Literature B1+ Units

One Day by David Nicholls Intermediate

‘I don’t ever want to be different from this,’ he said. ‘I’d like to

45

ONE DAY
stay exactly as I am now. Every fifteenth of July, I want to be
just like this.’

The girl was called Emma Morley. The boy’s name was Dexter
Mayhew. The two young people didn’t know each other very
well, but this was a night for thinking about the future.

ABOUT THE PLAY

15th July 1988. Emma and Dexter meet for the first time on the
night of their university graduation. Soon their lives will go in
separate directions. But where will they be on 15th July of the
following year, and the year after that? One Day is a wonderful

DAVID NICHOLLS
and moving love story which takes place over the decades of
the eighties, nineties and ‘noughties’.

• Extra grammar and vocabulary exercises

One Day is a funny but sad love story spanning twenty years. It is a story about how people
• Notes about the story
• Notes about the life of David Nicholls
• Points for Understanding comprehension questions

change as they grow up, but also how they stay the same in many respects. The main characters,
• Glossary of difficult vocabulary and Useful Phrases
• Free resources including worksheets, tests and author data
sheets at www.macmillanenglish.com/readers
This Reader deals with adult themes.

Emma and Dexter, meet for the first time on the night of their university graduation, 15th July
starter/beginner
1 Starter
COMM ON EUROPEAN FRAMEWORK

A1 A2 B1 B2 C1 C2
MACMILLAN READERS
This series provides a wide variety of enjoyable reading
One Day

MACMILLAN
2 Beginner
material for all learners of English. Macmillan Readers
3 Elementary
are retold versions of popular classic and contemporary
elementary

1988. After that night, their lives go in separate directions. However, they keep in touch and, as a
COMM ON EUROPEAN FRAMEWORK
4A1 Pre-intermediate
A2 B1 B2 C1 C2 titles as well as specially written stories, published at
5 Intermediate six levels. David Nicholls
6 Upper www.macmillanenglish.com/readers
pre-intermediate COMM ON EUROPEAN FRAMEWORK

A1 A2 B1 B2 C1 C2
british english

result, their paths cross repeatedly over the next twenty years. The extract below takes place on
Intermediate COMM ON EUROPEAN FRAMEWORK

A1 A2 B1 B2 C1 C2
ISBN 978-0-230-42232-2

up-intermediate COMM ON EUROPEAN FRAMEWORK

A1 A2 B1 B2 C1 C2

the night that they first meet, when they are discussing their future plans. Lit. collection
COMM ON EUROPEAN FRAMEWORK

A1 A2 B1 B2 C1 C2
www.macmillanenglish.com

COMM ON EUROPEAN FRAMEWORK

A1 A2 B1 B2 C1 C2
9 780230 422322
MACMILLAN READERS

9780230422322.cover.indd 1 18/10/2011 13:43

  ABOUT THE AUTHOR

David Nicholls was born in 1966 in the south of England. After acting in plays at school, he studied English and Drama
at Bristol University. He then trained to be an actor in New York. After ten years of acting, Nicholls began to write.
He wrote plays, novels and television and radio dramas. He has written four famous novels to date; Starter for Ten, Us,
The Understudy and One Day. His novels tend to centre around the relationship between two people, often in the early
stages, and are usually both funny and sad. They often contain an unexpected event or twist in the story. A film version
of One Day was released in 2011, starring Anne Hathaway and Jim Sturgess.

1. The Future 20 ‘I think you’re too broad-minded now,’ the girl said,
Friday, 15th July 1988 quickly turning her face away from him.

