Captain Corelli’s Mandolin 

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c   Pearson Education Limited 2008

Captain Corelli’s Mandolin - Activity worksheets   of 2

Activity worksheets 

LEVEL 6

PENGUIN READERS

Teacher Support Programme

While reading 
Chapters 1–4
1 Whatarethefollowingthingsusedfor?

a ahammerandahook,warmwater

 ………………………………………………

b oldnails,brokenpotsandstones

 ………………………………………………

c saltedcleanwater,healingoilsandcreams

 ………………………………………………

2 Whosaidorthoughteachofthesethings?

WritePelagia(P),Mandras(M)orIannis(I).

a I’mgladnobodycanhearmythoughts!…..

b Ifollowpolitics;Iwanttomaketheworlda

betterplace.…..

c Ifpeopleseethissillysmileonmyface,they’ll

thinkI’mgoingmad.…..

d I’vereceivedaletter;I’llbeaskedtojointhe

armysoon.…..

e IfeelImaydieifyoudonotmarryme.…..

f Willpeopletrustsomeonewhoreplies

immediately,withoutthinking?…..

g ItoldhimI’dhavetoaskforyouropinion

andpermission.…..

h Idon’twanttomarryMandras.…..

3 Writethenamesinthesesentences.

a ………………isthetown’sdoctor.

b ………………isavisitortothevillage.

c ………………isafisherman.

d ………………isaclergyman.

e ………………isa17-year-old.

Nowanswerquestions1–5withtheright
letters(a–e).

Who…

1) hasamoustache?…..

2) haslonghair?…..

3) hasaroundbody?…..

4) hasstrongarms?…..

5) hasabeautifulbody?…..

Chapters 5–8
4 Lookatthebookandfind…

a thenameoftheKingofGreeceduringthe

SecondWorldWar………………………….

b theforeigncivilizationthatstayedthelongest

inGreeceandaffecteditslanguageand
civilization…………………………………..

c thecenturyinwhichtheBritishinvaded

Greece ………………………………………

d adealthatDrIannismadewiththeinvaders

………………………………………………

5 Arethesesentencestrue(T)orfalse(F).

Findevidenceinthetexttosupportthetrue
statements.

a Corelliwasamanwithasenseof

humour.

c

b Warsarebetweencountries,notbetween

individuals,sosometimesmenforget
theircountriesareenemies.

c

c Beingonthesameside,theItaliansand

theGermanslikedeachotheralot.

c

d Hectorthoughtthattheendjustifiesthe

means.

c

6 What/Whoarethese?

a Antonia: …………………………………….

b LaScala:…………………………………….

c ELAS:……………………………………….

d Bunnios:…………………………………….

7 RewriteDrIannis’sadvicetoBunnyWarren

incorrectEnglish.

8 Findinthewordsearchatleast15words

relatedtowar.Theycanbeinanydirection.

I

M A

R C H Y O L

F

W N E N E M Y

T

L

R

G O V

E

R N Z

R

R

E

B

C U A H E

R O E

E

U C

S

N

S W V O B D

L

U H W D

I

Y

P

E O

L

P

I

A

V Z O U

L M

E

Y

P

R

P

L

A N E

L

T R U

L

E

B O O T

S

W S

E

C U R

I

T

Y U

D E

F

E

A

T U N

I

T

Chapters 9–10
9 Whoisorfeelsbetrayedbywhom?Complete

thesentences.

a TheAlliesinvadedSicilyandbetrayedtheir

loyalfriends,the…………….

b The……………betrayedtheirownpeople

bycommittingatrociouscrimesagainst
royalistGreeks.

c TheGermansfeltbetrayedbythe

……………,whodidnotseemtoresist
theinvasionoftheAllies.

