Sunday 11 February 2007

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?