LISTENING:

Listen to the story about St. Patrick’s adventures and fill-in

the gaps.

Hello, this is Natasha; and I’m dropping by with a story about a very special man,
called Saint Patrick. 1 _________ is the patron saint of Ireland, and every year,
on 17th March, 2 _________ people all over the world have a huge
celebration in his honor.

There are lots of 3 _________ about St. Patrick, and in a moment I’ll tell you some of them. But first I’ll
just tell you briefly about his 4 _________. He was born in 5 _________ which is just across the sea from 6
_________. It was the year 373, and the Romans still ruled that part of the world. Many of the people in
Wales and Ireland were druids, who worshiped the sun and other aspects of nature. But Patrick was a 7
_________.

When Patrick was 16 years old, he was walking along the beach when some pirates seized him. They took
him to Ireland and sold him as a slave where he worked in the fields. One day, he heard God telling him to
escape, and he ran down to the sea where he found a ship waiting to take him home. When he was grown
up, he heard a voice calling on him to return to Ireland and to tell the people there about Christianity –
which is what he did.

Patrick travelled the length and breadth of Ireland, and had many 8 _________ while he spread his
message. Quite often, the druid priests were very angry with him for telling their followers to change their
religion, and his life was always in great 9 _________.

Ireland is a very 10 _________ country, and the fields are emerald 11 _________. One of the most common
plants that grow among the grass is the shamrock. It’s like a small clover with three leaves. St. Patrick used
to pick up the 12 _________ and explain that the three leaves were the three aspects of God: The Father,
The Son, and the Holy Spirit.

St. Patrick is also famous for driving all the 13 _________ into the sea, so that to this day there are no
snakes lurking in the beautiful green grass of Ireland.

The Shamrock and the Snakes are the most famous stories about St Patrick, but there are lots of other
tales that aren’t quite so well known. Here are a few of them.

When Patrick was still a boy, he used to look after his aunt’s flocks of 14 _________. One day a wolf
jumped into the field, took a young lamb in its mouth, and ran off. That evening St. Patrick’s aunt was
angry with him for not taking better care of her flocks. So Patrick prayed all night for the 15 _________ to
come back to them, and in the morning when he was in the fields, the wolf appeared again, with the lamb
in its mouth. It came up to Patrick and put the young animal down in front of him. The little lamb got up
and ran back to its mother.

In Patrick’s village, there was a man called Gormas who had been 16 _________ from birth. One day he
heard a 17 _________ commanding him to take the boy by the hand and to draw the sign of the 18
_________ in the ground by his feat. As soon as he did this, a fountain sprang out of the ground and bathed
his eyes. Suddenly he could see! And to this day, the 19 _________ springs up with the purest most
delicious tasting water, and is honoured with the name of St. Patrick.

Later on, when Patrick was traveling around Ireland, he came across two 20
_________ whose father had died. Instead of being sad about their father’s death,
they were quarreling over which one of them should now own their father’s farm
and possessions. At first they shouted at each other, and next, they started to 21
_________ with their fists. St. Patrick called out to them to stop fighting – but they
were too angry to hear him. One of the brothers picked up a large rock, and St.
Patrick feared that he might kill the other – and so he called out a prayer, and
instantly both brothers were turned into stone. They could still hear and see, but
they couldn’t move. St. Patrick explained to them that it was wrong for brothers
to fight – and when he turned them back into men, they were so amazed that they
settled their differences and were 22 _________ for ever more.
 There was a man called Eugene, who was rich and powerful, and terribly
23 _________. His face was the most hideous in all of Ireland. And as he
was so ugly, none of his good fortune made him happy. One day he begged
St. Patrick to give him a new face. Patrick asked him what sort of face
he would like to have – and he said – “One like that man’s over there” – and
he pointed to the saint’s book-keeper, who was as 24 _________ as he was
holy. St. Patrick told the two men to sleep under the same roof for one night,
and when they woke up, they both looked exactly alike – as if they were
25 _________. You could only tell them apart by their beards. And from that
moment on, Eugene was very happy, and he followed all of St. Patrick’s teachings.

