Introduction - English Center

1 33 oxford UNIVERSITY PRESSSTAGE2 Dead Man s IslandJohn EscottIntroductionThis ungraded summary is for the teacher s use only and should not be given to is also a story about the emotional development of the teenager, Carol Sanders. At the beginning of the story, she is an ordinary middle class teenage girl growing up in Hong Kong. Then the deaths in fairly quick succession of her pop idol and of her father lead her into unhappiness and a new set of friends which almost gets her into trouble with the police.

2 So she can identify closely with the parallel experience of Jake Rosso (real name James Duncan) who got so involved in drink and drugs that he caused the death of a fi fteen-year-old girl; and with his feelings after the car accident which caused her death. Both Carol and Ross have to rebuild their lives as best they can. Carol benefi ts from the healing infl uences of the island healthy open-air work in a beautiful environment, horse riding and swimming, and kind people (who are actually members of Ross s family) but perhaps above all from the recognition that the problems of Ross who, as Jake Rosso, she had idolised when she was younger are more diffi cult and permanent than her own.

3 She is thus able to learn an important lesson about herself and about other people, to go on to college at the end of the summer and then to a fulfi lling storyCarol Sanders is growing up happily in Hong Kong when her favourite pop star, Jake Rosso, and then her father both die. She is very unhappy and starts getting into trouble so her mother takes her back to England. There her mother gets a temporary job as a secretary on a Scottish island although Carol overhears Greta Ross, the interviewer, telling someone on the phone not to worry because they have been out of the country for seven Sanders is going to be the secretary of Greta s husband, a businessman who never leaves the island and who doesn t like visitors.

4 The mysterious Mr Ross is a sad-looking young man with short hair, moustache and day Carol sees a face at the window of the house watching her. Her mother tells her that all the money and property in Mr Ross s business is in his wife s name. When Carol accidentally takes a photo of Mr Ross, the gardener takes the fi lm: Mr Ross doesn t like having his picture taken. Carol sees a half-hidden door in the house and is told sharply that it s nights later, Carol sees Mr Ross come out of the locked room and hide the key.

5 In the morning she goes into the is full of Jake Rosso memorabilia. Carol realizes that Mr Ross is Jake Rosso. But he has followed her. He tells her that when he was a pop star he caused the death of a young girl. So he faked his own death and then came to live with his family on this island. Carol decides to keep the secret. She needs to begin a new life too. Later she gets a job on a farm but sometimes thinks about the dead man on the to the storyThis is an adventure story which takes us from Hong Kong via London to the Scottish islands.

6 And a progressive accumulation of events Greta s phone call, the Keep Out signs as they approach the island for the fi rst time, the face at the window, and so on build up the mystery until the climax in the room full of Jake Rosso memorabilia when Carol discovers Mr Ross s true 335/12/07 12:54:0534 PHOTOCOPIABLE OXFORDUNIVERSITYPRESSa MrRossdoesn tlikevisitorstotheisland, Hey!Whatareyoudoing? Isaid. You llspoilmyfilm. , Thatroomisprivate, Whodoeshelooklike? Man s IslandPre-reading activityMatch the words with the picturesAim: To familiarize students with the settingTime: 10 20 minutesOrganization: Give one copy of the worksheet to each student or to each pair of students.

7 When they have matched the pictures and the captions, ask the following questions. How many different people appear altogether in the pictures? Who are they or what are the relationships between them? Key: Carol, Mrs Sanders, three of Carol s friends in Hong Kong; Greta Ross, Tony Duncan; Mr Ross; Mr Duncan. (The students will discover finally that Mr Duncan is the father of Mr Ross and Tony.)Then ask the students to look again at the pictures and re-order them as they think they occur in the story (tell them that picture number 1 is also first in the sequence).

8 Next ask students to tell the story from the pictures. There is no right or wrong answer to this activity. The stories need only be plausible. Key: 1h, 2g, 3e, 4i, 5c, 6j, 7a, 8f, 9d, 10b12345678910 STAGE2 To the 345/12/07 12:54:0635 OXFORDUNIVERSITYPRESSPHOTOCOPIABLESTAGE2 N N N N Match the pictures with the names and Man s IslandWhile reading activityCharacter matching To the teacherWhere: At the end of Chapter 3 Aim: To focus on descriptions of charactersTime: 10 20 minutesOrganization: Give worksheets to pairs or groups of students.

9 Ask them to match the descriptions with the : a: Carol Sanders, 5, 9, 23, 28; b: Jake Rosso, 2, 11, 18, 22; c: Tony Duncan, 3, 7, 10, 13; d: Mrs Sanders, 6, 12, 17, 26; e: Mr Ross, 4, 8, 14, 19; f: Mr Duncan,16, 20, 24, 25; g: Greta Ross,1, 15, 21, TakesCarol RossJake RossoMrDuncanMrs SandersMr RossCarol SandersTony DuncanbN N N N ..e..dN N N N ..fN N N N ..gN N N N ..aN N N N ..L]ZW >LYOP]^ $ #cN N N N .. 355/12/07 12:54:0736 PHOTOCOPIABLE OXFORDUNIVERSITYPRESSSTAGE2 Number the events in the story in the right Man s IslandAfter reading activityOrder puzzle To the teacherAim: To order, revise, remember what has been read, and to summarizeTime: 10 20 minutesOrganization: Give out worksheets to pairs or groups of students.

10 Ask them to put the twenty-six incidents in order without looking at the book (they can check later). Once they have done this, you can also ask students in groups to tell the story in the order in which the events actually took place, beginning with the death of the fifteen-year-old girl. Key: a10, b15, c8, d20, e7, f12, g26, h5, i17, j6, k3, l13, m18, n9, o4, p21, q11, r23, s14, t25, u19, v16, w1, x22, y2, z24 EVENTORdERa Theywenttothe SavoyHotelat11o Theywentonatrainto TheyhaddinnerwithMrandMrsDuncanand Theylookedatthe Therewereclothes, svoicespeakingonthephone.