Les Misérables: Victor Hugo

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READING AND TRAINING WEB

Step Three

Victor Hugo

Les Misérables
B1.2

K E Y S

About the author Page 16 – exercise 1


Page 6 – exercise 1 1C 2B 3A 4D 5A
1 Chateaubriand was a famous French Page 16 – exercise 2
Romantic writer of the early 19 th 1 no one
century, and he was a great 2 because
inspiration for young Victor Hugo. 3 nothing
2 It was a journal in which Victor 4 the only person
Hugo published his poems and also 5 as old as
the works of his friends. 6 few
3 Victor Hugo was concerned with the 7 was popular
social and political problems of his
time. The Bagne of Toulon
4 In Les Misérables Victor Hugo Page 19 – exercise 1
describes the social injustices in
France between 1815 and 1832. 1 It was located in the seaport of
5 It has inspired films, musicals and Toulon, in the south of France.
plays. 2 King Louis XV created the bagne in
6 On Victor Hugo’s 80th birthday the 1748.
street on which he lived was renamed 3 French convicts who had previously
in his honour: Avenue Victor Hugo. been sent to the galleys.
7 He had a hero’s funeral and was 4 Prisoners on the galleys rowed long
buried in the Pantheon in Paris. hours in very bad conditions.
5 New prisons were built because the
galleys had become obsolete.
CHAPTER ONE 6 Prisoners did construction work
and also worked for big factories near
Before you read the port.
Page 7 – exercise 1 7 Their living conditions were very
difficult because they worked long
1C 2A 3B 4C 5B
hours in dangerous jobs and Sunday

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k e y t o t h e a c t i v i t i e s

was their only free day. Their diet was Page 26 – exercise 2
also very poor. 1 beautiful
8 Green caps were for the prisoners 2 rich
sentenced to life imprisonment, and 3 kind
red caps were for all the others. 4 heavy
5 weak
CHAPTER TWO 6 build
7 dangerous
Before you read 8 greedy
9 unattractive
Page 20 – exercise 1
10 dirty
1B 2A 3B 4B 5B 6B
Page 27 – exercise 3
Page 26 – exercise 1
1 My sister used to collect stamps.
1 Fantine was thin, pale, had blue eyes 2 Robert used to design clothes.
and wore a cap over her beautiful 3 Brad used to rob banks.
blonde hair. 4 I used to play volleyball in high
2 Mrs Thénardier was the manager of school.
the inn, together with her husband.
3 Fantine left Paris because she was Page 28 – exercise 5A
looking for work in Montreuil. 1 convent
4 Fantine asked Mrs Thénardier to 2 desperate
look after her daughter. 3 greedy
5 Mr Thénardier wanted a lot of 4 dismissed
money to look after the little girl. 5 revenge
6 The Thénardiers treated Cosette Page 28 – exercise 5B
very poorly.
7 Mr Madeleine was the owner of a 1 greedy
glass factory that employed many 2 revenge
workers. He was also the mayor of 3 desperate
the town of Montreuil. 4 convent
8 Fauchelevent had a bad accident 5 dismissed
and Mr Madeleine saved his life. Page 29 – exercise 7
9 Mr Javert did not like Mr Madeleine 1C 2C 3B 4C
because he was convinced that he
had already seen him in the past, and
that he was a criminal. CHAPTER THREE
10 She lost her job at the factory
because some of the other workers Before you read
discovered her secret. Page 30 – exercise 1
11 She became ill because she ate very
1A 2A 3C 4A 5C
little and didn’t buy wood to warm her
house, since she had to save money Page 38 – exercise 1
and send it to the greedy Thénardiers. 1C 2C 3A 4B 5C
12 Fantine sold her beautiful long hair,
her teeth and then herself.

