hasan saleh soliman
20-10-2007, 07:42 PM
ÇÓÆáÉ ßÇãá ÇáÞÕÉ
The Spiders (1)
Questions and answers:
1-Where were a team of archaeologists asleep ?
They were asleep in tents in a remote part of the Western Desert.
2- Where did the cars stop ?
They stopped two hundred metres from the archaeologists’ tents.
3-Where did the four men go ?
They climbed down into an underground passage.
4-What did they do to see around them ?
They switched on their torches.
5-What were on the walls of the passage ?
There were paintings of ancient Egyptian gods and writing.
6-Who found two underground rooms ?
A team of six archaeologists found them.
7-What was in the first room ?
There were five ancient Egyptian mummies in the first room.
8-What was sent to the museum in Cairo ?
Gold and other treasures were sent there.
9-What were the four men searching for ?
They were searching for other rooms containing gold.
10-What would the machine that the small man carried show them ?
It would show them rooms behind the walls.
11-How did the machine show them what was behind the wall ?
It sends radio waves through the wall. When the waves hit something on the
other side, they come back to it. The computer changes the radio waves into a
picture.
12-What was the machine called ?
It was called Ground Penetrating Radar (GPR).
13-How did the big man break through the wall ?
He used a pickaxe and a heavy hammer.
14-What hung from the ceiling of the passage ?
Very great spiders’ webs hung from the ceiling of the passage.
15-What was at the end of the passage ?
Two gold doors were at the end of the passage.
16-What covered the oldest man’s face ?
A huge spider’s web covered the oldest man’s face.
17-What did the room which they broke into contain ?
It contained gold and other treasures.
18-Why did the big man shout in pain ?
He shouted in pain because spiders were biting him.
19-How did the tall man try to keep the spiders away ?
He took off his jacket and hit the spiders with it.
20-Where was the small man bitten ?
He was bitten on his leg.
21-Where did the men take the gold and treasures they stole ?
They took them to their cars.
22- What happened to the four men by that time ?
They had all been bitten by the spiders.
23- Why didn’t the oldest man worry about the biting of the spiders ?
He believed there weren’t any deadly spiders in Egypt.
24- How did the four men feel as they drove through the desert ?
They felt very sick and thirsty.
25- Where did the big man see four spiders ?
He saw them in the boxes in the back of the car.
26- What did the tall man do ?
He crawled out and fell onto the sand beside the car.
27- Who were in the helicopter ?
A pilot, a telecom engineer and a technician were in the helicopter.
28- Where were they going ?
They were going to a transmitter in the desert.
29- What did the pilot do when he saw the vehicles below them ?
He flew the helicopter round in a circle.
30- How did the pilot and his mates find the four men ?
They found the four men dead.
31- What did the pilot think the four men died of ?
He thought they died of thirst.
32- How was the pilot saved from the bites of the spiders ?
He was asked by the engineer to get on the radio to contact the police.
So he left the car where the spiders had been.
33- Why did the small spiders in the cars die ?
They died because it was too hot for them to live.
34- Where did the police drive the robbers’ cars ?
They drove them to a new town called Hamdayya, south west of Cairo.
35- What happened to the biggest spider in the back of the car ?
It was still alive.
The Spiders (2)
Questions and answers:
1- What did the police discover in the Land Cruisers ?
They discovered treasures and gold.
2- Why did the officer go to his superior ?
He went to him to report about the gold.
3- What did the spider do as the officer was going to his superior ?
It ran across some open ground and then disappeared.
4- Why was the officer near death ?
He was near death because the spider was near him.
5- What kind of place does a spider look for ?
It looks for a place that is dark and safe.
6- Whom did the house next to the police station belong to ?
It belonged to the Hassan family.
7- Who was Ayman ?
He was the eldest son of the Hassan family.
8- Why was he glad to have his own room ?
He was glad to have his own room to practise his hobby.
9- What was Ayman’s favourite hobby ?
His favourite hobby was the internet.
10-Why was the internet useful to Ayman ?
He used it for his university studies and for making conversations with
friends in other countries.
11-How did the conversations look like on a computer screen ?
They looked like dialogues in a book.
12- What would be a big problem for Ayman ?
His big problem would be to find a good job after his university studies.
13- How was Najat in danger of being attacked by the spider ?
The spider moved to attack her but she moved her foot away.
14-Where did the spider go after Najat had moved away ?
It climbed out of the window and down to the garden.
15-Why did the spider stop ?
It stopped because it came to a corner of a walled garden.
16-Why was Ayman surprised when he saw the spider ?
He was surprised at the spider’s speed and size.
17-What shows that Ayman was not afraid of the spider ?
He knelt very close to it and didn’t look frightened.
18-What colour was the spider ?
It was black with two yellow lines on its back.
19-What did Ayman see when the spider opened its mouth ?
He saw two long fangs.
