Worksheet

Level 3

The Ironing Man Colin Campbell

Before reading 2. Who do you think is at the door? What do they
1. Look at the front cover and read the back cover want?
blurb. What do you think happens in the story?
2. Look at page 5. Which character is the man on Chapter 2
the front cover? 1. Match the beginnings and endings.
3. Look at the picture on page 6. Find these things 1 Marina went to the a because she had
in the picture. door made a wish.
where you wash up 2 It was unusual for b Marina opened the
where you iron door.
a vacuum cleaner 3 The doorbell rang c the iron on top of a
What else can you see? four times before shirt.
4. Match the chapter titles and the sentences from 4 The man came to d but she didn’t open
each chapter. Marina’s house it immediately.
Chapter 1 The fridge door 5 Marina had left e anyone to come to
Chapter 2 The Ironing Man the house.
Chapter 3 Teddy bears make poor soldiers 2. What is going to happen when Marina and the
Chapter 4 Good 7 Bad 1 man go into the kitchen?
Chapter 5 Strangers on a train
a In this book he wrote down all the good and Chapter 3
all the bad things that happened to him every
1. Put the events in the right order.
day of his life.
a Marina saw a butterfly on the kitchen window.
b But it was probably a good time for her, and
b The Ironing Man ironed the rest of the shirts.
the bear, to leave the junior army.
c Marina threw some water on the shirt.
c The idea of the game was to use all the letters
d Marina put the ironed shirts onto the bed.
on the fridge to make new words.
e Tom came home from work.
d Tom was not very happy when he saw that a
f Marina took the iron off the ironing board.
man was now sitting on the other side of the
g Marina made some coffee and drank it.
table.
h Marina bought a plastic goldfish for her
e ‘You made a wish, remember? About your
nephew.
ironing? That’s why I’m here.’
i The Ironing Man took the shirt outside.
5. If you have the recording, listen to Chapter 1.
Chapter 4
Check your reading
1. Look at the words in italics. Who is I, you, he,
Chapter 1 she?
a He was worried that someone would arrive
1. True or false?
and sit opposite.
a Marina was unhappy living in Felton.
b She looked at him with eyes that were
b Tom is very organised.
impossibly big and said, ‘Oh Tom!’
c Tom and Marina have got a few friends in
c She then told him a story about a man who
Felton.
had come to the house.
d Marina would like to have an interesting job.
d ‘I ’ve had a wonderful day. You won’t believe it!’
e At the moment Marina hates ironing most of
all.
Cambridge English Readers © Cambridge University Press 2009 www.cambridge.org/elt/readers PHOTOCOPIABLE
 Worksheet
Level 3

The Ironing Man Colin Campbell

e ‘I ’m going to learn to be happy being who I f The Ironing Man wanted to help Marina and
am.’ Tom.
f She had not organised a going away party. g The Ironing Man and Marina went out for
Marina Joanne Tom Tom’s old dinner together.
girlfriend
Chapter 8
Chapter 5
1. Correct the summary.
1. Tick (¸) what Tom did on the train to work. As Tom was leaving the office his mobile phone
a called his boss on his mobile phone rang. It was the detective calling from his mobile
b went to the toilet phone. Tom didn’t want anyone to see them so
c thought about his father they went to a park. They had to talk quietly
d thought about Marina because there were lots of people around. The
e read his own newspaper detective started to tell Tom what he had seen.
f did some work Two women and a man came out of Tom’s
g read someone else’s newspaper house and drove off on a motorbike towards
h answered an advertisement in the London. They went to a sports centre and played
newspaper football. Then they went to a cheap Indian
restaurant for dinner. After that they drove to the
Chapter 6 mountains and walked along a path. Finally, they
1. Match the descriptions with the characters. went back to London, parked outside a big block
a twenty-nine years old, blonde, has a big of flats, and the man opened the front door with
smile, used to be married a key.
b twenty-nine years old, blonde, married
Chapter 9
c big, has big hands, isn’t good with machines
d young, good-looking, romantic 1. Put the events in the right order.
e used to go to work, watch TV, go to the pub a Tom got the train back to Felton.
Marina Tracy Tracy’s husband b The detective gave Tom an envelope.
Tracy’s boyfriend the private detective c The detective phoned Tom.
d Tom put his mobile phone down the toilet.
Chapter 7 e Tom wrote about Marina’s birthday in his
1. True or false? notebook.
a Marina went to the National Gallery to meet f The ticket inspector checked Tom’s ticket.
Tom. g Tom looked at some photos of a man and a
b When Marina and Tom first met, Tom talked woman.
about himself a lot. h Tom phoned his boss to say he was going on
c Now neither Tom nor Marina talked very holiday.
much.
Chapter 10
d Tom didn’t like playing games with his
nephew. 1. Where are Tom and Marina on holiday? What is
e The Ironing Man talked to Marina about her it like?
favourite picture. 2. How do Tom and Marina feel now?

Cambridge English Readers © Cambridge University Press 2009 www.cambridge.org/elt/readers PHOTOCOPIABLE

 Worksheet
Level 3

The Ironing Man Colin Campbell

After reading 8. Imagine it is five years later. What has happened
to Tom and Marina?
Choose some of these activities. 9. Make your own activities for other students to
1. Make a list of the differences between Tom and do, e.g. make a word puzzle or write some True/
Marina. Who are you most like? False questions.
2. Which character do you like the most? Why? 10. Here is the blurb from another book at this level.
3. Make a list of your ‘Top Five’ like Marina’s
(the things you hate doing the most). Can you Double Cross
rearrange the letters to make any new words? A fast-moving international thriller set in
4. Look at page 22. Imagine you are Marina. What Scandinavia, London and southern Africa. A
do you say to Tom when he gets home from politician nearly dies in stockholm, and secret
work? Write the conversation. agent Monika Lundgren chases the would-be
5. Write a letter of advice to Marina or Tom about killer. As she races across the world she meets
their future life. a strange football team, a rock musician, and a
6. Do you think The Ironing Man is a good title? madman with dreams of world power.
Why or why not? Make up your own title for the
book.
Do you want to read Double Cross?
7. Imagine you are Marina on holiday. Write a
postcard to a friend at home.

Cambridge English Readers © Cambridge University Press 2009 www.cambridge.org/elt/readers PHOTOCOPIABLE