Worksheet 1 Francis Scott Fitzgerald Name ...... Level 5 The Great Gatsby F. Scott Fitzgerald Date ...... Adapted by David A. Hill “He talked a lot about the past that night.”

Jay Gatsby is the man who has everything: money, influential friends and fabulous parties. Day and night his Long Island mansion is full of beautiful people laughing and dancing and talking about their mysterious host. The rich and handsome Gatsby always seems to be alone in the crowd and there seems to be something missing from his life. What is the secret from Gatsby’s past? And what does he silently hope will fill his life?

Recording in American English F. Scott Fitzgerald

HELBLING LEVEL CEF Cambridge Trinity READERS Novel, written by F. Scott Fitzgerald in 1925 A great new series 1 A1 Breakthrough KET 1, 2

RED The Great Gatsby of graded reading 2 A1 Breakthrough / A2 Waystage KET 2, 3 The Great Gatsby SERIES material. Choose from 3 A2 Waystage KET 3, 4 well-loved classics 4 A2 Waystage / B1 Threshold PET 4, 5 1974 film, the first well-known film adaptation, directed by Francis Ford BLUE and high-quality SERIES 5 B1 Threshold PET 5, 6 original fiction. F. Scott Fitzgerald Coppola 2013 film with Leonardo DiCaprio and , directed by Baz ISBN 978-3-85272-295-5

with Luhrmann 9 7 8 3 8 5 2 7 2 2 9 5 5 ISBNTHE 978-3-85272-295-5 GREAT GATSBY CD inside

THE GREAT GATSBY COVERs.indd 1 11/04/12 09:41 Introduction What do you know about the story? Watch the film trailer and discuss the questions below.

1 What do we learn about the plot from the trailer? 2 Do you think it is going to be a happy or a sad film? Setting (Place and Time) 1 When and where does the story take place? 2 What do you think of the setting? Describe it in a few words. 3 How would you describe Gatsby’s house? Characters 1 a What’s your first impression of … • (played by Leonardo DiCaprio)? • Carraway (played by Tobey Maguire)? • Daisy Buchanan (played by Carey Mulligan)?

1 b Which of these adjectives best describe the characters? Add one more adjective each per character.

mysterious gorgeous friendly honest innocent wealthy

Jay Gatsby Daisy Buchanan

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©Helbling Languages 2013 2 What is the relationship between The Great Gatsby • Gatsby and Nick? • Gatsby and Daisy? • Daisy and Nick?

3 Look at the picture. Who are the characters? Describe what they look like. Compare them with the characters in the film.

4 Read this description of Gatsby from the book. Is it similar to the character in the film? Can you remember this scene from the trailer?

The orchestra started to play some 17 “jazz music. I looked around. Gatsby was The Great Gatsby 2012.indd 17 12/04/12 08:37 standing on the steps of his house. He was looking at everyone with approving eyes. He didn’t look like a sinister person with his attractive, tanned face and short, tidy hair. Prediction ” 1 We hear about Gatsby’s secret several times in the trailer. What can this secret be? 2 We can see a flashing green light in the trailer. What do you think it is? What could it represent? Write down your predictions and check if you are right when you read the story. Explore and Research A Find out about the 1920s in the USA. Compare it to the same age in your country. You can search images of that age. Can you find more similarities or differences? B Find out about New York and Long Island in the age of Gatsby. What was New York like in the 1920s? This age is often called the ’Roaring Twenties’ in America. What does ’roar’ mean? Why is the name given to this time? C Think about and research the music, dance and fashion of the era. What music did they listen to? What did they dance? What did the women wear? What hairstyle did they have? D Nick Carraway comes from the Midwest. Find this area on the map. What are the states of the Midwest? What are the major cities?

©Helbling Languages 2013