Oliver Twist - Charles Dickens

Oliver Twist

Stage 1 A1

Oliver Twist is a poor orphan boy. He hasn’t got a mum or dad and he lives in a terrible place called the workhouse. One day, he makes the master of the workhouse very angry and his life changes forever.

What happens next to Oliver? Where does he go? Does he find a nice family to live with or do Fagin and his gang of thieves make Oliver stay with them? Read this exciting tale of life in 19th century Britain and find out!

Charles Dickens

Charles Dickens Oliver Twist

Stage 1 A1

ELT A1

In this reader you will find:

Teen

Readers

- Information about Charles Dickens - Focus on sections: 19th century England, Modern Britain - Glossary of difficult words - Comprehension and grammar activities including A1 Movers style exercises and 21st century skills activities - Final test

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Friendship and hate | Social Issues Downloadable

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Eli Readers is a beautifully illustrated series of timeless classic and original stories for learners of English.

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Oliver Twist Book brief

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5

Oliver Twist was the first of Dickens’ books that shows the reader what life was like for the poor in London in those days.

The novel is Dickens’ way to show he was against the laws of 19th century London that did nothing to help the poor.

Oliver Twist was immediately popular with the public because they liked exciting stories about crime and murder told in such a realistic way.

Some Victorian book critics didn’t like it and called it a ‘Newgate Novel’. Newgate was a prison in London and they gave the book this name because they didn’t think it was socially correct to write about things like crime and murder.

Oliver Twist is still popular today for its historical, social context and because it’s such a good story to read.

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Spazio didascalia

In this reader: 21st Century Skills

Movers

To encourage students to connect the story to the world they live in.

A1 level activities.

Story Notes

A brief summary of the text.

Glossary

Explanation of difficult words.

Picture Caption

A brief explanation of the picture.

Audio

These icons indicate the parts of the story that are recorded.

Think

start stop

To encourage students to develop their critical thinking skills.

The FSC® certification guarantees that the paper used in these publications comes from certified forests, promoting responsible forestry management worldwide.

For this series of ELI graded readers, we have planted 5000 new trees.

Charles Dickens

Oliver Twist Retold by

Sarah Gudgeon Illustrated by

Maya Celija

Teen

Readers

Contents

6

Characters

8

Before you read

10

Chapter 1

18

Activities

20

Chapter 2

28

Activities

30

Chapter 3

38

Activities

40

Chapter 4

48

Activities

50

Chapter 5

58

Activities

60

Chapter 6

70

Activities

72

Focus on... Charles Dickens

74

Focus on...

19th century England

76

Focus on...

Modern Britain

78

Test yourself

79

Syllabus

The Workhouse A New Family The Big House A Secret Brother Poor Nancy The End of the Story

Main Characters

Mrs Sowerberry

She’s horrible to Oliver and doesn’t give him any food

Oliver Twist Born in a workhouse, this poor little boy has no home and no family

Mr Sowerberry He wants Oliver to work hard in his shop

Monks

Mr Bumble

An angry, young man who wants Oliver to be a thief

He works in the workhouse where Oliver was born

Doctor Losberne

A kind doctor, who feels sorry for Oliver

6

Fagin He uses boys to steal things from rich people

Bill Sikes

Dodger

A boy who steals for Fagin

This horrible man works with Fagin and steals from people’s homes

Mr Brownlow A kind, rich man who helps Oliver

Mrs Bedwin

Nancy

Mr Brownlow’s housekeeper

She loves Bill but she also wants to help Oliver

Rose Maylie A beautiful, kind, young woman who lives with her aunt

Mrs Maylie

7

She’s Rose Maylie’s aunt and is a kind woman who helps Oliver

Before you read

Reading and Writing

MOVERS

1 These words are all in Chapter 1. Look at the pictures and

choose the correct word for each definition.

butcher’s

porridge

clothes

kitchen

church

toys

carrots

baker’s

1 2 3 4 5

These vegetables are orange.

You can buy bread in this shop.

