OXFORD BOOKWORMS COMPREHENSION TEST

Stage 4
The Silver Sword

1 Put the following events in the story in 4 Are these sentences true (T) or false (F)?
the right order. Number them 1–10. a ___ Ruth’s mother is Swiss.
a ___ Ruth decides to go to Switzerland. b ___ Edek was caught taking a chicken to
b ___ American soldiers put Jan in prison. the city.
c ___ Joseph gives Jan the sword. c ___ When they met, Jan liked Edek.
d ___ Ruth, Edek and Bronia find d ___ Jan stopped the trains to take food.
their parents. e ___ Both the Wolffs’ sons were dead.
e ___ Joseph escapes from prison. f ___ The Burgomaster said they could stay
f ___ The children escape by canoe. with the Wolffs.
g ___ The children stay on the Wolff’s farm. g ___ Jan wanted to go back to the Wolffs for
h ___ Joe takes the children to a refugee the sword.
camp by Lake Constance. h ___ The I.T.S. helped children to find their
i ___ Ruth and Bronia meet Jan. parents.
j ___ Ruth and Bronia find Edek. i ___ The I.T.S found Jan’s parents.
j ___ Ruth married a Frenchman.
20 marks
20 marks
2 Who said this in the story? Who did they
say it to? Jan, Ruth, Bronia, Joseph, the 5 Can you describe how the children
Wolffs, Ivan (the Russian soldier), travelled from Posen to Switzerland?
Greenwood (the American captain).
a ‘I’ll give you this sword if you do something
for me.’ ............... to ...............
b ‘The whole of Warsaw wants to see my
officer.’ ............... to ...............
c ‘He was going to Switzerland to find your
mother.’ ............... to ...............
d ‘We don’t have enough money to pay 200
marks.’ ............... to ...............
e ‘I’ll remember you for ever.’
............... to ...............
20 marks

3 Look at this picture and answer the

questions.

………………………………………..
………………………………………………………..
………………
………………………………………..………………
………………………………………..………………
………………………………………..………………
……………………………………………………….
a Who is this? ...............
b What has he just left? ............... 30 marks
c Where does he want to go? ...............
d Why does he want to go there? ............... Total marks
e Does he get there? ...............
10 marks

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OXFORD BOOKWORMS COMPREHENSION TEST ANSWERS
Stage 4
The Silver Sword

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

2
a Joseph, Jan
b Ivan, Ruth
c Jan, Ruth
d Ruth, Greenwood
e Bronia, the Wolffs

3
a Joseph
b Prison
c Warsaw
d His family is there
e Yes

4
a T
b F
c F
d T
e T
f F
g T
h T
i F
j T

5
Students’ individual answers.

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OXFORD BOOKWORMS MULTIPLE CHOICE TEST
Stage 4
The Silver Sword

SETTING 9 _____ passed without news of Edek.

a  Six months
Choose the best answer. b  Two years
1 The story is about a family in _____ during c  Two weeks
the Second World War. d  Three years
a  Germany
10 By January 1945, the Nazis were gone and
b  Russia
Warsaw was in the control of _____.
c  Switzerland
a  the Russians
d  Poland
b  the Americans
2 The father and mother were taken to _____. c  the Polish
a  America d  the Swiss
b  Russia
20 marks
c  prison camps
d  live on a farm
CHARACTERS
3 It was _____ when Joseph was taken away.
a  1950 Choose the best answer.
b  1945 11 Joseph Balicki was _____.
c  1940 a  a German Soldier
d  1948 b  a farmer in Poland
4 The children left their house to escape c  the headmaster of a school
from _____. d  an American guard
a  the Americans 12 Joseph’s wife, Margrit, was _____.
b  their parents a  Polish
c  the Nazis b  Swiss
d  the Polish police c  German
5 During the first winter and spring the d  American
children lived _____. 13 Joseph and Margrit had _____ children.
a  in a cellar a  three
b  on a farm b  four
c  in a prison c  five
d  in a school d  two
6 In the early summer they went to live in 14 Mrs Krause was _____.
a _____ outside the city. a  the mother of Jan
a  forest b  a prisoner with Joseph
b  school c  the mother of a child at Joseph’s school
c  camp d  a teacher at Joseph’s school
d  prison
15 Joseph met Jan in _____.
7 They began to walk _____ to Switzerland. a  Warsaw
a  south b  the prison
b  north c  Switzerland
c  east d  Germany
d  west
16 Jan kept the sword in _____.
8 After _____ left, the children had to look a  a wooden box
after themselves. b  the cellar of the house
a  Edek c  the lorry
b  Jan d  the prison
c  Ruth
d  Ivan

