ESCOLA EB2,3 FREI BARTOLOMEU DOS MRTIRES English worksheet-Short Story: The Blue Diamond

SIR ARTHUR CONAN DOYLE Writer Doyle was born in Scotland and studied medicine there, eventually serving as a physician in the Boer War (1899-1902). But his fame rests on his creation of the fictional detective Sherlock Holmes. Doyle published his first Holmes tale, A Study in Scarlet, in 1887. Over the following 40 years he published 56 short stories and four novels featuring Holmes and his best friend, Dr. Watson. Late in life Doyle became closely interested in mysticism and wrote the 1926 book A History of Spiritualism. Extra credit: Doyle was knighted in 1903 for his services to the crown, including his authorship of the 1902 pamphlet The War in South Africa... Doyle and Dr. Watson have much in common: both are medical doctors, both are writers, and both served in the British Army... According to his New York Times obituary, Doyle was married to the former Louise Hawkins from 1885 until her death in 1906. He was married again to the former Jean Leckie from 1907 until his own death in 1930. Doyle had two children with his first wife, three with his second. A- Read the text about Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and answer say if the sentences are TRUE or FALSE. Correct the false ones. 1- Sir Arthur Conan Doyle was a detective. _________________________________________________________________________________ 2- He wrote several stories about Sherlock Holmes. _________________________________________________________________________________ 3- Sherlock Holmes was a detective. _________________________________________________________________________________ 4- Dr Watson was also a detective. _________________________________________________________________________________ 5- Dr Watson was Holmes best friend. _________________________________________________________________________________ 6- Sir Arthur Conan Doyle served in the British army. _________________________________________________________________________________ 7- He was never married. _________________________________________________________________________________ B- Watch the film carefully and say if the sentences are TRE or FALSE. Correct the false ones. 1- Mr Peterson is a detective. ________________________________________________________ 2- He visits Holmes to ask him for his help. _____________________________________________ 3- He tells him about a man who lost his goose and hat when attacked by some other men. _______ 4- Holmes wants to keep both the goose and the hat. _____________________________________ C- Answer the questions: 1- Who does the jewel belong to? _________________________________________________________________________________ 2- What happened to it? _________________________________________________________________________________ 3- Who do they arrest for the robbery of the diamond? _________________________________________________________________________________ 4- Who are the main characters of the story? _________________________________________________________________________________ 5- What did Mr Petersons wife find inside the goose? _________________________________________________________________________________ 6- Where do they go first looking for clues to solve the case? _________________________________________________________________________________ 7- Where do the owner of the bar tells them he had bought the goose? _________________________________________________________________________________ 8- Who is Mr Ryder. _________________________________________________________________________________ 9- What did he do? _________________________________________________________________________________ 10- Where did he hide the diamond? Why? _________________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________________

THE ADVENTURE OF THE BLUE CARBUNCLE Author: Arthur Conan Doyle Released: 1892 Series The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes Client(s): None Set in: Unknown Villain(s): James Ryder Summary The plot revolves around a precious blue carbuncle (a garnet which can come in a variety of colours but never blue) going missing. Suspicion falls on a plumber, John Horner, who was seemingly the only person in the suite occupied by the Countess of Morcar when her precious gem was stolen. Moreover, Horner has a previous conviction for robbery. He is arrested and seems destined for seven years of penal servitude. Watson visits Holmes at Christmastime and finds him contemplating a battered old hat, brought to him by doorman Peterson and a Christmas goose that had been dropped by a man in a scuffle with some street ruffians. Peterson takes the goose home to eat it, but comes back later with the carbuncle. His wife has found it in the bird's crop. Holmes cannot resist a good mystery, and he and Watson set out across the city to determine exactly how the stolen jewel wound end up in a goose's crop. The man who dropped the goose clearly has no knowledge of the crime, but he gives Holmes valuable information, eventually leading him to the conclusive stage of his investigation, at Covent Garden. There, a salesman gets rather angry at Holmes, complaining about all the people who have pestered him about geese lately. Clearly, someone else knows that the carbuncle is in a goose and is looking for the bird. Holmes expects that he will have to visit the goose supplier in Brixton, but it will not be necessary: The other "pesterer" that the salesman mentioned shows up right then, a cringing little man whom Holmes prevails upon to tell the whole sordid story. Of course, Holmes has already deduced most of it. The thief fed the carbuncle to a goose to hide it, so paranoid was he that everyone was out to lay bare his crime. He was to have one of the geese as a gift, but after feeding one goose the jewel, he apparently lost track of which one it was. He and a confederate also contrived to frame John Horner for the theft. Holmes, however, does not take the standard action against the man, it being Christmas. CHAPTER 1- An Old Hat Dr Watson visits Holmes at his house- 221B Backer Street two days after Christmas and sees him studying an old hat. It had been bought by Mr Peterson, the doorman at Backer Street hotel. He had also bough Holmes a dead goose. Holmes kept the hat but told Peterson to eat the bird. Both the goose and the bird belonged to a tall man- Mr Henry Baker, who lot them when attacked by some young men. As he broke a window while defending himself, he ran away when Peterson tried to help him. Suddenly, Mr Peterson comes into the room with a blue diamond in the hand. It was inside the bird. Questions: 1- Where does Holmes live? ______________________________________________________________________________ 2- What does Mr Peterson bring him? ______________________________________________________________________________ 3- What did Mr Petersons wife find inside the bird? ______________________________________________________________________________

