BEFORE YOU READ

DISCUSSION A. Skim the reading quickly. What kind of stories

did the Grimm brothers write? Who were their
stories for? Read the passage to check your ideas.

A Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm were two young men from Germany who
loved reading stories. As university students, they became interested
in folktales—traditional stories or legends that people told again and
again, often for generations. The brothers began to collect folktales
from storytellers all over Germany. Many were similar to stories told
in France, Italy, Japan, and other countries. Between 1812 and 1814,
the brothers published two books in German. These included stories
like “Cinderella,” “Snow White,” and “Little Red Riding Hood.” The
collections became known in English as Grimms’ Fairy Tales.

Darkness and Magic

B The Grimm brothers’ tales give a picture of traditional life and
beliefs. For example, in the past, many people in Germany believed
that forests were dangerous places. In the Grimms’ stories, a forest is
often the home of evil witches (as in “Hansel and Gretel”), talking
animals, and other magical beings.

Children’s Stories?
C Although most people today think of these stories as fairy tales for
children, the Grimm brothers first wrote them primarily for adults.
Many of their early tales were dark and scary. Later, the brothers
changed the text of some of the original stories. They “softened”
many of the tales and added drawings. This made them more
suitable for children. Like the early tales, though, each story still
has a moral: Work hard, be good, and listen to your parents.

106 Unit 8A
READING COMPREHENSION

A. Choose the best answer for each question.

PURPOSE 1. What is the main purpose of the reading?
a. to compare the Grimms’ stories with
modern children’s stories
b. to explain why storytelling is important
in Germany
c. to give information about the Grimm
brothers and their stories
REFERENCE 2. What does Many refer to in paragraph A?
a. folktales
b. storytellers
c. books
DETAIL 3. Which of these is true about the Grimm
brothers?
a. They invented the fairy tales in
their books.
b. They became interested in folktales
as students.
The Grimm brothers have inspired
c. They wrote their books in different
many movies, some of which have
languages. been translated into different
VOCABULARY 4. In paragraph C, what does moral mean? languages.
a. interest b. story c. message
DETAIL 5. Which of these is true about the Grimms’ stories?
a. The early stories were written mainly for children.
b. Both the early stories and the later versions contained morals.
c. The early stories had a lot of drawings.

IDENTIFYING B. Write short answers for these questions. Use information from the reading
SUPPORTING passage.
EXAMPLES
Review this
1. What is the title of a story that the Grimm brothers published in German?
reading skill
in Unit 7A
2. What example is given of a story that includes an evil witch?

3. List one way the Grimm brothers made their stories more suitable for children.

4. What is an example of a moral that appears in Grimms’ fairy tales?

Unit 8A 107
READING SKILL

Annotating Text (1)

As you read a passage in detail, it may be useful to mark—or annotate—the text. This allows you
to focus on the most important information, and to remember it later. Here are some ways to add
annotations.
• Use one or more colors to highlight the main ideas or most important parts.
• Underline new words and write their definitions in the margins.
• Put a circle around important numbers, statistics, or dates.
• Put a question mark (?) next to things you don’t understand, for checking later.

ANNOTATING A. Look at the annotated paragraph below from “The Brothers Grimm.” Then
annotate the rest of Reading A.

Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm were two young men from Germany who loved reading
stories. As university students, they became interested in folktales—traditional stories
or legends that people told again and again, often for generations. The brothers began
to collect folktales from storytellers all over Germany. Many were similar to stories told
in France, Italy, Japan, and other countries. Between 1812 and 1814, the brothers
published two books in German. These included stories like “Cinderella,” “Snow
White,” and “Little Red Riding Hood.” The collections became known in English as
Grimms’ Fairy Tales.

SUMMARIZING B. Look back at your annotated text in Reading A. Then complete the concept map
below with words from the reading.

collected tales from the forest as a

German 1 3
place

common
origin of the image
stories their
readers

stories are 2 wrote first for 4

to tales in other countries and later for 5

CRITICAL THINKING Analyzing Stories Discuss with a partner. Can you think of any recent
movies or TV shows based on traditional stories or legends? What changes were made
(e.g., to the story, characters, or moral)? Why do you think these changes were made?

108 Unit 8A
VOCABULARY P RACTICE

COMPLETION A. Circle the correct words to complete the information below.

