S1 Green

The Little Theatre

Once they were through the hole, Anna and Hans-Peter could stand up. Hans-Peter shone his torch around, and the yellow beam picked out some old-fashioned chairs.
“Perhaps it used to be a store cupboard,” suggested Anna. “Look, there’s a pile of old clothes.”
But there was something odd about it – just in front of them, the floor was raised up about three feet, as if to make a platform. Hans-Peter went on waving the torch about. / 5
“Look!” he exclaimed. “There’s a thick red curtain at the top.”
“Perhaps it’s a stage,” said Anna.
They climbed their way up onto the dusty platform and looked around. Anna seemed to be right. There were bits of what looked like scenery at either side – flat trees and statues made of painted canvas on a wooden frame. And at the very back they could just pick up a backdrop of sky and clouds and a forest glade. / 10
“Yes it is! It’s a theatre!” Anna gasped excitedly.
She had never before seen anything quite as thrilling as this. Hans-Peter, too, was excited. As he moved the beam of the torch backwards and forwards, he let out a whistle of excitement at each new surprise it revealed. It was not a modern theatre they had stumbled upon – it must have been hundreds of years old. It was a little theatre that had been hidden behind a wall for centuries and was only now being rediscovered. / 15
20
Together the children began to explore their new discovery. Climbing up on to the stage, they walked carefully to and fro, looking at the props which were lying all about them. There on the stage itself were tall candlesticks with shining reflectors. There, on a bench, were costumes, cast down as if the actors had just been told to stop in the middle of a performance. There were old chairs, elaborately decorated with gold paint. There were swords of silver, with blunted ends for theatrical fights. There were drums and a machine which made the sound of thunder when you turned the handle. There was a chariot which had real wooden wheels and reins of thick cord. / 25
Hans-Peter held the torch for Anna while she turned the handle of another machine at the back of the stage. This turned out to be a cloud machine. As Anna turned the handle, two large drums at either side of the stage began to move, unwinding on one side and rolling up on another a long white curtain of transparent cloth. On the cloth were printed pictures of clouds with a bird here and there flying against them. This was a backdrop which would give the audience the impression they were out in the open. / 30
35
Hans-Peter then tried the thunder machine. It made a terrible sound, just as if there was thunder rolling about in the theatre itself. Anna covered her ears as the deep drum-like sound echoed around the little theatre.
There was much else to see. There were numerous other handles to turn and costumes to try on. But it was getting late and reluctantly the two children crept out of the theatre and back into the room beyond. Carefully replacing the board they had removed, they tried to make it seem as if nobody had been interfering with the wall. Although the break in the wood certainly showed, it was only if somebody looked fairly closely that they would realise what had happened. Hans-Peter shifted one of the chairs in the room into a position where it hid the loosened board. / 40
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“I think that should be safe,” he said. “We don’t want people finding out about our theatre just yet.”
Anna agreed. The theatre had been hidden away for all those years and to look at it now was almost like waking up somebody who had been sleeping peacefully and undisturbed. / 50

Section A

Underlinethe best ending.

store cupboard.
1. / The children entered the theatre by means of a / curtained doorway.
hole in the wall.
raised platform.
no-one had been in it for many years.
2. / It was dusty because / the cleaners forgot to dust it.
it made Anna sneeze.
dust clouds were part of the scenery.
so that they could walk underneath.
3. / The floor was raised / because it was a stage.
so things could be stored underneath.
because the curtains weren’t long enough.
Hans-Peter was waving his torch.
4. / Anna was excited because / this was such an unexpected discovery.
things were decorated with gold.
it looked just like a modern stage.
visible from the windows.
5. / The trees were / painted strange colours.
too tall for the theatre.
part of the scenery.
they were used in plays.
6. / The swords were blunt because / they were very old.
they were decorated with gold paint.
they were silver.
the props had just been tidied away.
7. / The stage looked as if / a play was still going on.
the scenery was just being built.
a play was stopped before the end.
made a horrible noise.
8. / The cloud machine / was attached to the red curtains.
made the backdrop move.
made the noise of birds in the sky.
were sorry to leave the theatre.
9. / When it was time to go, the children / had seen everything they wanted to see.
left as quickly as they could.
took some costumes with them.
couldn’t wait to tell their friends.
10. / Anna and Hans-Peter / thought the theatre should be closed up forever.
wanted nobody to know about the theatre.
wanted to keep their secret a little longer.

Section B

Underline the correct answer.

1. The writer tells us that Hans-Peter was ‘crouching’ then he went through the hole. What does
this word tell us?
He had a sore back.
The hole was smaller than him.
The hole was raised up.
He wanted to be first in.
2. The writer tells us that Anna ‘gasped’. What does this word tell us?
The dust made it hard to breathe.
She was about to sneeze again.
She was amazed at what she saw.
She was out of breath with all the climbing.
3. Look at the last sentence of the passage. With what is the writer comparing the theatre?
A person
A room
A secret
A cinema

Section C

This is a summary of the passage. Complete the summary by putting one or more words in each gap. You may use words from the passage or your own words.

The children felt very ______to have found the theatre. It seemed to

1

have been ______for many years.

2

They ______all the ______which

3 4

were ______around the stage. Abandoned ______

5 6

made it look as if the actors had ______.

7

Anna tried a machine which created the effect of ______.

8

As they left, they made sure that it would be ______to see the opening.

9

Section D

Here are some phrases from the story. Choose the word in the box that is closest in meaning to the word in bold. Underline your choice.

comfort
1. / ‘…holding onto his waist for reassurance…’ / protection
excitement
instruction
cunningly
2. / ‘…old chairs, elaborately decorated…’ / plainly
recently
richly
coloured
3. / ‘…a long white transparent cloth…’ / thick
clear
woven
opinion
4. / ‘…the impression they were out in the open…’ / feeling
movement
audience
impatiently
5. / ‘…and reluctantly the two children crept out…’ / slowly
unwillingly
finally

1

The Little Theatre