U N I V E R B AU D I O C L A S S I C S U N I V E R B AU D I O C L A S S I C S

R O B I N S O N CRU S O E
DANIEL DEFOE

R O B I N S O N C RU S O E
www.univerb.se

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Art.nr CLUK01
 DANIEL DEFOE

R O B I N S O N C RU S O E
Retold by: Daniel Taghioff
Clear English
Univerb Audio Classics

Cover layout: Stenbom Communication Stockholm

Recording Studio: Internetljud / Jinglebeat Stockholm

Copyright Univerb Förlag AB 2003

Printed in Stockholm by: Apec Tryck AB, Spånga 2003

 Introduction
Robinson Crusoe, published in 1719, has been called the
first English novel. This is unlikely to be entirely true, but
does highlight how early and important a work it is.
Daniel Defoe (1660 – 1731) travelled all over Europe as
a merchant, before joining the army in 1688. He started
writing novels at the age of nearly sixty, but before that had
worked as an economist and a spy. Although his views now
seem quite traditional, he was a radical at the time. He
represented the interests of a trading middle class, struggling
with the power of the aristocracy. If there is a main message
in Robinson Crusoe, it is probably related to Defoe’s
outspoken politics. He was also religious, and he is probably
not being ironic when writing about religion in the text.
The story is based on the real-life experiences of a Scottish
sailor, Alexander Selkirk. In 1704 he had an argument with
the captain of his ship, and asked to be put ashore on an
uninhabited island, off the coast of Chile. He lived there until
he was picked up by another English ship five years later. The
Chilean government has now renamed the island “Robinson
Crusoe Island.”
The novel was written against a background of colonial,
industrial and technical expansion, and represented a huge
optimism about the possible achievements of (European)
people. It is also noted as a work of “realistic” fiction, although
its realism is open to question today.
3
 Contents:

Introduction ................................................................ 3
How to use this Easy Listener Classic ........................... 5
Part 1: Exercises ........................................................... 7
Part 1: Robinson Crusoe chooses a life at sea .............. 9
Part 2: Exercises ......................................................... 14
Part 2: Robinson Crusoe is ship-wrecked on a desert
island. ............................................................ 16
Part 3: Exercises ......................................................... 22
Part 3: Robinson Crusoe builds a life for himself ...... 25
Part 4: Exercises ......................................................... 36
Part 4: Robinson Crusoe rescues Friday .................... 38
Part 5: Exercises ......................................................... 45
Part 5: Robinson Crusoe escapes the island ............... 47
Glossary .................................................................... 55
Answer Key ............................................................... 64

4
 How to use this Easy Listener Classic:

This Easy Listener Classic is aimed at a wide audience.

However, some of the themes in Robinson Crusoe are quite
adult in character, and this version has not been edited with
young children in mind. It is aimed at those with an
intermediate level of English. This means those who
understand the basics of English grammar, and who are
starting to focus on learning many new words, and ways of
using them.
Those who just wish to listen to and read a simplified
version of Robinson Crusoe should ignore the exercises
included in the book. The CD can be listened to without
the help of the book, providing your listening skills are fairly
good (upper-intermediate at least, you should be able to
follow television news in English.) If you need it, the text can
be used as a support (preferably after you have listened to the
part at least once.) Difficult words in the text are marked in
bold and are found in the glossary.
For those taking a course in English, or studying on their
own, the book provides a supported introduction into one
of the classics of English literature. The exercises are designed
to help you to listen and read actively, and to reflect on how
you think words should be used. The glossary can be used

5
as an introduction to working with an English – English
dictionary.
For teachers, this book can be seen as the basis of a course
component on Robinson Crusoe, or as five long, fairly
demanding reading and listening exercises. The exercises can
serve as a lead-in to discussing the relationships between
particular pieces of vocabulary and grammar and their
position within the discourse. They also lead in to discussing
the multiple meanings of words, and the particular register
found in classic literature. The questions at the end can be
used for discussions or written work. It is possible to find a
wealth of background material on “Robinson Crusoe”,
“Daniel Defoe” and “Alexander Selkirk” on the internet, or
in a good library. The themes in Robinson Crusoe can be very
provocative for students from countries with a colonial
history, so be prepared for animated discussions!

6
Part 1: Exercises
Setting the scene:
• Imagine you are living in England 200 years ago.
What would life be like?
Would you be religious?
• Think about Robinson Crusoe.
What sort of family might he come from?
What sort of work might he do?
• Think about going to sea at that time.
Was it a safe thing to do?
Why did people go to sea?
Before you listen:
• Look up the following words in the glossary at the
back of the book.
a) Compass
b) Breeze
c) Surrender
d) Howling
e) Punishing
7
 f ) Overboard
g) Slave
h) Surviving
• Guess how they will be used in the story. Try and write
your own sentences, using these words as you think they will
be used in the story.
As you are listening:
• Write down the order that the words are first used in.
(It’s not the same order as they are written above.)
Whilst you read:
• Check the text now and see how the words are used
in the story. Is it how you expected?

8
 Part 1: Robinson Crusoe chooses a life at sea

I was born in the city of York in the year 1632, the youngest
of three brothers. My eldest brother, a soldier, was killed
fighting the Spaniards. I don’t know what happened to my
other brother. My father was a wise man. He wanted me to
study Law, and then work for him in the family business. I
wanted to become a sailor. My father was very upset by this
and told me that I should stay, as I was his only surviving son.
He said that only rich people and poor people chose to go to
sea for adventure. As I was of the middle station, I should
be happy with what I had.
When I turned eighteen, I begged my parents to let me
go to sea just once. I promised that if I didn’t like it I would
return home and do as my father wished. My mother cried
when she heard this and my father said, “If that boy leaves
England he will be the unhappiest man in the world!”
A year later, I went to Hull to visit a friend. He told me
many stories about his life at sea. On September 1st, 1651 I
decided to sail with him from Hull to London, without
telling my parents. Soon after we left, the wind began to blow
hard and the waves became like mountains. I felt sick and
thought I was going to die. I was sure God was punishing
me for leaving my parents. I promised God that if he let me

9
live, I would go back to my parents’ house and never set foot
on a ship again.
In the evening, when the sea was calm again, my friend
came and put his hand on my shoulder. “How are you feeling
today? You were frightened by that bit of wind yesterday,
weren’t you?”
“That bit of wind?” I replied‘“ That was a storm!”
“You call that a storm!” he said, laughing “Why that was
just a breeze!”
When we arrived in London, I forgot my promise to God.
Instead I thought about where to go next. I met the captain
of a ship leaving for Africa the next day. He said I could come
on his ship, not as a sailor but as a guest. I happily agreed
and we set sail the next morning.
As we sailed past the Canaries the morning after, our ship
was attacked by pirates. We tried to escape, but their ship
was faster than ours. We had only twelve cannons to their
eighteen. We could see over 200 men standing on the deck,
with their guns and their swords ready. After a long battle
we were forced to surrender to them.
I was taken as a slave for the Turkish pirate captain. As I
thought about my new life, I remembered what my father had
said to me. My new master ordered me to work in his house

