Les propositions infinitives:

avec want/would like/ask/expect/allow/advise/prefer/:
ex 1: I want to become a sailor. (ici, le sujet de want est aussi le sujet de become)
ex 2: The father wants his son to become a teacher.
= The father wants him to become a teacher
(ici, le sujet de want est différent du sujet de become et l'on remarque que le sujet de become est sous la forme d'un nom ou d'un pronom complément)

Captain Cook didn't expect to find a stowaway on the Endeavour.
He asked Nicholas to work with the surgeon.
He expected him to earn his trip with hard work.

Sunday, November 13, 2005

WEEK 3
Our work on Stowaway goes on. I distributed a text that deals with the novel by Karen Hesse and we'll also deal with it.Here it is:

STOWAWAY is the fictionalized story of the amazing adventures of a real-life boy named Nicholas Young. Only a few facts are known about the real Nicholas Young: 1) he really did stow away on Captain Cook's voyage around the world when he was 11 years old; 2) when he was discovered, Captain Cook commissioned him into the Royal Navy and made him assistant to the ship's surgeon aboard the Endeavour; 3) he was the first person on Captain Cook's ship to spot New Zealand; 4) when he grew up, he explored the Antarctic.

From these sketchy but fascinating facts, Hesse spins a thoroughly researched yarn, filling in all the blanks to write a complete picture of Captain Cook's voyage, through the eyes of young Nicholas, from August 1768 to July 1771.

Nicholas is an educated boy who can read and write. But he runs away from Reverend Smythe's school because the reverend is a cruel man. Then Nicholas's father apprentices him to a butcher, who beats the boy. So Nicholas runs away again. He bribes three seamen to smuggle him aboard a ship ready to set sail, which turns out to be the Endeavour, and he hides in a small landing boat aboard ship. It's cramped and smelly, and even though it's covered, it is not weatherproof. Nicholas's only company, except for the sailors who helped him, are the goat, pigs, and chickens penned nearby. But Nicholas sticks it out for weeks, until it's safe to show himself without being left at port somewhere and returned to England.

When he makes his presence known, Nicholas is immediately put to good use. Aboard ship, the captain is the only law. And the work is hard. Life is not easy for the lowest one in the pecking order, which is now Nicholas. Captain Cook is a fair and just captain, but there are endless opportunities for petty tyrannies. When the midshipman, Bootie, gets blamed for not knowing that Nicholas was hiding aboard ship, for example, Bootie treats Nicholas cruelly and beats him. But Nicholas keeps his mouth shut and works hard. Despite the stress and strain, he enjoys life aboard ship. He is fascinated by the work of the gentleman scholars aboard, including Mr. Banks, a botanist, and his assistants. They study and paint every fish and plant they can find. Mr. Banks takes an interest in Nicholas, and the ship's surgeon is also very pleased with Nicholas's work.

As the Endeavour sails on, Nicholas sees many strange places, including an island which the English call King George's Land. Nicholas makes friends with a native boy there, who calls the island of Tahiti. The Endeavour sails around the eastern coast of New Holland, which no European has ever explored before. Captain Cook makes careful charts for the benefit of those who will come after them. When sailing around the world, however, all sorts of adventures are just around the corner, and not all of them are pleasant. The crew weathers terrible storms and meets hostile natives. And one place they visit, Batavia, is where the crew contracts a sickness that quickly comes aboard the Endeavour. As the ship surgeon's boy, Nicholas helps care for diseased, cramping, and dying sailors. Man after man dies and is buried at sea.Nicholas spends three years aboard one of history's most famous ships, an eyewitness participant in a once-in-a-lifetime voyage. He grows from a boy to a young man. What does he learn about himself? What will he decide to do when the voyage is over? Reading STOWAWAY will bring your history books alive. And you will want to know what happens to Nicholas.

WEEK 2

Here is some work we'll do about the text entitled STOWAWAY p.57
Present perfect or preterit ?

1 “Captain Cook ……………………… close last night. (to come) but he ..............................me.” (to discover -)
2 The young boy ................................... his diary on Friday 19 August. (to start)
3 The Endeavour ......................... in the Plymouth harbour for 5 months.(to remain)
4 The boat ........................................ Plymouth yet. (to leave -)
5 In 1768, Captain Cook .......................... to find a new route to India. (to try)
6 He ........................................... England in July 1772 (to leave) and .................................... South. (to sail)
7 Captain Cook ....................................... with the Endeavour for three years (to travel)
8 The young boy ............................................. for several days. (to hide)
9 The three seamen ................................................ biscuits and water. (to give)
10 Since Captain Cook’s days, no explorer .................................. a new continent.(to find)

STOWAWAY , A NOVEL BY KAREN HESSE.

§1
What is Stowaway based upon?
Right or Wrong? Justify your answers
a) Nicholas Young is a fictional character.
b) Nicholas was a teenager.
c) Nicholas was never discovered by Captain Cook
d) As an adult, Nicholas went to Antarctic.
e) Captain Cook’s voyage lasted more than three years.
§2
Answer the following questions:
a) Why did he run away from school and from the butcher’s?
b) Which sentence explains what he did afterwards?
c) Was Nicholas protected from the rain or the heat in his hiding place?
d) Why did he wait for such a long time on the boat before revealing his presence?
§3
Say who the following people were and how they acted towards Nicholas.
- Bootie :
- M. Banks:
- The ship’s surgeon:

*Was life easy on the boat? Why?
*Did Nicholas enjoy life on The Endeavour? Why?
§4
*Explain the following words:
- sail on - native boy- sail around - charts - contracts - to be buried
*Give some details about their journey:
*What kind of problems did the crew encounter?
§5
What is the purpose of this last paragraph?

WRITTEN EXPRESSION

Would you like to sail around the world like Brian?