In this reader you will find:
- Information about Geoffrey Chaucer - A section focusing on background and context - A glossary of difficult words - Comprehension and grammar activities including A1 Movers style exercises and 21st century skills activities - Final test Friendship | Stories
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The Canterbury Tales
In 1387, a group of people went to Canterbury. On their way, they told stories. The stories were exciting and interesting. They helped the group to enjoy their time travelling. But these stories don’t only tell us about the past. They’re stories that anybody can read and enjoy today. They’re stories that can teach us many things: about love, about friendship, and about life.
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Geoffrey Chaucer The Canterbury Tales
Geoffrey Chaucer
Stage 1 A1
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TheBook Canterbury Tales brief
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The Canterbury Tales is a collection of stories written in English by Geoffrey Chaucer between 1387 and 1400. People say it’s Chaucer’s greatest work and one of the most important works in English literature. The book is about a group of pilgrims. Each of them tells a story as they travel from London to Canterbury to visit the shrine of Saint Thomas à Becket at Canterbury Cathedral. Through the stories, Chaucer gives us an ironic and critical picture of English society at that time and in particular of the Church. Chaucer uses different kinds of people to tell the stories to show us what 14th century England was like.
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In this reader: 21st Century Skills
Movers
To encourage students to connect the story to the world they live in.
A1 level activities.
Story Notes
A brief summary of the text.
Glossary
Explanation of difficult words.
Picture Caption
A brief explanation of the picture.
Audio
These icons indicate the parts of the story that are recorded.
Think
start stop
To encourage students to develop their critical thinking skills.
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For this series of ELI graded readers, we have planted 5000 new trees.
Geoffrey Chaucer
The Canterbury Tales Retold and Activities by
Michael Lacey Freeman Illustrated by
Simone Massoni
Teen
Readers
Teen Eli Readers The ELI Readers collection is a complete range of books and plays for readers of all ages, ranging from captivating contemporary stories to timeless classics. There are four series, each catering for a different age group: First ELI Readers, Young ELI Readers, Teen ELI Readers and Young Adult ELI Readers. The books are carefully edited and beautifully illustrated to capture the essence of the stories and plots. The readers are supplemented with ‘Focus on’ texts packed with background cultural information about the writers and their lives and times.
The Canterbury Tales By Geoffrey Chaucer Retold and Activities by Michael Lacey Freeman Language Level Consultant Janet Borsbey, Ruth Swan and Silvana Sardi Illustrated by Simone Massoni ELI Readers Founder and Series Editors Paola Accattoli, Grazia Ancillani, Daniele Garbuglia (Art Director) Graphic Design Andersen the Premedia Company Production Manager Francesco Capitano Photo credits Gettyimages, Shutterstock
New edition: 2021 First edition: 2014 © ELI s.r.l. P.O. Box 6 62019 Recanati (MC) Italy T +39 071750701 F +39 071977851 info@elionline.com www.elionline.com Typeset in 12 / 17 pt Fulmar designed by Leo Philp Printed in Italy by Tecnostampa - Pigini Group Printing Division Loreto - Trevi ERT 114.10 ISBN 978-88-536-3185-5
Contents
6
Main Characters
8
Before you read
10
Chapter 1
18
Activities
20
Chapter 2
28
Activities
30
Chapter 3
38
Activities
40
Chapter 4
48
Activities
50
Chapter 5
60
Activities
62
Chapter 6
70
Activities
72
Focus on... Geoffrey Chaucer
74
Focus on...
Canterbury in the 1300s
76
Focus on...
Food
78
Test Yourself
79 Syllabus
The Prologue The Knight’s Tale The Clerk’s Tale The Merchant’s Tale The Franklin’s Tale The Pardoner’s Tale
Main Characters
The Knight
Everybody likes him and he’s always happy to help people.
The Clerk
A nice man who doesn’t speak much. He loves reading and studying.
6
The Merchant
He has a lot of money but he isn’t happy.
The Franklin
A very rich, important man with a big house in the country.
The Pardoner
He says prayers for people if they give him money.
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Before you read
Grammar 1 Read a part of a letter. Complete the letter with the verbs below.
am
are
is
know
tells
travel
want
m reading The Canterbury Tales, by Geoffrey Chaucer. Do I’___ you (1) ___ anything about this book? Chaucer wrote this book in 1387. At this time, God was very important for many people. People often went on pilgrimages. You go on a pilgrimage when you (2) ___ to an important town or city. People go on a pilgrimage because they (3) ___ to be near to God. In Chaucer’s book, a group of people go on a pilgrimage to Canterbury. Canterbury (4) ___ a town in England. Everybody in this group (5) ___ a story. These stories (6) ___ the Canterbury Tales.
