Christmas Lesson Reading

• Engels
• Middelbare school
• vmbo k
• Leerjaar 3

A Christmas Reading

A Christmas Carol

Christmas festivals

Mistletoe

Reading comprehension

Read the texts and answer the questions

What do you know about 'A Christmas Carol'?

A CHRISTMAS CAROL By Charles Dickens

It is the story of a bad old man: Ebenezer Scrooge who doesn’t like Christmas. He is a stingy and selfish man. He sits in his office on a cold Christmas Eve. His clerk, Bob Cratchit, works in that very cold office because Scrooge doesn’t want to spend money on coal for the fire. On Christmas Eve, Scrooge is sitting alone in his cold living room at home. Suddenly the ghost of his dead partner, Jacob Marley appears. He says to Scrooge, “Change your life! You must be a better man. You must be kind to people. Three ghosts will visit you this night.” Scrooge is terribly afraid. Then he goes to bed. That night three ghosts come to visit Scrooge. The first is the Ghost of Christmas Past. He takes Ebenezer Scrooge back to the happy days when he was a young man and he celebrated Christmas with other people. He was so happy. The second ghost is the Ghost of Present and takes Scrooge to a poor but clean room. It is the home of his clerk Bob Cratchit and his family. They are very poor but very kind. Mrs. Cratchit is preparing a small turkey for Christmas dinner, but they are happy. There is also Tiny Tim, Bob's little boy. He is very ill, but they haven’t got money for a doctor. “Look!” the ghost says to Scrooge, “The boy will die if they don´t get money for a doctor.” The third ghost is the Ghost of Christmas Future. He takes Scrooge to a cemetery. There is Scrooge´s name on a tombstone. Scrooge is frightened and promises to change his way. The ghost disappears. When Scrooge gets up on Christmas morning is a  new man. He becomes jolly and charitable and wishes everyone.” Merry Christmas!”.He buys delicious food and many presents for Bob’s family and pays for the doctor for little Tim. Scrooge is really a new man and the spirit of Christmas is always with him.

True or False: Scrooge is a poor man, but has many friends

1. True
2. False

True or False: Scrooge likes to spend money

1. True
2. False

True or False: Bob Cratchit works for Scrooge

1. True
2. False

True or False: Bob has a son named Tiny Tim, who is very sick

1. True
2. False

True or False: Four ghosts visit Scrooge at night when he is asleep

1. True
2. False

True or False: Jacob Marley was Scrooge’s friend

1. True
2. False

1. What was Scrooge like as a boy?

1. unhappy
2. friendly
3. angry

2. What did the Ghost of Christmas past show Scrooge?

1. Scrooge as a young man
2. Scrooge as a child
3. Scrooge buying presents

3. What was on The Cratchit’s table for Christmas?

1. Christmas Pudding
2. Turkey
3. Apples

4. What did the Ghost of Christmas present show Scrooge?

1. His brother and his family
2. The Cratchit family
3. His Christmas invention

5. What did the Ghost of Christmas future show Scrooge?

1. His family
2. His House
3. His Tombstone

6. What was Scrooge doing on Christmas Eve?

1. sitting in his office
2. having dinner at The Cratchit’s house
3. having a party at the office

7. What did Scrooge promise?

1. to buy a new house for poor people
2. to stay the way he is
3. to change his way (

8. What did Scrooge do on Christmas Morning?

1. He buys delicious food and many presents for Bob’s family and pays for the doctor for little Tim
2. He went to work at his office and tell his secretary to send out invitations for a Christmas party
3. He went for a walk to clear his head and think about what happened that night

Which Christmas Festivals do you know?

Christmas Festivals

Which Festival is this?

Winter Wonderland

Christmas Festival of lights

Christmas on Ice

Budapest Christmas Fair

Santa Claus Christmas Celebration

Fill in the information about each festival

Festival	number of visitors	Country	Location	What is it about
Winter Wonderland
Christmas Festival of lights
Budapest Christmas Fair
Santa Claus Christmas Celebrations
Christmas in Ice

What is a mistletoe?

Mistletoe is more than just for kissing

(1) The next time you pucker up under the mistletoe for that holiday kiss, remember that the plant also provides food, cover and nesting sites for birds, butterflies and mammals in the United States.

(2) There are more than 1,300 species of mistletoe found all over the world. And more than 20 species are listed as endangered, according to United States Geological Service (USGS) scientists.

