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English Reading and Writing

Read, write and enjoy the journey! Share your thoughts! Think out of the box! Be kind! Do I make mistakes? That's ok. I'm learning and this is a long and great journey!

English Reading and Writing

Read, write and enjoy the journey! Share your thoughts! Think out of the box! Be kind! Do I make mistakes? That's ok. I'm learning and this is a long and great journey!

ERW2 - 2 - Stop and imagine

I hope you are enjoying your extensive reading experience!

(Friendly reminder: Don't forget to read the article about Reading Logs.)

For this session I invite you to stop reading (just for a while) and imagine and write what is going to happen next.

So, let us know where you are in the story and how you think it continues.

Think and write out of the box! You may write a horror story if you want!

Feel free to continue your colleagues' stories as well!

Have fun reading and writing!

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20 comentários

Sílvia Teixeira 17.06.2016

I am reading “The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time”, by Mark Haddon and I am on chapter 127. On previous chapters, Christopher, the main character, talks about his favorite book “The Hound of the Baskervilles”, the third of the crime novels written by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, in which the detective Sherlock Holmes is called to solve a murder. Inspired on his favorite book and linking all the clues together and “Red Herrings” that Christopher has been given along the chapters, I will try to recreate my own crime novel, trying to answer to all of these questions:
If his mother was at the hospital, why he could not visit her? Then, she suddenly died, why didn’t Christopher mention her funeral? And the visceral hatred towards Mrs. Shears that his father has? Why didn’t his father want him to talk with any neighbor? Why did Mr. Shears disappear by the time of his mother’s death? Is it dog Wellington’s murder the only murder which is unsolved?
On chapter 97, Christopher discovers that Mr. Shears and his mom had an affair, despite all the attempts from his father to make him giving up investigations. Christopher, on chapter 127, had forgotten his book on the table and, when he realized it, it was too late… His father had already read it and was strangely calm. However, when Christopher says that he knows all about Mr. Shears and his mother, he becomes angry and shouts at him, being rude. Suddenly, his father grabbed hold of his arm hardly and Christopher hits him.
“I had no memories for a short while. I know it was a short while because I checked my watch afterward. It was like someone had switched me off and then switched me on again. And when they switched me on again I was sitting on the carpet with my back against the wall and there was blood on my right hand and the side of my head was hurting. And Father was standing on the carpet a meter in front of me looking down at me and he was still holding my book in his right hand, but it was bent in half and all the corners were messed up, and there was a scratch on his neck and a big rip in the sleeve of his green and blue check shirt and he was breathing really deeply.
After about a minute he turned and walked through to the kitchen. Then he unlocked the back door into the garden and went outside. I heard him lift the lid of the dustbin and drop something into it and put the lid of the dustbin back on. Then he came into the kitchen again, but he wasn't carrying the book anymore.
Then he locked the back door again and put the key into the little china jug that is shaped like a fat nun and he stood in the middle of the kitchen and closed his eyes.
Then he opened his eyes and he said, "I need a fucking drink." And he got himself a can of beer.”
From this point on my own crime novel begins …
Sílvia Teixeira 17.06.2016

His father seemed possessed and nuts. His eyes were evil and he had a scary smile on his face…
All the doors were closed and Christopher realized that he was captive in his own home. In front of him was his father:
“I thought that you were different. – he says – but you are a fucking liar as your mother! I told you not to put your nose in the other’s business, didn’t I? I had tried to warn you, but you didn’t care about… Now you will get what you deserve, as those two bastards!”

Christopher was terrified because this was totally unexpected: his own father, a murder? How could he not think about it? It was so obvious: the murderer is always someone you know… How could he forget this golden rule?

“Yes, that’s right. I know just what you are thinking of… Congratulations! You are an excellent investigator… Here you are your murderer: the unsuspected and downright
father… I had to eliminate the last loose end of my perfect crime. That bloody dog always coming to our garden, making holes and damaging my perfect graves. Sticking him that fork gave me such a pleasure. But not as much as killing those fucking liars. Now, I have another loose end: you! Poor Christopher, poor handicapped Christopher, so young, so intelligent… But he could not deal with his mother’s betrayal and had killed himself… Cleaver, don’t you think? People will be sorry of me: losing my wife and now my only loved and disturbed child…”

Christopher had tried to scream and shout but he barely could move his eyes. And that smell? He knew it quite well: it was chloroform, for sure!

