WEEK 3. READING FOR PLEASURE.

I.- Look at the sentences below about reading stories. Are they true or false?

1 It is best to learn new vocabulary in the classroom. True False

2 Reading can help me to speak. True False

3 Reading a story is not enough. I need to do tests and exercises on the story. True False

4 It is important that I enjoy the stories I read. True False

5 I can read any book. True False

6.- Graded readers are especially for learners of English. True False

II.- READING A STORY. ‘THE TORTOISE AND THE HARE’

The Tortoise and the Hare. One day a tortoise is walking slowly across a field. She sees an animal running from right to
left. Then it runs from left to right. Then it runs towards her. It has long ears and long back legs. It stops in front of her
and looks at her.

'Good morning, Mr. Rabbit,' she says. 'Good morning,' says the animal with long ears and long back legs. 'But I am not a
rabbit, I am a hare.'

'Oh,' says the tortoise. 'I've never met a hare before.'

'Well,' says the hare, 'we look like rabbits, but we are much faster. In fact, we are the fastest animals in the world.' And
the hare jumps up and runs to the left. Then he runs to the right. Then he runs to an oak tree in the middle of the field.
Then he runs back to the tortoise.

'Goodness me,' says the tortoise. 'You can run fast. But do you ever arrive?'

'What do you mean?' asks the hare.

'Well, we tortoises are not very fast, but we always know where we are going. And we always arrive on time. "Slow and
steady wins the race", that's what we say.'

'Race?' says the hare. 'You think you can win a race' He looks at the tortoise's short legs and heavy shell and starts
laughing. He jumps up and runs to the right and the left, to the front and the back and around the oak tree, and he's still
laughing.

The tortoise looks at the hare. She sees the hare is laughing at her and she doesn't like it. And so she agrees to a race. A
mile away across the field there is an apple tree. They agree that the first one to the apple tree is the winner. The
tortoise starts walking. She walks slowly and she doesn't stop.

The hare looks at the tortoise's little legs, and then he admires his own long, strong legs. 'No hurry,' he thinks. 'It will
take the tortoise at least two hours to reach the apple tree. I'll have a little sleep and start later.'

The sun is hot and the hare goes to sleep. After an hour he wakes up. He looks over at the apple tree, but the tortoise is
still only half way there. 'No problem,' he thinks. 'I'll have lunch and then I'll start. It will only take me five minutes.'

So the hare has lunch.

By this time the tortoise has almost arrived, so the hare decides it is time to start running. He runs towards the apple
tree. But then he sees a butterfly, and he runs to the left to look at it. He sees a bee and he runs to the right. He sees a
flower and he runs forwards.
 Suddenly, he realizes that the tortoise is almost at the apple tree so he runs as fast as he can ... but he's too late. The
tortoise has won!

'Well, Mr. Hare,' says the tortoise. 'Slow and steady wins the race. That's what we say. And you see - we're right!'

1.- Exercise. Which words go with the tortoise and which words go with the hare? Can you add more words for each
animal?

Late fast runs long legs steady on time jumps shell slow walks

HARE:__ fast __ long legs ___ jumps ___ runs ___ Late _________________________________________________

TORTOISE:___ slow ___ walks ______ steady _____ shell _____ on time ___________________________________

III.- Read the story again. Then match the beginning of each sentence below to the right ending.

Don’t know where Thinks the hare is a The fastest animal in He starts, runs right He is running left and
they are going rabbit the world and left right
To an apple tree a Slow and steady wins He thinks she is so The hare laughing at And walks slowly and
mile away the race slow her steadily

1 When the tortoise first sees the hare, "______ He is running left and right _________________".

2 At first the tortoise "______ Thinks the hare is a rabbit_____________________".

3 The hare says that hares are "_____ The fastest animal in the world___________________".

4 The tortoise says hares may be fast, but she thinks they "______ Don’t know where they are going _____".

5 The hare laughs at the tortoise because "________ He thinks she is so slow _______________".

6 The tortoise doesn't like "_________ The hare laughing at her _______________________".

7 They agree to a race "_______ To an apple tree a mile away ____________".

8.- The tortoise starts ________ Walks slowly and steadily _____________.

9.- The hare sleeps, eats, and when_______ He starts, runs right and left ___________.

10.- The tortoise wins and says that____ Slow and steady wins the race __.

IV.- 'The Tortoise and the Hare' is a fable. There are lots of other kinds of story.

1 Fable - a short story that teaches us something.

2 Romance - boy meets girl and they (usually) marry at the end.

3 Crime - a detective or a private eye solves a crime.

4 Supernatural - stories with ghosts, vampires and monsters.

5 Humor - stories that make you laugh.

6 Fantasy - stories about people with special powers.

7 Classic - books that last forever because they are very good.

8 Action - stories that include lots of fighting and excitement.

9 Sports - stories about football, tennis and other sports.

10 Biography - true stories of people's lives.

You can get all of these books as graded readers. Go on below to see where.

V.-Where can I get graded readers?

Graded readers

You can borrow graded readers at most good libraries. You can buy graded readers at any good English language
bookshop. Why not start by looking at the websites listed below?

Here is some advice on reading for pleasure from eBooks World.

1. Read what you want to read.

2. Read when and where you want.

3. Read at your speed.

4. Don't try to understand everything.

5. Don't keep using a dictionary or asking for help.

For more advice, visit the eBooks World website listed below.

HELBLING READERS PENGUIN READERS MARY GLASGOW MAGAZINE EBOOKS WORLD