EnglishClub

Pre-listening vocabulary

• illustrations: artworks that appear alongside a story
• symbolize: to represent an idea
• classic: a story that is loved by many people over a long period of time
• moral: a lesson that a story teaches
• faith: belief in something, even if it seems unlikely
• imagination: the ability to create interesting and even magical ideas
• animated: containing moving artwork instead of videos of real people

Listening activity

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 1:04 — 1,003.2KB)

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Gapfill exercise

Comprehension questions

See answers below

1. Chris Van Allsburg wrote the book known as The Polar Express and also
   a. helped write the movie script
   b. created the illustrations
   c. worked on the animation
   
2. The object that symbolizes the boy’s faith is
   a. a toy train
   b. a Christmas book
   c. a sleigh bell
   
3. In 2004, the book was adapted into
   a. a longer novel
   b. a TV show
   c. an animated movie

Discussion/essay questions

1. What is something you believed in as a child? Do you think it is possible to keep a childlike imagination as you grow older?

Transcript

The Polar Express is a 1985 children’s book written by Chris Van Allsburg, who also created the illustrations. The book tells the story of a magical train that transports children to the North Pole to visit Santa Claus. The main character is an unnamed young boy who chooses to believe in Santa even as he grows older. To symbolize the boy’s trust in Christmas magic, Santa gives him a sleigh bell that only he, and other believers, can hear the sound of. The Polar Express quickly became a Christmas classic because of its beautiful images and moral of faith and imagination. In 2004, the book was adapted into an animated movie.

Answers to comprehension questions

1b 2c 3c

Pre-listening vocabulary

• novella: a short novel
• narrator: a character who tells a story
• pilot: someone who flies a plane
• repair: to fix something
• allegory: a story with a hidden meaning
• wreckage: pieces of a destroyed object

Listening activity

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 1:17 — 1.2MB)

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Gapfill exercise

Comprehension questions

Discussion/essay questions

1. The Little Prince is a story about the way children view the world. What are some lessons that you think adults could learn from children?

Transcript

The Little Prince is a novella written by French author Antoine de Saint-Exupéry. The narrator of the story is a pilot who has crashed in the desert. While trying to repair his plane, the pilot meets a young prince from another planet, who tells him stories about the people he has met on his journey. Each story is an allegory that makes fun of the way adults think and act. The Little Prince was originally published in 1943, in both French and English. It is likely that some parts of the book were inspired by the author’s life. Saint-Exupéry was also a pilot, and he spent some time stranded in the desert after a plane crash in 1935. Only a year after The Little Prince was published, Saint-Exupéry disappeared while flying over France. The wreckage of his plane was not found until 2000.

Pre-listening vocabulary

• raise: to take care of someone as they grow up
• slaughter: to kill an animal for food
• weave: to make something using string or thread
• delay: to cause something to happen later than it’s supposed to
• critic: a person whose job is to analyze books or movies
• theme: a topic in a story that represents an important message or meaning

Listening activity

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 1:11 — 1.1MB)

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Gapfill exercise

Comprehension questions

Discussion/essay questions

1. Do you know any other books that have been banned in schools or libraries? What were the reasons?

Transcript

Charlotte’s Web is a classic children’s novel written by American author E. B. White. The story begins when a girl named Fern decides to raise a young pig named Wilbur. When Wilbur grows up, Fern’s family sends him away to live on a farm. Once he arrives, Wilbur learns that he will be slaughtered one day. He befriends a spider named Charlotte who agrees to help him stay alive. She begins to weave messages into her spider webs to convince the farmers that Wilbur is special. But even though Charlotte succeeds at delaying Wilbur’s death, she can’t avoid her own. Critics have praised the story for explaining the theme of death in a way that children can understand. However, some people dislike the idea of death being a central theme in a children’s novel. The book has even been banned before for this reason. 