10
with his other slaves. I hoped that he would take me to sea
with him, so I might escape and go home to England.
For two years I looked after the pirate captain’s house.
Sometimes the captain took me and another slave fishing in
a small boat. One morning a fog came down on us so fast that
we were completely lost. We tried to sail towards land, but
when the fog lifted the next day we realised we had been
sailing out to sea! The captain was very scared by this, so he
ordered that we should have a compass, several guns, some
food and plenty of water on board at all times.
A few days later the Pirate captain ordered me to go fishing
with the two Moors who worked for him. He was too busy
with guests to go himself. I saw that this was my chance to
escape.
“We must bring our own food” I told the two Moors, “We
can’t eat our master’s food.”
They agreed and went to fetch more bread and meat.
When they came back I said “ We might be able to shoot
some seabirds and that would make our master happy. We
should take more gunpowder, just in case, don’t you think?”
They agreed and went to get some more gunpowder.
With everything on board, we set sail. When we were
about a mile out, we let down the sail and started to fish. I

11
deliberately avoided catching any fish and said to the others
“Our master won’t be happy if we don’t catch any fish! We
should go further out.”
The Moors thought that this was a good idea, and we
sailed out another mile. When we had taken the sail down
again, I crept up behind the older Moor and threw him
overboard. I took aim at him with a gun and said “You are a
good swimmer, swim to the shore. If you come near the ship
I will shoot you through the head!” The man turned and
swam away.
I turned to the younger Moor, who was called Xury. “If
you are loyal to me I’ll let you come with me. If not I will
have to throw you in the sea as well.”
The boy smiled and promised to be loyal. He said he
would go anywhere with me and I believed him.
I sailed north at first, towards Europe, in case the other
Moor had looked back to see where we were going. Then I
turned south. Although I was scared of meeting the wild
animals and savages of Africa, I was more scared of the pirate
captain coming after us and catching us. If we sailed south
to the Cape Verde Islands, we might meet a European slave
ship.
We sailed south for five days, before I dared to go near
the coast again. At the end of the fifth day we stopped near

12
a little river, to get some fresh water. When it got dark we
heard the terrible howling of wild animals. Xury was so
frightened he begged me not to swim ashore until the next
morning.
“But it is just as dangerous to be seen by natives during
the day.” I said.
“Then we’ll shoot them with our guns,” he replied.
The next morning I decided to swim to the river. Xury
jumped up and said he wanted to go.
“Why should you go?” I asked.
He looked at me,‘“that way if the wild men come, they
will eat me and you can get away!”
I smiled, “we’ll both go and if the wild men come we’ll
kill them like you said. That way nobody will get eaten!”
We swam to shore with our bottles. When we had filled
our bottles, I stayed by the river, in sight of the boat. Xury
ran off to explore. After a while I saw him running back as if
he was being chased. I started to run towards him with my
gun in hand, but then I saw he had a small animal over his
shoulder, that he had shot. It looked like a hare, but of a
different colour with longer legs. We cooked it over a fire by
the river, and the meat tasted good. The following day we
sailed south again, looking for a European ship.

13
 After you have read:
• Think about the following questions. Either discuss
your answers with somebody else, or write 200-250 words
about it.
a) Do you think Robinson Crusoe made the right
decision going to sea?
b) What would Robinson Crusoe’s father have said if had
found out what had happened to him?

Part 2: Exercises
Setting the Scene:
• Imagine that you owned a plantation in Brazil 200
years ago.
What would life be like?
• Imagine that you are shipwrecked on a desert island.
What would you need?
What would you be most unhappy about?
Before you listen:
• Look up the following words in the glossary at the back
of the book.

14
 a) Journal
b) Barrels
c) Hammock
d) Escape
e) Regretted
f ) Brewing
g) Sand bank
h) Rescued
• Guess how they will be used in the story. Try and write
your own sentences, using these words as you think they will
be used in the story.
As you are listening:
• Write down the order that the words are first used in.
(It’s not the same order as they are written above.)
Whilst you read:
• Check the text now and see how the words are used
in the story. Is it how you expected?

15
Part 2: Robinson Crusoe is ship-wrecked on a desert island

As we approached the Cape Verde islands we met a

Portuguese slave ship headed for Brazil. The sailors asked
whom I was in Portuguese, Spanish and French, but I didn’t
understand. Finally a Scottish sailor asked, and I told him I
was an Englishmen and spoke about my escape.
The Portuguese Captain spoke some English. I thanked
him for saving me and offered him the boat.
He refused,“No, no, you would also have saved my life,
if I had been in your boat!”
Instead he bought the boat and offered to buy Xury too.
At first I said no, but then he promised to make Xury a
Christian and set him free in ten years. Xury agreed, so I
accepted the offer.
When we arrived in Brazil, I decided to use the money
to buy a small farm, to grow sugar and tobacco. I soon became
good friends with my neighbours. The work was very hard,
and I regretted having sold Xury. I also thought back to the
life I had left behind in England, and what my father had said
to me.
After several years our farms were doing well, and we
needed people to work for us. My neighbours had decided

16
to go to Africa to get slaves for their farms, and asked me to
come along, since I had been to Africa before. I was tired of
working my fields, so I agreed to go. I wrote a letter to the
Portuguese captain telling him he would inherit my farm if
I did not return.
As we crossed the Atlantic we sailed into a terrible storm.
One of the masts broke and two men were washed overboard.
We drifted for twelve days. Our Captain decided we should
try and continue North to the English colonies in the
Caribbean. Early one morning one of the men cried “Land!”
Just then we hit a sand bank, and waves started crashing over
the side of the ship.
We looked at each other expecting to die. Finally we
decided to lower a boat into the water, and we all climbed
down into it. We tried to row the boat towards land, but we
knew the boat would break up before we reached the shore.
After we had rowed a few miles, a big wave hit our boat from
behind. We all fell into the water, and though I was a good
swimmer, I could not make it back up to the surface.
Suddenly I found myself thrown onto dry land. I got to
my feet and tried to run, but a huge wave buried me again,
dragging me down and then throwing me onto the shore
again. I was thrown against some rocks, but managed to run
onto the beach before the next wave took me.

17
 I searched for my friends, but I only found three hats and
two shoes in the water. I saw our boat wrecked on the shore,
in a little bay to my right. It was already too dark to see much
else. I had no gun to protect myself, so I decided to climb a
tree and sleep for the night.
When I woke up it was noon. I saw that the sea had lifted
the ship from the sand bank, and had thrown it onto the
rocks. I realised that, had we stayed on the ship, we all would
have lived and so I wept. I saw that the ship was only a mile
from the shore and I decided to go to it and see what I could
save. I waited until the tide had gone out, and then swam
the last quarter mile to the ship. I had to swim around the
ship twice before I found a rope that I could climb up on.
The ship had taken on a lot of water, and lay heavily on its
side.
However, when I went below deck I found many useful
things were still dry. I made a raft from loose pieces of wood,
and put three large sailor’s chests on it. I filled one of these
with all the food I could find: bread, sugar, three Dutch
cheeses and five pieces of dried meat. I looked for the bags
of corn, and found the rats had eaten them. I kept the bags
for later use.
I went below deck for more things and found several
chests full of clothes. I also found a carpenter’s chest, and
knew this would be worth more to me than a ship-full of gold.

