1Match Thewords 1 10 to the Definitionsa J

OXFORD BOOKWORMS / COMPREHENSION TEST

Stage 2

Twelve Years a Slave

1Match thewords 1–10 to the definitionsa–j.

1___idea

2___plant

3___earn

4___pain

5___rope

6___become

7___state

8___liar

9___bacon

10___kidnap

awhat you feel in your body when you are hurt orsick

ba person who says or writes things that are nottrue

cto put things in the ground to grow

dto take somebody away and hide them

eto begin to be something

fa new plan

glong, thin pieces of meat

hvery thick, strong string to tie or pull things

ito get money for work

ja part of a country

20 marks

2Choose the correct word in each sentence.

1At the start of the story, Solomon was living in a free/slave state.

2James Burch was cruel/kind to Solomon.

3Eliza held her children in her arms, and cried angrily/desperatelyover them.

4In Washington, the slaves could not escape because they were in ropes/chains.

5Solomon escaped from Tibeats because he was a good swimmer/worker.

6When Edwin Eppswas hungry/drunk, he used his heaviest whip on his slaves.

7At the end of the day during picking-time, Epps weighed/hid his cotton boxes.

8Sometimes Epps wanted the slaves to dance/sing.

9On the sugar-cane plantation, Solomon had to hang/whip some of the other slaves.

10When Solomon saw his family, he told them about his twelve years of pain/luck.

20 marks

3Are these sentences true (T) or false(F)?

1___When Solomon went away, he thought that he was going to return home soon.

2___At that time, slavery was against the law in Louisiana.

3___Solomon told William Ford that he was a free man.

4___The Bayou Boeuf River had cotton and sugar plantations on each side of it.

5___Tibeats tried to kill Solomon.

6___Solomon did not earn any money when he worked on the cotton plantation.

7___Solomon stopped thinking about ways to escape.

8___Epps gave Patsey a terrible whipping.

9___Bass was a cruel man and a liar.

10___Mr. Parker got a letter from Bass.

20 marks

4Complete the text with the followingwords.

circus cotton farms free masters
pain slave timber violin wine

Solomon Northup liked to play his ______. One day, two men asked him to play in their ______shows, and Solomon agreed. In Washington, they gave Solomon a glass of ______, and soon he was in great ______. When he woke up, a man told him that now he was a ______.

Solomon worked on different ______for different ______. He cut ______and sugarcane, and he picked ______. After many years, two men came to say that he was______.

20 marks

5Put the events in order.

a___William Ford bought Solomon.

b___Solomon went to work on Epps’s farm.

c___Solomon went on a ship.

d___Solomon fought with Tibeats.

e___Solomon returned home.

f___Solomon met Brown and Hamilton.

g___Solomon told his story to a kind man.

h___Solomon went to work for Tibeats.

i___Solomon traveled to New York City andthen to Washington with Brown and Hamilton.

j___Solomon escaped through theswamps.

20 marks

Total marks

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OXFORD BOOKWORMS / COMPREHENSION TEST ANSWERS

Stage 2

Twelve Years a Slave

10d

1free

2cruel

3desperately

4chains

5swimmer

6drunk

7weighed

8dance

9whip

10pain

10T

Solomon Northup liked to play his violin. One day, two men asked him to play in their circus shows, and Solomon agreed. In Washington, they gave Solomon a glass of wine, and soon he was in great pain. When he woke up, a man told him that now he was a slave.

Solomon worked on different farms for different masters. He cut timberand sugarcane, and he picked cotton. After many years, two men came to say that he wasfree.

10e

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OXFORD BOOKWORMS / MULTIPLE-CHOICE TEST

Stage 2

Twelve Years a Slave

Setting

Choose the best answer.

1The story begins in _____.

a1741

b1801

c1841

d1901

2In New York State at that time, there were_____

asome white and some black slaves

bmany black slaves

ca few black slaves

dno slaves

3The town of Richmond was near _____

asome sugar-cane plantations

ba swamp

cthe sea

dSolomon’s house

4New Orleans is a city in _____.

aLouisiana

bGeorgia

cMississippi

dVirginia

5When people wanted to buy slaves, they sometimes _____.

agave the slaves some sugar

bgave the slaves some money for
theirfamilies

cweighed the slaves

dfelt the slaves’ arms and looked at their
eyes and teeth

6William Ford’s farm was next to the _____.

aPotomac River

bSnake River

cRed River

dGreen River

7All around the Bayou Boeuf River, there were _____.

aslave-cabins

bswamps full of alligators

cfields of corn

dmountains

8On the cotton farm near Marksville, there were_____ cotton-picking times every year.

afour

bsix

ceight

dten

9During a cotton-picking time, the slaves worked _____.

afrom first light to night-time

bthrough the night

cfor eight hours

dfor six hours

10On Edwin Epps’s farm at Christmas, the slaves always had _____.

adry bread and water

bbread and coffee

ccornbread and bacon

dmeat, vegetables, fruit, and sweets

20 marks

Characters

Choose the best answer.

