Emma

ELT B2

Stage 4 B2

Jane Austen

EMMA

EMMA

Emma Woodhouse is beautiful, rich, intelligent and a snob.

She says she’ll never marry, but loves matchmaking and is determined to find a suitable husband for her friend Harriet Smith. However, her imagination often leads her to make mistakes, creating problems for both herself and the people around her. Jane Austen describes the social values of her time and the novel is full of comical moments as Emma causes one disaster after another. However, the beauty of this novel is how the author manages to make the reader love Emma as much as she did.

Jane Austen

Jane Austen EMMA

Stage 4 B2

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Readers

In this reader you will find:

– Information about Jane Austen’s life and times – Glossary of difficult words – Comprehension and extension activities, including B2 First style activities – Exit test

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Audio Files

Look at the inside front cover flap to find out how to download your free Audio files.

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Classic

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Classic Literature Marriage and Social Status The Power of Imagination Romance

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Book brief 1

Emma by Jane Austen is a comedy of manners in which Austen gives us an ironic insight into the customs and values of the British upper social class during the Regency Period.

2

The novel is set in the fictional small country village of Highbury in Surrey, England, in the early 19th century.

3

It tells the story of proud Emma Woodhouse and her fear of facing up to her own true feelings.

4

Emma’s lack of understanding of her own feelings leads her to misunderstand those around her and to interfere harmfully in the lives of others, especially concerning her friend, Harriet.

5

Main themes include marriage, social status, and trusting too much in one’s imagination.

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In this reader: 21st Century Skills

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

First

B2 level activities.

Culture Notes

Brief cultural information.

Glossary

An explanation of difficult words.

Picture Caption

A brief explanation of the picture.

Audio

These icons indicate the parts of the story that are recorded: start stop

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Jane Austen

Emma Adaptation and Activities by Silvana Sardi Illustrated by Alberto Macone

Young Adult

Readers

Contents

6 8 10 20 22 32 34 44 46 56 58 68 70 80 82 92 94 106 108 110 111

Main Characters Before you Read Chapter 1 Activities Chapter 2 Activities Chapter 3 Activities Chapter 4 Activities Chapter 5 Activities Chapter 6 Activities Chapter 7 Activities Chapter 8 Activities Focus on...

Test yourself Syllabus

Friendship Love in the Air at Hartfield A Terrible Misunderstanding Suspicious Behaviour An Unexpected Departure Dancing at the Crown Inn The Shocking Truth Engagements and Weddings Jane Austen

The village churchman, he’s more ambitious than he seems.

Mr Weston’s son, who Emma finds charming.

Emma’s father, he’s always worried about his health.

Emma’s brother-in-law, he’s a good friend and tries to give Emma advice.

6

Emma’s new friend, she’s greatly influenced by Emma’s advice in love matters.

Miss Bates’ beautiful niece, she has no fortune so must find a job and leave home.

A kindhearted unmarried woman and Jane’s aunt.

Young, rich and clever, she’s convinced she’ll never marry but thinks she’s good at helping others to fall in love with each other.

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Before you Read

Grammar B2 First 1 Think of the best word to fill each gap in this text about Emma.

Emma Woodhouse belongs (1) ................................ the wealthy society of the village of Highbury, (2) ................................ she lives with her father in a beautiful house called Hartfield. Although convinced that she herself will never fall (3) ................................ love, Emma adores matchmaking and often lets her imagination interfere (4) ................................ her good sense.

Apart (5) ................................ being beautiful, she’s also (6) ................................ intelligent, young lady and almost always manages (7) ................................ convince people to do what she wants even if it’s sometimes not the best solution for them.

Vocabulary 2 These words all appear in Chapter 1 in one form or another. Check

the meaning of any new words in your dictionary and complete the table below.

Noun

Adjective

Verb 1

luxury proposal

3

2

4 5

elegance 7 9

Adverb

6 beautiful

8

sad

12

10

marry

11 13

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8

proudly

Listening B2 First 2

3 Listen to the start of Chapter 1 and choose the best answer

(A, B or C).

1 Emma’s sister…

A ■ had lived in the small town of Highbury until she got married.

B ■ was younger than her sister, Emma.

C ■ had got married when she was twenty-one.

2 What do we learn about Emma?

A ■ She’s pretty but not very intelligent.

