•

erek Strange

..
 Girl Meets Boy

And suddenl» there he 11,as, this tall, quiet boy i11 a blue aud
11,/,ite sliirt ... I'l! alwavs remcinbcr t/1e_first tune I sa111 /1i111.

Donna is 011 a boat. She is goi11g to Spain with her

farnily for a holiday. On the boat she se es Mark, a tal],
good-looki11g boy. BL1t Mark is vet)' shy and he doesri't
talk to her 011 thc boat. Who will hclp tl1c111 to rncct?
Will they be together?

Dcrck Strangc writcs books and storics for yoL111g

people. He lives i11 Lo11do11 with his ta111ily. HL' has 011c
son; his 11a111e is Mark. 111 JL1ly 1993, Derek and Mark
wcnt to Spain 011 a boat for a holiday ...
 Dictionary words:

• Sorne words in this book are dark black. Find them i11 your
dictionary or try to understand them with no dictionary first.
 Girl Meets Boy

DEREK STRANGE
Level 1

Series Editors: Andy Hopkins and Jocelyn Potter

 Addison Wesley Longman Limited
Edinburgh Gate, Harlow,
Essex CM20 2JE, England
and Associared Companies throughouc che world.

ISBN O 582 401 11 9

First published by Penguin Books 1995

This edirion first publishcd 1998

Texr copyright Derck Strange 1995

Illustrarions copyright © Bob Harvey (Pennant lllustration Agency) 1995
Ali rights reserved

The 111oraJ righc of che author and of rhe illustraror has bt:1..·11 asscrred

Typeset by Darix Internacional Limircd. 13ungay. Suffolk

Set in 1? / 14pr Lasercornp Uembo
Printed 111 Spain by Mateu Cro1110, S.A. Pinto (Madrrd)

Ali rigl1ts rcscvvcd: lltl part (!_( rliis publicatíou 11111y be rcprodnccd ..vívrcd
i11 a rcrric11,II S)'Stc111, or tmnsmiued in dll)'./�11111 t•r hy .i11y 111ci111s.

elccírcnit, tncrhonicaí, plioro,u¡,yi11g, rcú•ffli11g 11r 01hcn1,j_.:c, 11 1th1 11t tlic

1 1

prior writtcn pcrmission ,�f tl1t" Publíshcrs.

Published by Addison \Vesley Lon�111:1n L1111ited 111 .iseoci.mon wuh

Pengum Books Ltd., both companics being subsidi.n-ics of Pc.rrson Ple
 Donna's story

My story starts in late July. It was July 21st, I think. It

was the first day of our holiday, a hot JL1ly day. I stood
in the sun and looked at the sea. It was eleven o' clock
in the morning. I was on the boat at Portsmouth with
my mother and father and my sister, Louise. Sea birds
played near our big boat and the small boats near us on
the sea.

5
 I started to look at the people with us on our boat.
They all watched the sea birds and talked and laughed.
They were all happy on the first day of their holiday
too. And suddenly there he was, this tall, quiet boy in
a blue and white shirt: he was real/y good-
,-------- looking. I'll always rernernbe-
Wow! He's lovely. the first time I saw him.

C) o
Look!
o
o
o

6
 He didn't see me then. He was with sorne friends.
One of the boys was his brother, 1 think: they had the
same blue eyes, the same mouth and nose, nearly the
same hair. His brother and one of the boys with him
tried to catch the sea birds and he smiled at them. Then
they carne and stood near us, and they talked about the
small .boats on the sea. 1 watched him over Louise's
head ali the time!

7
 His brL)tl1cr ,111d his ti·ic11L1s ruado a lot of noisc, but
l1L' w.is quier and djdn 't talk a lot. Thcn suddcnly he
lookcd .it 111c :111d his cycs staycd qt1ictly 011 me ... and
he smilcd l1is lovcly srnilc with his shy blue cycs.

·�
? .

•
•

The people near me on the boat, the sun, the sea,

the birds, the noise of his friends, time - it all stopped.
At that moment there was only him and me, me and
him. Him and his smile for me. Only the two of us.

