I/I/I/IEE • lililí Ckapter 1

A v i s i t o r i n t h e nigfht
BEFORE READING
1 Look at the diagram and answer the questions about the characters in Wallace
and Gromit: A Cióse Shave.
I t was two o'clock i n the morning, the sky was dark, and
everything was quiet i n West Wallaby Street. A t number
62, Wallace was asleep i n bed. There was a píate of cheese
on the cupboard next to his bed. Cheese was Wallace's
favourite food. Suddenly the room shook, and the cheese
knife fell off the píate to the floor, but Wallace didn't wake
up. His dog, Gromit, was i n the next room, but he wasn't
asleep. He was sitting u p i n bed, and he was knitting.
His room started shaking too, and he heard a noise i n the
street. W h a t was making the noise? W h y was the house
shaking? Gromit wasn't interested. He just went on knittingA
A big green lorry was driving past i n front of the house,
and it stopped at a red traflic light. The lorry was full of
sheep, and when i t stopped, a small sheep escaped from the
back of the lorry. I t jumped into the street, and r a n away.
The passenger w h o was sitting next to the lorry driver
wanted to get out and catch the small sheep, but the
a Who does Wallace love? driver stopped h i m . So the passenger stayed i n
b Who does Wallace like? his seat, but he looked oul of the window M^f¿Vjlr ^
c What's the ñame of Wendolene's dog? and watched the sheep carefully. I t was
d Does Gromit like Presión? hurrying down the garden of number 62 West Wallaby Street. cheese yellow
food that you make
e Does Preston like Shaun? The passenger looked carefully at the house and read the from milk
knit to make
sign o n the w a l l . clothes from wool
2 What do you think happens? Choose the words to complete sentences about using two small
sticks
the story.
lorry a kind of big
a Wallace's new machine works well goes wrong. car for carrying
things
b Wendolene sells sweets wool in her shop.
sign writing
c Shaun comes to live with Wallace Wendolene. in a place that
tells people
d Gromit Shaun always helps Wallace with his machines. about something
important
e Shaun Preston helps everyone when they are in trouble.
Then the traffic lights changed to green, and the big lorry clean to stop
f Wallace and Wendolene get married don't get married in the end. something being
drove away. dirty
 Upstairs at number 62, Gromit finished his last ball of
wool and went to sleep. The small sheep pushed through
a small door at the back of the house, but Gromit didn't
hear anything.

Later that morning, Gromit was sitting in the kitchen. He

was enjoying a quiet cup of tea and reading the newspaper.
The headline on the front page of the newspaper said:

NO W O O L IN T H E SHOPS! {
Suddenly there was a noise from a machine i n the
córner of the kitchen. It was Wallace's special Getting-Up-
In-the-Morning machine and the Breakfast light was going o n 'Ow! O w f said Wallace. ' Tur a i t off, Gromit!' he cried.
and off. Upstairs Wallace was still i n bed. He called lazily Gromit walked to the Porridge Machine and hit another
downstairs to Gromit, 'It's porridge for breakfast today, button to t u r n it off.
Gromit. It's Tuesday.' 'Ooof,' said Wallace. He now had porridge all over his face,
Gromit pulled the lever of the Getting-Up-In-the-Morning in his eyes, in his ears, and all over his shirt, and there was
machine. The head of Wallace's bed went up, and Wallace porridge all over the wall behind h i m , too.
moved quickly down to the bottom of his bed, went t h r o u g h Gromit looked at the black wire that went from the wall
wool the hair of a a door i n the floor of the bedroom, and fell into the room into the Porridge Machine. I t was nearly i n two pieces, and
sheep; we use it to
make warm clothes below it. On the way, he fell into his trousers, and then Gromit could see smaller red, yellow, and blue wires inside
headline the onto a chair at the kitchen table. The machine quickly put it. 'Something's eaten this,' he t h o u g h t when he saw the
biggest words in a
newspaper a white shirt on Wallace, and he was ready for breakfast. wires.
machine He picked up a spoon from the table i n front of h i m , and
something that
'Do we have mice i n the house?' Wallace asked, while he
does work for Gromit hit a red button on the Porridge Machine. A píate cleaned the porridge off his face.
people
porridge a hot jumped out of the table i n front of Wallace, and a gun Gromit looked behind h i m . Was there something there? wire a long, very
cereal that people thin, metal thing in
started to shoot porridge into i t . Something strange was happening. He decided to look around a machine
eat for breakfast
in England and
specially Scotland But this Tuesday m o r n i n g something went wrong. The g u n the house to see what it was. hall a room in the
middle of a house
lever a long thing began shooting porridge at Wallace and not into the píate. T t h i n k that I'11 make my porridge myself,' said Wallace, from which you
that you move to can go to all the
make a machine A t first Wallace held his píate up to catch the porridge, and and he walked over to look i n the food cupboard. other rooms
work plant a small
then, when the píate was full, he put his hands i n front of Gromit stopped i n the hall next to a plant. There was a
button a small green thing,
round thing that his face to stop the porridge, but again and again the g u n big hole i n one of its leaves. 'Something's eaten that, too,' with leaves, and
you push to make a sometimes with
machine work shot porridge at h i m . he thought. flowers

