JUST
GOOD FRIENDS
by Penny Hancock
Assignments
Before Reading
1 The title of this book is Just Good Friends.
Explain the difference between being just good friends and being really
good friends.
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2 On the
back cover it says that Carlo’s flat is in a Mediterranean village.
Look at
the map below and write down at least six European countries that are situated
on the Mediterranean
Sea.
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3 Judging
by the title of this book and its front cover, what sort of story do you think
this is going to be?
Circle
your answer.
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A science
fiction story
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B love
story
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C thriller
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D fairy
tale
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4 Read the
back cover again.
It says
that Carlo’s wife is not very happy to see Stephany.
Can you
guess why?
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5 Look at
the map on page four.
With the
help of the scale reference, calculate how far it is from London
to Genoa
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While Reading
Chapter 1 In Camden Town
1 Stephany
enjoyed sushi and Chardonnay wine.
Chardonnay
is a white wine from France
A what country sushi
originates from?
B what the main ingredient of sushi is?
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A
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B
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2 What is Max’s profession and what is
Stephany’s?
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Max is an
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Stephany is a
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3 In what way was Stephany different from
Max’s former girlfriends?
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4 How did Stephany and Carlo know each
other?
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5 Read
Stephany’s description of the village near Genoa
Would
you like to go on holiday there?
Explain
your answer.
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6 Here you
can read about Genoa
Read the
article and answer the questions below.
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Perhaps
the most famous explorer was Christopher Columbus. Born
in
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For a decade,
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A In what year was Columbus
B What did the men who were not so learned think about the shape
of the earth?
C What is meant by them
(line 10)?
D Which words are each other’s opposite (lines 11-15)?
E Find words in this text which mean:
I a person who sails out to find unknown
territories (lines 1-5)
II did not know about the existence of (lines
6-10)
III a period of ten years (lines 11-15)
IV salt, pepper etc. (lines 16-20)
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A
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B
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C
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D
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E
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I
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II
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III
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IV
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Chapter 2 In Genoa
1 Was Ruth’s marriage a very happy one?
Explain your answer.
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2 Why did Ruth and Carlo move to a bigger
house in the town?
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3 What do Italian people say when they
answer the phone?
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4 Do you know how English people answer the
phone?
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5 Suppose you were Ruth.
How
would you have reacted if Stephany
had asked you if they could stay in your flat?
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6 Some Italian
words have found their way into the English language. Have a look at the six
words below and write the correct word underneath the pictures.
A balcony E expresso
B broccoli F gondola
C casino G pasta
D confetti H regatta
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4
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6
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7
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8
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Chapter 3 A good
friend
1 Why do you think Max was pleased to hear
that Carlo was married?
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2 Look at the three pictures of apartments
that you can rent in or around Genoa
Which of the three do you prefer?
Explain your answer.
a. 
b. 
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Chapter 4 I don’t trust Stephany
1 How did the honesty which
Ruth loved so much in Carlo turn against her?
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2 A What was Carlo’s job?
B Explain what such a person does.
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A
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B
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3 In this
chapter England is compared
to Italy
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Description
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Italians
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Englishmen
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temperamental
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rainy weather
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3
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interested in fashion
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boot-shaped
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having a sense of humour
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beef eaters
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7
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black-haired and sun-tanned
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8
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island(s)
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Chapter 5 In a
village by the sea
1 What did Max like about Stansted Airport
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2 What did Stephany like about being at Stansted Airport
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3 Read this chapter carefully and write
down all the colours that are mentioned in it.
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4 Max
thought that Carlo’s mother liked Stephany very much, probably better than she
liked Ruth.
Find examples from this chapter to show
this.
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5 How were Max and Stephany made to feel
welcome in the flat?
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6 Circle the means of transport that was not used by Max and Stephany.
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taxi
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airplane
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car
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train
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7 Here you see the logos of 10 of the shops
that can be found at Stansted
Airport
Match them with the 10
descriptions of the shops and how they advertise themselves.
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Logo
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Description
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A
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The high quality toy shop, offering the greatest choice in the world.
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2
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B
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One of
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3
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C
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Shop selling silk ties and
scarves, top brands of travel luggage and luggage accessories.
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4
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D
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Bar selling mouth watering smoothies, juices, coffee and tea.
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5
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E
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The largest Irish bar brand in the world – the place
to meet friends, have fun and enjoy the music. Serving Guinness, wines
plus a traditional pub food menu.
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6
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F
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Shop selling high quality, freshly baked chocolate chunk pastry,
speciality cakes and American giant muffins.
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7
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G
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Shop selling health and beauty products, including sun cream, insect
repellent and other travel essentials. Most stores have a pharmacy.
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8
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H
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Shop selling the latest CDs, tapes, games, videos and accessories.
