MOBY DICK

CHAPTER ONE
Summary
Chapter One has been divided into seven parts. Choose from the list A-I the sentence
which best summarises each part (1-7) of the chapter. There is one extra sentence
which you do not need to use. There is an example at the beginning (0).
A
B
C
D
E
F
G
H
I

3
1
4
6
0
2
7
5

Ishmael goes to see the king of the sea.

Ishmael never buys a ticket.
The inn is not a cheerful place.
Ismael prefers paying to travel.
Queequeg may be from hell.
Going to sea chases away sadness.
Ishmael has a good relationship with everybody.
People are sometimes better than they seem.
What Peter Coffin said about the harpooner was no reason to lose sleep.

CHAPTER TWO
Comprehension check
Connect the beginnings in column A with the endings in column B. There are four
endings in column B that you do not need to use.
A
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8

J
E
L
D
K
I
C
H

Queequeg did not become a king

Ishmael and Queequeg spent all their time together
Ishmael and Queequeg left New Bedford
Queequeg let Ishmael select their ship
Ahab could be recognised
Starbuck did not know if he wanted to sign up Queequeg
Starbuck soon decided to sign up Queequeg
Ishmael decided not to pay attention to Elijah's prophecy

B
A.
B.
C.
D.
E.
F.
G.
H.
I.
J.
K.
L.

because he was a Christian.

because he was the man who gave all the orders.
because he saw how well he could throw a harpoon.
because Yojo told him to do so.
because they had become quite fond of each other.
because they had the same bedroom.
because he had travelled around the world three times.
because he wanted to enjoy his adventure aboard the Pequod.
because he was obviously not a Christian.
because he wanted to travel and do exciting things.
because he had only one leg.
because they couldn't join the crew of a whaling ship there.

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MOBY DICK
CHAPTER THREE
Comprehension check . .
For questions 1-5, choose the answer (A, B, C or D) which you think
fits best according to the text
1 Many people wanted the whaling ships to catch many whales
because
A. their husbands and brothers sailed on them.
B. the money these ships made catching whales was also, in part, their money.
C. they needed whale oil for their lamps.
D. the captains of whaling ships were important people in towns.
2 Flask saw hunting whales as
A. a money-making activity.
B. a noble adventure.
C. an amusing game.
D. a difficult and terrifying job.
3 We learn that Starbuck
A. only cares about making money.
B. is practical and is interested in his men.
C. does not respect his captain.
D. likes hunting whales more than anything else.
4 Ishmael compares the mates to
A. great kings from the past.
B. American Indian hunters.
C. African hunters.
D. great soldiers from the past.
5 In this chapter we learn that Ahab
A. is not afraid of whaJes.
B. thinks that catching whales is very enjoyable.
C. has suffered much and has had a great deal of experience.
D. can choose the harpooners he wants for his ship.
CHAPTER FOUR
Comprehension check
Answer the following questions.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.

What was the first thing a crew member did when he saw a whale? Shout out.
What was the second thing? Lower the boats and go after it.
Whose harpoon was in the hump of the white whale? Ahabs
What did the three harpooners know about the white whale? Tashtego knows
he has a strange way of diving; Queequeg that he has many harpoons in
his body; and Daggoo that his spout is big and looks like a fountain.
How did the crew react to Ahab's talk about Moby Dick? They became excited
and were ready to hunt Moby Dick.
What was the purpose of the Pequod's voyage according to Ahab? And
according to Starbuck? For Ahab, to hunt Moby Dick. For Starbuck, to hunt
whales and make money.
Why did Moby Dick attack Ahab according to Starbuck? And according to
Ahab? According to Starbuck, it was his instinct. According to Ahab,
because Moby Dick is evil.
What did the crew promise to do? They promised to kill Moby Dick.

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MOBY DICK
9. With what gesture did the mates confirm their promise? And the harpooners?
The mates confirmed their promise by crossing their harpoons. The
harpooners by drinking from the heads of their harpoons.
WORD GAME
Complete the crossword puzzle. All the words come from Chapters 1-4.
Across
4 for Ahab, this color represents evil
6 without end
10 mentally ill, mad
12 a medieval soldier who wore armor
and rode a horse
13 hit
14 pieces of information communicated
from person to person that are not
necessarily true
16 the wooden box that holds a dead
body
17 a yellow and very valuable metal
19 the opposite of "big"
20 promise
21 a round piece of metal used as
money
22 an officer of a ship, but not the
captain

Down
1 communication with God or a god
2
killing
Moby
Dick
will
be
Ahab's ................ for having lost his leg
3 the center of our emotions, or the
large muscle that pumps blood
5 a permanent design on the skin
7 risky and not safe
8 a mark left on the skin after a cut or
injury gets better
9 person who travels on a boat, ship,
bus, plan, etc. but is not a member of
the crew
11 something
that
we
cannot
understand or explain 15 if you get ,
you take your
clothes off
18 the place where ships are tied up to
be loaded or unloaded

