📖 Chapter 5: Advice from a Caterpillar

Alice wandered through the wood until she came to a large mushroom. On top of it sat a blue Caterpillar, calmly smoking a long hookah (a water pipe).

The Caterpillar looked at Alice for some time without speaking. At last, in a slow, deep voice, it said:
“Who are you?”

Alice felt confused. “I—I hardly know, sir. I knew who I was this morning, but I think I must have changed several times since then.”

“What do you mean by that?” asked the Caterpillar.

Alice explained about growing and shrinking after eating and drinking different things. The Caterpillar puffed smoke and said coolly, “It is very confusing to you, isn’t it?”

Alice sighed. “Yes. I can’t remember things as I used to. For example, I try to say How doth the little busy bee, but it comes out all wrong.”

“Repeat You are old, Father William,” said the Caterpillar.

Alice tried, but the words came out strangely again. The Caterpillar listened, then said, “That is not correct. But it doesn’t matter. Keep your temper.”

Alice bit her lip. “It is very provoking,” she said.

The Caterpillar puffed his hookah a few more times, then asked, “So, you think you’ve changed? Do you like being different sizes?”

“Well, I’d like to be a little larger,” said Alice politely. “Three inches is such a very small size.”

“It is a very good height indeed!” said the Caterpillar angrily. “I am exactly three inches high.”

Alice quickly apologized. She didn’t want to upset him.

For a while, they sat in silence. At last the Caterpillar took the hookah from his mouth and said, “One side of the mushroom will make you grow taller. The other side will make you grow shorter.”

Then, without another word, he slid down off the mushroom and crawled away into the grass.

Alice looked at the mushroom carefully. But which side was which? She broke off a piece from the right-hand side and tasted it. Instantly, she felt her chin strike her foot—she had shrunk so small she could hardly breathe! Terrified, she quickly nibbled a piece from the other side. At once her neck shot up like a long telescope, rising high above the treetops. Birds screamed at her, thinking she was a serpent.

Alice panicked and ate a little more from the first piece. Slowly, slowly, she returned to her usual size. She was still a little shaky, but she felt proud. “At least now I can control it,” she said to herself. “One piece makes me bigger, the other makes me smaller.”

With the mushroom pieces in her hands, Alice felt ready for new adventures in Wonderland.

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📘 Glossary

• Caterpillar – a small insect that later becomes a butterfly

• Hookah – a long water pipe for smoking, often used in the Middle East and Asia

• Confused – not able to think clearly or understand

• Puffed – blew smoke from the mouth

• Provoking – making someone annoyed or angry

• Apologized – said sorry

• Mushroom – a type of fungus with a stem and a round top

• Nibbled – ate in small bites

• Telescope – an instrument that can stretch long, like Alice’s neck here

• Serpent – a large snake

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❓ Comprehension Questions

1. What was the Caterpillar doing when Alice first saw him?

2. How did Alice feel when asked “Who are you?”

3. What problem did Alice describe about her memory?

4. Which poem did the Caterpillar ask her to repeat?

5. Why was the Caterpillar angry when Alice wished to be taller?

6. What advice did the Caterpillar give Alice about the mushroom?

7. What happened when Alice ate from the right-hand side of the mushroom?

8. What happened when she ate from the other side?

9. Why did the birds scream at Alice?

10. How did Alice feel after she learned to control her size?

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✅ Answers

1. Sitting on a mushroom and smoking a hookah.

2. She felt confused and unsure of herself.

3. She said she couldn’t remember poems properly.

4. You are old, Father William.

5. Because he himself was only three inches high.

6. That one side of the mushroom made her taller, the other made her shorter.

7. She shrank until she was extremely tiny.

8. Her neck grew very long, like a telescope.

9. They thought she was a serpent.

10. Proud, though a little shaky.

 

📊 IELTS Writing Task 1 – Topic 2

🎯 Question

The pie chart below shows the percentage of electricity generated from different sources in Country X in 2022.

(I will generate the pie chart after building the lesson content.)

