Band 6

Skill Listening & Speaking ( Lisan )

Descriptor Appreciate literary works by responding and giving opinions
critically and relate them to ones own life using ones own words.
Listen to and process information in a long listening task
effectively.


Task :

a) Listen to the story and list out at least three lessons that can be learnt.
b) Discuss how these three lessons can be related to your own life. (HOTS)
THE LISTENING TEXT
ROBINSON CRUSOE
Robinson Crusoe, as a young and impulsive wanderer, defied his parents and went
to sea. He was involved in a series of violent storms at sea and was warned by the
captain that he should not be a seafaring man. Ashamed to go home, Crusoe
boarded another ship and returned from a successful trip to Africa. Taking off again,
Crusoe met with bad luck and was taken prisoner in Sallee. His captors sent Crusoe
out to fish, and he used this to his advantage and escaped, along with a slave.
He was rescued by a Portuguese ship and started a new adventure. He landed in
Brazil, and, after some time, he became the owner of a sugar plantation. Hoping to
increase his wealth, he aligned himself with other planters and undertook a trip to
Africa. After surviving a storm, Crusoe and the others were shipwrecked. He was
thrown upon shore only to discover that he was the sole survivor of the wreck.
Crusoe made immediate plans for food and shelter. He brought as many things as
possible from the wrecked ship, things that would be useful later to him. In addition,
he began to develop talents that he had never used in order to provide himself with
necessities. To keep his sanity and to entertain himself, he began a journal recording
every task that he performed. He also kept a parrot as his pet.
As time passed, Crusoe became a skilled craftsman, able to construct many useful
things, and thus furnished himself with diverse comforts. He also learned about
farming, as a result of some seeds which he brought with him. Crusoe explored his
island and discovered another part of the island much richer and more fertile, and he
built a summer home there.
One of the first tasks he undertook was to build himself a canoe in case an escape
became possible, but the canoe was too heavy to get to the water. He then
constructed a small boat and journeyed around the island.
After spending about fifteen years on the island, Crusoe found a man's naked
footprint, which kept him awake many nights. He considered many possibilities to
account for the footprint and he began to take extra precautions against a possible
intruder. Sometime later, Crusoe was horrified to find human bones scattered about
the shore. He was plagued again with new fears.
Crusoe was cautious for several years. He found a cave, which he used as a storage
room, and in December of the same year, he spied cannibals sitting around a
campfire. He did not see them again for quite some time.
Later, Crusoe saw a ship in distress, but everyone was already drowned on the ship
and Crusoe remained companionless. However, he was able to take many
provisions from this newly wrecked ship. Sometime later, cannibals landed on the
island and a victim escaped. Crusoe saved his life, named him Friday, and taught
him English. Friday soon became Crusoe's humble and devoted slave.
Crusoe and Friday made plans to leave the island and, accordingly, they built
another boat. Their voyage was postponed due to the return of the savages. This
time they attacked the cannibals in order to save two prisoners since one was a
white man. The white man was a Spaniard and the other was Friday's father. Later,
the four of them planned a voyage to the mainland to rescue sixteen compatriots of
the Spaniard. First, however, they built up their food supply to assure enough food
for the extra people. Crusoe and Friday waited on the island while the Spaniard and
Friday's father brought back the other men.
A week later, they spied a ship but they quickly learned that there had been a mutiny
on board. By devious means, Crusoe and Friday rescued the captain and two other
men, and then regained control of the ship. The grateful captain gave Crusoe many
gifts and took him and Friday back to England. Some of the rebel crewmen were left
marooned on the island. Crusoe returned to England and found that in his absence
he had become a wealthy man. Crusoe sold his plantation in Brazil for a good price,
married, and had three children.








Sample answer
a) (i) Being independent and able to survive in difficult situations.
(ii) Being resourceful
(iii) Being grateful when someone does us a good deed.
(iv) We should always live peacefully with people of other races.

b) I am independent as I am able to take care of myself whenever my parents
are not at home. I am able to cook my own lunch and dinner. I can also wash
my own clothes and get up on time to go to school. However if my mum
forgets to stock up the fridge, I am able to find food for myself. Usually, I will
go to the nearby food stalls or the grocery shops. In school, I have many
friends from different races, cultures and family backgrounds. I usually spend
my time, hanging and doing exciting activities together with them. We also
study together during the weekends to make sure that we achieve good
results in our exams. Moreover, my family and I also have a good relationship
with our neighbours. During festive seasons, we will visit one another and
exchange goodies.