«Обучение английской грамматике в процессе реализации элективного курса

  СВЕДЕНИЯ ОБ АВТОРЕ

Фамилия, имя, отчество автора (полностью)	Егошина Надежда Гермогеновна
Место работы	МБОУ «Гимназия № 14 г. Йошкар-Олы», учитель английского языка высшей категории ФГБОУ ВПО «Марийский государственный университет»,   кафедра английской филологии, факультет иностранных языков
Должность	доцент
Ученая степень, ученая звание	кандидат пед. наук
Почтовый адрес (с индексом)	424031, Республика Марий Эл, г. Йошкар-Ола, ул. Машиностроителей, д. 5, кв. 67.
Телефон домашний	(8362) 414162
Телефон мобильный	89648610290
E-mail	[e-mail]

Методическая разработка № 1

«Обучение английской грамматике в процессе  реализации

элективного курса «Герои финно-угорских эпосов»

 (для учеников 8-9-х классов)

*Материал можно использовать и отдельно, например, при изучении темы «Кто такой герой? Геройский поступок» (Модуль 4) по учебнику  «Английский язык нового тысячелетия»  для 8-го класса общеобразовательных  учреждений. 

Программа элективного курса для учеников 8-9 классов

«Герои финно-угорских эпосов»

(на английском языке)

Пояснительная записка

Материалы ФГОС четко  обозначают в качестве ведущей ценностную парадигму современного образования, результатом внедрения которой должно стать воспитание человека, личности – гражданина и патриота своей страны. Становлению гражданской и национальной идентичности может и должен способствовать разнообразный культурно-исторический материал, духовное наследие прошлых лет, в том числе и героический эпос разных народов. 

Все отмеченное выше обуславливает несомненную актуальность содержательного компонента предлагаемого элективного курса.

Цели курса:

1.           Формирование  патриотического сознания школьников средствами героических эпосов финно-угорских народов  в процессе иноязычного образования.

2.            Cистематизация знаний учеников в области грамматики английского языка.

Тематический план курса

Тема занятия	Грамматический материал	Количество часов
1.  What is it – epos?	Present Simple Active, Past Simple Active, Present Simple Passive, Past Simple Passive;  Plural form of the   nouns	1
2. The Kalevala - Karelian and Finnish oral folklore	Numerals; Participle II Present Simple Active Present Simple Passive Past Simple Passive	2
3. Kalevipoeg - Estonian heroic  epos	Tag questions; Past Simple Active Past Simple Passive Past Progressive Tense	1
4. Mastor-ava – the epos of the Mordvinic nation	Present, Past Tenses in comparison; questions; negative forms; Pronouns; Word forms	1
5. “Siyazhar” and “Surai” – heroes-protectors of the ancient Mordvinic people		1
6. Tangyra – the national epos of the Udmurt people	Prepositions; Verb Tenses in comparison	1
7. Epic heroes of the Komi people	The Present  Simple Passive The Past Simple Passive Prepositions Word forms	1
8. Tonjya – the central figure of the heroic legends of Khanty and Mansi	Adjectives: comparative and superlative degrees; adverbs Indirect Speech	1
9. The heroic epos of the Mari people and its characters	Verb Tenses in comparison; Conditionals The Present Progressive Tense	2
10. Test yourself	All Grammar material	1
11.Project work “The most interesting epos”	All Grammar material	2
12. Writing an essay “The role of epos in modern life”	All Grammar material	2
Итого:		16

Фрагмент занятия по теме № 3

Тема 3.

Read the text and do the tasks after it.

Estonian heroic folklore

The main material is taken from Estonian folklore of a giant hero named Kalevipoeg (“Kalev’s son”) These tales mainly interpret various natural objects and features as traces of Kalevipoeg's deeds and have similarities with national epics from neighbouring regions, especially the Finnish Kalevala.

In 1839, Friedrich Robert Faehlmann read a paper at the Learned Estonian Society about the legends of Kalevipoeg. He sketched the plot of a national romantic epic poem. In 1850, after Faehlmann’s death, Kreutzwald started writing the poem, interpreting it as the reconstruction of an obsolete oral epic. He collected oral stories and wove them together into a unified whole.

