A suggestion for Nick's project
1. Listen and read.
Duong: I phoned you around 9 p.m. last night, but no reply.
Nick: Oh, I was doing some Internet research on Vietnamese legends for my project.
Duong: Have you found one you like yet?
Nick: Not really. Can you suggest anything?
Duong: We have lots of legends, folk tales, and fables. A popular one is the legend of Lac Long Quan and Au Co.
Nick: Oh yeah? What's it about?
Duong: Well, it's about the origins of the Vietnamese people.
Nick: Who are the main characters?
Duong: Lac Long Quan – the dragon king of the ocean, Au Co – a fairy, and their sons.
Nick: And what's the story?
Duong: Let me see… Lac Long Quan married Au Co. She gave birth to a bag of one hundred eggs, which produced one hundred baby boys.
Nick: One hundred baby boys? That's a lot.
Duong: And some years later, Lac Long Quan missed the sea so he took fifty of their sons to the sea, and Au Co took the others to the mountains. Those boys were the ancestors of the Vietnamese.
Nick: What an interesting legend it is! I think I've found the subject of my project!
a. Read the conversation again and choose the correct answers.
1. What was Duong doing at 9 p.m. last night?
A. He was coming to Nick's house.
B. He was phoning Nick.
C. He was talking to Nick.
2. What was Nick doing at 9 p.m. last night?
A. He was watching a TV show.
B. He was talking about his project.
C. He was searching for information on the Web.
3. What legend did Duong recommend to Nick?
A. A legend about how Viet Nam began.
B. A legend about Vietnamese people being original
C. A legend that isn't well-known
4. Who was Lac Long Quan?
A. A fairy
B. Au Co's father
C. The dragon king of the ocean
5. Where did Au Co take half of the sons?
A. To the mountains
B. To the sea
C. To Lac Long Quan's land
b. Match the words to their meanings.
| 1. title 2. genre 3. main characters 4. plot | a. the people the story is about b. the content of the story c. the name of the story d. the type of story it is |
c. Find the information in the conversation to complete the table.
| Title | Lac Long Quan and Au Co |
| Genre | |
| Main characters | |
| Plot | - Lac Long Quan married Au Co. - - - - |
d. What does this sentence from the conversation express?
Nick: What an interesting legend it is!
Do you know what kind of sentence it is?
Remember!
• Exclamatory sentences are used to express surprise or strong feelings. We use what in exclamatory sentences:
- What + a/an + adjective + N (singular countable) + S + V!
Example: What a naughty boy he is!
- What + adjective + N (uncountable/ plural countable) + S + V!
Example: What naughty boys they are!
What beautiful weather it is!
• We don’t always use an adjective or a subject or a verb in exclamatory sentences.
Example: What a day!
2. Match the words with their definitions. Then listen, check and repeat.
| A. legend | 1. traditional, imaginary short story that teaches a moral lesson; typically using animal characters |
| B. folk tale | 2. an imaginary story typically involving magic or fairies, usually for children |
| C. fable | 3. a very old, traditional story from a particular place that was originally passed on to people in a spoken form |
| D. fairy tale | 4. an ancient story about brave people or magical events that are probably not true |
3. GAME: GUESS THE STORY
a. Think of a legend, folk tale, fable or fairy tale you know. Complete the table below.
| Title | |
| Genre | |
| Main characters | |
| Plot |
b. Work in pairs. Interview each other and try to guess the title of the story.
Example:
A: What kind of story is it?
B: It's a fairy tale.
A: Who are the main characters?
B: Cinderella, her stepsisters, her stepmother, and a prince.
A: What's it about?
B: It's about Cinderella, a kind and beautiful girl who finally gets married to a prince.
A: Is it Cinderella?
B: Yes!