In Finland, there was once an area known as Viena Karelia. The
people there were great storytellers and had many folktales and
legends. The most famous of these is the Kalevala. This is a
1
collection / text of several poems that forms one long story.
The Kalevala tells tales of 2magical / suitable beings and
3
suitable / scary monsters.

For centuries, storytellers—called rune singers—learned and

spoke the Kalevala from memory. Jussi Huovinen (1924–2017)
was Finland’s last great rune singer. When he died, the ancient
culture of singing the Kalevala came to an end.
4
Primarily / Although Jussi Huovinen was the last rune
singer, many of the Finnish and Karelian folk 5beliefs /
additions from the Kalevala still live on today. British author
J.R.R. Tolkien included many of the Kalevala’s ideas in stories Arwen (a character
he wrote about a fantasy land called Middle-earth. First from The Lord of the
6
published / added in 1954, Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings Rings) in the movie
has since become one of the best-selling books of all time. adaptation

DEFINITIONS B. Match the words in red in activity A with these definitions (1–7).
1. : the words in a written work
2. : for the most part; mainly
3. : put in; included
4. : having special powers
5. : right or acceptable for a particular person or situation
6. : ideas a person accepts as being true or real
7. : printed (as a book for sale)

WORD FORMS C. We can add -al to some nouns to form adjectives (e.g., magic + -al = magical).
Complete the sentences using the nouns in the box. One noun is extra.

magic music nation origin

1. In addition to rune singing, Jussi Huovinen also played al instruments

such as the fiddle and the accordion.
2. In the fairy tale “Jack and the Beanstalk,” Jack trades his cow for beans he
believes are al.
3. The al story of “Little Red Riding Hood” can be traced back to
10th-century France.

Unit 8A 109
 BEFORE YOU READ

DISCUSSION A. “The Seven Ravens” is a

fairy tale collected by the
Brothers Grimm. Read
paragraph A. Then answer
these questions.
1. How many children did
the couple have?
2. Why were the brothers in
the forest?
3. What happened there?

PREDICTING B. What do you think

happens next in the story?
Discuss with a partner.
Then read the rest of the
story to find out.

110 Unit 8B
A Once upon a time, there lived a man and a woman who had
seven sons. The couple wanted a daughter, and, eventually,
they had a girl who they loved very much. One day, the
father needed water for the child, so he sent the seven
brothers to a well in the forest to get it. Once there, though,
the boys began to fight, and the water jug fell into the well.
The boys did not know what to do. They were afraid to go
home.
B Hours passed. “Where are those boys?” shouted the angry
father. “They are probably playing a game and forgot about
the water. I wish they were all turned into ravens!” When he
looked up, he saw seven black birds flying away. The father
was shocked. “What have I done?” he thought. But it was
too late. He could not take back his words.
C In time, the girl grew up and discovered she had brothers.
The story of their misfortune1 affected her greatly, and she
was determined to find them. For years, she searched and
did not stop. Finally, she found their home. To enter, she
needed a special key made from a chicken bone, which she
did not have. The girl thought for a moment, and then took
a knife and cut off one of her fingers. With it, she opened
the front door and went inside. On a table, there were seven
plates and seven cups. She ate and drank a little from each
of them. In the last cup, she accidentally2 dropped a ring that
her parents had given her.
D Eventually, the ravens returned for their meal. The girl
hid behind a door and watched. When the seventh raven
drank from his cup, something hit his mouth. The raven
recognized it immediately—it was his parents’ ring.
“I wish our sister were here,” he said, “and then we could
be free.” Their sister quickly ran to them, and suddenly the
ravens were human again. The brothers kissed their sister,
and they all went home together happily.

1 Misfortune is bad luck.

2 If something happens accidentally, it happens without you planning it.

Unit 8B 111
READING COMPREHENSION

A. Choose the best answer for each question.

GIST 1. What is this story mainly about?
a. a father who leaves his children
b. a sister who saves her brothers
c. magical birds that help children
VOCABULARY 2. In paragraph B, what does turned into mean?
a. changed to
b. returned to
c. circled around
PARAPHRASE 3. What does He could not take back his words
(paragraph B) mean?
a. He could not remember what he had said.
b. He had already said the words, so it was
too late.
c. He could not think of the right thing to say.
DETAIL 4. Why does the girl cut off her finger? A kitsune (fox) mask from
Japan. In Japanese folktales,
a. because her finger is trapped in a door
clever fox spirits can turn
b. because she needs it to change the ravens
into beautiful women.
back into humans
c. so she can use it to enter the ravens’ house
INFERENCE 5. What lesson or moral is taught in this story?
a. Your parents know what is best for you.
b. Think carefully about what you say.
c. Work hard and you will be happy.

