Lewis Carroll Alices Adventures in Wonderland

The twelve jurors were all writing very busily on their slates. What are they doing?,
Alice whispered to the Gryphon. They cant have anything to put down yet, before the trials
begun.
Theyre putting down their names, the Gryphon whispered in reply, for fear they
should forget them before the end of the trial.
Stupid things! Alice began in a loud indignant voice; but stopped herself hastily, for
the White Rabbit cried out, Silence in the court! and the king put on his spectacles and
looked anxiously round, to make out who was talking.
Herald, read the accusation said the king.
On this, the White Rabbit blew his trumpet, then unrolled the parchment, and read as
follows:
The Queen of Hearts, she made some tarts,
All on a sunny day
The knave of Hearts, he stole those tarts,
And took them quite away!
Consider your verdict, the king said to the jury.
Not yet, not yet! the Rabbit hastily interrupted. Theres a great deal to come before
that!
Call the first witness, said the King; and the White rabbit blew the trumpet, and
called out: First witness!
The first witness was the Hatter. He came in with a tea cup in one hand and a piece of
bread-and-butter in the other. I beg pardon, your Majesty, he began, for bringing these in;
but I hadnt quite finished my tea when I was sent for.
You ought to have finished, said the King. When did you begin?
The hatter looked at the March Hare, who followed him into the court, arm-in-arm
with the Dormouse. Fourteenth of March, I think it was, he said.
Fifteenth, said the March Hare.
Sixteenth, said the Dormouse.
Write that down, the King said to the jury; and the jury eagerly wrote down all
three dates on their slates, and then added them up and reduced the answer by shillings and
pence.
Take off your hat, the King said to the Hatter.
It isnt mine, said the Hatter.
Stolen! the King exclaimed, turning to the jury, who instantly made a note of the
fact.
I keep them to sell, the Hatter added as an explanation. Ive none of my own. Im a
hatter.
(The Queen starts staring hard at the hatter, who gets very nervous. Meanwhile, Alice
feels that she is beginning to grow larger again)
Give your evidence! the King said angrily, or Ill have you executed, whether you
are nervous or not.
Im a poor man, Your Majesty, the Hatter began in a trembling voice, and I hadnt
begun my tea not above a week or so and what with the bread-and-butter getting so thin
and the twinkling of the tea.
The twinkling of what? said the King.
It began with the tea, the Hatter replied.
Of course twinkling begins with a T! said the King sharply. Do you take me for a
dunce? Go on!
I am a poor man, the Hatter went on, and most things twinkled after that only the
March Hare said
 I didnt! the March Hare interrupted in a great hurry.
You did, said the Hatter.
I deny it! said the March Hare.
He denies it, said the King; leave out that part.
Well, at any rate the Dormouse said the Hatter went on, looking anxiously round
to see if he could deny it too; but the Dormouse denied nothing, being fast asleep.
After that, continued the Hatter, I cut some more bread and butter
But what did the Dormouse say? one of the jury asked.
That I cant remember, said the Hatter.
You must remember, remarked the King, or Ill have you executed.
The miserable Hatter dropped his tea cup and bread-and-butter, and went down on
one knee. Im a poor man, your majesty, he began.
Youre a very poor speaker, said the King.
Owing to some confusion in the Court, the King tells him he may go, while the Queen
gives orders that his head should be taken off; but the hatter has vanished from sight.

1. Find words in the fragment that mean: to remove, immediately, to realize, decision
reached by a jury.
2. Find in the fragment words that are opposite to these: unhurriedly, steady (voice),
calm, bright person, to lift
3. Choose the right variant:
There is a great deal means: a) it is a real bargain
b) there is very little
c) there is very much
You ought to have finished means: a) you may have finished
b) you should have finished
c) you could have finished
Eagerly means: a) curiously c) impatiently
b) unwillingly d) hard
Staring hard means: a) looking with difficulty
b) looking fixedly and intensely
c) taking a short look at
4. Arrange these actions in the order in which they occurred:
a) The Dormouse fell asleep.
b) The King told the Hatter to take off his hat.
c) The Hatter entered the court.
d) The White Rabbit blew his trumpet.
e) The jurors wrote down their names.
f) The jury made a note of the Hatters crime.
5. Find three statements that are not true:
a) The Knave of Hearts was on trial for murder.
b) The Hatters hat was not his own in fact.
c) The King wore spectacles.
d) The Hatter came in alone.
e) The Hatter did not come empty-handed.
f) The jurors put down everything on parchment.
6. Answer the following questions:
a) What amazed Alice from the very beginning? What made her stop talking?
b) What was extraordinary in the appearance of the first witness?
c) Was the Hatters evidence useful to the clearing of the case?
d) What was the hatters attitude in front of the King?