“What will be, my dear Christopher? Pills? Perhaps a cut of wrists? No, of course not! You are the cleaver boy. You would do something much more complicated: an electrocution! Excellent idea! You would want to die with your technological craps… Wait here… I’ll come soon, very soon… Oh, you can’t move, can you?” – and he gave him one of those terrifying laughs.
For a little moment, Christopher agreed with his father. If he had to die, he would prefer it that way… However, he did not want to die; he wants to become an astronaut, and an “A” class Math student, too. He cannot die because he would be the first “A” of his school!
Lost in his thoughts, Christopher hadn’t noticed that his father had come back, bringing electrical cables in his hands. He came right to him and, when he was right to put the electric cables near his head, Christopher shuddered and woke up with the sound of the front door. He was watching his Blue Planet videos and fell asleep on the couch…
His father came into the living room and said:
"Howdy, pardner".

Hope you enjoy!

Sílvia

Fátima Castanheira 18.06.2016

Mark Haddon´s book made me use my imagination and it was entertaining and good to relax for a while in spite of the irony of the situation described.
If we think of a traditional Portuguese family and the role of mothers in the education of their children, we might be worried, especially all the fellow mothers in our blog, that care deeply for their children.
In fact, these issues that we are studying in ERW1 and ERW2 have been addressed previously.
I’m sure that everyone remembers one of the stories of our blog in EWR 1: "Raising a princess single-handedly". I liked it a lot. It’s the story of a motherless little girl, who was raised by her father without any help. A true hero (he thought) because he had to take care of and raise his daughter alone.
Now, in “The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time” it’s curious (and a coincidence) that we find a similar situation again – a mother died. We have another orphan! Now, we have a father who takes care of his child, this time a 15-year-old boy, Cristopher, who has a disability.
Another hero? Which one is the hero? The father or the son?
If we think of a traditional family, maybe it is the father, but we will see what happens in our story.
The name of this character (Christopher) made me think in a possible translation into our mother tongue. The name Cristopher in Portuguese… Can it be Cristiano? Or Cristianinho?
In a moment, my imagination took me to the son of our national hero, Cristiano Ronaldo.
This connection may be a coincidence, but as we know, little Cristiano doesn’t have a mother either, as he doesn’t know who his biological mother is.
What is happening to the mothers?
Can we use our imagination and put ourselves in the future and find out? Can the Cristopher of our story be the son of Cristiano Ronaldo? Imagination has no limits and in literature everything is possible…
Maybe I like football too much and I’m touched by the European football championship and by the game that will take place today Portugal/Austria… and I’m anxious because of it…
or because i'm a mother...
But back to my original apprehension, I have another question: is the role of the mothers out of fashion? Is that possible?
Only in literature for sure!
Joana Gomes 28.06.2016

Your imagination is so good, Fátima! I enjoyed the comparison you have done between Cristiano Ronaldo’s son and Christopher, but I really liked the subject that is behind it. As you said, there’s a serious situation to think about what is happening to the mothers?
To lose a mother is something that would be really hard and, as teachers, we should be prepared to this situation because, nowadays, in our classes, there’s the possibility to have a student in these conditions.
Fortunately, in chapter 157 we realise that Christopher’s mother didn’t die after all. Have you just read this chapter? I won’t tell you more information to arouse your curiosity!

Best regards,
Joana Gomes

Gravelina Alves Gache 20.06.2016

Stop and imagine

Sorry! I think I made a mistake, I’ve read the entire book and I didn’t realize I had to stop at a certain point. I was so excited and so anxious that I thought the book was a love story or a great criminal story, where Christopher has to discover things and find the dog’s murderer as the detective Sherlock Holmes. I’ve read the book whenever I could: even in school meetings, while travelling from Vila Real to Oporto, when my friend was driving. At night when I was in bed, in a few minutes before sleeping. In a few words I can say that if I like the book I “eat” it.
So I imagine that I was in chapter number 229, because it is when my favourite part or scene happens. When Christopher was well with himself, sleeping, having good dreams, eating well and happy near his mother and Mr Shears.
“There’s just a problem:
- I have to go to Swindon to do the maths test to have an A, which was the best evaluation in a degree. I said to my mother.
So I go with my mother in Shear’s car to Swindon to make the Maths test. I made the test and then we came home, returning at London where Mr Shears was happily waiting for us (his lover and the child that he respects a lot as his own son that is me). Mr Shears had bought a good meal in a restaurant, because he worked a lot and he didn’t have time to do it.
When we arrived home, we entered the kitchen and we had a great surprise. Mr Shears said:
- I hope you like the surprise, I have chicken and ships, I’ m sure you appreciate it.
- Thanks dear, we are so tired, we love it. -Mum answered and then she kissed him.
I was confused, because she says that I have to respect Mr Shears as a father, but I need time to get used to him. Then he looked at me and asked:
- So Christopher, how was your Maths test? Was It easy?
- Yes, Mr Shears. I did it so fast and easily, that I hope to have an A. I’m the best of my school.
We had our meal with pleasure and the time went by. My mother told me that I had to go to a new school in London, near our house because I’m a grown up now and I can go on foot to school. My mother has a good job and Mr Shears earns a lot of money. We live well, as a good and happy family. About my father, sometimes he comes to see me at London, bringing me some games and maths books that help me a lot at school.”

