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Bright Lives English
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Hans Christian Andersen: The Poor Boy Who Wrote for the World

Level A1 (Beginner) · Watch the video and do the online quiz at https://brightlivesenglish.com/lessons/hans-christian-andersen-ugly-duckling/

A Match the words to their meanings

  1. poor (adjective)
  2. story (noun)
  3. duck (noun)
  4. ugly (adjective)
  5. famous (adjective)
  6. shoemaker (noun)
  7. fairy tale (noun)
  8. swan (noun)
  1. with very little money
  2. words that tell us about people and the things that happen to them (plural: stories)
  3. a big white bird with a long neck that swims on water
  4. a bird that swims on water and says quack
  5. a story for children, often with magic in it
  6. known by many people
  7. a person who makes shoes
  8. not nice to look at; the opposite of beautiful

B Complete the sentences from the story

swan · famous · poor · ugly · duck · stories

  1. The other ducks said he was .
  2. His family was very .
  3. His father read him .
  4. He was a !
  5. He wrote a story about a little .
  6. Today, his stories are all over the world.

C Did you understand?

  1. When was Hans born?
    1. In 1805
    2. In 1843
    3. In 1867
    4. In 1905
  2. Hans's family had a big home.True / False
  3. What did his father make?
    1. Bread
    2. Books
    3. Shoes
    4. Toys
  4. How old was Hans when he went to Copenhagen?
    1. Eleven
    2. Fourteen
    3. Seventeen
    4. Twenty
  5. The theatre said Hans was too thin.True / False
  6. In the story, what was the little duck really?
    1. A cat
    2. A fish
    3. A duck
    4. A swan

D Put the words in order

  1. in / poor / Denmark / There / a / boy / was

E Grammar: there was / there were

We use it for to say that something was in a place in the past. there was + one thing · there were + many things

Example from the story: There was only one small room in their home.

  1. only one small room in their home. (There was / There were)
  2. lights everywhere. (There was / There were)
  3. In 1867, a big party for him in his town. (there was / there were)

F Your turn

Retell Hans Christian Andersen's story in 5–6 sentences. Use at least three words from exercise A.

Transcript

A poor boy had a big dream.

A wise woman said: one day, he will be a great man.

Was she right?

This is the story of Hans Christian Andersen.

Welcome to brightlivesenglish.com, where we teach real English using real-life stories.

Poor. When you are poor, you have very little money.

His family was very poor.

Story. A story tells us about people and the things that happen to them.

The plural is stories.

His father read him stories.

Duck. A duck is a bird.

It swims on water and says quack.

He wrote a story about a little duck.

Ugly. Ugly means not nice to look at.

It is the opposite of beautiful.

The other ducks said he was ugly.

Famous. When you are famous, many people know your name.

Today, his stories are famous all over the world.

Now, one pattern: there was and there were.

Was is for one thing.

Were is for many.

There is a poor boy in Denmark.

There was a poor boy in Denmark.

Ready? Let's begin.

There was a poor boy in Denmark.

His name was Hans.

He was born in 1805.

His family was very poor.

There was only one small room in their home.

His father made shoes.

His father also read him stories.

A wise woman said: your son will be a great man.

At fourteen, Hans went to Copenhagen with almost no money.

He wanted to act and sing.

But the theatre said: you are too thin!

Then kind people helped him.

At school, he was seventeen.

There were boys of eleven in his class!

Later, Hans wrote stories for children.

In 1843, he wrote a story about a little duck.

The other ducks said he was ugly.

He was sad and alone.

Then, one day, he looked into the water.

There was a beautiful white bird.

It was him!

He was not a duck.

He was a swan!

Maybe the little duck was Hans.

In 1867, there was a big party for him in his town.

There were lights everywhere.

The wise woman was right!

Today, his stories are famous all over the world.

Let's review. His family was very poor.

His father read him stories.

He wrote a story about a little duck.

The other ducks said he was ugly.

Today, his stories are famous all over the world.

And remember: there was a poor boy in Denmark.

Andersen's story teaches us: a poor start is not the end of your story.

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Answer key

A. 1a 2b 3d 4h 5f 6g 7e 8c

B. 1 ugly · 2 poor · 3 stories · 4 swan · 5 duck · 6 famous

C. 1 a · 2 False · 3 c · 4 b · 5 True · 6 d

D. 1 There was a poor boy in Denmark.

E. 1 There was · 2 There were · 3 there was