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9
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A gift shop selling typically British souvenirs.
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10
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J
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A seafood bar, selling luxurious fish products and expensive drinks
like champagne.
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1 =
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2 =
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3 =
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4 =
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5 =
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6 =
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7 =
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8 =
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9 =
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10 =
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Chapter 6 The two couples meet
1 Look at
the picture of the beach.
Write 5
sentences to show what the people in it are doing. The beginning and the end of
each sentence have already been written down.
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One man
from the cliff.
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2
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Two people
a
ball to each other.
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3
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Two people
in the sea.
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4
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Two people
on
their towels.
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One man
a book.
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2 How was lunch in Italy different from lunch at home in England
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3 Describe
in some detail what Stephany and Ruth were wearing and how they looked in these
clothes.
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Stephany was wearing
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She looked
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Ruth was wearing
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She looked
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4 One article of clothing which Stephany
might have brought to Italy
Here you can read about how the first
bikini and the atom bomb are connected!
Read the article and
answer the questions.
← The
first woman to show a bikini
Atom bomb on the Bikini Reef →
The bikini was invented and launched at almost the
same time by two French fashion designers: Jacques Heim and Louis Reard. Heim
was a swimsuit designer who had created a two-piece suit to be sold in his
beach shop in Cannes
The same summer of1946 in
which Heim was introducing his “Atome,” Louis Reard was creating his own
similar, two-piece swimsuit. He named and marketed his swimsuit as the bikini,
claiming that it was “smaller than the smallest bathing suit in the world.”
Reard called his swimsuit the bikini after the Bikini Reef where experimental
atomic bombs were detonated in the South Pacific, near the Bikini Reef. Seeing
the rising mushroom clouds of atomic bombs and seeing a bikini swimsuit were
supposed to have caused the same ‘earth-shattering’ reaction on people. The
name “bikini” soon replaced the “Atome” as the official name of the two-piece
swimsuit.
The same summer of
Answer in your
own words.
A Why did
Jacques Heim call his two-piece swimsuit the “Atome”?
B Why did Louis Reard call
his two-piece swimsuit “bikini”?
True or False?
C Jacques Heim had a business in the south
of France
D The shape
of a cloud after an atom bomb explosion is about the same as that of a
mushroom.
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A
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B
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C
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D
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Chapter 7 A
difficult dinner
1 Why did Ruth get up to leave the
restaurant?
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2 What did
Max hope Stephany would notice after he had gone for a walk with little Thomas?
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3 Write down two of the reasons why Ruth
found it difficult to live in Italy
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4 Did Max like going to the party the next
day? Why (not)?
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5 The next
day was a special day in the village.
Read
about a special day for all Italians in the article below and answer the
questions.
Liberation Day in Italy
Celebrated on April 25th, it commemorates the liberation of Italy
A With what date or day can you compare
April 25th in your country?
B Find words in the text, meaning:
I remembers
II cruelties
III the
people who fought against the invaders of their country
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A
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B
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I
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II
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III
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Chapter 8 A
long way from the truth
1 Did Stephany feel sorry for Max when he
had fallen ill?
Explain your answer.
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2 What was the big secret that Stephany had
not told Max?
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3 What made Stephany feel uncomfortable?
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4 Do you think Stephany and Carlo still
feel for each other? Explain your answer.
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5 Secret
affairs have been the subject of many books and films. There is even a film
called “A Secret Affair”, made in
1999.
Read about this film and answer the
questions below.
Vanessa Stewart is a beautiful American woman who is
engaged to be married. She is an artist and also a buyer for her father’s
company. She goes to Venice on a business trip
and meets television reporter Bill Fitzgerald from Ireland Venice Ireland Venice
A What city do you see on the
film poster?
B True or False?
I Bill was probably married before.
II Bill was a soldier in a war.
C Explain in English what ransom money is.
D Would you like to see this film? Why
(not)?
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A
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B I
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B II
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C
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D
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Chapter 9 On
Bianca beach
1 Why did
Luigi think that Stephany could rent Carlo’s flat for free?
Circle
the correct answer.
A To prevent squatters from moving into the flat.
B Stephany was threatening to tell Ruth about what happened two
years ago.
C It was the condition on which Stephany had started her affair
with Carlo.
2 Why did Stephany prefer going to the
beach to going to the festival?
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3 Who do
you think was more to blame for what happened on the beach, Stephany or Carlo?
Explain
your answer.
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4 Describe how you think the book will end.
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Chapter 10 In love with two people
1 How did
the next morning show that Max and Stephany had completely different interests?
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Max wanted to
Stephany wanted to
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2 Why did some people at the market get
angry?
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3 What caused Ruth’s face to go red with
anger?
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4 Why did Max feel happier after meeting
Ruth in the market?