In my opinion the book should finish like this as it is happier for the main characters.
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Lucinda Viegas 20.06.2016

First of all , I have to admit that I haven't had much time to read ( ratings and reports at school) , don't allow me , but at this point....i'm only in Chapter 5, and after the explanatory Chapter 3......
Chapter 5 flashes back to the night of Wellington's demise.
Christopher pulls the fork out of the poodle and lifts him into his arms. The
dog is "leaking blood from the fork holes." He tells us that he likes dogs because they
have only four moods: happy, sad, cross and concentrating ( and i ask: "only the dogs?!?! ;)))
These are within his limited ability to comprehend emotions. Christopher has been hugging the dog for four minutes, when Mrs. Shears comes running out of her house cursing and shouting and accuses him of killing Wellington. She orders him to put the dog down, and because he doesn't like being shouted at, he puts the dog down and moves back two meters. Christopher puts his hands over his ears, closes his eyes and rolls forward until he is "hunched up with my forehead pressed into the grass." He says that he likes the grass because it is wet and cold..

It's too little, i know...but, my time...:((((((((
Lucinda Viegas 03.07.2016

Chapter 197
Christopher reiterates that he hates to be in a small room with people he doesn't know,
and a train is like a room. He relates an incident from his past when he jumped out of a
moving car to get away from some other children, his mother was giving a lift home to.
He had to get sutures, and it took three months for his hair to grow back like it was
before. He is standing very still on the train when he hears someone call his name. It is
the police officer who helped him get money from the ATM. The police officer tells
him that Christopher's father is at the police station. Christopher assumes Father has
been arrested for killing Wellington, and he tells the police officer so. The police
officer says they will look into that but, for the moment, he needs Christopher to come
to the station with him. When Christopher says no, that he is going to London to live
with his mother, the police officer tries to take Christopher by the arm. Christopher
screams, and the cop lets go. By the time they repeat that scenario once more, the train
is leaving the station. The police officer uses his radio to call his partner and arrange
for a car to meet him and Christopher at Didcot Parkway, the next stop. Once seated,
Christopher retreats into himself. "I closed my eyes," he says, "and did counting and
groaning." Then, he retreats even deeper and starts doing quadratic equations in his
head. After a while, he says, "I wanted to go for a wee." Not realizing that there are
toilets on trains, he ends up "leaking." The cop tells him about toilets on trains and
sends him off to complete his business.
Christopher's encounter with the train's toilet is traumatic, and he doesn't want to use it, but he has to, "...so I closed my eyes and went for a wee and the train wobbled and a lot went on the seat and on the floor."
As he comes out of the toilet, Christopher notices a row of luggage racks along the bulkhead of the train. He crawls in behind a backpack on the middle shelf, out of sight, and waits there. When the train approaches Didcot Parkway, the police officer comes to the toilet and knocks on the door for Christopher.
When he doesn't find the boy, he curses and goes running back. While others are running around on the platform looking for him, Christopher remains hidden.

From here, Christopher creates a personal challenge , to leave the train unobserved. Where each step is measured , analyzed in every detail .