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OXFORD BOOKWORMS MULTIPLE CHOICE TEST
Stage 4
The Silver Sword

17 Jan had a cockerel called _____. 25 ‘I’m not a little girl, I’ll be eighteen
a  Jumpy next week.’
b  Bumpy a  Ruth
c  Scrumpy b  Bronia
d  Jimpy c  Mrs Krause
d  Eva
18 Ruth found her new life difficult until
she _____. 26 ‘That’s a nice welcome, isn’t it?’
a  met Jan a  Ruth
b  went to the prison b  Jan
c  started the school c  Edek
d  went to Germany d  Ivan
19 Frau Wolff’s sons were _____. 27 ‘Switzerland is still a long way away. We
a  German soldiers must go on.’
b  American soldiers a  Ruth
c  prison guards b  Jan
d  Polish soldiers c  Joseph
d  Edek
20 After the war, Ruth went _____.
a  to Zurich university 28 ‘You stopped the train and were going to
b  to France steal food from it.’
c  back to Warsaw a  Captain Greenwood
d  to America b  the farmer
c  Jan
20 marks
d  the Burgomaster

DIALOGUE 29 ‘All Polish and Ukrainian refugees must be

sent home by tomorrow.’
Who said this? a  Kurt Wolff
21 ‘What happened to my wife?’ b  Frau Wolff
a  Mr Krause c  the Burgomaster
b  a German soldier d  Captain Greenwood
c  Joseph 30 ‘Mother was sitting with you when you
d  an American soldier were asleep. She went away before you
22 ‘I’ll give you this sword if you do something woke up.’
for me a  Jan
a  Mr Krause b  Ruth
b  Joseph c  Edek
c  Jan d  Joseph
c  Mrs Krause 20 marks
23 ‘We’ll have to go over the roof.’
a  Jan VOCABULARY
b  Ruth
c  Edek Choose the best answer.
d  Bronia 31 a room at the top of the house, under
the roof
24 ‘From now on, we will have to look after
a  kitchen
ourselves.’
b  cellar
a  Ruth
c  ruin
b  Edek
d  attic
c  Jan
d  Joseph

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OXFORD BOOKWORMS MULTIPLE CHOICE TEST
Stage 4
The Silver Sword

32 a room under the ground in a house 40 a building that is almost destroyed and is
a  cellar falling down
b  attic a  ruin
c  rapids b  cellar
d  study c  attic
d  camp
33 part of the river where the water moves
very fast 20 marks
a  zone
b  rapids PLOT
c  elastic
d  stream Choose the best answer.
34 to fall down suddenly because you are ill 41 During his first winter in prison
or weak Joseph _____.
a  faint a  tried to escape many times
b  silly b  escaped with other prisoners
c  trip c  wanted to stay there
d  grow up d  was too ill to escape

35 to send out air from the mouth and throat in 42 It took Joseph _____ weeks to walk home to
a noisy way Warsaw.
a  faint a  four and a half
b  cough b  three
c  ruin c  three and a half
d  sneeze d  five and a half

36 not sensible; stupid 43 Joseph found the silver sword in _____.

a  playful a  his old school
b  refugee b  the ruins of his old house
c  elastic c  the ruins of the church
d  silly d  his kitchen

37 a place for people to live for a short time 44 The children escaped from their house
a  cellar by _____.
b  camp a  running out of the front door
c  attic b  running out of the back door
d  house c  moving from roof to roof
d  sitting on the roof
38 a kind of string that gets longer as you pull it
a  camp 45 The children decided to go to _____ to find
b  nail their mother and father.
c  elastic a  Switzerland
d  rope b  Poland
c  Germany
39 to take care of someone or something d  Russia
a  grow up
b  look after 46 Edek walked more slowly and his _____
c  bring up was no better.
d  cough a  foot
b  cough
c  leg
d  head

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OXFORD BOOKWORMS MULTIPLE CHOICE TEST
Stage 4
The Silver Sword

