📖 Chapter 2: The Hall of Doors

Alice stood in the long hall, staring at the little golden key in her hand. She longed to enter the beautiful garden, but she was far too big to fit through the tiny door.

Then she noticed a small bottle standing on the glass table. Around its neck was a paper label with the words “DRINK ME” beautifully printed.

Alice looked at it carefully. “It doesn’t say poison,” she said, “so it must be safe.” She tasted it and found it delicious—like a mixture of cherry tart, custard, pineapple, roast turkey, and hot buttered toast. In a few moments she began to shrink!

She grew smaller and smaller until she was only ten inches high. “Now I can get into the garden!” she cried with delight.

She ran to the door, but—oh no! She had left the key on the glass table, which was now far above her head. She tried to climb one of the table legs, but it was too slippery. Poor Alice sat down and began to cry.

After a while, she noticed a small glass box lying under the table. Inside it was a tiny cake with the words “EAT ME” marked in currants.

“Well, I’ll try it,” said Alice. “If it makes me grow larger, I can reach the key. If it makes me smaller, I can creep under the door. Either way, I’ll get into the garden.”

She ate a little piece and waited. At once she began to grow. She grew and grew until her head touched the ceiling of the hall! She picked up the little key, but now she was far too tall to go through the tiny door.

Alice sat down and began to cry again. Her tears poured out until they formed a great pool all around her. Soon the water was several inches deep, and Alice found herself swimming.

As she splashed about, she heard something nearby. It was the White Rabbit again, still dressed in his waistcoat, muttering, “Oh my ears and whiskers! How late it’s getting!” He hurried off without noticing Alice.

She tried to call after him, but her voice echoed strangely in the hall. “Oh, what shall I do?” she sobbed, treading water in her own pool of tears.

The adventure was becoming stranger and stranger, and Alice wondered what would happen next.

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📘 Glossary

• Label – a piece of paper attached to something that gives information

• Custard – a sweet, creamy dessert made with eggs and milk

• Shrink – to become smaller

• Slippery – smooth and difficult to hold onto

• Currants – small dried fruits used in cakes

• Creep – to move slowly and carefully through a small space

• Ceiling – the top inside surface of a room

• Pool – a small area filled with water

• Treading water – moving arms and legs to stay afloat while swimming

• Whiskers – the long hairs on the face of a rabbit or cat

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❓ Comprehension Questions

1. What words were written on the bottle Alice found?

2. Why did Alice think it was safe to drink?

3. What happened after Alice drank from the bottle?

4. Why couldn’t Alice enter the garden even after shrinking?

5. What food did Alice find under the table?

6. What was written on the cake?

7. What happened after Alice ate some of the cake?

8. Why did Alice begin to cry the second time?

9. What strange thing happened with her tears?

10. Who did Alice see again at the end of the chapter?

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✅ Answers

1. “DRINK ME”.

2. Because the label didn’t say poison.

3. She shrank until she was only ten inches tall.

4. Because she had left the key on the high glass table.

5. A little cake in a glass box.

6. “EAT ME”.

7. She grew very tall until her head touched the ceiling.

8. Because she was too big to fit through the tiny door.

9. Her tears formed a large pool, and she had to swim in it.

10. The White Rabbit.

 

🎯 IELTS Writing Task 2 Question

Some people think governments should spend more money on promoting healthy lifestyles to prevent illness. Others believe that treatment of sick people should be prioritised.
Discuss both views and give your own opinion.

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📝 Sample Essay (Band 8–9, ~280 words)

Public health has become a pressing issue in modern societies. While some argue that governments should focus on encouraging healthier lifestyles to reduce illness, others believe resources should be directed towards medical treatment. Both perspectives will be considered before presenting my view.

On the one hand, investing in health promotion can significantly reduce the long-term burden on healthcare systems. By encouraging people to exercise, eat balanced diets, and avoid harmful habits such as smoking, governments can lower rates of chronic diseases like diabetes and heart disease. For example, countries that have introduced anti-smoking campaigns and taxes on sugary drinks have seen noticeable improvements in public health. Prevention not only reduces suffering but also saves billions in future medical costs.

On the other hand, treatment remains essential because illnesses cannot always be prevented. People may develop conditions due to genetics, accidents, or environmental factors beyond their control. Moreover, it would be unethical to neglect patients who require urgent care. Hospitals and clinics must be adequately funded to provide life-saving treatments, from cancer therapies to emergency surgeries. Without sufficient investment in treatment, preventable deaths and suffering would inevitably increase.

In my opinion, governments must adopt a balanced strategy. Prevention should be a priority because it addresses the root causes of ill health, but this should not come at the expense of treatment. An integrated approach that promotes healthy living while ensuring access to high-quality medical care is the most effective way forward.

In conclusion, although treating illness is vital, preventive measures are more sustainable in the long run. A well-rounded health policy should balance both, ensuring healthier populations and resilient healthcare systems.

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🔑 Useful Vocabulary

• Public health / chronic diseases / healthcare systems

• Preventive measures / health promotion / balanced diet

• Burden on healthcare

• Genetics / environmental factors

• Integrated approach / root causes

• Resilient healthcare systems

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🔗 Linking Words

• Contrast: while, whereas, on the other hand, although

• Addition: in addition, moreover, furthermore

• Cause/Effect: therefore, as a result, consequently, thus

• Examples: for instance, for example, such as

• Conclusion: in conclusion, overall, to sum up

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✍️ Guidelines for Writing This Essay

1. Plan (5 minutes)

• Identify views:

  • Prevention: healthier lifestyles, saves money, reduces chronic illness.

