The Call of the Wild
STAGE 3
3
4
5
6
BEFORE READING ACTIVITIES (PAGE 60)
ACTIVITY 1 BEFORE READING
CHAPTER 6 WHILE READING
1T 2F 3T 4T 5T 6F 7T
1+10 Buck liked to take Thornton’s hand in his
mouth when Thornton talked to him.
2+9 Buck wanted to answer the call of the wild animals, but every time he went into the forest, he
came back.
3+12 One day, Thornton told Buck to jump, and
Buck tried to jump 100 metres down into the
river.
4+11 Buck attacked a man called Burton because he
saw Thornton in danger.
5+7 When Thornton was thrown out of his boat
into the river, Buck jumped into the river with a
rope and saved him.
6+8 Buck pulled a sledge with 350 kilos on it to win
money for Thornton.
ACTIVITY 2 BEFORE READING
Do not give the answers at this stage, but encourage
students to speculate and to make guesses. The ‘yes’
answers are 3, 5 and 6.
While Reading
CHAPTER 1 WHILE READING
1 In Mr Miller’s big house in the Santa Clara valley in
California.
2 Because he needed money for his large family.
3 He hit him with a club.
4 A man called Perrault.
5 By ship.
6 Three.
7 Snow.
BEFORE READING CHAPTER 7
Do not give the answers now but encourage
students to speculate and to make guesses. Let them
check their guesses when they read the chapter. The
‘yes’ answers are 1, 3, 4 and 6.
CHAPTER 2 WHILE READING
1 How . . .? She had a fight with another dog and
when she fell down, a pack of dogs jumped on her.
2 How . . .? By watching Spitz and Dave.
3 What . . .? Important letters and official papers.
4 How . . .? They dug holes.
5 What . . .? He bit his leg.
6 What . . .? Fish.
7 How . . .? He stole it.
After Reading
ACTIVITY 1 AFTER READING
Buck learnt to . . .
s WEARAHARNESSTOPULLASLEDGE
s DIGAHOLEINTHESNOWTOSLEEPIN
s EATHISFISHQUICKLYBEFORETHEOTHERDOGSSTOLEIT
s STEALFOODBECAUSEHEWASALWAYSHUNGRY
s FIGHTLIKEAWOLFBECAUSEITWASINHISBLOOD
s WEARLITTLESHOESBECAUSEHISFEETWERESTILLSOFT
CHAPTER 3 WHILE READING
1 T
2 F The Indian dogs fought because they were
hungry.
3 T
4 F Buck had soft feet.
5 F François saved Buck when Dolly tried to kill him.
6 T
7 F Buck broke Spitz’s front legs.
8 T
2+11 6+16 4+15 7+10 8+13 5+9 1+14 3+12
Spitz hated Buck because he knew that Buck wanted
to be lead dog. Buck hated Spitz too, because he
remembered him laughing when Curly died. He
started to help the other dogs when Spitz punished
them. Then one night Spitz caught a rabbit and the
two dogs started to fight. Each time Buck attacked,
Spitz moved and then bit him on the side. After a few
minutes, Buck bit Spitz’s left front leg and the bone
broke. After that, he broke Spitz’s right front leg, and
then he made his final attack. The fight finished when
Spitz disappeared under the waiting pack of dogs.
Do not give the answers now but encourage
students to speculate and to make guesses. Let them
check their guesses when they read the chapter. The
‘yes’ answers are 1, 2, 3 and 5.
CHAPTER 5 WHILE READING
1 Mercedes to one of the men watching them
2 Hal to Mercedes
9 THE CALL OF THE WILD
XXX
© Oxford University Press
ACTIVITY 2 AFTER READING
BEFORE READING CHAPTER 4
OXFORD BOOKWORMS LIBRARY STAGE 3
Mercedes to Hal
Mercedes to the dogs
John Thornton to Hal
Hal to Thornton
ACTIVITIES ANSWERS
Before Reading
ACTIVITIES ANSWERS
ACTIVITY 3 AFTER READING
ACTIVITY 6 AFTER READING
Open answers. Some possible sentences:
1 I feel sorry for Buck because Manuel stole him.
2 I think the fat man was wrong to hit dogs with a
club.
3 I think François did a very good thing when he made
a pair of shoes for Buck.
4 I think Hal did a very stupid thing when he tried to
cross the White River.
5 I think John Thornton was nicer than Perrault
because he didn’t sell Buck.
Dear Mary
I am sorry that I cannot send you any more money yet,
and all because of a dog! This is what happened. I was
in a bar with some men when we started to talk about
dogs. A man called Thornton said that his dog could
pull a sledge with three hundred and fifty kilos on it,
and I said that I would give him a thousand dollars if
his dog could do that, but first the dog must break the
sledge out when it was frozen to the ice, and then pull
it a hundred metres over the snow. If Thornton lost,
he was going to give me a thousand dollars. I was sure
that I was going to win, so in the end we made it fourteen hundred dollars. We harnessed Buck, Thornton’s
dog, to my sledge. He looked intelligent, healthy and
as strong as a horse. But it was 50˚ below zero and
the sledge was frozen to the ice, so I thought that my
money was safe. But there is something very strange
about that man and his dog. Thornton spoke quietly
to Buck; the dog took Thornton’s hand between his
teeth, and then let go and started to pull. He pulled
harder and harder, and suddenly, I saw the sledge start
to move. That dog pulled it a hundred metres, and so I
lost my money!
ACTIVITY 4 AFTER READING
3 H AL : You can’t ride on the sledge, Mercedes. The
dogs are too tired.
5 M ERC EDES: But I’m tired too, and I’m your wife.
You shouldn’t make me work.
1 H AL : We all have to work. Life is like that in the
north.
6 M ERC EDES: I wish we’d never come to the north.
You don’t know anything. You can’t even pack
the sledge.
7 H AL : Well, you keep moving things, and then they
fall off!
2 M ERC EDES: They won’t fall off now. We’ve got
much less luggage now that half the dog food is
finished. We’re not going to have enough to get
us to Dawson.
9 H AL : That’s because you gave the dogs too much
when we started!
4 M ERC EDES: I felt sorry for them, poor things.
8 H AL : If you felt really sorry for them, you’d get off
the sledge and walk!
10 M ERC EDES: Well, I won’t get off. You can’t make me!
ACTIVITY 5 AFTER READING
© Oxford University Press
Open answers.
OXFORD BOOKWORMS LIBRARY STAGE 3
10 THE CALL OF THE WILD
XXX