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TEXT 2

The Lord of the Rings Book

The Lord of the Rings is the greatest trilogy, and it immortalized the name of its creator. It consists of three parts: The Fellowship of the Ring, The Two Towers and The Return of the King. The plot is based on the struggle for the Ring of Power, which was forged by Sauron, the Dark Lord, long long ago.

The trilogy is a logical sequence of a no less famous fairy tale by Tolkien The Hobbit as well as the second part of the Red Book of Westmarch – the main chronicle of the Third Age of Middle-earth. The Lord of the Rings belongs to the genre of an epic, has many plots and a great number of main and secondary characters.

Tolkien had been writing The Lord of the Rings for more than 10 years. He wrote the first chapters in 1939 after the success of The Hobbit. The trilogy was published first in 1954-1955. In his letter to Carole Batten-Phelps the writer affirms that he wrote The Lord of the Rings for his own pleasure as an attempt to create a major work. Tolkien never thought that his fantasy adventure would become so famous worldwide… The epic The Lord of the Rings became a real treasure of English Literature of the XX century. All the time critics find new ideas and draw analogies with reality. The Lord of the Rings formed the basis of such a literary genre as fantasy – a branch of fiction, which is based on mythological and historical traditions with a grain of magic. It became a so-called Bible for other writers working in this genre.

It was very difficult to link up a fairy-tale The Hobbit with a large-scale literary work addressed to a more serious audience. Many characters appear as if by themselves in the trilogy. In a letter to Auden Tolkien stated that he himself together with the Fellowship of the Ring had gone all the way up to Orodruin. We cannot help admiring Tolkien's careful elaboration of the history of Middle-earth. There are no unnecessary or unimportant characters or geographical areas. Every character plays his/her role in a complicated plot. Middle-earth can be compared with a symmetrical web, in the core of which there is the Ring of Power. There is an image of the spider in The Hobbit as well as in The Lord of the Rings. That can be explained because Tolkien was bitten by a tarantula once. Probably, the writer introduced the image of a vile many-legged being from his personal experience. Tolkien himself didn't like to draw any parallels between his biography and literary works, and considered that it could distract readers attention and in no way gives a better understanding of his books. However, he didn't deny that some biographical facts were reflected in his books…

The Lord of the Rings is not only a tale of enthralling adventures and mythical beings, but it also touches upon some questions of philosophy and morality. Heroic deeds, the unity for the sake of a common cause, true love, the triumph of Good over Evil – all these could be found in the epic. In The Lord of the Rings there is no direct indication as to any religion, however, the atmosphere in the book is literally pierced with holiness. Such places are Rivendell and Lorien, which are the strongholds of Good, in contrast Mordor is an abode of Evil. The readers as well as the characters can choose in what to believe, what to worship. It is wrong to say that only fools have gathered under the banner of Evil. The enemy is sly and artful, and only unity, sincerity and kindness can subdue it.

The plot of The Lord of the Rings is very dynamic. It seems that Tolkien wanted to introduce as many geographical areas and living-beings as possible. He doesn't stay too long in one place but leads the reader further and further away. A great aim sets him going – the destruction of the Ring of Power, the result of Evil which promises its owner riches and wealth, in the fire of Orodruin. It cannot be used for good intentions, for the artifact will try to find a soft spot in its owner's character and bring him/her under its control. A person, strong-willed or completely indifferent to power, can overcome all the obstacles and destroy the Ring. Frodo and Sam turn out to be the ones.

Adapted from .

3. According to the article, the book “The Lord of the Rings” ‘is not only a tale of adventure and mythical beings, but it also touches upon some questions of philosophy and morality’. What questions/aspects does the epic present in its plot? (answer in Portuguese)

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Atitudes heróicas, unidade por uma causa em comum, amor verdadeiro e o triunfo do bem sobre o mal.

4. What is the importance of Tolkien’s creation for literature, according to the article?

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O livro tornou-se um tesouro da literatura em língua inglesa. Críticos encontram novas ideias e criam analogias com a realidade todo o tempo. O livro formou a base do gênero fantasia – um ramo da ficção baseado em tradições históricas e mitológicas com uma pitada de magia.

