'How lucky I drew the curtain,' I thought.
He would never have found me,
Jane Eyre
Part One – A child at
Gateshead
The red room
We could not go for a walk that afternoon. There was such a freezing
cold wind, and such heavy rain, that we all stayed indoors. I was glad of it. I
never liked long walks, especially in winter. I used to hate coming home when
it was almost dark, with ice-cold fingers and toes, feeling miserable because
Bessie, the nursemaid, was always criticizing me. All the time I knew I was
different from my cousins, Eliza, John and Georgiana Reed.
They were taller and stronger than me, and they were loved.
These three usually spent their time crying and quarrelling, but today they
were sitting quietly around their mother in the sitting-room. I wanted to join
the family circle, but Mrs. Reed, my aunt, refused. Bessie had complained
about me.
'No, I'm sorry, Jane. Until I hear from Bessie, or see for myself, that you
are really trying to behave better, you cannot be treated as a good, happy child,
like my children.'
'What does Bessie say I have done?' I asked.
'Jane, it is not polite to question me in that way. If you cannot speak
pleasantly, be quiet.'
I crept out of the sitting-room and into
the small room next door, where I chose a
book full of pictures from the bookcase. I
climbed on to the window-seat and drew
the curtains, so that I was completely
hidden. I sat there for a while. Sometimes I
looked out of the window at the grey
November afternoon, and saw the rain
pouring down on the leafless garden. But
most of the time I studied the book and stared, fascinated, at the pictures, and
was happy. I was only afraid that my secret hiding-place might be discovered.
Suddenly the door of the room opened. John Reed ran in.
'Where are you, rat?' he shouted. He did not see me behind the curtain.
'Eliza! Georgy! Jane isn't here! Tell Mamma she's run out into the rain – what
a bad animal she is!'
because he was not very intelligent. But Eliza guessed at once where I was.
'She's in the window-seat, John,' she called from the sitting-room. So I
came out immediately, as I did not want him to pull me out.
'What do you want?' I asked him.
'Say, "What do you want, Master Reed",' he answered, sitting in an
armchair. 'I want you to come here.'
John Reed was fourteen and I was only ten. He was large and rather fat.
He usually ate too much at meals, which made him ill. He should have been at
boarding school, but his mother, who loved him very much, had brought him
home for a month or two, because she thought his health was weak. John did
not love his mother or his sisters, and he hated me. He bullied and punished
me, not two or three times a week, not once or twice a day, but all the time.
My whole body trembled when he came near. Sometimes he hit me,
sometimes he just threatened me, and I lived in terrible fear of him. I had no
idea how to stop him. The servants did not want to offend their young master,
and Mrs. Reed could see no his fault in her dear boy. So I obeyed John's
order and came up to his armchair, thinking how very ugly his face was.
Perhaps he understood what I was thinking, because he hit me hard on the
face.
'That is for your rudeness to Mamma just now,' he said, 'and for your
wickedness in hiding, and for looking at me like that, you rat!'
I was so used to his bullying that I never thought of hitting him back.
'What were you doing behind that curtain?' he asked.
'I was reading,' I answered.
'Show me the book.' I gave it to him.
'You have no right to take our books,' he continued. 'You have no money
and your father left you none. You must ask for money in the streets, not live
here in comfort with a gentleman's family. Anyway, all these books are mine,
and so is the whole house, or will be in a few years' time. I'll teach you not to
borrow my books again.' He lifted the heavy book and threw it hard at me. It
hit me and I fell, injuring my head on the door. I was in great pain, and
suddenly for the first time in my life, I forgot my fear of John Reed.
'You wicked, cruel boy!' I cried. 'You are a bully! You are as bad as a
murderer!'
'What! What!' he cried. 'Did she say that to me? Did you hear, Eliza and
Georgiana? I'll tell Mamma, but first...'
 He hurried to attack me, but now he was fighting with a desperate girl. I
really saw him as a wicked murderer. I felt the blood running down my face,
and the pain gave me strength. I fought back as hard as I could, and he
shouted for help. His sisters ran for Mrs. Reed, who called her maid, Miss
Abbott, and Bessie. They pulled us apart and I heard them say,
'What a wicked girl! She attacked Master John!'
Mrs. Reed said calmly, 'Take her away to the red room and lock her in
there.' And so I was carried upstairs.
As soon as we arrived in the red room, I became quiet again, and the two
servants both started criticizing me.
'Really, Miss Eyre,' said Miss Abbott, 'how could you hit him? He's
your young master!'
'How can he be my master? I am not a servant!' I cried.
'No, Miss Eyre, you are less than a servant, because you do not
work,' replied Miss Abbott. They both looked at me as if they strongly
disapproved of me.
'You should remember, miss,' said Bessie, 'that your aunt pays for
your food and clothes, and you should be grateful. You have no other
relations or friends.'
All my short life I had been told this, and I had no answer to it. I