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📝 Model Answer (Band 8–9, ~190 words)

The pie chart illustrates the proportion of electricity produced from five different sources in Country X in 2022.

Overall, fossil fuels were the dominant source of power, accounting for more than half of the total, while renewable energy sources together made up a smaller but still significant share. Nuclear energy contributed the least.

According to the chart, coal was the largest contributor, generating 35% of the electricity supply. This was followed by natural gas at 25%, meaning that together these two fossil fuels accounted for 60% of total production. Oil represented a smaller share of 10%.

In contrast, renewable sources made up nearly one-third of the total. Hydropower contributed 15%, and solar and wind combined provided another 20%. Despite this, their total still fell short of fossil fuel output. Nuclear power was the least significant source, producing just 5%.

In summary, electricity generation in Country X remained heavily dependent on fossil fuels, although renewables also played an important and growing role.

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🔑 Useful Vocabulary

• Dominant source / accounted for / represented

• Made up / contributed / provided

• Fell short of / in contrast / the least significant

• More than half / nearly one-third / together made up

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🔗 Linking Words

• Addition: in addition, furthermore, together, combined

• Contrast: whereas, in contrast, while

• Proportion language: accounted for, represented, made up

• Superlatives: the largest contributor, the least significant

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✍️ Guidelines for Writing This Essay

1. Plan (2–3 minutes)

   • Identify largest (coal, 35%).

   • Identify smallest (nuclear, 5%).

   • Group fossil fuels vs renewables.

2. Structure

   • Introduction: Paraphrase question.

   • Overview: Highlight main trends (fossil fuels dominate, nuclear least).

   • Body 1: Fossil fuels (coal, gas, oil).

   • Body 2: Renewables + nuclear.

   • Conclusion: Summarise.

3. Topic Sentences

   • “Fossil fuels together produced the majority of electricity.”

   • “By contrast, renewable sources contributed a smaller but notable proportion.”

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💡 Language Focus

• Comparisons:

  • Coal produced more than double the share of nuclear energy.

  • Gas accounted for 25%, slightly higher than hydropower at 15%.

• Verb phrases vs. Noun phrases:

  • Coal contributed 35% / Coal’s contribution was 35%.

  • Nuclear represented only 5% / Nuclear’s share was just 5%.

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🔟 Practice Exercises

Exercise A (fill-in)

1. Coal ______ 35% of electricity.

2. Nuclear was the ______ contributor at 5%.

3. Renewables together ______ nearly one-third of total power.

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Exercise B (rewrite)

1. “Coal produced 35%.” → Rewrite using a noun phrase.

2. “Gas accounted for 25%.” → Rewrite using a noun phrase.

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Exercise C (overview)

Choose the better overview:
a) Coal 35%, gas 25%, oil 10%, hydro 15%, solar + wind 20%, nuclear 5%.
b) Fossil fuels made up the majority, while nuclear was the smallest contributor.

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Exercise D (true/false)

1. Coal and gas together represented 60%.

2. Nuclear contributed the same share as oil.

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Exercise E (vocabulary match)

1. Dominant

2. Fell short of

3. Accounted for
   a) was the main part
   b) made up
   c) did not reach

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Exercise F (comparisons)

Rewrite: “Coal was 35%, nuclear was 5%” using:

• seven times as much as

• more than six times greater than

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Exercise G (spot the error)

Find the error: “Solar and wind makes up 20% of the total.”

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Exercise H (short writing)

Write one sentence comparing fossil fuels and renewables using whereas.

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Exercise I (expand)

Turn into full sentence: “Coal 35%, Hydro 15%, gap 20%.”

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Exercise J (mini-essay)

Write a 50-word overview of the pie chart.

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✅ Suggested Answers

A: 1. accounted for / contributed 2. least 3. made up
B: 1. Coal’s share was 35% 2. Gas’s share was 25%
C: b)
D: 1. True 2. False
E: 1=a, 2=c, 3=b
F: Coal produced seven times as much as nuclear. / Coal’s share was more than six times greater than nuclear’s.
G: Error: “makes” → should be “make up.”
H: Fossil fuels produced 60% of electricity, whereas renewables accounted for 35%.
I: Coal generated 35% of electricity, compared with 15% for hydro, a difference of 20%.
J: Overall, fossil fuels dominated electricity generation, led by coal, while renewables together formed a significant minority. Nuclear was by far the smallest source.

