DRAGONS - True or False

Of all the mythological creatures, few have captured the human imagination as much
as the dragon. It appears in the literature and legends of cultures as diverse as China,
Japan, Iran, the Mayans, classical Greece, Rome, Judaism, the Babylonians, ancient
Egypt, and medieval Europe. These fascinating creatures have taken different forms
and qualities in the mythologies of different cultures throughout history. To the
Chinese, a dragon was an immensely wise animal which brought good luck. But for the
Norsemen of Scandinavia, it was an evil, terrifying and treacherous monster. And to
the ancient Greeks, the dragon was often a creature of intelligence and virtue - and
might be found guarding shrines dedicated to the gods. All these dragons do have
some things in common, however. They tend to be shown with huge bat -like wings,
long toothed jaws like a crocodile, piercing eyes, sharp eagle -like talons and huge scaly
bodies - and they can often breathe fire. Another common point is that they're always
creatures of immense power and strength. But where do dragons come from? The
creatures they most resemble, in size and shape, are dinosaurs - but since the last
dinosaurs died out tens of millions of years before the first humans ever appeared,
that seems an unlikely source of inspiration. One theory is that the earliest humans
may have evolved when huge lizards - smaller than dinosaurs, but larger than anything
known today - were still around. Another theory is that the dragon represents
something submerged in the human subconscious. It's fun to speculate, but nobody
knows for sure.

Are the following statements TRUE or FALSE? Copy the evidence from the text. No marks are
given for only TRUE or FALSE.

TRUE Dragons in China are considered to have a positive influence on people´s life

FALSE Dragons in different cultures do not physically resemble each other

Explicación: Para la primera afirmación el párrafo relevante es: "To the Chinese, a dragon was
an immensely wise animal which brought good luck"

La respuesta es verdadera ya que el texto nos explica que en la cultura China, los dragones son
considerados animales que traen buena suerte.

Mientras que para la segunda es: "All these dragons do have some things in common,
however. They tend to be shown with huge bat-like wings, long toothed jaws like a crocodile,
piercing eyes, sharp eagle-like talons and huge scaly bodies – and they can often breathe fire."

Según el texto, la apariencia física es uno de los puntos en común que tienen los dragones
descritos en las diferentes culturas. Todos ellos son grandes figuras representadas con
enormes alas, gran mandíbula y ojos amenazadores.
In your own words and based on the ideas in the text, answer the following
questions. (?)

a) How do dragons appear in European cultures?

Dragons appear in different ways according to cultures. For example, in Scandinavia, dragons
were seen as evil and dangerous monsters. On the other hand, the Greeks considered dragons
virtuous and intelligent creatures. For both cultures dragons are powerful and strong creatures.

Ayuda: la respuesta la encontramos en el segundo párrafo que nos explica las formas y
cualidades de la figura del dragón de acuerdo con las diferentes culturas.

Vocabulario: according to: según; evil: malvado; both: ambos/as; powerful: poderosos.

b) Is there any connection between dragons and dinosaurs? Explain .

At first sight, it seems possible to think that there is a connection between dragons and
dinosaurs, due to their close resemblance. However, taking into account that dinosaurs
disappeared before the first humans appeared, it is implausible to think of them as connected
to dragons. Nevertheless there is a theory claiming that humans evolved at the same time that
huge lizards did. These huge lizards, which were smaller than dinosaurs but bigger than
anything known today, may have inspired the figure of the dragon. .

Ayuda: la respuesta la encontramos en el tercer párrafo que aporta varias hipótesis acerca de
los orígenes de la figura del dragón. De acuerdo con el texto, es improbable que el dinosaurio
sirviera como fuente de inspiración de la figura del dragón puesto que éstos se extinguieron
antes de que los humanos aparecieran en la tierra pero posteriores y enormes lagartos que
convivieron con los humanos pudieron valer de inspiración.

Find the words in the text that mean: (?)

a) clever: wise (sabio)

Ayuda: :clever (= listo) es un adjetivo igual que su sinónimo wise.

b) keeping : guarding (custodiando)

Ayuda: keeping es un verbo en gerundio (acaba en –ing). Significa “guardar, conservar”. Su

sinónimo debe ser otro verbo en gerundio: guarding.

c) look like : resemble (parecerse a)

Ayuda: look like es un verbo transitivo que significa “parecerse a”. Su sinónimo es otro verbo
de igual significado: resemble.

d) hidden: submerged (sumergido)

Ayuda: hidden es un participio irregular (hide – hid – hidden) que significa

escondido. Submerged es un participio regular (acaba en –ed) con un significado parecido.

Complete the following sentences. Use the appropriate form of the words in brackets
when given.

a) Dragons have formed (form) a part of human mythology since long ago. One only has to
consult ancient texts to know (know) that this is true

Ayuda: el verbo en el primer espacio debe estar en presente perfecto ya que indica una acción
que ocurrió en un momento no determinado del pasado y aún continúa. La preposición since es
frecuente con este tiempo verbal. La segunda oración es una oración subordinada final
(purpose clause) que indica finalidad y lleva to + infinitivo.
b) In China the dragon was seen / is seen (see) as a wise and lucky animal while Greek people
were afraid of it because of its evil and terrifying reputation.

Ayuda: debemos emplear la voz pasiva del verbo (be+ past participle) en el primer espacio ya
que la oración carece de agente (persona que realiza la acción). Tanto el pasado como el
presente serían adecuados aunque el pasado se corresponde con el tiempo verbal de la oración
subordinada que le sigue (were afraid). Because of es una preposición que significa “debido a”
y se emplea en oraciones causales (reason clauses) como ésta.

c) The Komodo Dragon is the world´s largest (large) living lizard although there are some
species of reptiles, such as the crocodile that are much bigger (big).

Ayuda: el primer espacio requiere la forma superlativa del adjetivo proporcionado, que se
forma con –est ya que large es un adjetivo de una sóla sílaba. En el segundo espacio
necesitamos un comparativo que se forma con –er pero al que hay que doblar la última
consonante ya que el adjetivo acaba en consonante + vocal + consonante.

Rewrite the following sentence in reported speech starting with the words given.

d) “Dragons have played an important role in my life” Steven Spielberg said. Steven Spielberg
said that dragons had played an important role in his life.

Ayuda: Al convertir una afirmación en estilo indirecto debemos realizar varios cambios.
Después del verbo (said) debemos utilizar la partícula that. También hay cambios en los
tiempos verbales, que dan un salto atrás. El presente perfecto del estilo directo (have
played) se convierte en pasado perfecto (had played) en estilo indirecto. También hay un
cambio en los adjetivos posesivos: my se convierte en his (que hace referencia a Steven
Spielberg).