The Beekeeper's Apprentice

130 Pages·2015·6.63 MB·English

by  Jake Wilson

The Beekeeper’s Apprentice:
Or, On the Segregation of the Queen
By Laurie R. King

A Unit
in Six Sections

student edition
Copyright © 2015, Katye Russell & Jake Wilson
Licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0
International Public License, http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/

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Table of Contents
Week 1:
Vocabulary, Section 1 1
Week 2:
Comprehension, Section 1 7
Vocabulary, Section 2 11
Week 3:
Comprehension, Section 2 17
Vocabulary, Section 3 21
Week 4:
Comprehension, Section 3 27
Vocabulary, Section 4 31
Week 5:
Comprehension, Section 4 37
Vocabulary, Section 5 41
Week 6:
Comprehension, Section 5 47
Vocabulary, Section 6 51
Week 7:
Comprehension, Section 6 57

Appendix I: Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s Sherlock Holmes
“A Scandal in Bohemia“ 67
“The Final Problem” 89

Appendix II: Nonfiction Excerpts
Manners and Rules of Good Society: Or,
Solecisms to be Avoided 109
“Trenches at Vimy Ridge” 111
“To The Members of The Women’s Land Army.” 113
Gypsy Lore 115
“The Gipsy of Everyday” 117
“The End of the War” 119
Syria and the Holy Land 123
Chess-Humanics 125
A Note on the Text
As you read The Beekeeper's Apprentice, you'll probably notice that the novel is written with British
spelling, punctuation, and grammar. In contrast, we've chosen to use American conventions for
these curricular materials. That choice was based on the idea that as American students move
forward, the American spelling and grammar will likely be more useful (and perhaps less confusing)
from an assessment standpoint.
There are a number of English terms and concepts in the novel, some of which may require a bit
more explanation than others. We hope you'll enjoy the process of sorting those out.
Pages and Kindle locations are based on Picador’s 2014 twentieth anniversary edition of the novel.
The Beekeeper’s Apprentice [through Chapter One]
Beekeeper’s Vocabulary Section One
Word Definition/Example/Notes

1. affection

2. alienate

3. apparently

4. apprehension

5. bleak

6. casual

7. considerable

8. contemplate

9. eccentric

10. entrance
(verb)

11. incidentally

12. intrude

13. obscure
(verb)

14. precisely

15. propose

16. rational

17. reassurance

18. recitation

19. sardonic

20. trace
(verb)

1
The Beekeeper’s Apprentice [through Chapter One]
…it occurred to me that he might have found this yapping dog an appealing companion.
It could even be the beginnings of affection I saw in his face…

n
Definition from context:
o
i
t
c
e Paraphrased dictionary definition:
f
f
a
Your own sentence using the word correctly:
We made an odd pair, a gangling, bespectacled girl and a tall, sardonic recluse, blessed or cursed
with minds of hard brilliance that alienated all but the most tenacious.

e
Definition from context:
t
a
n
e Paraphrased dictionary definition:
i
l
a
Your own sentence using the word correctly:
I watched closely, trying to make sense of their apparently aimless motion.

y
l
t Definition from context:
n
e
r
a
Paraphrased dictionary definition:
p
p
a Your own sentence using the word correctly:
My voice trailed off as I realized that he was eyeing me with the apprehension normally reserved for
n
mumbling strangers in one’s railway compartment or acquaintances with incomprehensible and
o
tiresome passions.
i
s Definition from context:
n
e
h
e Paraphrased dictionary definition:
r
p
p Your own sentence using the word correctly:
a
2
The Beekeeper’s Apprentice [through Chapter One]
There it sat, month in and month out, for some years, until one bleak day after a too-long series of
bleak days when nothing would grow under my pen and money pressures loomed, I remembered with
a stir of envy the easy assurance of the voice from the manuscripts in the back of my closet.
Definition from context:
k
a
e
Paraphrased dictionary definition:
l
b
Your own sentence using the word correctly:
My anger had abated somewhat while watching the bees, but at this casual insult it erupted.

