Oxford University Press, 1993. - 144 p.Agatha Christie: The Companion.
Graham Greene: The Case for Defence.
Ruth Rendell: A Glowing Future.
Angela Noel: Ricochet.
Dorothy L. Sayers: The Fountain Plays.
Margery Allingham: Three is a Lucky Number.
Sir Arthur Conan Doyle: The Adventure of the Retired Colourman.
Patricia Highsmith: Sauce for the Goose.The texts have not been abridged or simplified in any way, but each volume contains notes and questions designed to make reading more meaningful and stimulating.Each collection in the series includes:
Introduction
- an introduction to the short story
- tips for reading authentic texts in English
- an introduction to the genre
- a carefully-chosen selection of classic and modem short stories.
The stories
Each story is presented in three parts: the introduction and pre-reading support material; the story; and post-reading activities. Each part includes the following sections:
- About the author - in-depth information about the author and their work
- About the story - information about the story, including background information about setting and cultural references
- Summary - a brief summary of the story that does not give away the ending.
Pre-reading activities
- Key vocabulary - a chance to look at some of the more difficult vocabulary related to the main themes and style of the story before reading the story
- Main themes - a brief discussion of the main themes, with questions to keep in mind as you read.
The story
You will find numbered footnotes in the stories. These explain cultural and historical references, and key words that you will need to understand the text. Many of these footnotes give definitions of words which are very formal, old-fashioned or rarely used in modem English.
You will find more common, useful words and phrases from the stories in the Glossary at the end of the book. Words included in the Glossary will appear in bold.
Post-reading activities
- Understanding the story - comprehension questions that will help you make sure you’ve understood the story
- Language study - a section that presents and practises key linguistic and structural features of authentic literary texts (you will find an index of the areas covered at the end of the book)
- Literary analysis - discussion questions that guide you to an in-depth appreciation of the story, its structure, its characters and its style.
In addition, at the end of each book there are:
- suggested Essay questions
- a comprehensive Glossary highlighting useful vocabulary from each story
- an index for the Language study section.
How to use these books
You can use these books in whatever way you want. You may want to start from the beginning and work your way through. You may want to pick and choose. The Contents page gives a very brief, one-line introduction to each story to help you decide where to start. You may want to learn about the author and the story before you read each one, or you may prefer to read the story first and then find out more about it afterwards. Remember that the stories and exercises can be challenging, so you may want to spend quite a long time studying each one. The most important thing is to enjoy the collection - to enjoy reading, to enjoy the stories and to enjoy the language that has been used to create them.
