1. About the author

Thomas Stearns Eliot OM (September 26, 1888 – January 4, 1965) was an Anglo-American poet, playwright, and literary critic, arguably the most important English-language poet of the 20th century. The poem above was taken from Old Possum’s Book of Practical Cats, a book that inspired the musical “Cats”.The lyrics, written by Cats director Trevor Nunn, was based on T. S. Eliot’s poems “Preludes” and “Rhapsody on a Windy Night”

2. Pre-reading activities

2.1   Key vocabulary (Look up the definitions of those words in a dictionary before you begin reading.)

Gutter-

Mutter-

Stale-

Withered-

This is an exciting activity to help in checking vocabulary. You have to give definitions or the translation of the word in your mother language. For the definition you get 1 point and for the translation you get 0.5 points. If you get more than 85 points your level is approximately advance, more than 71 points is approximately upper-intermadiate, more than 55- approximately intermediate, less than 50 points mean your level is approximately pre-intermediate.

Worksheet A

About the author

Henrik Ibsen (20 March 1828 – 23 May 1906) was a major 19th-century Norwegian playwright, theatre director, and poet. He is often referred to as "the god father" of modern drama and is one of the founders of Modernism in the theatre. His plays were considered scandalous to many of his era, when Victorian values of family life and propriety largely held sway in Europe. Ibsen's work examined the realities that lay behind many facades, possessing a revelatory nature that was disquieting to many contemporaries. It utilized a critical eye and free inquiry into the conditions of life and issues of morality. Ibsen is often ranked as one of the truly great playwrights in the European tradition, alongside Shakespeare.

Dear teachers!

Have you ever been in the situation when your students ask you the word to define or to translate and you don’t know? You have an answer-a dictionary. Ok. You open the dictionary and … no such word. I was thinking what to do and found the answer. I decided to create a good dictionary for teachers. I will start and when you look, please add your new words which are rare to be found in the dictionaries. Here I also list words which I use in my e-lessons. I will call it Teachers’ Collective Dictionary (TCD). I will update it every week.
The abbreviations:
WDS – Webster’s Dictionary for Students
MSD – Macmillan School Dictionary
? – This sign mean that nobody could find the definition of the word yet your help is necessary. You can send the definition to this word via “contact us”. Don’t forget about the resource.