18
Among the tools in the chest were two saws, a hatchet, an
axe, and a hammer. Next I found several guns and pistols
and three barrels of gunpowder. Two of the barrels were still
dry so I took them. With the broken oars from the boat, I
steered the raft back to shore and up a small creek.
I took a gun and climbed to the top of the nearest hill. I
was sad to see I was on an island, with no land nearby. I saw
no inhabitants or dangerous animals on the island, but lots
of birds, and I decided to shoot one. It must have been the
first gun fired on the island: birds flew up from all parts of
the wood, and the air was full of their cries. I took the bird I
had shot and cooked it over a fire by the creek, but it didn’t
taste good.
For the next few days I kept taking my raft out to the ship.
I wanted to get as many useful things as possible before the
next storm broke it to pieces. I found some needles, thread,
a shovel, a sword, three very good Bibles, the ship’s dog and
two cats. I carried the cats on the raft, but the dog swam to
shore and then waited for me there. It was to be my servant
and keep me company for many years to come.
With the saws and hatchet I cut down the masts and
other pieces of wood. I took all of the ropes, most of the sails,
and some of the nails from the ship. Below deck I found some
blankets, some tobacco, a few bottles of rum and a hammock.
I felt I had taken everything of use from the ship. At night I

19
was still afraid of wild animals, so I made a hut by putting
all the wood and chests around me and throwing a sail over
it.
By the thirteenth day I had been to the ship eleven times.
If the weather had stayed calm, I think I would have brought
the whole ship back. But when I went on board the twelth
time I noticed a storm brewing. I thought I had looked
everywhere, but this time I found a pair of scissors and ten
good knives. I also found thirty six pounds in English money.
“What are you good for?” I said aloud “any one of these
knives is worth more than you!”
When I got back to my hut, I felt safe from the storm. I
lay inside all night listening to the howling of the wind. The
next day the ship was gone.
I started to look for a better place to live. I needed a place
near fresh water, out of the sun, safe from wild animals or
savages, with a view of the sea. Was it better to have a cave
or a tent? I decided to have both. I chose a perfect place on
the side of a hill. A hole went into the North side of the hill,
not far from where I came ashore. The hole was not very
deep, but I was out of the sun with a good view of the sea.
I cut down some young trees, and put them in a half-circle
around the cave. I sharpened the ends of the trees, and they
made a fence so strong and tall that neither a man nor a wild

20
beast could get over it. I made a ladder to get over the fence
myself, that I took inside with me at night.
The next day I brought everything up to my fortress.
With the sails and one of the masts from the ship I built a
large tent inside. Then I made the cave behind bigger with
my shovel. I spent the next few days working in my fortress,
putting up a hammock in my tent and storing things in my
cave. “What would I have done without a gun and
gunpowder, without any tools, clothes or a tent?” I felt lucky,
the odds of the ship being wrecked so close to shore must have
been a hundred thousand to one.
I knew I would lose my sense of time if I didn’t record the
days. I made a large cross and set it on the beach. I carved “I
came ashore here the 30th of September 1659” on it. Every
day I made a mark on it with my knife, and so made myself
a calendar. Every seventh day I observed the Sabbath.
During the first few weeks on the island, I got so sad that
I felt my heart die inside me. I would sit down and look at
the ground for hours. How long would I have to wait to be
rescued? One day I took out my pen and paper and tried to
comfort myself by writing down all the good and bad things
about my life:

21
 Bad Good

I am on an island alone with no hope of rescue. I am alive,

unlike all my friends.
I have no way of protecting myself. There are no wild
animals here, unlike in Africa.
I have nobody to talk to. But God sent the ship so close
to shore, so I could get everything I need.
I realised there was nothing in the world so bad that you
could not find some good in it. It was such a comfort to see
my words on paper that I decided to keep a journal.

After you have read:

• Think about the following questions. Either discuss
your answers with somebody else, or write 200-250 words
about it.
a) Do you think it was right that Robinson Crusoe sold
Xury? Why did Robinson Crusoe think it was right?
b) What does Robinson Crusoe do to try to have a
“normal life” on the island?

22
 Part 3: Exercises
Setting the Scene:
• Imagine that you have been living on a desert island
for two years.
What would you have already done?
What would your main problems be?
What would your plans be?
Before you listen:
• Look up the following words in the glossary at the back
of the book.
a) Raisins
b) Candles
c) Earthquake
d) Umbrella
e) Starving
f ) Harvested
g) Currents
h) Lightning

23
 • Guess how they will be used in the story. Try and write
your own sentences, using these words as you think they will
be used in the story.
As you are listening:
• Write down the order that the words are first used in.
(It’s not the same order as they are written above.)
Whilst you read:
• Check the text now and see how the words are used
in the story. Is it how you expected?

24
 Part 3: Robinson Crusoe builds a life for himself
The Journal:
November 4th
I decide to order my day. Every morning I go out with
my gun, at noon I come back and eat, I sleep for two hours
whilst the sun is hottest, and then in the evening I work for
a few hours. I have started making a table and chair.
November 5th
I killed a wildcat. It didn’t taste good, but I kept its skin.

November 6th
I finish my table and chair in the evening.

November 13th
Today it rained. There was thunder and lightning. I was
afraid my powder would blow up. I put all the powder in
separate little bags and buried them in the ground.

November 18th
I found an iron tree in the woods. I nearly broke my axe
cutting it down.
25
 November 23rd
I am making my cave bigger and making tools from the
iron tree.

December 10th
I thought my cave was finished, but suddenly earth fell
down from the roof. I was lucky not to be under it. I decided
to hold up the walls with pieces of wood.

December 27th
I have discovered goats on the island, but they are very
quick, so I didn’t manage to shoot one.

January 1st
After sitting for a long time, I managed to shoot two goats.
Perhaps I should go hunting with my dog.

January 2nd
I went hunting with my dog. A mistake, all the goats
turned on him, and now he won’t go near them.

26
 I needed candles: It got dark around seven and I was
forced to bed early. I put some goat’s fat and poured it into a
clay dish. The light from this lamp was not very bright, but
I found a bag filled with empty corn husks in my cave. I shook
the husks out in front of my fortress and forgot about them.
This was just before the rainy season.
A month later I was surprised to see English corn growing
in front of my house. I thought that the corn had been sent
to me by God. Tears came to my eyes. Then I realised what
had happened and felt less grateful to God. It was lucky I had
thrown the corn into the shade of my fortress, otherwise it
would have dried out in the sun. I decided to plant the corn
properly in a field after the next rainy season.

