Reading: The Talented Mr Ripley

You are going to read an extract from a novel by Patricia Highsmith, which was made into a film in 1999. After reading it, choose the answer A, B, C or D which you think fits best according to the text for questions 1-7.

Dickie said absolutely nothing on the train. Under a pretence of being sleepy, he folded his arms and closed his eyes. Tom sat opposite him, staring at his bony, arrogant, handsome face, at his hands with the green ring and the gold signet ring. It crossed Tom's mind to steal the green ring when he left. It would be easy: Dickie took it off when he swam. Sometimes he took it off even when he showered at the house. He would do it the very last day, Tom thought. Tom stared at Dickie's closed eyelids. A crazy emotion of hate, of affection, of impatience and frustration was swelling in him, hampering his breathing.

He wanted to kill Dickie. It was not the first time he had thought of it. Before, once, twice or three times, it had been an impulse caused by anger or disappointment, an impulse that vanished immediately and left him with a feeling of shame. Now, he thought about it for an entire minute, two minutes, because he was leaving Dickie anyway and what was there to be ashamed of any more? He had failed Dickie in every way. He hated Dickie because, however he looked at what had happened, his failing had not been his own fault, not due to anything he had done, but due to Dickie's rudeness! He had offered Dickie friendship, companionship and respect, everything he had to offer, and Dickie had replied with ingratitude and now hostility. Dickie was just shoving him out in the cold.

If he killed him on this trip, Tom thought, he could simply say that some accident had happened. He could. He had just thought of something brilliant: he could become Dickie Greenleaf himself. He could do everything that Dickie did. He could go back to Mongibello first and collect Dickie's things, tell Marge any story, then set up an appartment in Rome or Paris, receive Dickie's cheque everymonth and forge Dickie's signature on it. He could step right into Dickie's shoes. He could have Mr Greenleaf Senior eating out of his hand.

The danger of it, even the inevitable temporariness of it, which he vaguely realised, only made him more enthusiastic. He began to think of how. The water. But Dickie was such a good swimmer. The cliffs. It would be easy to push Dickie off some cliff when they took a walk, but he imagined Dickie grabbing at him and pulling him off with him and he tensed in his seat until his thighs ached and his nails cut red into his thumbs. He would have to tint his hair a little lighter. But he wouldn't live in a place, of course, where anybody who knew Dickie lived. He had only to look enough like Dickie to be able to use his passport. Well, he did, if he...

Dickie opened his eyes, looking right at him, and Tom relaxed, slumped into the corner with his head back and his eyes shut, as quickly as if he had passed out. "Tom, are you OK?" Dickie asked, shaking Tom's knee. "OK", Tom said, smiling a little. He saw Dickie sit back, with an air of irritation, and Tom knew why; because Dickie had hated giving him even that much attention. Tom smiled to himself, amused at his own quick reflex in pretending to collapse, because that had been the only way to keep Dickie from seeing what must have been a very strange expression on his face.

The Talented Mr Ripley

Quiz

 

1. What do we learn about Tom in the first paragraph?
   1.   He has already tried to steal Dickie's ring.
   2.   He is familiar with the details of Dickie's life.
   3.   He has just had an argument with Dickie.
   4.   He is unsure whether Dickie is asleep or not.
2. Why does Tom decide that he wants to kill Dickie?
   1.   He feels unfairly treated by Dickie.
   2.   He wants to get away from Dickie.
   3.   He thinks that Dickie has failed him.
   4.   He feels ashamed of Dickie's behaviour.
3. In the third paragraph, Tom plans how he will...
   1.   Cause Dickie to have an accident.
   2.   Go and live in Dickie's apartment.
   3.   Leave Dickie and return to Rome.
   4.   Receive money intended for Dickie.
4. How does Tom feel at the thought of actually killing Dickie?
   1.   Terrified of the consequences.
   2.   Unsure of what to do with the body.
   3.   Thrilled by the risks involved.
   4.   Confident of his ability to do it.
5. The word "grabbing" (in bold) describes a way of...
   1.   Holding somebody.
   2.   Looking at somebody.
   3.   Speaking to somebody.
   4.   Understanding somebody.
6. Why did Tom pretend to faint?
   1.   To annoy Dickie and start an argument.
   2.   To distract attention from how he looked.
   3.   To make a boring journey more interesting.
   4.   To make Dickie more sympathetic towards him.
7. What does the phrase "Tom knew why" (in bold) refer to?
   1.   Tom's smile.
   2.   Dickie's attention.
   3.   Dickie's irritation.
   4.   Tom's expression.