The Lambton Worm
Hi everyone,
Thanks to everyone for the comments on my last post and I'm pleased to see so many new people getting involved with our ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ Learning English blog. We'll look at the homework answers later but first let's take a look at Karolina's second blog.
I really enjoyed reading this blog about the history of Warsaw and some of the myths and legends surrounding it. Your blog was very well structured, which helps to keep the reader interested and also helps them to understand more about the subject of the article.
When you are writing about something that involves a lot of facts, especially historical ones, it's really important to break up your writing into paragraphs and manageable sentences so that it doesn't become too monotonous for the reader. Each paragraph should demonstrate a key point or opinion.
Karolina did this very well. First of all, she explained in her introduction exactly what she was going to talk about and why: I particularly liked the use of Rajeeb's question as a quotation to help set up the article. This was followed by some very interesting theories about the etymology of the name 'Warsaw', and finally we heard some of Karolina's own opinions on history and what she likes about it.
Like Karolina, I'm also interested in my local history. The north-east of England, where I'm from, is rich in cultural history and has its own myths and legends. My favourite local legend has to be the tale of the Lambton Worm. It tells the story of a young man named John Lambton, who decides to miss church one Sunday morning and go fishing in the River Wear instead. He manages to catch a small worm, which he then throws down a nearby well.
Lambton forgets about the worm and goes off to war. While he is away, the worm begins to grow and becomes huge and menacing, eating livestock and causing havoc around the town. Eventually it grows so large that it becomes wrapped around Penshaw Hill and Lambton must return to kill it.
Penshaw Hill and monument in the north-east of England.
The story has been handed down through generations as a folk song. It's most likely to be a religious allegory about the dangers of sinful living, but as a child, I loved the idea that a monstrous worm may have existed near to me! Are there any legends about monsters or mythical creatures in your country?
Once again, Karolina's blog was very well written, but I'll point out a couple of small errors.
Capitol or capital?
Beware these two nouns! They have very similar spellings, but their meanings differ. "Capital" in this context refers to the city that serves as a seat of government, but "capitol" refers to the actual building in which a legislative assembly meets.
Check it or check it out?
Karolina writes: "I don't have my own photography of it but you can check it on the Internet."
I'm not sure if you mean "you can check it out" - this means to see something for your self. If you "check something on the Internet," you're verifying whether something is true or not.
Articles...
This article is much better in terms of using articles (the or a/an), but there are still a few missing... Try to work out what they are:
"But there is also ___ historical explanation."
"One of ___ destroyed buildings was ___ Royal Castle..."
"So ___ castle was devastated by Swedish, German and Russian armies.
Which leads me on nicely to...
ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½work answers
Now we are at the end of the long holiday which lasts nine days.
I was mostly reading a book and enjoying the beautiful weather.
But the evenings were reserved for our favourite activity.
He needs a special stick to grill the sausages.
Well done to everyone who did the homework - articles can be very confusing at times. This week, I'd like you write a few lines about your own local myths or legends - let's see how many different ones we can learn about!
Jennifer
Vocabulary
myth - a traditional or legendary story
monotonous - boring, tedious
etymology - the study of the origins of words
tale - story
menacing - scary or threatening
livestock - farm animals, often sheep and cows
havoc - destruction or devastation
folk song - a traditional, local song passed down through generations
allegory - a story used to symbolize a deeper moral or spiritual meaning
monstrous - terrifying or resembling a monster
Comment number 1.
At 14th May 2012, Jaser wrote:Hi ,Jennifer
I am a new one here and it will be a great honor for me to comment as the first one on your wonderful blog , forgive me , my writings will be full of mistakes so i came here to learn from this wonderful site , the one who guided me to this site is my mother , she is a teacher , and i complained to her that my writings is very bad in English and i want to improve it , she said to me "go to ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ Learning English , it's a wonderful source for learning the four skills of the English language and especially the writing skill " she's been knowing this site since 2008 , and i am really very thankful for her because she guided me to it , the teachers here are giving a big effort to guide the students to the right way of writing i am really very thankful for them and a especial thanks for you Jennifer because i learnt from you a lot of things and today i am learning and i will next days , and i hope one day that i will be a student blogger here .
actually i enjoyed reading about the Lambton worm , i really liked the way the myths handed over through generations , i mean through "songs" like this one " the Lambton worm " easy to memorize , easy to tell , and enjoyable to recite
here is my try to answer this homework
"But there is also A historical explanation."