Pre-listening vocabulary

• protagonist: the main character of a story
• rescue: to save someone from a dangerous place
• entity: an existing being
• literary critic: a person who analyzes books
• praise: to express a positive opinion of something
• conformity: the act of following others without original thought

Listening activity

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 1:14 — 1.1MB)

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Gapfill exercise

Comprehension questions

Discussion/essay questions

1. Although A Wrinkle in Time is loved by critics now, Madeleine L’Engle originally had trouble finding a company that would publish her book. L’Engle believed that one reason for that was the book’s female protagonist, which was uncommon in science fiction at the time. How has society’s view of female characters changed since then?

Transcript

A Wrinkle in Time is a 1962 science fiction novel by American author Madeleine L’Engle. The protagonist of this book is a teenage girl named Meg Murry who lives with her mother and her three siblings. One day, Meg, her younger brother Charles Wallace and their friend Calvin meet three mysterious women. Their names are Mrs Whatsit, Mrs Who, and Mrs Which. The women claim that Meg’s father is in danger and that they need the children’s help to rescue him. The story follows the group as they travel through space and time to find Meg’s father. Along the way, the characters discover new planets to explore and evil entities to defeat. Literary critics have praised this book because it explains complex themes in a way that children can understand. Some of the themes in this novel are the nature of evil and the danger of conformity.

Pre-listening vocabulary

• protagonist: the main character of a story
• cyclone: a type of tropical storm
• fantastical: strange and unrealistic; something out of a story
• request: something that is asked for
• quality: a trait or feature that someone has

Listening activity

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 1:34 — 1.4MB)

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Gapfill exercise

Comprehension questions

Discussion/essay questions

1. What do you think the most important message is in this story? Why is that message important to have in a children’s book?

Transcript

The Wonderful Wizard of Oz is a classic children’s novel written by American author L. Frank Baum. The story’s protagonist is a girl named Dorothy who lives in Kansas with her aunt, her uncle, and her dog. One day, a cyclone carries Dorothy’s house off to a magical land known as Oz – a place populated by witches, flying monkeys, and other fantastical creatures. Dorothy seeks the advice of a witch, who informs her that Oz is ruled by an all-powerful wizard who can send her back to Kansas. Eager to return home, Dorothy begins a journey to meet the wizard. On the way, she makes a few unusual friends: a scarecrow, a tin man, and a lion. Each one has a different request for the wizard – the scarecrow wishes for a brain, the tin man wishes for a heart, and the lion wishes for courage. The wizard, however, is not what they expected, and each character must gain the quality they wish for by finding it within themselves. Dorothy’s request is more complicated, but with the help of a witch, she is eventually able to return home.

Pre-listening vocabulary

• classify: to put something into a certain category
• fictional: created for the purpose of a story; not real
• adopt: to take in and raise someone else’s child
• imaginative: creative; having a big imagination
• orphan: a child whose parents have died
• inspire: to influence the creation of something

Listening activity

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 1:32 — 1.4MB)

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Gapfill exercise

Comprehension questions

Discussion/essay questions

1. Anne Shirley has been called “the dearest, most moving and delightful child since the immortal Alice” by author Mark Twain. If you’ve read “Anne of Green Gables”, what do you think makes Anne so lovable?

Transcript

Anne of Green Gables is a classic novel written by Canadian author Lucy Maud Montgomery. The novel was published in 1908, and is classified as children’s literature, though it is enjoyed by people of all ages. The story is set on a farm in the fictional town of Avonlea, where siblings Matthew and Marilla Cuthbert live. The siblings are hoping to adopt a young boy to help them out on the farm. Instead, they are given an imaginative orphan girl named Anne Shirley, who has never had a real home. After learning how Anne grew up, Matthew and Marilla feel sorry for her and decide to keep her. The story continues to follow Anne as she gets older and forms friendships with other children in Avonlea. The book has sold over 50 million copies and has been translated into 36 languages. After writing Anne of Green Gables, Montgomery published seven additional books about Anne’s life. These novels have inspired several film and television adaptations, and Anne’s story is still loved by children and adults alike.