Rankeillor Street, The girl was from Yorkshire, in the north of

Edinburgh, Scotland
25
‘The important thing in life is to make a difference –
to make a change to something,’ the girl said.
‘Ah – you mean we have to change the world’ the boy
replied.
30
5 ‘No, not all of the world, we just have to change the
bit of it around us’, the girl said. She was silent for a
moment, then she laughed at herself. ‘I can’t believe
I said that. It’s such a predictable thing to say, isn’t it?
But what are you going to do with your life? What’s
35
10 your plan?’
‘Well, my parents are coming to collect me later
today’, he told her. ‘Then I’ll go to France for a few
weeks and after that, maybe I’ll go to China’.
‘Oh, you’re going travelling’, she said wearily. ‘You’re
40
15 predictable too. You’ve got too much money, that’s
your problem Dexter. What you really mean is that
you’re running away from life’.
‘Travelling broadens the mind, Emma’ he said slowly.
He was trying to copy the girl’s accent.
England. She was used to posh boys from the
south making fun of her soft northern accent.
Sometimes she didn’t care, but now she suddenly
felt annoyed with the boy. Everything was going
wrong tonight. ‘Anyway I’m not talking about the
immediate future’, she told him. ‘I’m not asking
about tomorrow, I’m asking about what you want to
be in twenty years from now’.
At first, the best answer he could think of was ‘I
want to be rich and famous’. But then he thought
a bit more and spoke seriously. ‘I don’t ever want
to be different from this’, he said. ‘I’d like to stay
exactly as I am now. Every fifteenth of July, I want to
be just like this’.
The girl was called Emma Morley. They boy’s name
was Dexter Mayhew. It was four o’clock in the
morning. The two young people didn’t know each
other very well, but certainly this was a night for
thinking about the future. It was the last night of
their university life in Edinburgh. Earlier in the day
after four years, they had finally graduated. Soon
they would go in separate directions.

A VOCABULARY FOCUS
predictable (line 8): something that is expected or not unusual
wearily (line 14): in a tired manner which expresses boredom
broadens the mind (line 18): an experience that helps you to learn things about the world and become more culturally aware
broad-minded (line 20): liberal-minded and tolerant
posh (line 23): upper class
graduated (line 43): to finish university or similar with a qualification

This page has been downloaded from www.macmillangateway2.com

Photocopiable © Macmillan Publishers Limited 2016 1 of 2
 Literature
One Day by David Nicholls
  Before reading
1 Read About the story. Why do you think that this
night was such an important moment for Emma
and Dexter? Do you think that there are certain
times in your education which can be important in
determining the future?
2 David Nicholls has written four novels to date,
two of which have been made into successful
films. Read About the author. Why do you think
his novels have translated to the big screen so
successfully?
3 Look at the title of the book, One Day. What do
you think it means? Work in pairs and discuss
the different ways it could be interpreted. Think
of example sentences to illustrate the different
meanings.
  While reading
1 Read the extract. Answer these questions in your
own words.
1 Why does Emma ask Dexter about his plans for the
future?
2 Why does Emma say that Dexter is predictable?
3 Why does Emma get annoyed with Dexter?
4 Why do you think that Dexter thinks of two different
answers to Emma’s question?
2 How are Emma and Dexter different? Think about
the following and complete the table below.
Use the questions in brackets to help you. Find
evidence in the text to support your answers:
■ Their family background and social class
■ Their plans and dreams for the future
■ Their personalities (How are Emma’s answer
about her plan for the future and Dexter’s answers
different? What is Emma’s reaction to Dexter copying
her accent? How are Dexter’s first thoughts about his
long-term plan and then his actual answer different?)
Emma
Family background
and social class
Plans and dreams
for the future
Personalities
This page has been downloaded from www.macmillangateway2.com
Photocopiable © Macmillan Publishers Limited 2016
B1+ Units
3 Emma and Dexter are both aware of their
differences and they both say things in a sarcastic
or joking way. Find some examples from the text.
Do you think they like each other? How do you
know?
4 Think about the style of writing used in the
extract. Work in pairs and answer the questions.
1 What person (first or third) is the extract written in?
Why do you think that is?
2 Why does the author refer to the two characters as
‘the girl’ and ‘the boy’ and not by their names?
3 Why do you think the author introduces the
characters’ names and explains the situation of
their meeting at the end of the extract and not the
beginning?
  After reading
1 Emma says ‘The important thing in life is to make
a difference – to make a change to something.’
Discuss in pairs:
Do you agree with Emma?
Complete this sentence for yourself: ‘The important
thing in life is …’
2 Work in small groups and discuss your answers to
these questions.
1 What kind of moments in life can be life-changing?
2 At what times in life do we generally have to make
more important decisions?
3 Is it better to live a predictable life and make plans,
or a spontaneous life and not make plans?
3 Where do you think that Emma and Dexter will be
on 15th July the following year? Make notes and
write a short paragraph in the same style as the
extract to describe where the characters will be
and what they will be doing.
Dexter
2 of 2