The Big Picture - English Center

Worksheet
Answer Key
Level 1
The Big Picture Sue Leather
Summary
Ken Harada, a Tokyo photographer who is short of
money, is summoned by his boss to take a photo of
sumo star Takahanada arriving with his new actress
girlfriend, Kumiko Okada, at the Tokyo Garden Hotel.
Ken arrives outside the hotel, only to find crowds of
photographers waiting for the stars’ arrival. Ken walks
away from the crowds and lingers by a nearby coffee
shop, where his dreams are realised – a taxi deposits
Takahanada and Kumiko Okada outside the coffee shop,
which serves as an alternative entrance to the hotel. Ken
takes a perfect and potentially very valuable photo.
On the way home in a taxi, Ken is shocked to see a
gunman aiming at him from another taxi. Ken’s taxi
accelerates out of trouble and they lose the gunman.
At his flat, Ken is preparing to develop the film, but
his separated wife, Sachiko, calls; she needs to discuss
the expenses of their son Tetsuro’s education. Ken
leaves to talk to his wife, and as a precaution, takes the
precious film with him. On returning to his flat, Ken
finds that in his absence the place has been broken into,
presumably by an unknown party in search of the film.
Ken calls the police. However, the officers are less than
helpful. Having tidied up the mess, Ken again prepares
to develop the film, only to be summoned by his boss
to photograph another sumo star. On his way to the
photo shoot, Ken leaves the film in a Left Luggage
locker – locker number 93, but disposes of the number
tag. Then, outside the station, Ken is abducted. His
abductor, a large fat man, discovers a fresh film in Ken’s
camera and demands to know where the original film is.
Ken is blindfolded and driven out of the city. At a secret
house in the countryside, the fat man searches Ken and
finds the luggage locker key. Ken gives the fat man the
wrong station, Shibuya, and wrong key number – 42.
The fat man ties Ken to a chair and leaves him.
While waiting for the fat man’s return, Ken falls
asleep and dreams about the advice he was given by
his old college photography teacher: that one can
never see everything through a camera lens; you
photograph what you choose, but you may miss
an important detail. Later, the fat man returns and
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© Cambridge University Press 2009
unties Ken. Realising this may be his only chance of
escape, Ken strikes out at his captor and runs away.
Eventually, on finding a main road, Ken hitches a
lift from a lorry back into Tokyo. While waiting for
a taxi at a suburban restaurant, Ken reads an article
about a Yakuza (Japanese mafia) gangland killing
of a man called Toru Sato, in the same street where
he photographed Takahanada. Ken orders the cab to
drive straight to the Central Police Station.
Ken has to convince the police of the urgency of the
situation. The Yakuza will be trying to locate the film,
and having found nothing at Shibuya station will
turn their attention to Tokyo station. Chief Inspector
Uchikawa is eventually convinced. The Inspector,
Ken and three officers find Left Luggage, where
they observe a man trying a key in each locker. He
is the gunman who menaced Ken from the taxi. As
he proceeds to locker 91, Uchikawa’s officers catch
the suspect. He is a well-known gangster, Hiromitsu
Shioiri, and Uchikawa arrests him for the murder of
Toru Sato. On Shioiri’s demanding proof, Uchikawa
asks Ken to develop the film. Ken opens locker no. 93
and recovers the films. In Ken’s darkroom, the image
of Takahanada and girlfriend first appears, but then
background details appear – Shioiri, bloodied knife in
hand, is standing over the corpse of Toru Sato. The
evidence against the gangster is overwhelming.
The story ends with Shioiri being sentenced to twentyfive years in prison, and Ken makes his fortune from
the sale of the photograph. Ken settles the differences
between himself and his wife Sachiko, and they set
up home in the countryside, which has always been
Sachiko’s dream. Ken turns his back on photography
as a profession due to the dangerous nature of the
work. He reflects on his teacher’s wisdom: you
sometimes don’t see the most important thing which
is right in front of you. In Ken’s case this was his own
family.
Before reading
1–3. Student’s own answers.
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Worksheet
Answer Key
Level 1
The Big Picture Sue Leather
Check your reading
2. Student’s own answer.
3. Student’s own answer.
Chapter 1
1. a Ken
b Sachiko
c Kenzaburo Yoshimoto
d Takahanada
e Ken
2. Ken is a photographer. He sometimes makes a
lot of money. One morning, Ken got a telephone
call from his boss. He told Ken to take a photo
of Takahanada, the famous sumo star. Ken took
a taxi into Tokyo. At 9.45, he was at the Tokyo
Garden Hotel. There were a lot of photographers
by the door of the hotel. Ken took a very good
photo of Takahanada and Kumiko.
3. Student’s own answer.
Chapter 2
1. f, c, h, a, b, d, e, g
2. a T, b T, c F, d T, e don’t know
3. Student’s own answer.
Chapter 3
1. c, e, a, f, g, b, d
2. a Ken
b Uchikawa
c Ken
d Ken
e Uchikawa
f Shioiri
g Uchikawa
Chapter 6
1.Chief Inspector Uchikawa was very happy because
Shioiri was in prison for twenty-five years. Ken sold
the photo to Yoshimoto for sixty million yen. Now
Ken lives in the country with Sachiko and their
son, Tetsuro. Ken loves Tokyo, but he loves his wife
more. He didn’t take his camera to the country. He
thinks it’s too dangerous.
2. Student’s own answer.
After reading
1. 1 d, 2 a, 3 b, 4 e, 5 c
2. 1 d, 2 c, 3 b, 4 e, 5 a
9. Word search.
Chapter 4
1. In the house, Ken slept and had a dream about
his teacher, Mori-sensei. Mori-sensei said you
can never see everything with the lens of a
camera. Ken didn’t want to die. When the fat
man came back, Ken pushed him, took his
camera and ran away. A lorry driver took Ken to
a restaurant near Tokyo. Ken read a newspaper
story. In the story, the Japanese mafia killed
a man called Toru Sato in a street. It was the
street where he took the photo of Takahanada
and Kumiko Okada. Ken phoned for a taxi and
asked for the Central Police Station.
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Chapter 5
© Cambridge University Press 2009
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