The Hole is a suspenseful short story for English learners about Billy and Jake, two schoolboys who explore a cave in Blake’s Wood. As Jake becomes fascinated by a mysterious black hole, Billy must decide whether to follow his friend or trust his fear.
This B1–B2 English lesson develops reading comprehension, vocabulary, speaking and creative writing. Read the story, answer the questions and discuss courage, peer pressure and the unknown.
Recommended level: B1–B2.
Watch The Story
Watch the video and listen carefully to the story. Try to understand as much as you can without stopping the video. Then continue with the story and activities below.
The Hole
“It looks really deep.”
Billy kept his hands on the wall of the cave behind him. Jake peered over the edge of the hole.
It spread from one side of the cave to the other, its black opening like an inky lake before them.
From where Billy stood, he could not see the bottom of it. The sides of the hole disappeared into the darkness. Vines crept down the sides of the cave and into the hole, slithering over and between each other like black snakes.
“Kevin Anderson said it’s really deep,” said Billy. “He and his brother —”
“Kevin Anderson says a lot of things,” said Jake.
And that was the end of that conversation.
The two boys stared into the hole. Billy stayed in his safe vantage point, careful not to get too close.
But Jake stood right near the edge.
The vines glistened with dew and looked slippery.
One wrong step and Billy imagined Jake tumbling into the deep black abyss.
And what was at the bottom?
Not even Kevin Anderson could answer that question.
Kevin was the first to discover the big hole inside a cave beneath a high ridge in Blake’s Wood.
By lunchtime, the big black hole was the major topic of conversation in the entire school.
Jake got down on his hands and knees and peered over the edge of the hole.
“What’re you doing?” said Billy.
“Just getting a better look,” said Jake.
Billy stared back towards the entrance of the cave. In the distance, he could see a small triangle of daylight.
“Maybe we should get going —”
“I think I can see something down there,” said Jake.
Billy turned to see what his friend could see. Jake was now lying flat on the cave floor, his head hanging over the edge of the hole.
“Jake, let’s get out of here,” said Billy.
“In a bit. Look at this.”
Billy clung to the cave wall. He could feel something strange about the hole, like a magnet pulling at his body.
Jake turned his head to face Billy.
“Get down here and take a look. There’s something down there.”
Billy wanted to yell out no. He wanted to turn and walk away, to run out of the dirty old cave and into the warmth of the day, where he could hear birds chirping in the trees.
Some of the other kids were down by the river, enjoying the first days of summer in the sunshine.
Jake’s eyes stayed on Billy.
Billy knew that if he chickened out, if he said no, the word would be all over school by lunchtime on Monday. It was the universal law of the playground. And no one broke it.
He crouched down on all fours and stretched his legs out behind him, making sure not to get too close to the edge of the dark space in front of him.
“Look,” said Jake in a whisper.
Billy focused his eyes on the expanse of darkness below. He couldn’t see anything. Just a shimmering black surface in front of him.
Then something — he wasn’t sure what.
A flicker. Like a tiny fragment of light reflecting off something.
“See it?” gasped Jake. He nudged Billy with his elbow, which made Billy jump.
“No,” said Billy, lying. “I didn’t see anything.”
He glanced at Jake. There was a look of mesmerised glee in his eyes.
Billy edged slightly away from Jake.
A smell rose up from the hole. An unearthly smell. Something that seemed to come from deep underground. Something forgotten years ago. Something that had not seen the light of day for a very long time.
It wasn’t an altogether unpleasant smell, but it wasn’t something Billy wanted to breathe in for too long.
Jake stared unblinking into the dark mass below them. His lips were slightly parted, his breathing shallow.
He seemed transfixed by the hole.
This didn’t seem like just a dare to Jake anymore. It seemed like something much more.
Their initial plan had been simple…
Go down to Blake’s Wood, sneak into the cave underneath the ridge, take a look at the big hole.
But now Jake seemed to want much more than that.
“Let’s go down and have a look,” he said.
Billy heard every word. Clear as crystal. There were just the two of them there.
But he blinked and stared back at Jake as if he hadn’t understood a word.
Jake turned to face him. His eyes looked menacing now, as if something had a grip on him.
“Okay?”
Billy shook his head and swallowed. His throat was dry.
“No,” he said.
“No?”
Billy shuffled further away from Jake.
“I’m not going down there,” he said. “It’s too dangerous. And no one knows we’re here. If we get trapped down there —”
Jake curled his top lip in disgust and turned away.
“Well, I’m going down there,” he said.
He pushed himself into an upright position and swivelled his legs around. His feet hung over the dark hole.
Jake eased himself closer to the edge and leaned over. He cleared his throat and spat down into the darkness.
“It can’t be that deep,” he said. “Just a few metres.”
“Jake, let’s get out of here,” said Billy. “We can come back another time. With a rope. Or a ladder.”
Jake glanced over at Billy.
“Yeah, why not, Billy? We’ll bring your dad’s ladder. And maybe your mum can pack us some sandwiches. We can have a picnic at the bottom.”
He gave a short, mocking laugh.
Billy no longer cared about being ridiculed at school on Monday. The rules of the playground didn’t seem important anymore.
This was stupid. This was dangerous.
“Well, looks like it’s just me,” said Jake.
He pulled himself closer to the very edge of the hole.