  • Treatment: unavoidable illnesses, ethics, emergency care.

• Opinion: Balanced approach (both prevention + treatment).

• Outline:

  • Intro: paraphrase + outline

  • BP1: Prevention benefits

  • BP2: Importance of treatment

  • BP3: Balanced view (opinion)

  • Conclusion: Summarise, restate opinion

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2. Structure

• Introduction: Paraphrase the task, outline both views, give thesis.

• Body Paragraph 1: Prevention (topic sentence + support + example).

• Body Paragraph 2: Treatment (topic sentence + support + example).

• Body Paragraph 3: Opinion (balanced approach).

• Conclusion: Summarise + restate.

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3. Topic Sentences

• BP1: “Promoting healthy lifestyles can prevent widespread illnesses and reduce the burden on healthcare systems.”

• BP2: “Nevertheless, treatment remains essential since not all diseases can be prevented.”

• BP3: “In reality, the best solution is a balanced approach that integrates prevention and treatment.”

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4. Tips for Learners

• Keep balance: both sides should be explored before giving opinion.

• Support ideas with real-world examples (anti-smoking campaigns, hospital funding).

• Avoid emotional language — keep tone formal and academic.

• Use cause-effect structures to explain why prevention is effective.

• Make conclusion short: no new ideas.

 

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📖 Chapter 1: Down the Rabbit Hole

Alice was sitting by her sister on the riverbank. The day was warm, and she felt sleepy. Her sister was reading a book, but it had no pictures or conversations. Alice thought, “What is the use of a book without pictures or talk?”

She was just about to close her eyes when suddenly a White Rabbit ran past her. There was nothing unusual about a rabbit, but this one was very strange. It wore a waistcoat (a little jacket) and took a pocket watch out of it! The Rabbit looked at the watch and said, “Oh dear! Oh dear! I shall be late!” Then it hurried away.

Alice jumped to her feet. She had never seen a rabbit with clothes and a watch before. Burning with curiosity, she ran across the field after it.

The Rabbit popped into a large rabbit hole under the hedge. Without thinking, Alice followed.

At once she found herself falling down what seemed to be a very deep well. Either the well was very deep, or she was falling very slowly, for she had plenty of time to look around. The sides of the well were filled with shelves, maps, and jars of jam. Alice picked up a jar labeled Orange Marmalade, but it was empty. Carefully, she placed it on another shelf as she fell.

Down, down, down she went. Alice began to wonder if she would fall all the way through the earth and come out on the other side, among people who walk with their heads downward. She even thought about how to ask them politely for directions back home.

Suddenly—thump! She landed on a heap of dry leaves. She was not hurt at all.

Alice looked up quickly but could no longer see the top of the well. She saw a little passage. There went the White Rabbit, hurrying faster than ever. Alice started running after it, her heart beating with excitement.

The passage went on for some way and then dipped suddenly. Before Alice knew it, she was in a long, low hall.

The hall was lit with rows of lamps hanging from the roof. All around the hall were doors—but they were locked. Alice walked sadly down the middle, wondering how she would ever get out again.

At last she came to a little three-legged table made of glass. On it was a tiny key made of gold. Alice tried the key in every door, but either the locks were too large or the key was too small. On her second round, she discovered a little door hidden behind a curtain. To her joy, the key fitted!

Alice opened the door and looked inside. It was a small passage, not much bigger than a rat hole. At the other end was the most beautiful garden she had ever seen. Beds of bright flowers, fountains, and cool green lawns shone in the sunlight. Alice longed to go through, but she could not even get her head through the doorway.

“Oh, how I wish I could shut up like a telescope!” Alice said aloud. “I could get through easily then.”

How she would make herself smaller—she had no idea. But Alice’s adventure in Wonderland had only just begun.

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📘 Glossary

• Waistcoat – a short jacket worn with a pocket watch (old-fashioned clothing)

• Pocket watch – a small clock carried in a pocket

• Curiosity – a strong desire to know or learn something

• Hedge – a line of bushes forming a boundary

• Heap – a pile of something

• Passage – a hallway or narrow path

• Dip – a sudden downward slope

• Three-legged table – a small table with three legs (common in Victorian homes)

• Curtain – a piece of cloth that hangs down to cover something

• Telescope – an instrument for seeing faraway objects; it becomes longer or shorter when pulled or pushed

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❓ Comprehension Questions

1. Why was Alice bored at the beginning of the chapter?

2. What made the White Rabbit unusual?

3. What did the Rabbit say as it hurried past Alice?

4. What did Alice see on the shelves inside the well?

5. What did Alice do with the empty marmalade jar?

6. Where did Alice land after falling?

7. What was strange about the hall Alice entered?

8. What did Alice find on the glass table?

9. Where did the little golden key finally fit?

10. Why couldn’t Alice enter the garden?

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✅ Answers

1. The book her sister was reading had no pictures or conversations.

2. It wore a waistcoat and carried a pocket watch.

3. “Oh dear! Oh dear! I shall be late!”

4. Shelves with maps and jars of jam.

5. She placed it carefully on another shelf.

6. On a heap of dry leaves.

7. It had many locked doors and was lit with lamps.

8. A small golden key.

9. A tiny door hidden behind a curtain.

10. The doorway was too small for her to fit through.