47 Jan and Edek had to go to court for _____.

a  stealing bread
b  escaping from prison
c  stopping a train
d  selling butter
48 Jan wanted to stay with Frau Wolff
because _____.
a  he didn’t have a mother
b  he didn’t want to go home
c  he was tired
d  he loved their dog
49 The Wolffs gave the children _____
to escape.
a  a lorry
b  two bicycles
c  two canoes
d  train tickets
50 At the end of the story the family
lived _____.
a  in an international children’s village
b  in their old house in Poland
c  on a farm
d  in the mountains in Germany
20 marks

Total marks

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OXFORD BOOKWORMS MULTIPLE CHOICE TEST ANSWERS
Stage 4
The Silver Sword

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

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

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

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

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OXFORD BOOKWORMS
Stage 4
The Silver Sword
BEFORE READING
Activity 1
1F 2T 3F 4T 5T
Activity 2
Encourage students to speculate and to
make guesses, but do not tell them the
answers. They will find out as they read
that the ‘yes’ answers are numbers 1, 2,
and 4.
Activity 3
The Second World War began in 1939 and
ended in 1945. The children lived in Poland,
in eastern Europe. To get to Switzerland,
they had to go west to Germany, and then
south to Switzerland.
WHILE READING
Chapters 1 to 3
1 How . . .? He knocked down a guard with a
catapult and stole his uniform. Then he
walked out of the prison with the other guards.
2 How . . .? By hiding in a luggage lift.
3 Why . . .? Because a prisoner had escaped.
4 What . . .? The Nazis took her away and sent
her to Germany.
5 Why . . .? Because on the night his wife was
taken away, someone shot at the car, and
one of the Nazi soldiers was hit in the arm.
6 What . . .? To tell them that he was going to
Switzerland to find their mother, and that they
should follow him as soon as they could.
7 Where . . .? To the place where the trains slow
down.
Chapters 4 and 5
1T
2 F The children stole food from their enemies,
but never from their own people.
3T
4T
5 F Ruth and Bronia lived in the forest in
summer, and in Warsaw in winter.
6 F Ruth asked the Russian officer to find her
brother Edek.
7 F Jan hated all soldiers.
8 T
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BOOK ACTIVITY ANSWERS
Before Reading Chapter 6
Encourage speculation. The correct answer
is 1, but do not tell students this before
they read the chapter. Let them check
their guesses as they read.
Chapters 6 to 8
1 Edek had run away from the Warthe camp.
2 When the fight at the field kitchen finished, Ruth
was holding Edek’s hand.
3 Jan did not believe Edek’s story about hiding
under a train.
4 In Berlin the children stayed in an old cinema.
5 Jan was helping some other boys to steal food
from the trains.
6 The American Captain told Jan he had been
stealing American food sent to feed the
refugees.
7 Jan went to prison because the children didn’t
have enough money to pay the 200 marks.
Chapters 9 and 10
1 A Bavarian farmer, to the children, about a
potato that Jan had thrown at him.
2 Frau Wolff, to her husband, about Edek.
3 Jan, to the farmer, about the fact that the
farmer’s sons had been German soldiers, and
so enemies who had fought against Polish
people.
4 Frau Wolff, to the children, about their mother.
5 Edek, to the Burgomaster, about Jan, trying to
hide the fact that Jan couldn’t speak
German.
6 The Burgomaster, to the farmer, about the
children, who had to be sent home like other
refugees.
7 Edek, to the Burgomaster, about his father
Joseph Balicki.
8 The farmer, to the children, about using his
canoes to get away by river.
Chapters 11 to 13
1 She let go of her paddle suddenly, and he fell
back into the water.
2 They found their paddle again, because the river
had carried it down to them.
3 Jan had left it at the Wolffs’ farm, next to the
photo of Rudolf.
4 Because she thought Edek was so ill that he
might die before they got to Switzerland.
OXFORD BOOKWORMS BOOK ACTIVITY ANSWERS
Stage 4
The Silver Sword