8
 Slowly, vcry slowly, t1JL' boat startcd to rnovc away,
.icross rhc water to Sp:1i11. lt tnkcs ;1 day and a night on
rhc boar fiom Portsmouth to
S,111t;111L1L'r, i11 Sp:1i11. A day ,,--------------.. . -
,11111 .1 night together, We'II be on this boat for a
on rhe s,1111L' boar wirh day and a night. Perhaps I can
l1i111 ... talk to him before we arrive
there ... Perhaps 1'11 see him
again this evening ...
C)
o
C)

9
 It w.is ;1 big ncw bont with L·atL'S, shops, c1 ci1JL'lll,l
;111d a disco. I11 thc CVL'11i11g L,1t1Í,L' a11,1 l \\'L'11t to rhc
disco togethcr. WL' h.id ;\ Co]«: .md listL'lll'LI to tilL'
rriusic and warchcd t11L' dancers. l)LJt he \VJ,11 't tllL'rL'.
Tl1c11 suddculy ;1 tal] bov i11 ,l bl.ick ,111,1 \\'l11tL' <hirt
carne i11 - it was l1i1111 HL' ,,/;1, wirh a fi·iL'llL1. Tl1L'\'
stopped and looked slr)\\ ly at ali rhc �1cc)�1]L, i11 rhc
1

disco. lt was dark i11 thcrc a11L1 l1L' stood a11c1 look cd tl1r
;1 long time.
�

He's looking for me!

He wants to see me!
- -

10
 Then he saw me and he smiled a big, friendly smile.
I wanted to stand up and sing and dance ... dance with
him. He carne across the roorn and stopped near our
table ... and he askcd me to dance!

Do you want to dance?

Suddenly he wasri't shy with me. We danced

together for a long time after that.

11
 But then I looked Llp and there was a second tal! boy
i11 a blue and white shirt at thc <loor of the disco, with
the saine eyes and the saine mouth and nearly thc same
hair.

But the boy near the <loor had that nice, quiet, shy
face - not a big, open, friendly smile. Suddenly I knew:
this was his brother with me on the dance-floor, not
him! 1 was with the wrong brother!

12
 He stood for a moment near the door and watched
me and his brother 011 the dance-floor with sad eyes. 1
wanted to run to hi111, to take his sad face in my hands
and say 'sorry'. He looked at me, then he went out
quickly.

I stopped dancing, walked back to my table and sat

clown. His brother started to dance with Louise.

13
 I didn't sleep that night. I thought about hirn al] the
time, and listened to the noises of the boat and the sea.
In the morning I went to the café at eight o'clock and
waited there with my sister for a long time. 1 wanted to
say 'sorry' to him. I had four cups of coffee, and I don 'r
really like coffee.
But he didn't come. Where was he? Where was he?

14
 At eleven o' clock we arrived i11 Santander. I wanted
to stop thc boat: 1 wantcd to stop thc holidav; I wantcd
to go back to E11gla11d. I only wanted to see him again ,
to talk to l1i111, to ask his 11,1n1c.
BL1t he wasnt therc.

Where are you?

I want to see you again.

C)

o
o
-

o
Mo
e· -

15
 Mark's story
I started Spanish at school i11 SL'�1tc111l1L'r ,ttlll I likl' it
Wc'vc gota good tcachcr - ()IL1 WL'l1b. ',\/1 Wl·l,L1,
not Old Webb.' 111y 111otl1L'r ,1l,,·,1ys ,.i)-·\ to I11L'.
'He isu't old, yot1 k110\v.'
Old Wcbb - sor1y. 1\lr Wcbb - ,1l,,·,1,·, •

takes sorne people fi.-0111 our school to ;1

place i11 Spain fo1· the tirst t\VO ,,:l't'K� ot-
the holidays, cvery J1uy. Old WL'L,b is
OK. Not bad, for a teacher.

--

Fe »

16
 We were at Portsmouth with Old Webb - sorry, Mr
Webb - and Mrs Webb. She's frorn Argentina; ali che
boys think she's good-looking, too. There were six of
us with the Webbs: Harry Potts and his sister Sonia,
Nick Atkins (he's a good friend), Sue Bellamy (she's
clever), my brother Dave and me (we're fot1rteen and
we're good friends too ... usually).

