0% found this document useful (0 votes)
446 views11 pages

Download

Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
0% found this document useful (0 votes)
446 views11 pages

Download

Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
You are on page 1/ 11

Step Four B2.

1
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

The Canterbury Tales


on the way, everyone agrees! From this simple premise Chaucer
created a medieval masterpiece. The prologue and five of the
best-known stories are retold in modern English in this edition.

This reader uses the EXPANSIVE READING approach, where the


text becomes a springboard to improve language skills and to
explore historical background, cultural connections and other topics
suggested by the text. As well as the story, this reader contains:
• A wide range of activities practising the four skills
• Dossiers: Traditional Tales and others

The Canterbury Tales


• First-style activities and Trinity-style activities (Grade 7)
• Full recording of the text
• An exit test with answer key at blackcat-cideb.com

Answer keys downloadable at


blackcat-cideb.com
Step 1 CEFR A2
Step 2 CEFR B1.1
Step 3 CEFR B1.2
Step 4 CEFR B2.1
Step 5 CEFR B2.2
Step 6 CEFR C1

Word count: 10,868

ISBN 978-88-530-1417-7
Th N BL
G an 8-8 K
eo t 8- C
IS

e 97 AC
B
C
ffr er 53 AT
ey bu 0-

This volume without the side coupon is to be


C ry 14

considered a free sample copy not for sale. (Sale or


ha

other distribution is forbidden: art. 17, c. 2, L. 633/1941).


uc Tal 7-7
er es

Excluded from V.A.T. (D.P.R. 26/10/72, n. 633, art. 2,


€ 9,80
3° c., lett. d.) free Audiobook
1

Vicens Vives - The Canterbury Tales


(Blackcat. Reading & Training) - ISBN: 9788468215938

RT_Canterbury_COP_11_19.indd 1 10/12/19 14:25


Vicens Vives - The Canterbury Tales
(Blackcat. Reading & Training) - ISBN: 9788468215938
Geoffrey Chaucer

The Canterbury Tales

Adapted by Robert Hill


Illustrated by Anna and Elena Balbusso

Vicens Vives - The Canterbury Tales


(Blackcat. Reading & Training) - ISBN: 9788468215938

RT4_canterbury_tales_OK.indd 1 04/03/14 12:27


The Canterbury Tales
Contents
Geoffrey Chaucer: His Works and Times 4

Chapter 1 The Prologue 15

Chapter 2 The Knight’s Tale 28

Chapter 3 The Nun’s Priest’s Tale 45

Chapter 4 The Pardoner’s Tale 58

Chapter 5 The Wife of Bath’s Tale 76

Chapter 6 The Franklin’s Tale 89

DOSSIERS Thomas Becket and the City of Canterbury 40


Traditional Tales 71
Pilgrimages 104

ACTIVITIES 14, 22, 36, 53

after reading 109

FIRST Cambridge English: First-style activities 22, 23, 36, 44, 54, 55, 56, 66, 68,
84, 86, 99, 102, 103

T: Grade 7 Trinity-style activities 43, 107

The text is recorded in full.

n. track These symbols indicate the beginning and end of the


end passages linked to the listening activities.

Vicens Vives - The Canterbury Tales


(Blackcat. Reading & Training) - ISBN: 9788468215938

RT4_canterbury_tales_OK.indd 3 04/03/14 12:27


Geoffrey
Chaucer:
His Works
and Times
Geoffrey Chaucer
Geoffrey Chaucer, sometimes
called ‘the father of English
poetry’, was born in London in
about 1343 into a family who had
made money in the wine business.
As a teenager he became a page 1
in the household of one of the
Geoffrey Chaucer describes himself
in The Canterbury Tales as rather fat, King’s sons, and for the rest of
and it seems he was (portrait by an his life he was connected with the
unknown artist).
royal court in London.
In 1359 he fought in the war in France, where he was taken prisoner
but released for a ransom, 2 part of which was paid by the English
king, Edward III. During the 1360s, he worked in the King’s household
and married Philippa, a lady of the Queen’s court and connected to
noble families.
In 1372-3 he was sent on a diplomatic mission to Italy, where he
visited Genoa, Pisa and Florence. He already knew French literature

1. page : (historical) young boy who is the servant of a noble family.


2. ransom : money which is paid in order to set a prisoner free.

6
Vicens Vives - The Canterbury Tales
(Blackcat. Reading & Training) - ISBN: 9788468215938

RT4_canterbury_tales_OK.indd 6 04/03/14 12:27


CHAPTER 1

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

1. martyr : someone who is killed because of their religious – or political – beliefs.

