THE BLACK CAT. KEY TO ANSWERS.

HANDOUT

“THE BLACK CAT”

a)  Number these events in the correct order.

1)	The narrator kills his wife.	____14____
2)	The mark on the cat grows and changes until it has the shape of the gallows	____12____
3)	The narrator takes one cat home.	____11____
4)	The narrator holds of an axe and tries to kill the animal.	____13____
5)	The shape of a cat is outlined in the white bedroom wall.	____10____
6)	On top of her head, with a red, open mouth and one burning eye, sat the black cat.	____17____
7)	The narrator takes a knife and cuts one of Pluto´s eyes.	____7____
8)	The narrator becomes a heavy drinker.	____2____
9)	Fire in the house	____9____
10)	He caught Pluto by his neck and shook him.	____5____
11)	He hangs Pluto from a tree and leaves it there to die.	____8____
12)	Pluto bit the narrator.	____6____
13)	The police visit his house.	____16____
14)	His wife used to buy him many animals as presents.	____1____
15)	He starts to hit his wife and animals.	____4____
16)	The narrator hides the body of his wife behind the walls of the cellar.	____15____
17)	The narrator becomes very violent.	____3____

b) Complete each sentence with a word from the box. You can use the same word

more than once.

angry – axe – cellar – evil – horror mad – object – plaster – several

a) Some people believe that all black cats are EVIL

b) I was often suddenly ANGRY about unimportant things.

c) Someone else was in my body: someone evil, and MAD with drink!

d) The next morning, my mind was full of pain and HORROR when I woke up.

e) I realized why this wall didn’t burn: because there was new PLASTER on it.

f )I looked at the shape in complete HORROR .

g) I noticed a black OBJECT on top of a cupboard.

h) The cat pressed the side of his head against my hand SEVERAL times.

i)  I took the AXE and tried to cut the animal into two.

j)  I decided to hide the body in one of the walls of the CELLAR.

c) Which of the words below describe the people or animals in the story?

Bad – brave – clever – evil – friendly – good Happy  – horrible – kind – loving – selfish – sick

a) The story-teller: SICK.

b) The story-teller’s wife: KIND.

c) Pluto: CLEVER.

d) The second cat: FRIENDLY.

c)  Answer the following questions.

1.- Why does the narrator say that he is going to die tomorrow?

2.- What was the name of the cat?

3.- Why does he become into an angry and violent person?

4.- Why does the narrator mention the wall to the police?

5.- Why and how does he kill his wife?

6.- Where is the narrator as the writes the story?

7.- Describe what the narrator did to Pluto that cost him an eye?

8.- Compare the two cats in the story.

9.- What was the narrator like as a child? As a young married man?

10.- How does Pluto react to the narrator after he hurt him?