Cwiczenia - Falling Leaves - Adeline Yejs Mah.pdf
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482 KB
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Pobierz
level
Penguin Readers Factsheets
E
Teacher’s notes
1
2
Falling Leaves
3
4
5
by Adeline Yen Mah
6
SUMMARY
INTERMEDIATE
alling Leaves
is the true story of Adeline Yen Mah,
who was born in North-East China in 1937 – her
parents’ fifth child. Her mother died as a result of
her birth, which left her father a sad man feeling in need of
a new wife. Adeline’s father seemed never to forgive her
for his wife’s death. He married again soon after and
Adeline’s new stepmother, a beautiful young woman they
called Niang (a Chinese word meaning mother), strongly
disliked her. Father and Niang had two other children
together: Franklin (who Niang loved) and Susan (who
Niang did not love). Adeline and her brothers and sisters
suffered emotionally and physically from their cruel
stepmother’s words and actions – but Adeline suffered
more than the others. Her story is full of pain and
heartbreak, about a young girl always hoping that her
father will be proud of her one day. But it is also a story of
hope. Adeline works very hard in school and wins prizes.
When she wins a play-writing competition, her life
changes. She goes to England and studies medicine and
becomes a doctor. After a failed marriage, in which she
has a child, she finds real happiness with her second
husband. The lives of all the members of her family, as
seen through the troubles of the twentieth century in
China, make this an unforgettable and very interesting
story, which begins and ends with the reading of Adeline’s
father’s will. Niang has left him penniless. She has taken all
of his money and property. When Niang dies, she leaves
nothing to Adeline. The relationship between Adeline and
Niang is painful and shocking, but the Chinese tradition of
obedience makes it impossible for Adeline to be anything
other than dutiful towards this woman.
The government at that time was weak and dishonest.
It did, however, try to make some improvements but in
1911 there was a revolution led by Sun Yat Sen, which saw
the start of a republic in South China. In 1912 the Empress
died and Manchu rule ended. This was a time of great
social change and political upheaval. As modern and
democratic ideas spread, young men cut off their long hair,
and women refused to have their feet bound. These were
very daring, and even dangerous things to do. In 1921 the
Chinese communist party was formed, and for some time
worked together with the nationalist Kuomintang. Sun Yat
Sen even invited advisers from the Soviet Union to help
with the changes. But after he died in 1925 anti-
communists in the Kuomintang formed a nationalist
government under Chiang Kai-Shek and they began
fighting against each other. The Japanese had taken a
large area of North China as a result of the First World War.
They soon began to fight for more land, including
Shanghai, which was heavily bombed in 1937. After the
Second World War all foreign countries gave up their areas
in China, but fighting between the communists and
nationalists continued until the communists drove out the
Kuomintang. They formed the government in Peking
(Beijing) in 1949. The nationalists escaped to the island of
Formosa, now Taiwan, where they claimed to be the real
government of China. The only part of China that remained
under foreign rule was Hong Kong, which had been leased
to Great Britain for 100 years. The communist government
changed many traditional things in China, and not all of
these changes were popular. But no one could do
anything to stop them happening. In 1956, to make the
government more popular and to make people feel they
could express views and opinions on the government Mao
Tse-tung began the Hundred Flowers Campaign
(sometimes called the Double Hundred Campaign). This
was followed by the ‘Great Leap Forward’, which aimed to
encourage speedy economic development. There were
arguments about both campaigns in the Communist party,
and Mao himself was criticised. In 1966, to regain control,
Mao began the Cultural Revolution. He encouraged young
students and workers to form the Red Guards, whose job
was to stop all protest or complaint about the
communists. At this time millions of people, many of them
educated intellectuals and party officials who didn’t
support Mao, were sent to work camps or even killed.
Adeline talks about how Aunt Baba suffered under the
Red Guards in this story. The Cultural Revolution finally
ended when Mao died in 1976.
F
ABOUT ADELINE YEN MAH
Adeline Yen Mah was born in 1937. In August 1952 she left
her family in Hong Kong and went to England to study. At
University College in London, she studied medicine and
became a doctor. She has written two other books:
Chinese Cinderella
and
Watching the Tree
. She lives with
her husband in California and has two children.
