Once upon a time

1 Look at the pictures. Then discuss the questions below in small groups.

1 Do you know any of the stories shown in the pictures? What can you say or guess about them? 2 Where do you think these stories came from? How old do you think they are?

2 Read the introduction to a collection of stories. Then complete the tasks below and on page 89.

Global tales One definition of ‘folk tales’ is: stories that are traditional among a group of people. Like folk songs, they are passed down from generation to generation and it is impossible to say who first told or wrote them. ‘Fairy stories’ are similar, but they are mainly for children and often feature animals that talk, giants and other imaginary things. We can learn a lot about different countries from their folk tales, but the similarities between them are interesting too. Take, for example, the ‘trickster’ stories that are told in many parts of the world, including Africa, the Caribbean and Scandinavia, where they are very popular. In these, the hero gets what he wants by being clever and telling lies. Many societies have ‘heroic’ stories, where the main character goes on a long and difficult journey to find something important. There are also ‘romantic’ tales, love stories in which a man and a woman have to solve many problems before they can be together.

1 Find words in the text that have these meanings. (The words are in the same order as in the text.) 1 meaning of a word _ 2 stories 3 contain (as an important part) 4 main (male) person in a story 5 groups of people 6 any person in a story (or film, play, etc) _

2 Complete the table with other words from the text.

3 Use words from the text on page 88 and from the table above to fill the gaps in these stories.

The Palestinian tale of Ataba and Zarief e-Ttool is mainly a (1) r _ story of how love finally wins. Zarief and the beautiful Ataba fall in love, but Ataba’s father refuses to accept Zarief because he is poor. He sends Zarief all over the country to bring back different things, thinking he will fail. This is also a (2) h _ story, because Zarief succeeds every time. However, the father always asks for something else. Finally, Zarief gets help from an Egyptian Mukhtar, a friend of Ataba’s father. He persuades the father that Zarief will be a good husband for Ataba, and the couple can at last get married.

The (3) p _ Anansi stories from West Africa (4) f a spider called Anansi. In one tale, Anansi takes over from Lion as the ‘owner of all stories’. Lion says he first has to bring him Giant Blacksnake, tied to a piece of wood. Anansi uses his cleverness to catch the huge snake and take him to Lion. Lion doesn’t want to give Anansi ownership of all the stories, but he has no choice. These Anansi folk tales about the (5) i spider are probably the most famous examples of (6) t _ stories.

The (7) h _ of Jack the Giant Killer is a young boy who lives with his mother. They are very poor, so when Jack sells their cow for a few ‘special’ beans, his mother is angry and throws them out of the window. The bean plant grows very high and very fast, and Jack climbs up it. At the top, he meets a giant who owns a lot of gold and a chicken that lays gold eggs. Jack steals the chicken but it makes a noise and the giant wakes up. He follows Jack but when Jack gets to the bottom he cuts the plant down, killing the giant. This old English (8) f _ story combines two types of tale: heroic and trickster.

4 Complete the sentences with words from the three story descriptions. (The words are in the same order as in the text.) 1 It’s no use asking to borrow money from him. He always _. 2 He’s such a good speaker that he always people that his opinion is right. 3 The story is about a married and their three children. 4 They the thief to a chair so that he couldn’t escape. 5 They have a duck in their garden that large eggs. 6 I like lots of different _ of music, from folk music to classical.

1 Look at the picture and the quotation. Then discuss the questions below. 1 What do you know about dragons? 2 How can a fairy story be ‘more than true’? 3 What do you think children can learn from hearing and reading stories?

‘Fairy tales are more than true: not because they tell us that dragons exist, but because they tell us that dragons can be beaten.’ G. K. Chesterton

2 Read the text quickly. Then answer the question below. Is this text A a news story? B an interview? C an academic essay?

Highly intelligent stories Some people worry that folk tales and fairy stories encourage children to believe things that can’t happen in the real world. The highly praised children’s writer Gillian Poulson couldn’t disagree more. Stories, she says, help to develop a child’s imagination. ‘One of the main points of these stories,’ she explains, ‘is that they don’t happen in the real world. Once children have visited the other worlds stories describe, they are never quite the same. They learn to question the world they see around them, and perhaps to change it.’ She’s not alone in this opinion. The great scientist Albert Einstein once said: ‘If you want your children to be intelligent, read them fairy tales. If you want them to be more intelligent, read them more fairy tales.’ Research has shown that children who grow up hearing, and later reading, stories are much more likely to get good exam results, not just in language but also in maths and science. Gillian Poulson thinks the reason why children love fairy tales is quite simple. ‘They just want to know what happens next. Folk tales or fairy stories are especially good for this because they don’t normally have anything extra to get in the way. You don’t need to know what the character is feeling or thinking, just what they do next. So you can start your story with something like “Once upon a time there was a poor old woman who lived in a forest with her son”, and that’s it. You don’t need to say where the forest was or why they were poor. They don’t even need to have names. What did they do? That’s the only important part.’ Stories, then, are good for children. First by hearing them, and later by reading them independently, we learn that language is for sharing ideas and having fun. But Gillian has a warning for parents and teachers. ‘Don’t tell them that it’s good for them, and certainly don’t encourage them to read books that you think they should. There’s no quicker way to make them not want to read.’

