The Remains of the Day

c Pearson Education Limited 2008

The Remains of the Day - Answer keys of 3

Answer keys

LEVEL 6

PENGUIN READERS

Teacher Support Programme

Book key

1 The Remains of the Day refers to evening, which many

people think is the most enjoyable part of the day. It
is the best time of day to think about the day’s work.
Evening is symbolic for older age – the time when one
can look back and assess one’s life’s work. The word
‘remains’ in the title also refers to the decline of the
great English country house after World War II.

2 a butler, footman, landlady, maid, prime minister,

puppet, senator

b drawing room, grounds, landing, lawn,

summerhouse

c–d Open answers

3 a offer/letter

b four

c banter/chat

d dignity

e father’s

f Chinaman

g accidents

h conversations

i duties

j Germany/Germans

4 a He is surprised, and does not think that Mr

Farraday is serious. He regards the suggestion as
‘just another example of an American gentleman’s
unfamiliarity with English custom.’

b He was anxious, because there were too few

servants. He did not realize until later that he had
given everybody, including himself, too much to
do.

c Mr Farraday’s banter is a mystery to him and makes

him feel awkward. He attempts it himself once or
twice, but without success.

d He experiences ‘a mild sense of alarm’ because the

surroundings have become unfamiliar.

e He agrees that it is less dramatic than the scenery

in other countries, but he believes that it ‘possesses
a quality that other landscapes do not possess, the
quality of “greatness”’.

f They are not as good as English butlers because

they are ‘incapable of the self-control – the dignity
– which only the English possess.’

g He wanted her to show him more respect and to

stop using his first name. Later, he was annoyed
with her bold criticism of him and for ‘exaggerating
the importance’ of his father’s mistakes.

h He thought that they were annoying but

unimportant.

i He thinks that Lord Darlington was a ‘good man

with a good heart’. He thinks that he has been
unfairly criticized for his behaviour before and
during the war, and is ‘proud to have given my best
years of service to such a true gentleman’.

j He agrees that he might have seemed ‘a little

insensitive’ with his father when he informed him
of the reduction in his duties. However, he excuses
himself by referring to the urgent problems he
had to deal with two weeks before the important
conference.

5–7 Open answers
8 a Sir David Cardinal

b Reginald Cardinal

c Monsieur Dupont

d Stevens’s father

e Mr Lewis

f Stevens

g Lord Halifax

h Lord Darlington

i Sarah, Ruth

j Lord Darlington

9 a His father had a stroke on the first day of the

conference, but Stevens could not spend much
time with him because of the urgency of his duties.
Stevens, who prides himself on being in control of
situations at all times, was surprised to find himself
crying while he was serving drinks to the important
guests.

b Monsieur Dupont made constant demands on

Stevens during the conference because of his bad
leg.

c Miss Kenton quarrelled with Stevens before the

conference and refused to speak to him. Later,
she threatened to leave because Stevens dismissed
Sarah and Ruth. One year later, she was angry with
Stevens for having failed to support her when she
was defending Sarah and Ruth. She accused Stevens
of ‘pretending’ all the time. Stevens was, of course,
puzzled and confused by all these incidents.

d During the conference, Lord Darlington asked

Stevens to explain the ‘facts of life’ to Reginald
Cardinal, a task for which Stevens was particularly
unsuitable. Later, Darlington asked Stevens to
dismiss Sarah and Ruth, a request which Stevens
privately disapproved of but which he felt powerless
to disobey.

The Remains of the Day

c Pearson Education Limited 2008

The Remains of the Day - Answer keys 2 of 3

Answer keys

LEVEL 6

PENGUIN READERS

Teacher Support Programme

10 a Miss Kenton was talking to Stevens two weeks

before the conference, after she had quarrelled with
him about a minor incident.

b Reginald Cardinal was talking to Stevens in the

grounds outside Darlington Hall, after Stevens had
tried unsuccessfully to tell him the facts of life.

c Stevens’s father was talking to Stevens just before he

died.

d Lord Darlington was responding to Mr Lewis’s

criticism of him during the conference. (Mr Lewis
had said that the world was too complicated for
gentlemen to understand, and should be run by
politicians and businessmen.)

e Miss Kenton was talking to Stevens after she had

informed him that his father had died.

f Stevens was talking to Miss Kenton about his

inability at that moment (just after his father’s
death) to go up and see his father.

g Lord Halifax was talking to Lord Darlington about

the quality of the silver. Stevens remembers this
years later as, perhaps, his ‘proudest moment’.

h Miss Kenton was talking angrily to Stevens about

the proposed dismissal of Sarah and Ruth.

i Miss Kenton was talking to Stevens about her

failure to carry out her threat to leave Darlington
Hall.

j Miss Kenton was talking angrily to Stevens after he

had admitted to her that he had been as upset as
she was about the dismissal of Sarah and Ruth.