B ■ She can still remember her mother well and misses her.

C ■ She now lives alone with her father at Hartfield.

3 Miss Taylor…

A ■ had been with Emma since she was sixteen.

B ■ was like a sister to Emma.

C ■ kept Emma under control.

4 Emma…

A ■ didn’t have a very high opinion of herself.

B ■ realised that some aspects of her character could cause trouble.

C ■ had a strong character and usually did as she pleased.

5 How did Emma feel after Miss Taylor’s marriage?

A ■ Upset and angry with herself for not stopping the marriage.

B ■ Sad but proud of herself because she believed she’d played a part in the matchmaking.

C ■ Angry that Miss Taylor had chosen an unsuitable man to marry.

6 What do we learn about Emma’s father?

A ■ He’d be great company for Emma now that Miss Taylor had gone.

B ■ He kept active and fit and recommended that the rest of the family did the same.

C ■ He seemed older than he was and was always anxious about his health.

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Chapter One

Friendship

2 Emma Woodhouse, beautiful, rich and clever, at twenty-one had been

mistress of Hartfield, her loving father’s house ever since her older sister, Isabella, had married and gone to live in London, sixteen miles away from the small town of Highbury. Emma’s mother had died so long ago that Emma could hardly remember her gentle touch, but an excellent woman called Miss Taylor who’d looked after Emma since she was five had filled her mother’s place. During these sixteen years, Emma and Miss Taylor had become as close as sisters and Emma could do what she liked even if she valued Miss Taylor’s judgement.

Indeed, the real evils of Emma’s situation were the power of having rather too much of her own way, and the habit of thinking a little too well of herself. However, at present she was unaware of the dangers of this side of her character.

Then and even now, most women in Britain take their husband’s surname when they get married.

The day of Miss Taylor’s marriage was the first time that Emma had felt any real kind of sadness in her life. In the evening, when everybody had gone, Emma was left alone to think sadly of what she’d lost, while her father slept peacefully in his armchair. At the same time though, she was happy for Miss Taylor who’d married Mr Weston, a man with no faults, of suitable age, reasonably wealthy and with good manners.

Emma was also proud of the fact that she’d always encouraged this match, proof of her generous friendship. However, she missed her gentle, intelligent friend. Miss Taylor was now Mrs Weston and from

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Emma

now on would live half a mile from them. Emma dearly loved her father, but he was no companion for her. The age difference between them seemed even greater due to the fact that Mr Woodhouse acted like a man much older than his actual years and did very little except worry about his health and that of those dear to him.

3 The Woodhouses were the most important family in Highbury, and although Emma knew many people – her father was always kind to everybody – none of them could take Miss Taylor’s place. Emma sighed at this thought, but then her father woke up and she had to seem cheerful. He was a nervous man, easily depressed, who hated seeing the people he was fond of leave. Marriages meant change, so he found them very upsetting and even after seven years, he still wasn’t used to the fact that his daughter Isabella was married. He was gently selfish and convinced that Miss Taylor would have been a great deal happier if she’d stayed at Hartfield.

While Emma was trying to keep her father cheerful, a visitor arrived.

It was Mr George Knightley, a sensible man of about thirty-seven years old, and a very close family friend also because his younger brother, John was Isabella’s husband. He lived about a mile from Highbury at Donwell Abbey and often came to visit at Hartfield. Mr Knightley had just come back from visiting his brother in London and cheerfully answered all Mr Woodhouse’s questions about ‘poor Isabella’. When asked about the wedding, all Mr Woodhouse could say was: ‘Ah! Poor Miss Taylor! It’s a sad business.’

‘Well, it must be better to have only one to please, than two,’ said Mr Knightley.

‘Especially when one of those two has too much imagination and causes trouble,’ said Emma smiling.

Mr Knightley and Emma often joked with each other. In fact, he was one of the few people who openly criticised Emma. Emma sometimes

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Jane Austen

didn’t like this but she knew her father would be even more upset than her at the thought that somebody might not find her perfect, so she chose to comment no further on what Mr Knightley had said and continued: ‘It was a delightful wedding and I’m especially pleased because I made the match myself. Everybody said Mr Weston would never marry again but they were wrong. I love matchmaking, not for myself of course, for other people. It’s highly amusing!’