Captain Corelli’s Mandolin 

Photocopiable

c   Pearson Education Limited 2008

Captain Corelli’s Mandolin - Activity worksheets  2 of 2

Activity worksheets 

LEVEL 6

PENGUIN READERS

Teacher Support Programme

d The……………forcesstationedonwarships

betrayedthesoldiersontheislandby
withdrawingtheirprotectionfromthem.

e Weberfeltbetrayedbyhiscountry’sformer

allies,the…………….

f The……………betrayedtheItaliansby

breakingtheirpromisetoletthemkeeptheir
weaponsandleavetheisland.

10 Answerthesequestions.

a WhowasGeneralGandin?

b Hehadtomakeadifficultdecision.What

twochoicesdidhehave?

c Whichoptiondidhechoose?

d Whattwomistakesdidhemake?

e Howdidhislifeend?

11 WhatwouldyouwriteonCarlo’sand

Arsenios’stombstones?Writeashorttext
starting‘Herelies…’foreachofthemand
shareitwithanotherstudent.Doyouhave
similarideas?

Chapters 11–13
12 Matchlettersandnumberstocreate

descriptionsofthecharacters.Thenwrite
thenameofthecharacterthateachphrase
describes.

a cheeks…..

b eyes…..

c abody…..

d eyes…..

e aheart…..

f flesh…..

g transparentskin…..

 1) withtoomanyholesandtoomuchblood

……………

 2) tremblingwithtearsandanger

……………

 3) wideanddesperate……………

 4) fullofhorrorandhope……………

 5) racingwithfearanddetermination

……………

 6) madeofsteel……………

 7) stretchestightlyoverthebones

……………

13 WriteIorGnexttothephrasesthatrefer

totheGreek’smemoriesofItalians(I)and
Germans(G)aftertheoccupationoftheir
country.

Peoplewho…

a helpedthevillagers’withtheirworkinthe

fieldsinordertoescapeboredom.…..

b cheatedinfootballgames.…..

c flirtedwithGreekgirls.…..

d enjoyedsinging.…..

e stolechickens.…..

f lootedandkilled.…..

g hadnopassion,exceptforstrength.…..

h thoughtofthemselvesasasuperiorrace.…..

14 Usethesyllablesintheboxtoformwords

andcompletethesentences.Whomdothey
describe?Writetheirnamesnexttothe
sentences.

less port bro pris ment ers im

ness word pass on un butch ken

a These……………destroyedthelivesof

millionsofpeople.……………

b Thiswoman’s……………spiritgavePelagia

strengthtogoon.……………

c Hersenseof……………increasedas

Mandrasleanedagainstthedoor.
……………

d Itwaswhenshewanteda……………that

thiswomanfoundthatshedidnotexist
officially.……………

e Inhis……………,hedrewsomecomfort

fromthelittlegirl.……………

Chapters 14–17
15 Findevidenceinthetexttosupportthese

statements.

a Velisariosearnedtheloveandrespectofthe

villagers.

b Aftertheearthquake,thereweremany

aftershocks.(Anaftershockisasmaller
earthquakethatoccursafterthemain
earthquake.)

c Pelagiacouldnotforgiveherselfforhaving

survivedherfather.

d Pelagiaaddedafeminineperspectivetoher

father’sHistoryofCephallonia.

16 Whosaysthis,Pelagia(P)orCorelli(C)?

a ‘IwassobitterIcouldn’tspeak.’…..

b ‘Didyouthinkaboutmyheart?’…..

c ‘Youshouldhavediedandleftmewithmy

dreams.’…..

d ‘I’maGreekcitizen.’…..

e ‘Iseeyoustillhavemyring.’…..

f ‘Whowantstobewithsomeonewhois

dreamingofsomeoneelse?’…..

g ‘Iwantyoutoremembermeproperly.’…..

Captain Corelli’s Mandolin 

Photocopiable

c   Pearson Education Limited 2008

Captain Corelli’s Mandolin - Progress test   of 

Progress test 

LEVEL 6

PENGUIN READERS

Teacher Support Programme

Chapters 1–4

1 Choosetherightanswers,1,2or3.

a MandrasthankedVelisariosforhurtinghim

because…..