April 16th
I was nearly killed. I was working just inside the entrance
to my cave, when earth suddenly fell from the roof, and the
wooden supports started to crack. I climbed over my fence,
and when I stepped on the ground again, I knew it was an
earthquake. I was so surprised that I just sat on the ground.

June 16th
I found a giant turtle on the shore today.

27
 June17th
I cooked the turtle and found sixty eggs inside her. After
only having had goat’s meat and biscuits, it tasted delicious.

June 18th
Worked outside in the rain. The rain felt cold.

June 19th
I am very ill and am shaking.

June 21st
I am still very ill. I prayed to God, but I hardly knew what
I was saying.
June 22nd
I feel a little better.

June 23rd
Very bad again.

28
 June 25th
I have had nothing to eat for days. I killed a goat and
brought it home. I cooked some and ate it.

June 27th
I can’t eat or drink. I cannot even stand up. I started to
pray again. I fell asleep and I had a most terrible dream. I
was sitting outside my fortress. A burning man came down
from a black cloud. He came towards me carrying a huge
flaming sword.
“I have given you all these things, and yet you don’t thank
me. Now you will die!” he lifted his sword.

June 28th
I feel stronger after sleep. I took water from the creek and
cooked some goat’s meat. I had three‘turtle’s eggs for supper.
I opened the Bible and read:‘“Call on me in the day of
trouble, and I will save you.” I felt very happy to have found
God. After that I fell asleep again.
When I woke up I felt much better. I put some tobacco
on the fire and inhaled the smoke, a cure I had heard of in
Brazil. By the end of the week I was feeling much better.

29
 Life on the island was difficult, but praying and reading
form the Bible every day helped. As my health returned, I
started working again. On July 15th I decided to have a look
at the rest of the island. I walked along the creek and found
meadows covered with beautiful flowers. The next day I went
back, and found melons on the ground and grapes in the
trees. I had walked too far to get back to my fortress before
dark, so I climbed up into a tree and slept there.
The next morning I walked four miles further along the
valley. I came to a part of the island that was fresh and green
like a garden. I saw cocoa, orange and lemon trees. My dog
caught a young goat and I knocked a young parrot off a tree
with a stick. I brought them home with me. I picked as many
limes and grapes as I could carry, but when I got home all
the grapes were squashed. I decided that next time I would
hang grapes in a tree to dry and bring home raisins.
The first thing I did on returning to my fortress was to
make a cage for my parrot and an enclosure for my goat. I
realised I had built my fortress on the worst part of the island.
I considered moving inland, but realised that if I did I would
never see a ship. For the rest of July I spent a lot of time in
the valley, building a second house. The work took me until
August. Now I had a “country house” as well as a “seaside
house.”

30
 September 30th
I have been on this island for three hundred and sixty five
days. I prayed to God all day thanking him for saving me.
My ink has started to dry up and I have decided to give up
keeping a journal. I will only describe the most interesting
things from now on.
During my second year on the island I worked hard every
day. I read the Bible three times a day, and hunted three hours
a day. In the afternoons I made things for myself, which
always took time. In the middle of the dry season I harvested
my corn. I had been afraid that the hares would eat it all so I
set up a fence and tied my dog to it. The birds were now a
problem. I shot three of them and hung their bodies on the
fence as a warning. After that the birds left my field alone.
By the time the rainy season started I had harvested all
my corn. While it rained I sat in my tent and taught my parrot
to talk, and finally he said his name “Poll!” This was the first
word from another I had heard on the island.
During the year I tried to make clay pots. Some of them
cracked when I dried them in the sun. In about two months
I only successfully made two. I made two strong baskets out
of branches, to put them in, then carried my corn home in
them and put them in my cave.

31
 I needed a pot that could hold water, so I started studying
different ways of burning clay. I put two pots on the ground
and built a fire around them. When I pulled them out after
five or six hours, I saw that they had not cracked and were
very hard.
Next I cut down an iron tree and made myself a place to
grind my corn. I used old shirts to make a sieve, to separate
out the husks and the flour. The bread I baked was not very
good, without yeast, but I was satisfied with the result.
I wondered about making a canoe as I had seen in Brazil.
I immediately cut down a large tree in the woods, and started
to work on it. It took me five months to finish it, and when
I was finished I was very satisfied with my work. It was the
largest canoe I had ever seen, large enough for about twenty-
six people.
Then I started to think about getting my canoe to the
water. I should have thought of this before I started. The
canoe lay a hundred yards from the river. After some thought
I decided to dig a canal to it and float it to the river. After
more thought, I realised that it would take me ten to twelve
years to finish, and give up on the idea. I left the canoe on
the ground as a reminder to plan better in future.
My clothes were starting to wear out. I had saved all the
skins of the animals I had shot and I started to make new
clothes of them with the needle and thread I had saved from
32
the ship. First I made a hat and that worked so well that I
made a shirt and trousers too. Then I made a belt to put my
tools and bags of gunpowder on. I was satisfied: My new
clothes kept me dry in the rain. I also made a goat skin
umbrella to protect me from the sun.
I decided to make another smaller boat. I made a mast
from a small tree. The boat was too small to sail to the
mainland, but I decided to try and sail around the island.
When I had sailed my boat out to sea, I discovered there were
a lot of rocks under the water near the island. I would have
to go a long way around them to make sure I didn’t sink. I
decided it was best to go back to the island and see how things
looked from up on a hill.
From the hill I saw strong currents from the west and the
east of the island, and I knew that if I came too close to them
I might be swept out to sea, never to return. I decided to be
very careful as I sailed out, but I hadn’t got far from the shore
when I felt a current pulling at the boat. I tried to steer back
with my oars, but it was no use and I was swept out to sea. I
guessed the currents would join a few miles past the island,
and that I would be carried even further.
I was not afraid of drowning on the calm sea, but of
starving to death. I had a turtle and bottle of water in the
boat, but that would not last me long. I looked back at my
island and thought it was the most wonderful place in the

33
world. I worked as hard as I could to row back to the island,
but it kept getting smaller.
Suddenly I felt a breeze from the South. I realised that I
might be saved. The breeze got stronger, so I spread my sail
and started to work my way back towards the island. It was
a long way. When I finally got back to shore again I fell on
my knees and thanked God for saving me. Then I walked to
my country house and slept the night there.
I awoke to the sound of someone calling my name.
“Robinson Crusoe, Robinson Crusoe!”
I was so tired that at first I didn’t really wake up and
thought I was dreaming. Then I awoke, scared by the voice.
When I opened my eyes, I saw my Poll sitting on top of the
fence. I called to him and he immediately flew to me and
sat on my finger, saying “Poor Robinson Crusoe!” He seemed
as happy to see me as I was to see him. I took him back to
my fortress with me.
I gave up my dream of sailing to the mainland then and
concentrated on perfecting my pots. I threw the old ugly pots
away, and even managed to make myself a tobacco pipe. I had
been on the island for eleven years now, and I began to think
about keeping goats. In my first year I had caught a young
goat, but had killed it after a while because it wouldn’t eat. I
decided to make a trap for the goats by digging a hole,

34
covering it with branches and baiting it with corn. The next
day the corn was gone, but with no sign of the goats.
I reset my traps every night, improving on their design.
Eventually, one night, I caught a large old goat and three
young ones. I searched for a place to keep my goats. Finally
I found a meadow with fresh water at one end, and I built a
fence around it. Two years later I had a flock of forty-three
goats.
I realised I could get milk from the goats, despite never
having milked an animal before. After a while I perfected the
technique and managed to make cheese and butter too, which
tasted delicious on my home baked bread. Every night I ate
like a King in my fortress, with my servants all around me;
my dog, my cats and Poll. If anyone in England had seen
me now they would either have been afraid, or they would
have laughed a great deal.

