Myths and legends—China

英国大使馆文化教育处供稿

Activity 1

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

1. greedy 2. hole 3. paintbrush

a. Somebody who wants much more than they need is ________.

b. An artist uses a ________ to put paint on the paper.

c. A ________ is a space in something that could let water or air in.

The Magic Paintbrush

神笔马良

by Ian Betteridge

A long time ago there lived a young man called Liang. He was poor and had no food to eat but he loved drawing pictures. Everything he drew looked real.

One night, Liang had a dream that an old man gave him a paintbrush. “This paintbrush is magic. Use it for people who need your help,”he said.

When Liang woke up, he saw the brush next to his bed. He got out of bed and painted a bird. Liang was surprised to see the picture turn into a real bird and fly out of the window.Liang started helping the poor people of his village.Everything he painted became real. He painted rice to help people who were hungry and medicine for sick people.

A rich and greedy man lived in the village. He heard about the magic paintbrush and wanted to use it to get more money.He went to talk to Liang. “Paint gold for me,” he said.

Liang painted an island of gold and a boat to get there. The man sat in the boat and startedsailing[航行]to the island. Then Liang painted a hole in the boat. The man fell into the sea and died.

Activity 2

Are these sentences a)true, b)false(not true) or c)not in the story?

1. Liang didn’t have much money.

2. The old man told Liang to help everyone.

3. Liang didn’t know the bird he drew would become a real bird.

4. The greedy man already had lots of money.

5. The greedy man couldn’t swim.

Activity 3.2

Sometimes the first verb can be followed by “to + verb” or the“verb + ing” verb. Three of the questions in Activity 3.1 have verbs like this. Which ones?

Activity 3.1

Sometimes you need to use two verbs to say something. In English, the second verb can be two different types:

a.to + verb, e.g. to paint

b.verb + ing, e.g. painting

Read the story again and find these phrases (groups of words). Which type of verb is thesecond verbin the story, a or b?

1. he loved (a)to draw/ (b)drawingpictures.

2. he was surprised (a)to see/ (b)seeingthe picture turn into a real bird …3. Liang started (a)to help/ (b)helpingthe poor people of his village.

4. He wanted (a)to use/ (b)usingit to get more money.

5. The man sat in the boat and started (a)to sail/ (b)sailingto the island.

Activity 4

Choose the best verb form to finish the story. Remember: sometimes both can be correct. For 1–4, choosea, bora or b.

A long time ago there lived a rich and greedy man. He had a lot of money but he loved (1) a.to get/ b.gettingmore and more. One day, he was playing with his money when he heard some people talking outside his window. He listened to them and was surprised (2) a.to hear/ b.hearingthem talking about a man called Liang who had a magic paintbrush. He started (3) a.to think/ b.thinkingabout what he could do with a magic paintbrush. He went to see Liang and asked him to help, but Liang didn’t want (4) a.to help/ b.helpinghim.

Activity 5

What would you paint if you had a magic paintbrush? Why?