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Name
Optional Reading
Mark
Read the text and answer the questions that follow. The Impact of Unicorns
I
Confucius, a philosopher in ancient China, lived at a time when unicorns were omens of imminent events, both good and bad. Shortly before Confucius’ birth, his mother met a unicorn, which she interpreted as a sign of good luck. Years Years later, when this unicorn died, it was brought to Confucius. Seeing it, he knew that his own death was near.
II
When the acedonian king and con!ueror "le#ander the $reat was a boy boy,, he was the only person to succeed in taming %ucephalus, a vicious horse. "le#ander later rode into many battles on %ucephalus. In some writings and pictures, %ucephalus was depicted as a unicorn, not a horse.
III
In the early &'th century, (ust before the warrior $enghis )han was about to invade India, a unicorn appeared in front of him. )han took this as a warning against invading India and turned his army back.
I*
+he unicorn, of course, is a mythical creature, and these stories are legends. %ut for centuries, people in various cultures believed that unicorns e#isted. +here were also written accounts of unicorn sightings by people as diverse as an ancient $reek traveller, traveller, the oman general -ulius Caesar and the the Italian e#plorer arco olo. In addition, as late as the &/00s, unicorns were often included in books about animals. +oday, oday, scholars assume that t hat all of these descriptions were of other, real animals.
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any myths developed about unicorns. 1ne was that their horns had curative powers. 2nicorn horn was sold as medicine well into the iddle "ges, but it was really the horn of another animal, often of the narwhal, an "rctic whale.
*I
+he unicorn also symbolised strength and royal power, which is why it, along with a lion, is on the oyal Coat of "rms of both the 2nited )ingdom and Scotland.
*I
2nicorns still capture our imagination3 in 40&', the website Craigslist carried an advert for a pair of unicorns available for nearly 54 million. +he seller, claiming to be a unicorn breeder, also offered unicorn eggs. Isn’t that silly6 7veryone knows that real unicorns don’t lay eggs8
I
When he was a child, Alexander the Great ...... . a. began began riding riding into into battle battle on !ceph !cephal!s al!s b. ta"ed ta"ed an an aggre aggressi# ssi#ee horse horse c. !sed !sed #iolen #iolence ce to ta"e ta"e !ce !cepha phal!s l!s d. beca"e beca"e the the $ing $ing o% &ace &acedon donia ia
1. Wh* didn+ didn+tt Genghi Genghiss han in#ad in#adee -ndia -ndia ............................................................................................................... . 2. What is i"plied i"plied b* the the %act that that !nicorns !nicorns were incl!ded incl!ded in boo$s boo$s abo!t abo!t ani"als ani"als ............................................................................................................... . . What did did people people belie#e belie#e !nicorn !nicorn horn had had the abilit* abilit* to do ............................................................................................................... .
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8
1. Con%!ci!s+ "other belie#ed ..................................................................... ............................................................................................................... . 2. &an* people, incl!ding 4!li!s Caesar, ................................................... ............................................................................................................... . . he !nicorn appears on the /+s Ro*al Coat o% Ar"s beca!se it is ...... ............................................................................................................... .
1. prophetic e#ents or signs (paragraph -) 2. br!tal (paragraph --)
................................................................... ....................................................................
. shown or represented b* drawing (paragraph --) ................................................................... 5. noble (paragraph 9-)
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8. ridic!lo!s (paragraph 9--)
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