12

2
R
E
V
E
N
G
E
16

3
N

C
20

7
D
A
N
G
E
R
O
U
S

22

S
10

8
S
C
A
R
15
U
N
D
R
E
S
S
E
D

R
13

17

9
P
A
S
S
E
N
G
E
R

K
14

E
R

5
T
A
T
T
O
O

19

4
Z

A
Y

L
21

I
18
D
C
C
K

R
L

CHAPTER SIX
Comprehension check
For questions 1-5, choose the answer (A, B, C or D) which you think fits best according
to the text.
1 What do we learn about the Albatross?
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11
M
Y
SS
T
E
R
Y

MOBY DICK
A. Her captain and crew were too tired for a gam.
B. Her captain and crew did not like gams.
C. Her captain and crew were at the end of a long, difficult voyage.
D. Her captain and crew had not seen Moby Dick.
2 The crew of the Pequod liked gams because they
A. wanted the company of new people.
B. wanted information about Moby Dick.
C. liked seeing a different ship.
D. got a break from hunting whales.
3 How is the crew affected by Ahab's madness?
A. They become mad, like him.
B. They become unhappy.
C. They become afraid.
D. They chink more about going home.
4 How can we describe Queequeg's and Starbuck's reaction to the giant squid?
A. logical and irrational
B. simple and complex
C. ridiculous and sentimental
D. Christian and Pagan
5 How does Ishmael present the hunting of the whale?
A. As an unfair battle between many men and one animal.
B. As a kind of a game that either men or animal could win.
C. As a courageous battle by men against an admirable adversary.
D. As a crime committed by the sailors of the Pequod.
Opposites
Write the opposite to the words below and then find them in the word square.
1. Satisfaction
2. Good
3. Dry
4. Shouted
5. Last
6. Tiny
13.

7. Normal
8. Shallow
9. Nothing
10. Lift
11. Cloudy
12. Hard
14.15.16.17.18.19.20.21.22.23.24.25.26.27.28.29.30.
31.32.33.34.35.36.37.38.39.40.41.42.43.44.45.46.47.
48.49.50.51.52.53.54.55.56.57.58.59.60.61.62.63.64.
65.66.67.68.69.70.71.72.73.74.75.76.77.78.79.80.81.
82.83.84.85.86.87.88.89.90.91.92.93.94.95.96.97.98.
99.100.
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K B OMV P Z OOV S C ON S S
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E L E P H O N OT A E L O T S P O
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OF GN U S U I I I R F Y P U E N
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P O B N M K L S A N Y L O WE R Q
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I N J U S T S P R I T G WH E E T
184.
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WO R L D I S P U D H M D L E D W
201.
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209.
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212.
213.
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215.
216.
217.

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MOBY DICK

320.

R E MA R K A B L E I WE O N D E
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228.
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A V J A C L A NDA N A MNS H I
235.
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244.
245.
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S I F R E D A N D F G I N GT WR
252.
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A L CS O F T X CL E A R F OX J
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J U MP E O V E RT H E Q U I C B
286.
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S H I V A WE T GI N G S T I L L
303.
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HI T OI S A F F I R S T F I E D
321.

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322.
323.
CHAPTER SEVEN
324.
325.
Comprehension check
326.
Answer the following questions.
1. Who chased away the sharks? Queequeg and another sailor.
2. How did they do it? with harpoons
3. Who cut up the whale? the entire crew
4. What does Ishmael compare the blubber to? Why? An orange rind because it was
peeled off the body of the whale in strips.

5. Where is the spermaceti located? in the head

6. What was it used for? Can dles and face creams.
7. What did Ishmael notice about the whale's eyes? What did this make him think,
both about himself and Ahab? They are on either side of the whales head. The whale sees
two different images of each thing. He thought that it was possible to see two sides of everything,
but Ahab could only see Moby Dick in one way as evil
What would Ahab like to know from the whale? The deepest mysteries of life.
What did they do with the whale corpse in the end? They let it float away in the sea.

