Imagine your partner is a student from England / America / Australia. Ask him / her about interesting people of their country.

Prepare a short report on some outstanding personality. Say why you have chosen this particular person.

Discuss with your group what the life of some people can teach us.

Collect as much information as you can about famous scientists (politicians, writers, artists, doctors, teachers, etc.) What interesting and important facts can you tell your group about these people?

 

UNIT X

Legends

Read the texts, analyze the information. Express your opinion about myths and legends.

The Children of Lir

Once upon a time, there lived a chieftain in Ireland whose name was Lir. Together with his wife Aev, he had four beautiful children, three sons and one girl. But shortly after the birth of their fourth child, Aev died. As his children needed a mother, Lir married Aev’s sister Aoife.

Aoife was very jealous of Lir’s love for his children and so she made an evil plan. One day, she took the children to see their grandfather. On their way they passed Lough Derravaragh, the Lake of the Oaks where Aoife sent the children in for a bath. When the children were in the water, Aoife turned them into swans and said:

“For three hundred years you will stay on the Lake of the Oaks; for three hundred years you will be on the Isle of Maoile, between Ireland and Scotland; and for three hundred years you will be at Innis Gluaire, on the wild North Coast of Ireland. Only when you hear a bell ring in honour of God, you will get your human forms again.”

Aoife allowed the children to keep their human voices, so they could talk to one another and sing. Their songs were very sad, but their voices were so beautiful that many people stopped to listen.

About the time when the 900 years were over, St. Patrick arrived in Ireland to convert the Irish to Christianity. He travelled all over Ireland and also built a chapel at Innis Gluaire where the children of Lir had lived for the past 300 years.

One day, St. Patrick heard a wonderful song and went to find the people with those beautiful voices. He wanted to ask them to sing in his chapel. St. Patrick was surprised to find four swans with human voices. The children of Lir told him their sad story and St. Patrick asked them to come to his chapel.

So one day, the children of Lir attended mass in St. Patrick’s chapel. But when the chapel bell rung in honour of God, the swans got their human forms again. It were not the forms of children, however, but of four very old people – after all they were more than 900 years old. St. Patrick quickly gave them God’s blessing and baptized them and shortly afterwards the children of Lir died.

 

Giant's Causeway

Once upon a time, Ireland had a giant called Finn MacCool. He was rather small for a giant, but he was very clever. Across the sea, in Scotland, there was another giant called Benandonner. He was an enormously tall giant, but not very clever.

Benandonner was a real showoff and boasted about being the strongest giant on earth. So Finn invited Benandonner over to Ireland for a contest and even built a causeway across the sea for the Scottish giant.

The day of the contest finally arrived. When Finn saw Benandonner approaching, however, he realised that he really didn't stand a chance against that large and fearsome giant. So Finn decided to play a trick on Benandonner.

Finn put on a nightgown and a bonnet and went to bed. When the Scottish giant arrived, Finn's wife Oonagh to ld him that Finn wasn't at home. Benandonner didn't believe her. "Where is the coward hiding?" he shouted and started searching the house. When he heard a noise in the bedroom, he rushed towards it and flung the door open. But Oonagh warned him, "Be quiet or you'll wake the baby."

"That's your baby?" Benandonner muttered when he saw the person in the bed. He didn't realise that the "baby" was Finn. Instead he was shocked by the size of the child - if the baby was that big, how much bigger and stronger might Finn be? Benandonner panicked. Hastily he ran back to Scotland destroying the causeway behind him.

Nowhere in the world has quite such a colourful collection of myths and legends as England, from goblins and dragons, to mermaids and witches, we present a selection of our favourite English myths and legends.

ASSIGNMENTS: