2. a. Read an adapted version of an extract from Matilda by Roald Dahl and complete the gaps with the appropriate
modals that express ability (can, be able to and their
forms).

Matilda’s brother was a perfectly normal boy but
his sister, as I said, was different. By the age of one
and a half she 1. … speak perfectly well and she
Communicative area: inferring meaning from
context, speaking about abilities / possibilities
in the past
Active vocabulary: to borrow, to return, to learn
by heart; a chatterbox, a cover, a grown-up, a
teenager
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181
knew as many words as most grown-ups. The parents
called her a noisy chatterbox and used to tell her
that small girls should be seen and not heard.
By the time she was three,
Matilda had taught herself to
read by studying newspapers and
magazines that lay around the
house. At the age of four, she
2. … read fast and well and she
naturally began looking for books. The only book in
the house was something called Easy Cooking. When
Matilda had read it from cover to cover and had
learnt all the recipes by heart, she decided she wanted
something more interesting.
“Daddy”, she said, “do you think you could buy me
a book?”
“A book?” he said. “What do you want the book for”?
“To read, Daddy.”
“What’s wrong with the telly? We’ve got a lovely
telly and now you come asking for a book! You’re
getting naughty, my girl!”
Nearly every weekday afternoon Matilda was left
alone in the house. Her brother (5 years older than
her) went to school. Her father went to work and
her mother went out playing bingo in a town 8 miles
away. So, Matilda 3. … do anything she liked. On the
day when her father had refused to buy her a book,
Matilda set off all by herself to the public library in
the village. When she arrived, she introduced herself
to the librarian, Mrs Phelps. She asked if she could sit
a while and read a book.
“Would you like me to help you find a nice one with
lots of pictures in it?”
“No, thank you,” Matilda said. “I’m sure I 4. … find
a book myself.”

From then on, every afternoon, as soon as her
mother had left for bingo, Matilda would go down to
the library. The walk took her only ten minutes and
then she 5. … sit in a cosy corner for two hours reading
one book after another.
“I’m wondering what to read next,” she said one
day. “I’ve finished all the children’s books.”
“You mean you’ve looked at the pictures?”
“Yes, but I’ve read the books as well.”
Mrs Phelps was surprised.
“Exactly how old are you, Matilda?” she asked.
“Four years and three months,” Matilda said.
“What sort of book would you like to read next?”
she asked.
Matilda said:
“I would like a really good one that grown-ups read.
A famous one. I don’t know any names.”
“Try this,” Mrs Phelps said at last. “It’s very
famous and very good. If it’s too long for you, just
let me know and I’ll find something shorter and a bit
easier.”

Nicolas cage (born nicolas kim coppola; january 7, 1964) is an american actor, producer and director, having appeared in over 60 films including raising arizona (1987), the rock (1996), face/off (1997), gone in 60 seconds (2000), national treasure (2004), ghost rider (2007), bad lieutenant: port of call new orleans (2009), and kick-ass (2010). cage, at age 32, became the fifth youngest actor ever to win the academy award for best actor for his performance in leaving las vegas.in 1988, cage began dating christina fulton, who later bore their son, weston coppola cage (born december 26, 1990). weston appeared in cage's film lord of war as vladimir, a young ukrainian mechanic who quickly disarms a mil mi-24 helicopter and is lead singer of the black metal band eyes of noctum. in december 2009, fulton sued cage for $13 million and the house she is living in. the suit was in response to an order that she leave the house, brought about by the financial problems of cage.to avoid the appearance of nepotism as the nephew of francis ford coppola, he changed his name early in his career to nicolas cage, inspired in part by the marvel comics superhero luke cage. since his minor role in the film fast times at ridgemont high, with sean penn, cage has appeared in a wide range of films, both mainstream and offbeat. he tried out for the role of dallas winston in his uncle's film the outsiders, based on s.e. hinton's novel, but lost to matt dillon. he was also in coppola's films rumble fish and peggy sue got married.other cage roles included appearances in the acclaimed 1987 romantic-comedy moonstruck, also starring cher; the coen brothers cult-classic comedy raising arizona; david lynch's 1990 offbeat film wild at heart; a lead role in martin scorsese's 1999 new york city paramedic drama bringing out the dead; and ridley scott's 2003 quirky drama matchstick men, in which he played an agoraphobic, mysophobic, obsessive-compulsive con artist with a tic disorder.cage has been married three times. his first wife was the actress patricia arquette (married on april 8, 1995, divorce finalized on may 18, 2001).cage's second wife was singer/songwriter lisa marie presley, the daughter of elvis presley, of whom cage is a fan and on whom he based his performance in wild at heart. they married on august 10, 2002 and filed for divorce on november 25, 2002, after 108 days of marriage; their divorce was finalized on may 16, 2004. the divorce proceeding was longer than the marriage.his third and current wife alice kim, a former waitress who previously worked at the los angeles restaurant kabuki, met cage at the los angeles-based korean nightclub, le prive. she is the mother of his son, kal-el (born october 3, 2005), named after superman's birth name.cage was once considered for the role of superman in a film to be directed by tim burton. alice had a minor role in the 2007 film next, which cage produced. they were married at a private ranch in northern california on july 30, 2004.cage has created a comic book with his son weston, called voodoo child, which is published by virgin comics. cage has a strong interest in comic books, and once auctioned a collection of 400 vintage comics through heritage auctions for over $1.6 million in 2002.in 1997 cage broke the auction record for lamborghinis when he placed a bid on a rare miura svj for us$490,000.he is a fan and collector of painter and underground comic artist robert williams. he has written introductions for juxtapoz magazine and purchased the painting death on the boards.filmography 1980 brubaker - extra