The first version of Kalevipoeg (1853; 13,817 verses) could not be printed due to censorship. The second, thoroughly revised version (19,087 verses) was published in sequels as an academic publication by the Learned Estonian Society in 1857–1861. The publication included a translation into German. In 1862, the third, somewhat abridged version (19,023 verses) came out. This was a book for common readers. It was printed in Kuopio, Finland.

 In Estonian (mainly East Estonian) legends, Kalevipoeg carries stones or throws them at enemies, and also uses planks edgewise as weapons, following the advice of a hedgehog. He also forms surface structures on landscape and bodies of water and builds towns.  Kalevipoeg was the youngest son of Kalev and Linda, born after his father’s death and surpassed his brothers in intelligence and strength. 

Kalevipoeg travels to Finland in search of his kidnapped mother. During his travel he purchases a sword but kills the blacksmith’s eldest son in an argument. The blacksmith places a curse on the sword and it is thrown in the river. On returning to Estonia Kalevipoeg becomes king after defeating his brothers in a stone hurling competition. He constructs towns and forts in Estonia.

Kalevipoeg then journeys to the ends of the earth to expand his knowledge. He defeats Satan in a trial of strength and rescues three maidens from hell. War breaks out and destruction visits Estonia.   Kalevipoeg’s faithful comrades are killed, he   withdraws to the forest depressed. Crossing a river, the sword cursed by the Blacksmith and previously thrown in the river, cuts off his legs. He dies and goes to heaven. Taara, in consultation with the other gods, reanimates Kalevipoeg, places his legless body on a white steed and sends him down to the gates of hell where he is ordered to strike the rock with his fist, thus entrapping it in the rock. So Kalevipoeg remains to guard the gates of hell.

·        Match the two parts of the questions:

1. The main material was taken from Estonian folklore of a giant hero,	A. could it?
2. He constructs towns and forts in Estonia,	B. wasn’t he?
3. Kalevipoeg’s faithful comrades are killed,	C. didn’t he?
4. The first version of Kalevipoeg could not be printed due to censorship,	D. doesn’t he?
5. Kalevipoeg was the youngest son of Kalev and Linda,	E aren’t they?
6. The publication included a translation into German,	F. didn’t it?
7. He collected oral stories and wove them together into a unified whole.	G. wasn’t it?
8. He is ordered to strike the rock with his fist, thus entrapping it in the rock,	H. doesn’t it?
9. Destruction visits Estonia during the war,	I. isn’t he?
10. These tales mainly interpret various natural objects and features as traces of Kalevipoeg's deeds,	J. don’t they?

(Answer key: 1 G, 2 D, 3 E, 4A, 5B, 6F, 7 C, 8 I, 9 H, 10 J).

·        Find in the text some sentences in the Past Simple Active. Transform them into the Past Simple Passive as in the model:

Past Simple Active	Past Simple Passive
1. In 1839, Friedrich Robert Faehlmann read a paper at the Learned Estonian Society about the legends of Kalevipoeg.	1. In 1839, a paper at the Learned Estonian Society about the legends of Kalevipoeg was read by Friedrich Robert Faehlmann.

·        Read the description of the battle between Kalev and the Horned – the Master of the Hell.  

They approached and grabbed each other by the waist belts. Who will appear to be stronger? Who will fall the opponent to the ground? The battle was terrible and persistent. Even the ancient mountains didn’t see the fight of such kind. Like a rough stormy sea during the wind gust were swinging the fighters’ broad shoulders. They were stamping their feet so violently that it seemed the walls and the ceiling of the hell were going to be ruined.  The battle lasted for 7 days and nights non-stop. Many times the Horned – the Master of the Hell tried to trip the brave warrior, putting forward its crooked foot, but Linda’s son was standing firmly, like an oak.  Courageous Kalev was towering like an iron wall without any shaking as he was struggling for his native land and his dear people.

·         Find sentences in the Past Progressive Tense. Ask questions to these sentences. Give short answers to the questions.

·        Find in the texts the underlined verbs. Name the form and the tense. Translate the verbs into Russian.

Model:

Form	Tense	Translation
1. He collected oral stories…	1. The Past Simple Tense (the 2-nd form of the verb)	Собирал

Методическая разработка № 2

Обучение устной речи (в формате ЕГЭ)

Задание 1.  Чтение текста вслух.