20-Where did the spider go after Ayman had seen it ?
It ran up the wall and disappeared into the garden of the next house.
21-Why did Ayman phone the student of zoology ?
He phoned him to look up the spider in his books.
22-What did Ayman find on the Word Wide Web ?
He found information about different species of spiders.
23-What was the old Egyptian text about ?
It was about a town in ancient Egypt where many people were killed by
black and yellow spiders.
24- Who translated that text into English ?
Dr Shereen Fakhry at the Department of Egyptology, Oxford University
translated that text.
25-Why did the people burn down the town ?
They burnt down the town to kill the deadly spiders.
26-Where did the spiders escape from the fire ?
They escaped into underground tombs.
27-Why did Ayman write an e-mail to Dr Shereen Fakhry ?
He wrote an e-mail to her to find out if there was a picture of the spider with
the text.
28-Where did the spider that Ayman saw hide ?
It hid in a safe place in the neighbouring house.
29-What did the spider do that night ?
It laid two thousand eggs that night.
30-What did the spider do with the eggs it laid ?
It enclosed them in four sacs of white silk.
The Spiders (3)
Questions and answers:
1-What did the archaeologist in Egypt send Dr Fakhry ?
He sent her a very old picture of a spider that was found in a tomb near Bawiti.
2-How did Dr Fakhry feel when she saw the picture of the spider on the screen ?
She felt a cold shiver down the back of her neck.
3-What did Dr Fakhry do with the message and the picture ?
She forwarded the message and the picture to Ayman.
4-What was the spider in the picture like ?
It was a big black spider with two thick yellow lines on its back.
5-In Ayman’s opinion, how did the spider come to his area ?
Ayman thought that the spider came with the boxes brought from the archaeological
site to the police station.
6-What did Dr Shereen ask Ayman to do ?
She asked him to tell the police about the black and yellow spider he had seen.
7-Why didn’t Ayman want to tell the police about the spider he saw ?
He was afraid people would laugh at him.
8-What did the German Egyptologist tell Dr Fakhry ?
He told her about an ancient Egyptian medicine for the bite of the deadly black and
yellow spider.
9-What was the medicine for the bite of the black and yellow spider made from?
It was made from the root of the “Echinacea Negra” plant.
10-Why did Dr Fakhry think that the black and yellow spider was real ?
She thought it was real because it was mentioned in a medical text.
11-Why did Dr Fakhry go to her friend the zoologist ?
She went to her to identify the black and yellow spider.
12-What was Professor Jones ?
He was the head of the zoology department at the university. He was also a famous
arachnologist.
13-Why was Professor Jones interested in the spider that Ayman had seen ?
He was interested in it because it was unknown and very dangerous.
14-Why did the professor think the spider was female ?
He thought so because it was big.
15-Why is a female spider very dangerous ?
It is very dangerous because it lays about 2000 eggs that develop in a very short time.
16-How could spider bites be treated ?
They could be treated by giving the person an injection of antivenom which works
against the venom.
17- When would scientists have to develop a new antivenom ?
They would have to do so when there is an unknown species of spider.
18-Why might the danger of the spiders spread through Africa, Asia and Europe ?
This might happen because Egypt is the meeting point of the three continents.
19-Where did Professor Jones decide to go ?
He decided to go to Cairo.
20-Why did he decide to go there ?
He decided to go there to find the unknown species of spiders.
The Spiders (4)
Questions and answers:
1-What did Dr Shereen discuss with Professor Jones ?
She discussed the black and yellow spider with Professor Jones.
2-What was Professor Jones’ job ?
He was the head of the Zoology Department at Oxford University.
3-What was he famous as ?
He was famous as an arachnologist.
4-What was Professor Jones interested in after his talk with Dr Fakhry ?
He was interested in the picture of the yellow and black spider and in the
spider that Ayman had seen.
5-Why was Professor Jones on his way to Egypt ?
He was on his way to Egypt because he thought that Ayman’s spider was an
unknown species and he wanted to find it.
6-Why did Dr Fakhry ask Ayman to be careful if he saw the spider again ?
She asked him to be careful because Professor Malcolm Jones thought the
spider might be very dangerous.
7-What did Ayman’s family think when they heard his story about the spider ?
They thought half of it was true and the other half was Ayman’s imagination.
8-What would stories about dangerous spiders cause ?
They would cause a lot of businesses to lose money.
9-Why was Ayman sorry for telling people about the spider he had seen ?
He was sorry because he hadn’t thought about the harm that would be caused
if the news about the spiders spread.
10-Why were the armed police officers going to the archaeological site ?
They were going there to guard it as it was very dangerous.
11-What happened to the archaeologists at the site ?
All of them died of spider bites
12-Why did Ayman’s uncle phone Colonel Mikhail ?
He phoned him to make sure of the news about the death of the archaeologists
by spider bites.
