OXFORD BOOKWORMS COMPREHENSION TEST

Stage 2
Twelve Years a Slave
1 Match the words 1–10 to the 3 Are these sentences true (T) or false (F)?
definitions a–j. 1 ___ When Solomon went away, he thought
1 ___ idea that he was going to return home soon.
2 ___ plant 2 ___ At that time, slavery was against the
3 ___ earn law in Louisiana.
4 ___ pain 3 ___ Solomon told William Ford that he was
5 ___ rope a free man.
6 ___ become 4 ___ The Bayou Boeuf River had cotton and
7 ___ state sugar plantations on each side of it.
8 ___ liar 5 ___ Tibeats tried to kill Solomon.
9 ___ bacon 6 ___ Solomon did not earn any money when
10 ___ kidnap he worked on the cotton plantation.
7 ___ Solomon stopped thinking about ways
a what you feel in your body when you are to escape.
hurt or sick 8 ___ Epps gave Patsey a terrible whipping.
b a person who says or writes things that are 9 ___ Bass was a cruel man and a liar.
not true 10 ___ Mr. Parker got a letter from Bass.
c to put things in the ground to grow
    20 marks 
d to take somebody away and hide them
e to begin to be something 4 Complete the text with the
f a new plan following words.
g long, thin pieces of meat
circus cotton farms free masters
h very thick, strong string to tie or pull things
pain slave timber violin wine
i to get money for work
j a part of a country Solomon Northup liked to play his
_______________. One day, two men asked
    20 marks 
him to play in their _______________ shows,
2 Choose the correct word in each and Solomon agreed. In Washington, they gave
sentence. Solomon a glass of _______________, and
soon he was in great _______________. When
1 At the start of the story, Solomon was living
he woke up, a man told him that now he was a
in a free / slave state.
_______________.
2 James Burch was cruel / kind to Solomon.
3 Eliza held her children in her arms, and Solomon worked on different _______________
cried angrily / desperately over them. for different _______________. He cut
4 In Washington, the slaves could not escape _______________ and sugar cane, and he
because they were in ropes / chains. picked _______________. After many years, two
5 Solomon escaped from Tibeats because he men came to say that he was
was a good swimmer / worker. _______________.
6 When Edwin Epps was hungry / drunk, he     20 marks 
used his heaviest whip on his slaves.
7 At the end of the day during picking-time,
Epps weighed / hid his cotton boxes.
8 Sometimes Epps wanted the slaves to
dance / sing.
9 On the sugar-cane plantation, Solomon had
to hang / whip some of the other slaves.
10 When Solomon saw his family, he told them
about his twelve years of pain / luck.
    20 marks 

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OXFORD BOOKWORMS COMPREHENSION TEST

Stage 2
Twelve Years a Slave
5 Put the events in order.
a ___ William Ford bought Solomon.
b ___ Solomon went to work on Epps’s farm.
c ___ Solomon went on a ship.
d ___ Solomon fought with Tibeats.
e ___ Solomon returned home.
f ___ Solomon met Brown and Hamilton.
g ___ Solomon told his story to a kind man.
h ___ Solomon went to work for Tibeats.
i ___ Solomon traveled to New York City
and then to Washington with Brown
and Hamilton.
j ___ Solomon escaped through
the swamps.

    20 marks 

    Total marks 

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OXFORD BOOKWORMS COMPREHENSION TEST ANSWERS

Stage 2
Twelve Years a Slave
1 5
1 f 1 f
2 c 2 i
3 i 3 c
4 a 4 a
5 h 5 h
6 e 6 d
7 j 7 j
8 b 8 b
9 g 9 g
10 d 10 e
2
1 free
2 cruel
3 desperately
4 chains
5 swimmer
6 drunk
7 weighed
8 dance
9 whip
10 pain

3
1 T
2 F
3 F
4 T
5 T
6 F
7 F
8 T
9 F
10 T

4
Solomon Northup liked to play his violin. One
day, two men asked him to play in their circus
shows, and Solomon agreed. In Washington,
they gave Solomon a glass of wine, and soon he
was in great pain. When he woke up, a man told
him that now he was a slave.
Solomon worked on different farms for different
masters. He cut timber and sugar cane, and he
picked cotton. After many years, two men came
to say that he was free.