Imagine that you are preparing a project about heroic eposes of different peoples.  You have found some interesting material and you want to read this text to your friend. You will have 1.5 minutes to do it.

The heroic epos of the Komi people

The central figure of the heroic epos “The time of the heroes” of the Komi-Permyak people is Pera the warrior. His mother was Parma (Komi forest), his father was a bear. Pera married a beautiful girl Zarni-an who was the daughter Shondi, the God of the Sun. She embodied the early morning dawn and a careful hostess. She woke up early and went to bed after midnight being busy about the house. She looked after the sun light, not permitting it to burn the living creatures on Earth.

 Shondi couldn’t stand his daughter’s husband because he was a simple mortal. Winter came. Together with it started severe frosts. Mother Parma gave shelter to the young family and they lived happily till the Son returned again. It sent unbearable heat to the Earth and Zarni-an was made to return home to his father. She intended to pick up children to the sky kingdom but Parma created echo and Zarni-an couldn’t hear the kids’ cries. They say Pera and his children are the ancestors of the modern Komi people. When Pera’s children grew up, they together with Pera climbed the highest mountain and shot arrows at Shondi. At last a large piece of the Sun was chopped off and a big splinter of the Sun fell down to the taiga wood. In this way people got the fire.

Задание 2. Задать 5 (пять) прямых вопросов.

You are going to interview A.M. Aronov, the author of the Mordvinic national epos called “Mastor-ava”. You are to ask him 5 questions to find out the following:

1.     the year of  publishing  

2.     the main characters of the epos

3.     the peculiarities of the plot

4.     if it is translated into different languages

5.     the number of the awards the book won

*You have 20 seconds to ask each question.

Задание 3. Описание фотографии/ картинки.

Imagine that while reading about different national eposes, you found some photos/ pictures of the main characters – heroes of the folk legends and ballads. Choose one picture and represent it to your friend.

           

You will speak for not more than 2 minutes. In your talk remember to speak about:

·        where you found the picture (in what book)

·        who/ what is in the picture

·        what is happening

·        why you paid attention to this picture

·        why you decided to show it to your friend

* You have to talk continuously, starting with:

I have chosen picture number…

Задание 4. Сравнение двух фотографий.

Study the two pictures. In 1.5 minutes be ready to compare and contrast the pictures:

·        give a brief description of the picture  

·        say what the pictures have in common

·        say in what way the pictures are different

·        say what epos and about what character you’d prefer to read

·        explain why

         

Можно предложить  и  другие пары картинок (для другого варианта):

        

     

     

Методическая разработка № 3

Обучение лексике

На уроках Модуля 4 «Кто такой герой» (8 класс) можно использовать разнообразные лексические упражнения.

1.     Определение частей речи:

1.1 Divide the given vocabulary in each category into subclasses:

Category: Horrors of war
Vocabulary: fire, obliterate, burning, explode, die, death, fighting, ruins, siege, painful, surrender, shells, mines, crucial, fatal, blood, suffer, blow, suffering, disastrous, fight back, battlefield, burn
Noun	Verb	Adjective

Category:  Bravery of the Soviet soldiers
Vocabulary:  battle, immortalize, defend, great, heroic, secret, flight, upward, impossible, crucial, rush, protect, brotherhood, approach, selflessness, victory, spirit, example, heroism,  bravery, courageous, immortal, peaceful
Noun	Verb	Adjective

1.2   Read the text and the task after it.

Picasso and his masterpiece

“Gernika” was painted in the style of cubism in 1937. In 1981 it was displayed in the famous museum “Prado”; since 1992 it has been exposing in the Museum of Queen Sophia in Madrid.

All the scenes depicted in the canvas are taking place within one room.

In the left part you can see a woman sobbing over her dead child. Above her there is an ox with widely opened eyes.

The center of the canvas is occupied by the figure of a horse convulsing in agony as if it had just been transpierced with a spear or a dart. The horse’s nose and upper teeth are made up by the form of a human skull.

Under the horse – a dead soldier whose chopped off hand is still gripping a splinter of a sword.

