The Quick – listening comprehension

Brace yourself for a listening comprehension! Below is an audiobook excerpt from The Quick, the debut book by mystery writer Lauren Owen. The book is already a bestseller and critics have fallen in love with her first work, about a poet who disappears without a trace in Victorian England.

Publishers Weekly said The Quick is “Seductive… extraordinarily polished… a book for readers to lose themselves in.”

What to do: Read the questions below. Then listen to the audio, paying attention to the time code at the end of each question. Once the excerpt is over, play it again and answer the questions. The answers can be found at the end of the page. (The audio file is courtesy of Random House Audiobooks)

1. What huddled beneath each owl pair? [0.17 mins]
2. When could James think he could hear the owls chatter softly? [0.30]
3. What kind of noise did the house make, “as if the walls were sighing”? [1:05]
4. Can you name two kinds of trees that can be found in the garden? [2:21]
5. How old is Griswald? [3:03]
6. How does the author compare the drop at end of the garden? [3:51]
7. What did the ladies like to do in the Grecian temple long ago? [4:14]

Audiobook Copyright of Random House Audiobooks
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Answers below

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1. A trio of green owlets
2. When he was alone in the nursery
3. A whispering, creaking sound
4. The complete list: Oaks, horse-chestnuts, copper beeches, silver birches
5. Sixty three
6. The sudden drop felt like the edge of the world
7. The ladies would sit to enjoy their books and needlework.