Just Back: Alpine Pilgrimage in Georgia

(Read the story of Alistair Heathers account of escaping wolves on a pilgrimage trail in a Georgian mountain village) By Alistair Heather (The Daily Telegraph) Read the text carefully, paying attention to the underlined words. Can you figure out their meanings just by looking at their context? Have a look at the explanations below. Look at each words pronunciation and meaning (and the example in a sentence). Try to make a sentence with each new word. Why not, write a short composition using these words (you can re-tell the story or invent a new story). Can you spot any grammar mistakes in the way Zukka speaks?

We followed a steep forest trail out of a mountain village. Snow-crippled boughs bent almost to our heads, forming a silent corridor. Things were going well, until my guide, Zukka, felt the need to do some guiding. Shortcut, Ally. Come this way, he said, clambering up a near-vertical slope. His shortcut cut across a wide clearing, where the snow had fallen unhindered. We fought into it, sinking deeper and deeper until it was past our waists. Is very dangerous, Zukka whispered. Wolves is fast on snow, and we are slow. Youre a terrible guide, I whispered back. Then: Why are we whispering? Because, Ally wolf!

I followed his stare. Fifty feet away, neon-blue eyes stabbing at me, jaws agape, was a wolf. I felt like I was prey. We fled, stampeding trenches through the snow. The wolf watched. We belted uphill into the maze of trees. The wolf turned and padded away.

A priest awaited us at the summit. An Alsatian dog at his heels. A weighty crucifix anchored the priests long beard to his chest, and stopped the tempestuous wind toying with his cassock. The old man offered us no greeting. Instead he knelt by his dog and began muttering into its ear. At his command, it sprang across the space between us. It circled round our knees, sniffing and snarling. Satisfied, it broke into a canter towards the ridge. The priest motioned for us to follow. He will take us to shrine. Come, called Zukka, running after the dog. We trudged along a hellish ridge, facing a howling wind. A giddying drop fell away to one side, a lupine wood threatened at the other. The Alsatian ran ahead, occasionally darting into the woods to bark furiously. He protects us from wolves, Zukka shouted. The shrine stood on a cliff, preposterous drops either side. It was a relic of communist repression, made of reinforced concrete and about the size of a pillbox. The hut was loaded with golden icons. We crossed ourselves and offered quiet prayer. Zukka, then I, pressed our lips to a framed Virgin Mary. I prayed for a safe journey off the mountain. Returning along the ridge, we could see no sign of the priest. The Alsatian, duty done, lay down in the snow. I was afraid to leave him. Our pilgrimage had ignited the fire of faith in Zukka. He pulled a modest wooden cross from beneath his shirt, and kissed it. I am good Georgian Christian, God will protect me, he said. Maybe he will even protect you. With a grin, he abandoned me on the path, sprinting down towards the clearing. You are a terrible tour guide, I called after him.

Vocabulary: steep [sti:p] trail = n. carare abrupta snow-crippled boughs [baus] = crengi doborite de zapada cripple = v. a schilodi, a mutila (if something cripples you, you are seriously injured so that you cannot move properly) to bend bent bent = v. a se apleca, a se indoi; a indoi, a curba to guide/to do some guiding = v. a servi drept ghid, a conduce, a calauzi; to serve as a guide for; conduct shortcut = n. scurtatura; a shorter or quicker way to get somewhere to clamber up [klmb] = v. a se catara to climb with difficulty, especially on all fours: We clambered up the hill. a near-vertical slope = o panta aproape verticala clearing = n. luminis; a clearing is a small area of grass or bare ground in a wood: We