Transparent lamp (from the chamber of tortures) in the form of an eye is giving some light above the head of the suffering horse.

On the right above the horse there is an antique mask that seems to be a witness of all the happening events; it looks as if the mask is floating into the room through the window. Its hand holding a lit lamp is also penetrating inside.

The daggers personify the piercing cry and they substitute the tongues of the ox, the mournful woman and the horse.

Behind the ox on the shelf is a dove, apparently in panic.

On the right edge you can see a figure with arms raised in horror. It is trapped in a fire both above and beneath.

The dark wall with an open door completes the right wing of the canvas.

On the arms of the killed soldier a viewer can notice stigmata (painful bleeding wounds) like those on the body of the crucified Christ. It reflects the idea of sufferings without any grounds.

The head of the ox in the upper left corner of the picture was the reason for much disagreement among critics and art experts. It is the character that is looking indifferently at everything; its black eyes are directing to nowhere. It doesn’t sympathize with the characters of the picture; it can’t realize the absolute terror of the situation. Some experts are of the opinion that it is the personification of fascism and total world evil. Others think that the ox is the symbol of deafness, ignorance, lack of understanding.

·        Fill in the chart:

Verb	Noun	Adjective
1. To die	1. Death	1. Dead
2. To pierce	2. -----	2. Piercing
3. -----	3. Sympathy	3. -----
4. -----	4. -----	4. Symbolic
5. To characterize	5. -----	5. -----
6. -----	6. Indifference	6. Indifferent
7. To ignore	7. -----	7. -----
8. -----	8. Terror	8. -----
9. -----	9. Reason	9. -----
10.-----	10. Critic	10.-----
11. To substitute	11. -----	11. -----
12. -----	12. Panic	12. -----
13. -----	13. -----	13. Horrible
14. -----	14. Center	14.-----
15. -----	15. -----	15. Wide
16.-----	16. Agony	16.-----

2.     Словообразование

The Fortress of Brest

On 22 June 1941 (1. ---) at 4.15 a.m. the fortress was exposed to fascist (2. ---). Soon after the dawn there was another round of heavy shelling in all the parts of the town. That shelling caught the garrison of the fort (3. ---). The fire destroyed the central water pipe, the (4. ---) storehouses, the communication cable. The garrison suffered heavy (5. ---). At 4.45 a.m. the enemy assault began. The (6. ---) of the attack caused the lack of co-coordinated (7. ---) of the Soviet troops; the garrison was split into several separate parts. Fascist (8. ---) confronted the (9. ---) resistance at Volynsky and Kobrinsky fortifications where the Russian soldiers charged with bayonets when no more means of fighting were left. By 7 a.m. on 22 June the 42 and 6 Riffle Divisions left the fortress and the town of Brest. The main line of defense was (10. ---) at Kobrinsky fortification and Citadel. The number of the (11. ---) was about 400 people under the command of Major Peter Michailovich Gavrilov. The Russian soldiers had to fight back 7-8 attacks (12. ---). The enemy batteries put up a heavy barrage of machine-gun fire from all the sides. On 26 June the last link of the defense line near the 3-Arch Gates of the Citadel stopped its (13. ---). That was the end of the organized defense. One of the (14. ---) on the walls of the fortress said: “I’m dying but not surrendering. Farewell, my Motherland. 20.07.41” The (15. ---) of the (16. ---) Forces on 22 June 1941 on the approaches to the fort was as follows: In the fort there were about 9 thousand people. On the opposite bank of the river Hitler concentrated about 17 thousand soldiers (the 45 Infantry (17. ---)). The fascist losses during this battle made up 5% of the total losses of the German Army during the (18. ---) week of the war (1121 killed and 453 wounded). Since that time the name of the fortress has become the symbol of (19. ---) (20. ---) of the Soviet people. The feat of the defenders of the fort was depicted by the Soviet painter Peter Krivonogov in his (21. ---) canvas “The protectors of the Brest Fortress”.  In 1955 came out a (22. ---) drama “Fortress above the river Bug” by S.S. Smirnov. In 1956 the same author published the (23. ---) novel “The fortress of Brest”. In 1956 was released a feature film “(24. ---) Garrison”, the film script was written by K. Simonov. A great number of films were devoted to that (25. ---) page of the Soviet history. Among them were: “Battle for Moscow” (1985); “I am a Russian soldier” (1995); joint Russian-Belorussian film “The Fortress of Brest” (2010); the documentary “The Brest Fortress. Intersection of the troops” (2009). In 2010 the Channel Independent TV released the Alexey Pivovarov film “Brest. Its heroes”.

