Lesson 1

Vocabulary

1. What do you think the underlined word(s) mean? Choose the correct answer?

1. I never borrow money so I never have debts.

A. money you must give to someone

B. money you would like

C. visits to the bank

2. Footballers often earn a lot of money.

A. pay

B. receive for going work

C. take

3. Judy buys cotton from a merchant and uses it to make clothes.

A. a school

B. A shop

C. a person who buys and sells a lot of goods

4. You bought me my theatre ticket yesterday, so I owe you some money.

A. have to pay back.

B. can't give

C. am happy to give

5. Poor Ahmed is miserable. He missed his bus, broke his phone and found out that he didn’t pass his exams!

A. happy

B. very sad

C. late

6. My baby sister never stops eating! She is plump, healthy and happy.

A. ill

B. fat in a nice way

C. angry

7. People who break the law go to prison.

A. a place to keep criminals

B. another country

C. your home

8. The farmer got a cat after he had a problem with rats.

A. bad people

B. animals like big mice

C. dirty water

3. Are these sentences true (T) or false (F)?

1. David Copperfield is not going to live with Mr Murdstone any more. T

2. Mr Murdstone found him a good job at a modern building. F, it was a very difficult job in an old, dirty building.

3. Mr and Mrs Micawber had four children. F, they had three children.

4. The police took Mr Micawber to prison because he often hurt people. F, they took him to prison because he had debts.

5. Mr Micawber tells David that he would be very unhappy if he had money. F, he would be very unhappy if he spent more than he earned.

Speaking

4. Discuss these questions in pairs.

1. Why do you think Mr Murdstone sent David to work in a factory?

He wants David to earn his own money, to pay for food. He probably does not want to pay this money himself.

2. Who did David work with and why?

David worked with three other boys. All the people who worked at the bottle merchants were children. The merchants probably didn’t have to pay them much money to do this dirty work.

3. Why do you think that Mr Micawber wanted David to live in his house?

He is very poor and he probably got some money from David for living there.

4. What does There refer to in lines 8 and 23?

Line 8: the merchants’ old house.

Line 23: the prison.

5. Do you think that people who owe money should go to prison? Why/Why not?

Yes, because it is very bad to have debts./No, because some people who have debts are not bad people. They just need time to pay the money back.