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Word Work
1
The Curse
Word Work
“……the letters could still be faintly seen”
The author uses the passive voice, with a modal verb, to tell us that something
could
have happened.
Think back to the text. What were ‘the letters’ that are referred to? Who could
see
them? Why were they then gone for ever?
What was your answer to the second question – who could see the letters? The
correct
answer is either ‘we don’t know’ or ‘anyone’. That is the way the passive voice
works
sometimes – we use it to talk about some action when the subject either isn’t
important
to us, or we don’t know who it is.
I
n this case, however, we do know who the subject is – it is ‘people’ – anyone.
The
author might have written
For a little while, people could still faintly see the letters.
Why didn’t he? There was a poignant purpose in using the passive. As we know,
there
was no one left alive to read the words! The implication that ‘people’ could see
the
letters is chilling. It is almost as if the writer had used the so-called third
conditional
I
f there had been people alive, they would still have been able to see the
letters.
He didn’t need to. The economy of words has a much stronger effect.
He does the same thing here, increasing the effect of there being no one left
alive:
Over to you
1. See how much of an author you can be by turning these sentences into passive
voice
sentences. Make sure you use a suitable modal verb – could, should, would etc –
in
every case.
1. It was so dark I could hardly see the road signs.
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For a little while the letters could still be faintly seen; then they were gone
forever.
Yet still the graven words could be clearly read………
…….the archaic words could still be traced as the water rose around them…….
Word Work
2
2. She could still remember what he looked like years later.
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3. They saw him walking down the hill carrying a heavy box.
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4. They are able to respond to a threat of attack within four minutes.
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5. They will probably be able to see the difference between a friend and an
enemy.
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6. If there had been the slightest misunderstanding then they might have
destroyed the world.
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2. Write sentences using the passive voice plus ‘could’ or ‘should’ about
possible
situations in one of the following contexts:
People living during World War 1 (1914-18)
(e.g .It was believed that peace could be achieved by Christmas 1914)
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People living during World War 2 (1939-1945)
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People who lived during the period of ‘the Discoveries’
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Word Work
3
The Curse
Glossary
The following words are correct within the context of the story ‘The Curse’ but
may be
different in other contexts.
Armada reference to the invasion fleet assembled by Philip II of Spain in 1588
banish remove; take away
blistered have bubbles created by intense heat
bloomed flowered; grow rapidly
brushed aside defeated easily
corpse-light reference to a candle placed by graves of the dead
gazed stared; looked at in reverence
glare brilliant light
glimmering shining faintly
glow giving low light
graven cut (in stone)
mutely without sound or words
overflowed level of water exceeded sides of the river
plaster estuque
random without any order or plan
ravening hungry
ripples small waves
slabs blocks of stone
stray lost; separated from main group
timidly without much courage
toil work
twisted forced into strange shapes
unwavering continuous
Word focus
There are a number of words which are
associated with light that begin with gl. In
the story we find:
glare
glimmer(ing)
glow
They are not alone. Use a dictionary to
find a few more. Then try to put them in
order of luminosity!
Word Work
4
The Curse
Glossário
As seguintes palavras encontram-se correctas no contexto da história “The
Curse” mas podem ter significados diferentes noutros contextos.
Armada referência à frota invasora de Filipe II de Espanha em 1588
banish banir; afastar
blistered com bolhas provocadas por calor intenso
bloomed florescido; resplandecer
brushed aside facilmente derrotado(s)
corpse-light referência à luz emanada das velas colocadas nas campas
gazed contemplado
glare claridade; brilho
glimmering luz fraca; vislumbre
glow luz sem chama
graven gravadas, esculpidas na pedra
mutely mudamente; em silêncio
overflowed transbordar
plaster estuque
random ao acaso; sem ordem
ravening esfomeado
ripples pequenas ondas; ondulações
slabs lajes
stray perdido; errante
timidly timidamente; sem grande coragem
toil trabalho
twisted contorceu(-se)
unwavering contínuo; constante
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