Penguin Readers Answer key
About a Boy
16 a Will usually spends Christmas with
Answers to Book Activities
friends families.
1 Open answers
b Will spends this Christmas at Marcus s
place.
2 a kid
c Fiona gives Will a joke Christmas
b blond(e)
present.
c involve
d Will falls in love on New Year s Eve.
d quiz
e Rachel lives in a tall, thin house.
e Open answer
f Her ex-husband lives in America.
3 a Marcus
g Will pretends to have a son.
b Will
17 Open answers
c Fiona
d Angie
18 a to make boxes
e Suzie
b when you feel very happy
Chapter 5
f Will
c someone has done something to hurt
1 (b), (d) and (f) happen
you, for example, they have stolen your
4 a Because he thinks he is a very shallow
(a), (c) and (e) don t happen
purse or wallet
person and he isn t interested in children.
d Russia, Poland
b He s worried about his mum because 2 Open answers
she has started crying a lot. He s
19 26 Open answers
Chapter 6
worried about school because he s not
1 (a) Ned
like other kids.
(b) Ellie
c Because she s a single mother with two
Answers to Factsheet Activities
(c) Ellie and Will
small kids and it s difficult for her to
(d) Marcus
meet new men.
Student s activities
(e) Ellie s imaginary boyfriend
d Because he wants to meet attractive
Activities before reading the book
single mothers.
2 (a) She is laughing at him.
e Because they get into trouble with other 1 (a) lazy, hates responsibility
(b) He s afraid he ll get more trouble from
boys when Marcus is with them. (b) How to be Good
them.
(c) Because he doesn t want to be involved
5 Open answers Activities while reading the book
in Marcus s life or his problems.
Chapter 1
6 a duck, b vegetarian, c truth, d jumper,
(d) He can help him to be a kid.
e pump
1 (a) He enjoys simple relationships.
(e) He makes her laugh and he likes Kurt
(b) He spends his afternoons watching TV
Cobain.
7 a False. Will pretends he has a two-year-
quiz shows.
old son called Ned.
Chapter 7
(c) He thinks they are very unhappy.
b True
(d) He doesn t want to know about
1 (a) depressed
c False. He throws a loaf of bread at a
Christine s tiredness.
(b) unhappy
duck.
(e) He is not pleased and leaves at once.
(c) very surprised
d True
(d) relaxed
e True
2 (Possible answers)
(e) embarrassed and ashamed
f False. She isn t his type of woman.
He wears the wrong trousers, the wrong shoes
and he has the wrong haircut. He doesn t
2 3 Open answers
8 a Marcus kills a duck with a loaf of bread.
watch TV or listen to music or play computer
b Fiona writes a letter about killing herself
Chapter 8
games. He listens to music from the 1960s and
and then takes a whole bottle of pills.
reads books. He sometimes sings out loud by 1 (a) She draws pictures for children s books.
c Fiona is a vegetarian and sings old pop
mistake. (b) Because he s jealous  he only wants
songs from the 1960s.
his mother to like him.
Chapter 2
9 a Open answers (c) Open answer
1 (a) rather surprised
10 a look after successfully 2 (a) act as if you are
(b) he wants to push the table over and run
b a warm cotton shirt, shoes for sports (b) really like
away
such as running (c) feeling anxious
(c) very good about himself
c believe he would be honest (d) spends time
(d) very pleased
(e) doesn t like
11 a Countdown is Will s favourite television
2 Open answers
(f) really likes
programme. He prefers to watch boring
TV programmes than get involved in 3 (a) Because it s full of single mothers.
Chapter 9
real life. (b) Because it s full of horrible little kids, all
1 (a) (b) Open answers
b Will buys Marcus a pair of Adidas about ten years younger than Marcus.
(c) Because Ellie says Kurt Cobain will try
trainers. This shows that Will
to kill himself again. Marcus thinks his
Chapter 3
understands Marcus s problems and
mum will try to kill herself as well.
1 (a), (c), (d) and (f) are lies.
Fiona doesn t.
(d) He wants to get involved in Marcus s life
(b) and (e) are the truth.
c Ellie, a cool 15-year-old, is in trouble
and help him.
because she is wearing this sweatshirt
2 Open answers
2 Open answers
at school.
3 (Possible answers)
d Ellie and Will both like Nirvana. Marcus
Chapter 10
(a) She is very angry.
can talk to Ellie about Nirvana.
1 The correct order is: (e), (d), (c), (b), (a), (f)
(b) He is shocked and frightened.
12 13 Open answers
(c) He finds the experience interesting.
2 Open answers
14 a headphones
Chapter 4
Chapter 11
b fancy
1 Marcus wants to make his family grow. He
c keen on
1 (a) the policewoman
wants his mum and Will to go out together.
(b) Ellie
15 a Will to Marcus
Then he and his mum can go and live with
(c) Ellie s mum
b Suzie to Will
Will and Will s kid.
(d) the shop owner
c Lindsey to Will
(e) Will
2 (a) Because she would be dead.
d Marcus to his father
(b) Because if one of them died, the other
e Ali to Marcus
2 Open answers
other would be left on their own.
f Marcus to Rachel
(c) He wants to find something to do with a
twelve-year-old.
(d) She doesn t look right and she s too
strange.
(e) Very embarrassed.
© Pearson Education Limited 2003
Published and distributed by Pearson Education
Factsheet written by Jane Rollason
Factsheet series developed by Louise James
Level 4  Intermediate
About a Boy