Year 10

Fadzil, The Snake Charmer

This unit of work has a reading passage
vocabulary exercises
comprehension questions
notes for teaching direct speech with 2 practice exercises
composition topic- narrative, an encounter with an animal. Check out Animal Encounters on the cd if you want egs of similar encounters.
alternative composition ideas.
student work sheets for printing

Fadzil, The Snake Charmer

1 The man who greeted us at the door of the three-room flat struck me with awe, dressed in a long purple sarong and golden vest
decked with sequins.

2 “Welcome,” he cried, leading the way into the sparsely-furnished hall crammed with boxes and baskets. This was the humble home
of Fadzil, our science teacher’s uncle. He was a snake charmer, one of the last few entertainers in this vanishing trade in Singapore.

3 According to Fadzil, natural circumstances led him to become a snake charmer at the age of twenty-two. He had been constantly
exposed to snakes since young. All kinds of snakes, including the most poisonous king cobra, pythons and mamba snakes, were kept in the
house by his father. In fact, snake-spotting in the swampy areas of Peninsular Malaysia ranked as the family’s most favourite hobby for four
generations.

4 “What was it that really inspired you to become a snake charmer?” asked Rafi, our class monitor.

5 “Well,” smiled Fadzil, “it was probably the ingenious skill of my father in removing fangs and venom from huge dangerous snakes that
fascinated me. Of course, I felt a sense of closeness towards those guys too,” he said, pointing towards the baskets.

6 Though we were at a distance, we felt unnerved and tense. “Snakes or anything snake-like seems to induce fear or terror in most
people, especially those suffering from ophidiaphobia,” said Fadzil. “For us though, snakes are treated almost reverently.”

7 “Actually, I want to know, how do you make the snakes dance to your music?” I asked curiously. “Do they have ears?”

8 “No, Nathan,” laughed Fadzil. “They can’t hear, but respond to vibrations caused by the music and my special ‘naskar’ flute
movements, by slowly emerging from their baskets. Maybe you’d like to see them dance tonight at The Raja Hotel.”

9 Fadzil then proceeded to share with us his vast experience with snakes. He began training with snakes when he was about one year
old, this involved constant gentle touching. Every day for the past thirty-five years he has been washing them with towels. Twice a week each
snake enjoys a huge meal of one and a half kilos of beef, a kilo of chicken and eggs.

10 He chuckled, “Luckily for me I have only nine snakes left, otherwise I’d be bankrupt soon!”

11 “Aren’t you frightened, living so close to so many snakes?” asked Sanilah in astonishment.

12 “Of course I take precautions when I handle them. I was trained to read their moods at any time, a secret of our trade. We are able
to look at them and read their behaviour, to know if or when they are going to attack us,” he said with a wink. “Of course there will still be
inherent risks of being bitten,” he admitted.

13 Fadzil told us that he does not expect to continue much longer as a snake charmer. He forsees this unique form of entertainment
gradually giving way to newer forms of amusement and recreational activities. Until then, he and his snakes will continue charming their way
into the hearts of both Singaporeans and foreign visitors.

Vocabulary
Words which may need explaining;
Awe, decked, sequins, sparsely, crammed, humble, vanishing, circumstances, constantly, exposed, ranked, generations, inspired, ingenious,
fangs, venom, fascinated, unnerved, tense, induce, especially, ophidiaphobia, reverently, respond, vibrations, emerging, proceeded, constant,
chuckled, bankrupt, astonishment, precautions, moods, inherent, risks, forsees, unique, recreational, charming.

Humble, ophidiaphobia, precautions, inherent are in bold in the passage, as students could look for contextual clues for their meanings.

Words in bold in the list are targeted for the vocabulary exercises which follow.

Exercise 1
Find a word in the passage which means [paragraph no]

1 a feeling of fear or wonder [1]

2 full of [2]
3 thinly [2]
4 listed in order [3]
5 made you want to do something [4]
6 very clever [5]
7 extremely interested [5]
8 react [8]
9 shaking [8]
10 coming out [8]
11 Repeated all the time [9]
12 surprise [11]
13 things done to avoid danger [12]
14 danger [12]
15 very unusual [13]

Comprehension Questions

1 What was Fadzil wearing and why? [2]

2 Why did Nathan describe Fadzil’s home as ‘humble’? [1]
3 How old was Fadzil when he became a snake charmer? [1]
4 What types of snakes did his father keep? [1]
5 What was his family’s favourite hobby? [1]
6 What made Fadzil decide to become a snake charmer? [1]
7 Why do some people suffer from ‘ophidiaphobia’? [1]
8 Explain in your own words how Fadzil’s family felt about snakes. [2]
9 Can snakes hear music? [1]
10 Why do they dance to music? [1]
11 How did Fadzil begin working with snakes, and how old was he? [2]
12 How do we know that he handles his snakes every day? [1]
13 What do the snakes eat? [2]
14 Explain in your own words what Fadzil means when he says “We are able to… read their behaviour”.
[2]
15 Why does Fadzil not expect to continue as a snake charmer? [1]
Total 20 marks
Give the meaning of any five of the following words, as used in the passage.
You may use a single word, or a group of no more than 7 words.