You wear these.

You can cook in this room.

Some people eat this for breakfast.

Children play with these.

carrots _________ _________ _________ _________ _________ _________

Vocabulary

2 Match each verb with the correct definition.

d cry ■ a two or more people are angry and hit each other 1 ■ run away b someone walks behind another person.

2 ■ fight c you get money from someone who dies.

3 ■ follow d something you do when you’re sad.

4 ■ ■ hide e a man or woman legally makes a child 5 ■ ■ inherit their son or daughter.

6 ■ adopt f you leave a place you don’t like.

g you go to a place where no one can see you or

put things in a place where no one can find them.

8

3 Read the crossword clues and complete the words in the

puzzle.

Down 1 Something you walk over to cross a road or river.

2 Something you use to shoot things.

3 Someone who you like spending time with.

4 Someone who is not a girl.

Across 5 A dish that you eat soup from.

6 Something you wear on your body.

1

B

2

P 3 H A N D K E R C H I E F E

6 J

Speaking

W

4 5 B

R

I L

D

21st Century Skills

4 Oliver Twist is the story of a poor boy in 19th century England.

Answer these questions about your country in the 21st century.

1 2 3 4

Do all children in your country go to school?

Do you like school? Why/ Why not?

Do you prefer doing lessons online or in the classroom? Why? Do most people in your country live in cities or in the countryside? Why?

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Chapter 1

The Workhouse

1

2

Life in the workhouse is very hard for Oliver and the other orphans.

England Oliver Twist is nine years old. He’s got blond hair and big sad blue eyes. He’s sad because he hasn’t got a mum and he hasn’t got a dad. Oliver is an orphan2. He lives in a workhouse in a town near London and he hasn’t got any friends. The workhouse is a bad place to live because it’s very cold and dark.

There are a lot of orphans in the workhouse and they don’t receive3 a lot of food. All the orphans are sad and hungry. They have porridge4 every day for breakfast, lunch and dinner. They don’t like porridge but one day they’re very hungry so they want Oliver to ask for more porridge.

‘We’re hungry, Oliver,’ they say. ‘You must ask for more porridge.’

Oliver is afraid5 but he’s very hungry too. He takes his porridge bowl6 and walks slowly to the front of the dining hall.

1

workhouse a place where children with no mum or dad and no money lived in England in the nineteenth century 2 orphan a child with no mum or dad 3 receive get 4 porridge traditional breakfast food 5 afraid 6 bowl you can eat soup from this

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Oliver Twist

Oliver doesn’t want to ask for more porridge but the other children push him forward.

The hall is silent1 as Oliver walks to the front.

He goes to the big table where the master2 of the workhouse is having his dinner and quietly asks him for some more porridge.

‘Please, Sir, can I have some more?’ asks Oliver.

The master is very angry. He stops eating his chicken and potatoes and stands up. ‘More?’ he shouts. ‘No, you can’t!’

The master thinks that Oliver is a bad boy and he calls for Mr Bumble. Mr Bumble is a very important man. He’s very angry and agrees3 with the master. ‘Oliver Twist, you’re a bad boy,’ he says. He throws Oliver in a cold, dark room and locks4 the door.

Poor Oliver stays in the cold, dark room for many days. He’s so cold that he can’t sleep and he’s very hungry. The master doesn’t give him porridge for breakfast, lunch and dinner. In fact, sometimes he doesn’t give Oliver any porridge.

Oliver is very tired and thin and he’s very lonely5 because he hasn’t got anyone to talk to.

1

silent very quiet master a man who has people working for him 3 agree when you think the same as another person 4 lock to close something with a key 5 lonely sad because you haven’t got any friends 2

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They put Oliver in a cold, dark room because he asks for more porridge.

Charles Dickens

Oliver has to leave the workhouse and work for Mr Sowerberry in his shop.

Oliver cries1 every day. After one week, Mr Bumble goes to the workhouse. He goes to the cold, dark room and unlocks2 the door. Oliver is sitting in the corner of the room. He’s very white.

