ROBINSON CRUSOE

contents Chapter One My Adventures At The Sea! ................................................. 2 Activities .............................................................................. 12 Chapter Two The Lord Of The Island! ...................................................... 16 Activities .............................................................................. 28 Chapter Three Footprints In The Island! .................................................... 32 Activities .............................................................................. 42 Chapter Four Coming Back Home! ........................................................... 46 Activities .............................................................................. 58 Glossary ............................................... 62 1

Chapter One MY ADVENT URES AT THE SEA! I was born in 1632, in the city of York in England. My father was German but he had come to England from Germany to live and work there. He was a merchant. He married my mother who was English. My mother’s family name was Robinson. So I was baptized as Robinson Kreutzer. However, we were called Crusoe in England so people called me Robinson Crusoe. I had two brothers. One of my brothers was a soldier and he was killed in a battle. I did not know what happened to my other brother. 2 • merchant: person who sells goods • battle: war • baptize: initiate in church rite

My father was a good merchant and we always had a prosperous life. I had a good education in good schools. My father always wanted me to get a nice job, and have a comfortable life. But I always dreamed of sailing on a ship to abroad! My father was a wise man and he always said that I would live in a pleasant life at my home. ‘‘Only desperate or fortunate men go abroad; you are neither desperate nor fortunate,’’ he told me. ‘‘The middle state is the best. The poor and desperate men always want to have money so they go abroad; on the other hand, the fortunate men always want to have more money and they go abroad to make more money. Only the man in the middle state can live in peace. So stay here and live in the condition of the middle state life,’’ he warned me. I was affected by his words and decided to give up my desire about sea voyages. My father was right; he always worked for us to live in a better condition. And he was a successful man in life so I took him seriously. But, a few days later I began to dream the sea again. ‘‘I want to go to the sea and be a sailor, mom. Talk and persuade my father, please,’’ I told my mother. ‘‘Please, don’t go. I don’t want you to leave home. You know sailors live in a difficult condition. Give up! You have a good life here. It is useless to speak to your father. I have no purpose to persuade your father! He knows you will ruin your life. And I give no consent to it,’’ she said firmly. I loved my mother so much and tried to forget the sea about a year. • prosperous: wealthy • desire: want 3 • desperate: poor • persuade: cause to believe • fortune: wealthy • purpose: aim • abroad: in a foreign country • ruin: destruct • affect: influence • consent: agreement

But a year later, I met one of my friend at the port of Hull. He was going to London on his father’s ship. ‘‘We are sailing to London tomorrow. Why don’t you come with us? You don’t need to pay for it,’’ he said. I accepted his offer and, on September 1st, 1651, I went on board a ship for London for the first time without asking my parents. As soon as I got in the ship, I felt myself as a young sailor, but I never knew about the sea and I expected every wave would swallow us. A few days later, a strong wind began to blow. The ship was falling down and up. I vowed to God to go directly home of my father if I got my foot upon the dry land again and I swore I would never go to sea again. I thought the God was punishing me for hurting my father. I felt sick and frightened. The next day the sea was calm and the sun was shining. ''Robinson , how are you? Were you afraid last night?'' my friend asked. ‘‘Yes, I was too frightened. It was a terrible storm,’’ I said. ‘‘Come on, Robinson. It was just a little wind. Come and drink something and forget it,’’ he said. We drank something and I really forgot it. I felt better and forgot my vow and decided not to go home. A few days later, it blew a terrible storm indeed. The waves were as high as mountains. And now I saw the terror and amazement in the faces of the seamen and the captain. I heard their praying to God. ‘‘God be merciful to us,’’ they were praying. That time I was dreadfully frightened. The crew of the ship cried out and they said the ship would ‘‘founder’’. At • port: place for boat decking; harbour • amazement: shock; surprise • swallow: eat; gobble • merciful: kind • vow: promise • dreadfully: awfully 4 • punish: harm, discipline • founder: to sink a ship • terror: intense fear