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k e y t o t h e a c t i v i t i e s

Page 39 – exercise 2 3 Harry, who speaks French perfectly,


1 If Bill were a doctor, he would help was our travel guide this summer.
sick people. 4 Sue and Rob, who were bored at
2 If Susan had a pony, she would go home, wanted to go on holiday.
riding every weekend. 5 Pat’s Pizza Place, where we ate last
3 If Alex were an astronaut, he would night, makes the best pizza.
go to Mars. 6 The science museum, where we met
4 If Lizzie were a famous actress, she Sally last week, is open only on
would work in Hollywood. weekends.
5 If Charlie knew Karen’s number, he Page 50 – exercise 3
would phone her. Across
Page 40 – exercise 3 3 convent 5 bucket 7 revenge
1 for 2 since 3 since 4 for 5 for 8 dismiss 10 bishop
6 since 7 since 8 for 9 since 10 for Down
1 Devil 2 stable 3 candlestick
Page 41 – exercise 6 4 witness 7 rags 8 doll 9 Mayor
1 daughter – the three remaining
words are names of jobs or Paris at the time of King
professions Louis-Philippe
2 convent – the other three words
are profit-making entities Page 55 – exercise 1
3 silver – the other three words are 1 The centre of the city was very
not a metal crowded. It was a maze of narrow,
4 bishop – the other three words winding streets and old buildings
have nothing to do with religion from earlier centuries. It was a dark,
5 plain – the other three words are unhealthy and often dangerous place.
the opposite of plain 2 Very busy and also very dirty.
3 Water from the Rivers Saine was
distributed by people carrying
CHAPTER FOUR buckets from a pole on their
shoulders.
Before you read 4 He was a government official, and
Page 42 – exercise 1 tried to improve living conditions in
1A 2B 3C 4C 5A the centre of the city.
5 19 km
Page 48 – exercise 1 6 The middle and upper classes could
1A 2C 3A 4B 5D 6B 7C 8A now afford to travel quickly and
9 C 10 D 11 A 12 B comfortably to other parts of the
Page 49 – exercise 2 country. Communications,
transportation and trade greatly
1 My grandmother, who is 90 years improved during this time.
old, gave me this new watch. 7 With violent riots
2 Six Flags Magic Mountain, where
there are 19 roller coasters, is my
favourite amusement park.

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k e y t o t h e a c t i v i t i e s

CHAPTER FIVE Haussmann and the


Before you read
renovation of Paris
Page 65 – exercise 1
Page 56 – exercise 1
1 Emperor Napoleon III asked
1C 2A 3B 4C 5B
Haussmann to renovate Paris and
Page 62 – exercise 1 make it a more modern city.
1 Jean Valjean had promised Fantine 2 It needed to be renovated because
that he would fetch Cosette. many neighbourhoods were crowded
2 He lived in an old building called and dirty and there was a big traffic
Gorbeau House. problem.
3 Cosette spent her days playing with 3 He built new, wide streets with tall
her doll, singing and laughing. trees and beautiful new buildings and
4 He didn’t go out during the day squares.
because he did not want anyone to 4 Transportation by train was
see him. becoming very popular and the city
5 They had to leave their home in needed new train stations.
Paris because Valjean discovered that 5 Many Parisians were against
Javert was nearby. Haussmann’s projects because they
6 Javert and his men followed Valjean upset their daily routine.
and Cosette during the night. 6 Open answer.
7 Valjean carried Cosette across a
bridge and then climbed a wall, which
was very difficult. On the other side CHAPTER SIX
of the wall they were safe.
Before you read
8 Fauchelevent, the gardener at the
Bernardine Convent, helped Valjean Page 66 – exercise 1
and Cosette find shelter. 1C 2B 3C 4B 5A
9 He told her that Valjean was his
Page 76 – exercise 1
brother, Ultime.
10 They lived in the Bernardine 1E 2J 3G 4I 5A 6L 7D 8F
Convent because Valjean worked in 9 M 10 H 11 K
the garden and Cosette was educated Page 76 – exercise 2
there. It was a safe and comfortable
1 wrote, had met
place for them.
2 bought, had asked
Page 62 – exercise 2 3 had married, went
1 think 4 had studied, explored
2 have time 5 was, had had
3 planning to 6 chose, had seen
4 weren’t many 7 decided, had heard
5 aren’t allowed 8 knew, had spent
6 lent 9 had, had worked
10 arrested, had stolen
Page 63 – exercise 3
1C 2B 3C 4B