17
 There were hundreds of people 011 the boat. It was
hot in the sun, a lovely day. People watchcd thc sea
and the srnall boats. I liked being in the SL111 and thinki11g
-----------------------about the two weeks holiday in
-- Spain. Old Webb startcd
Mmm. She's nice.
one of his stories abour
And she's looking at me!
Argentina, but I didri't
C) listen. I started to look at
o the people. And this girl was
o
o there, near me, a really good-
looking girl with nice brown
eyes and black hair.

18
 I'rn really shy and I'n1 not very good with girls. l
dictn't talk to her then, but I watchcd her with her
sister and her mo th cr and father. The11 they walked
away and she smiled at me for a
moment before they
went. My brother
Hey! She's smiling at you
Dave saw her,
... and you're all red
and he laughed
in the face - you're in love!
quietly at my
Hey, man! You're in love!
red face.

I I
1

19
 I wanted to see her again, perhaps in the café at
lunch-time, or perhaps in the cinema in the aftcrnoo,1.
But she wasn't there and I dori't remernber the 61111.

In the evening we had a drink with Old Webb and

Lovely Lucrezia (that's our name for Mrs Webb). After
that Dave and Harry went to the disco - they wanted
to me et sorne girls. I don't like dancing, but I went to
the disco later: I wanted to see her again, the lovely girl
with the dancing brown eyes and the nice smile.

20
 It was dark in the disco, and I stood near the door
and watched the dancers. Then I saw her 011 the dance-
floor ... and she was with Dave! With 1ny brother,
Dave! She smiled at him, too, a lovely smile.
I didri't want to watch; I walked out. 1 wcnt and
looked at the sea and thought about things quietly. I
thought about her, her and Dave.

Oh no! She's with Dave!

21
 I was up early in the moming, before six o'clock. I
went out again and watched the early morning sun and
the sea. There was only 011e old man and the sea birds
there with me. The old man srniled at me, but we didn't
talk. 1 liked being quiet,

I went in and had a coffee in the café, but I didn't

want to eat. Ali the time I wanted to see her. I wanted
her to walk into the café and come across to my table
and sit down with me and tell me her name and talk to
me. But she didn't come. I waited and waited, but she
didn't come.

22
 At eigl1t o'clock l went to find Nick and Davc.
Dave was very quiet all day, and he was real! y 11 ice te)
rne. A11d 1 didri't see her again before wc arrivcd i11
Santa11de1· at eleven.
She wasn' t thcre.
Will she come?

C)

o
o
o

.
-�J

23
 The town' s story
Corn illas is a small to wn fifty kilornetres from
S:111t:111dcr, ncar thc sea. 111 the town there are quiet
strccrs of old buildings and there is a small square.
Tlicre are s111,1ll shops and cafés with tables and chairs
i11 rhc squarc, under rhc trccs. A lot of people frorn
M,1L1riL1 L·o111e to Comillas for their holidays, and a lot of
�1C()�1IL' ti-0111 E11gl�111d stay i11 the town too. In the
L'VL'11i11gs i11 Jt111c and Jt1ly and August pcoplc like to
w.ilk i11 thc strccts of Comillas. They stop in the
,L111,1rL' ;111,1 ,t:111d and talk together; their children
�1l,1y rogcthcr. So111L' pcoplc sit at the café
1

tables ,111d liavc a drink and watch

rhe childrcn or rcad their
11C\\1spa�)ers or talk.

24
 It was disco-night in Comillas on the
:) evening afi:er the boat arrived in
Santander from Portsmouth. There were a
lot of people in the square - Spanish people
from Comillas and Madrid, but farnilies from England
and France and Germany and Holland too. Sorne of the
•
Ei1glish families from the boat were there now, in
Cornillas for a night or two.

