Home Feeling

"Home Feeling"
(after Ann Blakeslee)
Before you listen make sure that you know these words:

cat's-cradle string - веревочка для детской игры "колыбель для кошки";
to make a complicated cradle - сложить из веревки сложную фигуру;
to murmur - бормотать;
a loop - петля, круг из веревочки;
They seemed to lean towards her. - Казалось, что они нависают над ней.
sidewalks - тротуары;
sharp needles - острые иглы;
in cosy rows - уютными рядами;
…spread out higgledy-piggledy - стояли в беспорядке;
an unexpected gift - неожиданный дар;
at recess - на переменке.

FIRST LISTENING
Listen to the story "Home Feeling" and find out whether these sentences are true or false

1. The girl was happy to move to a new town.
2. Mopsy didn't laugh because she had left her feeling of home.
3. Everything was different in a new place.
4. Mopsy was happy to see mountains because she had never seen them before.
5. Mopsy's brother was happy to see mountains because he wanted to climb them.
6. The land around her old home had been flat, and the sidewalks lay evenly on either side. She could roller-skate on these sidewalks.
7. Mopsy didn't like it when the houses were spread out higgledy-piggledy.
8. Mopsy liked her new school at once.
9. The children were not allowed to wear jeans at the new school. They had to wear a uniform.
10. Mopsy missed her friends for a long time.

SECOND LISTENING
Listen to the story again and answer the questions:

1) What feeling did Mopsy have when leaving her old house behind?
2) Did anybody share her sadness? Why was the father making jokes (laughing)?
3) What did she do to take her mind off moving?
4) Why didn't it feel like home in the new house?
5) The new place seemed strange and wild. Why?
6) Could she roller skate or ride a bicycle in the mountains? (on a brown dirty bumpy road)?
7) Could anything whatsoever connect her with her old home?
8) How did the mother explain the lack of home feeling? What did she recommend?
9) Who felt all alone, Mopsy or her brother?
10) Did she find friends all at once?
11) What made her feel odd?
12) How did she manage to attract everybody's attention? Did she do it on purpose?
13) What made her popular? A happy smiling child?
14) Was it a miracle - the return of home feeling?

Give written answers to the problem questions:
1. What represented home for Mopsy? For her parents? For her carefree brother?
2. How important is home feeling for a child?
3. How can you turn a house into a home (warm, friendly, safe)?