5. Why must the ‘Ring of Power’ be destroyed? What kind of person can do it?

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Because it’s a creation of Evil which promises its owner riches and wealth. It cannot be used for good intentions, for the artifact will try to find a soft spot in its owner's character and bring him/her under its control. A person, strong-willed or completely indifferent to power, can overcome all the obstacles and destroy the Ring.

GRAMMAR

6. Read the sentences and write (R) right or (W) wrong. Correct the (W) wrong ones.

a) Stretching is really important before exercising.

(  R ) Stretching is the subject of the sentence.

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b) Everybody heard the frightening sound.

(W   ) In the sentence the word frightening is a gerund.

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In the sentence frightening is a present participle.

c) She works in a women clothing store.

(   W) In the sentence the word clothing is a present participle.

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The word clothing is a noun.

d) It was a thrilling experience for him.

(   W) In the sentence the word thrilling is a gerund.

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In the sentence the word thrilling is a present participle.

7. Fill in the gaps with the appropriate form (comparative or superlative of superiority) of the adjective in brackets:

Last night I went to ____the best____________________ (good) party ever!! It was ___ more exciting than________(exciting) last weekend’s. It was _______easier_________ (easy) to get there too. The place was __ the most beautiful___________ (beautiful) I’ve ever been... It was Sarah’s birthday and of course she was ___the happiest__________________(happy) person there and I think she was also __the prettiest_________________ (pretty). By all means, it was ______the biggest___ (big) party I’ve been so far this year.

8. Choose A, B or C for each sentence:

1) He doesn’t go to parties ____ regularly_________. Actually he__seldom________________ goes to parties.

a) regularly, often                         b) regularly, seldom                         c) eventually, rarely

2) Your son is __rather_________ quiet for a kid of his age. I ___strongly____________ agree with the way you are raising him...

a) badly, rather                                    b) rather, strongly                 c) strongly, rather

3) She thanked the guy_____nicely________which is something you ___rarely _____________ see…unfortunately she’s ___often_________________ rude to people.

a) nicely, rarely, often                  b) nicely, rarely, seldom                c) usually, rarely, often

4) I forgot about his birthday __entirely_________________. Well!! He will forgive me ___eventually___________________.

a)abroad, entirely                       b) entirely, eventually                             c) entire, eventually  

9. Complete the chart accordingly:

Preposition	usage
ACROSS	GETTING TO THE OTHER SIDE
BELOW	lower than something else but above ground
ONTO	MOVEMENT TO THE TOP OF SOMETHING
OFF	leaving a public transport vehicle
SINCE	from a certain point in time
AGO	CERTAIN TIME IN THE PAST

10. Match the sentences halves:

(A) Cindy loves acting (B) She competes in ballroom (C) She must dance (D) She must follow the rules (E) Her best friend (F) Now Cindy has to focus on her classes

(C   ) gracefully and precisely in order to win. (E   ) takes part in the competitions too. (D   ) as well as use good dance technique. (F   ) as well as her practices.   (A   ) and she also dances in competitions. (B   ) as well as modern dance contests.

11-  Circle or underline the correct word to complete the sentences:

a) English is spoken in many countries in the world but three million people speak English as / like their native language.

c) Welsh is a Celtic language and is one of the oldest / the older languages in Europe.

c) Edinburgh, the capital of Scotland, is considered one of the more beautiful / the most beautiful cities in Europe.

d) The North is famous because of its mountains, like / as Snowdonia.

e) Some popular sports in Australia are cricket as well as / like surf.

f) People from New Zealand are very friendly as / like they are used to tourists coming into their country.

g) The authorities asked for his passport as / like he was acting suspicious / suspiciously.

12- Complete the chart accordingly:

ADJECTIVE	COMPARATIVE OF SUPERIORITY	SUPERLATIVE OF SUPERIORITY
BAD
GOOD
FAR
HANDSOME
PRETTY
SLIM
YOUNG
INTERESTING
FAT
LUCKY