Mr Knightley didn’t like the fact that Emma interfered with other people’s lives and told her so, while her father who, as usual, had only understood half of the conversation, simply said: ‘Please my dear Emma, don’t make any more matches, they break up family circles.’

‘Only one more, papa,’ said Emma. ‘Only for, the vicar*, Mr Elton.

He’s been here for a year – it’d be a shame to have him single any longer.’

‘Invite him to dinner, Emma, but leave him to choose his own wife,’ said Mr. Knightley. ‘I’m sure a man of twenty-seven can take care of himself.’

Emma said nothing, but was still determined to carry out her plan.

That night as she lay in bed, she thought about Miss Taylor – she must get used to calling her Mrs Weston now – and Mr Weston. She was so proud that this matchmaking had worked out so well.

Many years before, Mr Weston, a warm-hearted, friendly man from Highbury had married Miss Churchill from Enscombe in Yorkshire, whose family was much wealthier than Mr Weston’s. In fact, Miss Churchill’s brother hadn’t approved of the marriage and Mr Weston spent much more than he should have, to please his wife. Then after three years, his wife died leaving Mr Weston with their young son, Frank,

vicar person responsible for the local church, who does weddings etc.

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Emma

and much poorer than he’d been before. Fortunately, Mr Churchill and his wife offered to look after the boy and Mr Weston accepted. Mr Weston then started his own business and over the last eighteen or twenty years had become so successful that he’d managed to buy a little estate*, Randalls, next to Highbury. Miss Taylor had been in his thoughts for some time, but he didn’t propose to her until he’d bought Randalls. His son Frank still lived with the Churchills and when he came of age had changed his name to Mr Frank Churchill. Mr Weston, good-humoured by nature, didn’t worry about this, was quite happy to see his son once a year in London, and talked about him proudly to the people of Highbury.

Now that Mr Weston was married, everybody was waiting for Mr Frank Churchill to visit, as they’d never seen him before. Mrs Weston received a beautiful letter from Mr Frank Churchill, which made her feel even more fortunate than before.

As for Mr Woodhouse, he still referred to Mrs Weston as ‘poor Miss Taylor’ despite her evident happiness and was glad for his stomach when all the wedding-cake had finally been eaten up. He did however enjoy company and Emma always organised for his friends to come and see him. These included Mr Knightley, the Westons and Mr Elton who adored the elegant society of Hartfield and the smiles of Mr Woodhouse’s lovely daughter.

Three other ladies were often invited to Hartfield; Mrs and Miss Bates and Mrs Goddard. Mrs Bates was a very harmless, old lady, the widow* of a vicar, who lived in a simple way with her single daughter. Miss Bates, a middle-aged woman, though not beautiful, rich or clever, was popular with everybody due to her good, kind, happy nature. Her main concerns were looking after her mother and making a small income* estate a large piece of land with a big house widow a woman whose husband has died

income money received, for example, weekly or monthly usually for work done or from land owned etc.

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Jane Austen

go as far as possible. She was also a great talker and Mr Woodhouse enjoyed her harmless gossip. Mrs Goddard was the mistress of a boarding school* for girls. She was a plain, motherly kind of woman and treated the children well.

Emma was happy for her father when these ladies came to visit but she found their company a bit boring. Then one morning, she received a letter from Mrs Goddard asking if she could bring Miss Smith with her that evening. Emma was delighted because Harriet Smith was seventeen and Emma was keen to meet her because of her beauty.

Nobody knew much about Harriet Smith except that she was the natural daughter of somebody who paid for her to stay with Mrs Goddard even if she was no longer a student at the school. She was a very pretty girl, the type of beauty Emma particularly admired. She was short, plump* and fair, with blue eyes and looked as sweet as she really was. By the end of the evening, Emma was also pleased with Harriet’s manners and was determined to get to know her better.

Although Harriet wasn’t clever, she was willing to talk and seemed so pleasantly grateful to be at Hartfield, that Emma thought she must have good sense and deserved encouragement in order not to waste her time with the inferior* society of Highbury.

Harriet had recently stayed with friends in the country, the Martins.