BACKGROUND AND THEMES
Throughout the nineteenth century China suffered from
rebellion, war and foreign take-overs. By the end of the
century the World Powers controlled areas in most large
cities and these areas were not considered Chinese. In this
story, Adeline’s father and stepmother move the family to
the French area of Tianjin.
© Pearson Education 2001
level
4
Penguin Readers Factsheets
2
Ask students to discuss in small groups the events in
chapters 10 and 11 that suggest Adeline’s:
strength of character
independence
sense of obedience
innocence.
What do they think will happen to her?
Chapters 12–14
1
Teacher’s notes
Communicative activities
The following teacher-led activities cover the same sections of text as the
exercises at the back of the Reader, and supplement those exercises. For
supplementary exercises covering shorter sections of the book, see the
photocopiable Student’s Activities pages of the factsheet. These are primarily for
use with class readers but, with the exception of discussion and pair/group work
questions, can also be used by students working alone in a self-access center.
Ask the class to discuss similarities between the
behaviour of the Chinese communists towards the
Chinese people, and Father’s behaviour towards his
children. In what ways do they think the cruelty in
society affected family relationships in China?
ACTIVITIES BEFORE READING THE BOOK
1
Put these groups of words on the board. Tell students
to work in pairs and to write one sentence for each
group using these words. They may use their
dictionaries.
(a)
2
Ask students to work in pairs and to role-play the
conversation between Mr Lu and Adeline. What else did
they say to each other? Pairs can add their ideas to the
conversation.
will funeral lawyer
3
Ask students to work in small groups and to discuss
what Adeline learned about Niang, Father and Lydia
and herself at the end of the story. What does she
mean by ‘Falling leaves return to their roots’?
(b)
account pocket money
(c)
divorce disown bully
(d)
strawberry magnolia
(e)
orphan nun board (at a school)
2
Ask students to draw their family tree showing three
generations, then in pairs tell each other about their
families.
Glossary
Chapters 1–2
bind
(v) to tie up firmly
concubine
(n) a woman contracted to a man as a secondary wife
flood
(n) a very large amount of water that covers an area that is usually
dry
funeral
(n) a ceremony, usually religious, of burying or burning a dead
person
grand-aunt
(n) the sister of a grandparent
lawyer
(n) a person whose business is to advise people about the law
and speak for them in court
obedience
(n) when someone does what a person, law or rule tells them
to do
root
(n) the part of a plant or tree that grows under the ground and takes
water from the soil
stepmother
(n) a woman who is married to your father, but who is not
your mother
will
(n) a legal document in which you say who you want to give your
money and property to after you die
Chapters 3–5
account
(n) an arrangement that allows you to keep your money in a
bank and take amounts from it when you want to
bully
(n) someone who intentionally hurts or frightens a weaker person
duckling
(n) a small, young duck
liar
(n) someone who tells lies
magnolia
(n) a tree/bush with large, sweet-smelling, white or pink flowers
medal
(n) a round, flat piece of metal, with pictures and words on it, given
to someone who has won a competition or who has done something
brave
orphan
(n) a child whose parents are both dead
pocket money
(n) money given to a child by its parents
tram
(n) an electric vehicle for carrying passengers, which moves along
the street on metal tracks
whip
(n) a long, thin piece of leather or rope with a handle, used for
making animals move faster or for hitting people as punishment
Chapters 6–8
board
(v) to get meals and lodging for payment
nun
(n) a member of a group of religious women that lives together apart
from other people
orphanage
(n) a place where orphans live
strawberry
(n) a soft, red, juicy fruit that grows on plants near the
ground.
Chapters 9–11
anaesthetist
(n) a person whose job is to stop someone having an
operation feeling pain
chairman
(n) the head of a large organization or company
divorce
(n) the official end of a marriage
on call
(adj) when someone is not at work but must be available if needed
prejudice
(n) an opinion not based on knowledge or reason
professor
(n) a teacher of the highest rank in a university department
Chapters 12–14
Alzheimer’s disease
(n) an incurable brain disease
cancer
(n) a serious disease in which cells in someone’s body grow in
such a way that is not normal and can cause death
disown
(v) to say that you do not have any connection with someone or
something
ACTIVITIES AFTER READING A SECTION
Chapters 1–2
1
In small groups ask students to discuss the meaning of
the chapter headings. Then ask them to think of other
possible headings.
