T H E W H IT E STONES

You are on a ferry going to the island of Skaran in

Ireland. You are an archaeologist and you want to study
the very old white stones on the island - they are 4, 500
years old. But on the ferry, you meet a woman. ‘The
people on the island don’t like archaeologists,’ she says.

After you arrive on the island, you drive your car down
a small road. There are some trees next to the road, and
suddenly one tree begins to move. It falls down in front
of your car and you stop quickly. ‘Is there somebody
behind the trees?’ you think. What do you do next? Do
you go to the trees and look for somebody, or do you
move the tree? Be careful - there is only one way to find
the answer to the mystery of the white stones.

This is an interactive story. You can choose what part of

the story to read next. Follow the numbers at the end of
each section.
OXFORD BOOKWORMS LIBRARY

Thriller & Adventure

The White Stones

Starter (250 headwords)
 LESTER VAUGHAN

The White Stones

Illustrated by
David Cuzik

OXFORD UNIVERSITY PRESS

 CONTENTS

STORY I N T R OD U CT IO N

The W hite Stones

GLOSSARY

activities: Before Reading

activities: While Reading
activities: After Reading
ABOUT THE AUT HO R

A B O U T T HE B O O K W O R M S LIBRARY
 The White Stones

Your name is Chris Ellison and you are from

London in England. You are on a ferry. The ferry
is going to the island of Skaran in Ireland. You are sitting
next to a woman. She smiles.
‘Are you on holiday?’ she asks.
‘N o ,’ you say. ‘I’m an archaeologist. I w ant to study
the megalithic stones on Skaran. The stones are very
interesting. They’re very old. But we don’t know much
about them .’
The woman stops smiling. ‘The people on the island
don’t like archaeologists,’ she says.
■ Go to 11.
 The White Stones

You walk to the stones. There are nine big stones

and one small stone. Tw o of the stones are very
big and have another stone on top.
You look at the small stone. It is red on top.
■ Go to 34.

You try to hit the man but the man hits you first.
91 Go to 24.
 The White Stones

You walk around the hill. You see a red car

behind the hill. There are some boxes in the car.
■ You go to the old house. Go to 18.

You see that the liquid is coming out of a hole

under the car.
■ You phone a garage. Go to 32.
® You drive the car to your home. Go to 19.
 The White Stones

g m You get in your car. You look at more megalithic

> ir stones and tombs in the north of the island. They
are beautiful in the evening. There are always tombs near
the megalithic stones. It is late when you arrive home.
The next day you go to the town of Langrun. You go to
some shops and buy some things. W hat do you do next?
■ You go home. Go to 16.
■ You go to the Stones o f Clayonag. Go to 20.
 The White Stones

|U U You drive slowly down the hill. Ten minutes later

you look behind you. You cannot see the red car.
You go past a village. Then you go down a hill to
Clayonag. You see a lot of megalithic stones near the sea.
It is very beautiful. You stop your car and get out.
■ Go to 34.

O
You go the village and you ask some people
about the megalithic stones. N obody w ants to
talk about them.
■ You go hom e. Go to 28.
■ You go back to Clayonag. Go to 34.
 The White Stones

You look through the door of the tomb. At the

back of the tom b there is a stone table. The sun is
shining on the table.
■ Go to 27.

You go to the village and find a policeman. You

tell him about the things that are happening to you.
He says, ‘People in the village do n ’t like archaeologists
because they take our treasures. Perhaps you need to go
home to London.’
■ You go to the old house. Go to 16.
■ You look at more stones on the island. Go to 6.
.^ f^ lt H alf an hour later, the ferry stops at the island.'
w You get in your car and drive off the ferry. You
drive the car down a small road. In front of you, there are
some trees next to the road. One of the trees begins to move.
You stop your car quickly. The tree falls in front of your car.
You get out of your car.
Ts there somebody behind the trees?’ you ask. W hat do
you do?
■ You go to the trees and look for som ebody. Go to 23.
■ You move the tree from the road. Go to 33.
 The White Stones

You drive very fast but the road is not very good.
Your car leaves the road. Then everything goes
black.
■ Go to 24.