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OXFORD BOOKWORMS MULTIPLE-CHOICE TEST

Stage 2
Twelve Years a Slave
SETTING 8 On the cotton farm near Marksville, there
were _____ cotton-picking times every year.
Choose the best answer. a  four
1 The story begins in _____. b  six
a  1741 c  eight
b  1801 d  ten
c  1841
9 During a cotton-picking time, the slaves
d  1901
worked _____.
2 In New York State at that time, there a  from first light to night-time
were _____ b  through the night
a  some white and some black slaves c  for eight hours
b  many black slaves d  for six hours
c  a few black slaves
10 On Edwin Epps’s farm at Christmas, the
d  no slaves
slaves always had _____.
3 The town of Richmond was near _____ a  dry bread and water
a  some sugar-cane plantations b  bread and coffee
b  a swamp c  cornbread and bacon
c  the sea d  meat, vegetables, fruit, and sweets
d  Solomon’s house
    20 marks 
4 New Orleans is a city in _____.
a  Louisiana
CHARACTERS
b  Georgia
c  Mississippi Choose the best answer.
d  Virginia 11 Solomon’s wife, Anne, worked as a _____.
5 When people wanted to buy slaves, they a  hotel manager
sometimes _____. b  cook
a  gave the slaves some sugar c  teacher
b  gave the slaves some money for d  singer
their families 12 Mr. Brown and Mr. Hamilton worked _____.
c  weighed the slaves a  on a farm
d  felt the slaves’ arms and looked at their b  for a lawyer
eyes and teeth c  for a circus
6 William Ford’s farm was next to the _____. d  in the sheriff’s office
a  Potomac River 13 James Burch was a _____.
b  Snake River a  slave-trader
c  Red River b  slave-driver
d  Green River c  farm manager
7 All around the Bayou Boeuf River, there d  sheriff
were _____. 14 James Burch did not want Solomon to
a  slave-cabins _____.
b  swamps full of alligators a  be a slave
c  fields of corn b  go to New Orleans
d  mountains c  talk about his life in New York
d  help Eliza

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OXFORD BOOKWORMS MULTIPLE-CHOICE TEST

Stage 2
Twelve Years a Slave
15 When Solomon was a slave, people called
22 “Never say again that you are a free man,
him _____.
or I will kill you!”
a  Randall
a  James Burch
b  River
b  William Ford
c  Brett
c  Edwin Epps
d  Platt
d  Mr. Brown
16 The master who was always kind to his
23 “Oh, my dear children, they’re going to take
slaves was _____.
you from me, I know!”
a  William Ford
a  Patsey
b  John Tibeats
b  Mrs. Ford
c  Edwin Epps
c  Emily
d  Theophilus Freeman
d  Eliza
17 _____ was an angry little man, who often
24 “Don’t cry, Mama, I’ll be a good boy!”
shouted.
a  Armsby
a  Mr. Chapin
b  Alonzo
b  John Tibeats
c  Randall
c  Armsby
d  Bass
d  Mr. Parker
25 “This is Mrs. Ford’s farm and I am
18 Patsey was a cotton-picker, but she could
manager here.”
also _____.
a  Mr. Parker
a  drive horses and cut wood
b  Mr. Chapin
b  mend boats
c  Solomon Northup
c  play the violin
d  John Tibeats
d  make clothes
26 “Go to the slave cabin and have a
19 Bass thought that _____.
good meal.”
a  Edwin Epps’s ideas were interesting
a  William Ford
b  animals were better than slaves
b  John Tibeats
c  slavery was wrong
c  Edwin Epps
d  everyone needed slaves
d  James Burch
20 Henry Northup was _____.
27 “I hear that I have a slave who writes letters
a  the sheriff
and asks white men to post them!”
b  a lawyer from Sandy Hill
a  Mrs. Epps
c  Solomon’s uncle
b  Edwin Epps
d  Solomon’s son
c  Theophilus Freeman
    20 marks  d  Armsby
28 “A white man and a black one are just
DIALOGUE the same.”
a  Armsby
Who said this?
b  Patsey
21 “Will you come and play for us?” c  Bass
a  Theophilus Freeman d  Eliza
b  Mr. Hamilton
c  John Tibeats
d  Mr. Parker

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OXFORD BOOKWORMS MULTIPLE-CHOICE TEST