It's what I think, what will happen....;)

Joana Gomes 23.06.2016

Today I'm reading the chapter 167. But I just stop reading for a while to do this suggested task.
In this chapter, Christopher's father told him that he killed Wellington. The boy felt very angry about it because his father had also lied to him about the death of his mother in the chapter 157. He put these two previous episodes together and he rebelled against his own father and he went out with his mouse Toby.
I'm extremely curious to read what is going to hapen next, but in the first place I want to try out my imagination. I think that Christopher really wants to find his mother, but I don't know if he can do it alone. Probably, he is going to ask for his neighbours' help and finally he will overcome how he missed her mother for all those years and he will really find out the true story of her disappearance.
Thereafter I'm going to read the next chapter: 173, to really learn what happened and if my imagination is good! If it is, I'm going to bet on EuroMillions!!! :-)
Joana Gomes
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Sandra Martinho 26.06.2016

I am in the part of the story that Christopher found out that his mother was Mr Shears lover (Mrs Alexander told him). Being he an autistic child, he will try to understand the logic of the situation. The reasons that took his mother and Mr Shears to engaged.
“Christopher (contradicting somewhat what he had promised to Mrs Alexander) asked to his father if he and his mother had a good relationship, if they got along well, even because he rarely watched to discussions between they so, there wasn´t any reason to that happened.
Christopher’s father tried to “escape to the answer”, telling that they were a couple like any other, they had their bad moments but they understood each other very well. Christopher saw the sadness on his father’s eyes when he said that words, so he decided to attack again. He asked him if he thought that his mother was happy, and what he would do if he found out that she had a lover.
His father became extremely angry with that conversation and ask Christopher why he was doing all that ridiculous questions, mom was dead so, they should let her “rest in peace”.
Christopher didn´t lie and he had promised to Mrs Alexander not to tell “the secret” to his father so, he answer to him that he was missing his mother and would love to know more things about her. His father finished the conversation telling that his mother was happy and would never betray him. In that precisely moment, Christopher had a great will to tell his father that he was wrong, that his mother wasn´t happy and had a lover, Mr Shear, but he remembered the promise that he had made to Mrs Alexander so, he chose to delay his decision to tell the truth to his father.
Christopher decided to continue his investigation about who killed Wellington, but he was increasingly convinced that Mr Shear was the murderer.”

Have a nice week!

Sandra Martinho :)
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Maria Costa 27.06.2016

Hi!
I am reading chapter 179 when Christopher goes to Mrs. Alexander’s house and he says he is going to live with his mother because his father lied to him about mother’s death and killed Wellington. Mrs. Alexander tries to get him to come inside, but when she says she’s going to phone his father, Christopher panics and runs back home.
Christopher takes his father’s bankcard, the pin to which father told Christopher in case Christopher ever needed it and walks to school, intending to ask Siobhan the location of the train station. The further Christopher gets from home the less frightened he feels of his father but the more frightened he feels of being alone.
Now I will stop my extensive reading to the next challenge, imagining what will happen or what I would like to happen :-)
Christopher took a train to London, gets out on the correct station but doesn’t know how to go to his mother's house. He stays in the station until a security man approaches him and asks him if he needs any help. After a long insistence of the security man, Cristopher finally says that he doesn’t know how to get to his mother's house. He shows the address to the security man and he told Cristopher not to worry because he is going to call a taxi to drive him to the correct address.
When he finally arrives to his mother's house he doesn’t have the courage to knock on the door and he sat on the stairs. A few hours later his mother opens the door to get out and when she sees him gets very emotional and starts crying. She tries to hold him but he turns his back to her. She tries to explain why she abandoned him and asks for his forgiveness.
Cristopher feels very happy to see his mother but he can’t understand the reasons why she abandoned him and asks her to call his father to get him home.

Good week!
Maria Costa
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Vera Sousa 27.06.2016

Good night!
I already have read the book that had been proposed but was a very involving reading!!
I know that Christopher is the main character of the novel but I would like to add some others to the story… I would like to read something about a sister or a brother that helped Christopher during his life, for example.
But because I like most dramatic stories, I would finish the book in the same way it began: with a murder!
In chapter 227, when Christopher arrives to his Mother´s house, in London, he was very frightened and wants to live far away from Father but he appears in the flat to take him back to Swindon …

