Page 150 - Full Solutions 2nd Advanced Student Book_Neat

ffiffiffi ln pairs, write a definition of the term'science
fiction'. Then compare your ideas with the class and improve
your definition. This is the heart of Gilead, where the war cannot intrude
except on television. Where the edges are we aren't sure, they
2 dl fn(n Listen to a synopsis of Margaret Atwood's novel vary, according to the attacks and counterattacks; but this is
The Handmoid's Tole. How well does it fit your definition the center, where nothing moves. 'The Republic of Gilead,'
from exercise 1? Explain your answer. said Aunt Lydia,'knows no bounds. Gilead is within you.'
Doctors lived here once, lawyers, university professors.
There are no lawyers anymore, and the university is closed.
Luke and I used to walk together, sometimes, along these
streets. We used to talk about buying a house like one of these,
an old big house, fixing it up. We would have a garden, swings
for the children. We would have children. Although we knew
it wasn't too likely we could ever afford it, it was something
to talk about, a game for Sundays. Such freedom now seems
almost weightless.
We turn the corner onto a main street, where there's more
traffic. Cars go by, black most of them, some gray and brown.
$D fnCn Listen again. Are these statements about the plot There are other women with baskets, some in red, some in
of The Hondmaid's Tale true (T) or fatse (F)?
the dul1 green of the Marthas, some in the striped dresses,
1 The novel is set after the USA has been invaded by red and biue and green and cheap and skimpy, that mark
another state. the women of the poorer men. Econowives, they're called.
2 Offred can only achieve totaI privacy in her own room. These women are not divided into functions. They have to
3 Offred's name reftects the fact that she is the do everything; if they can. Sometimes there is a woman all in
Commander's possession. black, a widow. There used to be more of them, but they seem
4 When Offred becomes separated from her husband and to be diminishing. You don't see the Commanders'Wives on
daughter, she stays with another relative. the sidewalks. Only in cars.
5 Offred becomes a member of a secret organisation called The sidewalks here are cement. Like a child, I avoid
Mayday. stepping on the cracks. I'm remembering my feet on these
6 The novel does not say what Offred's uttimate fate is. sidewalks, in the time before, and what I used to wear on
them. Sometimes it was shoes for running, with cushioned
4 Read the extract opposite. What does Aunt Lydia mean when soles and trreathing holes, and stars of fluorescent fabric that
she says'Now you are being given freedom from'? reflected light in the darkness. Though I never ran at night;
and in the daytime, oniy beside well-frequented roads.
Explain in your own words what the following phrases from
Women were not protected then.
the text tetl us about the Republic of Gilead.
I remember the rules, rules that were never spelled out but
1 'Gilead', said Aunt Lydia, 'knows no bounds. Gitead is that every woman knew: Don't open your door to a stranger,
within you.' even if he says he is the police. Make him slide his ID under
2 There are no lawyers anymore ... the door. Don't stop on the road io help a motorist pretending
3 ... and the university is closed. to be in trouble. Keep the locks on and keep going. If anyone
4 Luke anil I used to walk together ... Such freedom now whistles, don't turn to look. Don't go into a laundromat, by
seems almost weighttess. yourself, at night.
5 ... the striped dress ... that mark the women of the poorer I think about laundromats. What I wore to them: shorts,
men. Econowives, they're catted. jeans, jogging pants. What I put into them: my own clothes,
6 ... no man shouts obscenities at us, speaks to us, my own soap, my own money, money I had earned myself. I
touches us. think about having such control.
Now we walk along the same street, in red pairs, and no
6 ffiffiffiW Discuss why science fiction so often shows the man shouts obscenities at us, speaks to us, touches us. No one
future as a 'dystopia'. Say whether you agree or disagree whistles.
with the statements below and add your own ideas. 'There is more than one kind of freedom,' said Aunt Lydia.
1 lt's easier to invent stories about dystopias. 'Freedom to and freedom from. In ihe days of anarchy, it was
2 lt's more interesting to read or watch stories about freedom to. Now you are being given freedom from. Don't
dystopias. underrate it.'
3 Dystopias are more realistic because the world is
becoming a worse ptace to live.

10 * Literature # MargaretAtwood : 149