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S T A G E 2

The story of Romeo and Juliet is probably the most famous love story of all time. It is set in mediaeval Verona and follows Romeo, son of the house of Montague as he falls in love with Juliet, daughter of the rival house of Capulet. The story moves quickly towards its conclusion as bitter hate and ancient rivalry lead to tragedy. William Shakespeare’s play is retold here as an exciting story, making it accessible to learners of English.

In this reader you will fi nd:- Information about William Shakespeare’s life - Sections focusing on background and context- Glossary of diffi cult words- Comprehension activities- KET-style activities- Exit test

TagLove and Hate

William Shakespeare

Romeo and Juliet

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WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE RO

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AND

JULIET

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S A 2 Y O U N G A D U L T R E A D E R S

ELI s.r.l.

YOUNG ADULT ELI READERS

Romeo and Juliet

ISBN 978-88-536-0503-0

WILLIAM SHAKESPEAREROMEO AND JULIET

Y O U N G A D U L T R E A D E R SY O U N G A D U L T R E A D E R S

Eli Readers is a beautifully illustrated series of timeless classics and specially-written stories for learners of English.Eli Readers is a beautifully illustrated series of timeless classics and specially-written stories for learners of English.

S T A G E 1

S T A G E 2

S T A G E 3

S T A G E 4

S T A G E 5

S T A G E 6

Classic

Elementary

Pre-Intermediate

Intermediate

Upper Intermediate

Advanced

Profi ciency

600 headwords

800 headwords

1000 headwords

1800 headwords

2500 headwords

Unabridged Texts

KET

PET

FCE

CAE

CPE

A1

A2

B1

B2

C1

C2

6

MAIN CHARACTERS

Lord Capulet

Lady Capulet

Juliet

Tybalt (Juliet’s cousin)

Romeo

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Lord Montague

Benvolio (Romeo’s cousin)

nanny a woman who looks after children when they are youngruler the leader of the town

Mercutio (Romeo’s friend and

Prince Escalus’s relative)

Prince Escalus(Ruler* of Verona)

The nurse (Juliet’s old nanny*)

Friar Laurence (Romeo’s teacher and

friend)

Count Paris (Lord Capulet’s friend)

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The Montagues and the Capulets were still fi ghting when the prince arrived in the square with his soldiers and their horses.

The sound of the horses was very loud. The prince was very angry. ‘STOP THIS NOW!’ he shouted, ‘This is the THIRD fi ght between Montagues and Capulets THIS SUMMER. This fi ghting MUST STOP. The people of Verona are afraid and unhappy. This CANNOT CONTINUE.’

Then the prince made a terrible threat*. ‘If there is another fi ght like this, you will DIE.’ Everybody stopped fi ghting. The prince called the heads of the families. ‘You, Capulet, come with me. Montague, I’ll speak to you later. Everybody else, go home or I’ll kill you all.’

The prince turned away with his horse and left the square. Lord Capulet followed him. Tybalt called his servants and went home. When the square was empty, Lord Montague called Benvolio. ‘How did the fi ght start?’ he asked.

‘It was the servants at fi rst,’ said Benvolio, ‘I tried to stop them and when Tybalt arrived I asked him to help me. But he wanted to fi ght too and he attacked me.’

‘But where’s my son?’ said Lord Montague, ‘Where’s Romeo? I can’t see him here.’

‘He wasn’t at the fi ght,’ Benvolio explained, ‘I saw him walking this morning, but he wanted to be alone. I don’t know why.’

‘Yes, he seems sad,’ Lord Montague replied*, ‘I don’t know what the problem is. I’ve tried asking him, but he doesn’t want to tell me.’

‘I’ll talk to him, if you want,’ said Benvolio, ‘I’ll ask him.’‘Thank you, that’s a good idea. Look, here comes Romeo now. I’ll

leave you to talk to him.’ Lord Montague left the square too.‘Hello, Romeo,’ said Benvolio to his friend, ‘Why are you so sad?’

a threat a promise to do something terrible to reply to answer

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AFTER-READING ACTIVITIES

1 Answer the questions true (T) or false (F). Correct the false

answers.

1 Friar John gave Romeo the message from Friar Laurence.

______________________________________________

2 Friar John got the plague on the way to meet Romeo.

______________________________________________

3 Count Paris went to the church to leave fl owers for Juliet.

______________________________________________

4 Count Paris and Romeo had a fi ght.

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5 Count Paris killed Romeo.

