神話與傳說系列
——澳大利亞

◎英國大使館文化教育處供稿

Activity 1a

Before you read, decide which word goes with which picture.

Activity 1b

Before you read, decide which word goes with which meaning.

1. p u nis h 2. r e w a r d 3. r ule s 4. t u r nin t o

a. change from one thing to another thing

b. instructions about what you must or must not do

c. something nice that you get if you are good

d. make someone do something they don’t want to do when they are bad

The Rainbow Serpent

At the beginning of time everything was sleeping. The first animal to wake up was the Rainbow Serpent, who went travelling. She travelled a long way but it was boring because she was alone, and so she returned to the place where she started and where all the other animals were sleeping.

First she woke up the frogs, who were full of water. The frogs opened their mouths and the water came out, making the lakes and rivers. Now that there was water, all the other animals woke up, and the trees and other plants grew too.

At first all the animals were good and so they were happy. But then some of them started to do bad things, and so the Rainbow Serpent made rules and said, ‘If you are good I will give you a reward–I will turn you into humans. But if you are bad I will punish you–I will turn you into hills and mountains.’

The humans lived on the land that the Rainbow Serpent gave them and were happy together, while mountains grew around them.

Activity 2

True or false (not true)?

1. The Rainbow Serpent woke up the other animals before she went travelling.

2. The Rainbow Serpent didn’t enjoy herself when she was travelling.

3. The other animals were still asleep when the Rainbow Serpent returned.

4. The frogs made the lakes and rivers.

5. The other animals woke up because the trees and other plants started growing.6. The bad animals turned into humans.

Activity 3

Put the events from the story in the correct order, from the first thing that happened to the last thing that happened.

1. Some of the animals started to do bad things.

2. Some of the animals turned into humans.

3. The frogs made the lakes and rivers.

4. The other animals woke up.

5. The Rainbow Serpent made rules.

6. The Rainbow Serpent went travelling.

7. The Rainbow Serpent woke up the frogs.

8. The Rainbow Serpent woke up.

Activity 4

Now use the words in Activities 1a and 1b to complete the sentences.Change the verbs if you need to.

1. In my dream I ............... a long thin............... and ate a mouse!

2. Some people say that what makes............... different from other animals is that we can change the world.

3. The teacher gave her students a............... because they all did well in the test.

4. When the class started, the teacher explained the ...............: we must be sitting in our chairs when the class begins,and we mustn’t speak when the teacher is talking.

5. When the rain stopped there was a beautiful ............... in the sky.

6. ‘Why did you hit your sister?’Jack’s father asked him. ‘Now I am going to ............... you–you can’t go to Bill’s party on Saturday.’