25
 I)o1111é1 was thcre with her fa11úly, at a table under
S()Il1l' trL'CS. Hc1· cyes werc 011 thc dancers but she
didn 't see tl1e111; the music was i11 her ears but she
didn 't hear it. She didn 't want to look 01· listen or
d,111CL'; she didu't wanr to be therc. Shc 011ly wanted to
SCl'the lovely, shy boy t1·0111 the boat, perhaps to dance
with him.
I only want to see
him again ... perhaps
dance with him.
ú e
o e
o e

?6
 First Mr and Mrs Webb wantcd to go to a littlc
place near the bcach whcrc thcy always had good fish.
They wanted to have a good time 011 their first cvening
in Spain, and later therc was thc disco i11 the sc¡uare at
Comillas ...

Let's go and eat at one

of the places down near the
beach. Then we can go to the
disco in the square at
Comillas. OK?
Yeah! Right!

'27
 Mark didn't want to go. He didri't want to cat or
dance or talk and laugh. He wantcd to sit quictly and
think about the good-looking girl 011 the boat. Wl1ere
was she now? But Dave and Harry and Nick and SL1e
ali wantcd hi111 to go ...
�

Later that evcning he walked into the sgL1are at

Comillas with his tricnds. Tl1\.'Y t-01111d a table at 011c of
thc cates and thcy all sat down.

o
(·
C·
0c

. , -
"""

'

28
 Mark looked slowly at the people at the tables near
them . . . Donna looked sadly at the people dancing
and standing in the square ... then their eyes met.
Ti111.e stopped. He was here: She was /1ere!
He smiled at her with his nice blue eyes. She smiled
back at hi111 with her dark brown eyes. Suddenly he
wasn't shy. He stood up and started to walk across to
her . . . shc was on her feet. Their hands met. She
wanted to dance now, only with him!

29
 The others watched and smiled - they all knew.
And Dave? Dave watched and smilcd happily. Y OLl see,
only Dave real/y knew the story. Only Dave kriew his
plan for his brother.
A11d Donna and Mark startcd to dance. Thev wcrc
together.

My plan worked, you see. Mark is always

really shy with girls and I wanted him to move,
to get together with that girl. That's
why I wanted him to see us at the disco ... to
stop being shy with girls ... to move!
� <

�. ,��
:_�
f'"( .-=.,._�
�

30
 Exercises

Vocabulary Work
Look again at the 'Dictionary Words' in this story. Are they nouns
or verbs or adjectives? Write the words and write N (for noun), V
(for verb) or A (for adjective), e.g. story (N), bird (N).
Then write short sentences with the new words.

Comprehension

Answer the questions.

Donna's story
1 (page 5) When was the first day of Donna's holiday?
2 (page 6) Where was she when she first saw Mark?
3 (page 9) How long were Donna and Mark on the boat together?
4 (page 12) Who was on the dance-floor with Donna when she
saw Mark at the door of the disco?
5 (page 15) At what time did the boat arrive in Santander?

Mark 's story

6 (page 16) What is Mark's name for his Spanish teacher?
7 page 16) How long was Mark's holiday in Spain?
8 (page 22) What did Mark do when he got up early in the moming?

The town's story

9 (page 24) Where is Comillas?
1 O (page 24) What do people do in the square in Comillas in
the evenings in July and August?
11 (page 26) Who wanted Mark to go to the dance in Comillas?
12 (page 30) What was Dave's plan for Mark?

Discussion

1 Are you shy? When and why (or why not)?

2 Do you like dancing and discos? Why or why not?

31
3 What music do you like for dancing? And for listening to quietly?

Writing

1 You are Dave. Write a short letter from Comillas to a friend

back in England (80 words). Tell her/him about Donna and
Mark on the boat.
2 Write 100 words about one of your holidays. Where were you?
Who was with you? What did you do on the first day or two?
Did you make new friends?
Donna sees Mark on the boat to Spain. She likes him
and he likes her. Then Mark sees Donna dancing with
his brother, Dave . . . Is Donna in love with Mark?
Why is Dave dancing with her?

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6 Advanced (3000 words} Conternporary
5 Upper lntermediate (2300 words) Classics
4 lntermediate ( 1700 words)
Originals
3 Pre-lntermediate ( 1200 words)
2 Elementary ( 600 words)
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