The Body on the Beach

ENGLISH READERS
A2
B1
PALIER 2
Rosemary Hellyer-Jones
The Body
on the Beach
Before Reading
1. Describe the cover. Make suppositions about:
the place
the characters
the
help box: in the background, in
t, at
foreground, on the left, on the righ
dle ...
the top, at the bottom, in the mid
2. Anticipate the story:
3. What do you think happened to the boy/man?
he fell down the cliff
he was killed
he fainted
he is sleeping
4. What do you suppose the woman is going to do?
5. Look at your notes and recap orally about the cover.
PISTE 1
1
5
On the Cliffs
It was a day that Eve Richards would never forget, but it began
just as usual1. She left the house before breakfast, like she always
did, and walked up the road with Sandy, her dog. In a few minutes
they got to the cliff path2. From up there the views of the sea were
fantastic, especially on a perfect day like today. It was early May, the
sun was shining, and the sky was a brilliant blue. Far away3 in the
distance Eve could see two ships, like tiny toys4, on the calm blue
1. it began just as usual cela a commencé comme d’habitude | 2. they
got to the cliff path ils ont atteint le sentier en haut de la falaise | 3. far away au loin | 4. tiny toys des jouets tout petits
5
6
On the Cliffs
5
10
15
water. There was no wind today, so all was quiet except for the call
of the seagulls1.
She began to think about her plans for the rest of the week.
Tomorrow was her golf day – and on Friday Polly, her grand­
daughter, was coming for the weekend …
“Sandy! Sandy? Where have you gone? Sandy!” The big dog had
disappeared. This, also, was nothing unusual, especially up here
on top of the cliffs. There were rabbits2 here, and Sandy loved
rabbits! She often left the cliff path when she thought she smelled
or even saw one, and ran away into the bushes3. Eve waited for a
few minutes, but Sandy didn’t come back, so she left the path and
started to look for her.
Then she heard her. The dog was barking4 excitedly now, but
where was she? Eve couldn’t see her at first5. Then, after she passed
a small group of young trees, she discovered her. There Sandy was,
near the edge6 of the cliff. She was barking so hard, Eve thought
the dog would go crazy.
1. the call of the seagulls l’appel des mouettes | 2. rabbits les
lapins | 3. the bushes les buissons | 4. the dog was barking le chien
aboyait | 5. at first au début | 6. the edge le bord de
PISTE 2
2
7
A Discovery
“Sandy! Sandy, what is it?”
Eve didn’t like to go too near the edge. The cliffs were high here,
and dangerous. One step too far, and you might fall over the edge.
It was a long way down1 …
She moved carefully nearer her dog. Just before she came to the
cliff edge, she suddenly saw what Sandy had found. She gasped in
horror2.
Down on the beach, at the bottom of the red cliffs, someone
was lying on the pebbles3 – a man, or might it be a boy? She
wasn’t sure. Not far from the place where he was lying, there was a
motorbike – or what remained of one.
“Oh no! This is awful4! Horrible! Oh, come away from there,
Sandy! At once5! We must call for help!”
She moved away from the cliff edge and got her mobile out. Her
hands were shaking so badly6, it was difficult to hold it7. In the end
she managed to call8 999.
“Felton emergency services. Fire, police or ambulance? Which
service do you need?”
“Ambulance! There’s been a terrible accident! I – ”
“One moment, please.”
Eve waited, and another voice took the call. “Ambulance service
here. Your name and address?”
1. it was a long way down c’était une longue descente | 2. she gasped
in horror elle était horrifiée | 3. the pebbles les galets | 4. awful
terrible | 5. at once immédiatement | 6. her hands were shaking
so badly ses mains tremblaient énormément | 7. to hold it de le
tenir | 8. she managed to call elle a réussi à appeler
5
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15
20
8
A Discovery
5
10
15
“Oh – er, my name is Richards. Eve Richards. 3, North View
Road, Westbourne.”
“… Westbourne. Right, Mrs Richards. Where are you now, and
what has happened?”
“I’m up on the cliff path at Westbourne. There’s been an accident.
Someone has fallen off the cliffs1!”
“Where exactly? Did you walk up there from the town?”
“Yes, I came up Southcliff Road. Oh dear, it may be quite difficult
to get an ambulance up here.”
“Don’t worry about that. We’ll probably send a helicopter. OK,
stay where you are. You’ll be seen from the air. Try not to worry,
now. OK?”
“Right. Thank you. Goodbye.” The shock had made Eve dizzy2.
Later, she could never quite remember what happened next. She
probably just sat down on the grass and waited … The only thing
she remembered was the moment when, far in the distance, she
saw the helicopter. Help was coming at last.
1. someone has fallen off the cliffs quelqu’un est tombé de la
falaise | 2. the shock had made Eve dizzy le choc a fait tourné la tête
d’Eve
The Body on the Beach
Chapter 1: On the Cliffs
1. Read and find out about:
1. the season of the year
2. the weather
3. the time of day
4. the general atmosphere of the scene
2. Read and tick
the correct informations.
1. Eve got to the cliff path with Cindy, her dog.
2. She plays golf at the weekend.
3. The dog was chasing rabbits.
4. Eve found Sandy at the edge of the cliff.
3. Speak about the first chapter.
1. Who do we meet in the first chapter?
2. Where is the character?
3. Who with?
4. What’s going on?
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Activities
4. Link the two columns:
far away
buisson
usual
vue
view
chemin
cliff
habituel
bush
loin
tiny
falaise
edge
minuscule
path
bord
unusual
inhabituel
Chapter 2: A Discovery
1. Listen to the whole chapter and give your impression of the
atmosphere of the chapter.
2. Tick the adjectives which best describe Eve Richards.
surprised
upset
nervous
angry
cool
panicked
sad
astonished
scared
disappointed
anxious
sorry
The Body on the Beach
3. Now look for the adjectives:
S
L
E
P
T
T
S
R
R
Y
D
A
L
P
L
U
I
H
E
Y
A W M
Y
E
N
B
V
A
C
E
R
S
H
R
D
Z
T
T
X
Q
Z
O N
Y
O
P
P
A
S
T
O N
I
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E
D
I
S
U O
V
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I
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T
Q
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D
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X
H
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K
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F
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P
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P
V
G W R M U
E
P
X
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A
P W G
E
F
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F
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A
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A
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W
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H H
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A
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T
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F
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W Y
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4. Listen to track 2 and find out about:
1. the phone number that Eve Richards called
2. why she called this number
3. her address
4. what she discovered
5. the name of the road she took
N
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60
Activities
5. Match each word with its translation:
emergency
attendre
awful
monter
come up
horrible
wait
urgence
someone
quelqu’un
6. Write the article published the next day in the Westbourne
Chronicle. Don’t forget to mention the date, the headline and
the name of the journalist. Write in columns. Your work must
look like a real newspaper!
Westbourne Chronicle