2
Ask students to discuss in what ways life was difficult
for women in China in the nineteenth century and into
the twentieth. What were the reasons, do they think?
Chapters 3–5
1
Ask students to make a basic family tree for Adeline’s
family. Then in pairs they can compare them and add to
them as there are marriages and births in the story.
2
Ask students to work in small groups and discuss the
effects of the following on Adeline’s life:
(a) her grandmother’s death
(b) her first day at Sacred Heart School
(c) moving to Shanghai
(d) the death of her duckling
Students can then discuss any similar experiences in
their lives.
3
Ask students to work in pairs to prepare a role-play.
One is Adeline, the other is her friend Wu Chun-mei. It
is the day after the school friends went to Adeline’s
house to congratulate her. Give students time to
prepare the conversation with Wu Chun-mei’s questions
and Adeline’s answers. Then ask the pairs to perform in
front of the class.
Chapters 6–8
1
Ask the class to discuss how these characters feel
about Adeline in chapter 6, and why.
(a) Lydia (b) Aunt Reine (c) Ye Ye (d) Victor
2
Ask students to work in groups of three and to prepare
and role-play the conversation between Father, Samuel
and Lydia when Father tries to make them move out of
his house (page 38). Groups can do their role-plays for
the rest of the class.
Chapters 9–11
1
Ask students to discuss in small groups which of the
following groups of people they feel most sorry for, and
why:
(a)
Karl Decker, C S Tang, H H Tien
or
Franklin, Susan, Edgar
(b)
Published and distributed by Pearson Education
Factsheet written by Coleen Degnan-Veness
Factsheet series developed by Louise James
© Pearson Education 2001
level
Penguin Readers Factsheets
E
Student’s activities
1
Falling Leaves
2
3
Photocopiable
Students can do these exercises alone or with one or
more other students.
4
5
2
Match (a)–(e) with (i)–(v) to make complete sentences:
(a)
Activities before reading the book
6
To protect his son from public criticism
1
Read the Contents. In which chapter(s) do you think a
character:
(a)
(b)
I believed that if I tried hard enough
INTERMEDIATE
(c)
Even today, every time I smell the sweet smell of
magnolias
is doing something pointless?
(b)
wishes to travel?
(d)
The duckling refused to eat or drink
(c)
begins to think about the years ahead?
(e)
Father took Edgar upstairs and hit him repeatedly
(d)
has very little money?
(i)
one day everyone in my family would be proud of
me.
(e)
dies?
2
Read the Introduction. Talk to another student. Do you
think that you’ll like reading about Adeline’s life? Why
do you think she calls her book
Falling Leaves
? Which
characters do you think you will not like? Have you
read similar books?
(ii)
I experience again the terrible feeling of sadness.
(iii)
Ye Ye made her promise never to tell anyone.
(iv)
with Jackie’s whip.
(v)
and died early the next morning.
3
Fill in the gaps with words from the story. Try to do it
without looking at the story.
Adeline didn’t have any (a) _______, so Aunt Baba
gave her money to buy a birthday present. Niang
called Adeline a (b) _______ and a liar. She told Adeline
she belonged in an (c)_______. When her father came
home and heard about this, he went to Adeline’s room
with a dog (d) _______. When Adeline’s friends came
to her house to give her presents, Niang hit Adeline
and said her friends were not (e) _______ there. Father
said she had invited them because she wanted to (f)
_______ her parents, The next day Father told Aunt
Baba and Ye Ye that he planned to send Adeline to
Tianjin because she had to learn (g) _______.
Activities while reading the book
Chapters 1–2
1
Match the names on the left with the relationship:
Susan oldest sister
Jeanne Prosper Yen Adeline’s father’s sister
Lydia Aunt Baba’s close friend,
wife of Joseph
Ye Ye Adeline’s father
Aunt Baba youngest sister
Joseph Yen Adeline’s stepmother
Ren Yong-Ping Grandfather
2
What does Adeline think about:
(a) concubines?
(b) binding women’s feet?
(c) her mother and father’s relationship?
(d) her mother’s face?
(e) the money her father spent on Jeanne?