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5 Ruth told
Max that Carlo was an Anglophile.
An
Anglophile is someone who loves all things English.
The
suffix -phile means: lover of ….. .
Here you
see some more words ending in -phile.
Match
these words with the descriptions.
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-phile
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Description
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bibliophile
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A
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Someone who is very interested in the past.
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2
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cinephile
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B
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Someone who is attracted to stealing.
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3
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francophile
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C
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Someone who is very interested in horses.
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hippophile
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D
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Someone who loves reading.
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kleptophile
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E
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Someone who likes all things French.
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retrophile
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F
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Someone who is a lover of films.
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1 =
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2 =
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3 =
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4 =
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5 =
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6 =
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6 Here you see eight pictures of things
which you can buy in a market.
Write Max underneath four of
the pictures to show which four things Max bought at the market that day.
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Chapter 11 The perfect holiday
1 Why was it very quiet on the beach?
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2 Why did Stephany suddenly go under water
to pull Max’s feet?
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3 Why did Stephany want to go to a bar in
the next village?
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4 Where do you think Stephany’s watch is?
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5 Max
visited a church, while Stephany sat at a table outside a bar.
Look at
the picture below and write down at least five things that you can see in the
picture of the inside of this Italian church.
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Chapter
12 A bad argument
1 Why did Ruth believe Carlo at first?
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2 What made Carlo smile when Ruth returned
home after they had had their argument?
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3 Why did Carlo not tell Ruth the truth?
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Chapter 13 An unwanted invitation
1 What was the thing both Stephany and Max
were thinking of without telling each other?
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2 Do you think it is fair for Stephany to
think in this way? Explain your answer.
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3 Why did Max not like being invited for
dinner at Carlo’s mother’s place?
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4 What was the surprise they had when they
arrived at the old couple’s flat?
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5 What was Stephany afraid of at the end of
this chapter?
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6 One day Stephany and Max bought new
clothes in Genoa
Here you can see the poster of a film with another Italian fashion house
in its title.
Have a look at it and answer the questions.
A What do you see on this
poster?
B Many
films have taglines, a sort of second title. What do you think is the tagline
to The Devil wears Prada?
Choose
from:
I The Real Red Shoe Diaries
II Hell on Heels
III High Heeled Hooligans
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A
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B
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Chapter 14 Back in the bar
1 What did
Stephany think Carlo meant when he said “We
probably won’t see you two again”?
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2 Write
down two reasons why it turned out to be a very bad idea for Stephany to stay
for another drink.
Think of
what Luigi said.
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3 Have another look at Question 4 of
Chapter 11.
Was your answer correct?
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4 Do you
think Stephany was being reasonable when she said: “The trouble with men is that there is always one rule for them and a
different one for women”?
Explain you answer.
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3
What could she have
said instead to save their relationship?
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Chapter 15 Lovers or friends?
1 Max told Stephany a good friend is
someone who is honest.
Now write down three more things that
make someone a good friend.
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2 Judging
by the last paragraph of this chapter, do you think Max was right in not giving
Stephany another chance?
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3 Have a look at your answer to Question 4
of Chapter 9.
Were you right?
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After Reading
1 In Just Good Friends there are a lot of
Italian words.
See how
good your Italian has become and match the Italian words to their English
equivalents.
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Italian words
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English equivalents
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1
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pronto
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A
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goodbye
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2
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signora
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B
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grandmother
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3
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panino
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C
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hello! (when answering the phone)
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4
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gelateria
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D
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Italian cheese
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5
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trattoria
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E
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ticket
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alla vongole
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F
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(a dish) with mussels or other shellfish
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7
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ciao
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G
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lady
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8
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bigletto
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H
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sandwich
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9
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pecorino
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I
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restaurant
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10
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nonna
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J
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ice cream shop
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1 =
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2 =
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3 =
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4 =
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5 =
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6 =
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7 =
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8 =
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9 =
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10 =
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2 Just
Good Friends was all about love and friendship.
Now do this Friendship
Quiz to see what sort of friend you are.
Although this test was intended for girls, boys can do the test too, by
changing she (or her or girl etc.) into he (or his or boy etc.) and the
other way about. Circle your answers and check your score afterwards.
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Friendship
Quiz
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How Good A Friend Are You?
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OK, so you try to be there
for your friends but when you are doing these favours, is it really them you're
thinking of first, or yourself?
Take this quiz to see if you
pass the friendship test.
1 Your best friend calls you in tears - she's just found out that her parents are
getting divorced. What do you do?
A You chat about it for a bit,
always bringing the conversation back to your own parent trouble. You also get
sick of this sad conversation pretty quickly.
B You offer
to meet her and talk for as long as she needs, even though you know she'd be
too busy for you if the situation was the other way around.