 1) hehadtogotothedoctor’sandmetPelagia.
 2) hebecamefamousinthevillage.
 3) hecouldnotgotowarifhewaswounded.
b DoctorIannisgavePelagiaagun…..
 1) incaseMussolinicametoherwedding.
 2) sothatshecoulddefendherselfifwarbroke

out.

 3) becausehewantedhertofighttheenemy.
c Carlofelthehadfoundhimselfinthewordsof…..
 1) apriest.
 2) adoctor.
 3) aphilosopher.
d Pelagiahadn’treceivedanyanswertoherletters

fromMandrasbecause…..

 1) manylettersgotlostinwartime.
 2) Mandrashadn’twrittenback.
 3) Mandrashadneverreceivedherletters.

Chapters 5–8

2 Writethecorrectnameorphrase.

Bunnios ELAS Pelagia Weber Hector
Homer Mandras anoldman
a …………climbedoutofbedonthedayofthe

Italianinvasion,asiftheinvasionweremore
importantthanbeingsick.

b …………feltguiltywhenevershesaw………….

Shedidn’tlovehimanymore.

c …………joinedagroupofthreemeninthehills,

whohadneitherplannorpurpose.

d Therewereseveralgroupsoffreedomfightersinthe

area,themostorganizedbeingaCommunistgroup
knownas………….

e …………handed…………alengthofknotted

ropeandsaid,‘Beathim.’Hewasspeakingof
………….

f …………thoughtthatotherraceswereinferiorto

his.

g …………spokeoldGreek,theGreekof

………….

Chapters 9–10

3 Arethesesentencestrue(T)orfalse(F)?

a CorelliagreedwithGandin’sideathatthe

ItaliansshouldsurrendertotheGermansand
hetrustedtheGermans.

c

b CorelliagreedwithCarlothattheAllies

wouldhelptheItaliansinGreece.

c

c TheItalianwarshipsintheGreekharbours

sailedtoItalyonthenightoftheItalian
surrendertotheAllies.

c

d Corelli’sfamilyhaddiedinLibya,sohehad

nohomeinItaly.

c

e LargenumbersofItaliansoldiersandGreek

civilianswerekilledbyGermanbombs.

c

f TheGermanofficerthatorderedWeberto

killtheItaliansoldiersconsideredtheyweren’t
prisonersbuttraitors.

c

g Corellitriedtokeepthespiritofhissoldiers

highbyplayingthemandolin.

c

h FatherArseniossavedCorelli’slife.

c

Chapters 11–13

4 Changethenamesorphrasesinitalicsforaname

intheboxtomakethesentencescorrect.Youwill
needtousesomenamesmorethanonce.

Velisarios Carlo DrIannis Corelli

Pelagia Mandras

a The GermanskickedopenthedoorofPelagia’s

house.…………………

b EightbulletshadpassedthroughCorelli’sbody.

…………………

c Dr Iannisexplainedwhythebulletswerenotdeep

inCorelli’sbody.…………………

d TheyhidVelisariosintheholeinthekitchen.

…………………

e Carlodrownedhimself.…………………
f DrosoulaadoptedAntoniaasherdaughter.

…………………

g Mandraslosthisspeech.…………………
h PelagiathoughtthatshesawtheghostofMandras

everyyear.…………………

Chapters 14–17

5 Whodoeswhat?Writethenames.

Velisarios Iannis Spiridon Pelagia Corelli
a ……………playsthebozoukiinthetaverna.
b ……………wantstoplaythemandolin.
c ……………cleansCorelli’smandolinandtightens

andtunesthestrings.

d ……………teachesIannishowtoplacehisfingers

onthemandolin.

e ……………opensthedooroftheholeunderthe

ruinsofDrIannis’shouse.

f ……………criesforaweek.