List of top English Questions on The Best Christmas Present in the world

Underline the verbs and arrange them in two columns, Past and Earlier past.

(a) My friends set out to see the caves in the next town, but I stayed at home, because I had seen them already.

(b) When they arrived at the station, their train had left. They came back home, but by that time I had gone out to see a movie!

(c) So they sat outside and ate the lunch I had packed for them.

(d) By the time I returned, they had fallen asleep!

Past	Earlier Past

Fill in the blanks using the correct form of the verbs in brackets.

My little sister is very naughty. When she ____ (come) back from school yesterday, she had _____(tear) her dress. We _____(ask) her how it had _____(happen). She ______(say) she _____ _____ (have, quarrel) with a boy. She _____ _____ (have, beat) him in a race and he _____ ____ (have, try) to push her. She _____ ____ (have, tell) the teacher and so he _____ _____ (have, chase) her, and she _____ _____ (have, fall) down and _____ _____ (have, tear) her dress.

Mention the various ways in which the British and the German soldiers become friends and find things in common at Christmas.

Who had written the letter, to whom, and when?

Do you think the soldiers of the two armies are like each other, or different from each other? Find evidence from the story to support your answer.

Which sentence in the text shows that the visitor did not try to hide his identity?

Do you think the title of this story is suitable for it ? Can you think of any other title(s) ?

What did he find in a secret drawer? Who do you think had put it in there?

Do you think Jim Macpherson came back from the war? How do you know this?

Look at these sentences from the story.

I spotted it in a junk shop in Bridport...

The man said it was made in the early nineteenth century…

This one was in a bad condition…

The italicised verbs are in the past tense. They tell us what happened in the past, before now.

(i) Read the passage below and underline the verbs in the past tense. A man got on the train and sat down. The compartment was empty except for one lady.

She took her gloves off. A few hours later the police arrested the man. They held him for 24 hours and then freed him.

What is Connie’s Christmas present? Why is it “the best Christmas present in the world”?

Why do Jim and Hans think that games or sports are good ways of resolving conflicts? Do you agree?

For how long do you think Connie had kept Jim’s letter? Give reasons for your answer.

Why do you think the desk had been sold, and when?

Who did Connie Macpherson think her visitor was?

How old was Mrs Macpherson now? Where was she?

Why did the author go to Bridport?

Had Hans Wolf ever been to Dorset? Why did he say he knew it?

What jobs did Hans Wolf and Jim Macpherson have when they were not soldiers?

Why was the letter written — what was the wonderful thing that had happened?

What did the author find in a junk shop?