stayed silent, listening to these painful words.
'And if you are angry and rude, Mrs. Reed may send you away,'
added Bessie.
'Anyway,' said Miss Abbott, 'God will punish you, Jane Eyre, for
your wicked heart. Pray to God, and say you're sorry.' They left the
room, locking the door carefully behind them.
The red room was a cold, silent room, hardly ever used, although it
was one of the largest bedrooms in the house. Nine years ago my
uncle, Mr. Reed, had died in this room, and since then nobody had
wanted to sleep in it.
Now that I was alone I thought bitterly of the people I lived with.
John Reed, his sisters, his mother, the servants - they all criticized me,
hated me, punished me. Why could I never please them?
Eliza was selfish, but was respected. Georgiana had a bad temper, but
she was popular with everybody because she was beautiful. John was
rude, cruel and violent, but nobody punished him. I tried to make no
mistakes, but they called me naughty every moment of the day. Now
that I had turned against John to protect myself, everybody blamed
me.
And so I spent that whole long afternoon in the red room asking
myself why I had to suffer and why life was so unfair. Perhaps I
would run away, or die from hunger.
Gradually it became dark outside.
The rain was still beating on the
windows, and I could hear the wind in
the trees. Now I was no longer angry,
and I began to think the Reeds might be
right. Perhaps I was wicked. Did I
deserve to die, and be buried in the
churchyard like my uncle Reed? I could
not remember him, but knew he was my mother's brother, who had
taken me to his house when my parents both died. On his death bed he
had made his wife, Aunt Reed, promise to look after me like her own
children. I supposed she now regretted her promise.
A strange idea came to me. I felt sure that if Mr. Reed had lived he
would have treated me kindly, and now, as I looked round at the dark
furniture and the walls in shadow, I began to fear that his ghost might
come back to punish his wife for not keeping her promise. He might
rise from the grave in the churchyard and appear in this room! I was
so frightened by this thought that I couldn’t breathe. Suddenly in the
darkness I saw a light moving on the ceiling. It may have been from a
lamp outside, but in my nervous state I did not think of that. I felt sure
it must be a ghost, a visitor from another world. My head was hot, my
heart beat fast. Was that the sound of wings in my ears? Was that
something moving near me? Screaming wildly, I ran to the door and
shook it.
Miss Abbott and Bessie came running to open it.
'Miss Eyre, are you ill?' asked Bessie.
'Take me out of here!' I screamed.
'Why? What's the matter?' she asked.
'I saw a light, and I thought it was a ghost,' I cried, holding tightly
on to Bessie's hand.
'She's not even hurt,' said Miss Abbott angrily. 'She screamed just
to bring us here. I know all her little tricks.'
'What is all this?' demanded an angry voice. Mrs. Reed appeared at
the door of the room.
 'Abbott and Bessie, I think I told you to leave Jane Eyre in this 3. What happened in Chapter 1? Choose the correct answer.
room till I came.'
'She screamed so loudly, ma'am,' said Bessie softly. 1. Why did Jane Eyre live with Mrs. Reed?
'Let go of her hands, Bessie,' was Mrs. Reed's only answer. 'Jane A. Because she liked Mrs. Reed.
Eyre, you need not think you can succeed in getting out of the room B. Because she didn’t like her own home.
like this. Your naughty tricks will not work with me. You will stay C. Because Jane’s parents were dead.
here an hour longer as a punishment for trying to tell a lie.' D. Because she didn’t have any brothers or sisters.
'Oh aunt, please forgive me! I can't bear it! I shall die if you keep
me here...' I screamed and kicked as she held me. 2. What were the names of Jane’s cousins?
'Silence! Control yourself!' She pushed me, back into the red room
and locked me in. There I was in the darkness again, with the silence A. Eliza, George and Maria.
and the ghosts. I must have fainted. I cannot remember anything B. John, Eliza and Georgiana.
more. C. Joseph, Georgiana and Lizzie.
D. Liza, Jack and Georgiana.
Tasks
3. Why was Jane unhappy?
A. Because she couldn’t go to school.
Fill in the missing names in the sentences.
B. Because she was ill.
C. Because Mrs. Reed and her children were cruel to her.
1.______ is ______’s servant. 2. _______ is _______’s nursemaid.
D. Because Mrs. Reed was cruel to her.
3. ______ is the wife of _______’s uncle. 4. _______ is _______’s
brother. 5. _______ and _______ are _______’s cousins.
4. What did John Reed do to Jane?
6. _______and _______ are _______daughters.
A. He locked her in a room.
B. He didn’t give any food.
True/False. C. He tore her book.
D. He hit her.
Jane liked long walks in winter.
1. All people in the house don’t like Jane, but Bessie. 5. Why was Jane so frightened in the Red Room?
2. Jane was sitting in the window seat with a book when John A. It was cold and dark.
found her. B. There was no window in the room.
3. John was pleased to see Jane in the room. C. Jane heard a voice.
4. While fighting Jane hit John hard on his head. D. It was dark and hot.
5. Mrs. Reed ordered to leave Jane alone in the red room.
6. Jane was very glad to meet Mr. Reed’s ghost in the room.
7. The girl was so frightened that she fainted.
4. Read the text below and choose the correct word for each space.

