PRE-INTERMEDIATE
R E A D I N G & T R A I N I N G
A Midsummer
Night’s Dream
KEY TO THE EXERCISES
AND EXIT TEST
Page 8 – exercise 1
1. B 2. B 3. C 4. B 5. C 6. A
Page 17 – exercise 1
a. He is going to marry Hippolyta in
four days’ time.
b. Egeus wants Hermia to marry
Demetrius.
c. Egeus is angry with Lysander for
making Hermia fall in love with
him, and thus refuse to marry
Demetrius.
d. Hermia wants to marry Lysander.
e. Demetrius wants to marry Hermia.
f. She will die, or be sent to a
convent for the rest of her life.
g. Lysander accuses Demetrius of
having made Helena love him, and
then having abandoned her.
h. They decide to run away from the
city and go to Lysander’s aunt.
i. She decides to tell Demetrius of
their plan.
Page 17 – exercise 2
1 proposed 2 marry 3 engaged
4 engagement 5 fiancé 6 wedding
7 groom 8 bride 9 best man
10 rings 11 bridesmaids 12 wedding
reception 13 honeymoon
KEY TO THE EXERCISES
William Shakespeare Page 24 – exercise 2
a. 10 b. 2 c. 7 d. 4 e. 1 f. 3 g. 5 h. 8 i. 9 j. 6
Page 25 – exercise 3
P
P L A Y W R
O
I G H T
O
R E H E A R S A L
S C
H
E N
L
E
P H R
S T A G E D I R E C T I O N The role Shakespeare
played in his
C R I production was:
A C T O R O N THESEUS.
Page 18 – exercise 3
E
Extract 1: Duke / marry / dispose /
gentleman / death
Page 25 – exercise 4 b. False – The story of Theseus’s life
Extract 2: worthy / himself / looked /
a. 1 b. 2 can be found in Plutarch’s Lives of
eyes
the Noble Grecians and Romans.
Extract 3: child / house / law In first conditional sentences we use if
c. True
+ present tense + will.
d. False – She is called Prosperine.
Page 19 – exercise 4 In second conditonal sentences we
e. False – It was written in medieval
use if + past simple + would.
Open answer. times.
a. will forget / is f. True
Page 19 – exercise 5 b. go / will find g. False – He didn’t believe in them.
c. were (or was) / would allow
Open answers.
d. won’t marry / will die Page 30 – Internet Project
e. wouldn’t tell / didn’t love Suggested Web sites:
Page 24 – exercise 1
f. played / would frighten
a. Pyramus and Thisbe. For information about Plutarch and
b. He likes the idea of making the Ovid:
Page 26 – exercise 5
audience cry at his sufferings. www.e-classics.com
1 so 2 up 3 their 4 able 5 away http://classics.mit.edu/index.html
c. No, not at all. When he acts the evil
6 came / fell 7 not 8 who / that / For information about Chaucer and
king, his friends are embarrassed at
which 9 as 10 it 11 her 12 the / his works:
his bad performance.
Thisbe’s / her 13 dead 14 himself www.luminarium.org/medlit/chaubib.
d. He is unhappy because he is
15 found htm
growing a beard, and he thinks he
will look ridiculous as a woman. For information about Apuleius and
Page 26 – exercise 6 The Golden Ass:
e. He is worried he will have to learn
a lot of lines for the part. Open answers. www.esotericlinks.com/goldstyle.html
f. He thinks he will be able to frighten
everybody by his performance. Page 30 – exercise 1
g. They decide to meet in the wood a. False – Chaucer’s version of the
to rehearse their play away from story can be found in The Legend
possible disturbances. of Good Women.
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 KEY TO THE EXERCISES KEY TO THE EXERCISES

