1. Read the following two sections from the story and answer the questions.
The morning of June 27th was clear and sunny, with the fresh warmth of a full-summer day; the flowers
were blossoming profusely1 and the grass was richly green. The people of the village began to gather in
the square, between the post office and the bank, around ten o’clock; in some towns there were so many
people that the lottery took two days and had to be started on June 26th, but in this village, where there
were only about three hundred people, the whole lottery took less than two hours, so it could begin at ten
o’clock in the morning and still be through in time to allow the villagers to get home for noon dinner.
✓ Who participates in the lottery?
✓ What do you think the atmosphere is on the day of the lottery, according to the first paragraph of the
story?
Soon the men began to gather, surveying2 their own children, speaking of planting and rain, tractors and
taxes. They stood together, away from the pile of stones in the corner, and their jokes were quiet and they
smiled rather than laughed. The women, wearing faded house dresses and sweaters, came shortly after
their menfolk3. They greeted one another and exchanged bits of gossip as they went to join their husbands.
Soon the women, standing by their husbands, began to call their children, and the children came
reluctantly4, having to be called four or five times.
✓ What other details do you learn about the town from this paragraph?
✓ Guess what the possible prize for the Lottery could be if it is held in all of the neighboring towns.
2. Vocabulary – fill in the translations!
out of date
lose your temper
shabby
liberty
breakthrough
a slip of paper
paraphernalia
swear in
keep it up
make do with
to fade
to reprimand
out of order
to stain
inevitable
a breeze
to assemble
fill in for
enthusiasm
to stuff
get on with
give sb. a hand
exploitation
1
reichlich
überblicken, begutachten
3
Mannsvolk, Mannsbilder
4
widerwillig
2
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3. Match the vocabulary from the table above with the definitions:
1. in bad repair or condition, poorly
dressed = ____________
2. unavoidable, certain to happen =
__________
3. numerous small possessions, tools,
instruments = __________
4. strong feeling of admiration or interest =
______________
5. fill tightly with, press tightly into, fill the
carcass of an animal = ____________
6. gather together, collect, fit or put
together = ______________
7. cause someone to take the oath of office
= _____________
8. express disapproval (to a person)
severely and officially = ____________
9. cause to lose color, freshness or strength,
go slowly out of view = ___________
10. state of being free, right, or power to
decide for oneself what to do =
__________
11. slow to act because unwilling to =
__________
12. take the place of, substitute for =
_________
13. manage with something although it may
not be really adequate or satisfactory =
___________
14. a small piece of paper = ____________
15. selfish use for profit = ____________
16. make dirty, discolored or stained =
__________
4. Fill in the blanks in the sentences with words or expressions from the table above:
1. The computer is ___________________ and we won’t be able to use it.
2. He __________________ and began to shout at the class.
3. He never loses his optimism and does everything with _________________.
4. __________________ of the rain forests has contributed to global warming.
5. The Chief Justice of the Supreme Court _________________ the new President of the United
States.
6. He ________________ his bag full of food for the two-day trip.
7. We have all of the ____________________ necessary to build a stage for the play.
8. His clothes were _________________ and he was ashamed of his poverty.
9. A Palestinian state seems __________________ to a large percentage of the Israeli population.
10. Records5 have become ____________________ and only disks are sold these days.
11. The crowd ___________________ quietly and waited for the President to begin his speech.
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Schallplatten
2