Dear Emily, 1. quarrel a. take

2. refuse b. shout
I’m writing to 1) _____________ you that I’m very unhappy. I don’t 3. behave c. give a word
like 2) ___________ here with Mrs. Reedand 3) 4. discover d. look
__________children. Mrs. Reed, 4) ___________ is my aunt, does not 5. threaten e. argue
like me, and her children are often cruel to me. Here is what 5)
6. borrow f. disagree to do something
__________ yesterday.
7. scream g. act in some way
I was reading quiet in the library 6) _____________ my cousin, John, 8. promise h. frighten
hit me 7) __________ my head started to 8) ___________ . Mrs. Reed 9. obey i. find something
didn’t care that I was hurt. She 9) ____________ in a cold, dark room. 10. stare j. say something is wrong
No 10) ____________ came near me all night. 11. complain k. act according to the rules
I hope that I will leave here soon. 12. offend l. make somebody upset or angry

Love from Jane. 5. Match the verbs with their synonyms.

6. Choose the right verb and use it in the proper form.

1. A. say B. tell C. speak D. told
2. A. live B. living C. lived D. to live You must not _________like that at school. If you do it again I’m
going to ______you.
3. A. her B. their C. your D. his
punish complain behave threaten
4. A. which B. that C. who D. whose I __________many good qualities in my new friend.
5. A. has happened B. has been happened C. happened D. happens stare borrow discover refuse
He often__________ books from our local library.
6. A. when B. as C. but D. until discover offend promise borrow
7. A. as soon as B. until C. when D. if Our teachers sometimes _____________to our parents about our
behavior.
8. A. blood B. bled C. bleed D. bloody
complain offend refuse punish
9. A. lock B. brought C. locked D. bring. When being a child I first met a giraffe at the Zoo, I _______at him in
10. A. where B. thing C. time D. one surprise. How tall he was!
threaten stare scream offend
Suddenly a dog barked and _________ me. I ___________.
scream stare behave threaten
 13 n ____________ 14 s____________ 15 c_____________
When my sister and we were children we often _________ and 16 w____________ 17 g___________ 18 a______________
_________ each other. But now we are the best friends. 19 d______________ 20 r______________
offend scream quarrel obey

I never _________ my friends in help. r b s b a d t e m e r d f g h

obey refuse promise borrow u u w m i s e r a b l e r t v
d l i a s p w e a k t y u a i
Some people don’t like to___________. They always want to feel free.
e l b n v n e r v o u s n i o
quarrel behave offend obey n y r c t x z a n s d g j o l
e a e s d e f g h a r l d p e
s w s o p l l k j y u e k q n
7. Match the words to make word combinations. s i p i u r y l t r s g u h t
u c e k j u w e i p q i h f g
n k c c h d g f a g e d s t a
freezing fingers f e t l r e p r o t e i u r y
heavy November afternoon a d e j h u a g f d s n a w e
long rain i k d l m t e n b v c x t z a
ice-cold life r h g f e d s l s e l f i s h
grey walks w i c k e d n e s s t r e w q
pouring wind j k l o p g r a t e f u l v c
lonely rain

