Edgar Allan Poe

a cura di R. Aimo e R. Palmer
 Legrand and his servant Jupiter come across a strange gold scarab-like bug and wrap it in a parchment they find in the sand. As he has lent the bug to an acquaintance, Legrand can't show it to a visiting friend and so he draws a sketch of the insect on the parchment; but when he brings the paper close to the fireplace, the heat reveals several marks previously invisible as they are drawn with invisible ink.
 Legrand realizes that he is in front of a cryptogram written by the pirate William Kidd! He manages to decipher it and sets off with his friend and servant in search of the pirate's fabulous treasure...
 The reader is enriched with inserts on sacred animals, old and new pirates, experiments in magic, slavery and treasure hunters in cinema. 
 
 Teacher's Resources available online: Answer Key - Audioscripts - Summing-up Activities
 
 Legrand e il suo servo Jup si imbattono in uno strano scarabeo dorato e lo avvolgono in una pergamena trovata nella sabbia. Non potendo mostrare lo scarabeo ad un amico in visita (avendolo dato in prestito), Legrand traccia uno schizzo dell’insetto sulla pergamena.
 Ma quando avvicina il foglio al focolare, il calore fa comparire diversi segni prima invisibili perché tracciati con l’inchiostro simpatico. Legrand scopre di essere di fronte a un crittogramma scritto dal pirata William Kidd! Riesce a decifrarlo e parte con l’amico e il servo alla ricerca del tesoro…

Chapter 1 – Sullivan’s Island

Extension: Sacred animals

Chapter 2 – The Expedition

Extension:Old and new pirates

Chapter 3 – The Treasure

Extension: Magic experiments

Chapter 4 – The Secret Writing

Extension: Slavery

Chapter 5 – The Solution

Extension: Treasure hunters at the cinema

Summing-Up activities

Glossary

4 The Secret Writing Chapter BEFORE READING 1 Answer these questions. a. Write the name of three things you think can be secret. b. What are the most common symbols that you use when you text  or chat with a friend? c. Have you got a secret alphabet that you use to communicate with your friends?  2 match some of the words from the following chapter to their definitions. a. b. c. d. e. f. g. 3 signature pour (v.) cipher pan hostel solve (v.) bishop 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. To find the correct explanation for something. A secret way of writing. A building where people can stay for some time. To make liquid flow. Your name at the end of a letter. A senior priest. A container used for cooking food in. Find the opposite of each adjective a. right b. dirty c. true d. immense e. warm f.  difficult   g.  frequent   h. complex  1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. cold wrong tiny easy simple rare clean false 44 

The GoldWriting Bug The Secret Chapter 4 I looked again at the head of the kid on the parchment. It was like a signature because of its position on the paper and in the top opposite corner of it there was the head of the skull, like a kind of stamp1.  It s really strange,  I said,  a stamp and a signature and nothing else! I think there should be a letter, a kind of message between the stamp and the signature.   Yes, you re right my friend  but I was sure that the mystery could be solved,  Legrand said.  Let me tell you and you will understand. You know that there are old stories about a lot of money buried2 somewhere on the Atlantic coast by the pirate Kidd and his men. There are many stories about that and they must be true as they are still told today.   You also know, my dear friend,  Legrand added,  that they talk about a buried treasure, so I decided to find out more about the parchment, the bug and Captain Kidd!   Yes  and what did you do then?  I asked.  Well,  he said,  I was sure that Kidd s treasure was immense and I was sure that it was still buried, too. I felt that the parchment and the bug had something to do with the place where all the money could be, so I decided to put the old paper next to the fire again and see what happened. Unfortunately, nothing happened. I examined the paper and I noticed that it was very dirty, so I poured some warm water on it, put it in a pan with the skull downwards and put the pan in the fireplace. In a few minutes it was warm and I took the parchment out of the water. To my great surprise and delight3, I saw some lines with strange signs on them but they weren t very clear. I put the paper in the warm water again for some minutes and when I took it out, it was just as you can see it now!  2. buried: hidden in the ground. 3. delight: pleasure. 1. stamp: 45 

Legrand scopre un crittogramma del pirata Kidd su una pergamena. Decifrandolo, parte con il servo e un amico alla ricerca del tesoro nascosto.

The Gold Bug Collana RAINBOWS

Level A2 • Elementary - Collana RAINBOWS

The Gold Bug

Flowbooks è una piattaforma di distribuzione dedicata al mondo della scuola e dell'università.  Con questa piattaforma di distribuzione, il team di sviluppo Flowbooks  si impegna a soddisfare le esigenze degli utenti digitali, rendendo l'utilizzo accessibile e piacevole.  Entra nella tua area di interesse!

Edisco è una Casa editrice indipendente che opera prevalentemente nel settore educativo.

Edisco

Flowbooks è innovazione didattica a portata di click