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The Canterbury Tales Geoffrey Chaucer
Geoffrey Chaucer
When a genial innkeeper suggests to a group of pilgrims bound for
Canterbury that they tell each other stories to entertain themselves
ISBN 978-88-530-1417-7
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FIRST Cambridge English: First-style activities 22, 23, 36, 44, 54, 55, 56, 66, 68,
84, 86, 99, 102, 103
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Vicens Vives - The Canterbury Tales
(Blackcat. Reading & Training) - ISBN: 9788468215938
The Prologue
April is a lovely month! After the dry month of March, the earth is
thirsty for April’s showers and flowers begin to grow everywhere. track 02
A gentle wind blows from the west, the sun shines and small birds
sing all day long in the green woods. It’s the month when people
feel like going on a pilgrimage, and from every part of England
they go to Canterbury to visit the tomb of the martyr 1 Thomas
Becket, who helps the sick.
My name is Geoffrey Chaucer, and I’m a poet and storyteller.
One day in April, I was spending the night in London at The
Tabard Inn, ready to set out the next morning on my pilgrimage
to Canterbury. Late in the evening a crowd of people arrived,
twenty-nine of them, all on their way to Canterbury too. I soon
made friends with them and agreed to join them.
‘You’ll have to get up early,’ they said. ‘We’re leaving at dawn!’
Before I begin telling you my stories, I’ll describe the pilgrims
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Vicens Vives - The Canterbury Tales
(Blackcat. Reading & Training) - ISBN: 9788468215938
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Vicens Vives - The Canterbury Tales
(Blackcat. Reading & Training) - ISBN: 9788468215938
When she was eating, she was very careful not to make a mess. 6
And what a sensitive lady she was! If she saw a mouse caught in a
trap, tears came to her eyes. She had several small dogs, which she
fed with roast meat, milk and the best bread, and if one of them
died she cried so much that she couldn’t stop.
She had grey eyes, small soft red lips and a broad forehead. 7
Her clothes were the latest fashion. She wore an elegant cloak, an
expensive bracelet, some beads and a golden brooch marked with
an ‘A’, under which was written Amor vincit omnia – that is ‘Love
conquers all’ in Latin. She was accompanied by another nun and a
PRIEST, called John, who would later tell us an entertaining story.
There was a well-dressed MONK, whose passion in life was
hunting. He was bald and plump, 8 and his favourite dish was
roast swan. 9 There was also a FRIAR, who loved the company of
pretty girls. He had to earn his living by begging 10 but he had such
a pleasant way of speaking to people and his social skills were so
good that he was never short of money. He was also an excellent
musician and he knew all the inns in the towns he visited.
There was a wealthy MERCHANT with a long beard and expensive
clothes, who certainly knew how to make money; he never stopped
telling us how well his business was doing. The Oxford SCHOLAR,
who was thin and looked very sad, rode a horse as thin as himself.
He certainly didn’t want any bags of money in his bedroom – he
preferred to have books by the great philosophers next to him.
Another pilgrim was a FRANKLIN. He loved good food and wine
6. make a mess : make things dirty or untidy. 9. swan : a big white bird.
7. forehead : top part of the face, between
eyes and hair. 10. begging : (here) asking people
8. plump : rather fat. for money or food.
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Vicens Vives - The Canterbury Tales
(Blackcat. Reading & Training) - ISBN: 9788468215938
and was very hospitable 11 too. Anyone who was a guest at his
house was looked after very well – they had more than enough to
eat and drink, and slept in very comfortable beds!
The pilgrims had hired a COOK who, despite his unhealthy
appearance, knew how to prepare all kinds of delicious dishes.
The brown-faced SEA CAPTAIN knew all the ports and routes in
the North Atlantic. When he fought battles at sea he didn’t take
prisoners; he threw them over the side of the ship.
Then there was a DOCTOR, an expert in medicine and surgery,
who used astrology 12 to help him choose the best moment for
people to take his medicines. He was careful about spending his
money, even though the plague 13 had made him rich.
Another female pilgrim was a WIFE from Bath. She was a
big, red-faced woman with a gap 14 between her front teeth. She
wore a big hat and a long coat over her wide hips. She had been
a respectable woman all her life; she had been married five times
(and had had some love affairs when she was young, too). She had
been on many pilgrimages: three times to Jerusalem and once to
Santiago de Compostela in Spain, to Boulogne in France and to
Cologne in Germany. She liked talking about love… and that was a
subject which she seemed to know a lot about! When you spoke to
her, you had to shout because she was a bit deaf.
There was another religious man with us, a PARSON. He was
patient, hard-working and very kind. Although he did not have
much money himself, he always gave some to the poor. He was
a perfect priest, and his behaviour was an example to everyone.
11. hospitable : kind and generous to guests and visitors.
12. astrology : study of the movements of the stars and planets, and how they
influence people’s lives.
13. plague : a terrible disease (see Introduction, page 9).
14. gap : a space.
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Vicens Vives - The Canterbury Tales
(Blackcat. Reading & Training) - ISBN: 9788468215938
Which pilgrim
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Vicens Vives - The Canterbury Tales
(Blackcat. Reading & Training) - ISBN: 9788468215938
2 Listening
track 03
You will hear eight of the pilgrims talking. For questions 1-8, choose
the best answer (A, B or C).
FIRST
1 You hear a man talking about his work. How does he feel about his
customers?
A He appreciates the stories they tell.
B He likes the money they bring in.
C He pretends to like them, although he doesn’t.
2 You hear a man talking about a woman. How does he feel about her?
A He is sure that she loves him.
B He is not sure that she loves him.
C He is not sure that he loves her.
3 You hear a woman talking about her appearance. How does she feel
about it?
A She is pleased with it.
B She doesn’t think it’s suitable.
C She would like to be more modest.
4 You hear a man talking about how he earns a living. How does he
feel about it?
A He says he is successful and he enjoys it.
B It is hard work and he would like a change.
C He says he is successful but he doesn’t enjoy it.
5 You hear a man talking about his lifestyle. What is his priority?
A earning money
B food and accommodation
C study
6 You hear a man talking about hospitality. Why does he like having
guests?
A He enjoys seeing old friends.
B He just enjoys entertaining people.
C It gives him an excuse to eat and drink well.
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Vicens Vives - The Canterbury Tales
(Blackcat. Reading & Training) - ISBN: 9788468215938