2 Complete the sentences with the verbs below.
buy
look
study
talk
work
pay
Look at the men in the picture on page 27. The Knight: _______ That’s my job. Don’t worry! The group is safe with me. 1 The Clerk: I’m a student and I _______ all the time. 2 The Merchant: I have a business. I _______ things, and then people _______ for the things I buy. 3 The Franklin: I have a big farm. A lot of people _______ on my farm. 4 The Pardoner: I _______ to people about God. I help them to be near to God.
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Reading and Writing
MOVERS
3 Choose the correct word for each sentence about
people from the stories. is Emily ________ a beautiful, young girl in the Knight’s Tale.
are am is 1 Walter is in the Clerk’s Tale. Everybody ________ what he says. do does don’t 2 Damien is in the Merchant’s Tale. He ________ for a man with a lot of money. work does works 3 Does Damien ________ a good job? have has is 4 Dorigen is in the Franklin’s Tale and she ________ near the sea has lives leaves 5 Ames is in the Pardoner’s Tale and he _______ having fun. goes
wants
likes
Speaking 4 This book is called The Canterbury Tales.
Look on the Internet and answer these questions.
21st Century Skills
1 Which part of England is Canterbury in? _____________________________________________ 2 What does ‘Tale’ mean? _____________________________________________ 3 Who was Thomas à Becket and what happened to him? _____________________________________________ 4 Why is Canterbury Cathedral important? _____________________________________________ 5 Who was Geoffrey Chaucer? _____________________________________________
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Chapter 1
The Prologue 2
Geoffrey Chaucer stops at an inn in London before starting his pilgrimage to Canterbury.
It’s a beautiful day! The weather is good. The birds are singing. The grass is green, and there are flowers everywhere. Now, my story can begin. My name’s Geoffrey. Today, I’m going on a pilgrimage1 to Canterbury. I’m going to Canterbury with a group of people. We’re going there together. I met these people yesterday, at an inn2, in London. I arrived3 at the inn in the afternoon. I was very tired, and hungry. ‘Good afternoon!’ I said to the man who worked at the inn. He was the innkeeper. ‘I’d like a room for the night. I’m going to Canterbury tomorrow. The road to Canterbury is long. I need to sleep well before I start.’ ‘Good afternoon,’ said the innkeeper. ‘Do you know that some other people are going to Canterbury tomorrow? They’re staying here tonight.’ ‘I’d like to meet them,’ I said to the innkeeper.
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pilgrimage when you go to a special place to be near to God inn a place to sleep, and to eat and drink 3 to arrive to travel and then find the place that you want to go to 2
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The Canterbury Tales
In the evening, I met the other people. The inn was big and there was a lot of good food and drink. Everybody had dinner together. The innkeeper gave good food to everybody. The innkeeper was a nice person. He was a very big man and he enjoyed speaking to people. He was very good at his job. Everybody enjoyed their dinner. After dinner, the innkeeper spoke to the group. ‘You’re a very nice group of people,’ he said. ‘I know that God wants to listen to your prayers1. You’re all going to the same place, so, you must go to Canterbury together. What do you think?’ ‘Yes, we can go together!’ I said. ‘I want to go to Canterbury with you,’ said the innkeeper. ‘Now, we have to travel for a long time. I think we can do something interesting2. We can play a game. What do you think?’ ‘Yes!’ said everybody in the group. ‘Tell us about this game.’ ‘Now, listen to what I have to say,’ said the innkeeper. ‘We can go to Canterbury together.
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prayer when you talk to God, you say a prayer interesting something you enjoy
2
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Geoffrey has dinner with the other people who want to go to Canterbury and the innkeeper says he wants to go with them. He says that they can play a game on their way to Canterbury.
Geoffrey Chaucer
Everybody must tell a story and the innkeeper wants to give the person with the best story a free dinner at his inn. Everybody likes the idea.
The Knight says his story is about two brothers who love the same woman.
Every person can tell a story1. I want to listen to every story. Then I can tell you which story is the best.’ Everybody in the group wanted to play this game. ‘Very well,’ said the innkeeper. ‘I want to give something to the person who tells the best story. That person can have dinner at my inn. I want to pay for the dinner.’ The people in the group were very happy. They began to think of what story to tell. In the group there was a Knight. Everybody liked him. He was always happy to help people. He was an important man, but his clothes were cheap. His horse was fast, but it was small. ‘I’m a Knight, and my life is very exciting,’ said the Knight. ‘My story is also exciting. It’s about two brothers who love the same woman.’ There was also a Clerk in the group. He was a nice man, but he didn’t speak very much. He liked reading and studying. That’s all he wanted to do. He was very slim and he didn’t eat very much. He liked books more than food.
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story when you tell someone about something that happened in the past
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The Pardoner is saying a prayer.