Stage 2
Twelve Years a Slave
29 “Will you write to my friends in Saratoga,
35 an animal (often dangerous) with a long, thin
and ask them to send free papers for me?”
body and no legs
a  Eliza
a  snake
b  Patsey
b  alligator
c  Randall
c  horse
d  Solomon
d  dog
30 “Put down that bag – this is the end of your
36 a big piece of land to grow tea, sugar,
cotton-picking days.”
cotton, etc.
a  William Ford
a  swamp
b  Alonzo
b  cabin
c  Mr. Brown
c  farmhouse
d  Henry Northup
d  plantation
    20 marks 
37 a small, thin piece of metal which you hit
into wood to hold things together
VOCABULARY a  stone
b  nail
Choose the best answer.
c  fork
31 wood for building and making things d  key
a  timber
b  stick 38 an alcoholic drink
c  tree a  coffee
d  cotton b  tea
c  wine
32 a person in a business, shop, farm, etc. who d  milk
decides things and tells people what to do
a  sheriff 39 to use a machine to see how heavy
b  lawyer somebody or something is
c  manager a  weigh
d  slave b  hold
c  push
33 a show that moves from place to place, with d  knock
people and animals who dance, jump, and
do many clever things 40 to take a flower, fruit, etc. from the ground or
a  party from a tree
b  circus a  tie
c  farm b  hang
d  adventure c  pick
d  plant
34 a long, thin piece of leather or rope for
    20 marks 
hitting people or animals
a  whip
b  blanket
c  gun
d  wheel

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OXFORD BOOKWORMS MULTIPLE-CHOICE TEST

Stage 2
Twelve Years a Slave
PLOT
47 Solomon had a fight with John Tibeats about
Choose the best answer. some nails, so _____.
a  Tibeats and his men tried to hang
41 Solomon met Mr. Brown and Mr. Hamilton
Solomon with a rope
when he was _____.
b  Solomon didn’t get any meals for a week
a  at a hotel
c  Solomon went to prison
b  in town, looking for work
d  the two men did not speak anymore
c  working on a farm
d  playing his violin outside a restaurant 48 Solomon went to work for Edwin Epps, and
after a few years, he _____.
42 Solomon went to Washington because
a  began growing cotton for himself
_____.
b  was earning lots of money
a  his wife’s family lived there
c  became sick and stopped working
b  he thought that he was going to earn lots
d  became a slave-driver
of money there 49 Solomon wrote a letter to one of his friends
c  he needed to buy a new violin there and _____.
d  he wanted to find out what it was like a  took it to the mail office
b  gave it to Edwin Epps
43 After dinner one evening, Solomon felt very
c  asked Armsby to post it for him
sick, and when he woke up, _____.
d  hid it in a box of cotton
a  he was on a boat
b  a man was pulling him along with a rope 50 Solomon told Bass about his life and his
c  he could not speak hopes, _____.
d  there were heavy chains on his hands a  but Bass whipped Solomon
and feet b  so Bass fetched free papers for him
c  and finally, two men came to rescue him
44 Solomon lived in a slave-house for about
d  but Bass told him to forget all about it
two weeks, and then he _____.
a  went on a ship to Louisiana     20 marks 
b  escaped with two other slaves on a raft
c  traveled in a wagon to Georgia     Total marks 
d  went to see a doctor
45 William worked for Mr. and Mrs. Ford on
their farms, and on the _____ plantation at
Indian Creek.
a  cotton
b  corn
c  timber
d  sugar-cane
46 William had an idea to help Ford – he
_____.
a  made a strong wagon for boxes of cotton
b  made a raft to carry timber on the river
c  tied the sugar cane with ropes
d  burned the bad plants next to the
corn fields

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OXFORD BOOKWORMS MULTIPLE-CHOICE TEST ANSWERS

Stage 2
Twelve Years a Slave
SETTING PLOT
1 c 41 b
2 d 42 b
3 c 43 d
4 a 44 a
5 d 45 c
6 c 46 b
7 b 47 a
8 a 48 d
9 a 49 c
10 d 50 c

CHARACTERS
11 b
12 c
13 a
14 c
15 d
16 a
17 b
18 a
19 c
20 b

DIALOGUE
21 b
22 a
23 d
24 c
25 b
26 a
27 b
28 c
29 d
30 d

VOCABULARY
31 a
32 c
33 b
34 a
35 a
36 d
37 b
38 c
39 a
40 c

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OXFORD BOOKWORMS BOOK ACTIVITY ANSWERS

Stage 2
Twelve Years a Slave
BEYOND THE STORY  CHAPTER 5  Correct the underlined words.
 READ & RESEARCH  Read ‘Beyond the Story’ 1 dogs
and research the answers to these questions. 2 swim
Students’ own answers 3 morning
4 kindly