And last, but not least, there is a story that St. Patrick started the tradition that a 26 _________ can ask a
man to marry her on the 29th of February. You may know that usually there are only 28 days in the month
of February, but once every four years, there’s an extra day. Those 27 _________ years, which are longer
than all the rest, are known as leap years. St. Bridget – who is Ireland’s other favourite saint – complained
to St. Patrick that young men were taking far too long to 28 _________ marriage to girls. St. Patrick
thought about this 29 _________ and came up with the 30 _________ that once every four years women
should be able to propose to men. And he said that if than a man refuses, he should pay a fine. He could
choose between giving the girl he refused a silk dress or £100 pounds. And that 31 _________ sill holds to
this day.

And those are just a few of the many stories about Ireland’s St. Patrick. Bertie says that they are legends,
which means that they have some basis in fact, but they might or might not be 100% true. It’s up to you to
make up your mind whether you 32 _________ them or not.

Whereever you are in the world, and whatever you believe, I hope you enjoyed these tales – and there are
loads more stories on Storynory.com – so drop by sometime and listen to a few of them.

Until then, from me, Natasha, Bye Bye!

READING:

Read the text again and answer the following questions.

1 Who is Saint Patrick?

2 Where and when was he born?

.

3 How did he arrive to Ireland (the first and the second time)?

4 What was the main religion at that time? What religion was St. Patrick?

5 Mention two of St. Patrick’s most famous symbols.

6 What represent the three leaves of the shamrock?

7 What day is St. Patrick celebrated?

8 What was your favourite story?

SPEAKING:

Work in pairs, discussing the following:

Situation 1:
Student A: You are the teenager Patrick; you are looking after your aunt’s flock
and a wolf has just stolen a lamb. Explain to your aunt what has happened and tell
her that this will never happen again and that you will bring her back the lamb.
Student B: You are the angry aunt. Your nephew has just lost a lamb. He tells you
that it has been stolen by a wolf and that he will bring it back. You don’t know if
he is telling you the truth so you decide to listen to him. Will he convince you or
not?

Situation 2:
Student A: Your father has just died and you argue with your brother for his fortune. You have
always been the perfect son and have always helped your father. You consider that you deserve
the inheritance.
Student B: Your father has just died and you argue with your brother for his fortune. You have
been the family’s ‘black sheep’. You have never had a real job and have never helped your
father. Try to convince your brother that this is your opportunity to change.

Situation 3:
Student A: You are Eugene, a reach and powerful but ugly man. Convince Saint Patrick to help
you to change your appearance.
Student B: You are Saint Patrick. Try to convince Eugene that beauty does not matter as much
as the inner beauty and a great personality.

WRITING:

Write a short essay about marriage and your opinion about who should have the
initiative and the power in a couple. Do you agree with St. Bridget? Bring arguments for
your opinion.
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LISTENING: 1- Saint Patrick, 2- Irish, 3- stories, 4- life, 5- Wales, 6- Ireland, 7- Christian, 8- adventures, 9-
danger, 10- rainy, 11- green, 12- shamrock, 13- snakes, 14- sheep, 15- lamb, 16- blind, 17- voice, 18- cross,
19- fountain, 20- brothers, 21- fight, 22- friends, 23- ugly, 24- handsome, 25- twins, 26-woman, 27- special,
28- propose, 29- problem, 30- solution, 31- tradition, 32- believe
READING:

1. the patron saint of Ireland.

2. 373, in Wales.
3. The first time, he arrived as a slave, captured by the pirates, and, the second time, he was lead there
by the divine voice.
4. People in Ireland and Wales were druids and St. Patrick was a Christian.
5. the snakes and the shamrock
6. The Father, The Son, and the Holy Spirit.
7. 17th March