11Solomon’s wife,Anne,worked as a _____.

ahotel manager

bcook

cteacher

dsinger

12Mr. Brown and Mr. Hamilton worked _____.

aon a farm

bfor a lawyer

cfor a circus

din the sheriff’s office

13James Burch was a _____.

aslave-trader

bslave-driver

cfarm manager

dsheriff

14James Burch did not want Solomon to _____.

abe a slave

bgo to New Orleans

ctalk about his life in New York

dhelp Eliza

15When Solomon was a slave, people called him _____.

aRandall

bRiver

cBrett

dPlatt

16The master who was always kind to his slaves was _____.

aWilliam Ford

bJohn Tibeats

cEdwin Epps

dTheophilus Freeman

17_____ was an angry little man, who often shouted.

aMr. Chapin

bJohn Tibeats

cArmsby

dMr. Parker

18Patsey was a cotton-picker, but she could also_____.

adrive horses and cut wood

bmend boats

cplay the violin

dmake clothes

19Bass thought that_____.

aEdwin Epps’s ideas were interesting

banimals were better than slaves

cslavery was wrong

deveryone needed slaves

20Henry Northup was _____.

athe sheriff

ba lawyer from Sandy Hill

cSolomon’s uncle

dSolomon’s son

20 marks

Dialogue

Who saidthis?

21“Will you come and play for us?”

aTheophilus Freeman

bMr. Hamilton

cJohn Tibeats

dMr. Parker

22“Never say again that you are a free man, orI will kill you!”

aJames Burch

bWilliam Ford

cEdwin Epps

dMr. Brown

23“Oh, my dear children, they’re going to take you from me, I know!”

aPatsey

bMrs. Ford

cEmily

dEliza

24“Don’t cry, Mama, I’ll be a good boy!”

aArmsby

bAlonzo

cRandall

dBass

25“This is Mrs. Ford’s farm and I am managerhere.”

aMr. Parker

bMr. Chapin

cSolomon Northup

dJohn Tibeats

26“Go to the slave cabin and have a goodmeal.”

aWilliam Ford

bJohn Tibeats

cEdwin Epps

dJames Burch

27“I hear that I have a slave who writes letters and asks white men to post them!”

aMrs. Epps

bEdwin Epps

cTheophilus Freeman

dArmsby

28“A white man and a black one are just thesame.”

aArmsby

bPatsey

cBass

dEliza

29“Will you write to my friends in Saratoga, and ask them to send free papers for me?”

aEliza

bPatsey

cRandall

dSolomon

30“Put down that bag– this is the end of your cotton-picking days.”

aWilliam Ford

bAlonzo

cMr. Brown

dHenry Northup

20 marks

Vocabulary

Choose the best answer.

31wood for building and making things

atimber

bstick

ctree

dcotton

32a person in a business, shop, farm, etc. who decides things and tells people what to do

asheriff

blawyer

cmanager

dslave

33a show that moves from place to place, with people and animals who dance, jump, and do many clever things

aparty

bcircus

cfarm

dadventure

34a long, thin piece of leather or rope for hitting people or animals

awhip

bblanket

cgun

dwheel

35an animal (often dangerous) with a long, thin body and no legs

asnake

balligator

chorse

ddog

36a big piece of land to grow tea, sugar, cotton, etc.

aswamp

bcabin

cfarmhouse

dplantation

37a small, thin piece of metal which you hit into wood to hold things together

astone

bnail

cfork

dkey

38an alcoholic drink

acoffee

btea

cwine

dmilk

39to use a machine to see how heavy somebody or something is

aweigh

bhold

cpush

dknock

40to take a flower, fruit, etc. from the ground or from a tree

atie

bhang

cpick

dplant

20 marks

Plot

Choose the best answer.

41Solomon met Mr. Brown and Mr. Hamilton when he was _____.

aat a hotel

bin town, looking for work

cworking on a farm

dplaying his violin outside a restaurant

42Solomon went to Washington because _____.

ahis wife’s family lived there

bhe thought that he was going to earn lots
of money there

che needed to buy a new violin there

dhe wanted to find out what it was like

43After dinner one evening, Solomon felt very sick, and when he woke up, _____.

ahe was on a boat

ba man was pulling him along with a rope

che could not speak

dthere were heavy chains on his hands
and feet

44Solomon lived in a slave-house for about two weeks, and then he_____.

awent on a ship to Louisiana

bescaped with two other slaves on a raft

ctraveled in a wagon to Georgia

dwent to see a doctor

45William worked for Mr. and Mrs. Ford on their farms, and on the _____ plantation at Indian Creek.

acotton

bcorn

ctimber

dsugar-cane

46William had an idea to help Ford– he _____.

amade a strong wagon for boxes of cotton

bmade a raft to carry timber on the river

ctiedthe sugarcane with ropes

dburned the bad plants next to the
cornfields

47Solomon had a fight with John Tibeats about some nails, so _____.

aTibeats and his men tried to hang
Solomon with arope

bSolomon didn’t get any meals for a week

cSolomon went to prison

dthe two men did not speak anymore

48Solomon went to work for Edwin Epps, and after a few years, he _____.