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k e y t o t h e a c t i v i t i e s

Page 77 – exercise 3 Page 91 – exercise 3


1 people 1 translated
2 Today 2 inspired
3 built 3 important
4 settlements 4 founders
5 army 5 masterpiece
6 town 6 influenced
7 centre 7 shocked
8 buildings 8 realism
9 capital 9 travelled
10 largest Page 92 – exercise 4
11 centre
TRACK 09
Beautiful gardens in Paris The Paris Opera House is also known as
the Garnier Palace, in honor of its
Page 81 – exercise 1 brilliant architect, Charles Garnier.
1 F – Marie de Medici wanted to build a Work on the new opera building began in
palace similar to the Pitti Palace in 1862 on the orders of Napoleon III. The
Paris. building was built in a mixture of
2T different architectural styles including
3 F – After the French Revolution the Renaissance, Baroque and Classical
gardens were restored to their styles. This splendid building is a symbol
original beauty. of the wealth and power of France during
4T the Second Empire. Although
5 F - The Bois de Vincennes is the construction work started in 1862, a war
largest park in Paris. in 1870 and a terrible fire in 1873 delayed
6T the work and the opera house did not
open until 1875.
The architectural plan of the Opera
CHAPTER SEVEN House was just one of the many projects
of Georges-Eugène Haussmann, who
Before you read
was responsible for rebuilding and
Page 89 – exercise 1 renovating much of central Paris. The
1C 2B 3D 4A 5B 6B French architect Charles Garnier was
chosen to design this important building.
Page 90 – exercise 2A It was a very ambitious project and the
1 desperate 2 dizzy 3 testify difficulties in building it were enormous.
4 barricade 5 bishop 6 rue A special underground lake had to be
7 quarreled 8 sous 9 misery created to make the foundations of the
10 prestigious building safe. This underground lake
Page 90 – exercise 2B plays an important role in the novel The
Phantom of the Opera, by Gaston Leroux,
1 bishop 2 dizzy 3 desperate
which is set in the Paris Opera House.
4 sous 5 quarreled 6 rue 7 testify
Gaston Leroux’s famous story has
8 misery 9 barricade 10 prestigious
inspired the famous musical, The
Phantom of the Opera, which has been a

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k e y t o t h e a c t i v i t i e s

great hit in London and New York City. CHAPTER NINE


The huge auditorium has five levels and
there are seats for 1,979 people; the stage Before you read
is the largest in all of Europe. Above the Page 107 – exercise 1
auditorium is an enormous dome which
1A 2C 3C 4B 5C
was decorated by the Russian-born
French painter Marc Chagall in 1964. The Page 116 – exercise 1
Paris Opera House is certainly one of the 1D 2A 3C 4B 5D 6A 7C 8A
most beautiful buildings in Paris. 9 D 10 B 11 C 12 A
1 B 2A 3B 4C 5B 6C
After reading

CHAPTER EIGHT Page 124 – exercise 1


Before you read A 4 B 7 C 5 D 8 E 12 F 10 G 3
H 2 I 6 J 11 K 1 L 9
Page 93 – exercise 1 A 4
1 political B 7
2 poor C 5
3 food D 8
4 living E 12
5 difficult F 10
6 people G 2
7 against H 1
8 people I 6
9 soldiers J 11
10 people K 3
Page 100 – exercise 1 L 9
1H 2N 3M 4J 5A 6B 7C 8E
9 K 10 L Page 125 – exercise 3

