The Bookkeeper - Page 134
C2 Proficiency · Multiple Choice Reading · Ready for C2 Proficiency Student's Book, Macmillan
You are going to read an extract from the short story The Bookkeeper by Jojo Moyes. For questions 1–6, choose the answer (A, B, C or D) which you think fits best according to the text.
It was a quarter past two on the third Thursday of the month, and even before she looked up, Margery O'Hare knew, with a sense of inevitability, that the man standing by the returns desk was not from around here. This part of Kentucky was so tucked away in itself, so protected by the rolling mountains that surrounded it, that strangers stood out like a ruby at a church picnic. They walked differently, looked different, spoke a foreign language. And like anyone who had spent their whole life in a town like Baileyville, Margery could spot one at fifty paces. She lifted her head from the book she was logging and observed him as he gazed around the small library. He was young, with the restless, watchful energy of a person who spent too much time around other people, an urban look emphasised by his smooth chin and his charcoal woollen overcoat, too warm by far for this time of year. He had dark hair, a straight nose, and the uncomfortable air of someone who wasn't sure he was in the right place. He caught her looking at him and she dropped her gaze to the desktop. The library was hardly the most ornate building – just a modest room in the back of the old school near the creek, with splintering floorboards and a tin roof that leaked when the rain came from the west, and windows that rattled in winter. But everything in it she had done herself – the whittled wooden 'LIBRARY' sign, the rows of racked shelving, the makeshift desk painted in red. Well, herself and little Fred Guisler, the mine deputy's son, who had an artist's soul and a cough that kept him out of the dank underground tunnels his brothers found themselves in every hour God sent. Margery had thought about that a lot recently. Even if all the miners held jobs, the pits themselves were slowly dying, and like the old towns at the far end of the mountain, Baileyville would become a ghost town, its houses gradually bleached to grey by the mountain rains, picked apart by scavengers, lost to the slow creep of the forests. She used to wonder what would happen to herself when that happened. More recently, she had stopped thinking about it. Nothing good came of feeling sad. 'Good afternoon, ma'am. Is this ... the library?' Margery didn't answer. She wasn't sure what had caused a spasm of irritation to ripple through her. 'Good afternoon yourself. Last time I looked, that's what it said on the door.' 'Ah. Sorry. It's just ... it's a lot smaller than I was expecting.' 'Not sure what you expected, Mr—' She paused. 'McPherson. Evan McPherson. I've come from Louisville.' 'Well, Mr McPherson from Louisville, you're a long way from the big city.' She pushed her chair back and walked over to the far side of the room, checking the windows, although she wasn't sure for what. 'Thirty-four hours on a Greyhound bus.' He followed her across the room, ducking a little to avoid the beam. 'I thought it was never going to end. I'm here because of a newspaper clipping I came across in the city archives. I'm interested in the old mine records. Do you know where they're kept?' He was rubbing his hands together – a nervous habit, she thought – and she found herself having to fight an impulse to find him profoundly irritating. It would be so easy to dismiss him out of hand – a flighty, transient thing. 'There are no mining records kept here, Mr McPherson.' She folded her arms across her chest. 'Excuse me – I was told there were?' He reached into his pocket. 'I have a letter here from a Mr John Peabody—' 'I know John Peabody. Those records were transferred out of here some four years ago.' She watched the flicker of something – disappointment? Frustration? – pass across Mr McPherson's features. He removed his hat and ran his fingers around the inside of its brim. And just for a moment, she glimpsed something other than the slick-looking city boy in front of her. She thought, briefly, and against all her instincts, that there might be something genuine about him.
to draw attention to the beauty that nature offers its observers
to convey a sense of hopelessness regarding the future of the local area
to illustrate that the inhabitants lack ambition and direction
to reveal how much the local area has changed over the years
What effect is created by the description of the setting in the fourth paragraph?
an unhealthy obsession with perfection.
a desire to prove her value to the community.
an ongoing dissatisfaction with her working conditions.
a grudging acceptance of the changes happening around her.
Margery's account of what she had done in the library suggests
He is a relative outsider who is inquisitive about the area.
He is eager to impress the locals with his knowledge.
He has an unrealistic expectation of what is available there.
He has made an unnecessary journey to get to the library.
What is suggested about Mr McPherson in the text?
wants to test whether Mr McPherson can be trusted.
is reluctant to reveal her true feelings about the situation.
is wary of the man's interest in the records.
feels strongly that Mr McPherson should leave the library.
When Margery says 'There are no mining records kept here', she
She dislikes people who try to disguise their true intentions.
She has a tendency towards forming snap judgements about people.
She struggles to take responsibility for her actions.
She is uncomfortable in the company of strangers.
What does the text reveal about Margery's character?
a damning account of the state of a community in decline.
a cautionary tale about the danger of judging a book by its cover.
a moving portrait of life in a disadvantaged community.
a largely impartial account of the interaction between Margery and Mr McPherson.
The text as a whole presents
The Bookkeeper
Jojo Moyes
Available as a free printable PDF worksheet with an optional answer key.
More C2 Proficiency Multiple Choice Reading practice · All C2 Proficiency practice