abegan growing cotton for himself

bwas earning lots of money

cbecame sick and stopped working

dbecame a slave-driver

49Solomon wrote a letter to one of his friends and _____.

atook it to the mail office

bgave it to Edwin Epps

casked Armsby to post it for him

dhid it in a box of cotton

50Solomon told Bass about his life and his hopes, _____.

abut Bass whipped Solomon

bso Bass fetched free papers for him

cand finally, two men came to rescue him

dbut Bass told him to forget all about it

20 marks

Total marks

1© OXFORD UNIVERSITY PRESS PHOTOCOPIABLE

OXFORD BOOKWORMS / MULTIPLE-CHOICE TEST ANSWERS

Stage 2

Twelve Years a Slave

Setting

10d

Characters

11b

12c

13a

14c

15d

16a

17b

18a

19c

20b

Dialogue

21b

22a

23d

24c

25b

26a

27b

28c

29d

30d

Vocabulary

31a

32c

33b

34a

35a

36d

37b

38c

39a

40c

Plot

41b

42b

43d

44a

45c

46b

47a

48d

49c

50c

OXFORD BOOKWORMS / BOOK ACTIVITY ANSWERS

Stage2

Twelve Years a Slave

BEYOND THE STORY

READ & RESEARCH Read ‘Beyond the Story’ and research the answers to these questions.

Students’ own answers

ACTIVITIES

Think Ahead

1Read about the story on the back cover. How much do you know now about the story? Check the truesentences.

Sentences 1, 4, and 5 are true.

2What is going to happen in the story? Can youguess?

Students’ own answers (sentence1 is true)

3RESEARCH Before you read, find the answers to thesequestions.

Students’ own answers

Chapter Check

CHAPTER 1 Complete the sentences with the places below. There is one extraname.

1Saratoga

2New York State

3Washington

4New York City

CHAPTER 2 Are the sentences true orfalse?

1true

2true

3false

4false

5false

CHAPTER 3 Put the events in order.

CHAPTER 4 Match the quotes with the people who say or think them in thechapter.

1Eliza

2Tibeats

3Solomon

4Tibeats’ friend

5Chapin

CHAPTER 5 Correct the underlinedwords.

1dogs

2swim

3morning

4kindly

CHAPTER 6 Answer the questions about a slave’s life on a cottonfarm.

1They had to plant cotton.

2They had to pick cotton.

3They had to get up an hour before daylight.

4They had a very small piece of cold bacon and cornbread.

5They slept on a piece of wood, with ablanket.

CHAPTER 7 Match the sentencehalves.

CHAPTER 8 Complete the sentences with the names of people in the story. You will need to use some of the names more thanonce.

1Patsey; Mrs. Shaw

2Mr. Epps; Patsey

3Mr. Epps; Mr. Shaw

4Mr. Epps; Solomon; Patsey

CHAPTER 9 Choose the correct words to complete thesentences.

1white

2wrong

3surprises

4a lot of

5writes

6long

7sick

CHAPTER 10 Check the true sentences.

Sentences 2, 5, and 8 are true.

Focus on Vocabulary

1Complete the sentences with the correctwords.

1violin

2blanket

3master

4wagons

5swamps

6weigh

2Replace the underlined words with the wordsbelow.

1cabin

2raft

3scoundrel

4cruel

5rescue

6sheriff

Focus on Language

1Complete the questions with the correctendings.

1isn’t it

2aren’t you

3isn’t he

4wasn’t he

5haven’t you

6won’t you

2 DECODE Read this text from the story and underline all the personal pronouns (I/me, we/us,etc.).

Mr. Northup took my arm, and we walked up to Epps’shouse with the sheriff. Epps was waiting for us, andwhen he saw Mr. Northup’s papers, he was very angry.

“Who wrote and posted that letter for you?” he shouted atme.

“Perhaps I wrote it myself,”I replied.

“I’ll kill the man who helped you!” heshouted.

3DECODE Who does each pronoun stand for in exercise1?

my=Solomon

we=Mr. Northup and Solomon

us=Mr. Northup and Solomon

he=Epps

you=Solomon

he=Epps

me=Solomon

I=Solomon

I=Epps

you=Solomon

he=Epps

Discussion

1 THINK CRITICALLY Read the sentences. Do you agree with them? Why/Why not? Use the words below to discuss with apartner.

Students’ own answers

2 COMMUNICATE Talk about these questions with your partner. Use the underlined words in exercise1.

Students’ own answers

3Choose a passage (a paragraph, or just one or two sentences) from the story. Complete the sentence below, and choose the bestwords.

Students’ own answers

4 COMMUNICATE Take turns to read your passage to a partner and ask questions aboutit.

Students’ own answers

Project

1Read this profile of the slave FrederickDouglass.

2Match the headings with the correct paragraphs.

AEarly Life

BFighting His Master

CEscape

DFamily Life

EFighting Slavery

FDeath

3Read the text again and write questions for theanswers.