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The War of the Worlds H.G. Wells

text adaptation by Brian Boyd

A Grammarman graded reader


The War of the Worlds H.G. Wells

Intermediate LeveL

Text adaptation by Brian Boyd


Contents

Introduction ………………………………….…………………. 7

The Eve of the War ……………………………………………. 9

Horsell Common and the Heat Ray ……………..……. 14

The Artilleryman and the Fighting Machine ………… 18

Forever Autumn ……………………………….………………… 22

Thunderchild ……..............................…………………… 26

The Red Weed (part 1) ………………………………………. 30

The Spirit of Man …………………………………….………… 34

The Red Weed (part 2) .……………………………………… 38

Brave New World ……..……………………………………… 42

Dead London …..………………………………………………… 46

Answer Key ………………………………………………………. 50


“This isn't a war," said the artilleryman.

"It never was a war, any more than there's war between man and ants.”

The War of the Worlds was written by H.G. Wells in 1897. It was one of the earliest stories to describe a fight between humans and an alien race. Set in the late 1800s, The War of the Worlds is told from the viewpoint of an unnamed English journalist as Earth is invaded by murderous Martians.

The War of the Worlds has been made into films multiple times. The story has also been told through various radio dramas, comic-book adaptations, video games, a television series, and, more recently, a video comic series. Although based on HG Wells’ book, the narrative presented here closely follows the lyrics of Jeff Wayne’s Musical Version of The War of the Worlds.

This book has ten chapters, each corresponding to one of the chapters in the video comic series: http://grammarmancomic.com/comics/other/warworlds/

The chapters are accompanied by activities for generating discussion, practising grammar and vocabulary, and checking comprehension. The activities are suitable for classroom use or home study.

I hope you enjoy this graded reader and find it useful.

Best wishes!

Brian Boyd

http://grammarmancomic.com/comics/other/warworlds/


Chapter 1: The Eve of the War

Before you read

Discuss these questions with a partner or write your ideas in a notebook:

Is it possible that intelligent life exists in other parts of the universe?

Do you think aliens have already visited Earth? How sure do you feel about your answer?

If aliens existed, what reasons would they have for coming to our planet?

If alien spacecraft arrived in Earth’s skies tomorrow, how would people around the planet react? What do you think things would be like where you live?

Vocabulary

Match these words to the correct definitions.

affairs (n) above the average

to scrutinize (v) a feeling of discontent caused by wanting what others have

microscope (n) a wide separation, a big space or distance

swarm(v) examine in detail

to consider (v) matters, things, business, activities

a gulf (n) look at, observe

immeasurable (adj) an instrument for inspecting very small objects

superior (adj) believe something is possible

to regard (v) not possible to measure, limitless

envy (n) move about in great numbers



No one would have believed in the last years of the 19th century that human

affairs were being watched from the timeless worlds of space. No one could

have dreamed that we were being scrutinized, as someone with a microscope

studies creatures that swarm and multiply in a drop of water. Few men even

considered the possibility of life on other planets. And yet, across the gulf of

space, minds immeasurably superior to ours regarded this Earth with envious

eyes, and slowly and surely they drew their plans against us.

At midnight on the 12th of August an enormous cloud of glowing gas exploded

from the surface of the planet Mars and sped towards Earth. It travelled

through space incredibly fast. From hundreds of millions of miles away, came

the first of the missiles that would cause so much death and destruction.


As I watched there was another jet of gas. It was another missile beginning its

journey to our planet.

More and more followed during the next ten nights: a flash of light from Mars,

bright green, drawing a green mist behind it. It was beautiful to see, but at the

same time, something about it worried me. My friend, Ogilvy, the well-known

astronomer, invited me to join him in his observatory one evening to view the

Martian comets through a powerful telescope. He promised me that we

weren’t in any danger. He felt certain that there could be no life on that cold

planet so far away.

“How can you be sure,” I asked, still not convinced.

“The chances of anything coming from Mars are a million to one,” he said.

Then came the night the first missile approached Earth. Many people thought

it was an ordinary falling star, but the next day there was a giant hole in the

middle of Horsell Common. Ogilvy came to see what lay in the hole: a cylinder

as big as a house. The metal was so hot it glowed. The people standing nearest

the enormous cylinder could here sounds of movement coming from inside.


Suddenly the top began moving, turning and unscrewing.

“There’s someone in there!” shouted Ogilvy. “We must help!”

He rushed to the cylinder, but the heat was too powerful and he had to stop

before he even got close enough to touch the burning metal.

As the sun went down, people began to leave the common and return to their

homes. Ogilvy and I walked along in silence, each of us thinking about the

Martian cylinder and wondering what would come next.

Whenever I think back to how it began, it seems completely incredible to me

that everyone behaved as though it were just a normal evening. From the

railway station I could hear the sound of slowly-moving trains, ringing and

rumbling.

Everything seemed so safe and peaceful.



After you read

Quick check – mark these sentences as true (T), false (F) or doesn’t say (DS):

a) The Martians had been studying Earth with a microscope.

b) In the late eighteenth century, many people worried about aliens

coming to Earth.

c) The Martians were much more intelligent than humans.

d) Thousands of people saw the first missile leave Mars.

e) The journalist had mixed feelings about the green shooting stars.

f) The missiles took more than a week to travel from Mars to Earth.

g) There were people inside the cylinder.

h) The journalist’s home was near to Horsell Common.

i) The arrival of the Martian cylinder caused a lot of panic.

Try to guess what happens next:

1. The next morning, the cylinder …

a) has disappeared b) opens c) is still hot

2. The Martians …

a) are bigger than humans b) speak English c) need help

3. Most of the people at Horsell Common …

a) take lots of photos b) are captured c) die horribly

4. The journalist …

a) is killed b) fights a Martian c) writes a story about the cylinder

5. The army arrives and the soldiers …

a) attack the Martians b) surround Horsell Common c) talk to the aliens

the war of the worlds - grammarman...

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