1. Exact 2. Bomb 3. Aware 4. Number 5. To lose 6. To expect 7. Opposite 8. To invade 9. Strong 10. Center 11. To defend 12. Day 13. To resist 14. To inscribe 15.Proportional 16. Army 17. To divide 18. One 19. To flag 20. Steadfast 21. To stand out 22. Hero 23. Document 24. Mortal 25. Tragedy

3.     Толкование слов (найти соответствующее определение)

·        Match the words and the definitions:

1. To defend	A. A person who did something extraordinary; who people admire and are proud of because he/she is brave, strong, etc.
2. To destroy	B. To deliberately use physical violence to enter an enemy’s country
3. Feat	C. To build a public structure
4. Army	D. To take action in order to prevent a place or a country from being attacked
5. Hero	E. A large organized group of people trained to fight together on land in a war
6. Battlefield	F. The place where two opposing armies fight each other
7. To attack	G. A person or country that wants to attack and defeat you or your country
8. Fierce	H. A very large number of soldiers died while fighting
9. Memorial	I. Something that someone does that is admired because it is very difficult and you need a lot of bravery/ strength/ skills, etc. to do it
10. Foe/ enemy	J. To move forward in a determined way in order to attack
11. The front line	K. To cause much damage to people or an area/ place
12. Heavy losses	L. The place where an army is closest
13. Soldier	M. A  member of the army
14. To advance	N. To be the best possible example of a particular type of a person
15. To erect	O. Ready to attack, very frightening to look at
16. To personify	P. Done to show respect for someone who died, especially someone who was important so that that person will not be forgotten

4. Выбор правильного перевода на русский язык

Zinon Prokhorov

Getting in touch with history the young generation learns about the heroic deeds of their fore-fathers. The young boys and girls are given unprecedented examples of devotion and great love to Motherland.

Zinon Philipovich Prokhorov was born on 11 September 1909 in the village of Olykyaly in Volzhsky region of the Mari Republic. He came from an ordinary family of the Mari peasants. He was the youngest -   the 11-th child in the family.

In autumn 1937 he was called up to the Red Army. In 1940 he was sent to special courses and was given the rank of a juniour lieutenant.

On 23 June 1941 (on the second day of the war) he and his soldiers joined the battle against fascists. On 15 September 1941 Z. Prokhorov was badly wounded and sent to hospital. Later he took part in Stalingrad and Kursk battles. In August 1943 the 81^st Glorified Guards’ Division (where Z. Prokhorov was serving) liberated the city of Belgorod.

The former division commander Major-General I. K. Morozov described the last moments of Z. Prokhorov’s life in his book: “On 19 September 1944 our guardsmen began to fight for the village Khodosh. They started to attack the enemy but were stopped by the machine-gun fire. Z. Prokhorov crept to the machine-gun with a bunch of grenades but couldn’t throw it: the bullet shot his right arm. Then he rose to his full height, threw himself on the enemy’s pill-box and made it stop firing”. He was buried in the common grave in Rumania. On 24 March 1945 he was awarded with the highest title – the Hero of the Soviet Union.

The streets in Yoshkar-Ola, Volzhsk, in his native village Olykyaly are named after him. The busts to the hero are put in the alley of Glory in Yoshkar-Ola, Volzhsk and in Olykyaly. The memorial boards are placed in the school where he used to study, in his museum in Olykyaly, in Prokhorov Street in Yoshkar-Ola.

