The 3 bears

The Three Bears

Three kinds of bears live in Alaska. These are the white bear, the black bear and the brown bear.

White bears, or polar bears, usually live on the ice and nearly always eat meat, especially seals. They often catch seals by waiting near their breathing holes in the ice. White bears always have a wash after meals.

Black bears normally live in forests. They eat a lot of plants and really love honey. Black bears sometimes steal nuts from squirrels. A black bear can occasionally attack a moose. Black bears are very popular with people. Teddy bears come from black bears and Winnie the Pooh too.

Brown bears, or grizzly bears, nearly always live in the mountains. Once a year, the brown bears go to the rivers and lakes to catch salmon. Brown bears love blackberries, blueberries and huckleberrries.

Bears rarely attack humans. White bears are very, very dangerous but there are not many people where they live. You must never go near a white bear. If you meet a black bear, you shout at him until he goes away.

However, if you meet a brown bear in the forest, you lie down and play dead. It is very important not to confuse brown bears with black bears. Also, when you go camping, you always put your food and rubbish in special containers so that the bears don’t smell them.

Reading comprehension questions

  1. Where do polar bears usually live?
  1. What do they do after meals?
  1. Do black bears always live in the forest?
  1. Do they usually attack moose?
  1. What is brown bear’s habitat?
  1. What are their favorite fruits?

RP n°4 : Murder at school

It was the first day of the school year. Mr Bubble , the Principal of Kansas City High School, was brutally murdered.

The police had 4 suspects: the gardener, the maths teacher, the PE teacher,  and the English teacher. They all had alibis:

  • The gardener was cutting the grass in the school playground.
  • The maths teacher was doing a geometry lesson in his classroom.
  • The PE teacher was playing basketball with some 8th grade students in the gymnasium.
  • The English teacher was marking a test he gave to his pupils the week before.

The police arrested the murderer immediately. Who killed Mr Bubble? Why?

RP n°3 : A mystery to solve

A man is found dead one Sunday morning in his London house.  He was killed while his wife was sleeping. The wife tells the police all that she knows. She tells them that the cook was preparing breakfast in the kitchen. He was buttering some slices of toast. The maid was cleaning the living room, as she always does at week-ends. The butler was outside with the family dog. He was getting the mail.

  1. Who are the 4 suspects? What were they doing at the time of the crime?
  2. The police immediately arrested the murderer. Who is the murderer and why?

Irish legends : The salmon of knowledge

Once upon a time, in the river Boyne, there was a magic fish called the Salmon of Knowledge1. The legend said that the first person to taste2 the salmon would become a wise3 man.

Finegas was a poet who lived near the River Boyne.  He read books and wrote poems. He was a clever man. He wanted to become a wise man.  He spent his days along the river, trying  to catch the fish  but he wasn’t lucky

One day, a young man named Fionn came to live with Finegas. Fionn didn’t know4 the legend. One morning in spring, Fionn heard a shout and a big splash coming from the river. He ran and saw Finegas with a big salmon. It was a beautiful fish and its body shone5 like silver. Finegas was happy : he had the salmon of knowledge! Finegas was tired  so he went to bed. He asked Fionn : « Can you cook the fish for me? But you mustn’t eat it, not even a small portion!  »

Fionn built a fire and cooked the salmon very carefully, but when he was cooking it, he touched the salmon and the hot skin of the fish burnt6 his finger. Fionn quickly put his finger into his mouth to take away7 the pain8.

When Fionn gave the fish to Finegas, the  poet noticed 9 there was something different about Fionn. There was a new wisdom10 in Fionn’s eyes. “Have you eaten any of the salmon?” Finegas asked. Fionn answered : « No, I didn’t but I burnt my finger and I put it in my mouth! » Finegas knew at once that Fionn now had the wisdom of the salmon of knowledge. Finegas was very sad, he knew he would never be the wisest man in Ireland, but he was happy for Fionn.

later, Fionn left Finegas and he became the leader of the Fianna, a group of soldiers who served the King of Ireland. he was a wise leader and won a lot of battles.

 

 

1 = connaissances             6 = brula

2 = goûter                          7 = enlever

3= sage                              8 = la douleur

4 = connaître                      9 = remarqua

5= brillait                            10= sagesse

Irish Legends : the Leprechauns

Leprechauns

The leprechaun is the most famous fairy living in Ireland. Leprechauns started appearing in Irish legend in the medieval times. Traditionally, leprechauns are tall fairies and often appear to humans as an old man – much different from the modern view of a small, childlike fairy in a green suit. Leprechauns are different from traditionnal fairies because they have got jobs : the make shoes for Irish poor people. As legend holds, Leprechauns love to collect gold, which they store in a pot and hide at the end of a rainbow. If a human catches a leprechaun, the fairy must grant the human three-wishes before he can be released.