1 awe [1] 2 sparsely [2]

3 crammed [2] 4 ingenious [5]
5 respond [8] 6 vibrations [8]
7 precautions [12] 8 unique [13]
[5 marks]

Direct Speech

In this passage the words the characters said have been given as direct speech. The words they actually said are given in speech marks.
Look at how the speech has been set out.

Note the following points:

Each time a new speaker starts, a new paragraph begins.
The words which are spoken are inside “---”, but nothing else is inside the speech marks except a punctuation mark.
The words spoken begin with a capital letter, and there is a punctuation mark at the end, often a comma. Look carefully to find the exceptions to
this!
The reporting verb (he cried, said Fadzil) can be before the words spoken, in the middle, or at the end of them. Compare para 2, para 5 and para10.
Look carefully at where the speech marks, capital letters and ,!?. go in these cases.
Remember to use a range of different reporting verbs, how many can you list for said; said loudly; asked.

Practice Exercise

Set the following out correctly. The speech is in plain text, reporting verbs and other things not spoken are in italics. You need to read carefully first
to work out what Wafi and Peng are saying as they break into a shop one night.

Pass me the torch, Wafi, whispered Peng. I’ve lost it, Wafi muttered, searching in his bag. Oh wait, here it is. Thanks. Actually can you hold it? I
need to use both hands, Peng said handing the torch back, this screw is stuck tight. There that’s got it, the window should come out now. Wafi
pushed him forward in excitement, What can you see? Let me have a look? His voice got louder and more highly pitched. Shhh, hissed Peng, do
you want everyone to hear?

Composition

Write a composition about an unexpected encounter with an animal.

It could be an animal you are afraid of, or one you particularly like.
Check out Animal Encounters a set of short stories telling of other people’s encounters with animals for ideas.

Planning it
Write short notes
What animal will be encountered?
Who is the main character in your story?
Where is it?
What happens?
What description of the surroundings, animal, person’s reactions can you give to bring the story to life?
How will you end your story?

Other possible compositions topics;

What career would you like?

Do you think people should be allowed to keep dangerous animals in their homes?

The future of entertainment. (How are tv, u-tube etc affecting the live entertainment industry?)
 Fadzil, The Snake Charmer
1 The man who greeted us at the door of the three-room flat struck me with awe, dressed in a long purple sarong and golden vest
decked with sequins.

2 “Welcome,” he cried, leading the way into the sparsely-furnished hall crammed with boxes and baskets. This was the humble home
of Fadzil, our science teacher’s uncle. He was a snake charmer, one of the last few entertainers in this vanishing trade in Singapore.

3 According to Fadzil, natural circumstances led him to become a snake charmer at the age of twenty-two. He had been constantly
exposed to snakes since young. All kinds of snakes, including the most poisonous king cobra, pythons and mamba snakes, were kept in the
house by his father. In fact, snake-spotting in the swampy areas of Peninsular Malaysia ranked as the family’s most favourite hobby for four
generations.

4 “What was it that really inspired you to become a snake charmer?” asked Rafi, our class monitor.

5 “Well,” smiled Fadzil, “it was probably the ingenious skill of my father in removing fangs and venom from huge dangerous snakes that
fascinated me. Of course, I felt a sense of closeness towards those guys too,” he said, pointing towards the baskets.

6 Though we were at a distance, we felt unnerved and tense. “Snakes or anything snake-like seems to induce fear or terror in most
people, especially those suffering from ophidiaphobia,” said Fadzil. “For us though, snakes are treated almost reverently.”

7 “Actually, I want to know, how do you make the snakes dance to your music?” I asked curiously. “Do they have ears?”

8 “No, Nathan,” laughed Fadzil. “They can’t hear, but respond to vibrations caused by the music and my special ‘naskar’ flute
movements, by slowly emerging from their baskets. Maybe you’d like to see them dance tonight at The Raja Hotel.”