Romantic heroes in the 19 th


S C O W A T C H T H F R I È
century literature F N T S O M J A V E R T E P
O O E H R C E A M E A O I O
Page 106 – exercise 1 H X P I P È S R A T S R N N
1 In the 19 th century novels were the B A J E A N V A L J E A N I
most important kind of literature. I R T B R H A I D C V E T N
2 She ran away because the man she S C L E P F B R M B A A H E
loved was already married to a mad H K Y M V I O D E O L N É O
wife. O W R D M A R I U S L I N Z
3 He could never forget her and began P A A F A N T I N E P U A S
speaking to her ghost and doing other F Z S N B D C Y O R E X R D
strange things. C N M F R A D H O A E J D S
4 He is considered a Romantic hero F A U C H E L E V E N T I O
because he was rejected by society C A S F G A V R O C H E E S
and he lived in his own world, without C O S E T T E P O L R X R O
considering the rules of society.

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k e y t o t h e a c t i v i t i e s

Page 126 – exercise 4 4 Madeleine


Across 5 Éponine
4 Gavroche 7 Thénardier
6 Cosette 9 Enjolras
8 Fantine Page 127 – exercise 5
10 Jean Valjean 1F 2M 3H 4A 5B 6G 7C 8A
Down 9 G 10 E 11 I 12 L 13 K 14 I 15 J
1 bishop 16 D 17 C 19 I 20 C
2 Marius
3 Javert

k e y t o t h e e x i t t e s t

1 B – Jean Valjean had no place to 12 A


sleep because the innkeeper did not 13 A
want him. 14 B - Mr Jondrette was actually Mr
2 B – Jean Valjean stole silver knives Thénardier, who had become very
and forks from the bishop’s house. poor.
3A 15 A
4A 16 A
5 B – Javert had suspicions about Mr 17 B – Marius joined his friends
Madeleine’s past. during the battle.
6A 18 A
7 B – Mr Madeleine persuaded Javert 19 B – Mr Gillenormand looked after
not to arrest Fantine. Marius and allowed him to marry
8 B – Mr Madeleine went to the trial Cosette.
in Arras alone. 20 B – In the end, Jean Valjean told
9A Marius the truth about his past.
10 A 21 A
11 B – They had to leave Masure
Gorbeau because Javert found out
about them.

8 © 2016 Black Cat


EXIT TEST

Comprehension check
Read the sentences below and decide if each sentence is correct or
incorrect. If it is correct, mark A for YES. If it is not correct, mark B for
NO. Correct the incorrect sentences.
A B
1 Jean Valjean had no place to sleep because he didn’t have
enough money to pay the innkeeper.
2 Jean Valjean stole a silver candlestick from the bishop’s house.
3 Fantine asked the Thénardiers to look after her young daughter.
4 Mr Madeleine was the owner of a successful factory that
employed many of the people in Montreuil.
5 The police inspector, Javert, had a very high opinion of
Mr Madeleine and respected him.
6 Fantine never had enough money to send to the Thénardiers.
7 Javert wanted to arrest Fantine, but she escaped from the police.
8 Mr Madeleine and Javert went to the trial in Arras together.
9 Everyone was shocked by what happened at the trial in Arras.
10 Mr Madeleine took Cosette away from the greedy Thénardiers,
and together they left for Paris.
11 Jean Valjean and Cosette had to leave Gorbeau House because
the house was very old and dirty.
12 Cosette grew up in a convent.
13 Marius and Cosette first met at the Luxemboug Gardens and
fell in love.
14 Mr Jondrette was a kind old man.
15 Éponine took Marius to Cosette’s new home in Rue Plumet.
16 Marius was desperate because he could not marry Cosette.
17 Although Marius’s friends fought against the king’s soldiers,
Marius refused to fight.
18 Jean Valjean saved Marius’s life by carrying him through the
Paris sewers and taking him to Marius’s grandfather.
19 Mr Gillenormand looked after Marius for four months until he
got better, but he did not allow him to marry Cosette.
20 Jean Valjean never told anyone the truth about his past.
21 When Marius discovered that Jean Valjean had saved his life, he
and Cosette went to visit Valjean minutes before his death.

Photocopiable © 2016 Black Cat 9

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