SEQUENCING B. Number these events in the correct order (1–8) to summarize paragraphs C
Review this and D. Then practice retelling the story to a partner.
reading skill
in Unit 6A a. The girl found the boys’ home.
b. One raven made a wish.
c. 1 The girl learned that she had brothers.
d. The girl went inside the house.
e. The girl ran to her brothers.
f. The girl dropped a ring into a cup.
g. The girl cut off one of her fingers.
h. The ravens came home to eat.

112 Unit 8B
READING SKILL

Understanding Pronoun Reference

Pronouns are words such as he, she, they, and them, and usually refer to a noun earlier in a text.
Writers use pronouns when they don’t want to repeat the same names or words over and over again.
To fully understand a text, it is important to know what each pronoun refers to. Notice that pronouns
usually match the gender and number of the noun.

The father needed water. He sent the brothers to a well to get it. Once there, they began to fight.

MATCHING A. Read this summary of the fairy tale “Hansel and Gretel.” Then draw an arrow to
the word or phrase each underlined pronoun refers to.

Once upon a time, there were two children named Hansel and Gretel. Their mother
had died when 1they were young. Their father married again—to a terrible woman who
became their stepmother. One day, 2she took the children deep into the forest and left
3
them there.

After walking for a long time, Hansel and Gretel saw a house made of chocolate,
candy, and cake. They broke off a piece of 4it and started to eat. An old woman opened
the door and let them in. 5She gave them food and let them stay in the house. But this
old woman was a witch. 6She wanted to make the children fatter so that she could
cook and eat 7them!

One day, Hansel and Gretel escaped. They pushed the witch into the oven and shut 8it.
When they reached home, they learned that their stepmother had died. Hansel and
Gretel stayed with their father, and all three of them lived happily ever after.

REFERENCE B. Find these sentences in Reading B. Write the word or phrase each underlined
pronoun refers to.
1. With it, she opened the front door and went inside. (paragraph C)
2. She ate and drank a little from each of them. (paragraph C)
3. …, and they all went home together happily. (paragraph D)

CRITICAL THINKING Applying Ideas Imagine you are turning “The Seven Ravens” into a movie
for children. What changes would you make to the story? Would you “soften” it in any way?
Discuss with a partner and note your ideas.

Unit 8B 113
VOCABU LARY PRACTICE

WORDS IN A. Complete each sentence with the correct answer (a or b).

CONTEXT
1. You feel angry when you think someone has behaved .
a. badly b. well
2. If something happens immediately or suddenly, it happens .
a. repeatedly b. quickly
3. A moment refers to a very period of time.
a. short b. long
4. You recognize a person or thing you .
a. know b. don’t know
5. If you are shocked by something, it surprises you—usually in a way.
a. good b. bad
6. If you are afraid to do something, you are .
a. scared of what might happen b. looking forward to it
COMPLETION B. Complete the paragraph with words from the box.

affect determined forget

Sol Guy and Josh Thome are modern-day storytellers.

Through their TV show, 4REAL, they share real-life
fairy tales about young people who are
1
to make a difference and improve
lives. Each 4REAL show takes a celebrity to a different
country. There, they meet young leaders who are
helping other people in their community (e.g., by Thome and Guy have worked
building community centers or by providing medical with celebrities including actress
Cameron Diaz (pictured here).
care). Guy and Thome hope that the stories will
2
viewers in ways they won’t 3 ,
and raise public awareness of social issues around the world.

WORD USAGE C. The word affect (verb) is often confused with effect (noun). Circle the correct
word to complete each sentence.
1. The earthquake affected / effected thousands of people.
2. What affect / effect does reading stories to children have on their development?
3. The movie did not affect / effect me as much as I thought it would.

114 Unit 8B