After you have read:

• Think about the following questions. Either discuss
your answers with somebody else, or write 200-250 words
about it.
a) Why did Robinson Crusoe start praying to God and
reading the Bible?

35
 b) Robinson Crusoe says he is “dining like a King in his
fortress,” what do you think he means by this?

Part 4: Exercises
Setting the Scene:
• Imagine that you have not seen another person for ten
years.
How would you feel?
What would you miss most?
• Imagine that you have come home and found a
stranger in your house.
How would you feel?
What would you do?
Before you listen:
• Look up the following words in the glossary at the back
of the book.
a) Pretended
b) Cannibals
c) Bow and arrow
d) Vomited
36
 e) Jealous
f ) Eager
g) Skulls
h) Anchor
• Guess how they will be used in the story. Try and write
your own sentences, using these words as you think they will
be used in the story.

As you are listening:

• Write down the order that the words are first used in.
(It’s not the same order as they are written above.)

Whilst you read:

• Check the text now and see how the words are used
in the story. Is it how you expected?

37
 Part 4: Robinson Crusoe rescues Friday.

Many years went by without event. Then one day around

noon I was walking along the shore on the other side of the
island, when I saw a man’s footprint in the sand. At first I
stood listening carefully and looking around. I couldn’t see
or hear anything. I climbed a large hill but I still didn’t see
anyone. Then I went back to have a closer look at the
footprint. It was a clear footprint, I could see the print of the
toe and the heel and every part of the foot in the sand. I
hurried back home feeling very unsafe. Every few steps I
looked behind me, imagining men behind every tree and
bush.
I didn’t sleep at all that night. I thought, perhaps, that it
was the Devil trying to frighten me. But he would have found
a better way of frightening me than a footprint. The only
other answer was that this was from a native, who had come
over from the mainland in a canoe.
How strange! I had wanted company on my island for so
many years, and now, when I saw the footprint of another
human, I was frightened to death. Terrible thoughts of being
eaten by cannibals came to mind. I thought of pulling down
my fortress, digging up my fields and letting my goats loose.
Then I realised that the fear of danger can be far worse than
the danger itself.
38
 I regretted having made my fortress so large and so easy
to see. I decided to make a second wall, smaller but stronger,
in front of the first. I made the wall over ten feet thick by
bringing earth out of my cave, laying it on the wall and
walking on it. I made seven holes in the wall that I placed guns
in. Then I planted trees in front of the wall to hide my
fortress from view.
Many months later, walking around the island, I thought
I saw a boat far away to the west. I went down to the shore
to get a better view. Here I discovered something that made
me feel sick. The shore was littered with skulls, hands, feet
and other human body parts. I saw a place where a fire had
been made. I realised that the natives sometimes came to this
island to eat their prisoners. I turned away from the terrible
sight and vomited.
I ran back to my fortress. When I got there I felt safer,
and my anger grew at what I had seen. I started to think about
how to kill the Cannibals. Perhaps I could rescue some of
their prisoners. I thought about burying some gunpowder
under the place where they build their fires and blowing them
up. However, I didn’t want to waste that much gunpowder.
If I attacked them with a gun, two pistols and a sword, I
thought I might be able to kill twenty of them.
I awoke one night and thought about the way the
cannibals kill their prisoners, wondering what God would

39
think of these people. The cannibals didn’t think there was
anything wrong with what they did, just as I didn’t think it
wrong to kill and eat a turtle. I decided it might be wrong
for me to try and attack the cannibals, unless they attacked
me first. Besides, if I attacked them and some escaped, they
might return in their hundreds to kill me.
Some months later I lay awake at night again. I didn’t want
to go on worrying about being discovered by the cannibals
forever. I decided that my only hope was to rescue one of the
Cannibal’s prisoners and get them to help me to the
mainland.
Every day for a year and a half I went to the western side
of the island looking for the natives and their canoes. I never
saw any, but one morning I was surprised to find five canoes
on the shore near to my fortress. From the size of the canoes
I guessed there must be twenty to thirty natives on the island.
I didn’t think I could fight so many alone. I grabbed my gun
and went to a nearby hill, where I could watch them without
being seen.
The cannibals were dancing around a fire. They took two
prisoners from a boat, and knocked one down with a wooden
sword. The other prisoner was left standing by himself. He
looked around and suddenly ran across the beach directly
towards me with three cannibals close behind. He ran much
faster than they did and he soon reached the bay that I saw

40
when I arrived on the island. He threw himself into the water
and swam quickly across.
One of the cannibals turned back because he couldn’t
swim, but the other two followed. I realised that this was my
chance to rescue a prisoner, so I ran down the hill between
the prisoner and the two cannibals. I knocked the first
cannibal down with my gun. I didn’t want to fire because
the other cannibals might hear. Then I saw that the other
cannibal had a bow and arrow and was aiming at me. I
quickly shot him.
When the prisoner saw both cannibals on the ground he
stopped running. He came to me and put his head on the
ground, and placed my foot on top of it. I pointed to the
cannibal I had knocked down, who was beginning to move
again, and gave him my sword. He ran over to the cannibal
and cut off his head. He made a sign to me that we should
bury the bodies in the sand. We quickly buried them and
then I took him back to my fortress. I gave him some food
and water, and pointed to a blanket on the ground. He lay
down and went to sleep.
The man I had rescued was healthy and strong and about
twenty-six years old. He had a nice round face and a small
nose, thin lips and long black hair. When he woke up he came
out to where I was milking my goats. Again he fell on his
knees before me, and I understood that he was grateful for