‘Get up!’ shouts Mr Bumble. Oliver stands up and runs to the door. ‘You must leave the workhouse,’ says Mr Bumble.

Mr Bumble wants Oliver to leave the workhouse immediately3 so he speaks to Mr Sowerberry. ‘Mr Sowerberry,’ says Mr Bumble, ‘Here’s five pounds4 . I want you to take Oliver Twist to live with you. He can work in your shop.’

Mr Sowerberry agrees, but not because he’s a kind5 man. He wants Oliver to work very hard in his shop. ‘Come with me, Oliver,’ he says. ‘I’ve got a lot of work for you to do.’

Poor Oliver. He doesn’t want to live with Mr Sowerberry but he must leave the workhouse.

He hasn’t got any clothes or toys to take with him to Mr Sowerberry’s house.

1

cry unlock to open something with a key 3 immediately at that moment 4 pounds British money 5 kind nice, good 2

12

>

Poor Oliver is cold, sad and hungry in the dark room.

Charles Dickens

Poor Oliver, he has to stay with Mr and Mrs Sowerberry.

Mrs Sowerberry doesn’t like him and treats him in a very bad way.

Oliver is very sad.

It’s grey and rainy when he leaves the workhouse and the other orphans don’t say goodbye to him.

Mr Sowerberry lives with his wife, Mrs Sowerberry. Mrs Sowerberry is fat and ugly and she’s got a horrible1, mean2 face. She doesn’t like Oliver. She’s making a big dinner when he arrives.

She’s cooking beef and carrots but she doesn’t make any dinner for Oliver. ‘There’s no dinner for you,’ says Mrs Sowerberry. ‘You’re a bad boy so you can eat with the dog.’

Mrs Sowerberry’s dog is a big black dog. It eats all the food and so there’s nothing for Oliver.

Oliver is hungry and tired. He wants to go to sleep but Mrs Sowerberry doesn’t give him a bed. ‘We haven’t got a bed for you,’ says Mrs Sowerberry.

‘You must sleep on the floor.’ Oliver goes to sleep on the cold, hard floor. He’s very sad.

The next day, Oliver meets Noah in the kitchen.

Noah works in Mr Sowerberry’s shop.

He’s a big boy and he’s got a horrible, mean face too. He doesn’t like Oliver and he says horrible things about Oliver’s mother.

1 2

horrible not nice mean not kind

14

Oliver Twist

‘Your mother didn’t love you,’ he says to Oliver.

Oliver didn’t know his mother but he’s sure1 she loved him. Oliver is angry.

‘That’s not true! She did!’ he shouts.

‘No, she didn’t,’ shouts Noah.

‘Stop it! Be quiet,’ shouts Oliver but Noah continues2 to say horrible things.

Oliver becomes angrier and angrier. Suddenly3, he hits Noah on the head and then Noah hits him on the nose. The two boys start to fight4 and they make a lot of noise.

Mrs Sowerberry hears the noise. She runs into the kitchen and sees Oliver and Noah fighting on the floor. ‘Stop fighting immediately!’ she shouts.

Oliver and Noah stand up. Mrs Sowerberry doesn’t like Oliver but she likes Noah. ‘Come here, Noah,’ she says. ‘Are you okay?’ Noah runs to Mrs Sowerberry. He tells her that he’s got a headache because Oliver hit him on the head a lot of times. ‘I don’t know why Oliver hit me so many times. My head hurts5,’ says Noah. Mrs Sowerberry is furious6.

1

to be sure when you believe something continue not stop 3 suddenly when something happens quickly 4 fight Oliver hits Noah and Noah hits Oliver 5 hurt when something hurts it makes you say ‘Ouch’ 6 furious very angry 2

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Charles Dickens

Oliver tells Mrs Sowerberry that Noah said horrible things about his mother but she doesn’t listen to him. She throws him in a cold, dark room.

She closes the door but she forgets to lock it.

