Study & Practice – Easy

 Old Arthur

Everyone knows him as Old Arthur. He lives in a little hut in the middle of a small wood, about a mile from the village. He visits the village store twice a week to buy food and paraffin, and occasionally he collects letters and his pensions from the post office. A few weeks ago, a reporter from the local newspaper interview him. This is what he said:

I get up every morning with the birds. There is a stream near my hut and I fetch water from there. It´s good, clear, fresh water, better than you get in the city. Occasionally, in the winter, I have to break the ice. I cook simple food on my old paraffin stove; mostly stews and things like that. Sometimes I go to the pub and have a drink, but I don´t see many people. I don´t feel lonely. I know this wood very well, you see. I know all the little birds and animals that live here and they know me. I don´t have much money, but I don´t need much. I think I´m a lucky man.

A. Oral questions

1. Where does Old Arthur live?
2. Who interviewed him recently?
3. How far is it to the village?
4. How often does Arthur go into the village?
5. What does he buy from the village store?
6. What does he collect from the post office?
7. Where does he get his water?
8. What does he say about the water in the stream?
9. What sort of thing does Arthur cook?
10. What does he cook on?

B. Note these questions and answers:

Is he married?   –   No, he isn´t

Is he quite poor?   –   Yes, he is.

Does he have a job?   –   No, he doesn´t.

Does he sometimes go to the pub?   –   Yes, he does.

Give short answers to the following questions:

1. Is Arthur quite old?
2. Is he a lonely man?
3. Is the store in the village?
4. Is the water in the stream clean?
5. Does Old Arthur see many people?
6. Does he get water from a tap?
7. Does he like the birds and animals in the wood?
8. Does the stream sometimes freeze in winter?
9. Does Arthur cook on a electric stove?
10. Does he get his pension from the post office?

C. Imagine that you are interviewing Old Arthur. He gives these answers to your questions. What were the questions you asked him?

1. In a little hut in the wood.
2. At the village store.
3. On my old paraffin stove.
4. Yes, I go there occasionally for a drink.
5. From the stream.
6. No, I never feel lonely.
7. Not much, my eyes aren´t too good.
8. No, I haven´t got a radio.
9. No, I was an only child, and my parents died when I was quite young.
10. No, I don´t believe in doctors.

D. Note this pattern:

He only see a few people.   –   not/many people   –   He doesn´t see many people.

 Make up more negative statements

1. He only visits the village store twice a week.   –   not/every day
2. He only breaks the ice on the water occasionally.   –   not/often
3. He only collects his letters from the post office once a month.   –   not/every week
4. He cooks on a paraffin stove.   –   not/a gas stove
5. He lives in a hut in the wood.   –   not/an ordinary house
6. He gets his water from the stream.   –   not/a tap.
7. There is no television in his hat.   –   not/television
8. There is no radio in his hut.   –   not/radio
9. He usually feels quite cheerful.   –   not/miserable
10. He only has one cooking pot.   –   not/complicated meals