41
me saving his life. I decided to call him Friday, because it was
Friday today by my calendar. I taught him “yes” and “no”
and taught him to call me “master.”
The following day we passed the place where we had
buried the bodies. Friday made signs to me that we should
dig them up and eat them. I pretended to vomit and made
signs that I would kill him if he ate them. The canoes were
gone and all that was left on the shore were bones and blood.
I took Friday back to the fortress and made him a goatskin
hat, shirt and trousers. I gave him a hatchet to put in his belt.
I could see he was very pleased to be dressed like me. Over
the next few days I showed Friday my fortress and all my
things, and he was eager to learn everything I showed him.
I showed him how to take care of the cornfield, how to milk
the goats, how to bake bread, how to dry grapes, and finally
how to fire a gun.
I also spent time teaching him English. He was a clever
student and learnt to speak my language well. Having
someone to talk to made my life so much happier. One day
I cooked a young goat over the fire and gave Friday some of
the meat. He liked it so much that he said he would never
eat people again. I was happy that he was not a cannibal any
more.
This was the best year on the Island. Friday’s English
became very good and I enjoyed speaking my language again
42
after so many years. I told him about Europe and living in
England. I told him about ships and how we traded with each
other. He was a wonderful and loyal friend who worked hard
with me every day.
One day a few days later, when the weather was perfectly
clear, we saw the mainland from the top of the nearest hill.
“Look!” Friday shouted. “There is my country!”
I saw how happy he was and was afraid he would leave
me. I was jealous of him going back to his friends and family.
“Friday, do you want to return to your people?” I asked.
“Oh, yes!” he replied.
“Would you go back to eating people, again?”
“No! I would teach my people that it is wrong to eat
people. I would show them how to grow corn and bake bread,
how to keep goats and milk them.”
“We could make a canoe for you to go back to your
country.”
“I will only go if you go with me!”
“They will eat me if I go with you!”
“No, No,” Friday replied. “I will tell them how you saved
my life.”

43
 I told him that once I had made a large canoe, and the
next day took him to the place in the woods where it lay.
Friday said this canoe was the right size to carry us both to
the mainland.
“We’ll make another one like this and you can go back to
your people in it,” I said.
He took his hatchet from his belt and handed it to me.
“You must kill me,” he said.
“Why must I kill you?”
“Kill me but don’t send me away!” he said with tears in
his eyes.
I told him I would not send him away and that I was
happy to go to the mainland with him.
We looked all over the island for a tree we could use as a
canoe. Friday soon found a perfect tree. It was large and strong
and close enough to the water for us to move it. After a month
of hard work we had made a fine strong canoe. We made a
mast for it and an anchor. Then we found some old sails from
the ship, which were not rotten. Friday quickly learned to sail,
but never learned to use the compass. We decided to wait for
the end of the rainy season before we sailed over.

44
 After you have read:
• Think about the following questions. Either discuss
your answers with somebody else, or write 200-250 words
about it.
a) Do you think Robinson Crusoe should have killed the
cannibals?
b) Does Robinson Crusoe really treat Friday like a friend?

Part 5: Exercises
Setting the Scene:
• How might Robinson Crusoe escape from the island?
List all the ways you can think of and decide which are
most likely.
• How would Robinson Crusoe feel, returning home
after nearly 30 years?
What would have changed whilst he was away?
Before you listen:
• Look up the following words in the glossary at the back
of the book.
a) Deck

45
 b) Surrender
c) Bind
d) Suspicious
e) Embraced
f ) Hung
g) Conditions
h) Mutinied
• Guess how they will be used in the story. Try and write
your own sentences, using these words as you think they will
be used in the story.
As you are listening:
• Write down the order that the words are first used in.
(It’s not the same order as they are written above.)
Whilst you read:
• Check the text now and see how the words are used
in the story. Is it how you expected?

46
 Part 5: Robinson Crusoe escapes the island

When the rains stopped we started to prepare for our trip to

the mainland. One morning Friday came running in
shouting “Master, Master, they have come!” I quickly put my
clothes on and went outside. To my surprise I saw an English
boat one mile to the south of the island. I was happy to see
it, but also very suspicious. What would an English ship be
doing in this part of the world? “Friday, stay close to me, we
can’t be sure if they are friends or enemies!”
The boat came ashore about half a mile from where we
stood. There were eleven on the boat, but three had their
hands tied behind them. The men pulled the boat onto shore,
and the three prisoners were taken off the boat.
“Oh master!” Friday whispered, “English men eat
prisoners too!”
“No, no, they may kill them, but they won’t eat them.”
The men stood on the beach talking to the prisoners. They
prisoners seemed to be begging for their lives. One of the men
had a sword, and I was sure the prisoners would be killed at
any minute. But a lucky chance saved the prisoners. Whilst
the men had been talking, the tide had gone out and left the
boat on the sand. They tried to push it out into the water,
but it was too heavy. I heard one of them shout, “Never mind,
47
we’ll just wait until the tide comes in again.” I knew it would
be ten hours before the tide returned. This would be our
chance to free the prisoners. Friday and I returned to the
fortress to load our guns.
Around two in the afternoon we returned to see the
prisoners sitting by themselves under a tree. Three of the men
were walking along the shore to have a look at the island,
while the other five were sleeping. I went into the woods and
crept up behind the prisoners. I said as quietly as I could,
“Who are you gentlemen?”
They were very surprised to see me. I reassured them that
I had come to help them.
“I was the captain of that ship,” one of the prisoners said.
“The sailors mutinied and took over the ship. They wanted
to kill me at first, but instead decided to put me ashore with
these two loyal men.”
“Do those sailors have any guns?” I asked.
“They have two guns, one of which they left in the boat.”
“Well, I will help you but on two conditions. First while
you are on my island you will follow my orders and secondly
if we retake the ship, you will take my servant and me back
to England.”
“If we retake the ship it is yours!” the captain replied.

48
 I cut the ropes around the hands and feet of the captain
and the two men, and gave them a gun each. We crept
through the woods closer to the sleeping men. “Should we
kill them or take them prisoner?” I asked. The captain said
that there were two men who were the leaders of the mutiny,
and the others had only joined because they were frightened
of them.
Whilst we were talking two of the men woke up. “Are
those two the leaders?” I whispered. “No!” replied the captain.
We crept closer and the captain and his officer shot two of
the sleeping men. When the three others saw the captain
before them, they begged for their lives.
“We promise to be loyal to you captain!” the men cried
and fell on their knees.
“ I believe them,” the captain said to me.
“I still want their hands and feet tied as long as they are
on my island.” I replied.
I sent Friday to make a hole in the bottom of the boat. This
way even if we couldn’t take the ship, we would not lose the
boat. We could repair it later and sail to the mainland in it.
The three men who had gone down the shore to look at
the island came running back when they heard the shots.
They surrendered to us and I ordered their hands and feet
tied also. I left Friday in charge of the prisoners and took the
49
captain and his men to my fortress. I told them about the
shipwreck and my many years on the island. When I finished
the captain had tears in his eyes, he said, “I believe God kept
you on this island all those years to save our lives!”
The captain explained that there were twenty-six men still
onboard the ship. We knew they would come to the island
looking for their friends. If they brought their guns they
would be too strong for us. As we spoke we heard the ship
fire a gun as a signal for the boat to come back. We ran to
the top of the nearest hill and saw a second boat with ten men
in it rowing towards the island. They all had guns. We
prepared ourselves for battle.
As the boat came closer, we could see the faces of the
sailors in it. The captain looked at them and said, “Three of
the men can be trusted, but I am not sure of the other seven.”
The men pulled their boat up onto the shore and ran over to
the first boat. They were surprised to find a hole in the
bottom. They shouted out to their friends and fired their guns
in the air. Our prisoners didn’t dare to answer.
“Friday,” I said quickly, “I want you to take these two with
you and go into the woods and shout out to the men. Make
sure you none of you are seen. Wait for them to answer and
follow you, then run further into the woods and shout again.
Draw them away from the boat.”