Although they were good people, Emma was sure they weren’t the best company for Harriet. The Martins rented a large farm on Mr Knightley’s estate – Mr Knightley thought very highly of them – but Emma was convinced that they were too bad-mannered to be friends of a girl who needed just a little more knowledge and elegance to be boarding school a school where students actually live as they’re given their meals and a place to sleep

plump having a full rounded shape inferior lower, second-class

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Emma

perfect. Therefore, Emma thought it very kind of herself to be willing to teach Harriet all she needed to know to enter into good society.

Miss Smith went away happily at the end of the evening, grateful for all the attention Miss Woodhouse had given her.

Emma lost no time in encouraging Harriet Smith to come to Hartfield very often. Harriet would be her new friend, not the same as Mrs Weston, but someone that Emma could be useful to. Harriet told Emma everything and was greatly influenced by Emma’s opinion.

The girl spoke enthusiastically about the time she’d spent with the Martins and at first Emma was quietly amused. Then she became worried when she realised that Mr Martin wasn’t Mrs Martin’s husband, but her twenty-four year old son, a young, single man, who might prove to be a danger to her poor little friend. Emma could see that Harriet found great pleasure in talking about Mr Martin and repeatedly said how good-humoured he was.

‘What does Mr Martin look like?’ asked Emma.

‘Oh! Not handsome – not at all handsome,’ said Harriet. ‘I thought him very plain at first, but I don’t think he’s so plain now. But, haven’t you ever seen him?’

‘I may have seen him, but without having any idea of his name,’ said Emma. ‘A young farmer is the very last sort of person to raise my curiosity.’

‘To be sure, ‘said Harriet quickly. ‘Oh! Yes, it’s not likely you should ever have noticed him.’

They met Mr Martin the very next day while they were out walking.

Emma thought he looked tidy enough and seemed sensible but he definitely didn’t have the manners of a gentleman. Harriet was anxious to know Emma’s opinion of him and as soon as he was gone said:

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Jane Austen

‘Well, Miss Woodhouse, what do you think of him? Do you think him so very plain?’

‘He’s undoubtedly very plain,’ said Emma, ‘but that’s nothing compared to his total lack of manners.’

‘To be sure,’ said Harriet, ashamed. ‘He’s not as well-mannered as a gentleman.’

‘After having been at Hartfield, Harriet, I think you too should be able to see the difference.’

‘Certainly, he’s not like Mr Knightley,’ said Harriet, desperate to please Miss Woodhouse.

‘Mr Knightley is more of a gentleman than anyone,’ said Emma, ‘so it’s unfair to compare Mr Martin to him, but what about Mr Weston or Mr Elton? Compare Mr Martin to them. You must see the difference.’

‘Oh yes!’ said Harriet, ‘there’s a great difference, but Mr Weston is almost an old man. Mr Weston must be about forty or fifty.’

‘Mr Martin is already awkward and rude now,’ said Emma. ‘What do you think he’ll be like in old age?’

‘There’s no saying, indeed!’ replied Harriet rather seriously.

‘Think instead of Mr Elton,’ continued Emma. ‘He’s cheerful, helpful and gentle. In fact, his manners have become softer than they used to be and I think it must be to please you, Harriet. In fact he’s said some very pleasant things about you recently.’

Harriet blushed* and smiled. Emma’s plan was working; Mr Elton would drive the farmer out of Harriet’s head and Mr Elton and Harriet would be an excellent match. Mr Elton’s situation was most suitable, she thought. He was a gentleman from a fine family and at the same time not of such a family that could object to the doubtful birth of Harriet.

blush become red in the face

16

Emma

With Emma’s encouragement, Harriet soon began to consider Mr Elton a very handsome man and Emma was convinced that Mr Elton was already nearly in love with Harriet. In fact, Mr Elton often told Emma how much Harriet had improved since coming to Hartfield.

Emma was even further convinced by Mr Elton’s enthusiastic reaction when she suggested painting a picture of Harriet.

Harriet was easily persuaded to sit for the painting and Emma set to work straight away. While Harriet sat smiling and blushing, Mr Elton stood behind Emma and commented enthusiastically on her artistic abilities. The painting took only a few days to finish and everybody who saw it was pleased. Emma had made a few improvements in her painting, making Harriet taller and much more elegant. Mr Elton continued to show his approval and defended it against any criticism.

‘You’ve made her too tall, Emma,’ said Mr Knightley.

Emma knew he was right but would never admit it.