l Definition from context:
a
u
s
a Paraphrased dictionary definition:
c
Your own sentence using the word correctly:
I freely used my loan privileges with Mrs. Hudson and had run up a considerable debt by the time I

e
came into my majority.
l
b
a Definition from context:
r
e
d
Paraphrased dictionary definition:
i
s
n
o
Your own sentence using the word correctly:
c
“I am watching bees,” he said flatly, and turned back to his contemplation of the hillside.

e
t
a
Definition from context:
l
p
m
e Paraphrased dictionary definition:
t
n
o
Your own sentence using the word correctly:
c

3
The Beekeeper’s Apprentice [through Chapter One]
…a gaunt, greying man in his fifties wearing a cloth cap, ancient tweed greatcoat, and decent shoes,
with a threadbare army rucksack on the ground beside him. A tramp perhaps, who had left the rest of

c his possessions stashed beneath a bush. Or an Eccentric. Certainly no shepherd.
i Definition from context:
r
t
n
e
Paraphrased dictionary definition:
c
c
e
Your own sentence using the word correctly:
Instead of answering, he reached past me and slid back one of the side panels, and revealed there a
perfect, thin, glass-fronted beehive. I squatted before it, entranced.

e
Definition from context:
c
n
a
Paraphrased dictionary definition:
r
t
n
e
Your own sentence using the word correctly:
“Incidentally, I hope you do not make a habit of guessing. Guessing is a weakness brought on by
indolence and should never be confused with intuition.”
y
l
l
a Definition from context:
t
n
e
Paraphrased dictionary definition:
d
i
c
n Your own sentence using the word correctly:
i
“However, as I said, I don’t mean to intrude on your privacy. It was necessary to have the past, as it
contributes to the present.”

e Definition from context:
d
u
r Paraphrased dictionary definition:
t
n
i
Your own sentence using the word correctly:
4
The Beekeeper’s Apprentice [through Chapter One]
And now, men and women are writing actual novels about Holmes, plucking him up and setting him
down in bizarre situations, putting impossible words into his mouth, and obscuring the legend still
further.
e
Definition from context:
r
u
c
s Paraphrased dictionary definition:
b
o
Your own sentence using the word correctly:
My own eyes and mind functioned in precisely the same way. It was familiar territory.

y
l Definition from context:
e
s
i
c
Paraphrased dictionary definition:
e
r
p
Your own sentence using the word correctly:
“When, that is, I am not having to fend off those who propose to crush me underfoot.”

e
Definition from context:
s
o
p
Paraphrased dictionary definition:
o
r
p
Your own sentence using the word correctly:
“Oh, no. I am a feminist, but no man hater...However, unlike you, I find women to be the marginally
more rational half of the race.”

al Definition from context:
n
o
i Paraphrased dictionary definition:
t
a
r
Your own sentence using the word correctly:

5
The Beekeeper’s Apprentice [through Chapter One]
I smiled a weak reassurance. He cleared his throat.

e “Er, shall I finish?” he asked.
c “As you wish,” I said, with trepidation.
n Definition from context:
a
r
u
Paraphrased dictionary definition:
s
s
a
e Your own sentence using the word correctly:
r
I sat frozen, my heart ceasing to beat while I listened to the cool, dry recitation of his voice.

n
o Definition from context:
i
t
a
t Paraphrased dictionary definition:
i
c
e
r Your own sentence using the word correctly:
A sardonic voice from the next room made us both start guiltily. “Oh come now, Watson, don’t
frighten the child with your exaggerated worries.”

c
Definition from context:
i
n
o
d
Paraphrased dictionary definition:
r
a
s
Your own sentence using the word correctly:
His face went blank, and he studied me without any trace of expression for a long minute.
Definition from context:

e
c
a
Paraphrased dictionary definition:
r
t
Your own sentence using the word correctly:

6