13-What did Ayman tell the Colonel on the phone ?
He told him every thing about the spiders and the spider he had seen.
14-Why should the officers wear protective clothing ?
They should wear protective clothing to keep the spiders out.
15-What did Colonel Mikhail ask Professor Jones to do ?
He asked him to find one of the spiders and identify it.
16-What did Professor Jones bring with him to Hamdayya ?
He brought his equipment with him.
17-What did the Colonel ask Ayman to do ?
He asked him to tell them whether the spider that the Professor would find
was the same as the spider he had seen.
18-Whom would the Professor and Ayman go with to the site ?
They would go to the site with some officers under the supervision of Captain
Ahmed El-Sherif.
19-When won’t antivenoms work ?
They won’t work if the spiders are an unknown species.
20-Why did Ayman take the printout of Dr Shereen’s e-mail with him ?
He took it with him because he had no time to read it.
The Spiders (5)
Questions and answers:
1-Why do scientists get some venom from the spiders ?
They do this to develop an antivenom for it.
2-Why is the venom put into the animals ?
Because the animals then make antibodies for the venom.
3-What do scientists extract from the blood of animals ?
They extract the antivenom.
4-What news did Dr Shereen tell Ayman in her e-mail ?
She told him about an ancient medicine for the bites of the deadly black and
yellow spiders.
5-What was the medicine made from ?
It was made from the Echinacea Negra plant.
6-Where did the plant grow ?
It grew in Sinai.
7-Who had studied the plant ?
The botanist Wafaa Sultan had studied it.
8-When would Wafaa Sultan be sent to Sinai ? Why ?
She would be sent there if the spiders were an unknown species to get some of
the Echinacea Negra plants.
9-What did the men who went down into the tombs wear ?
They wore strong plastic suits.
10-What did each suit have ?
Each suit had a thick transparent window over the face.
11-Why did the men wear that clothing ?
They wore it to protect themselves against the bites of the spiders.
12-How did they breathe ?
They breathed through a gas filter.
13-What did the men take with them underground ?
They took with them insecticide sprays, a smoker and equipment for the
professor.
14-Why did the professor set a white sheet over a metal frame ?
He did so to catch any thing that fell onto it.
15-What happened when the professor switched on the smoker ?
When he did so the poisonous smoke poured out of the smoker.
16-What dropped on the sheet ?
Small insects and spiders dropped on the sheet.
17-What did the professor pick up ?
He picked up three of the largest spiders.
18-How were the spiders that fell on the sheet similar to Ayman’s spider ?
They were black with two yellow lines on their backs, but they were not as big
as Ayman’s spider.
19-What did the big spider do as soon as it fell down on the sheet ?
It jumped onto one of the officers.
20-Why did the spider fall to the ground ?
It fell to the ground because the other officers sprayed it with insecticide.
21-What shows that the spider was still alive ?
It ran and disappeared.
22-Why was the officer coughing badly ?
He was coughing badly because he had breathed in some insecticide.
23-What did the professor think about the spiders ?
He thought they were an unknown species and they were a great scientific
discovery.
24-Why did the professor contradict the idea of destroying those spiders ?
Because he thought it was impossible to destroy these spiders completely
because some of them would go underground and live.
25-Why did the colonel want them to bring the dead spiders ?
He wanted them to do so to send their venom sacs to an antivenom lab so that
scientists could work on an antivenom.
26-What did the colonel arrange for ?
He arranged to get some of the Echinacea Negra plant.
27-Who would go to Sinai to get the plants ?
The botanist Wafaa Sultan from Cairo University.
The Spiders (6)
Questions and answers:
1-Why did the police prevent cars from coming into or out of the town ?
They did so to prevent the spiders from coming into the town.
2-What would Captain Ahmed and his men do the next morning ?
They would search for the spider that Ayman had seen to find it.
3-What arrangements for the search did the colonel make ?
He called extra officers and ordered stronger protective suits.
4-In the professor’s opinion, how many spiders were there in the town ?
In his opinion, there was only one female spider.
5-Why did the professor think that the spider was female ?
He thought so because it was very big.
6-Why was a female spider more dangerous than a male spider ?
It was so because it could produce thousands of young spiders.
7-Where had Ayman seen the spider go ?
He had seen it go into the empty house next to his.
8-Why did the police officers go to the empty house ?
They went there to find and kill the female spider.
9-What happened when they opened the door of the room ?
When they did so, 2000 small black and yellow spiders moved.
10-What was the effect of the poisonous insecticide on the spiders ?
The young spiders jumped onto the walls and onto the men. They attacked the
men trying to find a way through their protective suits.
11-What did the large female spider do ?
It jumped onto the face of one of the men.
12-What did the officer do when the female spider fell to the ground ?
He brought his insecticide tank down on it.
13-How did the spider get rid of its leg on which the tank landed ?
It cut through its leg with its sharp fangs and left it behind.