·        Choose the right translation:

1.     heroic deed

a. важное дело

b.подвиг

c. геройский поступок

2.     fore-fathers

a. отцы             b. родители         c. предки

3.     devotion

a. преданность  b. любовь         c. преклонение

4.     was given the rank of…

a.  был возведен в ранг               

b. было присвоено звание

c. был повышен по службе

5.     joined the battle

a. присоединились к воюющим

b. начали битву

c. вступили в бой

6.     crept

a.пробрался          b. пробежал        c.прополз

7.     a bunch of grenades

a. много снарядов

b. много патронов

c. связка гранат

8.     rose to his full height

a. встал в полный рост

b. был высокого роста

c. был невысокого роста

9.     the bullet shot

a. пуля задела

b. пуля ранила

c. пуля прострелила

10. enemy’s pill-box

a. вражеский окоп

b. вражеский дзот

          c. вражеский разведчик  

5. Расширение словарного запаса за счет  фразеологизмов и устойчивых фраз

One night musical masterpiece

“The dark night” is one of the most lyrical songs of the war period. It was written for the film “Two soldiers” by the poet Vladimir Agatov and composer Nikita Bogoslovsky in 1943.

The idea of adding a touching love song to the composition of the film flashed across the director Leonid Lukov’s mind. As the composer recollected, one evening Lukov called on him and during the friendly chat he gave the game away:  the absence of a tender melody put him in a tight spot. He admitted that the scene in the earth-house without a proper song didn’t produce the necessary effect. He asked Bogoslovsky to help with the melody. They set to work together as the director mentioned that two heads were better than one.

The composer was at his best and hit the right nail from the first try. Then they both set a general alarm and woke their mate Agatov who almost immediately wrote the necessary words on a sheet of paper. Later he remembered: “I was so taken aback and stuck dumb that wrote the text of the song without thinking twice.”

That night Mark Bernes couldn’t grab a chance to sleep well either. The exited trio simply dragged him out of bed to perform the new hit. Not beating about the bush, they made Mark Bernes sing the song on the spot. The last “victim” of the creative process was a guitarist who was set to his feet at the crack of dawn.

Almost the entire night the film crew was humoring the muse and the result in the form of a song that conquered the hearts of millions of Soviet people came into being by the morning.

When the film was released and the audience saw it on the screen, the popularity of the song was enormous. The records with the song were much sought after. They were sold like hot cakes.

·        Change the underlined phrases into those which have similar meaning:

were in great demand, was greatly surprised, two people can achieve more, was puzzled, tried hard, were sold very quickly, use an opportunity, very early, in a difficulty, not wasting time, told the truth, pleasing the fortune, did it right,  occurred to him

6. Лексические упражнение на подстановку открытого типа (вставить слова без данных вариантов)

Read the text and fill in the gaps with the appropriate words.

The image of a Russian soldier

A. I. Butov was a five-year-old boy … (1) the war began. It went through his childhood leaving terrible reminiscence for… (2). That’s … (3) his first picture “Heavy thoughts” (1962) seems … (4) autobiographical.  In the foreground we see a boy and a man sitting … (5) on a bench. The man lost his right leg at war. But it’s clear … (6) his personal drama didn’t break his will to live. In this or … (7) way he resembles Andrey Sokolov, the main character in Sholokhov’s story “The fortune of a man”. The author wants to underline the strength of the hero who has come back to his native land and who feels responsibility ... (8) the future life of this single boy and the ... (9) country. The artist tries to depict the main idea of the canvas not through the direct action … (10) through the inner world of the man. Feeling great sympathy … (11) the characters, creating the definite psychological mood, the painter portrays the sincere image… (12) a Russian soldier.

7. В качестве домашнего задания можно предложить самостоятельную работу со словарем по данному тексту и заданиям к нему:

Read the text and do the tasks after it.

Here we are, my Lord!

The autobiographical novel was being written by Konstantin Vorobyov in 1943, when a group of Russian partisans, consisted of the former prisoners of war, had to go underground. Exactly for 30 days and nights in a Lithuanian town of Shaulyai was describing K. Vorobyov the dreadful events that he had gone through and endured in fascist captivity.

In 1946 the manuscript entered the editorial office of the journal “New World”. As the author presented only the first part of the book, the question of its publication was delayed till the ending appeared.

However, the second part of the book had never come into being. It happened so that for long-lasting 40 years the manuscript disappeared from the field of vision of both editors and readers. Only in 1985 it was discovered in the Central State Achieves of Literature and Arts.

