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The Canterbury Tales
Geoffrey Chaucer
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The Canterbury Tales
FREE W eb A ctivities
The Canterbury Tales
This reader uses the expansive reading approach, where the
text becomes a springboard to improve language skills and to
explore historical background, cultural connections and other topics
suggested by the text. As well as the story, this reader contains:
• A wide range of activities practising the four skills
• Dossiers: Traditional Tales and others
• First-style activities and Trinity-style activities (Grade 7)
• Full recording of the text
• Exit test, keys and WebActivities at www.blackcat-cideb.com
Geoffrey Chaucer
When a genial innkeeper suggests to a group of pilgrims bound for
Canterbury that they tell each other stories to entertain themselves
on the way, everyone agrees! From this simple premise Chaucer
created a medieval masterpiece. The prologue and five of the
best-known stories are retold in modern English in this edition.
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Exam Preparation FIRST
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ISBN 978-88-530-1417-7
This volume without the side coupon is to be
considered a free sample copy not for sale. (Sale or
other distribution is forbidden: art. 17, c. 2, L. 633/1941).
Excluded from V.A.T. (D.P.R. 26/10/72, n. 633, art. 2,
3° c., lett. d.)
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04/03/14 13:12
CHAPTER 1
‘Ladies and gentlemen!’ he said. ‘Give me your attention, please!
To tell you the truth, I’ve never seen such a happy group of pilgrims
at my inn in all the years that I’ve been here! And what’s more, I’ve
enjoyed your company so much this evening that I’ve decided to
come with you to Canterbury, and make the pilgrimage myself!
‘Now, I’ve got a suggestion to make, and I hope you’ll all agree
with me! Let’s entertain ourselves on the journey like this: each
person must tell two stories on the way to Canterbury and two
more on the way back! And when we get back here after the
pilgrimage, we’ll all pay for the dinner of the person who tells the
best story. And as for who tells the best story... well, I’ll be the
judge of that! What do you think?’
Everyone agreed, and we all went to bed happy, looking forward
to the pilgrimage, the lovely April weather... and the stories!
Early next morning our host woke us up and we set off while the
sun was still rising, but soon after we had left London he stopped
and asked us all to listen to him carefully.
‘So, we all remember our agreement, I hope!’ said our host. ‘But
who’s going to tell the first story? I’ve got an idea. Let’s draw lots 21
to choose our first storyteller!’
He told each of us to take one piece of straw 22 from the pieces
of straw that he had in his hand – we could only see the tops of the
pieces of straw. The person who took the shortest straw had to begin.
It was the Knight who took the shortest straw.
‘Very well,’ said the Knight. ‘I’ll begin our game of telling stories.
Now, my fellow pilgrims, let’s ride on towards Canterbury – and
I’ll tell you my story.’
21. draw lots : a way of deciding who does something; taking pieces of straw was a
usual way to do this.
22. straw : dry piece of grass or corn.
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The text and beyond
FIRST 1 Comprehension check
For questions 1-9, choose the answer (A, B, C or D) which you think fits
best according to the text.
1 Theseus married a woman who
A
had a sister that he was in love with.
B
was more famous as a warrior than he was.
C
had once beaten him in a battle.
D
he had fought against in a battle.
2 The group of women in black wanted
A
to give Theseus news about the fighting near Thebes.
B
to complain to Theseus about the fighting near Thebes.
C
Theseus to find and bring back their husbands’ bodies.
D
Theseus to punish Creon for not behaving correctly.
3 Palamon and Arcite
A
first saw Emily walking with her sister in a garden.
B
fell in love with Emily because she was so pretty.
C
wanted to die because Emily would never love them.
D
did not think Emily was worth quarrelling over.
4 Arcite
A
was unhappy about leaving Palamon in prison.
B
was happy to leave Athens and return to Thebes.
C
thought his cousin was luckier than him.
D
felt lucky to be free at last.
5 As soon as he escaped, Palamon
A
went to the palace to see Emily.
B
found a hiding place outside the city.
C
disguised himself and changed his name.
D
went to look for Arcite.
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6 Palamon and Arcite agreed to fight
A
when both of them were armed.
B
because Emily would have wanted it.
C
because they hated each other.
D
because they had become mad.
7 When Theseus saw the cousins fighting, he
A
didn’t know who they were.
B
recognised his squire.
C
was angry because they were fighting in his wood.
D
wanted to know why they were fighting.
8 Theseus told the cousins
A
to ask the gods to help them in battle.
B
to prepare to fight for their love.
C
not to return to Athens until they had a hundred knights.
D
to be ready to die for love.
9 Palamon married Emily because
A
Venus was in favour of it.
B
Theseus ordered him to.
C
he had always loved her.
D
it was what Arcite had wanted.
