Teacher Man - English Center

Answer keys

LEVEL 4

PENGUIN READERS Teacher Support Programme

Teacher Man Book key 1 a 30 years b in a hospital in Ireland c three d sixty-six 2 a principal, guidance counselor, monitor, lecturer, substitute (teacher) b vocational, doctorate, research, degree, (psychology) c ballpoint pen, spring, handkerchief, hot dog, shoelace 3 Open answers 4 a F b T c T d F e F f F g T h T i F j F 5 a Possible answers: proud – He is proud of surviving 30 years as a teacher. surprised – He is surprised when Angela’s Ashes becomes a best seller. guilty – He feels guilty because he doesn’t talk enough about teaching in his second book. imaginative – He is imaginative in the way he solves the sandwich situation. nervous – He is nervous when he is waiting for his first students. He is not confident (his terrible childhood has taken away his confidence), bored, or angry. 5b –7 Open answers 8 a 4 b 6 c 2 d 3 e 7 f 1 g 8 h 5 9 Possible answers a He blames both his parents for a lot of his unhappy childhood (his father was a drunk and left home; his mother told him that she tried to sell him) but he is probably angrier with his father. b He is probably grateful to him for warning him about the problems with teaching. c He loved her but is probably angry with her for having other boyfriends. d He is angry with her for almost ruining his first Open Day, but he probably also feels sorry for her. e He is upset by what she says, but he knows in his heart that she is right. f He is pleased with him because he is interested in the grammar of a sentence. g He doesn’t like him much because he criticizes his class. He is pleased with him because he is interested in the grammar of a sentence.

c Pearson Education Limited 2007

10 a A girl in his class is talking to Mr. McCourt about his mother trying to sell him. b An Italian-American boy’s father is telling his son that he wants him to do better in life than work on the docks. c Harry’s parents are telling Mr. McCourt how their son behaves differently at home. d An angry father is talking to his wife; Norma has criticized the mothers of America. e Paulie’s mother is advising Mr. McCourt to teach better. f McCourt is talking to his class. He is asking them to add meaning to a boring sentence which he has used. 11–12 Open answers 13 a 8 b 3 c 5 d 7 e 6 f 2 g 4 h 1 14 Possible answers: a He asks students to write excuse notes for Adam and Eve because his students forge excuse notes from their parents all the time. The lesson is very successful. b He asks Kevin Dunne to be classroom manager and to clean and organize the jars of paint because Kevin is very difficult to teach. This is very successful because it makes Kevin feel important. c He advises Freddie Bell to use clear, simple language in his writing. This is not successful because Freddie cannot understand why long words are wrong. d He wants to show his students how to use the college library for research. This is not successful because they don’t understand what research means. e He wants students to give their opinions. This is not successful because they don’t think that their opinions are important. 15 Possible answers: a The lesson on excuse notes b He embarrasses Freddie Bell. c Kevin’s death d teaching students about research 16 –17 Open answers 18 a has b lazy c sentence d a student e speaking f interesting 19 a Because McCourt has no career plans. b Because Hector refuses to open a magazine. c The use of a ballpoint pen to explain the grammar of a sentence. d His family are ashamed of him. He is ashamed of his mother. He has no friends. He has sexual problems.

Teacher Man - Answer keys

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Answer keys


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Teacher Man e His wife, Alberta. f Nancy Chu. g He understands their fears and confusions. h They are quiet and thoughtful. 20 –21 Open answers 22 a Serena’s sister stole meat from a store. b Mr. McCourt takes twenty-nine girls to a movie theater. c On the subway, Mr. McCourt wants to defend his students. d When the movie ends, the girls sit quietly. e He also takes the girls to see Hamlet. f After she goes to Georgia, Serena writes Maria a letter. g Serena wants to teach little kids. h Andrew is a lonely, pale, thin, red-haired boy. i Andrew’s mother used to be Mr. McCourt’s girlfriend. 23 Possible answers: angry – because of Andrew and the tilting chair grateful – because Maria talks to him on the way to the movie theater happy – because Maria says that Serena will write him surprised – because the students want to see Hamlet shocked – because he discovers that Andrew’s mother is his old girlfriend, June He is not excited in these chapters. 24 –25 Open answers 26 a no b no c yes d yes e no f yes g no h yes 27 a He is homesick and wants to go back to New York. b He was the Head of the Education Department at Fashion High School. c He doesn’t teach the right subjects and his students are bored. d He has to grade too much homework. e He has violent fights with his wife. f He thinks that students like them for the wrong reasons. g He doesn’t realize that Daniel’s father is very ill. 28 Possible answers: a No. But, he wants to stop teaching and live in the “real” world. b No. He grades Janice’s work but doesn’t give her advice about her problems because it might cause problems with her mother. c Yes. He refuses to go away with a student’s mother for the weekend because he would lose respect. c Pearson Education Limited 2007