You go into the tomb. You see some pictures of

knives on the wall. You hear a noise. Everything
goes dark. You go to the door. You cannot open it.
‘Open the door!’ you shout, but nobody comes.
You are afraid. You wait for a very long time but
nobody comes.
■ You go to the back o f the tom b. Go to 17.
■ You stay near the door. Go to 26.

N V N \W \^
 The White Stones

;:J JP | The American w om an walks nearer to you.

NSr Suddenly a megalithic stone begins to move. The
stone is behind the woman. She does not see that the
stone is moving.
‘Look!’ you say. ‘The stone is falling!’
She smiles. T’m not stupid, you know ,’ she says.
She does not look behind her. The megalithic stone
makes a lot of noise. It falls on the woman.
You see the man with the long black hair. He is coming
down the road. When he sees the woman under the stone,
he runs away.
■ Go to 29.
 The White Stones

You drive to your house and get out of your car.

The American w om an is standing near your
house. She is smiling.
‘W ould you like to go the Stones of Clayonag
tom orrow ?’ she asks. T can’t go with you but it’s an
interesting and im portant day. It’s June 21. It’s the
longest day of the year. A lot of people go to Clayonag
every year. You must go there early in the m orning.’
‘Thank you,’ you say. You go into your house.
■ Go to 21.
 The White Stones

You drive home. When you are near your house, a

big stone hits the windscreen of your car. You
stop quickly. You get out. Behind you there is a tall man
with long black hair. He is running tow ards you.
■ You run aw ay. Go to 31.
■ You hit the man. Go to 3.

You go to the back of the tomb. There is a stone

table there. N ear the table is a big stone. You take
the stone and you go back to the door. You hit the door
with the stone. You break the door and you get out of the
tomb.
* Go to 28.
4 f f j j When you are near the old house, you meet a
woman with blond hair. ‘H ello,’ she says. ‘Are
you staying at the old house?’
‘Yes,’ you say. ‘I’m renting it for six weeks.’
‘My nam e’s Sarah. I’m staying at the new house,’ she
says. ‘I’m on holiday here. I’m from Los Angeles in
America. Are you on holiday?’
‘N o ,’ you say, ‘I’m an archaeologist. I w ant to study
the megalithic stones on the island.’
‘H ow interesting! I don’t know anything about those
things,’ she says.
■ You go to the old house. Go to 30.
 The White Stones

You drive the car. When you are going down a hill,
you cannot stop the car. Your car hits a tree.
Go to 24.

Iym You go to the Stones of Clayonag. You look at the

stones and wait but nothing happens. You go
home late.
For the next two weeks you go around the island and
look at the megalithic stones. N othing more happens to
you. You do not find the answer to the mystery.
• Go to 1 and try again.
dVVh The next day you get up very early. You drive to
the Stones of Clayonag. When you arrive, you see
a lot of cars. You get out of your car and walk tp the
tomb. There are a lot of people near the tomb. They are
looking at the sun, and waiting.
 Slowly the sun comes up. The sun shines between the two
big stones. It shines into the door of the tomb. When this
happens, the people begin to sing,
i You look through the door o f the tom b. Go to 9.
I » You do not look through the door. Go to 27.
 The White Stones

You go to the sea. It is beautiful but you do not see

any people or megalithic stones.
You go back to the tomb. You think you see a man. He
is behind one of the megalithic stones.
■ Go to 34.

You run into the trees. You see a tall man with long
black hair. He runs away. You go back to your car.
■ Go to 33.
 The White Stones

When you open your eyes, you are in a bed in a

white room. A woman is looking at you. ‘H ello,’
she says. ‘I’m D octor O ’Connor. Everything is all right.
Y ou’re in hospital.’
A week later you leave the hospital. You do not know
the answer to the mystery.
■ Go back to 1 and start again!

You stop your car. You look behind you. The red
car stops too.
Go to 7.
 The White Stones

You stay next to the door. Four hours later the

~ ^ ||r door opens. You go out of the tomb. It isdark.
There is nobody near the tomb. You think you see a man.
He is running tow ards the road.
■ You get in your car and drive home. Go to 15.

