The Lady in White

Worksheet
Answer Key
Level 4
The Lady in White Colin Campbell
Summary
This supernatural mystery is set in England and
Ireland. John, a television producer, is celebrating the
success of his latest series with his assistant Jenny, but
his happiness is marred by his wife Rachel’s recent
strange behaviour. She has become fearful for their son
Patrick’s safety. On phoning home, John is surprised to
hear how happy and excited his wife is at the prospect
of a holiday in Ireland. Her fears seem to have
receded. John lunches with Jenny and they discuss
his idea for a television series on urban myths, such as
the vanishing hitch-hiker. Ironically, John met Rachel
when she was hitch-hiking.
John is disturbed when Jenny plays him a recording of
the same inexplicable experience that had happened
to different people in the same place — the tale of a
motorist who is stopped on a lonely road late at night
by a lady in white. This lady almost causes an horrific
accident but then disappears. There are parallels
to John’s own experiences. John becomes deeply
concerned, and insists Jenny drives with him to the
place near Brighton where the incidents took place.
A local policeman tells a story of an accident that
happened there, where a mysterious woman in white
was observed at the scene of the crash. John knows
details of the story that were not on the recording, and
he reveals that this was the place where he met Rachel.
Jenny becomes exasperated with John’s morbid
obsession with the stories, and tells him to forget about
it and enjoy his holiday.
Cambridge English Readers
© Cambridge University Press 2009
In Ireland, John and family have a pleasant holiday,
but John’s good mood is shattered by a terrifying
dream, where a supernatural being takes Rachel
and Patrick away from him. John relates the dream
to Rachel and she tells John about the dream that
troubled her and made her fear for Patrick’s safety.
On their return home, John cannot calm his anxieties
about the dreams and the stories he had heard on
the recording and from the policeman. His sleep is
interrupted by disturbing dreams. He cannot stop
thinking about a possible link with Rachel and the
story of the lady in white. Finally, John decides to
confront his nightmares and drives down to the place
near Brighton on consecutive nights and waits.
On the third night, John watches in terror as the lady
in white appears. As she tries to open the car door,
John drives away at top speed. Further on along the
road, he phones Rachel on his mobile phone. To
John’s utter relief, she answers, and he realises Rachel
cannot be the lady in white.
Before reading
3. a
b
c
d
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 2
Chapter 1
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Worksheet
Answer Key
Level 4
The Lady in White Colin Campbell
Check your reading
Chapter 1
1. 1 c, 2 a, 3 e, 4 b, 5 d
2. Student’s own answer.
Chapter 7
1. 1 d, 2 c, 3 a, 4 e, 5 b
Chapter 2
1. d, b, e, c, a
2. Student’s own answer.
Chapter 8
1. c, a, f, b, d, e
2. Student’s own answer.
Chapter 3
1. a F, b T, c T, d F, e F
Chapter 9
Chapter 4
1. b, c, e
1. The driver noticed how beautiful the hitchhiker was and wondered why she was crying.
When she turned to look at him, he felt excited
and nervous but also uncomfortable. As the car
came near a bend, she started screaming, saying
‘We’re losing control!’ Then she started pulling
the steering wheel. The man was surprised how
strong she was and hit her. There was almost a
terrible accident. When the car stopped, he could
see blood on her face.
2. Student’s own answer.
Chapter 5
1. a T, b F, c F, d T, e F
Chapter 6
1. a Jenny
b Jenny
c the policeman
d John
e Jenny
2. The accident happened on a wet, rainy night.
The car may have gone round a bend too fast and
the driver lost control. There were no other cars
involved in the crash. The police checked the car
afterwards and found nothing wrong with the
Cambridge English Readers
brakes and steering wheel. The two passengers in
the car died immediately — a woman and her baby
boy.
© Cambridge University Press 2009
Chapter 10
1. a Rachel
b John
c Rachel and John
d Rachel
e Mrs Reagan
2. Student’s own answer.
Chapter 11
1. After coming back from holiday, John did not
feel relaxed. There were so many questions
he couldn’t answer about the dreams and the
stories. In his pocket, John was surprised to find
a recording with the story of the lady in white.
He didn’t want Rachel to find it. During dinner,
John was very quiet. That night, he couldn’t
sleep. The next morning he left without kissing
Rachel. In the car, he heard the story of the lady
in white. John became angry and drove so badly
that there was almost an accident. He stopped
his car and began to cry.
Chapter 12
1. b, e, c, a, d, f
2. Student’s own answer.
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