last, another ship rescued us by the boat. When we were in a ship, I saw our ship going down and I understood the meaning of ‘‘founder’’. Luckily, we reached the shore, and the people were very friendly to us. They gave us money to return to London. But I didn’t want to return home. There, I met a captain of the ship who had been in Africa before. He had made money from his voyage and he was eager to go there again. He asked me to go with him as his companion. I accepted his offer and began my first successful voyage. The captain taught me the skills of the sailors and merchants. I felt like a real sailor with him. Unfortunately, when we approached the coast of Africa, a Moroccan ship followed us and after a short fight, they were taken us as a prisoner. I was now a slave of a Moroccan and the Moroccan captain was my master! I lived as a slave for two years. I worked for my master at home, in the garden, in the field and I always planned to escape. One day, my master sent me fishing with his brother Ismael and a slave boy called Xury. While we were fishing, I knocked Ismael and he fell down the sea. I took a gun of my master from the boat and said ‘‘Ismael, you swim well. Go to the shore. I do not want to kill you.’’ And I turned to Xury ‘‘If you are faithful to me, I will be a good friend of you. If not, I must throw you into the sea, too.’’ Xury promised to be faithful to me and we sailed along the coast of Africa together. We sailed about twelve days on the south coast of Africa. • rescue: saving from danger • approach: come nearer • eager: ambitious • prisoner: person kept against his will • companion: friend • slave: captive; servant 5

We had a little water to drink and we were obliged to go on a shore for fresh water. On shore, we saw some wild men. They were black and naked and we were afraid of them but we had to go on a shore to get water. Firstly, they were afraid of us. Maybe they never saw a white man in their life. They gave grain and meat to us; we took them and decided to leave the shore immediately. I could not thank them and we carried the food to our boat. As we were leaving the shore; two big wild cats came down to the shore from the mountains. I shot them which were leopards, I thought. The people on the shore were astonished and terrified by the sound of my gun. Then, they approached the dead leopards and I gave them the flesh of the animals. So I found a chance to thank them for the food which they had given to us. Then, we went on sailing for eleven days. After our adventure on the African coast, I did not offer to go near the shore again. We wanted to go Cape Verde Islands but they were at a great distance and we couldn’t get near to them because of the strong wind. I decided to step into the cabin and have a rest. Suddenly, Xury cried out “Master, master, a Ship with a Sail!’’ There was a ship indeed. We sailed to catch it for three hours and finally reached it. It was a Portuguese ship and they were going to Brazil. I offered all I had to the captain to thank him for saving us, but he took nothing from me and took us on board by their ship with all my properties from the boat. The captain offered to buy my boat. Also, he wanted to buy Xury. I did not want to sell him as a slave but Xury was willing to go with captain. “He will be free in ten years,’’ the captain said. So I let the captain have Xury. We had a very good voyage to Brazil together. Meanwhile, I met the sugar planters in Brazil. • oblige: force; command • gun: weapon that shots • property: possession 6 • astonish: surprise • terrify: scare; alarm

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I saw they grew so quickly that I decided to live in Brazil and become a sugar planter. After I worked hard for some years, I became rich and had a comfortable life. I had a prosperous life but I was not happy. Because the life which I lived in Brazil was the middle state as once my father had talked about. “Had I left my country for becoming a sugar planter in Brazil?’’ I sometimes thought. I had Portuguese neighbor in Brazil and we went on sociably together. We planted Tobacco in our land. We sold them and made good profits. I had to work hard and I needed a slave. I regretted that I had sold Xury. I could not buy a slave because they were a few slaves in Brazil and they cost lots of money. One day, three planters visited me. They decided to sail the African coast to buy slaves. They offered me to direct them as a captain in a ship and they promised to give me a slave without paying any money. So, I agreed to go because I was born to be my own Destroyer and I left my comfortable life in Brazil and I sailed to sea again in 1659 after eight years after my first voyage from Hull. It was too hot in the first day of our voyage. Firstly, we sailed up to the coast of Cape St. Augustino. We could see only sea and we lost sight of land. Twelve days later, a horrible tornado hit us. I expected every day to be swallowed up by the sea. On the twelfth day, the weather abated a little. I advised the captain to sail Barbados. But a second storm came upon and carried us away to the westward, far away from the routes. “Why don’t we land on?’’ a Portuguese man asked. “If we come to land, the Savages will probably devour us,’’ I answered him. • abate: lessen, calm • devour: eat 8

We were too desperate. We sat looking at one another and expected death every moment. Then, one of the sailors cried out ‘‘Land. Come and look at the land.’’ We ran out to see the land with a great excitement but at that moment the ship struck upon the sand. There was no hope for the ship. The waves were hitting the ship and the wind was driving us towards the shore. We climbed into the boat and left the ship. A raging wave came rowling a stern of us and it separated us from the boat; it swallowed us in a moment. I could not describe the moment which I sunk into the water. I thought I was a good swimmer but I could not deliver myself from the waves. A wave carried me along towards the shore. It left me on the sand, half-dead. I tried to stand up and run away but another wave took me up again. The wave rose me like a hill and I held my breath. It was as furious as an enemy. • raging: violent • furious: extremely angry • stern: serious • enemy: foe; bad person 9

