EnglishClub

Pre-listening vocabulary

• dystopian: describing a corrupt or oppressive society
• fertile: capable of having children
• protagonist: the main character of a story
• adaptation: a retelling of a story in a different form
• reproductive: relating to the concept of having children
• sequel: a book that comes after another book

Listening activity

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 1:07 — 1.0MB)

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | More

Gapfill exercise

The Handmaid’s Tale is a dystopian written by Canadian author Margaret Atwood. It was first published in 1985. The story is set in a country called Gilead, which was once the United States. Gilead is run by a government that forces fertile women, known as Handmaids, to have children for men. The protagonist, Offred, is one of these women. The Handmaid’s Tale got a TV adaptation in 2017, the same year that sales of the book rose by 200 percent. It has become an important in reproductive rights movements, especially in North America. In 2019, Atwood published a sequel called The Testaments.

Comprehension questions

See answers below

1. The country that The Handmaid’s Tale is set in is
   a. Canada
   b. the United States
   c. Gilead
   
2. In the story, the role of Handmaids is to
   a. clean and cook
   b. have children
   c. raise children
   
3. The year that book sales rose by 200 percent was
   a. 1985
   b. 2017
   c. 2019

Discussion/essay questions

1. What do you think the purpose of dystopian fiction is? 

Transcript

The Handmaid’s Tale is a dystopian novel written by Canadian author Margaret Atwood. It was first published in 1985. The story is set in a fictional country called Gilead, which was once the United States. Gilead is run by a religious government that forces fertile women, known as Handmaids, to have children for powerful men. The protagonist, Offred, is one of these women. The Handmaid’s Tale got a TV adaptation in 2017, the same year that sales of the book rose by 200 percent. It has become an important symbol in reproductive rights movements, especially in North America. In 2019, Atwood published a sequel called The Testaments.

Answers to comprehension questions

1c 2b 3b

Pre-listening vocabulary

• feminism: the movement for women’s rights
• essay: a short piece of writing about a certain topic
• absence: the lack of something
• independence: the ability to control your own life
• disadvantage: something that makes success difficult

Listening activity

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 1:07 — 1.0MB)

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | More

Gapfill exercise

A Room of One’s Own is a feminist essay written by English Virginia Woolf. The essay’s main is that “a woman must have money and a room of her own if she is to write fiction”. Woolf came to this conclusion after noticing the absence of female writers in . She believed that many more women could have written books if they’d had and independence. Woolf first presented A Room of One’s Own at a women’s university in 1928, and it as a book one year later. This was a time when women still faced many disadvantages in life. Woolf’s essay was one of the first well-known feminist works, and it is still famous today.

Comprehension questions

[wp_quiz id=”20383″]

Discussion/essay questions

1. Why did Woolf believe that “a woman must have money and a room of her own if she is to write fiction”?
2. Do you think that feminist works from the 1920s are still relevant? Why or why not?

Transcript

A Room of One’s Own is a feminist essay written by English author Virginia Woolf. The essay’s main argument is that “a woman must have money and a room of her own if she is to write fiction”. Woolf came to this conclusion after noticing the absence of female writers in history. She believed that many more women could have written books if they’d had money and independence. Woolf first presented A Room of One’s Own at a women’s university in 1928, and published it as a book one year later. This was a time when women still faced many disadvantages in life. Woolf’s essay was one of the first well-known feminist works, and it is still famous today.

Pre-listening vocabulary

• anonymously: without naming or identifying the author
• wealthy: having a lot of money
• protagonist: the main character of a story
• proposal: an offer of marriage
• arrogant: conceited; overly proud
• refuse: to make it clear that you will not do something

Listening activity

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 1:16 — 1.2MB)

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | More

Gapfill exercise

Pride and Prejudice is a romantic novel written by English author Jane Austen. The novel was originally published anonymously in 1813. At the time, women were often expected to into wealthy families. The story’s protagonist, Elizabeth Bennet, is a young who feels pressured by her family to marry for money. When her sisters and friends are all starting to find , Elizabeth meets a wealthy man named Mr. Darcy. Darcy is in Elizabeth, and asks her to marry him. At first, Elizabeth has no interest in his proposal. She believes Darcy is arrogant and selfish, and she refuses to marry someone she doesn’t love. Throughout the book, however, Darcy grows into a person that Elizabeth can , and Elizabeth realizes that she judged him too harshly when they first met. The story ends with the two of them happily married.

Comprehension questions

[wp_quiz id=”19559″]

Discussion/essay questions

1. Although Pride and Prejudice was published in 1813, the story contains themes that are still important today. Some people see the novel as one of the earliest examples of feminism in literature. What makes Elizabeth Bennet an empowering character for women?
2. Why do you think Jane Austen decided to publish this novel anonymously?

Transcript

Pride and Prejudice is a romantic novel written by English author Jane Austen. The novel was originally published anonymously in 1813. At the time, women were often expected to marry into wealthy families. The story’s protagonist, Elizabeth Bennet, is a young woman who feels pressured by her family to marry for money. When her sisters and friends are all starting to find husbands, Elizabeth meets a wealthy man named Mr. Darcy. Darcy is interested in Elizabeth, and asks her to marry him. At first, Elizabeth has no interest in his proposal. She believes Darcy is arrogant and selfish, and she refuses to marry someone she doesn’t love. Throughout the book, however, Darcy grows into a person that Elizabeth can respect, and Elizabeth realizes that she judged him too harshly when they first met. The story ends with the two of them happily married.