14-What did the spider do as soon as it freed itself ?
It jumped and landed on Ayman’s face.
15-What happened when Ayman fell to the ground ?
When he fell to the ground, spiders ran all over him, went inside his suit and bit
him.
16-Why was Ayman taken to hospital ?
He was taken to hospital because small spiders bit him after his suit had been
torn.
17-What did Captain Ahmed order his men to do ?
He ordered them to look for the body of the dead spider.
18-What might save Ayman’s life ?
The Echinacea Negra plant might save his life.
19-Why couldn’t Wafaa Sultan and the plants come on time as was expected ?
They couldn’t come on time because there was a bad storm and the helicopter
couldn’t get to the cars. So they would drive through the storm. This would
take more time.
20-What did the colonel mean by saying “Ayman Hassan doesn’t have much
more time” ?
He meant that Ayman’s life was in danger.
The Spiders (7)
Questions and answers:
1-How was the weather in Sinai at the time of the journey ?
It was bad and stormy.
2-Who were in the first car ?
Wafaa Sultan, another botanist called Farouk and Captain Osama were there.
3-Where were they coming from ?
They were coming from Sinai.
4-Why were they going on that journey ?
They were going on that journey to get some of the Echinacea plants.
5-What was in the back of the third car ?
Some of the Echinacea Negra plants were in the back of the third car.
6-Why did the road become dangerous ?
It became dangerous because of the heavy rain.
7-What had Captain Osama and his mates to cross ?
They had to cross three wadis.
8-Why did they drive at full speed after crossing the first two wadis ?
They did so because they were afraid that the third wadi would be too deep to
cross by the time they reached it.
9-Why did the second car move sideways ?
It did so because it was too light.
10-Why did Captain Osama shout across to the officers in the third car ?
He did so because they had the plants.
11-What shows that Farouk was impatient ?
He cupped his hand to shout across to the officers in the third car to move quickly.
12-What happened when the third car was half way ?
When the third car was half way, its engine stopped.
13-Why did the Captain bring the towrope ?
He did so to attach it to his car and the third car and then draw it out of the water.
14-How did the two men in the third car help the Captain and Farouk ?
They helped them to pull the rope to the third car and attach it.
15-What happened to the car when a tree hit it ?
It went over and hit the two men.
16-What happened to the four men ?
They managed to climb onto a rocky island.
17-Where was Wafaa at that time ?
She was at the edge of the third wadi.
18-How could Wafaa get the plants ?
She drove the first car slowly and pulled the third car to the land to get the plants.
19-Why did Wafaa drive too fast ?
She did so because she thought she had a young man’s life in her hands.
20-What were her feelings while she was driving ?
She felt very frightened.
The Spiders (8)
Questions and answers:
1-Which part of the hospital was Ayman in ? Why ?
He was in intensive care because he was bitten by the black and yellow spiders.
2-What is a ventilator used for ?
It is used for maintaining breathing artificially.
3-What did the doctors make from the plants Wafaa Sultan brought ?
They made a medicine for the bites of the black and yellow spiders.
4-How did the medicine help Ayman ?
He began to breathe normally again in the morning and then he was well again.
5-Who were with Ayman when he woke up ?
When he woke up, his family were with him.
6-Where did Ayman and his family go in the afternoon ?
They went out to the roof terrace.
7-Where was the roof terrace ?
It was above the place where ambulances arrived.
8-Where could a picture of Ayman be seen ?
His picture could be seen in the newspaper and on television.
9-What did the newspaper say about Ayman ?
It said that he saved hundreds of lives.
10-What did Professor Malcolm say about Ayman’s education ?
He said that Ayman could go and study at Oxford University if he wanted to.
11-How did the Professor show his pleasure for discovering a new species of spider ?
He did so by giving Ayman a camera as a “Thank you” gift.
12-When do the spiders in the desert hurt people ?
The spiders hurt people when they disturb them.
13-Where did Ayman see the 7-legged female spider ?
He saw it on the wall near his sister Lamia.
14-What would have happened if Ayman had told his sister that the spider was
behind her ?
If he had done so, she would have moved and the spider would have bitten her.
15-How did Ayman catch the spider ?
He blinded the spider with the flashlight and then knocked it into the
aluminium case and shut it.
16-When did Ayman fall on the floor ?
He fell on the floor after the deadly black and yellow spider bit him.
17-What did Ayman see on the television screen ?
He saw his own photo on the television screen.
18-What would have happened without Ayman’s intelligence and bravery ?
Many thousands of people might have died.
19-Why were people throughout Egypt celebrating ?
They were celebrating because Ayman was still alive.
20-Why was it expected that Ayman would die from the female spider’s bite ?
He was expected to die because the female’s bite is very dangerous and there
is no medicine for it.
21-Why didn’t the deadly female spider kill Ayman ?
