited ​c ■ ill ​d ■ hungry
42 Jan doesn’t want to _____.
a ■ talk to Ella ​b ■ find Ella’s blouse ​
c ■ look after the pigeon ​d ■ go out and
celebrate
43 The three drovers want to pay Donald _____
pence.
a ■ two ​b ■ three ​c ■ six ​d ■ twenty
44 Donald leaves the drovers _____.
a ■ on a small island ​b ■ in a big hut ​
c ■ near a cattle market ​
d ■ under some tall trees
45 Captain Torvald _____ a girl called Sigrid
when he was younger.
a ■ ran away from ​b ■ killed ​c ■ married ​
d ■ worked with
46 In a letter, Sigrid says that Andrina _____.
a ■ went to Australia ​b ■ sailed to Scotland ​
c ■ married a sailor ​d ■ died suddenly
47 Ian explains that he stole some washing
machines, but one of them had _____ in it.
a ■ money ​b ■ drugs ​c ■ gold ​d ■ silver
48 In the end, the detective thinks that Ian’s story
is _____.
a ■ untrue ​b ■ true ​c ■ very frightening ​
d ■ very funny
49 Marina takes a tray of tea and some _____ to
Sean Connery’s room.
a ■ sandwiches ​b ■ crisps ​c ■ shortbread ​
d ■ chocolate
50 Sean Connery is _____ Marina when he learns
that she’s not the real tea lady.
a ■ unkind to ​b ■ nice to ​c ■ cold to ​
d ■ angry with

20 marks

Total marks

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