15
Vicens Vives - The Canterbury Tales
(Blackcat. Reading & Training) - ISBN: 9788468215938

RT4_canterbury_tales_OK.indd 15 04/03/14 12:27


CHAPTER 1

to you – or at least some of them. There were men and women,


young and old, rich and poor... in short, they were a real mixture!
I’ll begin with the Knight.
The KNIGHT had loved chivalry, 2 truth and honour all his life.
He had fought in wars in Egypt, Germany, Russia, Spain, Turkey
and many other places. But even though he was brave and famous
his behaviour was always modest and polite: he was a true, perfect
knight. He rode a fine horse but he looked rather tired. He had, in
fact, just come back from a war and was going on the pilgrimage
to thank Saint Thomas for his victories and safe return to England.
The Knight’s son, a young SQUIRE, rode with him. He was about
twenty years old – at least, that’s what I guessed – with curly 3
hair and a handsome face. He wore beautiful red and white clothes,
which made him look like a field full of fresh flowers! He had fought
bravely in the war with his father to win the love of his lady. As
well as fighting, he also knew how to write songs and poems, how
to draw and how to dance. He was singing or whistling 4 all day
long – he seemed as happy as the month of May!
The Knight had a servant, a YEOMAN. He carried a sword, a
hunting horn and a bow and arrows, on which there were peacock 5
feathers. With his brown face, short hair and clothes that were
mostly green, he was a real man of the country. Nobody would
ever mistake him for a person from a town!
Then there was a NUN – in fact, she was a PRIORESS – whose
name was Madam Eglantine. She spoke French well, although she
pronounced it with a London accent, and had very good manners.
2. chivalry : the perfect behaviour of knights in Chaucer’s time (e.g. protecting
ladies, being honest and generous, etc.).
3. curly : not straight.
4. whistling : making musical noises by blowing air through the mouth.
5. peacock : a beautiful bird, famous for its tail with ‘eyes’.

16
Vicens Vives - The Canterbury Tales
(Blackcat. Reading & Training) - ISBN: 9788468215938

RT4_canterbury_tales_OK.indd 16 04/03/14 12:27


The Prologue

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.

17
Vicens Vives - The Canterbury Tales
(Blackcat. Reading & Training) - ISBN: 9788468215938

RT4_canterbury_tales_OK.indd 17 04/03/14 12:27


CHAPTER 1

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.

18
Vicens Vives - The Canterbury Tales
(Blackcat. Reading & Training) - ISBN: 9788468215938

RT4_canterbury_tales_OK.indd 18 04/03/14 12:27


A C T I V I T I E S

The text and beyond

FIRST 1 Comprehension check – The characters


For questions 1-15 below, choose from the pilgrims (A-T). The pilgrims
may be chosen more than once. There are 2 examples at the beginning
(00, 0).

A Geoffrey Chaucer H the Friar O the Wife of Bath


B the Knight I the Merchant P the Parson
C the Squire J the Scholar Q the Miller
D the Yeoman K the Franklin R the Summoner
E the Prioress L the Cook S the Pardoner
F the Nun’s Priest M the Sea Captain T the Host
G the Monk N the Doctor

Which pilgrim

00 A was a professional writer?


0 E O was a woman?
1 was sentimental?
2 wore fine clothes?
3 had recently been fighting abroad?
4 spoke French?
5 was fond of eating and drinking?
6 didn’t have much money?
7 had travelled a lot?
8 was unscrupulous?
9 was musical?
10 was in love?
11 was carrying weapons?
12 took good care of guests?
13 had considerable experience of love?
14 was physically unattractive?
15 worked with the sick?

22
Vicens Vives - The Canterbury Tales
(Blackcat. Reading & Training) - ISBN: 9788468215938

RT4_canterbury_tales_OK.indd 22 04/03/14 12:55


A C T I V I T I E S

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.

23
Vicens Vives - The Canterbury Tales
(Blackcat. Reading & Training) - ISBN: 9788468215938

RT4_canterbury_tales_OK.indd 23 04/03/14 12:27

You might also like

pFad - Phonifier reborn

Pfad - The Proxy pFad of © 2024 Garber Painting. All rights reserved.

Note: This service is not intended for secure transactions such as banking, social media, email, or purchasing. Use at your own risk. We assume no liability whatsoever for broken pages.


Alternative Proxies:

Alternative Proxy

pFad Proxy

pFad v3 Proxy

pFad v4 Proxy