PART 8 - questions

PART VIII. 242-268 (ch 229-233)

1. What’s Christopher’s favourite dream he has that night?
2. What is “compassionate leave”?
3. Why does Christopher want to return to Swindon the very next day?
4. What happens to Christopher’s mother at work?
5. How do mother and Mr.Shears get along since Christopher’s been here?
6. What does Christopher’s mother decide to do?
7. Can Christopher take his A-level Math now? Why?
8. How does Christopher feel about that?
9. Who helps him take the exam after all?
10. What happens meanwhile?
11. What doesn’t Christopher understand about his father?
12. How do the lives of Christopher and his mother change since they’re back to Swindon?
13. And Toby?
14. What does father do to stop the silence between him and his son?
15. What about the exam results? Christopher gets an A-grade!
16. Does he have any more plans about his schooling?
17. Which three goals has Christopher reached in his life?

PART 8 - timeline

229
- Christopher’s favourite dream → a virus is spread, only ‘special’ people like him survive
233
- Christopher has breakfast, Mr Shears thinks he can stay just for a while, Mother disagrees
- they try and go shopping → very crowded, Christopher has an attack
- Christopher goes onto the balcony to see some stars; he can’t fall asleep
- Christopher goes into Chapter Road → hides there → Mother angry when she finds him
- Mother loses her job
- Christopher wants to go to Swindon to take his A level → Mother doesn’t want to take him
- Mother takes him to watch the planes taking off and landing and tells him she has postponed his exam until the next year → Christopher screams
- Mr Shears comes to Christopher’s room after he’s been drinking and yells at him
- when he leaves the flat, Mother packs her things and they leave
- they get to Swindon → Father moves out
- Christopher still wants to do his A level
- Mother takes him to school and Siobhan arranges for him to take A level
- Father comes to the house to ask Christopher how it went at the exam
- Mother gets a job, they move out of the house to a small room (no toilet!)
- Christopher helps Mother paint their room but doesn’t let her wash his hair
- because Mother works late, Christopher has to wait for her in Father’s house – he doesn’t like that
- Father tries to talk to him, but Christopher ignores him
- Toby dies (2 years and 7 months old)
- Father gives Christopher a puppy – a Golden Retriever as a present
- Christopher gets an A grade for his exam
- Mother gets flu and Christopher has to stay with Father for 3 days but he is not afraid so much any more because he has Sandy now
- Christopher plans to take A level further maths next year and A level physics and then go to university and become a scientist

PART 7 - questions

PART VII. 221-241 (ch 227)

How long does he spend waiting for the tube?
What happens meanwhile?
How does mother react when she sees him?
What does Christopher say about not answering mother’s letters?
Who’s the visitor a few moments after Christopher has taken a bath?
And at night?

PART 7 - timeline

227
- Christopher has spent 5 hours sitting on the bench
- he realises Toby is missing → looks for it → sees it → tries to get it (it’s dangerous) → somebody tries to grab him → Christopher screams → a train is approaching → the man saves Christopher’s life
- a lady talks to him
- Christopher finally gets on the train
- arrives to Willesden Junction
- buys a map
- gets to his mother’s flat, but nobody is there → he waits

- hears voices of people walking along the street
- his mother and Mr Shears finally arrive
- Christopher has a bath
- Mother, Father and Mr Shears are having a fight – Christopher hears it
- Father asks Christopher to come home with him but he refuses
End of part 7

PART 6- questions

PART VI. 179-220 (ch 191-223)

1. Describe the situation at the local train station.
2. The conversation with a police officer.
3. How does Christopher feel about timetables, schedules?
4. What does Christopher expect the police officer to do when he tells him that his father is waiting for him at the police station?
5. What happens on the way to London?
6. What’s in the bag that disappears with the police officer?
7. How does he feel at the underground station compared to the train station?
8. How does he react to crowds?