50
 When Friday and the captain’s men had gone, the Captain
and I rushed over to the boat and captured the three that were
left. “These three are good men,” the captain said and we let
them join us. We pulled the second boat out of the water.
For several hours Friday and the officers ran from hill to
hill in the woods, shouting out to the men that were following
them. Finally they got very tired and headed back to the shore.
They cried out when they saw their friends were missing.
Now it was very dark, and I ordered Friday and the Captain
to creep up on them on their hands and knees. When he was
close the captain recognised one of the leaders and shot him.
I ordered one of our men to call out to them in the dark.
“Tom Smith!” he shouted, “Throw down your guns and
surrender! The captain is here with an army of fifty men. One
of our leaders has been killed and I am a prisoner myself!”
The captain shouted that he had an army from the governor
of the island with him. “If you surrender now, you might not
be sent back to England to be hung!” By now, the sailors were
very tired and confused. They threw down their guns and
begged us to let them live. I sent the captain’s men over to
bind their hands and feet.
The only way to take over the ship was to get help from
some of the prisoners. I decided to hide myself from the new
prisoners and got one of the men to call to the captain,
“Captain, the governor would like to see you,”

51
 “Tell his excellency that I am coming.” the captain replied.
I explained my plan to the Captain and told Friday to take
the men we didn’t trust up to the fortress. The other prisoners
were kept on the shore, and after a few hours, the Captain
went back to them and said “I have spoken to the governor
and asked him not to have you hung. He agreed on the
condition that you help me attack the rest of the men on the
ship.”
The prisoners all thanked him and agreed to help him
retake the ship. The captain took his most trusted men and
went to repair the boat. Then they set off with all his men in
the two boats, and headed for the ship.
It was midnight when they reached the side of the ship.
One of the men shouted that all was well and they had
returned with all the men and both boats. At the same time,
the captain and his officers climbed over the side and knocked
down the two men on deck. The other men went below deck,
found the other leader and shot him as he slept. When the
rest of the sailors realised what had happened, they all
surrendered. The captain ordered seven guns to be fired,
which was the signal we had agreed upon. When I heard the
signal, I lay down and went to sleep. It had been a long day.
“Governor! Governor!” I awoke to the captain’s voice. I
saw him standing on a hill pointing out to sea. I climbed up
to meet him. “There is your ship!” he said. I looked down at
52
the ship and nearly fainted with joy. I embraced the captain
and saw he had tears in his eyes. I thanked God for my rescue.
We discussed what we should do with all our prisoners.
If they came back to England they would certainly be hanged.
I said that, if they wanted to, the prisoners could stay on the
island. I showed them my cornfields, my goats and my
fortress. The men were grateful, and said they would rather
stay than return to England.
When I went aboard the ship I brought my goatskin
umbrella with me to remind me of my life on the island.
Finally after twenty-eight years two months and nineteen days
I said goodbye to my island. I arrived in England in June of
the following year, and found my parents had died long ago.
But I heard that the Portuguese captain had taken care of my
farm in Brazil, and that from its success, I was now a rich man.

53
 After you have read:
• Think about the following questions. Either discuss
your answers with somebody else, or write 200-250 words
about it.
a) How has Robinson Crusoe changed during the story?
What has made him change?
b) What do you think Robinson Crusoe’s life will be like
from the end of the story onwards? Will he finally listen to
his father’s advice?

54
 Glossary
Word types:
(n) = noun
(v) = verb
(adj) = adjective
(adv) = adverb

adventure- an exciting experience, something that is risky but

fun (n)
anchor- a heavy object used to stop a ship from moving (n)
axe- a tool used for cutting down trees (n)
beg- to ask for something that you want very much (v)
bind- to tie things together (v)
blanket- something that is used to keep you warm at night,
often made of wool (n)
bow and arrow- a traditional weapon made from sticks and
string, used by Robin Hood (n)
breeze- a light wind (n)
brewing- getting stronger, like making beer (v)
burning- covered in fire (adj)
55
bury- to cover something with material or liquid, thus
removing it from sight (v)
calendar- a means of recording the passing of days, weeks and
months (n)
canal- a human-made water course (n)
Canaries- short for the Canary Islands (n)
candle- a means of making light, using wax and a string (n)
cannibal- someone who eats other humans! (n)
cannon- large gun, often found on a ship or in a castle (n)
canoe- a small boat, often made of a hollowed-out tree (n)
capture- to take control of (v)
carpenter’s chest- a box used for storing wood-work tools
whilst on a ship (n)
chase- to run after, to attempt to catch (v)
clay- a type of earth, that plates, bowls and pots are made of
(n)
colony- part of another nation’s territory controlled by a more
powerful nation that is far away (n)
comfort- to make someone in a bad situation feel better (v)
something that does this to you (n)

56
compass- a magnetic device that always points north (n)
condition- something that must be agreed to before another
thing can happen (n)
creek- a small watercourse similar to a stream but larger (n)
creep (past: crept)- to approach silently, to move so as to avoid
being heard (v)
current- powerful ongoing movement within a body of water,
often considered dangerous by sailors (n)
dare- to find the courage to do something dangerous or risky
(v)
deck- the flat surface on the outside of a ship that people most
often stand on (n)
deliberately- on purpose, not by mistake (adv)
eager- to be happy to do something, to want to do something
(adj)
earthquake- a situation where the ground shakes, due to the
movement of the continents (n)
embrace- to put your arms around someone, to hug (v)
enclosure- an area surrounded by a fence, used for keeping
animals (n)
escape- get out of a bad situation (v) or (n)

57
expect- to think something will happen in the future (v)
faint- to lose consciousness, to pass out (v)
fetch- to bring, or to bring back (v)
flaming- covered in fire (adj)
flour- a fine dust of dried cereal (e.g. corn or wheat), used
for baking (n)
fortress- a house or building that is designed to stop an attack
(n)
goat- an animal similar to a sheep, kept for meat and milk
(n)
governor- the person legally allowed to control a small area,
often a small colony (n)
grateful- thankful for a favour given (adj)
hammer- a tool used for hitting nails into wood (n)
hammock- a bed made of cloth that is hung from ropes (n)
hang (past: hung)- to kill someone, using a rope around their
neck and the force of gravity (v)
hare- wild animal similar to a rabbit but larger (n)
harvest- to gather a crop (e.g. wheat, apples) when it is ready
(v)

58
hatchet- a small axe (n)
howling- from the verb ”howl” the noise made typically by
dogs or wolves at the moon (n)
husk- the hard outer cover of a grain (e.g. rice, wheat or corn)
(n)
hut- a small, temporary house (n)
inhabitant- a person who lives in a place (n)
inherit- to receive something from somebody when they die
(v)
inland- land further from the sea (n)
jealous- to feel unhappy about another person’s good fortune
(adj)
journal- a record of events kept in order of time (n)
lightning- a flash of light created by an electrical storm (n)
loyal- staying with or following a person, worthy of trust from
that person (adj)
mainland- a large piece of land, not considered an island (n)
mast- a tall piece of wood on a ship, used for holding sails
up (n)
meadow- field covered in grass and wild flowers (n)