ACTIVITIES  CHAPTER 6  Answer the questions about a

slave’s life on a cotton farm.
Think Ahead
1 They had to plant cotton.
1 Read about the story on the back cover.
2 They had to pick cotton.
How much do you know now about the
3 They had to get up an hour before daylight.
story? Check the true sentences.
4 They had a very small piece of cold bacon
Sentences 1, 4, and 5 are true. and cornbread.
5 They slept on a piece of wood, with
2 What is going to happen in the story?
a blanket.
Can you guess?
Students’ own answers (sentence 1 is true)  CHAPTER 7  Match the sentence halves.
1 e
3 RESEARCH Before you read, find the
2 c
answers to these questions.
3 d
Students’ own answers 4 b
5 a
Chapter Check
6 f
 CHAPTER 1  Complete the sentences with the
places below. There is one extra name.  CHAPTER 8  Complete the sentences with the
1 Saratoga names of people in the story. You will need to
2 New York State use some of the names more than once.
3 Washington 1 Patsey; Mrs. Shaw
4 New York City 2 Mr. Epps; Patsey
3 Mr. Epps; Mr. Shaw
 CHAPTER 2  Are the sentences true or false?
4 Mr. Epps; Solomon; Patsey
1 true
2 true  CHAPTER 9  Choose the correct words to
3 false complete the sentences.
4 false 1 white
5 false 2 wrong
3 surprises
 CHAPTER 3  Put the events in order.
4 a lot of
1 e 5 writes
2 d 6 long
3 a 7 sick
4 c
5 b  CHAPTER 10  Check the true sentences.
Sentences 2, 5, and 8 are true.
 CHAPTER 4  Match the quotes with the
people who say or think them in the chapter.
1 Eliza
2 Tibeats
3 Solomon
4 Tibeats’ friend
5 Chapin

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OXFORD BOOKWORMS BOOK ACTIVITY ANSWERS

Stage 2
Twelve Years a Slave
Focus on Vocabulary 3 DECODE Who does each pronoun stand
1 Complete the sentences with the for in exercise 1?
correct words. my = Solomon
1 violin we = Mr. Northup and Solomon
2 blanket us = Mr. Northup and Solomon
3 master he = Epps
4 wagons he = Epps
5 swamps you = Solomon
6 weigh he = Epps
me = Solomon
2 Replace the underlined words with the I = Solomon
words below. I = Solomon
1 cabin I = Epps
2 raft you = Solomon
3 scoundrel he = Epps
4 cruel
5 rescue Discussion
6 sheriff 1  THINK CRITICALLY  Read the sentences.
Do you agree with them? Why/Why not?
Focus on Language Use the words below to discuss with
1 Complete the questions with the a partner.
correct endings. Students’ own answers
1 isn’t it
2 aren’t you 2  COMMUNICATE  Talk about these
3 isn’t he questions with your partner. Use the
4 wasn’t he underlined words in exercise 1.
5 haven’t you Students’ own answers
6 won’t you
3 Choose a passage (a paragraph, or just
2 DECODE Read this text from the story one or two sentences) from the story.
and underline all the personal pronouns Complete the sentence below, and
(I/me, we/us, etc.). choose the best words.
Mr. Northup took my arm, and we walked up to Students’ own answers
Epps’s house with the sheriff. Epps was waiting
for us, and when he saw Mr. Northup’s papers, 4  COMMUNICATE  Take turns to read your
he was very angry. passage to a partner and ask questions
“Who wrote and posted that letter for you?” he about it.
shouted at me. Students’ own answers
“Perhaps I wrote it myself,” I replied.
“I’ll kill the man who helped you!” he shouted.

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OXFORD BOOKWORMS BOOK ACTIVITY ANSWERS

Stage 2
Twelve Years a Slave
PROJECT
1 Read this profile of the slave
Frederick Douglass.

2 Match the headings with the correct

paragraphs.
A Early Life
B Fighting His Master
C Escape
D Family Life
E Fighting Slavery
F Death

3 Read the text again and write questions

for the answers.
Suggested answers:
1 When was Frederick Douglass born?
2 Who were his masters?
3 How did he escape?
4 When did he escape?
5 Was he married? / Did he have a family?
6 Did he write a book?
7 What did he do after 1838?

4  CREATE  Now answer the questions in

exercise 3 about Solomon Northup, or
about another famous slave. Use your
answers, and other interesting
information, to write a profile like the
one about Frederick Douglass. Use the
same headings.
Students’ own answers

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