PART 6 - timeline

191
- Christopher is at Swindon train station → tries hard by solving maths problems to calm down
- a policeman talks to him, accompanies him to the cashpoint, Christopher gets 50 pounds
- buys himself a ticket (it’s half yellow)
- Christopher gets on the train to London

193
- “ I like timetables.” (→ they make sure you don’t get lost in time)
- the relationship between time and space

197
- Christopher is finally on the train
- the same policeman finds him again, wants to take him to the police station, but the train moves and they are forced to stay on it until the next station
- Christopher solves some more mathematical problems and the policeman is reading the Sun newspaper
- Christopher has to go to the toilet, the policeman lets him, Christopher sees the shelves with cases and hides there

199
- why there is life on earth

211
- Christopher arrives to London
- somehow finds the Information desk
- Christopher takes the tube (buys a ticket from a machine)
- finds the right platform → physically suffers because of the noise the trains make and the crowd of people → closes his eyes and listens to the trains coming and going

223
- a description of an advert that was on the wall of the little train station
- about holidays
End of part 6

Part 5 - questions

PART V. 145-178 (ch 163-181)

1. Why does Christopher like computers?
2. How does Christopher calm himself while father is busy cleaning up the mess from vomiting?
3. What shocking confession does Father make in order to convince Christopher that he’s going to speak the truth from now on?
4. What’s the reason for father’s action?
5. How does Christopher react after father’s offer to touch fingers after the confession?
6. What does Christopher do at night?
7. Who does he want to live with at first and why?
8. Why does he look in on Mrs Alexander?
9. Who does he want to ask the way to the train station?

PART 5 - timeline

163
- a tube of Smarties → a pencil experiment (Julie, at school)
- a TV series How the MInd Works

167
- Father cleans Christopher and they sit on the bed, quiet, for a long time
- Father then admits that he’s killed Wellington
- Christopher becomes really afraid of his father
- Christopher goes out and squeezes into a gap between a garden shed and a wall to think what to do next
173
- about the constellation ORION and other stars
179
- Christopher falls asleep
- Father comes out and calls Christopher a lot
- when he doesn’t find him, he starts an engine of his van and goes away
- Christopher decides to leave home and go to live with Mrs Shears → she’s not home
- after some thinking, Christopher decides to find his mother in London
- goes to Mrs Alexander to ask her to look after Toby, his rat → she asks too many questions, so he leaves
- packs a few things from home and leaves for London
- goes to school first to ask Siobhan how to get to the train station→ sees his father’s van → vomits again→ decides to ask sb the way ( a lady with 2 children) → finds the station
181
- “I notice everything.”
- This is very tiring for him (in a situation where ordinary people would notice approx. 5 things, he notices approx. 40.
End of part 5

3egc/4egcs - PART 4 - questions

PART IV. 105-144 (ch 131-157)


1. Why does Christopher hate yellow?
2. And brown?
3. Why do they go to the zoo the next day?
4. Why does Christopher believe that his father loves him?
5. Where does Christopher find his book?
6. What else does he find?
7. What is curious about the way Christopher’s name is written on the envelopes?
8. Who is the letter from and what is it about?
9. What’s Christopher’s second mystery he has to solve?
10. How does Christopher feel about mysteries generally?
11. Does he try to solve the letter mystery at once?
12. What happens at his school meanwhile?
13. How many letters does Christopher find addressed to him?
14. What are they about?
15. Describe the incident in the shop for Christmas.
16. Who’s more patient: Christopher’s mother or father?
17. How does mother react when Christopher refuses to eat for days?
18. And Christopher?
19. Find a few spelling mistakes in the letters from p.131 to 136.
20. Why doesn’t she say good-bye to Christopher before leaving?
21. Why does she move to London?
22. How often does she write him letters?
23. Has she ever sent him anything else?
24. Christopher’s experience with the dentist?
25. What does Christopher feel after reading all the letters and how does he react?
26. What does father say to Christopher when he finds out that he’s found and read the letters? 27. What’s unusual about Christopher’s behaviour when father changes his wet clothes and puts him in a bath, touching him?

3egc/4egcs - PART 4 - timeline

131
- “The reasons why I hate yellow and brown.”
137
- an expdition to the ZOO
- Father apologizes to Christopher for yelling at him.
139
- about Sherlock Holmes and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
- the case of fairies
149
- Siobhan at school asks Christopher questions about the fight
- after school when he gets home, he wants to take the book out of the dustbin but it isn’t there
- he searches the house for it
- finds letters from his mother & reads one
151
- about mysteries in general
- the number of frogs in the pond → a formula for a population of animals
157
- the Joseph Fleming and a toilet incident
- it rained very hard
- Father has an emergency call (a flooded cellar), Christopher has chance to see the other letters (43)
- reads 4 of them
- feels sick → a gap in his head → wakes up when it’s dark outside → sees that he has thrown up
- Father returns home, talks to Christopher, cleans him. Christopher is in shock → he doesn’t even react when his father touches him
End of part 4

3egc /4egcs - PART 3 - questions

PART III. 62-104 (ch 79-127)