It didn’t kill him because his body had produced a lot of antivenom when he
was bitten the first time.
The Spiders (1)
Questions and answers:
1-Where were a team of archaeologists asleep ?
They were asleep in tents in a remote part of the Western Desert.
2- Where did the cars stop ?
They stopped two hundred metres from the archaeologists’ tents.
3-Where did the four men go ?
They climbed down into an underground passage.
4-What did they do to see around them ?
They switched on their torches.
5-What were on the walls of the passage ?
There were paintings of ancient Egyptian gods and writing.
6-Who found two underground rooms ?
A team of six archaeologists found them.
7-What was in the first room ?
There were five ancient Egyptian mummies in the first room.
8-What was sent to the museum in Cairo ?
Gold and other treasures were sent there.
9-What were the four men searching for ?
They were searching for other rooms containing gold.
10-What would the machine that the small man carried show them ?
It would show them rooms behind the walls.
11-How did the machine show them what was behind the wall ?
It sends radio waves through the wall. When the waves hit something on the
other side, they come back to it. The computer changes the radio waves into a
picture.
12-What was the machine called ?
It was called Ground Penetrating Radar (GPR).
13-How did the big man break through the wall ?
He used a pickaxe and a heavy hammer.
14-What hung from the ceiling of the passage ?
Very great spiders’ webs hung from the ceiling of the passage.
15-What was at the end of the passage ?
Two gold doors were at the end of the passage.
16-What covered the oldest man’s face ?
A huge spider’s web covered the oldest man’s face.
17-What did the room which they broke into contain ?
It contained gold and other treasures.
18-Why did the big man shout in pain ?
He shouted in pain because spiders were biting him.
19-How did the tall man try to keep the spiders away ?
He took off his jacket and hit the spiders with it.
20-Where was the small man bitten ?
He was bitten on his leg.
21-Where did the men take the gold and treasures they stole ?
They took them to their cars.
22- What happened to the four men by that time ?
They had all been bitten by the spiders.
23- Why didn’t the oldest man worry about the biting of the spiders ?
He believed there weren’t any deadly spiders in Egypt.
24- How did the four men feel as they drove through the desert ?
They felt very sick and thirsty.
25- Where did the big man see four spiders ?
He saw them in the boxes in the back of the car.
26- What did the tall man do ?
He crawled out and fell onto the sand beside the car.
27- Who were in the helicopter ?
A pilot, a telecom engineer and a technician were in the helicopter.
28- Where were they going ?
They were going to a transmitter in the desert.
29- What did the pilot do when he saw the vehicles below them ?
He flew the helicopter round in a circle.
30- How did the pilot and his mates find the four men ?
They found the four men dead.
31- What did the pilot think the four men died of ?
He thought they died of thirst.
32- How was the pilot saved from the bites of the spiders ?
He was asked by the engineer to get on the radio to contact the police.
So he left the car where the spiders had been.
33- Why did the small spiders in the cars die ?
They died because it was too hot for them to live.
34- Where did the police drive the robbers’ cars ?
They drove them to a new town called Hamdayya, south west of Cairo.
35- What happened to the biggest spider in the back of the car ?
It was still alive.
The Spiders (2)
Questions and answers:
1- What did the police discover in the Land Cruisers ?
They discovered treasures and gold.
2- Why did the officer go to his superior ?
He went to him to report about the gold.
3- What did the spider do as the officer was going to his superior ?
It ran across some open ground and then disappeared.
4- Why was the officer near death ?
He was near death because the spider was near him.
5- What kind of place does a spider look for ?
It looks for a place that is dark and safe.
6- Whom did the house next to the police station belong to ?
It belonged to the Hassan family.
7- Who was Ayman ?
He was the eldest son of the Hassan family.
8- Why was he glad to have his own room ?
He was glad to have his own room to practise his hobby.
9- What was Ayman’s favourite hobby ?
His favourite hobby was the internet.
10-Why was the internet useful to Ayman ?
He used it for his university studies and for making conversations with
friends in other countries.
11-How did the conversations look like on a computer screen ?
They looked like dialogues in a book.
12- What would be a big problem for Ayman ?
His big problem would be to find a good job after his university studies.
13- How was Najat in danger of being attacked by the spider ?
The spider moved to attack her but she moved her foot away.
14-Where did the spider go after Najat had moved away ?
It climbed out of the window and down to the garden.
15-Why did the spider stop ?
It stopped because it came to a corner of a walled garden.
16-Why was Ayman surprised when he saw the spider ?
He was surprised at the spider’s speed and size.
17-What shows that Ayman was not afraid of the spider ?
He knelt very close to it and didn’t look frightened.
18-What colour was the spider ?
It was black with two yellow lines on its back.
19-What did Ayman see when the spider opened its mouth ?
He saw two long fangs.
20-Where did the spider go after Ayman had seen it ?