‘Oh, no! Certainly not too tall!’ said Mr Elton. ‘It gives one exactly the idea of such a height as Miss Smith’s. Exactly so indeed!’

Mr Woodhouse greatly admired his daughter’s efforts and his only criticism was that the girl in the painting might catch cold, as Emma had painted her sitting outside with just a light shawl* over her shoulders.

The next thing was to get a frame* for the picture and Mr Elton immediately offered to go to London for it. Emma saw this as yet further confirmation of Mr Elton’s love for Harriet, even if she noticed that she received a fair share of admiration from him too, but she put this down to his being grateful to her.

While Mr Elton was away in London, Harriet arrived at Hartfield in a very excited state. She’d received a letter from Mr Martin asking shawl a square or triangular piece of cloth used to cover the head or shoulders

frame the wood, metal or plastic that is fitted around a picture

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Jane Austen

Emma is extremely classconscious. In this period, there were three social classes, upper (the one that Emma belongs to) middle and lower. The upper class were usually landowners.

Mr Elton is very enthusiastic about Emma’s painting of Harriet.

her to marry him. She was so surprised that she didn’t know what to do and asked Emma to read the letter. Harriet waited anxiously for her to finish, then asked: ‘Do you think I ought to refuse him?’

Emma hesitated for a moment then said: ‘Don’t imagine that I want to influence you, Harriet, but if a woman doubts as to whether she should accept a man or not, she certainly ought to refuse him.’

With these words and many more, Harriet was soon convinced that the only thing to do was to refuse Mr Martin’s proposal and Emma was delighted to help her write her answer.

‘I’m so glad we can still be friends, Harriet,’ said Emma. ‘If you’d married Mr Martin, I wouldn’t have been able to visit you at the farm.

You’d have thrown yourself out of all good society.’

‘That would have been too dreadful! – What an escape!’ said Harriet passionately.

Harriet slept at Hartfield that night and only went to Mrs Goddard’s for an hour or two the next morning. While she was away, Mr Knightley arrived and seemed very pleased with the news he had to tell Emma. Two days before, Robert Martin had told Mr Knightley that he was desperately in love with Harriet and wanted to propose to her. Mr Knightley had given him his full approval.

When Emma told him that Harriet had refused, Mr Knightley was furious and accused her of filling the young girl’s head with ideas above her social state. He left saying angrily: ‘You’ve been no friend to Harriet Smith, Emma! And don’t think that matchmaking her with Mr Elton will be successful, because I’m telling you, it won’t.’

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After-Reading Activities • Chapter One

Reading Comprehension 1 Match the person to the adjectives you think describe them best

from what you’ve read in Chapter 1. a single, plain and rude 1 ■ Emma Woodhouse b young, sweet and grateful 2 ■ Mr Woodhouse c sensible, honest and well-mannered 3 ■ Harriet Smith d elderly, nervous and loving 4 ■ Mr Knightley e middle-aged, kind and popular 5 ■ Mr Weston f cheerful, helpful and gentle 6 ■ Mr Robert Martin g beautiful, rich and clever 7 ■ Miss Bates h warm-hearted, friendly and good8 ■ Mr Elton humoured

Speaking

21st Century Skills

2 In Chapter 1, Jane Austen describes the friendship between Emma

Woodhouse and Harriet Smith. Discuss the following with a partner.

1 When Mrs Goddard asks to bring Harriet Smith to Hartfield, we learn that Emma is interested in meeting the girl ‘because of her beauty’. How much do you think we’re influenced by appearance in our relationships?

2 Emma says: ‘Harriet would be her new friend, someone that she could be useful to.’ Do you think that this friendship can last? Why? / Why not?

3 When Mr Knightley finds out that Emma convinced Harriet to refuse Robert Martin’s marriage proposal he says: ‘You’ve been no friend to Harriet Smith.’

How much do you agree or disagree with this statement?

4 Can a relationship work if your friend has totally different interests from you or comes from a different background?

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Grammar 3 Complete the sentences with the right alternative.