Here is an abstract from the book:

The convoy soldiers took the imprisoned beyond the territory of the concentrated camp to work. Sergey and his companion Vanyushka, quite a young fellow, tried to escape. They thought the plan would work, but it all went pear-shaped. They were chased for miles, finally caught and punished severely. In a few days they were on the way to a remote part of Germany.

Knocking down the metal bars on the carriage window, at full speed of the train, Sergey and Vanyushka leapt out of the window and ran for their life. They had a narrow escape. Their wanderings through the Lithuanian forests started. Even in isolated places they were moving only at night time, heading for the east…

As soon as the dusk of the night spread over the wood, Sergey and Vanyushka came out of the depth of the forest and set out. It was the second night of freedom and hope! Quite different seemed to be this unfathomable black sky and the blue flame of the stars shimmering in it. Quite differently, not like at the fascist camp, the wet autumn wind was stroking the dry, burning from excitement cheeks and uncovered heads. The tired tormented bodies didn’t feel the cold while wading the silty creek. The bed, made of damp alder leaves in a stagnant marsh seemed cozy and soft.

Soon after midnight, Sergey and Vanyushka saw a little village. They staggered to the nearest house and knocked at the door. The host let them come in. They entered a dark room, the bunches of home-grown tobacco were hanging everywhere. The right corner of the room was occupied with a roughly-made bed; a cradle, attached to the ceiling, was swinging slowly to and fro.

The man shoved a loaf of bread, two lumps of pork fat, a bundle of tobacco and a box of matches into the escapees’ bag. The host saw them off till the house date, showed where the policemen were staying and how to swerve those houses, where to cross the nearby river safely. Sergey and Vanyushka thanked the man heartedly and vanished into the thin night air…

On the fourth night, crossing a forest glade, they saw a grazing cow, tied up to the tree, and a tiny calf next to it. Sergey, with a pot in his hands, started stealing to the udder. The udder was wet and hot: the calf had just sucked it. Sergey pushed the teat and the strong jet of milk struck the bottom of the pot. The cow stepped backward, continuously mooing. Sergey gave the cow a piece of stale bread. Chewing the crumbs, the cow allowed them to manipulate near the udder… It was a time-consuming process but it had beneficial effect: at the end of it they were full and satisfied …

The days of the late September were warm and sunny. Light quiet nights gave the escapees a chance to move forward for 20-25 km. They passed by a large city of Shaulyai, were approaching Dauglavpils, but in their thoughts they were already on the native land, which was not very far. Sometimes in the forests they encountered woodcutters. The latter treated the way-farers with bread, potatoes, milk, even meat; informed about the latest news.

First autumn morning frosts made almost naked escapees rather cold. The feet became numb and the men could hardly drag them along. At one of such dawns the mates got into a shed that was standing at the forest edge. Soft oat straw warmed their shivering bodies and soon they were sleeping the sleep of the just men and martyrs. But they disturbed the hens that made a noise and general alarm in the house. The cock began crowing and the dog started barking. The hostess came up to the barn to investigate the cause of the general commotion. She attached the ladder and climbed the second floor of the barn. When she caught a glimpse of the two men, wildly looking, who were sleeping in the hay, there was a high-pitched scream first, then the woman rolled down, bewailing and moaning. The door of the shed slammed.

Sergey jumped to his feet, ready to quick retreat. But at that very moment the door of the house opened and an old man, still hale and hearty, came into view. He headed bravely for the shed… Before saying something, he stood completely motionless, eyeing the escapees warily, then twice coughed…

The escapees drank a jug of fresh milk; the forester presented Vanyushka with a pair of clogs (wooden boots) that was a tremendous boon and was sad that the two men didn’t have a Berdan rifle…

·        The escapees were helped by local inhabitants on their way home. Fill in the table using the details from the text:

Person

Kind of help

·        Look at the vocabulary items. There are some categories. Put each word into the category you think is the best.

Vocabulary: way-farer, creek, hope, forester, woodcutter, satisfied, policemen, calf, punished, to swerve, udder, a narrow escape, cock, hen, to wade, tormented,  morning frost,     to moo, to stagger, to suck, warily, sad, alarm, martyrs,  heartedly, shimmering, went pear-shaped, alder leaves, wind, chew, grazing, host

Categories:
Nature	Difficulties	Feelings	People	Domestic animals