59
melon- a large sweet fruit, often yellow or green, with very
moist flesh inside (n)
middle station- middle class, neither working class nor
aristocratic (adj)
Moor- old word for people from North Africa and the Near
and Middle East (n)
mutiny- to take over command of a ship unlawfully, (when
the sailors revolt) (v) mutinous (adj)
native- someone who is born in a place, and groups that have
lived in a place for a long time (n)
needle- a sharp object used for making or repairing clothes,
with a hole in it for holding thread (n)
order- to tell someone to do something (v) or to structure
something (v)
overboard- off the side of a ship, the area around a ship (n)
pretend- to act as if you are doing something (n)
promise- to say that you will do something in the future, to
give your word (v)
punish- to cause pain or discomfort in response to ”bad”
actions (v)
raft- a temporary boat made of wood and rope (n)

60
raisin- dried grapes, small and brown, often found in muesli
(n)
realise- to suddenly understand something clearly (v)
reassure- to calm someone who is scared (v)
recognise- to see who someone (or what something) is (v)
refuse- to say no to an offer (v)
regret- to feel unhappy about a decision you have made (v)
rescue- to help someone out of a bad situation (v) also (n)
rotten- damaged by damp and the action of microbes (adj)
row- to move a boat by pushing water with bits of wood (v)
Sabbath- Christian, Jewish or Muslim holy day, a day of rest
in every week (n)
sail a- piece of cloth, used to move a ship by taking energy
from the wind (n) also to travel on a ship (v)
sailor- a person who works on a boat (n)
sailor’s chest- a box used for storing personal possessions on
a ship (n)
sand bank- sand near to the surface of what looks like deep
water (n)

61
satisfied- to be pleased with what you have done, or to want
no more of something (adj)
savage- a person who is seen as uncivilised or primitive (n)
saw- a tool used for cutting wood (n) the past tense of see
(v) is a different meaning!
sharpen- to make something able to cut, to give something
a point or edge (v)
shipwreck- the place where a ship has run into the land (n)
shovel- a tool used for moving earth or sand, similar to a
spade, but not for digging (n)
sieve- something made from fine cloth, used to separate small
particles from larger ones (n)
signal- something that is agreed between people in order to
carry a message across a distance (n)
skull- the bones of a human head (n)
slave- a person owned by another, a person without freedom
(n)
starving- the process of dieing from lack of food (v)
support- from the verb ”support” meaning a thing that is used
to hold something up (n)
surrender- to give up a fight, to stop resisting (v)

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surviving- still living when you might have died (adj)
suspicious- to feel that someone will do you harm (adj)
thread- very thin string used for making or repairing clothes
(n)
thunder- a loud noise created by an electrical storm (n)
tide- movement of large bodies of water that is caused mainly
by the moon (n)
turtle- a large swimming animal with a shell, similar to a
tortoise (n)
umbrella- a device held in the hand and used to keep rain or
sun from falling on you (n)
upset- unhappy or angry (adj)
vomit- to empty your stomach through your mouth (n)
weep (past: wept)- to cry, to shed tears of unhappyness (v)
wise- good at making decisions, experienced or thoughtful (adj)
wish- to want something very much (v)
yeast- a fungus that is used to put bubbles into bread or beer
(n)

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 Answer Key
Part 1:
1. My father was very upset by this and told me that I
should stay, as I was his only surviving son.
2. I was sure God was punishing me for leaving my
parents.
3. “You call that a storm!” he said, laughing “Why that
was just a breeze!”
4. After a long battle we were forced to surrender to
them.
5. I was taken as a slave of the Turkish pirate captain.
6. The captain was very scared by this, so he ordered that
the fishing boat should have a compass, several guns some
food and plenty of water on board it at all times, in case we
got lost again.
7. When we had taken the sail down again, I crept up
behind the older Moor and threw him overboard.
8. When it got dark we heard the terrible howling of wild
animals.

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 Part 2:
1. Finally a Scottish sailor asked, and I told him I was
an Englishmen and spoke about my escape.
2. The work was very hard, and I regretted having sold
Xury.
3. At that moment the ship struck a sand bank, and
waves started washing over the sides of the ship.
4. Next I found several guns and pistols and three barrels
of gunpowder.
5. Below deck I found some blankets, some tobacco, a
few bottles of rum and a hammock.
6. But when I went on board the twelth time I noticed a
storm brewing.
7. How long would I have to wait to be rescued?
8. It was such a comfort to see my words on paper that I
decided to keep a journal.

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 Part 3:
1. There was thunder and lightning.
2. I needed candles: It got dark around seven and I was
forced to bed early.
3. I climbed over my fence, and when I stepped on the
ground again, I knew it was an earthquake.
4. I decided that next time I would hang grapes in a tree
to dry and bring home raisins.
5. In the middle of the dry season I harvested my corn.
6. I also made a goat skin umbrella to protect me from
the sun.
7. From the hill I saw strong currents from the west and
the east of the island, and I knew that if I came too close to
them I might be swept out to sea, never to return.
8. I was not afraid of drowning on the calm sea, but of
starving to death.

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 Part 4:
1. Terrible thoughts of being eaten by cannibals came to
mind.
2. The shore was littered with skulls, hands, feet and
other human body parts.
3. I turned away from the terrible sight and vomited.
4. Then I saw that the other cannibal had a bow and
arrow and was aiming at me.
5. I pretended to vomit and made signs that I would kill
him if he ate them.
6. Over the next few days I showed Friday my fortress
and all my things, and he was eager to learn everything I
showed him.
7. I was jealous of him going back to his friends and
family.
8. We made a mast for it and an anchor.

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 Part 5:
1. I was happy to see it but also very suspicious.
2. “The sailors mutinied and took over the ship. They
wanted to kill me at first, but instead decided to put me ashore
with these two loyal men.”
3. “Well, I will help you but on two conditions. First
while you are on my island you will follow my—orders and
secondly if we retake the ship, you will take my servant and
me back to England.”
4. They surrendered to us and I ordered their hands and
feet tied also.
5. I sent the captains men over to bind their hands and
feet.
6. I have spoken to the governor and asked him not to
have you hung.
7. At the same time, the captain and his officers climbed
over the side and knocked down the two men on deck.
8. I embraced the captain and saw he had tears in his
eyes.

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U N I V E R B AU D I O C L A S S I C S U N I V E R B AU D I O C L A S S I C S

R O B I N S O N CRU S O E
DANIEL DEFOE

R O B I N S O N C RU S O E
www.univerb.se

UNIVERB FÖRLAG AB
Box 8193, 163 08 Spånga
Telefon: 08-795 89 07, 795 72 10
Fax: 08-795 72 20
E-mail: univerb@univerb.se

Art.nr CLUK01