BOOK CLUB - Reading Comprehension - for the 6th grade (Twenty Thousand Leagues Under The Sea)

(Source: www.julesverne.ca)

Read the following fragment, fill in the required form, then do the exercises below.

"It was about eleven o'clock when Ned Land drew my attention to a formidable swarming moving through the large expanses of seaweed.

'Well,' I said, 'these are real squids' caves, and I would not be surprised to see a few monsters here!'

'What?' said Conseil. 'Calamar, mere calamar of the class of cephalopods?'

'No,' I said, 'giant squid. But friend Land is undoubtedly mistaken, for I can't see anything.'

'What a shame,' replied Conseil. 'I long to come face to face with one of those squid I have heard about so often, which can drag ships down to the bottom of the seas. Those beasts are called Krak . . .'

'Crackpots . . .' the Canadian interjected.

'Krakens,' continued Conseil, without paying attention to his companion's joke.

'I will never be able to believe', said Land, 'in the existence of such animals.'

'Why ever not? We ended up believing in monsieur's narwhal.'

'We were wrong, Conseil.'

'Undoubtedly, but others still believe in it.'

'Probably, Conseil, but for my part I have resolved to admit the existence of such monsters only after I have dissected them with my own hand.'

'So', Conseil asked, 'monsieur does not believe in giant squid?'

'Hey, who the hell has ever believed in them?' exclaimed the Canadian.

'Many people, friend Ned.'

'Not fishermen. Scientists perhaps!'

'With respect, Ned: fishermen and scientists.'

'But as I stand here,' said Conseil in the most serious tone, 'I can perfectly remember seeing a large ship being dragged under the waves by the arms of a cephalopod.'

'You have seen that?' asked the Canadian.

'Yes, Ned.'

'With your own eyes?'

'With my own eyes.'

'Where, please?'

'At Saint-Malo,' Conseil replied imperturbably.

'In the port?' Ned asked sarcastically.

'No, in a church.'

'In a church!'

'Yes friend Ned. It was a painting of the said squid!'

'So!' said Ned Land, bursting out laughing. 'Mr Conseil has been leading me on!'

'Actually, he is right,' I said. 'I have heard of the painting, but the subject of the picture is taken from legend, and you know what should be thought of legends in natural history! When people start talking about monsters, their imaginations easily go off at a tangent. Not only has it been claimed that these squid can drag down ships, but a certain Olaus Magnus speaks of a mile-long cephalopod, which seemed more like an island than an animal. It is also said that one day the Bishop of Nidaros erected an altar on an immense rock. Once his mass was over, the rock started moving and returned to the sea. The rock was a squid.'

'And that's all?' asked the Canadian.

'No,' I replied. 'Another bishop, Pontoppidan of Bergen  also speaks of a squid on which a whole regiment of cavalry could manoeuvre!'

'They didn't mess around, those bishops of olden days!' Ned remarked.

'Finally, the naturalists of antiquity cite monsters whose jaws resembled bays, and which were too big to get through the Strait of Gibraltar!'

'You don't say!'

'But what truth is there in all those tales?' asked Conseil.

'None, my friends, at least none amongst the parts which go beyond the limits of plausibility and become fable or legend. However, if no cause is needed for the imagination of storytellers, some sort of pretext is. It cannot be denied that there are very big squid and calamar, even if they are smaller than whales. Aristotle observed the dimensions of a squid five cubits long, that is 3.10 metres. Our fishermen frequently see ones longer than 1.8 metres. The museums of Trieste and Montpellier contain skeletons of squid that are two metres long. What is more, the naturalists have calculated that an animal only six feet in length would have tentacles of twenty-seven feet, which is more than enough to make a formidable monster.'

'And are they still caught nowadays?' asked the Canadian.

'If they are not caught, at least sailors still see them. One of my friends, Captain Paul Bos of Le Havre, has often told me that he encountered one such colossal monster in the Indian Ocean. And the most astonishing thing happened a few years ago, in 1861, which no longer allows the existence of these gigantic animals to be denied.'

'Go on,' said Ned Land.

'Thank you. In 1861, north-east of Tenerife, at the approximate latitude where we are now, the crew of the sloop Alecton sighted an enormous squid swimming in its wake. Captain Bouyer closed on the animal and attacked it with harpoons and guns, but without great success, for bullets and harpoons passed through the soft flesh like unset jelly. After several unsuccessful attempts, the crew managed to put a slip knot round the mollusc's body. The knot slid as far as the tail-fins and stopped there. They then tried to haul the monster on board, but it was so heavy that the rope pulled the tail off, and deprived of this adornment, it disappeared under the water.'

'Finally we have a fact.'

'An indisputable fact, my good Ned. That was why it was proposed to call it "Bouyer's squid".'

'And how long was it?' he asked.

'Did it not measure about six metres?' said Conseil, standing at the window and examining the holes in the cliff.

'Precisely,' I replied.

'Was its head not crowned with eight tentacles, which waved in the water like a nest of serpents?'

'Absolutely.' "                                           (Jules Verne, Twenty Thousand Leagues Under The Sea)

I. Pick the right answer:

1) How many tentacles did 'Buoyer's squid' have? a) nine; b) eight; c) six.

2) Where was Captain Paul Bos from? a) Marseille; b) Nice; c) Le Havre.

3) What was Pontoppidan of Bergen? a) a vicar; b) a pope; c) a bishop.

4) Where had Conseil seen a large ship being dragged under the waves by the arms of a cephalopod? a) in a church; b) in a port; c) in a museum.

II. Correct the following sentences according to the text:

a) The crew of the sloop Alecton sighted a tiny squid swimming in its wake.

b) Olaus Magnus speaks of a mile-long cephalopod which seemed more like a ship than an animal.

c) The museums of Trieste and Montpellier contain skeletons of squid that are twenty metres long.

d) Ned Land drew my attention to a formidable swarming moving through the large seagull nests.