3 Read the text again. Then decide if the statements below are TRUE or FALSE. Write the sentence (or part of a sentence) from the text that helped you decide. 1 Gillian Poulson shares people’s concerns that folk tales are not realistic.

___ 2 She thinks stories only have a small effect on children.

___ 3 Stories teach children to enjoy language.

___ 4 In these stories, actions and events are more important than ideas and events.

___ 5 Children learn correct grammar from reading stories.

___ 6 Parents should recommend good books for their children to read.

___

4 What do these words, highlighted in the text, refer to? 1 they (line 4) _ 2 it (line 6) 3 They (line 11) 4 them (line 18) _

5 Discuss the statement below in pairs or small groups. ‘Folk tales and fairy stories are just for old people and children.’ I couldn’t agree more. There are much more important things to read. You can’t expect adults to believe in things like talking animals. I think fairy stories can be enjoyed by people of all ages. It’s important to have a good imagination and not take things just as they are.

1 Look at the examples. Then complete the grammar rules by adding a tick to each row.

Examples

Complete the grammar rules

2 Join the two short sentences to make one longer sentence, replacing the underlined parts with relative pronouns. Use that where possible. Some children grow up reading stories. They have better exam results. Children who grow up reading stories have better exam results. 1 The story happens in Jaffa. Jaffa is a city in Palestine. _ 2 Have you seen the letter? It came yesterday. 3 The main character is very poor. He has three sons. __

3 Look at the examples of defining relative clauses. Then circle the correct words to complete the grammar rules. Examples Children visit the other worlds (that) stories describe. They learn to question the world (that) they see around them. That’s the woman (that) I phoned. Complete the grammar rules 1 In the examples, other worlds, the world and the woman are the subjects / objects of the verbs describe, see and phone. 2 When the pronoun that refers to the subject / object, we can leave it out.

4 Join the two short sentences together to make one longer sentence. Use that where it is needed, but leave it out if it isn’t needed. That’s the car I want to buy when I’m rich.

1 This is the book. I was reading it yesterday. _ 2 That’s the same film. I saw it at the cinema last week. 3 This is a folk tale. I remember it from my childhood. 4 She’s the new student. She arrived last week. 5 Zarief brings back gifts. They are from different parts of the country. __

1 Look at the examples. Then complete the grammar rules. Examples This is the house. I grew up here. This is the house where I grew up. He returned to his home. He lived happily there for the rest of his life. He returned to his home, where he lived happily for the rest of his life. The hero goes on a journey. The hero’s son lives in another country. The hero, whose son lives in another country, goes on a journey. I apologised to the man. I’d stepped on his foot. I apologised to the man whose foot I’d stepped on. Complete the grammar rules 1 _ and are both relative pronouns. 2 We use them in both and _ relative clauses.

2 Add the correct relative pronoun, which, who, where or whose, to complete the sentences. 1 Thank you for the book, _ I enjoyed reading. 2 The hero, name is Jack, lives with his mother. 3 He lived in Cairo, is the capital city of Egypt. 4 They went to the next town, they met an old man. 5 The old man, clothes looked old and dirty, was really the king. 6 Her father, _ had traditional opinions, refused to let her marry.

3 Correct the sentences. (There is one mistake in each sentence.) 1 That isn’t the woman, who gave me the money. _ 2 She lives with her parents who are quite old. 3 Once there was a dragon, which tail was very long. 4 He now lives in Jenin, where is a town in the north. 5 Is that the place which you found the letter? 6 I like to meet people whose their interests are similar to mine. _

4 Join the two short sentences to make one longer sentence, replacing the underlined parts with relative pronouns. Remember to use the correct punctuation. 1 That’s the house. I was born there. _ 2 She’s the woman. I borrowed her books. 3 I’m going to Ramallah. It isn’t very far from here. 4 The main character is a young man. The man’s wife is always angry with him. 5 My brother is good at basketball. He is very tall for his age. __

5 Complete the sentences in a way that is true for you. Then compare your sentences with a partner. I want to study a subject that I’m interested in. I sometimes go out with my friends, who _ I prefer reading stories that I want to study a subject that I live with my parents, who I live in , which My best friend, whose The place where _

1 Look at the examples. Then complete the table below. Examples At last, the couple could get married. He tried again and again, and finally the door opened. At the beginning of the tale, a poor man was living in a small house. At first he was afraid but then he saw that the spider wasn’t dangerous. At the end of the fairy story, the hero returns home.

