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

1 Sullivan s Island Chapter BEFORE READING 1 match the words with the parts of the bug. a. b. c. d. e. 2 match these words from chapter 1 to their definitions. a. b. c. d. e. f. g. h. 3 back leg antennae scale mouth bay hut bush chest scythe spade drawing pale 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. A thick, low plant. A picture made using a pencil or a pen. A large strong box used for storing things. A part of the sea. A tool used for cutting long grass. Having white skin. A tool used for digging. A small and simple house. look at the pictures on page 9 and answer the following questions. a. What is Legrand doing? b. What is he wearing? c. Where is he sitting on? d. What do you think the chest contains? e. What is there on the chair? f. Describe the room. g. Look at the bug on p. 9 and the one in Activity 1 on this page. How are they different? h. Where is the bug on p. 9 kept? Charleston in 1938 6 

The GoldIsland Bug Sullivan s Chapter 1 Many years ago I met Mr. William Legrand. He came from a rich family but one day he became poor because of some financial problems. He lived in New Orleans but after his misfortunes1, he moved to Sullivan s Island, in South Carolina. The island is quite strange. It is about five kilometers long, it is separated from the land by a little bay with shallow2 water, its beaches are sandy and there is little vegetation on the island. In a very far corner of the island, Mr. Legrand built a small hut where he lived alone and it was there that I met him one day and we soon became friends. There were lots of books in his hut, but he rarely read them. He spent his time walking and fishing with an old black man, called Jupiter, who was a kind of servant to Mr. Legrand. Jupiter helped  Massa Will  (this is how he called him) to find insects, which Legrand collected with great interest and enthusiasm. One chilly3 day in October, I left Charleston, the town where I lived, which is about fifteen kilometers from the island, and went through the bushes to my friend s hut. When I arrived there, I saw that nobody was in, so I took the key from a secret place, unlocked4 the door and went in. I sat in an armchair5 by the fire to warm myself up6. Soon after dark, Legrand and Jupiter arrived. William was excited and told me about something special.  My dear friend! Today I have found a bug which I have never seen before! It s something new, of a brilliant gold color and with two black spots7 near one extremity of the back and another longer one at the other.  Jupiter was listening to us and suddenly said,  No, no, master! It is gold! Its body, its head . it is all gold!  1. 2. 3. 4. misfortune: bad luck. shallow: not deep. chilly: cold. unlocked: opened a door using a key 5. armchair: 6. warm up: become warmer. 7. spot: small round mark. 7 

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

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