Читать книгу English for Life Reader Grade 6 Home Language - Lynne Southey - Страница 3

The black clown

Andrew Conradie

He hides away in dark corners and only comes out at night

Hidden far away from the world

He keeps out of sight

Around him he wraps the wet and the cold

Slowly he creeps out to make sure the coast is clear

One foot, then the next he walks alone through the empty streets

Hiding his face in fear

Resting deep within the hearts of teens

The fear that appears within each and every one

That little voice that tells you you’re not good enough

The one that makes you want to scream: “I’m done!”

It’s your turn to speak, clear your throat and take a cough

Let’s colour in the darkness and laugh at it

Let’s take control and learn to say no

Pick up your wit

Here we go

We’re going to break down the doubt

Take the bull by the horns

Don’t hold back, shout

No sorrows, no mourns

This is your moment to shine

This is your moment to grow

1. As we grow up we all worry and have doubts and fears. This poem encourages youngsters to fight off these feelings and to grow to be the best they can be. Make a list of words and phrases in the poem that explains what this “black clown” represents.

2. The poet speaks directly to teens, to the readers. Quote the pronouns that show us this.

3. Who do you think the “we” of the poem are?

4. What does the expression “take the bull by the horns” mean?

5. Look at the following idiomatic expressions. Match each expression in column A to its correct meaning in column B.

6. What does the poet say should replace the feelings of doubt and fear?

The Fieldmouse

Cecil Frances Alexander

Where the acorn tumbles down,

Where the ash tree sheds its berry,

With your fur so soft and brown,

With your eye so round and merry,

Scarcely moving the long grass,

Fieldmouse, I can see you pass.

Little thing, in what dark den,

Lie you all the winter sleeping?

Till warm weather comes again,

Then once more I see you peeping

Round about the tall tree roots,

Nibbling at their fallen fruits.

Fieldmouse, fieldmouse, do not go,

Where the farmer stacks his treasure,

Find the nut that falls below,

Eat the acorn at your pleasure,

But you must not steal the grain

He has stacked with so much pain.

Make your hole where mosses spring,

Underneath the tall oak’s shadow,

Pretty, quiet harmless thing,

Play about the sunny meadow.

Keep away from corn and house,

None will harm you, little mouse.

1. Mice hibernate during the winter. Quote the line in stanza 2 to prove this.

2. What is the farmer’s “treasure” in line 2, stanza 3?

3. Why must the fieldmouse not eat the farmer’s grain?

4. Where must the fieldmouse make its burrow?

5. What warning does the poet give to the fieldmouse?

6. Write down the rhyme scheme of the last stanza.

Vocabulary

acorn – fruit of the oak tree

ash tree – kind of forest tree

meadow – pasture or grassland for animals to graze on

mosses – small plants growing on trees and rocks where it is moist

The ozone layer

Jeanne du Plessis

The earth’s ozone layer

Absorbs ultraviolet rays

It helps to keep us safe

From the sun’s scorching blaze

But as you’ve probably heard

It’s got several holes these days

Now you’ve got to watch out

For those harmful UV rays

So slap on that sunscreen

And whip on those shades

To protect your skin and eyes

From those nasty UV rays

The earth’s ozone layer

Takes care of me and you

Don’t you think it’s time

We took care of it too?

Use ozone-friendly products

And plant a few new trees

To protect our ozone layer

From chemicals and CFc/s.

Rapunzel

Fanie Viljoen

Locked up in a faraway tower of stone,

Lived princess Rapunzel, well, almost alone.

A talkative cat also stayed there with her,

A cynical creature with flea-ridden fur.

With very little to do, but twiddle her toes

Rapunzel would burp or pick at her nose.

Sometimes her cat would snuggle into

Her ample white bosom or crazy hairdo.

See, Rapunzel’s hair had never been cut

For the tower door had always been shut.

She grew her hair mop in thick, stringy strands

Adorned it with bows and golden hair bands.

And then one fair day, a strange voice could be heard.

Rapunzel and her kitty quickly conferred.

“A prince!” cried Rapunzel. Her cat said: “It’s not!”

Who would rescue a princess that eats her own snot?

Rapunzel longed to have a word with the lad,

And if he’s a pauper, that’s really not bad.

Out the window she dropped her stringy long mane

And she hoisted the man up like a cable and crane.

Rapunzel pounced on him when he got to the top.

She drowned him with kisses, though he asked her to stop.

She squeezed and she tickled every inch of the guy.

She salivated on him and then let out a sigh.

Once more the petrified man cried: “Stop, princess, please!”

’Cause his nose started twitching and he let out a sneeze.

Allergic to cats, he beat a hasty retreat.

All he left dear Rapunzel was something to eat.

Vocabulary

cynical – distrustful, negative, pessimistic

flea-ridden – covered with fleas

ample – enough, plenty, large

adorned – added beauty

pauper – beggar, someone who is poor

confer – talk and discuss

mane – hair

pounce – suddenly jump onto someone

salivate – discharge a large amount of the liquid produced in the mouth (saliva)

petrified – paralysed with fear

1. What does the expression “to twiddle your toes” mean?

2. Give another word from the poem for:

(a) beautiful

(b) young man

(c) swoop down

3. Look at line 4, stanza 1. What poetic device is used? Underline the sounds that are repeated.

4. Quote two consecutive words from stanza 3 to prove that Rapunzel had thick, untidy hair.

5. In stanza 3, the word “bows” means ribbons. Give two other meanings for the word “bow”. When words are spelled the same, but have different meanings, they are called . . .

6. The diminutive of cat is kitten. Provide the diminutives of the following words:

(a) frog

(b) tower

(c) dog

7. What poetic device is found in stanza 5? Write down the words.

Memorial gate

Mervyn W. Woodrow

There’s a plaque on the wall of the old stone gate

That stands at the side of our school

Where I and my friends used to run and jump

And shout and play the fool.