Oliver stays in the room for many hours. It’s very late and the house is silent. Mr and Mrs Sowerberry are asleep. Oliver doesn’t know what to do. He didn’t like the workhouse and he doesn’t like Mr and Mrs Sowerberry and Noah. Then, he has an idea.

He decides to run away1. He slowly opens the door to the room and quietly walks to the kitchen. Then, he opens the kitchen window and jumps out into the street, but he doesn’t know where to go. He can see the church and the baker’s and the butcher’s in the town centre.

Then, he sees a big road. He runs down the road, away from the town and Mr Sowerberry’s shop and the workhouse.

>

Mrs Sowerberry is very angry with Oliver.

Think After fighting with Noah, Oliver runs away from the Sowerberry’s house. Do you think he did the right thing?

> 1

run away to leave a place you don’t like

16

Oliver is fighting with Noah because Noah said bad things about Oliver’s mum.

After-reading Activities • Chapter 1

Reading 1 Read the sentences and tick True or False.

1 2

3 4 5 6 7 8

Oliver Twist is ten years old.

The orphans love porridge.

Mr Bumble locks Oliver in a cold, dark room for one week.

Mr Sowerberry has got a lot of work for Oliver to do.

Mrs Sowerberry likes Oliver.

Noah hits Oliver on the nose.

Noah has got a headache.

Mrs Sowerberry forgets to lock the door.

Oliver jumps out of the living room window.

Grammar 2 Read the sentences and write is/are in each gap.

is Oliver Twist ________ an orphan.

1 All the orphans ________ sad and hungry.

2 We ________ hungry.

3 Mr Bumble ________ a very important man.

4 You ________ a bad boy.

5 Mrs Sowerberry ________ fat and ugly.

6 Mrs Sowerberry’s dog ________ a big black dog.

3 Read the sentences and circle the correct word.

1 2

3 4 5

Oliver live / lives in a workhouse Oliver have / has got blond hair.

They have / has porridge every day for breakfast, lunch and dinner.

He can work / works in your shop.

Mrs Sowerberry’s dog eat / eats all the food.

Mrs Sowerberry don’t / doesn’t listen to Oliver.

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T

F

3 ■ ■

■ ■

■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■

■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■

Speaking 4 Answer these questions.

1

2

3

Oliver feels sad and lonely in the cold dark room.

When do you feel sad?

Oliver gets angry when Noah says bad things about his mother.

When do you get angry with people?

Oliver hits Noah. Do you think it’s right to hit people?

Why/why not?

21st Century Skills

Before-reading Activity 5 Choose the correct word for each sentence.

down the big road but he’s very tired.

Oliver continues running _______

under down by

1 _______ two hours, he stops to sleep under an enormous tree.

Before During After

2 When he wakes up, the _______ is shining.

sun moon road

3 He _______ a sign for London.

looks sees watches 4 Oliver decides to go _______ the city of London. for

on

to

5 He hasn’t got _______ food or water. any

some

19

no

Focus on...

Charles Dickens 1812

Home - First in Portsmouth near the sea, then Kent and finally London.

First job In a factory. He worked very hard in this horrible place and hated it. He was sad and lonely without his family and only saw them on Sundays.

Better times After a few months John Dickens came out of prison and, with some money he inherited, he paid his bills. The family had a home again and Charles went back to school until he was fifteen.

Then he went to work as a journalist for a newspaper.

Charles Dickens Born on February 7th 1812 in Portsmouth, England.

Family Father, John, an office worker.

Mother, Elizabeth, housewife.

He had five brothers and two sisters.

Family problems Dickens went to school from 9 to 12 years old, then he had to stop because his father had no money to pay the bills. All the family, except Dickens, went to prison, too because they didn’t have a place to live and had no money to buy food.

Early works First story – A Dinner at Popular Walk (1833). First book – Sketches

by Boz (1836).

1833

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Personal life He was married to Catherine Hogarth from 1836 to 1858 and they had ten children. Then, he left his wife and had a girlfriend for many years, the actress, Ellen Ternan.