Page 37 – exercise 1 (Be it lion, bear, or wolf, or bull, Page 45 – exercise 5 pleased that she has fallen in love
People in the Why they are Their
On meddling monkey, or on busy ape) a. can’t b. must c. can’t d. may with an ‘idiot with a donkey’s head’.
wood there relationship She shall pursue it with the soul of love. e. must f. must b. Oberon is surprised because he has
Lysander and They are running They are lovers.
never seen Hermia before. Puck is
Hermia away from Athens Page 44 – exercise 1 Page 46 – exercise 6 surprised because he has never
and Theseus’s seen Demetrius before.
threat to punish The nature of the Their solution 1. B 2. A 3. D 4. A 5. B 6. C
problem to it c. She accuses him of having killed
Hermia. 7. D 8. C 9. B 10. B
Bottom 1 The ladies in the Bottom will explain
Lysander.
Demetrius and Demetrius is trying Demetrius does
Helena to find Hermia, not want Helena audience will be in a prologue that d. Helena is angry and contemptuous.
frightened if Pyramus is not
Page 47 – exercise 7 e. She thinks all of her friends are
and Helena is to follow him, but
following she is desperately Pyramus kills really killed and that 1 forest 2 easily 3 instance playing a trick on her.
Demetrius because in love with him. himself with a the actor is not
4 terrified 5 bit 6 replied 7 explain f.
she loves him. sword. really Pyramus, but
Bottom. 8 scared was in love is now in says
Oberon and They have both They have
Titania stopped in the recently quarrelled Snout 2 The ladies in the They will explain in Tapescript with love with
wood for that and they are not audience will be another prologue that Bottom and his friends had met in Demetrius Hermia Helena You ran
frightened if they see the lion is not real. away from
night. on speaking terms. another part of the forest, and they
a lion on stage. Snout will also show Athens with
his real face through were busy with the rehearsal for their Hermia. Stay
Page 37 – exercise 2 the lion’s costume play. Their rehearsal was not going with her.
and reassure the easily, however, and they had some
1. B 2. A 3. B 4. B 5. D Lysander Hermia Helena You wanted
audience.
problems to resolve. to marry
Page 38 – exercise 3 The nature of the Their solution
‘Friends,’ said Bottom, ‘there are some Hermia.
things in this play that I don’t like – I There she is,
Open answers. problem to it take her and
Quince 3 The text of the They will open a
don’t like them at all. For instance,’ he be happy.
play requires that window in the room went on, ‘Pyramus has to kill himself
Page 39 – exercise 4 Pyramus and Thisbe to let the moonlight with a sword. I think the ladies in the g.
1. if they saw 2. ordered Titania to meet at moonlight. in, or one of the
audience will be terrified if he does that.’
characters will carry Helena loved Now Helena Helena thinks
bring 3. that she wouldn’t speak to ‘You’re right,’ agreed Snout, ‘we can’t Demetrius. loves Demetrius. that Hermia has
a lantern to
4. reminded Titania that he was represent the moon. have the ladies being frightened. Why She was loved Now she is loved asked Demetrius
5. their quarrel had disturbed don’t we get rid of that bit?’ by no one. by Lysander and and Lysander to
4 The play requires One of the actors Demetrius. pretend that they
6. to go with him that Pyramus and will represent the ‘We don’t have to do that,’ Bottom are in love with
Thisbe talk through wall by carrying a replied. ‘Why don’t we add a prologue her, as a cruel
Page 39 – exercise 5 a hole in a wall. brick. trick.
to the play? We could explain that
a. Oberon. Pyramus isn’t really killed at all, and Hermia loved Now Hermia Hermia thinks
b. Possible answer: Once I’ve got the Page 44 – exercise 2 we could also say that I am not really Lysander. loves Lysander. that Helena has
She was loved Now she is loved stolen
juice I’ll pour some of it into a. 7 b. 6 c. 5 d. 3 e. 2 f. 4 g. 1 Pyramus, that I’m really Bottom. Then by Lysander. by no one. Lysander’s love.
Titania’s eyes while she’s asleep. the ladies wouldn’t be scared. What
The next creature she sees, whether Page 44 – exercise 3 do you think?’
it’s a lion, bear, wolf, bull, monkey They are very naive, because they Page 56 – exercise 2
or ape, she’ll fall in love with it. think the audience will be frightened Page 47 – exercise 8 Verbs Adjectives Adverbs Nouns
by seeing one actor with a sword, and a. Theseus, Egeus, Demetrius, Oberon anger angry angrily anger
Tapescript terrorise terrible terribly terror
another dressed as a lion. b. Lysander, Hermia and Titania
Oberon: Having once this juice, please pleasant/ pleasantly pleasure
pleasurable
I’ll watch Titania when she is asleep, – happy happily happiness
Page 45 – exercise 4 Page 55 – exercise 1
And drop the liquor of it in her eyes: despair desperate desperately desperation
A4 B5 D1 E6 F2 G3 quieten quiet quietly quiet
The next thing when she is waking a. He was angry with Titania, and he is
looks upon

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 KEY TO THE EXERCISES KEY TO THE EXERCISES

