Before you read PET @ Listen to chapter Two. e@ Choose the correct picture and put a tick (/) in the box below it. 1 What kind of animal did Dr Mortimer think he saw among the trees? [| c 2 How high is the Yew hedge? Bl | c 3 When is Holmes going to meet Sir Henry? § 4 What did Holmes do to help him prepare to think? ff / [al] [Bl c |ything that the newspaper did not say.’ ‘I'm a man of science,’ Dr Mortimer said, ‘and there are things | cannot believe. Besides, | did not want to tell a story that would frighten the new heir! to Baskerville Hall. That is why I said nothing to the newspaper reporters. But | will tell you everything, Mr Holmes.’ ‘Sir Charles was very frightened about something. He believed the stories about the Hound of the Baskervilles. He always asked 1. heir: person who owns a property when someone dies. 1sThe Death of Sir Charles Baskerville i? me questions about it. He said that he heard strange noises at night. He never went out of the house when it was dark, except to walk a little way along the Yew Alley. One night, about three weeks before he died, | found him standing outside the house. He was shaking with terror. ! He said there was an animal among the trees. | looked and saw an animal there. | thought it was a small cow. | tried to find it but it disappeared. When | came back to the Hall Sir Charles was still very anxious. I stayed with him that night. It was then that he gave me the papers about the family history.’ ‘Barrymore found Sir Charles's body. He said that the only footprints near Sir Charles’s body were Sir Charles's, but he was wrong. | found some other footprints near the body.” ‘A man or a woman?’ Sherlock Holmes asked excitedly. ‘a hound,’ the doctor replied quietly, ‘a large hound. They were quite clear.’ 2 Sherlock Holmes was very attentive now. ‘No one else saw the hound footprints,’ he commented. ‘Why was that, do you think?’ ‘The hound prints were not very close to Sir Charles's body,’ Dr Mortimer explained. ‘I was the only person who examined the area carefully.’ ‘What about a sheep dog?’ asked Sherlock Holmes. ‘Sheep dogs do not have such big prints,’ the doctor told him. ‘And the prints were not very close to the body?’ asked Sherlock Holmes. ‘No, they were about twenty yards from Sir Charles.’ ‘Tell me about the Yew Alley,’ Sherlock Holmes said to the doctor. 1. shaking with terror: moving from side to side in fear. 2. quite clear : easily visible. 19Sao The Hound of the Baskervilles ‘There are two yew hedges,'! Dr Mortimer explained. ‘The hedges are about nine feet? high. There is a path between the two hedges. The path has grass at the sides, and there is gravel ? in the middle.’ ‘And the gate? Where is the gate?’ ‘The gate is in one of the hedges,’ the doctor told him. ‘Is it possible to reach the moor by any other way?’ Sherlock Holmes wanted to know, ‘No, you have to go through the gate to reach the moors.’ ‘I see,’ said Sherlock Holmes thoughtfully. ‘Then you can only enter Yew Alley through the house or through the gate. Is that right?’ ‘No,’ the doctor corrected him. ‘There is a summerhouse ¢ at the end of the Alley. You can leave the Alley that way.’ ‘Did Sir Charles reach the summerhouse, Dr Mortimer?’ ‘We found his body about fifty yards 5 away from the summerhouse,’ the doctor confirmed. ‘And now the footprints,’ Sherlock Holmes said. ‘You say that these were on the path, and not on the grass. Is that right?’ ‘That's right. They were on the same side of the path as the gate that opens onto the moor.’ ‘Very interesting,’ Sherlock Holmes said softly. ‘What about the gate itself? Was it open or closed?’ ‘It was closed and locked,’ Dr Mortimer informed him. nine feet : about 3 metres. gravel: very small stones used to make paths. summerhouse : small construction ina garden, made of wood or glass. geen fifty yards : about 46 metres. 22The Death of Sir Charles Baskerville ‘Is it a tall. gate?’ Sherlock Holmes wanted to know. ‘No,’ said the doctor. ‘A man could easily jump over it.” ‘Tell me more about Sir Charles's footprints, please.’ ‘| think Sir Charles stood near the gate for some time,’ Dr Mortimer said. ‘His footprints were everywhere there. There was also cigar ash! near the gate.’ ‘You're a good observer!’ Sherlock Holmes complimented him pleasantly. ‘But why didn’t you come and talk to me at once?’ he asked. The doctor was embarrassed for a moment. ‘People are saying strange things,’ he began. ‘Several people say they have seen a huge animal on the moor. They say it is very large and that it has a strange light. These are sensible, ordinary people, Mr Holmes. | believe they are telling the truth. I didn’t know what to do!’ ‘But you're a man of science!’ Sherlock Holmes cried. ‘You can’t believe in these supernatural stories, surely?’ ‘| don’t know what I believe,’ the doctor admitted quietly. ‘All | know is this. The hound that killed Sir Hugo in 1640 was a supernatural beast.’ ‘If you think Sir Charles died because of a supernatural beast, then a detective certainly can’t help you!’ Holmes said acidly.? ‘Perhaps you can’t,’ Dr Mortimer replied. ‘But you can give me some advice, Mr Holmes. Sir Henry Baskerville arrives in London today. | want to protect him.’ ‘why can’t he go to Baskerville Hall?’ asked Holmes. ‘It’s too dangerous for the Baskervilles to be at the Hall!’ Dr Mortimer cried desperately. 1. ash: burnt material from a cigar or cigarette. 2. acidly: sarcastically.fst The Hound of the Baskervilles ‘Very well,’ Holmes told him. ‘Go and meet Sir Henry. Bring him to me here tomorrow morning at ten o'clock.’ Mortimer left the flat. Holmes and | spent the day apart. When we met later, he asked me a couple of questions about the case. ‘Why do you think Sir Charles’s footprints changed in the Yew Alley, Watson? Dr Mortimer said they were complete at the beginning of the Alley but he could only see the toes at the end.’ ‘What do you think, Holmes?’ | replied. ‘sir Charles did not walk down the Alley on his toes,’ Holmes said decisively. ‘He ran. He was frightened. He ran away from something. That's why Dr Mortimer only saw the toe-prints on the path.’ He was silent for a moment. ‘There's another question,’ he went on. ‘Sir Charles was near the gate in the Yew Alley. Why did he wait there? Who was he waiting for, 1 wonder?’ 1 looked at my friend Holmes. He seemed pleased. He was always pleased when a case was difficult. He enjoyed thinking. Now he lit his pipe and prepared to think out the problem of the Hound of the Baskervilles. 24Go back to the text If it is not correct, mark B. 1 Sir Charles believed that there was a huge, supernatural dog on the moors. 2. Sir Charles often went out at night to walk across the moors. 3 Barrymore found a woman’s footprints near Sir Charles body. There are three entrances to the Yew Alley. 5 DrMortimer thinks that Sir Charles walked to the gate and then left it immediately. 6 Dr Mortimer believes the stories about the huge hound on the moors. 7 Sir Charles walked on his toes to get away from something that frightened him. Now correct the incorrect statements. © But you're a man of science! a. Complete this table about the hound. ° Decide if each statement is correct or incorrect. If itis correct, mark A. A B ~] The hound in legend When it was first seen 1640 What it did when it was first seen The hound today Who has seen or heard it How it is described Role in the death of Sir Charles b. What do you think? Does any of the information you have collected about the hound make you think it really exits? 25‘But you can give me some advice’ Countable nouns are nouns that we can make plural and can count. A horse — Two horses A table — Three tables Uncountable nouns cannot be made plural and are not used with aor an. = The names of substances are usually uncountable in English. For example, milk, coffee, wood, bread, toothpaste, soap and ice. = There are also many uncountable nouns in English that are not always uncountable in other languages. For example: Work is uncountable but job is countable: - Courtney is looking for work. (Uncountable) - Courtney is looking for a job. (Countable) Uncountable nouns can be preceded by a lot of, a bit of, no, some and any. I don't have any luggage. She has no information about the trains to Amsterdam. Se Fill in the gaps with a suitable uncountable noun from the box, rubbish advice news progress information traffic hair a. Karen: How's your Chinese class going? Donna: Well, 1am making some ..2°@9°@8é..... Now, | can understand simple conversations. b. Peter: Have you heard the .. about Jamie? Jane: No, | haven't. Peter: She is marrying a man from Dundee. c. Let me give you some... .. about our boss. Never argue with him. d. | looked on the Internet for some ... ... about whales. e. Karim: Why is there .. ... in front of the house? Nicole: The neighbours had a party last night, and they haven't cleaned up yet. f. My girlfriend has short, red .. g- When there is not a lot of ... .. [can drive to work in less than twenty minutes.ET © Sherlock Holmes now has a lot of information about this case. Talk together with a partner about some things he may need to help him solve the mystery. Decide which are the most important. (Use your dictionary to help you.) Here is a picture with some ideas to help you. 27e Before you read @ Listen to the beginning of Chapter Three. For each question, put a tick (V) in the correct box. 1 What time did Dr Mortimer and Sir Henry Baskerville arrive at Holmes'’s flat? a1 B c eleven o'clock (J nine o'clock [_] ten o'clock 2 What was Sir Henry like? an BAe ce || He was a tall, strong-looking man. He was a small, strong-looking man. He was a small, weak-looking man. 3 The letter said that Sir Henry's life was in danger in London. on the moors. in America. 4 What did Sir Henry lose in the hotel? AL] B c | ashoe his wallet some luggage 5 The passenger in the taxi had a black beard. ared beard. [-] alarge black moustache.