10. Fill in the words from the puzzle in the sentences.

8. Make up your own sentences using these word John wasn’t ___________ enough to find Jane at once.
combinations. 1. Jane must be __________ that she lives in comfort with a
gentleman’s family.
2. Mrs. Reed thought that John’s health was _______.
9. Solve the puzzle. Find 20 words describing personality. All
3. John is _______. He loves only himself.
the words are used in the text (adjectives and nouns).
4. Bessie thinks that Jane is ________, because the girl doesn’t
obey her.
1 r____________ 2 b____________ 3 r_____________
5. John was _____ and _______ to Jane, he beat her all the time.
4 b______________ 5 m___________ 6 v______________
6. Eliza was _______ as John but she was ___________.
7 i______________ 8 w____________ 9 n______________
7. Georgiana was beautiful but she had a_________.
10 u____________ 11 w____________ 12 q______________
8. While sitting in the red room Jane thought about her________ 1. 'That is for your _______ (rude) to Mamma just now,' he said,
life full of sufferings. 'and for your _______ in hiding. (wicked)
9. At first Jane was _________in the room, but then she felt 1. I stayed ________ (silence), listening to these ________ (pain)
words.
__________. She began to shout and shake the door.
2. Sometimes I looked out of the window at the grey November
afternoon, and saw the rain pouring down on the _________ garden.
11. Grammar: Used to. (leaf)
3. 'Jane Eyre, you need not think you can __________ ( success)
USED TO + VERB in getting out of the room like this.
4. He would never have found me, because he was not very
Read the sentences and translate them. In what meaning are used ________ (intelligence).
to/was used to used. 5. You will stay here an hour longer as a ___________ (punish)
for trying to tell a lie.'
a) I used to hate coming home when it was almost dark, with ice-cold fingers
6. 'Your aunt pays for your food and clothes, and you should be
and toes, feeling miserable because Bessie, the nursemaid, was always
_________ (gratitude). You have no other _________ (relate) or
criticizing me.
friends.'
b) I was so used to his bullying that I never thought of hitting him back.
7. I felt the blood _________ (run) down my face, and the pain
12. Complete the sentences. Use used to. gave me _______(strong).
8. 'You are a bully! You are as bad as a ______!’ I cried. (murder)
1. When I was younger, I _________eat pizza almost every day.
9. All the time I knew I was __________ (differ) from my
1. _______there _______be a supermarket on the corner? cousins, Eliza, John and Georgiana Reed.
2. Bradley is a teacher, but he ____________ want to be a train
driver.
3. I ___________like eating cabbage, but now I love it. 14. Tell the story as if you were
4. _________Rick _______have blond hair when he was a little
boy. - Jane Eyre,
- John Reed,
5. I know Lily ________ cook much, but now I think she makes
- Mrs. Reed.
dinner every day.
15. Make up your own story. Use as many words from ex. 5, 7, and
13. Word Formation. 9 as you can.

Complete the sentences. Use the words in brackets in the proper 16. Find the information and speak about the relations in the
form. family and family traditions during the reign of Queen Victoria.
 KEYS

1. 1 Abbot, Mrs. Reed

2 Bessie, Jane
3 Mrs. Reed, Jane
4 John, Eliza
5 Eliza, Georgiana, Jane
6 Eliza, Georgiana, Mrs Reed

2. F, F, T, F, F, T, F, T.

3. 1C 2B 3C 4D 5A

4. 1B 2B 3A 4C 5B 6A 7B 8C 9C 10D

5. 5. 1e 2f 3g 4i 5h 6a 7b 8c 9k 10d 11j 12l

6. 1. behave, punish 2. have discovered 3. borrows

4. complain 5 stared 6. threatened, screamed
7. quarreled, offended 8. refuse 9. obey

9. rudeness bully respected bad temper(ed) miserable

violent intelligent weak nervous unfair wicked
quiet naughty selfish cruel wickedness grateful angry
desperate rude

10. 1 intelligent 2 grateful 3. weak 4. selfish 5. naughty