It ran up the wall and disappeared into the garden of the next house.
21-Why did Ayman phone the student of zoology ?
He phoned him to look up the spider in his books.
22-What did Ayman find on the Word Wide Web ?
He found information about different species of spiders.
23-What was the old Egyptian text about ?
It was about a town in ancient Egypt where many people were killed by
black and yellow spiders.
24- Who translated that text into English ?
Dr Shereen Fakhry at the Department of Egyptology, Oxford University
translated that text.
25-Why did the people burn down the town ?
They burnt down the town to kill the deadly spiders.
26-Where did the spiders escape from the fire ?
They escaped into underground tombs.
27-Why did Ayman write an e-mail to Dr Shereen Fakhry ?
He wrote an e-mail to her to find out if there was a picture of the spider with
the text.
28-Where did the spider that Ayman saw hide ?
It hid in a safe place in the neighbouring house.
29-What did the spider do that night ?
It laid two thousand eggs that night.
30-What did the spider do with the eggs it laid ?
It enclosed them in four sacs of white silk.
The Spiders (3)
Questions and answers:
1-What did the archaeologist in Egypt send Dr Fakhry ?
He sent her a very old picture of a spider that was found in a tomb near Bawiti.
2-How did Dr Fakhry feel when she saw the picture of the spider on the screen ?
She felt a cold shiver down the back of her neck.
3-What did Dr Fakhry do with the message and the picture ?
She forwarded the message and the picture to Ayman.
4-What was the spider in the picture like ?
It was a big black spider with two thick yellow lines on its back.
5-In Ayman’s opinion, how did the spider come to his area ?
Ayman thought that the spider came with the boxes brought from the archaeological
site to the police station.
6-What did Dr Shereen ask Ayman to do ?
She asked him to tell the police about the black and yellow spider he had seen.
7-Why didn’t Ayman want to tell the police about the spider he saw ?
He was afraid people would laugh at him.
8-What did the German Egyptologist tell Dr Fakhry ?
He told her about an ancient Egyptian medicine for the bite of the deadly black and
yellow spider.
9-What was the medicine for the bite of the black and yellow spider made from?
It was made from the root of the “Echinacea Negra” plant.
10-Why did Dr Fakhry think that the black and yellow spider was real ?
She thought it was real because it was mentioned in a medical text.
11-Why did Dr Fakhry go to her friend the zoologist ?
She went to her to identify the black and yellow spider.
12-What was Professor Jones ?
He was the head of the zoology department at the university. He was also a famous
arachnologist.
13-Why was Professor Jones interested in the spider that Ayman had seen ?
He was interested in it because it was unknown and very dangerous.
14-Why did the professor think the spider was female ?
He thought so because it was big.
15-Why is a female spider very dangerous ?
It is very dangerous because it lays about 2000 eggs that develop in a very short time.
16-How could spider bites be treated ?
They could be treated by giving the person an injection of antivenom which works
against the venom.
17- When would scientists have to develop a new antivenom ?
They would have to do so when there is an unknown species of spider.
18-Why might the danger of the spiders spread through Africa, Asia and Europe ?
This might happen because Egypt is the meeting point of the three continents.
19-Where did Professor Jones decide to go ?
He decided to go to Cairo.
20-Why did he decide to go there ?
He decided to go there to find the unknown species of spiders.
The Spiders (4)
Questions and answers:
1-What did Dr Shereen discuss with Professor Jones ?
She discussed the black and yellow spider with Professor Jones.
2-What was Professor Jones’ job ?
He was the head of the Zoology Department at Oxford University.
3-What was he famous as ?
He was famous as an arachnologist.
4-What was Professor Jones interested in after his talk with Dr Fakhry ?
He was interested in the picture of the yellow and black spider and in the
spider that Ayman had seen.
5-Why was Professor Jones on his way to Egypt ?
He was on his way to Egypt because he thought that Ayman’s spider was an
unknown species and he wanted to find it.
6-Why did Dr Fakhry ask Ayman to be careful if he saw the spider again ?
She asked him to be careful because Professor Malcolm Jones thought the
spider might be very dangerous.
7-What did Ayman’s family think when they heard his story about the spider ?
They thought half of it was true and the other half was Ayman’s imagination.
8-What would stories about dangerous spiders cause ?
They would cause a lot of businesses to lose money.
9-Why was Ayman sorry for telling people about the spider he had seen ?
He was sorry because he hadn’t thought about the harm that would be caused
if the news about the spiders spread.
10-Why were the armed police officers going to the archaeological site ?
They were going there to guard it as it was very dangerous.
11-What happened to the archaeologists at the site ?
All of them died of spider bites
12-Why did Ayman’s uncle phone Colonel Mikhail ?
He phoned him to make sure of the news about the death of the archaeologists
by spider bites.
13-What did Ayman tell the Colonel on the phone ?
He told him every thing about the spiders and the spider he had seen.