2 Listen to the story of King Midas. Then fill in the line blanks in the summary below. Do not complete the boxes for now. a summary is a shorter description of what a text is about

Midas is the king of Phrygia. (1) [box] of this story, he is rich and happy, living with his daughter in a big palace. (2) _ , a man with special powers comes to visit, and Midas treats him well. In (3) , the stranger gives him one wish, and Midas wishes that everything he touches turns to gold. The (4) , his wish comes true. (5) [box], Midas is excited, but he realises his mistake when his breakfast turns to gold before he can eat it. Even worse, when he touches his daughter, she turns to gold too. Midas asks the stranger again and again to reverse the wish, and (6) [box] the stranger tells him how to do it. Everything returns to normal, and (7) [box] of the story, Midas becomes a more (8) _ king.

3 Now complete the story summary in Activity 2 by putting words or phrases from the table in Activity 1 into the boxes.

4 Discuss this question in pairs. Some stories teach us a lesson about what is right and what is wrong (a moral). What do you think is the moral of the story of King Midas? Write it in one sentence and show your sentence to another pair.

1 Look at the examples. Then complete the grammar rules below. Examples A long time ago, a king called Midas lived in a palace with his daughter. In the story, Midas wishes that everything he touches turns to gold. Complete the rules 1 We use the _ tense to tell a story. 2 We use the _ tense to describe or give a summary of a story.

2 Read the famous folk tale. Then complete the summary on page 97.

Ali Baba and the 40 Thieves*

• thieves = people who steal from others

  Ali Baba was a poor woodcutter. One day, while he was working in the forest, he saw 40 thieves arrive in front of a cave. He hid behind a tree and watched what they were doing. He heard the leader of the thieves shout ‘Open Sesame!’ and was amazed to see the door of the cave open. The men went inside, and then some time later came out again. The leader said ‘Close Sesame,’ and the cave entrance closed. Ali Baba realised that this was where the thieves kept their stolen treasure. After the thieves had left, he used the same words to open the cave and was excited to find that it was full of gold, money and other valuable things. He took some gold coins home and showed them to his brother Kasim, and told him all about the wonderful cave. Kasim decided to go and get some of the treasure too. He managed to get into the cave but forgot the words to get out again. When the thieves came back, they found Kasim and killed him. When Ali found his brother’s body in the cave, he took it home with the help of a clever girl called Morgana. When the thieves returned and found the body was gone, they realised that someone else knew the secret words. They found where Ali Baba lived and the leader visited him, pretending to be a seller of oil. He had jars with him, but instead of oil, they contained the other thieves, hiding inside.

Luckily, Morgana knew who the oil seller really was. She poured boiling oil into the jars, killing the thieves, then later killed the leader too while she was dancing for him. In return for her help, Ali Baba said she could marry his son. He told his son the secret words, and later the son passed the secret to his children. So Ali Baba, his children and his grandchildren were rich for the rest of their lives.

Spelling reminder thief — thieves life — lives leaf — leaves loaf — loaves

At the beginning of this story, Ali Baba sees _. The leader by saying . After they , Ali , where he _.

He tells _. But when , he forgets . The thieves . Ali Baba takes , but the thieves _.

They find _, but a girl called Morgana helps him by . In return, Ali Baba , and he and all his family _.

3 Work in pairs. Tell your partner a story you know, either telling the story in the past tense or giving a summary in the present tense.

Once, a long time ago, there was a … This is a story about a man who lives …

In this Unit you have learnt about: folk tales and fairy stories using defining and non-defining relative pronouns using relative pronouns to add extra information to sentences time phrases for telling stories telling and giving summaries of stories

Progress test 2 Period 1 Reading

1 Read the text about cooking lessons. Then decide if the sentences below are TRUE or FALSE.

Cookery school I read this week that there are plans to make all 11- to 14-year-olds study cooking at school. The story I read said that children below that age already get cooking lessons, which was news to me. The aim is to make sure that all young people know how to make meals that are healthy and inexpensive, and so help to solve the problem of children growing up with weight problems.