(3) Two kinds of mistletoes are native to the United States: the American mistletoe (the one commonly associated with our kissing customs) and the dwarf mistletoe. American mistletoe is found from New Jersey to Florida and west through Texas. The dwarf mistletoe, much smaller than its kissing cousin, is found from central Canada and southeastern Alaska to Honduras and Hispaniola, but most species are found in western United States and Mexico

(4) Mistletoes are rather strange plants that grow on the branches of trees and shrubs. The American mistletoe’s scientific name, Phoradendron, means “thief of the tree” in Greek. Once its seed lands on a host tree, the mistletoe sends out roots that penetrate the tree and start stealing some the host tree’s nutrients and minerals. Eventually, mistletoes grow into thick masses of branching, misshapen stems, giving rise to a popular name of witches' brooms, or the Navajo name of "basket on high."

(5) The plant's common name -- mistletoe -- comes from early observations that mistletoe would often appear in places where birds had left their droppings. "Mistel" is the Anglo-Saxon word for "dung," and "tan" is the word for "twig." So, mistletoe means "dung-on-a-twig." Talk about taking the romance out of that next kiss under the mistletoe!

(6) Even though bird droppings do not generate mistletoe plants, birds are an important part of mistletoe life. Birds find mistletoe a great place for nesting and many birds, including grouse, mourning doves, bluebirds, evening grosbeaks, robins and pigeons eat mistletoe berries.

 

(7) This year, USGS is beginning a study on mistletoes that live on acacia and mesquite trees in the desert. Todd Esque, a USGS researcher, said that his goal is to understand the distribution of the host trees in relation to mistletoe patterns and bird behaviour. "We know the relationship is mutually beneficial for both species," said Esque.

(8) According to butterfly expert and Colorado State University professor Paul Opler, three kinds of butterflies in the United States are entirely dependent on mistletoes for their survival: the great purple hairstreak, the thicket hairstreak, and the Johnson’s hairstreak. The great purple hairstreak, says Opler, is the only butterfly in the United States that feeds on American mistletoe, the Christmas mistletoe. This beautiful butterfly lays its eggs on the mistletoe, where the resulting caterpillars thrive on a mistletoe diet. The caterpillars of the other two butterflies feed on dwarf mistletoes. 

(9) Mistletoe is also important nectar and pollen plant for honeybees and other native bees, says Erik Erikson, a bee researcher at the USDA Bee Research Lab. Mistletoe flowers, says Erikson, often provides the first pollen available in the spring for the hungry bees. "We look upon it as an important starter food source for the bees," said Erikson.

   

(10) While mistletoe is poisonous to people, many mammals eat the berries and leaves, especially in the autumn and winter when other foods are hard to come by. Researchers have found that animals such as elk, cattle and deer eat mistletoe during winter when fresh foliage is rare. Other mammals that eat mistletoe include squirrels, chipmunks, and even porcupines, some of which are very fond of the plant. A variety of squirrels, including red squirrels, Abert squirrels and flying squirrels often use witches brooms for cover and nesting sites.

(11) But not everyone likes mistletoe. Many commercial foresters consider the dwarf mistletoe as a disease that reduces the growth rates of important conifer species, such as the ponderosa pine.

   

(12) So the next time you’re waiting for that holiday smooch, remember that some animals think of mistletoe as only a source of food and shelter.

Hieronder zijn enkele alinea’s uit de tekst samengevat in één zin. Geef door middel van het alineanummer aan bij welke alinea de zin hoort.

		alinea nummer
1	De twee soorten mistletoe die in Amerika te vinden zijn, zijn de Amerikaanse mistletoe en de Dwerg mistletoe.
2	Veel dieren eten mistletoe in de herfst en de winter als voedsel schaars is.
3	Mistletoe betekent ‘poep op een takje’.
4	Mistletoe groeit op bomen.
5	Er zijn in Amerika 3 soorten vlinders die voor hun voedsel afhankelijk zijn van de mistletoe.
6	De besjes van de mistletoe worden door vogels gegeten.

Geef bij de volgende stellingen aan of ze ‘waar’ of ‘niet waar’ zijn:

                  

                                                                                                              waar       niet waar

Er zijn meer dan 20 soorten mistletoe ter wereld
De mistletoe die gebruikt wordt met Kerst (het gebruik om te zoenen als je er met z’n tweeën onderstaat), is de Amerikaanse mistletoe.
De wetenschappelijke naam van de mistletoe is ‘dief van de boom’.
3 soorten vlinders zijn voor hun voedsel geheel afhankelijk van de Amerikaanse mistletoe.
In de lente is mistletoe één van de eerste bronnen van voedsel voor bijen.
Voor sommige dieren is mistletoe giftig.
Kwekers van coniferen zien de mistletoe als een ziekte.