______________________________________________

6 Romeo kissed Juliet and she woke up.

______________________________________________

7 Romeo drank poison and died.

______________________________________________

8 Juliet ran away with Friar Laurence.

______________________________________________

9 Romeo and Juliet escaped together and went to live

in Mantua.

______________________________________________

10 The two families built a statue of Romeo and Juliet.

______________________________________________

KET – Reading Comprehension

T F

■■ ■■

■■ ■■

■■ ■■

■■ ■■

■■ ■■

■■ ■■

■■ ■■

■■ ■■

■■ ■■

■■ ■■

Characters

2 Match the pictures of the characters to their descriptions. Name

the characters.

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1 A tall young man. He is violent. He fi ghts like a tiger. _________

2 An intelligent, fun-loving young man. He loves to laugh and

joke with his friends. _________

3 A wise old man. He’s a teacher and he knows a lot about herbs.

_________

4 An old lady. She looks after Juliet and sometimes helps her.

She doesn’t understand Juliet’s love for Romeo. _________

Summary Skills

3 Use the newspaper headlines to write a summary of the story for

the newspaper.

THE VERONA TIMES

Capulet and Montague Street Fight

The Prince’s Threat

A SECRET

WEDDING

MERCUTIO, TYBALT DEAD!

Juliet to Marry Count Paris

A Secret Plan Is Juliet Really Dead?

A TRAGIC END

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FOCUS ON...

William Shakespeare(1564 – 1616)

Early YearsWilliam Shakespeare was born in 1564 in Stratford-upon-Avon, a town in the centre of England. Nobody really knows the exact day that he was born, but people say that it was on April 23rd. He was baptised on April 26th, so it’s possible that he was born on 23rd. However, people probably chose that day, fi rstly because Shakespeare also died on April 23rd and secondly, because April 23rd is Saint George’s Day - England’s patron saint.Shakespeare’s mother was called Mary and his father’s name was John. John was an important man in Stratford. He was a glove* maker and wool seller. He was also involved in money-lending*. John and Mary’s fi rst two children died before William was born, so William was their eldest son. They had fi ve more children, but one of them also died young.

People don’t know for sure, but William probably went to Stratford’s “petty” or junior school when he was fi ve years old. There he

learned to read and write. Then, when he was seven years old, he went to Stratford’s grammar school. The school day was very long. It started at 6 or 7 in the morning and fi nished at 5 or 6 in the evening. At school he learned Latin and Greek. He probably left school when he was fi fteen or sixteen, which was normal at that time. In the winter of 1582, when he was 18 years old, he married Anne Hathaway. She was 26 years old. Their fi rst child, Susanna, was born less than six months later. Early in 1585, Anne had twins, Hamnet and Judith. Hamnet was their only son, but he died when he was only 11.

Life in Stratford

Whatever happened during the lost years, by 1595 Shakespeare was already famous in London. He was an actor for an important theatre group and he had already written some successful plays. During his life he wrote a total of 38 plays – comedies, histories and tragedies. Shakespeare

also wrote hundreds of poems. Shakespeare stayed in London until 1611, when he moved back to Stratford. He died on April 23rd 1616 at the age of 52. He was buried* in Holy Trinity church two days later.

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a glove something you wear on your hands to keep them warmmoney-lending giving people money for a time until they give it back to youa deer

to be buried put in the grounda grave the place in a church where someone’s body is put when they die

The Lost YearsWe don’t know when or why Shakespeare left Stratford. We don’t know what he was doing before he became a successful actor and dramatist, either. These years (1585 until 1592) are called the lost years. One story says that he killed a deer* belonging to a lord and so he went to London to escape. Another story says that he was a teacher during that time.

London and the Theatre

Shakespeare TodayIf you visit Stratford-upon-Avon today, you can

still see a lot of important places in Shakespeare’s life.

You can see the place where he was born, his school and the

place where he died. You can see Shakespeare plays at the

Royal Shakespeare Theatre. You can also visit his mother’s

house and his wife’s house. If you go to Holy Trinity church,

you can see his grave*.

Task

Complete the form with the information about Shakespeare.

Name:

Place of birth:

Date of birth:

Father’s name:

Mother’s name:

Age started school:

Age left school:

Occupation:

Wife’s name:

Number of children:

Date of death:

Where buried:

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