The Price of Peace: Stories from Africa
before reading activities (page 76)
Students can complete this dialogue how they like.
Suggested answers:
Mwali: It wasn’t thieves who burnt the lorries. We
both know that. What are we going to do?
Husband: Your father thinks that I should leave you
here and go back to live with my own family.
Mwali: Perhaps he’s right. Perhaps it’s safer that way.
Husband: Who can say? I just know that I don’t
want to leave you and the children and go and live
somewhere else.
Mwali: What if you go home to your family, and I join
you later, with the children?
Husband: I’m sure that, with the elections coming,
there is going to be more trouble. If that happens, you
and the children may not be able to get away and join
me.
Mwali: And then we could be separated for months,
or years!
Husband: Perhaps we should stay here with your
father. Who knows, after a while perhaps the trouble
will stop, and we will be safe again.
Mwali: That’s true, but things can change very quickly.
Husband: And of course your father can’t protect us as
much as he used to. He’s an old man now.
Mwali: So we’re back at the beginning. Oh, what’s the
best thing to do? I just don’t know.
Husband: Listen, Mwali. We can stay here with your
father, or we can leave and go to live with my family,
but I think we should all stay together, you, me and the
children, whatever happens.
Mwali: You’re right. Families belong together. We’ll
tell my father in the morning.
activity 1 THE TRULY MARRIED WOMAN
Open answers. Encourage discussion.
activity 2 THE ROAD TO MIGOWI
Some possible answers:
1 Well respected; long hours
2 Travel to different places; many routes not very
interesting
3 Lots of pressure; chance to use your imagination
4 Excitement; unpleasant people and events
5 Productive work; very repetitive
6 Lots of contact with people; some customers
difficult
7 Responsible job; little private life
8 Creative work; sometimes dangerous work
activity 3 TWO SISTERS
Open answers. Encourage discussion.
activity 4 BLOOD FEUDS
Open answers. Encourage discussion.
activity 5 THE MIRACLE WORKER
Numbers 2, 3, and 5 are definitions given in the Oxford
Advanced Learner’s Dictionary.
After Reading
activity 1 AFTER READING
1 Uncle Phala in Blood Feuds. He has just said
insulting things about his son-in-law, the
‘southerner’, to the crowd outside his house, who
are shouting and screaming for the southerner’s
blood.
2 Ayo in The Truly Married Woman. Ajayi has just
woken her up on the day after their wedding,
wondering where his cup of tea is.
3 Rasaki in The Miracle Worker. He has just lost
Makinde’s money and decided to leave town for a
while.
4 Mercy in Two Sisters. She has just arrived at her
sister Connie’s house with her new lover, Captain
Ashley, much to Connie’s surprise.
5 The bus driver in The Road to Migowi. He has just
started off for Migowi again after the bus has been
pushed free of the mud once more.
activity 3 AFTER READING
4 Friend: ‘Well, Bisi, have you heard the news?’
2 Bisi: ‘No, I’ve been away. What news is that?’
7 Friend: ‘It’s about Rasaki. Someone we know gave
him a lot of money to play pools, and he’s gone and
lost it all!’
9 Bisi: ‘That’s terrible! But can’t this person get the
money back from Rasaki?’
5 Friend: ‘I don’t think so. You see, this someone we
know is in a lot of trouble with the tax man.’
1 Bisi: ‘Ah! And if he asks for the money back, Rasaki
will say a few words to the right person . . .’
8 Friend: ‘Exactly. And someone we know will be in
even more trouble than he is now.’
6 Bisi: ‘This is a sad story. But tell me, who is this
someone we know?’
3 Friend: ‘Oh Bisi, haven’t you guessed? It’s
Makinde!’
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activities Answers
activity 2 AFTER READING
Encourage students to discuss and speculate, but do
not confirm their guesses or predictions at this stage.
Factual answers are given below for your information
only.
oxford bookworms stage 4
R etold by Christine Lindop
competition, with other groups guessing which
story each haiku is about. Other possibilities
include a haiku recital (each group in turn reads
out their haiku to the class), and a poster display.
• If students are doing their reading at home, writing
a haiku is a creative way of showing they have read
and understood the story. Haiku can be written in
students’ own reading diaries, or shared with the
class. A good way is to keep a big ‘Reviews Book’
in the classroom, and each student writes their
haiku in the book for other students to read.
• Haiku don’t rhyme or scan, but must keep to the
5 / 7 / 5 syllable rule. They can be one long
sentence, or a number of short sentences, or just
phrases. They can be funny, or sad. Avoid using
characters’ names. These examples for the other
stories in this book show some different ways
language can be used in haiku.
The Truly Married Woman
I thought I knew her
but after years together
she wants more respect!
The Road to Migowi
Always the same road
the same words, the same people –
it’s like a prison.
Blood Feuds
Which is my country?
Do I choose dreams in exile,
or the hard, real world?
The Miracle Worker
A dirty windscreen.
But a true believer sees
a vision from God.
activities Answers
activity 4 AFTER READING
Model answers:
The Truly Married Woman
a) Ajayi felt surprised at first. Ayo didn’t normally
talk to him like that. But then, after a while, he
felt angry. Why had he spent all that money on a
wedding if Ayo was going to behave like this? He
left the house and went to stay with his sister. When
he had gone, Ayo began to cry. She hadn’t meant to
be unkind to him. She wished that things could be
like they were before the wedding. After a few days
Ajayi returned, and they didn’t talk about Ayo’s
unkind words again. But things were never quite the
same between them.
b) Ajayi was surprised, but agreed to do as Ayo told
him. Every morning he got up and made a cup of
tea for himself and one for Ayo too. After the baby
was born, Ayo became fat and happy. She took
control of the house and told Ajayi exactly what to
do. Ajayi kept quiet and followed her orders, but
sometimes he felt sorry that he had ever thought of
getting married. Things were better before!
Two Sisters
a) Mercy had had enough of Connie’s opinions. When
Connie was shocked at the news of Mercy’s new
lover, Mercy argued with her, and bitter words were
said. Mercy stopped visiting her sister after that.
Connie saw her in town from time to time, wearing
fashionable clothes and expensive shoes. When they
met, they were polite to each other, but they talked
to each other like strangers. They were sisters, but
not friends.
b) Connie refused to meet Captain Ashley. It was too
much! She sent Mercy away, but she cried as she
watched her go. She still worried about her, though
Mercy did well for herself. Connie sometimes saw
her photo in the papers, and Mercy always looked
good, in expensive clothes. She hoped that Mercy
would change one day. Maybe she would find a nice
man and get married.
activity 5 AFTER READING
Open answers.
activity 6 AFTER READING
Both haiku are about Two Sisters.
Notes for the teacher:
• This activity helps students to think about the
stories they have read, and what they see as the
themes, or points of interest in the story. It also
helps them to practise the key vocabulary of the
stories. There are no right or wrong answers for
this activity, provided that the haiku accurately
reflects some aspect of the story.
• For classroom work students can work in pairs or
small groups to write their haiku. When all the
groups have finished, there can be a guessing
oxford bookworms stage 4
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© Oxford university press photocopiable