saw a clearing made by a forest fire. to hider [hind] = v. a impiedica (eg. movements hindered by a tight shirt) unhindered = adj. fara sa fie impiedicat, blocat; not slowed or blocked or interfered with fifty feet away = la 50 de picioare distanta (a foot is 0.30 meters) eyes stabbing at me = impungindu-ma cu ochii (to stab = v. a injunghia) agape [geip] = adj. cu gura cascata; with mouth wide open The shark swam up under the woman, jaws agape. to stampede [stampid] = v. a o lua la goana in dezordine; 1. To cause (a herd of animals) to flee in panic 2. To cause (a crowd of people) to act on mass impulse As the fire spread, people stampeded through the narrow streets to escape. trench, trenches = n. canal, sant, transee; 1. a deep ditch or furrow 2. (military) a ditch dug as a fortification, having a parapet of the excavated earth: We could see the trenches of World War I. to belt = v. a alerga, a se napusti; to move very fast (eg. belting down the motorway) maze [meiz] = n. labyrinth to pad away = v. a merge usor; to move or walk about almost inaudibly weighty crucifix = crucifix greu cassock [kes k] = n. imbracamintea lunga a preotului; an ankle-length garment with a close-fitting waist and sleeves, worn by the clergy and others assisting in church services to sniff = v. a mirosi, a adulmeca 1. inhale forcibly through the nose: sniffed the cool morning air; 2. to smell, as in savoring or investigating: sniffed the lilacs; sniffed the breeze for traces of smoke to snarl = v. a marai, a-si arata coltii 1. to growl viciously while baring the teeth; 2. to speak angrily or threateningly: Being upset, he snarled angrily at me. canter [knt] = n. gallop usor; an easy gallop ridge = n. creasta, culme, coama; a long narrow raised land formation (the ridge of a wave, the ridges of wet sand)

shrine [shrain] = n. altar; a place of religious devotion or commemoration to trudge [ trd]= v. a merge din greu; to plod along on foot: It seemed as if we trudged along for miles. As we trudged along, we forgot how cold it was. giddying drop = prapastie ametitoare relic = n. relicva; relicve, moaste 1. something that has survived the passage of time, especially an object or custom whose original culture has disappeared: "Corporal punishment was a relic of barbarism" (Cyril Connolly). 2. an object kept for its association with the past; a memento. 3. an object of religious veneration, especially a piece of the body or a personal item of a saint: In this monastery, the relics of Saint Paraschiva are preserved. pillbox = n. 1. a small box for holding pills; 2. a small, boxlike fortification for machine guns or antitank weapons. to sprint = v. a fugi repede; to run at top speed for a brief period: He sprinted the last 100 yards to the finish line.

Grammar: Look at the verbs in the above text; the narrator uses the Past Tense to express actions that happened in the past. Now try to fill in the spaces with the correct form of the verbs in the past tense: Past Simple, Past Continuous and Past Perfect Simple. Remember that Past Perfect Simple shows that an action happened before another past action: Eg. He told me that he had seen my friend on his way to my house.

1 I (see) my first baseball game when I (live) in New York. 2 How many pints of beer (he/drink) before he .(leave) the pub? 3 It ..(rain) .(decide) to stay at home all afternoon. so we

4 By the time I ..(leave) university I .(be) to France fifteen times. 5 What ..(you/do) at the time the murder was

committed? 6 When we (get) home we saw that someone .. (break) in to steal the DVD recorder. 7 He ..(send) to prison four times before ..(decide) that it would be better to go straight. 8 I didn't realise I (lose) my credit ..(try) to pay for dinner at the restaurant. cards until he I

9 I (write) an email to my sister when she .(ring) me. 10 She was so upset by the news that she (drop) her tea and(start) crying. Answer Key: 1 I saw my first baseball game when I was living in New York. 2 How many pints of beer had he drunk before he left the pub? 3 It was raining so we decided to stay at home all afternoon. 4 By the time I left university I had been to France fifteen times. 5 What were you doing at the time the murder was committed? 6 When we got home we saw that someone had broken in to steal the DVD recorder. 7 He had been sent to prison four times before he decided that it would be better to go straight. 8 I didn't realise I had lost my credit cards until I tried to pay for dinner at the restaurant. 9 I was writing an email to my sister when she rang me. 10 She was so upset by the news that she dropped her tea and started crying.