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I tried to stand up again but another wave broke over me. And the wave was withdrawing me. I held my breath and assisted myself to swim forward to the shore. I struck forward against the return of the waves and felt ground under my feet. I ran towards the shore but the waves came over me. The last one was nearly fatal to me. The waves threw me again and I could hold a rock when the next wave hit me. When the waves withdrew, I stood up and ran to the shore and I released my whole body to the beach. I was lying on the beach and I could hear the sound of my heartbeats. I could not believe my eyes. I was alive and alone in a wild shore! • withdraw: remove; retract • fatal: deadly; killing 11

Activities A) Write the antonyms of the words. 1) Battle X ……………… a) last 2) Desperate X ……………… b) reward 3) Accept X ……………… c) freedom 4) Punish X ……………… d) poor 5) Calm X ……………… e) peace 6) Terror X ……………… f) furious 7) Slavery X ……………… g) refuse 8) Wealthy X ……………… h) hopeful 9) First X ……………… i) happiness 10) Enemy X ……………… j) friend B) Write suitable prepositions to the given blanks. at / of / away / by (x2) / up / for / in 1) I always dreamed _________ sailing on a ship. 2) My friend was going to London _____sea in his father’s ship. 3) I was affected _____________ my father’s words. 4) I thought the God was punishing me _________hurting my father. 5) I stood _____ and ran to the shore. 6) My father always said that I would live ______ a pleasant life at my home. 7) The second storm carried us ______ to the westward. 8) I met one of my friends ______ the port of Hull. 12

C) Read the expressions and find the words. 1) the place Robinson Crusoe started his first voyage __________________________________________________ 2) the dream of Robinson Crusoe __________________________________________________ 3) what Robinson Crusoe planted in Brazil __________________________________________________ 4) the problem about slaves in Brazil __________________________________________________ 5) the place Robinson wanted to sail from Brazil __________________________________________________ 6) what Robinson Crusoe carried on the sea __________________________________________________ D) Tick the correct options. 1) Robinson Crusoe_________ on a ship on 1st September, 1651. a) boarded c) punished b) walked d) met 2) Robinson’s father wanted him to live in a ________ life. a) desperate c) fortunate b) wealthy d) middle state 3) When the storm struck, Robinson vowed to the God to __________. a) sail to london b) be a good sailor c) return home directly d) trade in africa 4) Robinson’s father was a/an __________man. a) angry c) poor b) upset d) wise 13

E) Complete the sentences with the secret words. 1) One of the Robinson’s brothers was killed in a b _ t _ _ e. 2) Robinson desired to sail to _ b _o _ d. 3) Robinson saw the t _ r _ _ r in the face of the captain. 4) The captain o _ f _ r _ _ Robinson to buy his boat. 5) A r _ g _ _ g wave swallowed Robinson Crusoe. 6) The waves were f _ r _ _ _ s like an enemy. 7) Robinson’s mother tried to p _ r s _ _ d _ d him to stay at home. F) Write True or False to the sentences. 1) Robinson was originally from Germany. ____ 2) Robinson’s mother allowed him to leave home for the sea. ____ 3) Robinson felt scared during the storm. ____ 4) Xury was a good companion for Robinson. ____ 5) Robinson travelled to Portugal after his slavery. ____ 6) Robinson had a comfortable life in Brazil. ____ 7) Robinson went to African coast by land. ____ 8) Robinson decided to travel to London because he didn’t want to return home. ____ 9) The waves withdrew Robinson. ____ 10) Robinson was a prisoner on an island. ____ 14

G) Answer the following questions below. 1) Where was Robinson Crusoe born? _________________________________. 2) Where did Robinson’s father come from? _________________________________. 3) What was Robinson’s father’s job? _________________________________. 4) What was Robinson’s dream? _________________________________. 5) What kind of life did Robinson’s father want for Robinson? _________________________________. 6) Who did Robinson meet at the port of Hull with? _________________________________. 7) Where was Robinson’s first voyage to? _________________________________. 8) What happened during the voyage? _________________________________. 9) How did Robinson feel when the storm hit? _________________________________. 10) Who took Robinson as a slave? _________________________________. 11) How did Robinson escape from his master? _________________________________. 15