Herman Melville

Level B2+
 volume + audio mp3
 Moby Dick, Herman Melville’s masterpiece, is considered one of the greatest novels in world literature. Ishmael, a simple sailor, relates his adventures on board an American whaling ship. Her gloomy but charismatic captain, Ahab, is a tortured soul – he is obsessed by the desire and determination to hunt a gigantic white whale that has taken off one of his legs. He wants to take revenge on the animal at any cost, indifferent to danger, weather conditions, the ship’s original mission, and the sailors’ lives.
 The reader is enriched by stimulating in-depth analyses about racism, globalization, whales and whaling, and the main themes of the novel.
 
 Teacher's Resources available online: Answer Key - Audioscripts - Key to Summing-up Activities.
 
 Moby Dick, il capolavoro di Herman Melville, è considerato uno dei più grandi romanzi della letteratura mondiale. Narrato in prima persona da Ishmael, marinaio
 su una baleniera americana, racconta il lungo viaggio alla caccia di Moby Dick, una gigantesca balena bianca.
 Il veliero è guidato da Ahab, un cupo e tormentato capitano cui l’enorme animale marino aveva mozzato una gamba. Ahab vuole vendicarsi a tutti i costi, incurante dei pericoli che fa correre alla nave e ai suoi marinai.

Main parts of a whaling ship

Features of the two groups of whales

Chapter 1 – It’s time for the sea

• Extension: Ishmael, Queequeg and racism

Chapter 2 – Aboard the Pequod

Chapter 3 – There she blows

• Extension: Whales

Chapter 4 – And the journey goes on

• Extension: Whaling

• Extension: From whaling’s decline to whales as legal persons

Chapter 6 – Moby Dick, at last

• Extension: Moby Dick, an allegorical novel

SUMMING-UP ACTIVITIES

GLOSSARY

There she blows! 3 BEFORE READING Chapter 1 B2 First The story so far. Complete the summary of Chapter 2 with the appropriate words. Ahab asks Starbuck to assemble all the crew on the (0) deck and offers a gold coin to anyone who (1)........................... an enormous white whale. Ahab tells the crew that the Pequod s (2)......................... is the killing of Moby Dick. While most of the (3)....................... are excited by this, (4)...................... believes that it is offensive to God to take (5)............................... on an animal which lacks reason. Ahab performs a ritual with all the Mates and harpooners standing in a (6)...................... and drinking grog. He makes them all swear to the (7)...................... of the White Whale, and says:  God (8)...................... us all if we do not hunt Moby Dick to his death!  2 Predicting. What do you think will happen in Chapter 3? Three of the events below will take place, whereas two will not. Tick ( ) the former and cross (X) the latter. The Pequod will  a. meet no other whaling ships; b. meet Moby Dick; c. have to overcome a storm; d. sail around the Cape of Good Hope; e. kill a sperm whale 3 Geography test. Read the   rst paragraph of Chapter 3. Then, looking at the map below, tick the best alternative route Ahab could have chosen to reach the Paci  c Ocean. a. Through the Strait of Gibraltar and then the Suez Canal; b. Via Northern Europe and Siberia, then down to the Paci  c Ocean; c. Via Cape Horn. 40 

Moby There she Dick blows! 5 Chapter 3 Now the Pequod was off the coasts of Argentina. Ahab decided to reach the South Pacific Ocean via southern Africa sailing across the South Atlantic Ocean. We were heading for the Cape of Good Hope. It was a cloudy, sultry1 afternoon and the sea was calm. Some seamen were lazily walking on the deck, some were absentmindedly gazing into the dark grey waters. I was with Queequeg doing some relaxing work with the rigging. All of a sudden, we heard a cry from the top of the main mast.  There she blows! There! There! There she blows!2  The cry was Tashtego s, who was on duty as a lookout3.  Where s that?  asked someone.  About two miles away! Lots of sperm whales!  shouted Tashtego. Sperm whales are easy to identify, even from a distance, due to their unique blow directed forward and slightly to the left. Instantly, everybody was excited and ready to move. Another sailor took Tashtego s place as a lookout on the top of the main mast. The Native American, who was Stubb s harpooner, jumped into the Second Mate s boat, while Queequeg and I jumped into Starbuck s. At this critical moment, Ahab came out of his cabin surrounded by five dark figures   five strange men that none of us had ever seen before! All of them were Asian and were wearing black cotton jackets and trousers. While all of us were astonished and were staring at these strangers from head to foot, Ahab cried out to the old, white-turbaned4 man who was their leader,  Are you ready, Fedallah?   We re ready,  was the reply.  Lower the boat, then! Quick!  shouted Ahab across the deck. 1. sultry: hot and humid. 2. For the use of the feminine gender in the sea world, listen to Activity 6 on p. 116. 3. lookout: a person who has the responsibility of watching for something in order to warn other people about it. 4. turbaned: wearing a turban. 41 

Testo semplificato di Moby Dick con glossario, esercizi e attività. Perfetto per studenti B2 e il potenziamento della letteratura inglese.

Moby Dick – English Graded Readers, Level B2

Level B2 • Intermediate - Collana Rainbows

Moby Dick

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