8.
9.
327.
328.
329.
330.
Producing whale oil
331.
Number the sentences in the right order to illustrate how whale oil is
obtained.
332.
333.
334.335.
The blubber is peeled off
A 7
the body.
336.
337.
338.
The whale is killed.
B 4
339.
340.
341.
The oil is put into barrels.
C 9
342.
343.
344.
The boats are lowered.
D 2
345.
346.347.
The whale is pulled to the
E 5
boat.
348.
349.
350.
Its head is cut off.
F 6
351.
352.
353.
The whale is sighted.
G 1
354.
355.356.
The blubber is melted
H 8
down into oil.
357.
358.359.
The boats chase the
I 3
whale.
360.
361.
A SHORT HISTORY OF WHALING
362.
363.
Comprehension check
364.
Say whether the following statements are true (T) or false (F), and then
correct the false ones.
365.
1. Whaling began in the Basque region of Europe. F
2. Basque whalers hunted whales from large ships. F
3. The right whale got its name from the fact that it was considered the right whale
to hunt. T
4. The American Indians learned to hunt whales from the English and Dutch. F

5. The baleen of whales was used to make women's clothing. T

6. The United States became the most important whaling country in the 1700s. T
7. Petroleum replaced whale oil in the early 1900s. F
366.
367.
368.
369.
370.
371.
CHAPTER EIGHT
372.
373.
Comprehension check
374.
Connect the beginnings in column A with the endings in column B. There
are four endings in column B that you do not need to use.
375.
376.
A
377.378.379.
Ahab studied his charts
1 B
and maps
380.381.382.
Starbuck entered Ahab's
2 B
cabin
383.384.385.
Starbuck cared about the
3 A
barrels
386.387.388.
Ahab pointed a gun at
4 C
Starbuck
389.390.391.
The crew pulled the barrels
5 C
out of the hold
392.393.
394.
Queequeg became ill
6 C
395.
397.
Queequeg asked for the
7 396.
carpenter
398.
400.
Queequeg wanted to have
8 399.
a coffin
401.
403.
Ishmael felt very sad
9 402.
404.
1
406.
Queequeg did not die
405.
407.
408.
409.
410.
B
A. because he thought his friend was going to die.
B. because they had to find the leaks.
C. because he was frightened.
D. because he didn't want to die.
E. because he needed a sea chest.
F. because he was furious.
G. because he wanted a coffin.
H. because he needed a canoe.
I. because he wanted to find Moby Dick .
J. because he still had something to do.
K. because his main interest was oil and not Moby Dick.
L. because he didn't want the sharks to eat his body.
M. because he had worked too hard.
N. because he wanted to tell him about the leaking barrels.
411.

412.
413.
414.
415.
1. What

CHAPTER NINE
Comprehension check
Answer the following questions.
meaning did Starbuck and the crew give to the fire? They thought it was

a bad omen.
2.

What meaning did Ahab give to it? He thought it would lead him to Moby
Dick.

3. What two reasons did Ahab give the crew for not returning horne? He would kill
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.

them if they turned the ship around. Also they had promised to kill Moby
Dick.
Starbuck thought of two ways of stopping Ahab. What were they? Killing him or
making him prisoner.
Why did he decide not to try them? It is wrong to kill, and it would be
impossible to keep Ahab as prisoner.
What good news did Captain Gardiner give Ahab? He has seen Moby Dick and
he has not killed him.
How did the meeting with the Rachel show that Ahab had lost his humanity? He
refused to help Gardiner look for his son because it would take time away
from his search for Moby Dick.
What did Ishmael discover about Ahab's private life? He has a wife and son.
How did Ahab surprise Starbuck? He talks about his wife and his personal
feelings.

416.
417.
418.
419.
420.
421.
422.423.
A 4
425.426.
B 9
428.429.
C 2
431.432.
D 6
434.435.
E 8
437.438.
F 3
441.
440.1
G
443.444.
H 5
446.447.
I 7
449.450.
J 0
452.453.
K 1
455.
456.
457.
458.

summary
Chapter Nine has been divided into eleven parts. Choose from the list
A-K the sentence which best summarises each part (1-10) of the
chapter.
There is an example for you (0).
424.
I'll kill you if you break your
promise!
427.

How can he be so unfeeling?

430.

Our future looks bad!

433.

They get things back in order.

436.

I will help you if you help me.

439.
For one it's victory, for the
other death.
442.
For a short moment, he's
human again .
445.
The choice is so difficult he
does nothing.
448.
He finally gets some good
news.
451.
Things are going well but not
for him.
454.

The ship's nearly lost.

CHAPTER TEN

459.
Comprehension check
460.
461.
Say whether the following statements are true (T) or false (F), and then
correct the false ones.
462.
1.
When he first saw him, Ishmael did not think that Moby Dick looked dangerous.
T
463.
2.
Moby Dick's first attack came from below. T
464.
3.
On the second day, the harpooners did not hit Moby Dick. F
465.
4.
After falling into the water twice, Ahab was finally frightened of the white whale.
F
466.
5.
By the third day, Starbuck was terrified of the whale. T
467.
6.
Starbuck thought that Moby Dick wanted to kill Ahab. F
468.
7.
Fedallah was attached to the white whale's body. T
469.
8.
Moby Dick killed Ahab with his tail. F
470.
9.
Ishmael and Queequeg were the only two who survived Moby Dick's final attack. F
471.
472.