nt I Nothing ventured, not/ng gu 2 Write a review of Perce Blackborow's story for a newspaper. In a review you should give a summary of the story e state what you liked/disliked about it and why e consider whether the language helped the story or not e explain whether or how it inspired you e state whether you would encourage anybody else to read it and why SUMMING UP 1 Describe one of the events you have learned about from the unit 2 List the things thot interest you most. 3 Useful words 4 Useful expressions 5 Look at the following sentences and underline the attributes used in them Mr Smith won't give away his huge, old, black, American car. e The film that we saw last night was quite moving e Helen Keller s teacher was an inspiring and young woman with great patience e The weather in the area where we live in China is quite ditterent from that in England Learning Tip You can learn a lot of useful and interesting English by studying English proverbs They are often arranged in books of proverbs according to topics. For this unit there are many examples such as Great works are performed not by strength, but by perseverance. -Samuel Joinson Patience is bitter but its fruit is sweet, -Jean acques rousseau Fortune favours the brave, - Unknown Where there's a will there 's a wa -Unknown They help your English because they often use more concise forms of English language to convey complicated ideas. They are easy to recite and they are fun. You also sound very well educated if you can use proverbs in your everyday conversation 10
Unit king Leer Warming Up I Discuss these questions with others in your group Is it important to show love and respect for your parents? Why? 2 How do you show love and respect for them? Can you give a good example? 3 If you were married. would you love your parents less than you do now? If parents believe their child has been disrespectful, what should they do about it? 2 Discuss these questions about ancient China. I What was the traditional attitude towards the emperor? Who succeeded him when the emperor died? 2 What did the emperor do to keep his servants loyal to him? What happened to the servants who were not loyal? 3 Who decided who the emperor's children would marry? For what reasons were marriages arranged? Songtsen Gampo and Princess Wencheng Pre-reading The play that you are going to read in this unit is based on william Shakespeare's King Lear, but it has been shortened and simplified. The language has been modernized and it is no longer written as poetry Glance quickly through Part 1 of the play and answer the following questions List the characters who appear in this part of the pla 2 Which of the characters do you think are shown in the picture on the right? 3 Use the pictures that illustrate Part I of the play to predict what is going to happen
Unt 2 King Lea 4 Now look at the words below. Make sure you understand the meaning of each one. Use a dictionary if necessary. devotion honour loyalty bridegroom contradict oppose friction 5 The words in the box above all appear in Part I of the play. Discuss with a partner what you think the play that contains these words will be about. Then check your prediction as you read R earll KING LEAR Part I The king 's throne room. Enter King Lear: the king's daughters: Goneril. Regan and Cordelia the Dukes of Albany and Cormall, Goneril's and Regan's husbands and the Duke ofKent, a loyal friend of the king LEAR: My dear daughters, I am growing old and tired. The burden of government sits heavily on my shoulders. I have decided to retire and hand over the heavy load of responsibility to you three. See, here is a map of my kingdom with all the boundaries drawn on it. I have divided the kingdom into three parts, and allocated one part to each of you. Now tell me, my dears, which of you loves me the most? For whichever of you has for me the most devotion I will give to her the best part of everything I own. Goneril what do you say? GONERIL: Sir, I do not have the words to express the depth of my devotion. I love you more than all the riches in the world. more than my freedom. more even than my own eyesight. In fact, I love you more than life itself. LEAR. (showing his daughter the map) My darling girl. You and your husband Albany shall have this part of my kingdom with all its rivers and forests and mountains And your children shall own it after you. Now Regan, it is your turn. What have you got to say to me? REGAN: In expressing her love for you, my sister has also expressed mine. Yet I love you even more than words can say. I adore you more than any thing else in the whole world. My greatest happiness is in loving you LEAR: To you and your husband Cornwall and to your future children, I give this part of my kingdom (showing them on the map). This part is equal in value to what I give to Goneril. Now my darling, my favourite, my Cordelia. What have you to say to delight an old man and earn the best part of his kingdom? CORDELIA: Nothing. my father LEAR. Nothing? 12
Jnt 2 King Lear CORDELIA: Nothing LEAR. You' ll get nothing for nothing. I pray you, speak CORDELIA: Im sorry but I'm not as clever as my sisters. I cannot describe my feelings with such fancy words. I love you as it is right and proper for a daughter to love her father, neither less nor more LEAR. Try harder, Cordelia, or you may lose your share of the kingdom CORDELIA: My dear father, you brought me into this world, you cared for me and loved me In return I love, honour and obey you. I do not understand why my sisters spoke as they did. If they do indeed love you that much, then I don' t understand why they ever got married. You see, when I marry, it will be my duty to give half my love to my husband LEAR You truly mean what you say CORDELIA: Yes, Your Majesty. LEAR. So young and so hard-hearted CORDELIA: So young and so truthful, my Lord LEAR Well, then Let truth be your reward You are no longer my daughter but a stranger to my heart KENT. But sir LEAR Be quiet, Kent. Do not come between me and my anger. She was my favourite daughter With her I hoped to spend my old age. But that is never going to happen now. You, servant! Go and find the King of France and the Duke of Burgundy We ' ll see if either wants to be a bridegroom when she has no riches to bring to the marriage. Goneril. Regan, I shall distribute my kingdom between the two of you I shall take nothing for myself except a troop of one hundred of my most loyal soldiers to care for and protect me. And as I have no third-born daughter, I will spend my days with you two-a month with one and then a month with the other KENT But sir, I beg you. LEAR Do not contradict me. It is done KENT. But sir, please hear me out. I speak on behalf of Cordelia. I have served you for many years and you know that i have always honoured you as my king and loved you as a father, but I believe you are being influenced by false flattery. Cordelia's devotion to Your majesty is beyond question LEAR. Kent, if you value your life, say no more KENT. I have to speak out, my Lord. I would rather lose my life than see you make such a mistake. You do wrong to cause friction between yourself and your daughter. I forecast that such actions will cause great conflict throughout your kingdom LEAR How dare you oppose me. Get out of my sight. Pack up your things and be gone from my kingdom. If you have not passed beyond my frontiers within five days. I will have you killed 13
Unt 2 King Lea comprehending 1 Part 1 of King Lear gives the audience information to help them understand the rest of the play. Answer these questions about the play. I Why does King Lear want to give away his kingdom? 2 How is he going to decide who to give the best part of his kingdom to? 4 Which daughters are already married and which is not? r 3 At the beginning of the play, of which daughter is King Lear most fond 5 What are the names of the men who want to mary King Lear's youngest daughter? 6 Who tries to defend Cordelia? What happens to him when he speaks out? 2 Part 1 also introduces the main characters and tells the audience something about them Choose words from the box to complete the table below. some words belong to more than one character honest yal hot-headed truthful deceitful hard-hearted respectful corrupt greedy innocent foolish cunning bad-tempered loving Characters Relationship to King Lear Words to describe personality King lear Goneril daughter egan Cordelia Duke of Albany son-in-law Duke of Cornwall Duke of Kent 3 In fours prepare a role-play. One plays the king, one plays Regan, and another one plays Cordelia. The fourth person plays the Duke of Kent and will interview the three characters to find out what they really think. Here are some questions to consider To King lear I Why did you decide to divide your kingdom according to how much your daughters said they loved you? 2 How can you be sure how much your daughters love you? 3 What could you have done instead? To Regan: I Were you honest in your answer to the king? 2 How did you feel when you saw what happened to Cordelia? 3 Do you think the king behaved fairly?