Of course, there are always some who disagree. Schools have complained that they already have too many subjects, and there aren’t enough teachers. Others say that cooking classes will put pressure on parents to buy the things their children need for the lessons.

All this may be true, but generally, I must say I think it’s a good idea. When I was at school, we were never taught how to cook. My school was boys only, and in those days it was thought that cooking was women’s work. Instead, we made things with wood and metal, as men were supposed to do. Strangely perhaps, at the same time most people agreed that being a professional cook in a top restaurant was only for men, because only men had the right qualities. It’s different now, but there are those who still think that a restaurant kitchen, with its pressure, heat, shouting and bad language, is no place for a lady.

By the time I left school, though, I’d learnt a lot about basic cooking methods, not from classes or even from my mother, but by watching my father, who learnt to cook when he was living in France. He gave me a love of food, which I have passed on to my own son.

1 The writer was surprised to learn that younger children already learn cooking at school.

2 Schools are happy about teaching the additional subject of cookery in their schools.

3 Attitudes to female professional cooks have changed.

4 The writer left school quite recently.

2 Complete the sentences below with words or phrases from the text (3 words maximum). 1 Cooking lessons are being introduced for young people aged from _. 2 Students will be taught how to prepare food. 3 More and more young people nowadays have . 4 Some people think that the new idea will put parents under . 5 People used to think women didn’t have the to be professional cooks. 6 People working in restaurant kitchens often use _. 20/15 marks Progress test 2 Period 2 Vocabulary / Language study

1 Match words in the box with their meanings below. lay seeds character habitat extinction 1 you put them in the ground and they grow into plants _ 2 when a species disappears completely 3 what chickens do eggs 4 the natural area where a particular animal or plant lives 5 person in a book, film or play __

2 Complete the sentences below with words from the box. struggles imaginary genes similarities refuses enables standard definition resist vital 1 A giraffe has a long neck, which _ it to reach leaves on tall trees. 2 Scientists can now produce new plants by changing the of old ones. 3 I didn’t know what the word meant, so I looked up the in a dictionary. 4 Finding new ways to make electricity is not just important, it’s . 5 There are now crops that don’t die because they can attacks by pests. 6 The characters in the book aren’t real people, they’re completely . 7 There are some between the two brothers, but they’re quite different. 8 There was nothing special about the meal, it was just restaurant food. 9 Her income is so low that she to feed her family. 10 I try to tell him eating too much is bad for him but he just _ to stop.

3 Complete the sentences with verbs or nouns made from the words in brackets. 1 One result of _ is that companies operate all over the world. (global) 2 I don’t watch much TV. In my free time I prefer to with my friends. (social) 3 The system was old and didn’t work well, so we decided to it. (modern) 4 brought many economic advantages but also caused a lot of pollution. (industrial) 5 Since the __ of the education system, all schools teach the same subjects. (standard) Progress test 2 Period 2

4 Add correct prepositions from the box to the sentences below. (There is one preposition that you don’t need.) in by to on at to 1 The library books are arranged according _ their subjects. 2 my opinion, he was right not to accept the job. 3 What is your reaction the news that she is getting married? 4 You may find it hard first but it gets easier when you practise. 5 I hope I will have finished reading this book __ next week.

5 Complete the sentences below using the correct tense or form of the verbs in the box, plus a correct preposition. look forward decide succeed use be good 1 We discussed it and finally _ accepting the offer. 2 He remembering words, so learning languages is easy for him. 3 This animal’s long tongue is catching insects. 4 We tried and tried but didn’t opening the old door. 5 I _ seeing you at the meeting next week.

6 Join the adverbs with past participles to make fixed adjective phrases.

1 _ 2 3 4 5 _

7 Correct the mistakes in these sentences. 1 I hope I will finished my homework by the time the TV programme starts. _ 2 Realised that he was late for the bus, he started to run faster. 3 Everyone knows that pandas are an indanger species. 4 This is the woman who she teaches me English. 5 This time next week I will be start my new course. __ Progress test 2 Period 2

6 Most fish use their fins for swim. _ 7 In the summer, I’m going to visit the USA where my elder brother lives there. 8 We need to longen the lesson times. They’re too short at the moment. 9 The old man, who his family lived far away, sometimes felt lonely. 10 He is famous for be one of the country’s greatest poets. __ 25 marks

Writing Progress test 1 Period 3

1 Write a summary (80–120 words) of a story you remember hearing or reading, or the story of a film you have seen. You may find the phrases in the box useful. The story is about … The story happens in … The main character(s) is/are … At the beginning … At the end … ___ 5 marks