1 Emma Woodhouse was very interested/keen on matchmaking.

2 When she was a child, Miss Taylor used to care/look after Emma.

3 Emma didn’t like Robert Martin due/because of his total lack of manners.

4 Mr Knightley agreed/approved of Robert Martin’s plan to marry Harriet Smith.

5 Mr Woodhouse didn’t like matchmaking because it broke up/down family circles.

6 Talking about Robert Martin, Emma said that a young farmer was the last sort of person to rise/raise her curiosity.

7 Emma told Harriet she ought/should to refuse Robert Martin’s marriage proposal.

Pre-Reading Activity • Chapter Two

Listening B2 First 4

4 Listen to the start of Chapter 2 and complete the text with the words you hear.

Emma and Mr Knightley didn’t meet for ages after they’d argued about Robert Martin and when they eventually saw each other Emma realised that he hadn’t (1) .............................. her yet. Emma was sad about Mr Knightley’s behaviour but she didn’t (2) .............................. her actions. Harriet’s picture was now above the (3) .............................. and Mr Elton’s (4) .............................. every time he saw it, made Harriet happy. Emma was (5) .............................. as well and was (6) .............................. that Harriet now thought that Mr Elton was much (7) .............................. than Mr Martin.

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After-Reading Activities • Chapter Eight

Reading Comprehension 1 Look at the sentences below from Chapter 8. Explain who’s

speaking, what they’re talking about and who they’re speaking to.

1 ‘I’ve suffered greatly, as I could only blame myself for accepting an arrangement that went against all my sense of right.’ .................................................................................................................... ....................................................................................................................

2 ‘Time will help you. He’ll soon be gone.’ .................................................................................................................... ....................................................................................................................

3 ‘If you wish to speak openly to me as a friend, I’ll tell you exactly what I think.’ .................................................................................................................... ....................................................................................................................

4 ‘You owe me no apologies and I’m delighted for your happiness.’ .................................................................................................................... ....................................................................................................................

5 ‘Why can’t we go on as we have always done?’ .................................................................................................................... ....................................................................................................................

6 ‘Her connections may be worse than his.’ .................................................................................................................... ....................................................................................................................

Speaking

21st Century Skills

2 Compare the characters of Emma Woodhouse

and Harriet Smith with a partner.

Discuss the following: 1 What are the main differences between the two?

2 How much of what happens to Harriet is Emma’s fault?

3 Can their relationship be considered a true friendship?

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Grammar 3 Complete the sentences with the correct form of the verb in brackets in either the affirmative or negative form so that the sentences make sense.

1 If Mr Knightley loves Harriet, all Emma’s hopes ....................................... (destroy).

2 If Jane ....................................... (have to) keep her engagement a secret, she wouldn’t have been so miserable these last few months.

3 Emma ....................................... (be) in the painful state she’s in now, if she’d tried to get to know Jane better.

4 Once she ....................................... (have) her baby, Mrs Weston will be too busy to visit Hartfield.

5 If they ....................................... (lose) Mr Knightley to Harriet, how would Emma manage without his company?

6 Mr Woodhouse .................................... (be) happier if Emma had never spoken about her engagement.

7 Mrs Elton ....................................... (invite) to Donwell anymore unless Emma becomes her friend.

Vocabulary 4 Match the words or expressions that mean the same.

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■

a b c d e f g

quarrel separate admit amuse improve gather recover

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collect entertain get control of again argue divide make or become better confess to be true

Focus on...

Jane Austen Jane Austen, born in Steventon, England on 16th December 1775, is considered by many to be England’s best novelist and is most famous for her books about the lives and social values of the gentry, the class of people who owned land in Britain at the end of the 18th century.

1775

Family and Early Life Jane was the seventh of eight children and lived with her parents for her entire life, first in Steventon and later in Bath, Southampton, and Chawton. Her father was head of the local church in Steventon, and though not wealthy, her family was well connected and well educated.

1785

Education In 1783, Jane and her elder sister, Cassandra, were sent to boarding school.

However, due to illness, both girls were soon brought back home. In 1785, both girls were sent to The Abbey School in Reading but they only stayed there for a year, because the family didn’t think they were being taught well.

From then on, Jane and her sister stayed at home where they were able to enjoy reading the wide variety of books in their father’s library.

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1786-1787

Early Works Jane started writing when she was only ten or eleven years old. One of her early books was a comical look at history. It was in the style of a bad historian. She called it The History of England by a Partial Prejudiced and Ignorant Historian.

Cassandra drew pictures of the people.

1815

Most Famous Novels Jane wrote books all her life, but the first of her novels to be published was Sense and Sensibility in 1811. The book was published without Jane’s name on the cover.