1. Why don’t people say exactly what they mean to each other?
2. What is a “white lie”?
3. How does Christopher’s father think about his investigation of the murder case?
4. Can Christopher’s short book have a good ending now?
5. Who does he meet again on the next Super day?
6. Why does he ask her about Ms Shears?
7. What does the lady tell Christopher about Mr Shears?
8. Is Christopher upset about the news?
9. What does Siobhan suggest about describing characters or things in his book?
10. What is The Hound of the Baskervilles?
11. What doesn’t Christopher like about the dog in the story?
12. What do Christopher and Sherock Holmes have in common?
13. What’s Christopher’s memory like?
14. Describe 4 July 1992 at the seaside.
15. What do “See you later, alligator” and “You’ll catch your death in that” mean to him?
16. How does father realize that Christopher hasn’t given up researching Wellington’s murder?
17. What’s a rhetorical question?
18. How does Christopher react when father grabs him?
19. What does father do with the book?

3egc / 4egcs PART 3 - timeline

79
- Christopher returns home.
- Father is angry about the detective business ; Christopher promises he’ll stop investigating
83
- “I think I would make a very good astronaut.”
89
- Christopher talks to Siobhan about the book.
- Christopher sees 4 yellow cars in a row → a Black Day → he doesn’t eat anything, sits in the corner etc.
- Christopher sees 4 yellow cars in a row → a Black Day → he doesn’t eat anything, sits in the corner etc.
- He keeps his eyes closed on his way to school.
97
- Christopher sees 5 red cars in a row → Super Good Day
- Christopher meets Mrs Alexander in a shop and talks to her. She doesn’t seem to know that Christopher’s mother died.
101
- a goat or a car?
103
- Christopher returns home, Farher’s worker Rhodri is also there
- he includes a description of a garden (following Siobhan’s instruction for the book)
107
- The Hound of the Baskervilles = Christopher’s favourite book
109
- Christopher writes some more of his book

- Christopher talks to Siobhan about the book – she has read it.
113
- “My memory is like a film.”
- a day with his mother on the beach (Christopher was 9)
127
- comes from school
- leaves his book on the kitchen table and goes to the living room (Blue Planet videos)
- Father returns home
- Father comes to the living room after he has read the book – angry → the problem of rhetorical questions
- They have a fight.
- Father throws the book into the dustbin
End of part 3

3egc/4egcs - PART 2 - questions

Answer the following questions (p35-61):
1) What about Christopher’s mother?
2) The meaning of colours for Christopher.
3) Who’s Mr Jeavons?
4) Does Christopher believe in heaven and God?
5) How does Christopher investigate Wellington’s murder?
6) How do the neighbours treat him?
7) Who does Christopher suspect of the murder ? Why?
8) What’s the relationship between Mrs Shears and Christopher’s father?
9) What are the children in Christopher’s school called?
10) What does Christopher call them?
11) What exam is Christopher going to take as the first at his school and how does the principal feel about it?
12) Mention at least three of his “behavioural problems” that you find most interesting.

3egc/4egcs - PART 2 - timeline

53
- Mother dies of a heart-attack (at 38)
- a get-well card (9 red cars)
- Mrs Shears comes over and cooks supper for them

59
- Christopher decides he will find out about Wellington’s murder
- explains how he doesn’t always do what he’s told → confusing instructions
- Christopher goes to Mrs Shears’ house, asks her if she knows who killed Wellington
- secretly goes to the shed in her garden, finds the fork, Mrs S. sees him, urges him to go home

61
- Christopher explains his views on heaven and dying
- He says that he didn’t go to his mother’s funeral.

67
- Father watched a football match; Christopher did some more detection (talking to other people who lived in their street)
- he doesn’t like strangers – they are hard to understand
- meets old Mrs Alexander
- explains that Mrs Shears’ husband left her two years ago

71
- Christopher writes about school a bit – he wants to take an A – level in mathematics
- plans for future

73
- “my Behavioural Problems”
End of part 2

3egc/4egcs - PART 1 - questions

Answer the following questions (p 1-34)
0. Who is writing the story and why?
1. Describe the situation a few minutes after midnight in front of Mrs Shear’s house.
2. What do we learn about the dog?
3. Who do you think is Siobhan?
4. Describe Christopher. (What’s he like? What do you think about him?)
5. What’s interesting about the chapter numbers?
6. How does Christopher see people?
7. Why does he decide to write about a dog’s murder, not a human one?