29 Open answers 30 a Stanley b the Stuyvesant High School parents c Bob Stein d Ken e Ken’s professor at Stanford f Mr. McCourt g Guy Lind h Rachel Blaustein 31 a Stanley’s parents are separated and they fight over him. His father doesn’t want him to study the guitar. Bob wants to become a pig farmer, but his father is unhappy about it. Ken’s parents are angry because he didn’t want to go to Harvard. Guy Lind loses his eye in an accident and has to learn to walk again. Rachel Blaustein can’t write poems because she has no problems. b–d Open answers 32– 41 Open answers

Discussion activities key 1–29 Open answers

Activity worksheets key 1– 8 Open answers 9 Open day: a day when a school or an organization invites the public to come in and see the work that is done there. 10–12 Open answers 13 The Vietnam War: military conflict from 1959 to April 30, 1975. The conflict was a successful effort by the Democratic Republic of Vietnam (DRV or North Vietnam) and the indigenous National Front for the Liberation of South Vietnam, (also known as the Viê·t Cô·ng) to unify Vietnam as a communist state, defeating the South Vietnamese Republic of Vietnam (RVN). The U.S. and its Western allies supported the RVN, while the Soviet Union and the People’s Republic of China supported the DRV. Because of this, it is therefore often considered part of the Cold War. 14 Open answer 15 Suggested answers: a Students wrote excuse notes because they didn’t want their parents to know they hadn’t been to school. b The teacher copied the students’ excuse notes because they were written in excellent English. c The inspector liked Mr. McCourt’s idea because it got the students writing.

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Answer keys


LEVEL 4

Teacher Man

d Kevin Dunne was a difficult student because his teachers didn’t understand him. e Mr. McCourt thought Barbara Sadlar should go to college because she was really smart. f Mr. McCourt didn’t like teaching at college because he couldn’t reach his students. 16–19 Open answers 20 Hamlet: A play by William Shakespeare whose protagonist, prince Hamlet, must avenge the death of his father at the hands of Hamlet’s uncle, who has married his mother and is now King. The play is not just a revenge story. The prince’s reflections on his moral dilemmas and the meaning of life (especially in the famous ‘To be or not to be’ speech) make it one of the best known pieces in world drama. 21–22 Open answers 23 Dublin: the capital and largest city of the Republic of Ireland. It is a major European cultural centre and the origin of many prominent literary figures. 24 –30 Open answers 31 Suggested answers: a Teachers are tired after Open School Day because all the parents want to talk to them. b Teachers don’t know much about their students’ private lives because they never ask them. c Bob didn’t bring pen and paper to school because he was a difficult student. d Bob wanted to be a farmer because he loved life on a farm. e Bob’s father didn’t want him to be a farmer because he wanted something better. 32 Gilgamesh: Perhaps the oldest written story on Earth, the Epic of Gilgamesh is a series of Sumerian legends and poems about the mythological heroking Gilgamesh, thought to be a ruler in the 3rd millennium BC. The most complete version extant today is preserved on eleven clay tablets. 33–46 Open answers

c Pearson Education Limited 2007

Progress test key 1 a Petey b Mr. McCourt c Joey d The principal e Teachers 2 a 7 b 7 c 3 d 7 e 3 3 a 2 b 1 c 3 d 1 e 3 4 1 c 2 f 3 a 4 e 5 b 6 d 5 a five classes in all b enjoyed the movie c met her grandmother for the first time d was June’s son e Mr. McCourt was nice to Andrew 6 a 2 b 5 c 1 d 3 e 4 7 a 7 b 7 c 3 d 3 e 7

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