• 1836

• 1858 1839

1851

1849

Famous stories Oliver Twist (1837-1839) David Copperfield (1849)

Hobbies Travelling and the theatre.

He wrote travel books and plays for the theatre.

He even performed for Queen Victoria in a play at the theatre in 1851.

The first edition of Oliver Twist.

Great Expectations (1860-1861) Success A great contribution to English literature. His books and stories about poor people and all their problems were very popular.

He always remembered his difficult years as a child and used these ideas in his books.

Tomb He died in 1870 and is buried in Poets’ Corner in Westminster Abbey, London.

1870

73

1861

Focus on...

19th century England

Queen Victoria marries Prince Albert.

Queen Victoria Queen Victoria was the Queen of the United Kingdom when Charles Dickens was a young man and she enjoyed reading his books. She was born on 24th May 1819 in London and lived with her family at Kensington Palace. She became Queen in 1837 when she was 18 years old and went to live in Buckingham Palace. Queen Victoria led the country until her death on 22nd January 1901. She was married to Prince Albert, who was her cousin, and they had nine children together. Queen Victoria helped to build the British Empire

and ruled over many countries including Australia, Canada, India, New Zealand and some parts of Africa.

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The poor

Nineteenth century England was a great place for rich people but a bad place for the poor. Rich people made a lot of money from industry and used the trains to go on holiday to the seaside but many poor people and their children worked in the factories and coal mines.

They worked all day for little money. Many children didn’t go to school because they had to

work for many hours every day.

Boys and girls as young as seven started work in the factories at six o’clock in the morning and didn’t finish until seven o’clock in the evening.

Workhouses They were not good jobs but people preferred to work in these places and live at home with their families. Because of the Poor Law of 1834, people who didn’t have jobs went to live in workhouses.

Workhouses were terrible places.

They were cold and dark and the people had to work harder than in the factories and coal mines. Mothers, fathers and their children couldn’t live together and they never saw each other.

Everybody had a uniform to wear and a job to do, like working in the bakery, the laundry or the vegetable garden. There was a school in the workhouse but the children didn’t learn to read or

write. Everybody slept in big dormitories and ate the same food every day.

There were a lot of orphans in the workhouses and everybody was very sad. Orphans who didn’t live in the workhouses had to steal food from the market and this was very dangerous because often the police sent them to prison.

Some organisations were formed to try and help poor people and in 1867 William Booth and his wife Catherine started the Salvation Army.

This charity still exists today, helping homeless people and the very poor.

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Focus on...

Modern Britain companies to try and find a new job. The money is also to help them pay for bus or train tickets or petrol so that they can go to companies for job interviews.

Sometimes people who don’t have a job don’t have anywhere to live, so the government tries to find a place for them and their families.

Unfortunately, there are still some people who don’t have a home and they live on the streets or in hostels.

Old people who stop working also receive money. This money is called a pension and they receive it every week. They can also get extra help from the government if they don’t have enough money to pay all their bills.

The Government

Most British citizens in the 21st century have a good life because governments have tried to help them. After World War II, in 1948, Sir William Beveridge wrote a report and the government then established the welfare state. They introduced some new laws to help protect the poor, the old, the sick and of course, the young.

Hospitals

Money

Poor people who don’t have a job receive money from the government every week. The money is to help them pay for paper, envelopes and stamps so that they can send letters to

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In Britain there is the National Health Service, so when people are sick they can go to hospital and they don’t have to pay any money.

They receive treatment or have operations to make them better but sometimes people have to wait a long time to see a specialist doctor and to get well again. The government also gives people money every week if they’re too sick to work.

A typical British family in the front garden

Help

Work and Leisure

British residents pay taxes and National Insurance to help pay for all of these government services. There are some charitable organisations such as the NSPCC (National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children) and Barnardo’s which also help young people who are in difficult or dangerous situations.

