III. Post-reading

3.1. Feelings.

Christmas comes in the middle of winter, yet it's the warmest holiday of the year all over Christendom. It's the most magical, the most fantastic, the most ... well, you continue now. Don't forget 'merry, either.

3.2. Dreams of childhood

If you went back to your childhood in a dream, what do you think you would see? Share some of your recollections.

3.3. Roleplay.

Act out a scene from Mrs Becker's childhood. Role-play a conversa­tion between the girl and her daddy on the eve of Christmas.

3.4. Poetry corner.

Read the poem written by David McCord and prepare to analyze it — VERY attentively. Answer the following questions:

1. Why the 'stocking'?

2. Who is 'he'?

3. How can one 'weigh' his wants?

4. What does it mean, 'missed'?

5. Is there any difference between the things you

6. should, would and could do?

7. What does the last phrase mean?

From: A Christmas Package

My stocking's where

He'll see it - there!

One-half a pair.

The tree is sprayed,

My prayers are prayed,

My wants are weighed.

I've made a list

Of what he missed

Last year. I kissed

My father, mother,

Sister, brother;

I've done those other

Things I should

And would and could.

So far, so good.

THE FARTHEST CHRISTMAS

I. Pre-reading

1.1. SHARE your understanding of the phenomenon of boredom. What do you think causes it? Have you ever experienced intolerable boredom?

1.2. DISCUSS the traditions and rituals that bore you stiff. Is there any such ritual that you simply cannot stand?

1.3. ARGUE the following statement: "Holidays do not happen by themselves; they are to be created."

II. Reading

2.1. Understanding the title.

The title of the story written by Glen Rapoza suggests the idea that the celebration took place: a) very far away; b) very long ago; c) before Christmas. Which is your choice?

2.2. Reading for pleasure and enrichment.

Read and answer the question: What puzzled the children most of all? The following words will be useful for better understanding of the events.

Thruster — a device for pushing the spaceship forward

Freight carrier — a rocket for carrying goods and supplies

Be geared for — to be prepared for a special purpose

Chamber, a cubicle — small living spaces on board

Padded — covered with soft material

Hull — the main part of a ship or spacecraft

Air lock — a special room designed for changing pressure

Celestial — related to the skies; simply astonishingly beautiful

The spacecraft was like a giant ornament in the sky, motion­less and glimmering amidst the stars. It was a huge ship, its mirrored surface unbroken save for the main thrusters protruding like candles from the rear of the craft.

The ship had been designed primarily as a freight carrier for the trans-Martian run but occasionally the USS Prancer would trans­port a small group of passengers to the Martian Colonies. One of the cargo holds had been especially converted for such passengers, and it was there in sleeping cubicle 23 that little Richard Glen sat with his chin in his hands and with nothing to do.

RG (as he was more commonly called) was big for his age and very intelligent as well. His parents were both scientists for the Interplanetary Commission, and he and his dad were on their way to meet his mom at the Phobos weather station. Unfortunately for RG, what he thought was going to be the biggest adventure of his life had turned into the worst experience since his bout with tonsillitis.

Admittedly, not everything had been bad-the trip on the space shuttle to the orbital docking station had been fun, but that hadn't lasted very long. And besides, he had been on orbital flights before.

It was the interplanetary flight that RG had been really looking forward to, but to his dismay, the three-month trip to Mars was turning out to be more boring than a thousand rainy days at home.

First of all, there was absolutely nothing for RG to do. The old freighter really wasn't geared for passengers and certainly wasn't equipped for children. Since the craft was mainly used for cargo, the only view of the outside was through the navigational windows at the front of the ship, and only crew members were allowed up there. The only difference between night and day was the dimming of the corridor lights between 12:00 and 6:00 a.m., and despite the spaceship's tremendous speeds, there was no sensation of motion within the ship itself.

Every day was like the one before, and it seemed to RG that he had been on this ship for two years instead of two months. In fact, the only thing RG had to look forward to was Christmas time. It had always been RG's favorite time of year, but he was beginning to think that even Christmas was going to be a disappointment on the Prancer.