 

📖 Chapter 4: The White Rabbit’s House

Alice was still standing by the bank when she saw the White Rabbit again. He was rushing along nervously, looking around. “Oh, my ears and whiskers! She will be so angry if I’m late!” he muttered. When he saw Alice, he shouted, “Mary Ann! What are you doing here? Run home this moment and fetch me my gloves and fan!”

Alice was so surprised that she forgot to explain she was not Mary Ann. Instead, she hurried after the Rabbit, thinking, “He takes me for his servant. I might as well see where this leads.”

Soon they came to a neat little house with a thatched roof and green shutters. Over the door was a bright brass plate with the name W. Rabbit. Alice went inside.

She found herself in a tidy hall with a table and some chairs. On the table lay a fan and two pairs of white kid gloves. Alice took the fan and one pair of gloves and was just about to leave when she noticed a small bottle on the shelf.

It had no label this time, but Alice was curious. “Well, I’ll try just a little,” she said. She drank and at once began to grow—faster and faster—until her head pressed against the ceiling! She dropped the fan and gloves in alarm.

“Oh dear! What will happen to me now?” she cried. She knelt down, but there was no space to move. Her arm stuck out of the window, and one foot pressed against the chimney. She was trapped!

Outside, Alice heard the White Rabbit’s voice. “Mary Ann! Mary Ann! Fetch me my gloves this moment!” Then came silence, followed by a group of voices. They were trying to pull Alice out of the house!

“Let’s burn the house down!” shouted one voice.

“Oh no, please don’t!” cried Alice, though no one seemed to hear her.

After much whispering, the Rabbit called, “Bill! Go down the chimney!”

Alice twisted and stretched, and suddenly she gave a great kick. A small creature—perhaps a lizard—shot out of the chimney and fell into the garden. The voices outside cried, “There goes Bill!” and began throwing pebbles through the window.

Alice was frightened at first, but then she noticed that the pebbles were turning into little cakes as they hit the floor. She quickly ate one, and to her relief, she began to shrink again. Soon she was small enough to run out of the house and escape into the woods.

The animals chased after her, but Alice ran as fast as she could until she was safe among the trees. She sat down to catch her breath.

“Well,” she said to herself, “that was a curious adventure indeed. I wonder what will happen next.”

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📘 Glossary

• Whiskers – long hairs on a rabbit’s or cat’s face

• Fetch – to go and bring something back

• Thatched roof – a roof made from straw or reeds

• Brass plate – a shiny metal sign

• Kid gloves – soft gloves made of young goat skin

• Trapped – unable to escape

• Chimney – a pipe or opening for smoke from a fire

• Creature – a living being, often an animal

• Pebbles – small stones

• Relief – a feeling of comfort after danger or worry

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❓ Comprehension Questions

1. Who did the White Rabbit mistake Alice for?

2. What did the Rabbit ask her to fetch?

3. What was written on the brass plate above the door?

4. What happened when Alice drank from the bottle in the Rabbit’s house?

5. Why was Alice trapped inside the house?

6. Who was sent down the chimney to deal with Alice?

7. What did Alice do that sent Bill flying?

8. What happened to the pebbles thrown through the window?

9. How did Alice manage to escape?

10. What did Alice think after running into the woods?

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✅ Answers

1. Mary Ann, his servant.

2. His gloves and fan.

3. W. Rabbit.

4. She grew very large until she filled the house.

5. Her head pressed against the ceiling, her arm stuck out the window, and her foot filled the chimney.

6. A small creature named Bill.

7. She kicked him up the chimney.

8. They turned into little cakes.

9. She ate a cake that made her shrink small enough to escape.

10. She thought it was a very curious adventure and wondered what would happen next.