9 Fadzil then proceeded to share with us his vast experience with snakes. He began training with snakes when he was about one year
old, this involved constant gentle touching. Every day for the past thirty-five years he has been washing them with towels. Twice a week each
snake enjoys a huge meal of one and a half kilos of beef, a kilo of chicken and eggs.

10 He chuckled, “Luckily for me I have only nine snakes left, otherwise I’d be bankrupt soon!”

11 “Aren’t you frightened, living so close to so many snakes?” asked Sanilah in astonishment.

12 “Of course I take precautions when I handle them. I was trained to read their moods at any time, a secret of our trade. We are able
to look at them and read their behaviour, to know if or when they are going to attack us,” he said with a wink. “Of course there will still be
inherent risks of being bitten,” he admitted.

13 Fadzil told us that he does not expect to continue much longer as a snake charmer. He forsees this unique form of entertainment
gradually giving way to newer forms of amusement and recreational activities. Until then, he and his snakes will continue charming their way
into the hearts of both Singaporeans and foreign visitors.

Exercise 1
Find a word in the passage which means [paragraph no]
1 a feeling of fear or wonder [1]
2 full of [2]
3 thinly [2]
4 listed in order [3]
5 made you want to do something [4]
6 very clever [5]
7 extremely interested [5]
8 react [8]
9 shaking [8]
10 coming out [8]
11 Repeated all the time [9]
12 surprise [11]
13 things done to avoid danger [12]
14 danger [12]
15 very unusual [13]

Comprehension Questions

1 What was Fadzil wearing and why? [2]

2 Why did Nathan describe Fadzil’s home as ‘humble’? [1]
3 How old was Fadzil when he became a snake charmer? [1]
4 What types of snakes did his father keep? [1]
5 What was his family’s favourite hobby? [1]
6 What made Fadzil decide to become a snake charmer? [1]
7 Why do some people suffer from ‘ophidiaphobia’? [1]
8 Explain in your own words how Fadzil’s family felt about snakes. [2]
9 Can snakes hear music? [1]
10 Why do they dance to music? [1]
11 How did Fadzil begin working with snakes, and how old was he? [2]
12 How do we know that he handles his snakes every day? [1]
13 What do the snakes eat? [2]
14 Explain in your own words what Fadzil means when he says “We are able to… read their behaviour”.
[2]
15 Why does Fadzil not expect to continue as a snake charmer? [1]
Total 20 marks
Give the meaning of any five of the following words, as used in the passage.
You may use a single word, or a group of no more than 7 words.

1 awe [1] 2 sparsely [2]

3 crammed [2] 4 ingenious [5]
5 respond [8] 6 vibrations [8]
7 precautions [12] 8 unique [13] [5 marks]

Direct Speech

In this passage the words the characters said have been given as direct speech. The words they actually spoke are given in speech marks.
Look at how the speech has been set out.

Note the following points:

Each time a new speaker starts, a new paragraph begins.
The words which are spoken are inside “---”, but nothing else is inside the speech marks except a punctuation mark.
The words spoken begin with a capital letter, and there is a punctuation mark at the end, often a comma. Look carefully to find the exceptions to
this!
The reporting verb (he cried, said Fadzil) can be before the words spoken, in the middle, or at the end of them. Compare para 2, para 5 and para10.
Look carefully at where the speech marks, capital letters and ,!?. go in these cases.
Remember to use a range of different reporting verbs, how many can you list for said; said loudly; asked.

Practice Exercise 1

Set the following out correctly. The speech is in plain text, reporting verbs and other things not spoken are in italics. You need to read carefully first
to work out what Wafi and Peng are saying as they break into a shop one night.

Pass me the torch, Wafi, whispered Peng. I’ve lost it, Wafi muttered, searching in his bag. Oh wait, here it is. Thanks. Actually can you hold it? I
need to use both hands, Peng said handing the torch back, this screw is stuck tight. There that’s got it, the window should come out now. Wafi
pushed him forward in excitement, What can you see? Let me have a look? His voice got louder and more highly pitched. Shhh, hissed Peng, do
you want everyone to hear?

Practice Exercise 2

Write a conversation between Abu and Zaini about what they watched on tv yesterday.

Composition

Write a composition about an unexpected encounter with an animal.

It could be an animal you are afraid of, or one you particularly like.
Check out Animal Encounters a set of short stories telling of other people’s encounters with animals for ideas.

Planning it
Write short notes
What animal will be encountered?
Who is the main character in your story?
Where is it?
What happens?
What description of the surroundings, animal, person’s reactions can you give to bring the story to life?
How will you end your story?