8. How does Christopher feel about the police?
9. How does he react when held tight by a police officer?
10. What happens at the police station?

11. The night in the police cell.
12. How does he feel about people generally?
13.What does Christopher think about metaphors?
Explain the ones on p.19.
I laughed my socks off. =
He was the apple of her eye. =
They had a skeleton in the cupboard. =
We had a real pig of a day.=
The dog was stone dead. =
14.How do Christopher and his father show affection?
15. How often does Christopher tell lies?
16. Who’s Toby?
17. What does Christopher want to do about Wellington’s death?

3egc/4egcs - PART 1 - timeline

2
- the dog is dead on the lawn, in front of Mrs Shers’ house (Wellington, a poodle), killed with a garden fork
3
- Christopher introduces himself: Christopher Francis Boone (15 years, 3 months and 2 days old)
- he tells about Siobhan ☺
5
- he holds the dog for 4 minutes
- Mrs Shears comes and thinks he’s killed it
7
- he explains about this novel (=a murder mystery novel) → The Hound of the Baskervilles (Sherlock Holmes)
11
- the police arrive
- a policeman questions Christopher → too many questions → Christopher panics and hits him
13
- Christopher explains that this won’t be a funny book → he doesn’t understand jokes
17
- Christopher is arrested → it calms (!) him
- he explains about the Milky Way, the stars, the Big Bang, the universe expanding
19
- Christopher explains how chapters are marked with prime numbers: “Prime numbers are like life. They are very logical but you could never work out the rules, even if you spent all your time thinking about them.”
23
- Christopher gets to the police station
- has to empty his pockets (exact description)
- gets to his cell → a perfect cube (exact description)→ nice
- wonders how he’d escape (using glasses to set fire)
29
- Christopher explains why he finds people confusing (”people do a lot of talking without using any words”)
31
- Father arrives
- Christopher sees him (he doesn’t like hugging people → they spread their fingers out in a fan)
- Christopher is interviewed (he always tells the truth)
- they drive home

37
- “I do not tell lies” – Christopher explains he CAN’T tell lies
- he mentions his mother
41
- on the way home Christopher apologizes to his father
- says he wants fo find Wellington’s murderer → the father is angry
- goes to his room to play some computer games
- returns to the kitchen, sees his father crying
43
- Christopher tells us that his mother died 2 years ago (comes from school, she’s not there, the father tells him she’s in the hospital)

47
- on his way to school in the bus they pass 4 red cars = a Good Day (he explains why)
- tells about his conversation with Mr Jeavons (about becoming an astronaut)
- Terry – a bully
- Siobhan encourages Christopher to write a story about Wellington (he’s telling it 2 years after these events?)
End of part 1

3egc/4egcs - the Curious Incident - Asperger's syndrome

Asperger's syndrome


Christopher, 15 suffers from Asperger's syndrome, a kind of autism. His impairment (=prizadetost) is not a single disorder. It is shown in the following areas:

· Social interaction – an autistic person has difficulty in making and keeping relationships with people and living in society. Their permanent question is: Why do people behave the way they do?

· Language and communication – an autistic person has difficulties both verbal and non-verbal. Their language is simple, no long, complex sentences. But if there are such sentences, they are linked by “and”, “because” or “but”. Although Christopher knows many words he is unable to use them to make his writing more interesting, and has little or no awareness of subtle emotional gradations between words (scared-frightened-terrified-petrified). He cannot express irony, sarcasm, wit, but puts a premium on detailed description of events. An autistic person is unable to describe anything that has not been seen and uses very few examples of idiomatic or colloquial speech.

· Vocabularies may be extraordinarily rich and some autistic children sound like "little professors." However, although extremely literal, they have difficulty using language in a social context.


· Imagination - an autistic person has difficulties with creative ideas and abstract thinking. Symbolic meaning, metaphors or abstract thought are difficult to understand for them. (“Raining cats and dogs” is quite unimaginable for Christopher)

· An autistic person sees colours in a different way and feels the sounds differently.

· By definition, autistic people have a normal IQ and many individuals (although not all), exhibit exceptional skill or talent in a specific area. Because of their high degree of functionality and their naiveté, they are often viewed as eccentric or odd and can easily become victims of teasing and bullying.


For more information read . http://www-users.cs.york.ac.uk/~alistair/survival/looking.html
He is an "autist" and gives advice to people who have AS just like him.

Some Further info on the disease on page http://www.autismandcomputing.org.uk/marc1.en.html