An hour later everybody gets in their cars and

leaves Clayonag. You go to your car. There is
some liquid on the road under the car.
■ You look under the car. Go to 5.
■ You drive the car to your home. Go to 19.
■ You phone a garage. Go to 32.
 The White Stones

You go home. When you are near the old house, you
see a red car. There is a man near the car. He is tall
with long black hair. He is with the old American woman.
When he sees you, he gets into his car. He drives away.
■ Go to 15.

You phone the police. They arrive ten minutes

later. The police look at the stone. ‘After all these
years, why does the stone fall now?’ says a policeman.
‘It’s a mystery,’ you say.
The police move the stone and take the woman to
hospital. The police arrest the man with the long hair and
the woman from the ferry.
Thanks to you the treasures of the island are now safe
and the archaeologists can study the old tombs.
 You go to the old house. There is some writing on
the door of the house. It says, ‘Go back to
London, Ellison! We don’t w ant you on our island.’
The next day you drive to Clayonag in the north of the
island. There are a lot of megalithic stones in Clayonag.
You drive up a small road. The road is bad. You look
behind you and you see a red car. You drive fast. The red
car goes fast. You go down a hill.
■ You drive slower. Go to 7.
■ You drive very fast. Go to 12.
■ You stop your car. Go to 25.
 The White Stones

tfP p t You run through some trees. You come to a small

road. You run down the road and you see your
house and the megalithic stone. There are some boxes in
a car near the stone. You go to a box and look into it.
There are cups and knives in the box. They are very old.
You think they are about 4,000 years old. N ow you see a
hole in the hill. The hill is a megalithic tomb. Somebody
is taking things from the tom b.
You hear a noise and you see Sarah, the American woman.
She is coming out of the tom b with a knife in her hand.
■ You do not m ove. Go to 14.
■ You run away. Go to 35.
 The White Stones

You walk to a village and phone a garage. Three

hours later a man comes. He works on the car for
a long time. At four o ’clock the car is ready.
■ You find a policeman. Go to 10.
■ You drive home. Go to 16.
■ You look at more megalithic stones and tombs. Go to 6.

AUTO
F IX
 You move the tree from the road. You get in your
car and continue down the road. Five minutes
later, you see two houses. There is an old house and a
new house. You are renting the old house.
There is a small hill near the houses. There are
megalithic stones around the hill.
‘This is a nice place to live,’ you think.
You get out of your car. You look at the stone. You
think it is about 4,000 years old.
• You walk around the hill. Go to 4.
■ You go to the old house. Go to 18.
 The White Stones

C 9% Near the megalithic stones is a hill. You walk to the

hill. There is a door in the hill. On the door there is
some writing. It says, ‘Megalithic Tomb. 4,500 Years O ld.’
The door is open. You look in the tomb. It is very dark.
■ You walk to the stones. Go to 2.
■ You go to the village and ask about the stones. Go to 8.
M You go into the to m b . Go to 13.
■ You go to the sea. Go to 22.
 GLOSSARY

archaeologist a person who studies old things

arrest (vb) when the police take somebody to the police
station
continue (vb) when you do not stop doing something,
or you start again
garage a place where people work on cars
hole an opening in something; when you take a stone
out of the ground you leave a hole
holiday a day or days when you do not go to work or
school
megalith a big stone about 3,000-5,000 years old
mystery something you do not understand, you do not
know the answer to
rent (vb) give somebody money so that you can stay in
a house
safe not in danger - nothing bad can happen
shout (vb) speak loudly; when someone cannot hear you
very well you need to shout
stone a hard thing you normally find in the ground
study (vb) learn about things; students study at school
treasure a very im portant thing; you can get a lot of
money for it

25
The W hite Stones

ACTIVITIES
 ACTIVITIES

Before Reading

1 Look at the front and back cover of the book. Choose the
correct answers to these questions.

1 Where can you find these megalithic stones?

a EH Mexico,
b EEI Ireland,
c □ Japan.