5 Because he wanted to go back to the Wolffs’ 1 Written by Jan, a few days after he faints
farm and get the silver sword. outside Ruth’s and Bronia’s cellar in
6 Because Jan screamed at him and kicked him Warsaw:
when Joe wouldn’t take him north to Boding. I’ve been living here for a week now, and I’ve
7 Because he had received letters from Herr Wolff decided to stay. Everyone wants to look in my
and Joseph Balicki, and he now knew for box, but they’d better look out! The sword is
certain that the children’s father was living in my secret, and I’m not going to show it to
Switzerland. anyone. If I keep it, I know it will
8 The heavy rain turned the stream into a fast-
bring me luck.
moving river, which carried Edek’s boat out into
the lake. 2 Written by Ivan, the Russian guard, after he
9 Because she thought that he cared more about visits the Warsaw cellar and is jumped on
his dog Ludwig than about Edek. by Jan:
What a strange day! I’d just arrived at the cellar
Before Reading Chapter 14 with chocolate and good news for the girls
The ‘yes’ answers are numbers 1 and 5. when suddenly this wild boy was trying to put
a knife in my neck and a cockerel was biting
AFTER READING my ankles! Luckily, nobody was hurt, but the
boy’s box got broken. Then Ruth started
Activity 1 crying! I had no idea what it was all about!
5 Joe: Hello, young man! What are you doing in 3 Written by Frau Wolff, on the last day that the
my lorry? children spend on the farm in Bavaria:
8 Jan: I needed somewhere to sleep, so I I wish they could stay. Jan reminds me so
climbed in here while you were sleeping. But much of Rudolf. Even Ludwig agrees! But I
I’ve got to go now. know they must leave tonight, before the
2 Joe: And where are you going? Burgomaster can take them away. I just hope
11 Jan: North. I’ve left something in a village they’ll reach the Danube safely in those old
called Boding. Are you going north? Can you canoes . . .
take me there? Written by Edek, while he was a prisoner
7 Joe: Just a minute. You’re rather young to be working on a farm near Guben in
travelling by yourself, aren’t you? Germany:
1 Jan: Well, I was with my family till yesterday.
This must be the most miserable place in the
But they didn’t want me to go back to
world. If the food was any worse, and the
Boding, so I ran away.
work was any harder, we’d all die. Tonight I’m
10 Joe: Why didn’t they want you to go?
going to try again to escape. And this time I
4 Jan: Because Edek’s sick, and Ruth wanted
won’t stop until I’m back in Warsaw with Ruth
me to help them. But I’ve got to go to
and Bronia.
Boding.
9 Joe: If they need your help, young man, you’re Activity 3
wrong to leave them alone. You should be arch, barn, camp, canoe, cellar, lorry, mattress,
with them. So I think you should – Hey! paddle, rapids, rifle, rope, ruin, signal,
There’s no need to kick me! zone
3 Jan: Ow! What are you doing? No! Let me go!
6 Joe: Right. You can just stay here now, nice
j o c a M p s e p H
and quiet. I was going to drive north, but I’ve
now decided we’ll go south – to find your s g b a r n r a L v
family. i z o n e e U r o i
g a t t o M i o r e
Activity 2
n r b U t i n p r c
a c e L L a r e Y a

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OXFORD BOOKWORMS BOOK ACTIVITY ANSWERS
Stage 4
The Silver Sword

L H p a d d L e t n
s Y r i f L e o U o
r a p i d s r s n e
o W M a t t r e s s

1 The hidden sentence is: Joseph gave it to me,

but it’s yours now.
2 Jan said it to Margrit Balicki.
3 The silver sword.

Activity 4
Students can complete this how they like.
Possible answers:
My dear friends,
At last we have arrived at a camp near Lake
Constance. The journey in the canoes was
quite difficult for Bronia and me. When we
passed the village, an American soldier saw
us and tried to stop us. We got away from
him when I let go of the paddle and he fell
into the river. Later we found our paddle, and
went down the river to Falkenburg. There we
found Edek and Jan waiting for us on top of a
haystack.
Edek became very ill and I was worried that he
was too ill to finish the journey to
Switzerland. Luckily, a soldier called Joe
Wolski gave us a ride in his lorry and
brought us to this camp.
Now we want to go to Switzerland – but first we
have to prove who we are. Jan thinks that he
left the silver sword at your farm, near the
photo of Rudolf. Could you send it to us?
Then perhaps the camp official will believe
our story and let us go to Switzerland.
Thank you so much for looking after us. We will
always remember you.
Love from Ruth

Activity 5
Open answers. Encourage discussion.

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