14-Why should the officers wear protective clothing ?
They should wear protective clothing to keep the spiders out.
15-What did Colonel Mikhail ask Professor Jones to do ?
He asked him to find one of the spiders and identify it.
16-What did Professor Jones bring with him to Hamdayya ?
He brought his equipment with him.
17-What did the Colonel ask Ayman to do ?
He asked him to tell them whether the spider that the Professor would find
was the same as the spider he had seen.
18-Whom would the Professor and Ayman go with to the site ?
They would go to the site with some officers under the supervision of Captain
Ahmed El-Sherif.
19-When won’t antivenoms work ?
They won’t work if the spiders are an unknown species.
20-Why did Ayman take the printout of Dr Shereen’s e-mail with him ?
He took it with him because he had no time to read it.
The Spiders (5)
Questions and answers:
1-Why do scientists get some venom from the spiders ?
They do this to develop an antivenom for it.
2-Why is the venom put into the animals ?
Because the animals then make antibodies for the venom.
3-What do scientists extract from the blood of animals ?
They extract the antivenom.
4-What news did Dr Shereen tell Ayman in her e-mail ?
She told him about an ancient medicine for the bites of the deadly black and
yellow spiders.
5-What was the medicine made from ?
It was made from the Echinacea Negra plant.
6-Where did the plant grow ?
It grew in Sinai.
7-Who had studied the plant ?
The botanist Wafaa Sultan had studied it.
8-When would Wafaa Sultan be sent to Sinai ? Why ?
She would be sent there if the spiders were an unknown species to get some of
the Echinacea Negra plants.
9-What did the men who went down into the tombs wear ?
They wore strong plastic suits.
10-What did each suit have ?
Each suit had a thick transparent window over the face.
11-Why did the men wear that clothing ?
They wore it to protect themselves against the bites of the spiders.
12-How did they breathe ?
They breathed through a gas filter.
13-What did the men take with them underground ?
They took with them insecticide sprays, a smoker and equipment for the
professor.
14-Why did the professor set a white sheet over a metal frame ?
He did so to catch any thing that fell onto it.
15-What happened when the professor switched on the smoker ?
When he did so the poisonous smoke poured out of the smoker.
16-What dropped on the sheet ?
Small insects and spiders dropped on the sheet.
17-What did the professor pick up ?
He picked up three of the largest spiders.
18-How were the spiders that fell on the sheet similar to Ayman’s spider ?
They were black with two yellow lines on their backs, but they were not as big
as Ayman’s spider.
19-What did the big spider do as soon as it fell down on the sheet ?
It jumped onto one of the officers.
20-Why did the spider fall to the ground ?
It fell to the ground because the other officers sprayed it with insecticide.
21-What shows that the spider was still alive ?
It ran and disappeared.
22-Why was the officer coughing badly ?
He was coughing badly because he had breathed in some insecticide.
23-What did the professor think about the spiders ?
He thought they were an unknown species and they were a great scientific
discovery.
24-Why did the professor contradict the idea of destroying those spiders ?
Because he thought it was impossible to destroy these spiders completely
because some of them would go underground and live.
25-Why did the colonel want them to bring the dead spiders ?
He wanted them to do so to send their venom sacs to an antivenom lab so that
scientists could work on an antivenom.
26-What did the colonel arrange for ?
He arranged to get some of the Echinacea Negra plant.
27-Who would go to Sinai to get the plants ?
The botanist Wafaa Sultan from Cairo University.
The Spiders (6)
Questions and answers:
1-Why did the police prevent cars from coming into or out of the town ?
They did so to prevent the spiders from coming into the town.
2-What would Captain Ahmed and his men do the next morning ?
They would search for the spider that Ayman had seen to find it.
3-What arrangements for the search did the colonel make ?
He called extra officers and ordered stronger protective suits.
4-In the professor’s opinion, how many spiders were there in the town ?
In his opinion, there was only one female spider.
5-Why did the professor think that the spider was female ?
He thought so because it was very big.
6-Why was a female spider more dangerous than a male spider ?
It was so because it could produce thousands of young spiders.
7-Where had Ayman seen the spider go ?
He had seen it go into the empty house next to his.
8-Why did the police officers go to the empty house ?
They went there to find and kill the female spider.
9-What happened when they opened the door of the room ?
When they did so, 2000 small black and yellow spiders moved.
10-What was the effect of the poisonous insecticide on the spiders ?
The young spiders jumped onto the walls and onto the men. They attacked the
men trying to find a way through their protective suits.
11-What did the large female spider do ?
It jumped onto the face of one of the men.
12-What did the officer do when the female spider fell to the ground ?
He brought his insecticide tank down on it.
13-How did the spider get rid of its leg on which the tank landed ?
It cut through its leg with its sharp fangs and left it behind.
14-What did the spider do as soon as it freed itself ?