"One of THE destroyed buildings was A Royal Castle..."
"So THE castle was devastated by Swedish, German and Russian armies.
i am not sure if it's all right or not .
Thank you Jennifer
with my best wishes .
Jaser
Complain about this comment (Comment number 1)
Comment number 2.
At 17th May 2012, Jow SingSing wrote:Hello,
Speaking about myths or legends in my country there is a lot but the one I like is the tale of 2 giants once living in my country according to the tale. One giant live and locate in my country we call them "Yak Wat Jaeng" in english meaning is Giant from Jaeng Temple and another come from China we call them "Yak Wat Poa" the meaning is Giant from Poa Temple. I do not know why these two giants have any story behind their quarrel and they fight to each other in some area all the thing have been broken, many trees were torn even mountain has been beaten and trembling down. The place they fight to each other we call it "Tah Tien" english meaning is the place that everything has been destroyed all have been abolished just left only an empty place. The most astonishing "Tah Tien" has actually existed as an evidence these giant fought together, believe it not?
"But there is also _a__ historical explanation."
"One of _a__ destroyed buildings was _the__ Royal Castle..."
"So _the__ castle was devastated by Swedish, German and Russian armies.
Your comment on my english and homework is appreciated.
Jow
Complain about this comment (Comment number 2)
Comment number 3.
At 19th May 2012, imran wrote:Hi, Ms Jennifer & friends
Both of the myths, caroline and you wrote were interesting. I enjoyed reading them.
I read caroline's blog 'My City". It was also good. I am looking forward for your blog, check the mistakes which she has repeated.
Please check for some here.
"But there is also _a__ historical explanation."
"One of __the_ destroyed buildings was _the__ Royal Castle..."
"So _the__ castle was devastated by Swedish, German and Russian armies.
Any pointed out mistake will be appreciated.
regards
Imran
Complain about this comment (Comment number 3)
Comment number 4.
At 21st May 2012, Sakshi wrote:Hi Jennifer,
I am your new student.
But there is also _a__ historical explanation."
"One of _the__ destroyed buildings was _a__ Royal Castle..."
"So _the__ castle was devastated by Swedish, German and Russian armies.
With Best Regards,
Sakshi
Complain about this comment (Comment number 4)
Comment number 5.
At 23rd May 2012, Raju wrote:hello jennifer,
I am your new student.
I am not good at English.
But I want to be good at English.
"But there is also __a_ historical explanation."
"One of _the__ destroyed buildings was _a__ Royal Castle..."
"So _the__ castle was devastated by Swedish, German and Russian armies.
Raju
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Comment number 6.
At 24th May 2012, scratchablog wrote:Hi Ms. Jennifer!
I am one of the newest student on this ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ Learning English Blog :)
I realize that my english is not good, even to have a conversation in english is quite troublesome for me (since i'm not a native speaker of english). After surfing on the net, i found this blog and registered immediately. I hope that everyone here (including you for sure ;) ) can guide me to improve my english :)
As an initiation, i will try to answer the homework:
"But there is also _a_ historical explanation."
"One of _the_ destroyed buildings was _a_ Royal Castle..."
"So _the_ castle was devastated by Swedish, German and Russian armies."
PS: Please correct me if i'm wrong! I will really appreciate it :) Thanks before..
Complain about this comment (Comment number 6)
Comment number 7.
At 21st Jun 2012, crossroadslanguages wrote:Hi Jennifer,
When I was looking through the blog and saw 'Lampton Worm' I had to stop and read it. It seemed strange to see the story of the Lampton Worm on the ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ blog. I am a teacher from the North East and, of course, I know the story. As I read, I was also singing the song ....
Wisht lads haad yer gobs, aa'll tell yis aall an arful story,
Wisht lads haad yer gobs, aa'll tell yis aboot the worm.
Not really a song we could do with our students :)
Complain about this comment (Comment number 7)