Billy reached out a hand. “Jake, stop it. Let’s get out of here. I don’t want you to do this. Please.”
“What you want and what I want are two different things,” said Jake.
And without another sound, he pushed himself off the edge and dropped into the blackness.
Billy jerked his hand back. He watched as Jake’s body disappeared into the darkness.
He watched the top of his head, his crop of short blond hair, vanish from view as if he had ceased to exist.
“Jake,” said Billy in a loud whisper. “Jake. Are you okay?”
There was no answer.
“Jake!”
He edged forward and stared down into the hole.
Not a single sound came up from the abyss. Not one fragment of light.
It was as if Jake had never existed at all.
Reading Comprehension Questions
1. Who are the two boys in the cave?
2. Where does Billy keep his hands at the beginning?
3. How wide is the opening of the hole?
4. Can Billy see the bottom of the hole?
5. What makes the vines look slippery?
6. Who says that the hole is really deep?
7. Who first discovered the big hole?
8. Where is the cave located?
9. How quickly does news of the hole spread through the school?
10. What does Jake do to get a better look?
11. What can Billy see at the cave entrance?
12. Which boy says he can see something in the hole?
13. What strange feeling does Billy have near the hole?
14. What does Jake ask Billy to do?
15. What does Billy want to do instead?
16. Where are some of the other children spending the day?
17. Why is Billy afraid to refuse Jake?
18. How does Billy position himself near the hole?
19. What does Billy briefly see in the darkness?
20. What makes Billy jump?
21. Does Billy admit seeing the flicker?
22. What expression does Billy see on Jake’s face?
23. What does the smell from the hole remind Billy of?
24. Does Billy describe the smell as completely unpleasant?
25. How are Jake’s eyes and breathing described?
26. Does Billy still think this is just a dare to Jake?
27. What was the boys’ original plan?
28. What does Jake now suggest?
29. How do Jake’s eyes look when he turns towards Billy?
30. What answer does Billy give Jake?
31. What reasons does Billy give for refusing?
32. What does Jake do with his legs?
33. How deep does Jake claim the hole is?
34. What does Billy suggest they bring if they return?
35. How does Jake respond to Billy’s suggestion?
36. Does Billy still care about being ridiculed at school?
37. How does Billy try to stop Jake?
38. What does Jake say about their different wishes?
39. What does Jake do next?
40. What happens to Jake’s body as Billy watches?
41. What does Billy call out to Jake?
42. What can Billy hear from the hole?
43. What can Billy see when he looks down again?
Essential Vocabulary
| peered | inky | vines |
| crept | slithering | vantage point |
| glistened | dew | tumbling |
| abyss | ridge | corridor |
| clung | chirping | chickened out |
| universal | crouched | on all fours |
| expanse | shimmering | flicker |
| fragment | nudged | mesmerised |
| glee | edged | unearthly |
| unpleasant | unblinking | shallow |
| transfixed | dare | initial |
| sneak | menacing | grip |
| shuffled | trapped | disgust |
| swivelled | ridiculed | leapt |
| jerked | crop | ceased to exist |
Vocabulary Practice
Write unfamiliar words and phrases in your vocabulary notebook. Look up each meaning in a dictionary and write it beside the word or phrase.
Then write your own sentence using each item correctly.
Example: peered — looked closely or carefully, especially when it was hard to see.
She peered through the window to see who was outside.
Why do this?
Looking up meanings and writing your own examples helps you understand, remember and use new vocabulary.
Discussion Questions
1. Why do Billy and Jake visit the cave? What attracts them to the hole?
2. How does the writer show Billy’s fear without simply saying that he is frightened?
3. What differences do you notice between Billy and Jake?
4. Why does Billy move closer to the edge even though he wants to leave?
5. What does Billy mean by the “universal law of the playground”?
6. Is this playground rule familiar to you? Can you give a different example?
7. Why does Billy lie about seeing the flicker of light?
8. What might the flicker be? Give a natural explanation and a supernatural explanation.
9. What effect does the smell have on the atmosphere of the story?
10. Why might the smell be disturbing even though it is not entirely unpleasant?
11. When does Jake’s behaviour begin to seem strange?
12. Do you think the hole influences Jake, or is he simply determined to prove himself?
13. What evidence supports your interpretation?
14. Why does Jake mock the suggestion of a rope or ladder?
15. At what point does Billy stop caring about being ridiculed?
16. Does Billy show courage when he says no? Explain your answer.
17. What could Billy say to Jake to challenge him without insulting him?
18. Should a good friend respect your refusal to do something dangerous?
19. Why might people take greater risks when their friends are watching?
20. How can schools make it easier for pupils to refuse dangerous dares?
21. Have you ever changed your mind because of pressure from other people? You may use an imaginary example.
22. What would you do if you were Billy at the end of the story?
23. Who should Billy tell about Jake’s disappearance, and what should he explain?
24. What might stop Billy from telling the truth?
25. What do you think happens to Jake? What clues support your idea?
26. Why does the writer leave Jake’s fate unexplained?
27. Does the final sentence suggest death, another world or something else?
28. Would explaining the mystery make the ending stronger or weaker?
29. Have you visited a cave? What did you notice about the light, sounds and temperature?
30. What appeals to you about caving, and what would concern you?
31. How does the contrast between the sunny river and the dark cave affect the story?
32. What do you think the story suggests about friendship, fear and courage?
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