"Will I get a lot of presents this Christmas?" RG asked his dad one day.

RG's father smiled. "Well, you have behaved pretty well on this trip. So I think Santa will be good to you. By the way, I saw Sunny over on B deck. She was looking for you."

RG pushed himself off his bunk and planted his feet on the walking strips with a metallic clunk. Since there was no gravity on the ship, everyone had to wear electromagnetic shoes in order to walk in a somewhat normal fashion. The shoes had built-in pressure switches that would turn on the magnetic current when stepped on and then turn it off as each foot would lift up. All the corridors were lined with thick metal walking strips, and they often reverberated with the clip-clop of someone walking from one place to another.

"Was Sunny in the rec room?"

"Uh-huh. But be careful in there."

Sunny was the only other child aboard the Prancer on this trip. Naturally RG would rather have had another boy to hang around with, but Sunny was O.K.

"Hey, RG, watch me do this somersault!"

The rec room was the only place where RG was allowed to remove his deck shoes. It was a huge chamber, and every wall was fully pad­ded. RG watched impassively as Sunny somersaulted through the air from one wall to another. He then undipped his shoes and propelled himself into the air until his hands touched the padded ceiling.

"Hi, Sunny, what's new?"

"New? Nothing's new. Everything's the same around here- bor­ing, boring, boring!" Sunny said as she somersaulted to the other side of the room. RG did a twist and then jumped down to the floor.

"Yeah, I know what you mean. That's why I can't wait until Christmas. I keep trying to imagine what Santa's going to bring me. What do you think you'll get?"

Sunny grabbed a rail and halted. "I hate to tell you this, but Santa isn't bringing anything to either of us."

"Why do you say that?"

"Think, RG, think! It takes Santa all night just to get around to all the kids on Earth. How is he going to have time for us? We're mil­lions of miles away. It would take Santa months to reach us. Besides, even Santa and his reindeer have to breathe. The air is awful thin outside the ship. I tell you, RG, I've been away for Christmas before, but this is the farthest Christmas I've ever had." Sunny jumped to the floor and clipped on her deck shoes.

"See you later, RG. I'm going to get something to eat."

RG said nothing as Sunny walked out of the room. The logic of her words had confirmed his worst fears — they were too far away to have Christmas.

"Don't you believe any of that!"

RG spun around. It was Big Pete, one of the maintenance crew. Reaching out with his huge arm, he slapped RG on the back.

"Don't you worry, RG, Santa has ways of doing things that even Sunny can't figure out. By the way, is your father in his cubicle?"

RG nodded.

"Well, I'm off to see him. Take care, lad."

RG limply waved his hand and then looked away.

Christmas day dawned on the Prancer just like any other day. RG was almost afraid to open his eyes. He knew it would just be the same old routine. As he slowly unstrapped himself, he noticed his dad's bunk was empty. He also noticed there were no presents to be seen. RG clipped on his deck shoes and was ready to leave his cubicle when his father walked in.

"Good morning, RG. I'm afraid Santa is going to be a little late this Christmas. How about some breakfast?"

RG shrugged and followed his father down the corridor that led to the cafeteria. As they approached the cafeteria entrance, there was a sudden buzz on the ship's loudspeaker, and RG's father stopped in his tracks.

"That's odd — sounds like an outer hull alarm. I think we'd bet­ter check the emergency air lock."

Walking as fast as possible, they rushed down to D corridor where Sunny and her parents were already waiting. Sunny was pointing frantically at the flashing light on the air lock door.

"RG, there's somebody in there!"

RG's father nodded in agreement. "I think you all better stand back while I release the hatch."

There was a sudden rush of air as the hatch began to open. Slowly a huge dark form came into view within the air lock. It was a large man carrying a big sack, and as he stepped out into the corridor, the walkway lights reflected brightly off his huge, cherry red spacesuit. RG couldn't quite see through the polarized face shield of the man's helmet, but he was certain that there were bristles of whiskers pressed against the glass. As they all stood there dumbfounded, the man in the red spacesuit set the large sack before the children's feet and waved his big arm in the air to say farewell. Then he stepped back into the air lock, shut the hatch and was gone.