C You let her pour her
heart out about it for as long as she needs to talk, and you let her know
you're there anytime she needs you.
2 Your friend is meant to meet you for a movie, but she calls at the last minute to
cancel because a boy has asked her out. How are you feeling
when you get off the phone?
A
Annoyed that she didn't make the
date for another night. Next time you talk to her you’ll make the suggestion
not to stand each other up for boys.
B Angry
that she's dropped you, so you call all your other friends to say that she
can’t be trusted.
C You don’t mind -
you're used to people letting you down when they get a better offer.
3 You're
shopping with some friends and one of them tries on a really unflattering
outfit.
What do you say?
A That it
looks great - you wouldn't want to hurt her feelings.
B That it looks really bad. Then you go and try it on yourself, even though you know
B That it looks really bad. Then you go and try it on yourself, even though you know
she'll
be really upset if it looks much better on you.
C You're honest with her but in the nicest possible way. You don't want to hurt her
C You're honest with her but in the nicest possible way. You don't want to hurt her
feelings,
but you don't want her to look bad, either.
4 You're at
a party and your best friend is about to get a ride home with someone
who's
had far too much beer. What do you do?
A You tell her she's being silly but you don't do anything to stop her.
B You stop her from going with that person, then you take her home in a cab. Even
though
the next day she gets mad at you for ruining her chances with the boy!
C You stop her and you keep an eye on her for the rest of the party, then you
C You stop her and you keep an eye on her for the rest of the party, then you
arrange
for a friend who lives near her to get her home safely.
5 Your friend has a major
crush on a boy but he asks you out. What's your plan of
action?
A You tell him you're not interested even though you are - then try to set
the two of them up instead.
B You go for it - all's fair in love and war, after all.
C You blow him off - your friend would be miserable if you decided to go
for him and you don't like him that much, anyway.
6 It's your best friend's birthday, so what do you buy for her?
A The outfit
she's had her eye on for ages, even though she forgot your birthday last
year.
B Something you know she'd really love but wouldn't buy for herself.
C The first thing you find - she can return it if she hates it and as
usual, you've left it
to the last minute.
7 How would you describe your perfect friend?
A Funny, loyal, honest - qualities you admire most in a person.
B Around when you want to be with her, but understanding if you can't
spend time with her when you do other things.
C She cares about your feelings and puts as much effort into the
friendship as you
do.
8 You find out that your best friend's boyfriend is cheating on her. What do you
do?
A You ignore it - it's better not to get involved in stuff that can get
messy.
B You don't tell her and you go out of your way to make sure she doesn't
find out –
even though you
feel guilty.
C You tell your friend, as gently as you can, what you saw. She has a
right to know
that he's
cheating.
9 You and your best friend go on shopping expedition and wind up in the dressing
room in exactly the same
outfit. What do you do?
A You joke about how the two of you must have a psychic connection, or at
least
Extremely good
taste - and both of you buy it.
B You put it back on the rack (even though you love it) and let her buy
it.
C You insist on buying it and try to talk her out of buying it, too, by
saying she can
borrow yours.
10 One of your friends is having a party. What do you do?
A You help her with every stage of the planning, from guest list to making
the food.
In fact, you seem
to be doing more than she is!
B You go and help with the last minute preparations, like cooking and
decorating.
C You bring along lots of friends to give the party some atmosphere.
Scoring
1 A = 1 B = 3 C = 2
2 A = 2 B
=1 C = 3
3 A = 3 B = 1
C = 2
4 A = 1 B = 3
C = 2
5 A = 3 B = 1
C = 2
6 A = 3
B = 2 C
= 1
7 A = 2 B = 1
C = 3
8 A = 1 B
= 3 C
= 2
9 A = 2 B = 3
C = 1
What is your score?
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My score is:
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What it means.
10-16 Me first
You think you're pretty important and you expect your friends to think
so, too. You expect them to satisfy all your needs and your huge ego.
Friendship's not important to you unless you profit from it - and your friends
know this and don't appreciate it. Every once in a while, try giving back to
your friends as much as you take - you may be surprised to learn what true
friendship is all about.
17-23 Caring and sharing
You're a good friend who knows that being caring,
honest and loyal is really important in a true friendship. You're lucky because
you have balanced friendships where you and your
friends look after each other and don't always just
take advantage of others. You can count on your friends to be there for you and they can always count on you.
They know you are a true friend.
24-30 Full-on friend
You put a lot of effort into your friendships and you always want the
best for others, but do your friends appreciate you for it? It's all very well
to think about them but don't forget to think of yourself as well. You
naturally give a lot and true friends won't take advantage of this - they'll
always stick by you. Watch out for users who see how nice you are and try to
cash in on it.
Do you recognize yourself in what your score means?
Explain your answer.
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