It jumped and landed on Ayman’s face.
15-What happened when Ayman fell to the ground ?
When he fell to the ground, spiders ran all over him, went inside his suit and bit
him.
16-Why was Ayman taken to hospital ?
He was taken to hospital because small spiders bit him after his suit had been
torn.
17-What did Captain Ahmed order his men to do ?
He ordered them to look for the body of the dead spider.
18-What might save Ayman’s life ?
The Echinacea Negra plant might save his life.
19-Why couldn’t Wafaa Sultan and the plants come on time as was expected ?
They couldn’t come on time because there was a bad storm and the helicopter
couldn’t get to the cars. So they would drive through the storm. This would
take more time.
20-What did the colonel mean by saying “Ayman Hassan doesn’t have much
more time” ?
He meant that Ayman’s life was in danger.
The Spiders (7)
Questions and answers:
1-How was the weather in Sinai at the time of the journey ?
It was bad and stormy.
2-Who were in the first car ?
Wafaa Sultan, another botanist called Farouk and Captain Osama were there.
3-Where were they coming from ?
They were coming from Sinai.
4-Why were they going on that journey ?
They were going on that journey to get some of the Echinacea plants.
5-What was in the back of the third car ?
Some of the Echinacea Negra plants were in the back of the third car.
6-Why did the road become dangerous ?
It became dangerous because of the heavy rain.
7-What had Captain Osama and his mates to cross ?
They had to cross three wadis.
8-Why did they drive at full speed after crossing the first two wadis ?
They did so because they were afraid that the third wadi would be too deep to
cross by the time they reached it.
9-Why did the second car move sideways ?
It did so because it was too light.
10-Why did Captain Osama shout across to the officers in the third car ?
He did so because they had the plants.
11-What shows that Farouk was impatient ?
He cupped his hand to shout across to the officers in the third car to move quickly.
12-What happened when the third car was half way ?
When the third car was half way, its engine stopped.
13-Why did the Captain bring the towrope ?
He did so to attach it to his car and the third car and then draw it out of the water.
14-How did the two men in the third car help the Captain and Farouk ?
They helped them to pull the rope to the third car and attach it.
15-What happened to the car when a tree hit it ?
It went over and hit the two men.
16-What happened to the four men ?
They managed to climb onto a rocky island.
17-Where was Wafaa at that time ?
She was at the edge of the third wadi.
18-How could Wafaa get the plants ?
She drove the first car slowly and pulled the third car to the land to get the plants.
19-Why did Wafaa drive too fast ?
She did so because she thought she had a young man’s life in her hands.
20-What were her feelings while she was driving ?
She felt very frightened.
The Spiders (8)
Questions and answers:
1-Which part of the hospital was Ayman in ? Why ?
He was in intensive care because he was bitten by the black and yellow spiders.
2-What is a ventilator used for ?
It is used for maintaining breathing artificially.
3-What did the doctors make from the plants Wafaa Sultan brought ?
They made a medicine for the bites of the black and yellow spiders.
4-How did the medicine help Ayman ?
He began to breathe normally again in the morning and then he was well again.
5-Who were with Ayman when he woke up ?
When he woke up, his family were with him.
6-Where did Ayman and his family go in the afternoon ?
They went out to the roof terrace.
7-Where was the roof terrace ?
It was above the place where ambulances arrived.
8-Where could a picture of Ayman be seen ?
His picture could be seen in the newspaper and on television.
9-What did the newspaper say about Ayman ?
It said that he saved hundreds of lives.
10-What did Professor Malcolm say about Ayman’s education ?
He said that Ayman could go and study at Oxford University if he wanted to.
11-How did the Professor show his pleasure for discovering a new species of spider ?
He did so by giving Ayman a camera as a “Thank you” gift.
12-When do the spiders in the desert hurt people ?
The spiders hurt people when they disturb them.
13-Where did Ayman see the 7-legged female spider ?
He saw it on the wall near his sister Lamia.
14-What would have happened if Ayman had told his sister that the spider was
behind her ?
If he had done so, she would have moved and the spider would have bitten her.
15-How did Ayman catch the spider ?
He blinded the spider with the flashlight and then knocked it into the
aluminium case and shut it.
16-When did Ayman fall on the floor ?
He fell on the floor after the deadly black and yellow spider bit him.
17-What did Ayman see on the television screen ?
He saw his own photo on the television screen.
18-What would have happened without Ayman’s intelligence and bravery ?
Many thousands of people might have died.
19-Why were people throughout Egypt celebrating ?
They were celebrating because Ayman was still alive.
20-Why was it expected that Ayman would die from the female spider’s bite ?
He was expected to die because the female’s bite is very dangerous and there
is no medicine for it.
21-Why didn’t the deadly female spider kill Ayman ?
It didn’t kill him because his body had produced a lot of antivenom when he
was bitten the first time.