”And then I woke up because there were people shouting in the flat and it was 2:31 a.m. And one of the people was Father and I was frightened. But there wasn't a lock on the door of the spare room.
After hearing a big discussion coming of the outside room, I gained courage and peeped through the keyhole to see what was happening. I could see Father, that uncontrolled, pushed and punched in Mr. Shears’ face. He falls to the ground lifeless and his face was now covered in blood. Mother was in a corner crying and tells him all the time to stop…
Then Father shouted to Mother, “Where is my son? I´m going to taking back with me”.
And Mother shouted, “Calm down! What are you doing here? Christopher doesn´t want to see you anymore…”
And Father shouted, “You had destroyed my life and now you want my son?”
And Mother shouted, “Your son? He is mine too!!”
And Father shouted, “You didn´t remind that when you leave him and run away with our neighbor?!It´s was me, all the time that helped and took care of Christopher…
And Mother shouted, “Don´t say that, please! I didn´t love you anymore and I not hold it up all the pressure!!!”
After this I just heard silence coming for the hallway. And I couldn’t see either what was happening. I can see that Mr. Shears was lying on the floor and didn´t react to everything that was happen. I have to save Mother. It was very difficult because my legs were shaking but I was holding my Swiss Army knife with the saw blade out and nothing could go wrong. I opened the door very slowly and suddenly, I see Father, in a crazy state, and it is stifling the Mother.
I´ve tried do think about Siobhan taught me to do to make myself calm. And I was saying in my head, “Go. Don´t go. Go. Don´t go.” But I didn´t have time.
I ran up to Father and without thinking that Father could grab me and I do not like to touch me, stabbed my Swiss Army knife on his neck. Father's eyes widened as he looked at mine and I just felt the blood in my hands. And the red was so beautiful! I've never seen a red so alive not even in the tomato soup that Mother made me!
“Christopher, don´t!” – said Mother, but it was too late! I had killed my Father and in my head I just reminded of Wellington, killed with a garden fork!!!”
The story goes forward and Christopher is sentenced to prison, condemned to ten years, sentence that the lawyer made decrease due to the syndrome afflicting the defendant.
Because Christopher achieved an A in his A-level math’s exam, on part of his sentence he would have to keep in touch with others prisoners, teaching them all the knowledge that he has got in this particular area, but always guided by his mother and Siobhan, persons whom he trust!
I would like to give this end to “my story” because parental is an unquestioning love in our society. It is believed that parents love and venerate their children above anything but reaching a breakthrough point and total fatigue can kill their children, often saying it was for love! But what if the story is the opposite? What leads a child / adult who suffers from a medical condition and needs daily care and guidance to kill their parents? It makes you think...

See you,
Vera Sousa
Sandra Martinho 02.07.2016

Unfortunately, that happens more times than what was supposed to. We heard everydays in the news, parents who were killed by their kids, or kids by their parents. How can we avoid this kind of situations? I think we can't avoid it. It' s almost impossible to predict what is in this people mind. It's sad, but is the reality.

Best regards,

Sandra Martinho :)

Liliana Macedo 03.07.2016

Hi,
Now, I’m just in chapter chapter 191, when Christopher waits in the entrance of the station, feeling sick from the crowded, smelly underpass tunnel before him. He goes through the tunnel and his head starts to hurt from the numerous signs offering goods and services. He sits down outside a café and does a problem called “Conway’s Soldiers” in his head to calm himself. The puzzle involves jumping colorful tiles over each other on a chessboard that stretches infinitely in all directions.
A policeman interrupted Christopher, asking why he has been sitting in the café in a trance for two and a half hours. Christopher said says he was going to visit his mother in London. The policeman asked asks if he has a ticket, or money for a ticket. Christopher explained that he had neither but that his father gave him his ATM card to pay for the trip. The policeman escorted him to a cash machine, where Christopher withdrew fifty pounds. After the policeman pointed him to the ticket window, Christopher purchased a one-way ticket to London. To get to the train platform he had to go through the underpass again. This time he imagined a big red line stretching across the floor to his destination. He followed the line by putting one foot in front of the other while saying out loud “left, right, left, right.” He pretended that the people he bumped into along the way were Guarding Demons in an imagined computer game called “Train to London” and pushes past them. He finally reached the train and got into.
After a while, the train suddenly stopped! Everybody went to the windows to see what’s going on.
Well, it seemed that a woman was wrapped in a sheet in the train line. Suddenly Cristopher saw himself in another murderer case! He must investigate. So, he went down the train and went in direction of the woman's body. He saw tire tracks of a car and took a picture with his mobile phone.
A couple of hours later the police arrived, but how it was a crime scene, police took passengers home, including Cristopher. So, he decided that he wouldn’t go home, he was going to solve the crime. So, he started lying to the police, where was his house. Instead they left him at a library. At some point he realized that it was a difficult crime to solve. It was almost nine o’clock when Cristopher leaves the Library, it was already night and in the and in the night Christopher did not realize the car was going at high speed when he was crossing the road and has ran over by the car. He died instantly! And so ends the story of Cristopher!
I hope you’ve enjoyed this different story…indeed more dramatic!
See you,
Liliana Macedo
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