Many mothers and fathers work in factories or offices for eight hours every day. They receive their money every week or month and they use this money to pay for their home, to buy food, clothes and to go on holiday. Some people go on holiday in in the UK but a lot of people travel to other European countries and other parts of the world, such as the USA, Australia and Canada.

Homelife

Most children live with their families in houses or flats in cities and the countryside. They’re usually very nice with one bedroom for the parents and another for the children. Some brothers and sisters sleep in the same bedroom but some have separate rooms.

The children have a lot of toys and games and they spend a lot of time playing.

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Test Yourself 1 Read the sentences and choose A or B.

Oliver was born in 3 a workhouse.

A ■

B ■ a hotel.

1 The orphans always eat 4 Mr Bumble thinks Oliver is

A ■ soup.

A ■ a good boy.

B ■ porridge.

B ■ a bad boy.

2 Mrs Sowerberry gives Oliver 5 Noah and Oliver are

A ■ a bed.

A ■ friends.

B ■ no bed.

B ■ not friends.

3 Fagin’s boys steal

A ■ handkerchiefs.

B ■ money.

6 Bill falls off

A ■ a roof.

B ■ a tree.

2 Match each character to the phrase they said in the story. b ‘Please, Sir, can I have some more?’

■ a Fagin 1 ■ ‘You’re a bad boy so you can eat b Oliver with the dog.’

2 ■ ‘Stop thinking and come with me.’ c Rose 3 ■ ‘You must not tell anyone what’s in d Mr Brownlow my special box.’ e Dodger 4 ■ ‘He must be a thief.’

5 ■ ‘Fagin is a bad man who uses young f Bill boys to steal things from rich people.’ g Mrs Sowerberry 6 ■ ‘Fagin sent one of his boys to follow you.’ h Monks 7 ■ ‘We must find Monks before something i Nancy terrible happens to Oliver.’

8 ■ ‘This is a picture of my sister, Agnes.’

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Syllabus Topics Family and friends Life in 19th century London Crime and poor people Grammar and Structures Comparative and superlative adjectives Adverbs Conjunctions Can for ability and requests / permission Determiners Have got Infinitive of purpose Must for obligation Nouns Prepositions (place, time) Pronouns Question words Relative clauses There is / There are Verb tenses; present simple, present continuous, past simple Verb + infinitive / + ing When clauses Would like

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Teen

Readers

Stage 1

Maureen Simpson, In Search of a Missing Friend Charles Dickens, Oliver Twist Geoffrey Chaucer, The Canterbury Tales Janet Borsbey & Ruth Swan, The Boat Race Mystery Lucy Maud Montgomery, Anne of Green Gables Mark Twain, A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court Mark Twain, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn Angela Tomkinson, Great Friends!

Edith Nesbit, The Railway Children Eleanor H. Porter, Pollyanna Anna Sewell, Black Beauty Kenneth Grahame, The Wind in the Willows

Stage 2

Elizabeth Ferretti, Dear Diary…

Angela Tomkinson, Loving London Mark Twain, The Adventures of Tom Sawyer Mary Flagan, The Egyptian Souvenir Maria Luisa Banfi, A Faraway World Frances Hodgson Burnett, The Secret Garden Robert Louis Stevenson, Treasure Island Elizabeth Ferretti, Adventure at Haydon Point William Shakespeare, The Tempest Angela Tomkinson, Enjoy New York Frances Hodgson Burnett, Little Lord Fauntleroy Michael Lacey Freeman, Egghead Michael Lacey Freeman, Dot to Dot Silvana Sardi, The Boy with the Red Balloon Silvana Sardi, Scotland is Magic!

Silvana Sardi, Garpur: My Iceland Silvana Sardi, Follow your Dreams Gabriele Rebagliati, Naoko: My Japan

Stage 3

Anna Claudia Ramos, Expedition Brazil Charles Dickens, David Copperfield Mary Flagan, Val’s Diary Maureen Simpson, Destination Karminia Anonymous, Robin Hood Jack London, The Call of the Wild Louisa May Alcott, Little Women Gordon Gamlin, Allan: My Vancouver