11–12 Open answers
13 a 1 b 2 c 2 d 1 e 2 f 1 g 1 h 1
14 Possible answers:

a She disagreed with Stevens’s low opinion of Lisa,

so probably felt victorious when she won her
argument with him and Lisa was employed as a
maid.

b She was apologetic, and was grateful to Stevens for

not blaming her.

c She felt playful and wanted to see what he was

reading.

d She was pleased to discuss them with him.

e She was puzzled and displeased, probably

because she was hoping for a more personal, less
professional, answer.

f She was angry because Stevens did not believe that

she was really tired. He thought that she was using
tiredness as an excuse not to discuss household
matters with him.

g She was obviously upset because she asked Stevens

several times to start the evening discussions again.

h She was confused and hurt because, instead of

offering his condolences over the death of her aunt,
he criticized her for a ‘slight fall in standards’.

15 Open answers
16 a Three:

1 when Miss Kenton tried to see what he was

reading;

2 when they stopped having their evening

discussions;

3 their conversation in the dining room after the

death of Miss Kenton’s aunt.

b–c Open answers

17 Open answers
18 a 7 b 3 c 7 d 7 e 3 f 3 g 7 h 7
19 a Because he is well dressed, speaks well and is driving

an expensive car.

b He is too embarrassed.

c He wanted to show that ordinary people were

incapable of understanding international affairs,
and that democracy was therefore an inefficient
system of government.

d To show that there was no time for democratic

discussion when there was an emergency.

e Whether or not she is willing to return to

Darlington Hall.

f Dignity.

g He disagrees with them. Harry Smith believes that

everybody deserves equal respect and is capable of
dignity. Stevens, however, believes that ordinary
people are incapable of having strong and informed
opinions on important matters.

h He felt embarrassed, and apologized to Stevens the

next day.

i When Stevens talks about meeting Mr Churchill,

Dr Carlisle thinks that Stevens is either lying or that
he must be some kind of servant.

j He is amused and jokes about it.

20–22 Open answers
23 a 10 b 8 c 3 d 9 e 4 f 1 g 5 h 7

i 2 j 6

24 a Possible answer: He realizes for the first time the

truth about his feelings.

b Open answers

25–34 Open answers

The Remains of the Day

c Pearson Education Limited 2008

The Remains of the Day - Answer keys 3 of 3

Answer keys

LEVEL 6

PENGUIN READERS

Teacher Support Programme

Discussion activities key

1–24 Open answers
25 A parody is written in order to mock or make

something look ridiculous. Oh! What a Lovely War is
a famous parody on the First World War.

A parody uses exaggeration in order to make people
laugh. Your students will enjoy re-writing scenes from
the book using comic exaggeration.

26–35 Open answers

Activity worksheets key

1 a Nagasaki, Japan

b England

c was published

d Four

e literary

2 a 2 b 1 c 2 d 3 e 1
3 a The scenery starts to look unfamiliar after only

twenty minutes. Stevens starts to feel alarmed when
on roads he does not recognize.

b A guest house in Salisbury

c He puts his address as ‘Darlington Hall’ and she

assumes he is a gentleman accustomed to grander
accommodation.

d Dignity

e The real reason is probably because he wants her

to come back, but she does mention problems
with her marriage, and writes about happy times
at Darlington Hall.

4 a 2 b 1 c 5 d 7 e 3 f 8 g 6 h 4
5 a He doesn’t want Stevens’s father to leave, but he

wants his duties reduced so as not to risk serious
mistakes during the important conference.

b Stevens’s father trips and falls on the summerhouse

steps.

c They have a very cold and formal relationship.

d It was difficult to plan, because the dates the guests

were arriving were not clear.

e He was proud, since he felt history was being made.

6 a 3 b 6 c 1 d 2 e 4 f 5
7 a T b F c F d F e T
8 a 4 b 6 c 1 d 5 e 2 f 3
9 a There was a fair and he couldn’t find a room.

b He is trying to find a roadside inn

c He meets Mr Taylor on a path as he is walking

towards the village.

d Nothing

e An indecent story

10 a 1 b 2 c 5 d 4 e 3 f 6
11 a The Taylors and their guests mistake Stevens for a

gentleman.

b Smith believes the aristocracy should listen to

ordinary people. Stevens believes that everyone
should accept their place in the hierarchy.

c The time when Darlington’s guests question

Stevens about international politics.

d Open answer

12 a Mr Taylor / electricity

b Harry Smith / Farraday’s car

c Morgan / what a real gentleman is

d Mrs Taylor / meeting Winston Churchill

e Dr Carlisle / Winston Churchill

13 a annoyed

b upset

c is obliged to

d horrified at

e worn out

14 Suggested answers:

a ….. the pier lights to be turned on.

b ….. the last twenty years.

c ….. unhappy as Stevens had thought.

d ….. the war in Belgium.

e ….. the court case he had attempted.

Progress test key

1 a 7 b 3 c 3 d 3 e 7
2 a 5 b 3 c 4 d 7 e 6 f 1 g 2
3 a 1
b 2 (It should be clear to students that Stevens

is refusing to give the real name of the French
gentleman).

c 2
d 3
4 a central
b delighted
c angry
d unimportant
e dignified
5 a 7 She was optimistic at the beginning.
b 3
c 7 She feels a career is much more important.
d 3
e 7 He has simply moved away.
6 a Miss Kenton b Stevens c Mr Graham
d Miss Kenton’s friend
7 a dignity b a good thing c insulting
d uselessness e unashamed