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Listen and Respond
Task One Focusing on the Main Ideas
Choose the best answer to complete each of the following sentences according to the information contained in the listening passage. 1 One day in school Monty Roberts was asked to ________. A) write a term paper about the courses he learned B) write about his dream of the future C) describe a horse ranch
D) draw a picture of a horse ranch
2 Monty Roberts' goal was to become ________. A) a horse trainer like his father
B) a painter who draws horses and horse ranches C) an owner of a large horse ranch D) an owner of a large farm
3 When Monty Roberts turned in the paper, his teacher ________. A) was not satisfied with it B) helped to improve it
C) gave a good comment about it
D) asked him to discuss the topic with his father
The teacher asked the boy to rewrite the paper because ________.4 A) his father had helped him write the paper B) his paper was full of empty words
C) his dream was not properly described in the paper D) his goal of life described in the paper was not realistic
A week later, the boy finally decided ________.5 A) to follow his father's profession B) to keep his dream
C) to make some changes in his paper D) to follow his teacher's advice
Task Two Zooming In on the Details
Listen to the recording carefully and fill in each of the blanks according to what you have heard. a horse trainer . His dream was to own a large 1 Monty Roberts was the son of
in great detail and he even horse ranch. That night he wrote about his dream
a 200-acre ranch .drew a picture of his heart into the dream ranch and the next day he He put a great deal of 2
his teacher .handed the paper in to
When Monty Roberts asked his teacher why he got a large red F for his paper, 3 impossible for him. He had no his teacher explained to him that his dream was
house and the
money. But he needed a lot of money to buy the land, the machines for his dream ranch.
When Monty Roberts asked his father for advice, his father just asked him to 4 decision make up his own mind for on his dream because it is a very important
him to make.
When Monty Roberts turned in the same paper, he said to his teacher, “You 5 my heart my dream the F , no matter what and I'll keep . I will follow can keep
happens.”
Read and Explore
Task One Discovering the Main Ideas
1 Answer the following questions with the information contained in Text A.
1) According to Alex Haley, why does many a young man want to be a writer? Because they think that being a writer can bring them wealth and fame.
2) Does writing mean glory and wealth in the author's opinion? No. The author thinks that writing is a lonely, private and poor-paying affair. Only a few can succeed after long periods of neglect and poverty.
3) What was the author's life in Greenwich Village like? His life in Greenwich Village was very poor. He barely made enough to eat.
4) Did he ever doubt his ability to write? Why or why not? Yes. Because he didn't receive a break after writing for a year or so.
5) Why did the call from his old acquaintance change his life? Because his doubt of his resolution to write was cleared. He was determined to keep on writing.
6) In what way did people like Delaney and Belafonte become role models for the author? From them he learned that one had to make sacrifices and live creatively to
keep working hard to realize one's dreams.
7) How many years did the author keep on writing before his great success? He kept on writing for 17 years before his great success.
8) What did the two sardine cans and 18 cents in the brown paper bag symbolize? They symbolized his courage and persistence to stick to his dream of writing.
9) What is the meaning of the Shadowland of dreams? The Shadowland of dreams means all the difficulties (e.g. neglect, poverty, doubt, uncertainty, and fear of failure) people meet with in pursuing their dreams.
2 Text A can be divided into three parts with the paragraph number(s)
of each part provided as follows. Write down the main idea of each part. Alex Haley explains the difference
Part: One; Paragraph(s): 1-2; Main Idea: between “being a writer” and “writing”. The author tells about his struggle to
18; Main Idea: Part: Two; Paragraph(s): 3–stick to his dream of writing and his final success. The author tells about his struggle
Part: Three; Paragraph(s): 19-22; Main Idea: to stick to his dream of writing and his final success.
Task Two Reading Between the Lines
Read the following sentences carefully and discuss in pairs what the author intends to say by the italicized parts. For every writer kissed by fortune, there are thousands more whose longing 1) is never rewarded. (Para. 2) Compared with those lucky writers who have become famous, thousands of people who devote themselves to writing are never given recognition as successful writers. Next time I make a sale. (Para. 6)2) Considering the rather difficult circumstances the author was in, it is easy to see that there was a degree of irony and self-sarcasm when he promised his friend