Exercise 1
There is, of course, another great reservoir of characters: those ready-made for us in books. A painter who wants to paint a tree needs to do two things: look at trees and look at paintings of trees. The first task shows what trees are like, the second shows the possibilities of the medium. Likewise, as a writer, it is by reading that you learn how, in language, a character can be presented - through dialogue, through action, through physical attributes, interior monologue, etc. - a process that continues until you have absorbed these methods, and they have become a reflex so embedded in your apprehending of the world that you will never notice anything about anybody without secretly assessing its potential for fiction writing.
The writer compares a novelist to a painter because they both
A have a natural talent for the work they produce.
B base their work on what happens in real life.
C need a lot of time to think about a new project.
D learn by looking at the methods used by others in their field.
Exercise 2
First off, let it be loudly asserted that characters, strong characters, are at the heart of all great literature and always will be. Plot, even in detective fiction, is a very secondary matter. Not many readers could outline the plot of the Sherlock Holmes story The Sign of the Four but many people have no difficulty bringing Sherlock Holmes and Dr Watson to mind. A writer who does not create convincing characters will fail. A writer who creates thrilling, troubling, insistent characters need not worry too much about any other aspect of writing.
What is said about the role of characters?
A They need to be carefully integrated into a novel's plot.
B They are less important in detective stories than other fiction.
C They can ensure the success of a novel if they fulfil certain criteria.
D They must be appealing so readers want to learn more about them.
Exercise 3
Falicon Park was a typical English suburban road, some fifty years old. The individuality of the properties had increased over the years as successive owners had remodelled and added to their homes. Garages had been converted into kitchen extensions and lawns had become parking spaces while adventurous gardeners had experimented with rocks and olive trees or palm trees. About halfway along the southern side of the road was number 18. It was a detached house, double-fronted. The paintwork was in good order although it was not fresh. The concrete driveway was scarred with cracks and oil stains, and the space for parking had been extended with gravel. A yew hedge straggled across in front of the gravelled area. The curtains were firmly closed and the windows too. The place had an unloved air, unlike the majority of its neighbours.
Most of the houses in Falicon Park
A were almost identical.
B had large gardens.
C were well looked after.
D belonged to large families.