2
 Wallace went to the kitchen cupboard, and took out the Wallace heard a woman's voice at the other end of the
box of porridge. But there was a big hole i n the bottom of phone; 'Helio. This is the wool shop i n the H i g h Street. M y
it, and the dry porridge fell out onto the floor. Wallace looked Windows need a good clean. Can you come soon?'
at the bottom of the box, 'Something's eaten a hole i n this, 'We'll come at once,' said Wallace, and he put the phone
too,' he thought, and then he looked at the cheese. down.
'Were you h u n g r y i n the night, Gromit?' called Wallace. 'Time to go!' thought Gromit, and he pulled a lever i n
'Because someone's eaten my cheese.' the wall w h i c h started the Getting-Ready-to-Leave machine.
Gromit stood by the kitchen door and looked at Wallace. Wallace's chair moved up t h r o u g h a hole i n the bedroom
W h a t was happening? Just then, the small sheep from the floor, then i t moved back and dropped Wallace t h r o u g h a
lorry walked behind Gromit. Gromit didn't see the sheep, hole i n a picture on the wall. Wallace's feet dropped into
but when he went back t h r o u g h the hall, he saw that there his black work shoes, then the machine turned, and he fell
were no leaves on the plant. There were no leaves - and head íirst into his white helmet. After that, the machine
there was no plant! put Wallace's w i n d o w cleaning things into his hands, and
Wallace went into the front room, picked up his newspaper, dropped h i m into his blue work clothes. Then it p u t Wallace
and sat down i n his comfortable chair. T don't know. onto his motorbike, and pushed the motorbike up t h r o u g h
Something very strange is happening,' he said. W h e n he the garage floor. Gromit carne t h r o u g h a door from the
opened the newspaper, he found a big hole i n the middle kitchen, got into the side-car, and p u t on his helmet. Then

of i t . 'Something's eaten this, too,' he said. the machine turned the motorbike round, put a ladder on

Just then, the phone rang and Wallace picked it up. He the side of the side-car, and opened the garage doors.

didn't see the small sheep at his feet, and he said happily After that, the machine started the motorbike, and Wallace
into the phone, 'Helio? Wallace and Gromit's Wash and Go and Gromit drove out of the garage, down the garden and
Window Cleaning. Can we help you?' into the street.
helmet you wear
this hard hat to
stop your head
from getting hurt
motorbike a
bicycle with a
motor like a car
that can go very
fast
side-car a small
car with wheels
but no motor
that goes next to
a motorbike; a
passenger can sit
here
 READING CHECK 2 Find words in the pieces of cheese to complete the sentences.

Are these sentences true or false? Tick the boxes.

True False a There are a lot of m a c h i v\es in Wallace's house. shamnice
a A small sheep arrives at 62 West Wallaby Street in the middle :
of the night. 0 •
b Everyone in the house is asleep when the sheep arrives. • • b Gromit loves k things. .nikingitt
c lots of wool in the shops,' says the newspaper headline. • •
d The porridge gun goes wrong and Wallace gets porridge
all over his face, • • c Wallace and Gromit's job is c Windows. gmlecna
e Something is eating everything in the house. • •
f Wallace and Gromit find the small sheep. • •
g A woman from the wool shop sends a letter to Wallace. • • d The small sheep escapes from a green I
h Wallace and Gromit go to clean the Windows of the wool shop. • •
e The porridge gun goes wrong because the sheep has eaten through D.
WORD WORK
halfofthew £ewi£?
1 These words don't match the pictures. Correct them.

f Gromit hits a b on the Porridge Machine to turn it off. tql

g Gromit uses a to turn on the Getting-Ready-to-Leave machine. ieíi

teew
woo
a mnc^erblke ^ b plant , c ladder d sign GUESS WHAT
What happens in the next chapter? Tick four boxes.
a • Wallace cleans the wool shop Windows.
b • Gromit cleans the wool shop Windows.
c • Wallace talks to the woman at the wool shop.
d • Wallace tells the woman that he loves her.
e • Gromit sees another dog.
e porridge O f side-car^ g helmet Ó\ wool f O Wallace wants to buy some wool from the shop.
g • Wallace finds that there is no wool in the wool shop.