(f) the Japanese in China?
Chapters 3–5
1
Chapters 6–8
1
Imagine you are Aunt Reine. Which of these sentences
do you think she said to Adeline, and why?
(a)
Don’t cry Adeline
(b)
I didn’t know you were in St Josephs.
(c)
My husband and two children are leaving Tianjin
and we want you to come with us.
(d)
Your father has given me permission to take you
away.
Answer these questions:
(a)
How did Joseph Yen trick the Japanese when
they wanted half of his company’s money?
(e)
Don’t worry, I will offer the same treatment to all
three of you.
(b)
After her Grandmother’s death, how did Adeline’s
home life change?
2
Why were these important to Adeline?
(a)
being a boarder, not an orphan at Sacred Heart
School and Orphanage
(c)
How did Adeline’s stepmother behave when
Adeline told her to stop beating Susan?
(b)
her cupboard in the dining-room
(d)
In what way was Ye Ye like King Lear?
(c)
the breakfast egg
(e)
Why did the children choose not to ask Niang for
their tram fares?
Mary Suen
(d)
the play-writing competition
(e)
© Pearson Education 2001
level
4
Penguin Readers Factsheets
Student’s activities
Chapters 9–11
1
Complete these sentences from the story. Then look
back and see if you are correct.
(a) After greedily eating two boxes of unwashed
strawberries, __________
(b) Because English students were not used to
being close to a Chinese person __________
(c)
Meetings between Adeline and Dr Karl Decker
were mostly private because __________
(d)
A few of the most political Chinese students
were asked to leave Britain because __________
(e) H H killed himself in 1967 because __________
2
Are these sentences True or False? If they are false,
explain why.
(a) When Adeline left Hong Kong eleven years earlier,
it was unusual to see cars and people in the
streets after 9pm.
(b) Adeline did not tell her father that the job at the
medical school was an important position for a
young doctor.
(c) Adeline’s colleagues did not like her because she
was not Cantonese and had a strange English
accent.
(d) Adeline’s father felt bad because she did not have
enough money for the air fare to America.
(e) Byron Bai-Lun knew very quickly when he saw
Adeline that he wanted to marry her.
3
How did Adeline feel about:
(a) Byron’s lies and secrets?
(b) becoming an anaesthetist?
(c) the meal she cooked after she and her husband
signed the agreement on a house?
(d) Roger?
(e) her father’s advice about her money?
Chapters 12–14
1
2
Put these events in the correct order:
(a)
Adeline and Bob go on holiday to China
(b)
Adeline phones Lydia because no on else would
inform her of Father’s poor condition
(c)
Niang and Father visit Adeline and Bob
(d)
Susan visits her father in hospital, but he doesn’t
recognise her
Results of tests showed that Father was
suffering from Alzheimer’s disease
(e)
Adeline married Professor Robert Mah
(f)
(g)
Adeline meets Aunt Baba who asks her to write
down their story
(h)
The children discover that Niang had taken all of
their father’s money and property
(i)
Adeline and Bob have a daughter, Ann
(j)
Father dies and all his children, except Susan,
fly to Hong Kong for the funeral
3
Circle the words which best describe Adeline’s
feelings at the end of the story towards:
(a)
Lydia: admiration offended insulted grateful
(b)
Father: jealous loving unforgiving protective
(c)
Niang: hateful loyalty sadness shock
(e)
Aunt Baba: peacefulness proud violent
supportive
Activities after reading the book
1
Write a letter to Lydia from Adeline after Adeline finds
Lydia’s letters in Niang’s bedroom.
2
Choose one person from Adeline’s life and write your
thoughts about how that person’s behaviour affected
Adeline.
Write the correct names in the gaps below.
(a)
__________ and her friends were not allowed to
play mah-jong.
(b)
Meetings were started against __________ to
‘help her understand her past mistakes’.
Aunt Baba wrote to
__________
and asked him to
send her money.
(c)
Twenty-five local
__________
attacked Miss Chien
and Aunt Baba.
(d)
(e)
__________ spoke nicely to Aunt Baba for the first
time in fifteen years.
Published and distributed by Pearson Education
Factsheet written by Coleen Degnan-Veness
Factsheet series developed by Louise James
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