2How old are thestones?

a □ 1,500 yearsold.
b EEI 2,500 years old.
c EE 4,500 years old.

3 What are the stones for, do you think?

a EEI Nobody knows,
b EE They are the walls of an old building,
c n a Piace for dead people.

2 Guess what happens in the story.

YES NO

a Somebody doesn’t want Chris to study the stones □ □

b Somebody wants to take the stones to America, □ □
c Somebody on the island is killing people, □ □
d The stones can kill people. □ □

29
 ACTIVITIES

While Reading

1 Read the first parts of the story (1, 11 and 33).

Are these sentences true (T) or false (F)?
T F
1 Chris Ellison is from America. □ □
2 The megalithic stones are in England. □ □
3 Chris Ellison goes to the island by plane. □ □
4 Chris thinks he sees somebody behind the trees. □ □
5 There is a small hill near the megalithic stone. □ □
6 The American woman says she is working on
the island. □ □
7 The American woman is friendly. □ □
8 Chris does not like where he lives. □ □

2 Why do these things happen?

1 The people on the island do not like archaeologists. Why?

Choose one answer.
a CH Because archaeologists take things from tombs,
b E] Because the megalithic stones are very important
for them.
c IZ] Because the people on the island are doing
something bad with the stones.

30
 a c t iv it ie s : While Reading

2 A tree falls in front of the car. Why? Choose one answer,

a EH Because the tree is very old.
b EH Because somebody wants to kill Chris,
c EH Because somebody does not want Chris to go to his
house.

3 What happens next? Complete the sentences.

1 The next day . . .

a EH Chris studies some megalithic stones,
b EH he stays at home,
c EH he talks to people in the town.
2 Somebody . . .
a EH tells Chris a lot of things about the megalithic stones,
b EE tries to kill Chris,
c EH helps Chris find a tomb.
3 The American woman . . .
a EH wants to help Chris.
b EH wants Chris to go home to England.
4 The people on the island . . .
a EE help Chris.
b EH don’t help Chris.
5 Later near the megalithic stones Chris finds . . .
a EH a tomb.
b EH a dead person,
c □ a very old knife.

31
 ACTIVITIES

A fter Reading

1 Answer these questions.

1 Who does Chris meet on the ferry?

2 Where is the American woman’s house?
3 What does Chris see on the door of his house?
4 When Chris is driving to Clayonag he sees something
behind him. What is it?
5 Chris sees something under the car. What is it?
6 There are some boxes near the stones. What does Chris
see in the boxes?
7 Who do the police arrest?

2 A policeman is asking Chris some questions. Put the words

in the correct order. Then write the answers to the questions.

1 are where from you?

2 do what do you?

3 you why on are the island?

32
 a c tiv it ie s : After Reading

4 staying are where you ?

5 is who tall the man?

3 Match the sentence halves to make eight complete sentences.

1 The American woman wants Chris to ...

2 The American woman does not want Chris to ...
3 The tall man is helping ...
4 The tall man hits Chris’s car with a stone because ...
5 Clayonag is ...
6 When the sun shines into the door, the people ...
7 The man works on the car for a ...
8 The American woman does not see that ...

a begin to sing,
b long time,
c near the sea.
d the American woman,
e go to Clayonag.
f the stone is falling,
g see the treasure,
h Chris is coming home early.

33
 ABOUT THE A U THOR

Lester Vaughan was born in England. W hen he was young he

travelled around Europe, South America, and the M iddle East. He
now lives in M urcia in southern Spain where he teaches English.
He also teaches at Hilderstone College in England. He has
published five books and also w orks on the O xford English File
series. In his free time Lester enjoys painting, cycling, and t ’ai chi.

34
 ‘The people on this island d o n ’t like
arch a e o lo gists,’ the w om an on the ferry
says. You only want to study the 4,500 year-
l y » i oLd Irish m egalithic stones, but very soon
stra n ge th in gs begin to happen to you.
Can you solve the m ystery in tim e?
(Word count 1,850)

< STAG E 6 El THRILLER

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