2 Flannan Isle - Macmillan English

Level 5
Hot Spot Level 5, module 4
Module 4
Extra reading
2 Flannan Isle
1 Reading
Work with a classmate. Read these words from the text and guess what happened at Flannan Isle. Then read and check. M ystery
on
F lannan I sle ...
When the weather was good, you could see the lamp from the Flannan Isle lighthouse from 20 miles away. Its lamp
flashed twice a minute to warn ships about the dangerous rocks.
This lamp was operated by a group of three men who stayed in the lighthouse for two weeks at a time. Every two
weeks, a new crew was brought by boat to take over from them. On 7th December 1900, three men, Ducat, McArthur
and Marshall, arrived to do their two-week shift at the lighthouse, but they didn’t leave on the 21st, as planned. The ship
with the new crew was delayed because of bad weather and arrived five days late, on the 26th.
When the ship arrived at Flannan Isle, the new crew was surprised to see that the flag wasn’t flying, as it usually
was, and nobody came to greet them. Joseph Moore, one of the new keepers, went up to the lighthouse station to
investigate, but the door to the lighthouse was locked. Moore unlocked it and went inside. The building was deserted.
An uneaten meal was on the table and the fire in the fireplace had gone out. The clock on the wall had stopped. A diary
he found there mentioned a bad storm on the 14th, but said that the storm had gone away the next morning. Whatever
had happened to the three men, it had happened to them on the afternoon of the 15th.
The new crew searched the island, but nobody was ever found. People have said aliens, mermaids and sea monsters
are responsible for the disappearance of the three lighthouse keepers, but there is a more likely explanation ...
The storm had caused a lot of damage and a storeroom was completely destroyed. Perhaps the men had left the
lighthouse to check the storeroom after the storm and had locked the lighthouse door behind them. Then they were
swept out to sea by a huge wave.
A famous poem, an opera, a song and even a Dr Who story were written about the events on Flannan Isle so the
mystery lives on, long after the disappearance of the three lighthouse keepers.
2 Comprehension
Read again and answer the questions.
1 How long did each group of three men stay in the lighthouse?
They stayed for two weeks.
2 Why couldn’t the three men leave the island on 21st December?
3 What were the first two signs that there was something wrong on the island?
4 Why do people believe that something happened to the three men on the afternoon of 15th December?
5 What is the possible reason why the lighthouse door was locked?
6 What has kept people interested in the story of the missing keepers for so many years?
This page is taken from www.macmillanenglish.com/hotspot. It is photocopiable and may be used within the class.
Copyright © Macmillan Publishers Limited 2011.
PHOTOCOPIABLE
Hot Spot Level 5, Module 4
Extra reading
3 Vocabulary
Complete the sentences with the words in the box.
crew deserted greet likely mermaid shift
1 The old ship had a statue of a
instead of legs.
mermaid
on the front: a woman’s head and upper body, and a fish tail
2 My mother is a nurse. Sometimes she has to work the night
3 It’s quite so she sleeps during the day.
that the men were drowned in the storm.
4 On hot days, there are lots of people on the beach, but in the winter, it is 5 The captain of the ship ordered the 6 When the special guests arrive, please .
to get the lifeboats ready.
them politely.
4 Writing
Imagine you are lighthouse keeper, Joseph Moore. Write a diary entry for 26th December 1900.
The diary has been started for you.
26th December 1900
We finally arrived at Flannan Isle, five days later than expected. As soon as we got to the island, I noticed that there was something wrong. For a start, there was no
This page is taken from www.macmillanenglish.com/hotspot. It is photocopiable and may be used within the class.
Copyright © Macmillan Publishers Limited 2011.
PHOTOCOPIABLE
Hot Spot Level 5, Module 4
Extra reading
2 Flannan Isle
Teacher’s notes
Aim
In this lesson, students read a website article about a mystery. They also write a diary entry from the perspective of
someone involved in the mystery.
1 Reading
3 Vocabulary
• Put students in pairs to read the words from the text
and discuss their ideas about what the story is about.
• Ask some students to share their ideas with the
class.
• Next read the article with the students and ask them
to see if their answers were correct.
• Ask the students to complete the sentences with the
words in the box. Encourage them to find the words
in context in the text.
• Monitor and help where necessary.
• Check as a class by asking students to read their
sentences aloud.
Suggested answer
Answers
Three lighthouse keepers on an island were drowned
by a wave in a storm. People found their diary, but the
room was empty, food was uneaten and the door was
locked.
1
2
3
4
5
6
2 Comprehension
• Ask the students to read the text again and answer
the questions.
• Put the students in pairs and get them to compare
answers before checking them with the class.
Answers
1 They stayed for two weeks.
2 Because the ship bringing the new crew was delayed
by bad weather.
3 The flag wasn't flying and nobody came to greet the
new crew.
4 The last diary entry was made on the morning of
15th December.
5 The keepers locked the door behind them when
they went out to check on the storeroom after the
storm.
6 A poem, an opera, a song and a Dr Who story were
written about the mystery.
mermaid
shift
likely
deserted
crew
greet
4 Writing
• Elicit some ideas for the writing task before students
start by asking these questions: How did Joseph feel
when he arrived at the island? What was the weather
like that day? What did he do when he didn’t see any
people around? What did he think when the door was
locked? What did he notice in the room? etc.
• Students write a diary entry from the point of view
of Joseph Moore.
• Note: The writing stage of this activity could be set
as homework.