2 Discussion
In pairs or small groups discuss the following.
1 What is The Knight’s Tale about? Write a sentence and read it to
the class. You can base your idea on one of the ideas below or use
any ideas of your own:
• the stupid things that lovers do
• the power of true friendship
• romantic love
• the importance of fighting for something that you want.
2 Think of another way in which Theseus could have decided which
cousin could marry Emily.
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A precious box for holding relics, made in the French town of Limoges, showing
Becket being killed by Henry II’s knights (12th century).
Thomas Becket and the
City of Canterbury
Thomas Becket (or Thomas à Becket) was murdered on 29 December
1170 in Canterbury Cathedral, and with his death the tradition of
pilgrimages to Canterbury started.
Becket was born in 1118 in London and, after a good education, began
a career in the Church as an administrator. In 1155 he was appointed 1
Lord Chancellor, a very important adviser at court. King Henry II, who
was only twenty-one, became great friends with the pleasure-loving
Thomas and in 1162 he appointed him Archbishop of Canterbury, the
head of the Church in England.
1. appointed : chosen to do a particular job.
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Saint Thomas Becket in a stained glass window
in Canterbury Cathedral (around 1250).
Stained glass has been coloured or painted.
But after his appointment Becket became
very ascetic, 2 and he defended the rights
of the Church against the King. Henry
became so angry that Becket escaped to
France, where he spent six years. In 1170,
an agreement was made with Henry and
he returned to England. The people of
Canterbury welcomed him back and he
became a popular hero. He continued to
attack the power of the King.
When Henry heard that Thomas had not changed his behaviour, it is
said that he shouted ‘Who will rid me of this turbulent priest?’ 3. Four
knights heard the King and immediately set off for Canterbury, went
into the cathedral with their swords and killed the Archbishop.
The Christian world was shocked, and in 1173 the Pope made Thomas
a saint. The next year King Henry showed his sorrow by walking
barefoot through the city of Canterbury and being whipped 4 by 80
monks. After this, pilgrims came from all over England and Europe to
visit Becket’s tomb.
In 1220 his bones were moved to a shrine 5 in the Trinity Chapel, where
pilgrims in Chaucer’s times went, but this was destroyed in 1538 and
the bones were lost. Today, the place where the shrine was is marked
by a lit candle.
2. ascetic : leading a very simple life,
not allowing yourself pleasures.
4. whipped : beaten
with whips.
3. ‘Who will rid me of this turbulent
priest?’ : Who will remove this
trouble-making priest?
5. shrine : a special place, usually
religious, where people go to show
respect.
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Pilgrims arrive on foot at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem
(French manuscript, 1410-12). Jerusalem was not an easy pilgrimage destination,
but it was popular: the Wife of Bath went there three times!
Pilgrimages
Most religions have traditional pilgrimage sites, such as sacred rivers,
mountains, shrines or buildings.
Christian pilgrimages were first made to sites associated with the
life of Jesus Christ, principally to Jerusalem, and in particular to the
Church of the Holy Sepulchre 1 there. Christians have been going on
pilgrimages here since the 4th century CE, as the church is believed to
be built on the site of Christ’s crucifixion, burial and resurrection.
Pilgrimages also began to include sites associated with the lives of
the apostles, 2 saints and martyrs, and Rome – a place where many
apostles and saints had lived and died – soon became a destination.
1. sepulchre : historical word for a tomb.
2. apostles : the 12 men chosen by Jesus to spread the Christian religion.
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A pilgrims’ badge, made of lead, showing
that someone had made the pilgrimage
to Canterbury (14th century).
By the 11th century the shrine of Saint James
in the city of Santiago de Compostela in
north-western Spain became an extremely
popular destination – and still is today. In
medieval England, Canterbury was by far
the most famous destination.
Chaucer’s pilgrim the Wife of Bath had
been on pilgrimage to Rome, to Santiago de
Compostela, and three times to Jerusalem, a
long and dangerous journey from England in those times. She tells her
fellow pilgrims on the way to Canterbury that she treats pilgrimages
as holidays as well as religious experiences, and her attitude was not
unusual in Chaucer’s times. Pilgrims used to buy badges and wear
them to show they had made a pilgrimage, just as people buy souvenirs
today. The badges often represented saints, but for Jerusalem it was
a palm 3 and the badge from Santiago de Compostela was a scallop
shell. 4
Other places that have become sites of pilgrimage for Christians are
places where people believe that the mother of Christ, the Virgin
Mary, has appeared. These are found all over the Christian world and
can attract many pilgrims; for example, the Basilica of Our Lady of
Guadalupe, to the north of Mexico City, has been a place of pilgrimage
since Mary was seen there by a shepherd in 1531, and nowadays as
many as 20 million people visit it each year.
3. palm:
4. scallop shell:
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