Page 57 – exercise 3 Page 67 – exercise 1 f. No. Hipployta thinks that the play 4. had never seen such a
a. have been rehearsing b. has loved a. is silly and that the actors are 5. said to be
c. have been preparing d. has/known terrible. Theseus instead finds the 6. he wasn’t going to
Before the change After the change
e. has had f. have been quarrelling play amusing.
Titania In love with No longer in love Page 79 – exercise 7
g. has been crying h. has run Bottom. with Bottom.
Page 75 – exercise 2 1. Theseus – He says this at the
Bottom Wearing a No longer wearing
Page 58 – exercise 4 donkey’s head a donkey’s head. a. They are going to bless the newly beginning of the play when Egeus
a. Helena. married couples. explains his problem.
b. Demetrius and Lysander. b. • To help in the celebrations of the b. Theseus and Hippolyta, Demetrius 2. Hermia – She says this in answer
c. She accuses them of merely wedding of Theseus and Hippolyta. and Helena, Lysander and Hermia. to Theseus.
pretending to love her, as part of a • Lysander will marry Hermia, and c. He wishes them to have perfect 3. Oberon – He says this when he
cruel game to mock her. Demetrius will marry Helena. children. pours the magic juice into Titania’s
c. They have come into the wood to Tapescript eyes.
Tapescript
hunt. Oberon: Now until the break of day, 4. Bottom – He says this after ‘waking
Helena: If you were men, as men you
d. At the beginning of the play he Through this house each fairy stray. up’ from his ‘dream’.
are in show,
wanted to marry Hermia, and now To the best bride-bed will we, 5. Snout – He says this when they are
You would not use a gentle lady so:
he has gone back to his first love Which by us shall blessèd be; performing the play in honour of
To vow, and swear, and superpraise
Helena. And the issue there create Theseus’s wedding.
my parts,
e. Lysander must marry Hermia, and Ever shall be fortunate.
When I am sure you hate me with your
Demetrius must marry Helena. So shall the couples three Page 82 – exercise 1
hearts.
f. He thinks he has had a wonderful Ever true in loving be; a. romantic, detailed and dream-like
You both are rivals, and love Hermia;
dream. And the blots of nature’s hand b. ballet
And now both rivals to mock Helena.
A trim exploit, a manly enterprise, Shall not in their issue stand. c. charm and magic
Page 68 – exercise 2 d. minimal, bare, symbolic
To conjure tears up in a poor maid’s
eyes 1 T 2 Th 3 Hi 4 E 5 Th 6 E Page 76 – exercise 3
With your derision! 7 D 8 O 9 T 10 D 11 Th a. 4 b. 1 c. 6 d. 7 e. 5 f. 3 g. 2 Page 83 – exercise 2
1 social 2 alliance 3 romantic
Page 58 – exercise 5 Page 69 – exercises 3-4 Page 76 – exercise 4 4 Demetrius 5 public 6 Lysander
See tapescript above for answers. Open answers. a. go along with 7 personal 8 duty 9 Titania
b. go into 10 quarrel
Page 58 – exercise 6 Page 75 – exercise 1 c. go through with
a. He says that Bottom and his d. went over Page 83 – exercise 3
Open answer.
friends are not real actors, and that e. went on Extract One
Page 61 – exercise 1 their play is terrible. f. went down a. Hermia
b. He says that he wants to see their g. go about b. the beginning
a. T
play because they are simple c. rhyming couplets
b. F – He is not interested in
people who have come to honour Page 77 – exercise 5 Extract Two
portraying a faithful reconstruction
his wedding day. 1. B 2. C 3. B 4. C 5. B 6. B 7. C a. Bottom
of the classical world.
c. He thinks it is rude to laugh at the 8. D 9. B 10. D 11. A 12. C 13. D b. in the wood
c. T
efforts of Bottom and his friends. c. prose
d. F – He thinks that they are not
d. Because he waves at them. Page 78 – exercise 6
reliable guides to behaviour. Extract Three
e. He imagines that Thisbe has been
e. T 1. first time Bottom has been a. Theseus
eaten by a lion.
f. F – Many critics think that they are 2. used to meet b. in the wood
recognisably Elizabethan characters. 3. Thisbe had been eaten by c. Blank verse

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 EXIT TEST EXIT TEST

Focus on the context i. Titania fell in love with Lysander.

j. Oberon’s magic had also worked on Demetrius and he fell in
1 Answer the following questions. love with Helena.
k. In the end, Theseus was to marry Hippolyta, Lysander was to
a. Where and when was William Shakespeare born? marry Hermia and Demetrius was to marry Helena.
b. What is important about this date? l. Everyone applauded Bottom’s performance at the wedding
c. In which city did Shakespeare become involved in a theatrical company? with enthusiasm.
d. What was the name of this company?
e. How many plays did Shakespeare write?
SCORE / 12
f. When did Shakespeare die?