RG just stared at the sack that lay before his feet. It was stuffed full of games and toys and books and good things to eat. Sunny was still staring at the vacant air lock. "RG, that was Santa Claus!"

The boy smiled. "I told you he'd come. Now all we need is a Christmas tree!"

RG's father laughed. "I'll tell you what. I don't know where I can get a Christmas tree, but I think we might have something even better. Come with me."

Making their way to the front of the ship, RG saw that the usually locked door to the navigational room was wide open. As they entered the chamber, RG looked through the dome-shaped observatory win­dows at the most beautiful view he had ever seen. It was as if they were standing in space, alone in the heavens. Mars shone brightly before them like a candied apple, and the stars sparkled brilliantly like a million candles on a celestial tree. The sun stood high above, shining as a star once did over Bethlehem so many years ago. Placing his hand on his son's shoulder, RG's father smiled.

"Merry Christmas, son!"

2.3. True of false?

1. The space journey was a thrilling experience for the boy.

2. RG had little to do on board the spaceship.

3. Because of no gravity, RG could walk about the ship easily.

4. Sunny was a level-headed girl: she thought Santa was a fairy tale.

5. Christmas had never been celebrated in space before.

6. The kids didn't guess who the visitor with gifts really was.

7. After the incident, the kids would believe in Santa even more.

8. Visiting the navigational room was a much better present for the boy.

2.4. Points of view.

What did they mean by saying so?

"Nothing's new. Everything's the same around here — boring, boring, boring!"

"We are too far away to have Christmas."

"Santa has ways of doing things that even Sunny can't figure out."

"RG, that was Santa Claus!"

"I don't know where I can get a Christmas tree, but I think we might have something even better."

2.5. Verbs in focus.

Match the verbs with their definitions. Translate the sentences

below using the newly defined verbs.

1	hang around with	A	think about a problem until you understand it
2	turn into	B	become visible
3	turn out	C	become something by changing
4	figure out	D	result in or develop
5	stop in one's tracks	E	spend a lot of time with someone
6	come into view	F	stop suddenly due to surprise, fear, etc.

1. Наконец перед уставшими путниками появился Изумрудный город.

2. Сколько можно болтаться с друзьями! Пора заняться чем-нибудь!

3. Золушки не всегда превращаются в прекрасных принцесс.

4. Вопреки всем мрачным прогнозам Санта все-таки по­явился.

5. Туристы так и замерли перед роскошной витриной магазина.

6. Все долгие приключения окончились довольно благополучно.

2.6. Storing vocabulary.

Fill in the gaps with the appropriate words from the list below.

1. The driver was ... as his passenger continued to scream at him.

2. The car did ... before coming to a stop.

3. I can't see how this plastic sheet... into a tent.

4. The ship brought a ... of tropical fruit and was stopped at the customs.

5. The sound of a passing train ... through the house.

6. After a near fatal ... of the disease he decided to lead a healthy life.

Choose from: cargo, bout, somersault, reverberate, dumb­founded, convert.

2.7. Grammar in focus.

A three-month trip was a long time for RG. Think of some­thing that might have brightened the boy's days on board the spacecraft.

e.g. A field trip to a nearby planet lasting 6 hours? —

The boy would have liked to make a 6-hour field trip to a nearby planet.

Other options: a bag of sweets weighing 5 kilos, an interactive movie consisting of 12 series, etc.

2.8. Studying comparisons.

Pay more attention to comparisons used in the story. "The spacecraft was like a giant ornament in the sky, motionless and glimmering amidst the stars... It was a huge ship, its mirrored surface unbroken save for,the main thrusters protruding like candles from the rear of the craft..." Make your own compari­sons now.

e.g. Life on board the spaceship was like ... Sunny's words were like... etc.