Answer these questions about the story

a. What were the most important international languages a hundred years ago?

b. Why did Dr. Zamenhof want to have a new language?

c. How long did Dr. Zamenhof s first book take him to write?

d. What can Esperantists from all over the world do?

e. Which language do you think most people know at least a little of?

f. Why did some people think that if everyone could speak the same language, this would answer many of the world's problems?

g. What does 'these' in paragraph 1 mean?

h. Who were 'each other's' in paragraph 2?

i. Why do you think Esperanto has not become the international language?

Complete these sentences. Yours answers must come from the story.

a. Latin and French have both been__________________ .

b. Dr. Zamenhof thought that everyone__________________.

c. After working all day as an eye doctor, Dr. Zamenhof__________________.

d. Although not many people speak Esperanto, there are__________________.

e. English is used nearly everywhere for__________________.

Picture comprehension

Make a tick under the picture that shows Dr. Zamenhof at work. Say why you think this is correct.

Organizing ideas

Put these sentences into the correct order by writing the numbers 1-7 next to each letter.

a. ____ He thought this would end the world's problems.

b. ____ English is the international language today.

c. ____ Dr. Zamenhof was a Polish eye doctor.

d. ____ His new language was called Esperanto.

e. ____ He wanted to make a new language for everyone to use.

f. ____ Esperanto is very easy to learn and the people who speak it are called Esperantists.

g. ____ Sadly Esperanto has not become an international language.

Writing

Write sentences about the story by putting these words in the correct order.

a. languages. been important have There many

___________________________________________________________

b. a years invent new man ago a language. wanted to Many

___________________________________________________________

c. on it years. He fifteen worked for

___________________________________________________________

d. Esperanto. it called He

___________________________________________________________

e. Esperantists. Esperanto called people and Many they learned were

___________________________________________________________

f. an to not Esperanto is learn international is but language. easy it

___________________________________________________________

UNIT 14

Basketball

Pre-reading activity

1. What games do you play at school?

2. What other games do you know?

3. What is the most popular game in your country?

Basketball is one of the most popular games in the world. People play it in most countries. It is a good game for rich or poor and some basketball players have become rich from playing the game. Some people think it is a very old game but the basketball people play today is quite new.

Dr. James A. Naismith invented basketball in America in 1891. He invented it because he wanted a game people could play inside or outside, in the daytime or at night. He wanted it to be a team game and one that both men and women would like and could learn easily. He wanted it to be exciting to watch and to play. He wanted the players to use a ball but not a bat. The ball had to be large and light. He wanted it to be easy to catch and throw but not easy to hide. The winning team would be the team that could throw the ball the most times through a high basket. It is from the word 'basket' that the game got its name. In Naismith's game there were only 13 rules, but these changed many times until 1934. In that year people stopped changing the rules.

Although Naismith's basketball is a new game, the Mayan people of Mexico played a game like it many thousands of years ago. However, this was not a very nice game. The captain of the winning team cut off the head of the captain of the losing team and people watching the game had to give their clothes and jewels to the winning team.

The most famous basketball team is. American and is called the Harlem Globetrotters.

New words

team: Our team won every basketball game this year.

ball: She threw the ball to the girl.

bat: I'm not very good at games. I can't even hit a ball with a bat.

Main idea

Does each of these sentences say what each paragraph is about? Write T for true or F for false.

Paragraph 1___ Basketball is a popular game for all kinds of people.

Paragraph 2___ Basketball gets its name from a high basket on the field.

Paragraph 3___ Many people do not like watching basketball because they have to give up their clothes and jewels to the winning team.

Paragraph 4___ Basketball is played only in America.

Vocabulary