CHAPTER 2- The Blue Diamond Holmes tells Peterson that the blue diamond belongs to the countess of Morcar. It had been stolen the week before. The countess is offering a reward of 1,000 to the one who returns it to her. Holmes also says that, according to the news, a man called John Horner had already been arrested accused of its robbery.

Holmes decides to put an advertisement on the paper asking Mr Henry Baker to go to his house in order to get his goose and his hat back. Holmes wants to ask him some questions about the origins of the goose. True/false. 1- The blue diamond belongs to Holmes. 2- John Horner was arrested for stealing the diamond. 3- Holmes wants to talk to Mr Henry Backer. CHAPTER 3 Mr Henry Baker Mr Henry Baker goes to Holmes house. Holmes asks him why he didnt put an add in the newspaper asking about his hat and goose. He replies he didnt have money to do that. Holmes tells him they had eaten his goose but they have boughrt a new one for him. He also asks him if he is interested in the other gooses remain. He replies he isnt. he only wants to take the new goose home. Holmes asks him where he had got the goose and he answers he had taken it from The Alpha Caf , near the British Museum. He leaves. Holmes and Watson decide to pay a visit to Mr Windigate, the owner of the caf to ask him about the goose. Complete: 1- Mr Henry Baker visits Holmes to ________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ 2- He tells Holmes he got the goose from ___________________________________________

CHAPTER 4- To Mr Breckinridges Holmes and Watson go to the Alpha Caf and ask Mr Windigate about his geese. He tells the geese were not his. He had bought them from a shop in Convent Garden Mr Breckinridges. They go there but Mr Breckinridge tells then he has no more geese. When Holmes asks him where he had bought them, he goes mad and refuses to answer. He says he is tired of so many people asking him about the geese. Holmes tries to persuade him telling him he had bet with Watson 5 pounds that the geese were from the country. Mr Breckinridge tells him he is wrong and shows him his books. The geese had been bought from Mrs Oakshott, 117 Brixton Road, ner 249. Complete: 1- Mr Windigate tells Holmes he bought the birds from _________________________________ 2- Holmes and Watson decide to visit __________________ who tells them he bought the geese from _____________________________.

CHAPTER 5- a Weak Little Man When they leave Mr Breckinridges shop in order to visit Mrs Oackshotts they hear him shouting with a weak little man who was asking him about the geese. They decide to talk to the man. Holmes stopped the man, and after explaining him he had heard his conversation with Mr Breckinridge, he tells him he has all the information he wants. He asks him to accompany them to his house. He asks the Little mans name and he tells them his name is James Ryder. Holmes recognizes him as the Cosmopolitan Assistant Manager. Questions: 1- Who do they find arguing with Mr Breckinridge? ______________________________________________________________________________

CHAPTER 6 One or two Questions When they arrive to Holmes house, he tells the man the goose he wants was there and that he had the blue diamond. The man went pale and the detective offered him a drink. He asked the man how he had known about the diamond and he answered he had been informed about it by Catherine Cussack, the Countess maid. Holmes adds that they had told Mr Horner to go to the hotel to fix a widow and then had accused him of stealing the diamond. Mr Ryder apologizes and asks Holmes not to tell the police he had stolen the diamond. Holmes asks him how the diamond had come into the goose and he explains that, as the police were at the hotel, he was afraid they would find it, so he decided to visit his sister, Mrs Oackshott. While he was there, he saw the geese and decides to hide the diamond inside one of them. As his sister had promised him a goose for Christmas, he would take it home and would recover the diamond later on. But when he opened the bird, he didnt find the stone. He returned to his sisters home and she told him there were two birds with black tails. Since then, he had been looking for the other goose. Holmes decides to let him go because it is Christmas. Questions: 1- Who told Mr Ryder about the goose? ______________________________________________________________________________

2- Why did he hide the diamond inside the goose? ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________