Roald Dahl

1. Roald Dahl http://www.roalddahl.com/

2. “The Landlady” By Roald Dahl

3. porter briskly swanky façades rapacious kippers dithering dame emanate trifle blemish Unfamiliar WordsCopy the words from this slide leaving 1-2 lines between each

4. An older woman A mark, such as a pimple or scar Stylish Flow out Front panels of a house To move quickly and sharply A person hired to carry baggage Greedy Smoked fish A small amount To be nervously uncertain in acting or doing Match and copy the definitions below with the words from the previous slide. Try and do this without a dictionary; look at what sentences they are in to give you clues about their meaning.

5. Comprehension Questions:Copy and answer • How old is Billy Weaver? • What is the name of the hotel that the porter directs him to? • What country is the story set in? • Approximately how old is the landlady? • What are the names of the two other guests?

6. Prior Knowledge: copy the following definition. Cyanide: a poison that tastes like bitter almonds Why would knowing THIS detail affect your reading of the last page of the story? We realise that Billy’s tea probably tastes like almonds because the landlady has poisoned it.

7. Look at the passage “And now a queer thing…reaching for the bell (pp.142-143) • What words in the passage tell us that Billy is being made to do something? • holding • compelling • forcing • Which actions did Billy carry out as if commanded by an invisible force? • moving from the window to the door • climbing the stairs • reaching for the bell

8. The feeling that something beyond his control is happening continues when we discoverthat the landlady seems to have been expecting him, though this might seem impossible.

9. Read the passage “He pressed the bell…I was beginning to get worried” (pp. 144-146) • Make a list of the things that seemed to indicate that Billy was expected in the house. • What reasons can you think of for this?

10. Read the passage “That parrot…Will you have another cup of tea?” (pp.150-151) • What happened to the animals? They died and have been stuffed. 2. What did 'she' (the landlady) do with them? She has preserved them.

11. 3. What was Billy's reaction when he heard what she had done? He was impressed by her skill (he looks at her with “deep admiration” and thinks it would have been “awfully difficult”). 4. How many animals are mentioned? Only two – the parrot and the dachshund.

12. 5. When the landlady says "I stuff all my pets" does the word 'all' equate to the number in the answer to question 4? What is implied? “All” refers to the pets, rather than the animals. It is implied that the landlady stuffs things other than her animals.

13. There are two ways that the landlady might have preserved her 'pets' after theydied. One is known as 'taxidermy’ and the other is ‘embalming’.

14. Copy the following definitions: Taxidermy: the art of preparing and preserving the skins of animals and of stuffing and mounting them in lifelike form. Embalming: preserving a dead body from decay by the use of aromatic herbs • Which methods would the landlady use for all her different “pets”?

15. Character study – the landlady • In groups of 3, complete the following activities of A3 paper: • Draw a picture of the landlady. • List the aspects of the landlady’s appearance and voice that make her seem trustworthy. • List the aspects of the landlady’s behaviour that make her seem odd. • List three things the landlady says that seem frightening, and explain why they her words are so unsettling.