SCORE / 6 3 Read the summary of the play. Choose the best word (A, B, C or D) for
each space (1-10).

Theseus was planning his wedding to Hippolyta when Egeus approached

Focus on the story him to ask (0) B justice because his daughter, Hermia, now refused to marry
Demetrius. She had fallen in love (1) … Lysander instead. Lysander and
2 Say whether the following statements are true (T) or false (F). Then Hermia decided to run away from Athens and told Helena of their decision.
correct the false statements. In the (2) …, Bottom and his friends were organising a performance of a
play for the Duke. They decided they would rehearse in the wood.
T F Many other people entered the wood the same night: Lysander and Hermia,
a. The Duke of Athens was called Egeus. Demetrius and Helena, Oberon, the King of the Fairies, and his servant,
b. Hermia didn’t want to marry Demetrius because she had Puck, and Titania, the Queen, with her servants. Oberon had quarrelled
fallen in love with Theseus. with Titania and he decided to play a trick on her. He poured the juice from
a flower into her eyes (3) … she was asleep to make her fall in love with the
c. Hermia and Lysander decided to run away from Athens.
first person she saw when she woke up.
d. Bottom was a very good actor.
Oberon then overheard Demetrius and Helena arguing and asked Puck to
e. Oberon and Titania had had a quarrel. pour the same juice (4) … Demetrius’s eyes. Puck (5) … a mistake and
f. Oberon decided to play a trick on Titania by pouring some poured the juice into Lysander’s eyes. When Lysander woke up the first
juice from a flower into her eyes and making her fall in love person he saw was Helena and he immediately fell in love with her. Puck
with the first person she saw. also changed Bottom’s head into the head of a donkey and when the other
g. Puck poured some juice into Lysander’s eyes. As a result, actors saw him they were frightened and ran (6) … . Titania woke up, saw
Lysander fell in love with Hermia. Bottom and fell in love with him!
h. Puck played a trick on Bottom and changed his head into the
head of a lion.
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PHOTOCOPIABLE © 2003 Black Cat Publishing

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 EXIT TEST KEY TO THE EXIT TEST

Demetrius and Hermia, meanwhile, (7) … arguing. Oberon realised that Focus on the context c. True
Puck had made a mistake and told Puck to go and find Helena to make sure 1. d. False – He was a terrible actor.
Demetrius fell in love with her. When this happened, Helena was angry as a. In Stratford-upon-Avon on 23rd e. True
April 1564. f. True
she believed that both Demetrius and Lysander were playing a cruel game
b. It’s also St George’s Day – St g. False – He fell in love with Helena.
with her. h. False – He changed his head into
George was the patron saint of
Oberon knew he had to interfere to solve the problem. He also put more England. the head of a donkey.
magic juice into Titania’s eyes (8) … that she was no longer in love with c. London. i. False – She fell in love with
d. The Lord Chamberlain’s Men. Bottom.
Bottom.
e. Thirty-eight. j. True
(9) …, on the morning of Theseus’s wedding, he and Hippolyta went into f. On 23rd April 1616. k. True
the wood and found Hermia, Lysander, Helena and Demetrius asleep there. l. True
When they woke up they explained that something strange, which they Focus on the story
3.
couldn’t describe, had happened. The situation now was that Demetrius was 2.
1. B 2. C 3. A 4. C 5. D 6. C
no longer in love with Hermia but with Helena. As a (10) …, three couples a. False – He was called Theseus.
7. B 8. C 9. A B
got married that day: Theseus and Hippolyta, Lysander and Hermia, and b. False – She didn’t want to marry
Helena and Demetrius. Bottom and his friends performed their play and Demetrius because she fell in love
with Lysander.

Black Cat Publishing, an imprint of Cideb Editrice, Genoa, Canterbury

everyone applauded enthusiastically.

0. A about B for C on D if
1. A for B with C around D of
2. A end B final C meantime D result
3. A while B if C so D and
4. A on B for C into D onto
5. A did B done C makes D made
6. A far B outside C away D in
7. A was B were C be D are
8. A because B therefore C so D make
9. A Finally B In end C At end D As a final
10. A end B result C final D consequently

SCORE / 10

© 2003
PHOTOCOPIABLE © 2003 Black Cat Publishing

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