And I read one day the names on the plaque

Then the date and the words “Great War”

And I wished that I knew how such a few

Could make a war at all!

When my father came to take me home

I showed him the plaque on the wall.

“My son” he said, “those are the names of the dead

Men who answered their country’s call”

Told of Africa’s dust, Europe’s mud and blood,

Of the frightful fields of France,

How a few of the best gave their lives so the rest

Could survive and have the chance

To inherit their dream: work hards play straight,

Live in freedom and peace and joy.

He said, “Honour the names of the boys who died:

They were men although only boys.”

So now when I sit and read the plaque

After school as I quietly wait,

I remember the schoolboys who gave of their best

In their honour the old stone gate.

World War I, also known as the Great War, started in Europe and lasted from 1914-1918. More than 15 million lives were lost. The following words were first used in the trenches of WWI, and are still used today!

Over the top, Ace, Buddy, pushing up daisies, red tape, zoom, sniper, zero hour, hit the deck, rise and shine.

The day WWI ended, peace was declared at the 11th hour, of the 11th day, of the 11th month, 1918.

1. Have you ever seen a memorial plaque with the names of men who died in a war? Do you think it is a good idea to remember them in this way? Explain your answer.

2. How does what the father explains to the boy, the “I” in the poem, change his behaviour?

3. Find an example of alliteration in the poem.

4. Notice the structure of the poem and the regular rhythm and rhyme. How would you describe these?

5. Think of the world you live in today. Is it a better place because of that war that was fought? Explain your answer.

The dance of the rain

Eugene N. Marais (translated by Christa van Rooyen)

Song of the violinist: Jan Konterdans

The Dance of the Rain

Oh, the dance of our Sister!

First, over the hilltop she peeps stealthily

and her eyes are shy

and she laughs softly

From afar she begs with one hand

her wrist-bands shimmering and her bead-work sparkling

softly she calls

She tells the wind about the dance

and she invites it, because the yard is spacious and the wedding large

The big game rush about the plains

they gather on the hilltop

their nostrils flared-up

and they swallow the wind

and they crouch to see her tracks in the sand

The small game, deep down under the floor, hear the rhythm of her feet

and they creep, come closer and sing softly

“Our Sister! Our Sister! You’ve come! You’ve come!”

and her bead-work shakes,

and her copper wrist-bands shine in the disappearance of the sun

On her forehead, rests the eagle’s plume

She descends down from the hilltop

She spreads her ashened cloak with both arms

the breath of the wind disappears

Oh, the dance of our Sister!

1. The entire poem is a figure of speech. What is this figure of speech? Explain your answer.

2. The first ten lines tell about the approaching rain. See if you can say what each aspect mentioned is.

3. If you were to draw a picture of the rain as a person, what would you draw? Give reasons for your answer.

4. What does “the rhythm of her feet” refer to?

5. What are the people’s feelings toward the rain? Explain your answer.

The octopus

Jeanne du Plessis

The world is truly an amazing place

With its weird and wonderful creatures

Too bizarre to believe they’re real

Each with their own peculiar features

Hyenas cackle, the giraffe can’t speak

Sloths and opossums are always sleepy

With their silken traps and eight eyes

Spiders are just downright creepy

Dolphins sleep with one eye open

Lizards can grow new legs again

Then there’s the ostrich, with eyes

That are much bigger than its brain

Some creatures are just so odd

They sound almost magical

Here are a few who could star

In tales of the fantastical:

The alpaca, armadillo, or yeti crab

Proboscis monkey or bumblebee bat

Echidna, tapir, or star-nosed mole

Tarsier, narwhal and Red Panda cat

But one that always boggles my mind

Is a creature that lives in the ocean.

He can swim, crawl or propel himself

With a jerky jet-like motion

His suction cups taste what they touch

He’s gloomily shaped like a shroud

He has no bones and his mouth is a beak

He changes colour and squirts ink clouds

Eight arms, two gills and three hearts

What an unbelievably strange thing

The octopus, that gliding sea creature

Who has blue blood like a king.

Building a skyscraper

J.S. Tippett

They’re building a skyscraper

Near our street

Its height will be nearly

One thousand feet.

It covers completely

A city block.

They drilled its foundation

Through solid rock.

They made its framework

Of great steel beams

With riveted joints

And welded seams.

A swarm of workmen

Strain and strive

Like busy bees

In a honeyed hive

Building the skyscraper

Into the air

While crowds of people

Stand and stare

Higher and higher

The tall towers rise

Like Jacob’s ladder

Into the skies.

Grandfather

W. Mubonwa

See him every morning,

Sitting in the sunshine,

Puffing the old pipe,

Humming an old tune,

Waiting for his breakfast.

He loves everything old.

He says he had his time.

Claims to be wise.

Is prepared to give advice.

He talks of past wars.

Compares past and present culture.

His enemy is a bath.

His companion is his pipe.

When it is mid-day,

He takes a pinch of snuff,

And his best friend, beer.

A few minutes later he snores.

Till next morning.

The cruel boy

Anonymous

There was cruel naughty boy,

Who sat upon the shore,

A-catching little fishes by

The dozen and the score.

And as they squirmed and wriggled there,

He shouted out with glee,

‘You surely cannot want to live,

You’re little-er than me.’

Just then with a malicious leer,

And a capacious smile,

Before him from the water deep

There rose a crocodile.

He eyed the little naughty boy,

Then heaved a blubbering sigh,

And said, ‘You cannot want to live,

You’re little-er than I.’

The fishes squirm and wriggle still,

Beside that sandy shore,

The cruel little naughty boy,

Was never heard of more.