In the Big Apple

Fiche Read and Enjoy
Enjoy 4e - B2S3 (p. 42)
In the Big Apple
The narrator grew up in a small farming community in Kansas. He remembers his
first visit to New York with his parents, one December twenty years before.
1
We dropped off our bags at the hotel, on the edge of Central Park,
and we headed for 5th Avenue. It was arctic, the wind was blowing in
all directions, and within minutes my fingertips were numb.
10
I was so excited that the cold didn’t matter – here I was in the
Big Apple, Gotham City, the city that never sleeps! I dug my freezing
hands deeper in my pockets. The streets were bustling with activity.
Everybody seemed to know exactly where they were going, and they
were getting there real fast. The noise was something else – car horns,
buses, police sirens, Christmas music blaring out of shops, street
vendors, city life.
15
We spent the day exploring the city. The view from the 86th
floor of the Empire State Building was amazing. Everything was so
big, so bright. Later, we joined the crowds to admire the window
displays at Macy’s department store – you never saw anything like
this in Kansas…
5
That first night, on the way back to the hotel, Mom and Dad
decided to show me the Rockefeller Center. I didn’t expect very much
– an ice rink is just an ice-rink, I thought. But it was pure magic. The
music, the lights, the skaters gliding past us, laughing.
20
25
That’s when I saw it. I looked up, and there it stood, gigantic,
noble amid the modern skyscrapers. A 70-foot Christmas tree, with
blazing lights that made you dizzy. I stared and stared, engulfed in its
dream-like beauty, until the sound of a child crying brought me back
to reality. “Poor little thing! She’ll have a big bruise in the morning“
Mom said.
We saw many other great New York monuments in the
following days. And I have travelled to wonderful places in my life.
But even twenty years later, nothing compares to that surprise, that
tree, that memory.
Bill Shepherd, A Kansas Boyhood, 2007
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Fiche Read and Enjoy
Enjoy 4e - B2S3 (p. 42)
In the Big Apple
➊ Before reading.
a) What city is called the Big Apple? Tick the right answer:
■ Washington
■ New York
■ Los Angeles
b) And where is Kansas? Is it close to the Big Apple, or is it far away? ..............................................................................................................................
To find out, look at the map of the United States, page 22 of your textbook!
➋ Read the introduction, and look at the last word of the text.
a) Circle the right answers.
The narrator is speaking: now / in the past. He is an adult / a child.
The story takes place: now / in the past. In the story, he is an adult / a child.
b) Recap. Use the following words and complete the sentence: far / remembers / child / first / time / middle / adult
When he was a ............................................, the narrator lived in Kansas. Kansas is in the .................................................................. of the
United States, ...................... away from New York. The narrator is an ................................................................... now, and
he ................................................................... a visit to New York, a long ............................................ ago. The story is written
in the ............................................ person.
➌ Read lines 1 to 6 and underline the words that describe the weather and the
temperature.
a) Is the season spring, summer, autumn or winter? .................................................................................................................................
b) How does the boy feel? Cold, but ....................................................................................................
➍ Read lines 8 to 19.
What senses are used to describe the busy city?
■ smell ■ sight ■ hearing ■ touch ■ taste
Choose a colour for each sense, and underline the corresponding words.
➎ Read lines 16 to 29.
a) Circle the right answer: the boy is bored / angry / surprised / indifferent
Quote the text to justify your answer :
................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................
................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................
b) Look at the photograph (p. 41), then read lines 20-22 again: what words refer to size?
..................................................................................................
and .......................................................................................................................................
Does the boy feel very tall or very small? ............................................................................................................................
c) Find the translation of: des lumières flamboyantes qui vous donnaient le vertige.
................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................
➏ Read lines 16 to 29 again.
a) What words suggest it’s an extraordinary experience? Underline them in the text.
b) The boy is lost in a dream for a long time: the verb ................................................................ is repeated twice, and the adjective
.................................................................................................. suggests he is impressed by the experience.
c) What is so special about that memory ? It’s very ■ funny ■ strong ■ sad
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