READING 2 B1+

Brothers No More 1 Read the text quickly. What type of novel is

Brothers No More?
Chapter 2 A a comedy B a thriller C a historical drama

I was pleased when my neighbour Brigit invited me to dinner.
I'd only moved to Sydney a few weeks earlier, and I didn't
know many people there. I lived in Perth before, but I had to
leave in rather a hurry, because of an extremely unpleasant
situation with my former best friend and business partner,
Mario. I’d never go back there. It's a four-hour flight or a
three day train journey between the two cities, but even that
distance didn't really seem large enough in the circumstances.
Brigit was a painter, and used one of the rooms in her
apartment to work in, so she was at home most days.
Occasionally we'd both be out on our balconies at the same
time, admiring the view over the harbour, and we'd chat about
all kinds of stuff, from art to politics, movies to travel. She
was good to talk to
– intelligent and funny, with strong opinions, but best of all,
she never asked me about my past. Somehow she seemed to
understand that I didn't want to talk about any of that.
I kept thoughts of Mario out of my days, but there wasn't
anything I could do about the nights. Weeks went by, but the
nightmares continued; nightmares in which all I could see
was Mario's face, red and screaming, his once friendly eyes
now shining with hate.
Still, I was feeling positive on the evening of Brigit's dinner. I
dressed carefully – after all, this was an opportunity to make
new friends. Brigit welcomed me and introduced me to her
friends. There was Buck, a guitar-playing lawyer, Ioanna, a
teacher from Romania, and Rory, who told me that he worked
in TV.
I don't know what it was about Rory, but when I took his
hand to shake it, a cold feeling ran down my back. There was
something about his expression that I didn't trust. I had the
impression that he was watching me out of the corner of his
eye. Brigit didn't seem to notice anything though, and the five
of us chatted through the evening as we ate the wonderful
meal that she had prepared.
As the evening went on, I began to relax. Mario, and all that
had happened, was 2,000 miles away. I really needed to calm
down and get on with my life.
By the time we all stood up to say goodbye and leave, I was
feeling happier than I had done for weeks. I left with the
others, and said goodbye to them in the hall. However, when I
put my key in the lock, a strange feeling made me turn round.
The others had gone down the stairs, but Rory was still
standing there, staring at me. Silently, he held out his arm and
handed me an envelope.
I went into my apartment and opened the letter with shaking
hands. I think I already had some idea of what it would
contain, and I wasn't wrong. Mario knows where you are,
Luke, it said. He will never forgive you.
Page 25
2 Read again and choose the correct words to complete
the sentences.
enjoyed escape invited know
received
1 Luke moved to Sydney to escape from problems with
his former friend.
2 He gradually got to know his neighbour, Brigit.
3 Brigit invited him to dinner with some of her friends.
4 Luke enjoyed the dinner party, but he had a bad
feeling about Rory.
5 Rory received a frightening letter from Mario.
3 Choose the correct options to complete the sentences.
1 Luke went to Sydney because
A it's a wonderful city.
B it's a long way from Perth.
C he had a new job there.
2 Luke liked chatting to Brigit because
A she had lots of interesting things to say.
B she was very interested in his life.
C he didn't know anyone else.
3 Luke tried not to think about Mario,
but A he kept remembering their
argument. B he felt guilty about him
all the time.
C he had bad dreams about him.
4 During the dinner party, Luke thought
that A Rory was looking at him in a
friendly way. B the guests were behaving
strangely.
C Rory was looking at him in an unpleasant way.
5 After the dinner party, Luke
A felt happy because he'd had a good time.
B was worried about what Rory would do.
C was tired and ready to go home to bed.
6 The letter was probably written by
A Mario
B Brigit
C Rory
7 Based on what you have read, what is most
likely to happen next?
A Luke will have a happy life in Sydney and will
never hear from Mario again.
B Mario will try to hurt Luke.
C Luke will move back to Perth and try to deal
with the situation with Mario.
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