Sailing south.

sailing south
We stayed thirteen days in Brazil2 and then sailed south. We came to a great river. We thought at first it was the strait3 we were looking for, but it was not. We saw men as big as giants4. Some of them sailed up to our ship in a boat.
 

They spoke in very loud voices. Some of our men wanted to catch the giants and bring them on board the ship. They went ashore' at once but the giants ran away. Sailing south we found two islands full of very strange animals. They look like birds, but their wings6 are very short. They are black with a white shirt in front. They swim very well and catch fish easily, but they are very slow and funny when they walk on land. We filled our live ships with them in an hour. They bark' like wolves on a cold winter night. A sailor of our crew8, a man who had sailed far south before, called them penguins. Sometime later we came to a harbour10 which we named Port St. Julian. We stayed there because in this part of the world winter was coming on, though at home the people were welcoming summer and the longest days of the year. For two months we saw no people. But suddenly one day we saw a giant on the shore, and he danced and jumped and sang. While he sang he put sand on his head. Our captain sent a sailor ashore and told him to dance and sing like a giant to show friendship. The sailor did this and led the giant to a place on the shore where all of us were waiting. The giant was so surprised when he saw us, he thought we had come from the skies. He was so tall that even the tallest of us looked like children at his side. He had a large face painted red with yellow round his eyes. He had two hearts painted on his head, which was painted white. He was dressed in the skin of an animal.

1 sail [seil] — отправляться в плавание :

Brazil [brs'zil]— Бразилия

3 strait [streit] — пролив

4 giant ['djaiant] — великан

5 to go ashore [s'Jo:] — сойти на берег

6 wing [wig] — крыло

7 to bark [ba:k] — лаять, выть

8 crew [kru:] — корабельная команда Q penguin [’peqgwm] — пингвин

9 harbour [haЬэ] — гавань

 

2. Translate sentences from the text.

 

a. We saw men as big as giants.

b. They looked like birds.

c. They bark like wolves on a cold winter night.

d. Our captain sent a sailor ashore and told him to dance and sing like a giant.

c. Even the tallest of us looked like children at his side.

 

3. Write questions to these answers.

 

1. They wanted to catch the giant at once. (Why...?)

2. They are black with a white shirt in front. (What...?)

3. A man who had sailed far south before. (Who...?)

4. Because winter was coming on. (Why...?)

5. He put sand on his head. (What...?)

6. He thought we had come from the skies. (What...?)

4. Give extensive answers to these questions about the text.

1. Whom did the sailors see near the river?

2. Why couldn't the sailors catch the giants?

3. What can penguins do easily?

4. What did the sailors do with the penguins?

5. How long did they stay in the harbour?

6. What did the sailor do to show' the giant his friendship?

7. What did the giant look like?

 

5. Develop the following idea to sum up the contents of the text.

 

О Sailing south of Brazil the sailors saw strange people anc strange animals.

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