ENGLISH PROGRAMME 6. COMPREHENSION - WORD MEANING AND LITERAL RETRIEVAL The Leap Frog Keystone Tutors 5 Blythe Mews, London, W14 0HW. www.keystonetutors.com
Keystone Tutors 5 Blythe Mews, London, W14 0HW www.keystonetutors.com 0207 602 5310 enquiries@keystonetutors.com 2016 Keystone Tutors Limited All rights are reserved: No part of this document may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without prior written consent of a Director of Keystone Tutors Limited.
The Leap Frog by Hans Christian Anderson A Flea, a Grasshopper, and a Leap-frog once wanted to see which could jump highest; and they invited the whole world, and everybody else besides who chose to come to see the festival. Three famous jumpers were they, as everyone would say, when they all met together in the room. I will give my daughter to him who jumps highest, exclaimed the King; for it is not so amusing where there is no prize to jump for. The tiny, thin-legged and grey Flea was the first to step forward. He had exquisite manners, and bowed to the company on all sides; for he had noble blood, and was, moreover, accustomed to the society of man alone; and that makes a great difference. Then came the tall Grasshopper. He was considerably heavier, but he was wellmannered, and wore a green uniform, which he had by right of birth; he said, moreover, that he belonged to a very ancient Egyptian family. It was thus that the Flea and the Grasshopper gave an account of themselves, and thought they were quite good enough to marry a Princess. The Leap-frog said nothing; but people gave it as their opinion, that he therefore thought the more; and when the housedog snuffed at him with his nose, he confessed the Leap-frog was of good family. I say nothing, it is true, exclaimed the King; but I have my own opinion, notwithstanding. Now the trial was to take place. The Flea jumped so high that nobody could see where he went to; so they all asserted he had not jumped at all; and that was dishonourable. The Grasshopper jumped only half as high; but he leaped into the King s face, who said that was ill-mannered. The round, brown Leap-frog stood still for a long time lost in thought; it was believed at last he would not jump at all. I only hope he is not unwell, said the house-dog; when, pop! He made a jump all on one side into the lap of the Princess, who was sitting on a little golden stool close by. And so he won the Princess. 3
EXERCISE 1 Can you write down the meanings of the eight underlined words in the story above? What clues did you use to help you guess the meanings of these words? 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. Can you now choose three of these words and use them in your own sentence? 1. 2. 3. 4
EXERCISE 2 Can you answer the following questions verbally through discussion in class? 1) In your own words explain what the King said the prize would be for the winner of the jumping competition. 2) Who did the insects invite to see the jumping competition? 3) Who won the jumping competition? 5
EXERCISE 3 Now answer the following questions in written form. Remember to always use complete sentences. 1. Why did the flea not win the jumping competition? (2 marks) 2. Paraphrase three things in the text that describe the grasshopper? (3 marks) 3. Do you think it was fair that the flea was the winner? Can you explain your answer? (3 marks) 6
4. What two things did the housedog do in the story? (2 marks) 5. Can you find a word in the story that means the same as poorly? (1 mark) 7
EXERCISE 4 Can you now think about a different way that this story could have ended and then write your alternative ending below? 8
EXERCISE 5 Can you draw a small picture of the grasshopper, the flea and the leap-frog? Label each of them with any information that you can find in the text. 9