The book simply said ‘By a Lady’. At that time, it was still very unusual for women to publish books. Then Pride and Prejudice was published in 1813, and Mansfield Park in 1814. Emma (1815) was the first book to have Jane’s name on its cover. Jane’s last two novels, Northanger Abbey and Persuasion, were published in 1818 after her death.

Love Jane Austen never married. She once accepted a proposal of marriage when she was twenty-six, but soon changed her mind and broke off the engagement. She probably remained single all her life because she didn’t find true love.

1817

Later Years After living in different places in England, in 1809, Jane moved to a cottage in Chawton with her mother and sister.

Jane was very happy there. She spent a lot of her time gardening, making wine and writing. She also loved being an aunt to all her nieces and nephews and they loved her.

When she was only 41, Jane fell ill. She died in Cassandra’s arms, on 18th July 1817, in Winchester.

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Test Yourself Answer the questions about the novel Emma, giving reasons for your answers.

1 Who do you think was a true friend to Emma? .............................................................................................................................. .............................................................................................................................. .............................................................................................................................. ..............................................................................................................................

2 How would you best describe Mr Woodhouse’s character? .............................................................................................................................. .............................................................................................................................. .............................................................................................................................. ..............................................................................................................................

3 What often leads the characters in the book to make mistakes about other people’s intentions? .............................................................................................................................. .............................................................................................................................. .............................................................................................................................. ..............................................................................................................................

4 In your opinion, who’s the most sensible character in the book? .............................................................................................................................. .............................................................................................................................. .............................................................................................................................. ..............................................................................................................................

5 What do you like and/or dislike about the character of Emma? .............................................................................................................................. .............................................................................................................................. .............................................................................................................................. ..............................................................................................................................

6 At the end of the book, both Harriet and Emma get married. Who are you happiest for? .............................................................................................................................. .............................................................................................................................. .............................................................................................................................. ..............................................................................................................................

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Syllabus Level B2 This reader contains the items listed below as well as those included in previous levels of the ELI Readers syllabus.

Verb Tenses Present Perfect Simple/Continuous Past Perfect Simple/Continuous Verb Forms and Patterns Passive forms with all tenses and modal verbs Phrasal verbs Reported speech Modal perfects (must have, could have etc) Clauses Embedded relative clauses Third conditional, wish Complex sentences with more than one subordinate clause

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Young Adult

Readers

STAGE 1 Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, A Study in Scarlet Jonathan Swift, Gulliver’s Travels Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, The Hound of the Baskervilles Daniel Defoe, Robinson Crusoe STAGE 2 Shakespeare, Hamlet Prince of Denmark Charles Dickens, Great Expectations William Shakespeare, Romeo and Juliet Bram Stoker, Dracula William Shakespeare, A Midsummer Night’s Dream Robert Louis Stevenson, The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde Jerome K. Jerome, Three Men in a Boat John Buchan, Thirty-Nine Steps STAGE 3 Charlotte Brontë, Jane Eyre Jane Austen, Pride and Prejudice Oscar Wilde, The Picture of Dorian Gray William Shakespeare, Macbeth Jane Austen, Sense and Sensibility Edith Wharton, The Age of Innocence Charles Dickens, A Christmas Carol Wilkie Collins, The Woman in White Anonymous, Beowulf Robert Louis Stevenson, Kidnapped Elizabeth Ferretti, The Earthkeepers Thomas Hardy, Tess of the d’Ubervilles George Orwell, 1984 STAGE 4 James Joyce, Dubliners Mary Shelley, Frankenstein Henry James, The Turn of the Screw Emily Brontë, Wuthering Heights Edgar Allan Poe, Stories of Mystery and Suspense Charles and Mary Lamb, Tales from Shakespeare Charles Dickens, A Tale of Two Cities Hermann Melville, Moby Dick Jane Austen, Emma Nathaniel Hawthorne, The Scarlet Letter E.M.Forster, A Passage to India STAGE 5 Virginia Woolf, Mrs Dalloway Francis Scott Fitzgerald, The Great Gatsby STAGE 6 Joseph Conrad, Heart of Darkness J. Borsbey & R. Swan, Editors, A Collection of First World War Poetry Oscar Wilde, The Importance of Being Earnest