Chapter OneA babe in the woods
On a warm summer evening, a family of wolves were sleeping in their home.
Their home was a cave in the Seeonee hills in the south of India.1
The father awoke from his sleep.2
He stood up and looked at the mother wolf and the four cubs.
“We must go out and look for food,” said Father Wolf.
He heard a familiar voice say, “Good luck.”3
It was Tabaqui, a jackal, who was always making trouble.
Key Words
babe (n): trẻ sơ sinh
woods (n): rừng cây
wolf (n): con sói
cave (n): cái hang
hill (n): ngọn đồi
south (n): miền Nam
awake (v): thức giấc
(awake - awoke - awaken)
stand up (v): đứng dậy
(stand - stood - stood)
cub (n): thú con
look for (v): tìm kiếm
familiar (adj): quen thuộc
voice (n): tiếng nói, giọng nói
jackal (n): chó rừng
make trouble: gây phiền toái, gây chuyện
Key Sentences
1 Their home was a cave in the Seeonee hills in the south of India.
2 The father awoke from his sleep.
3 He heard a familiar voice say, “Good luck.”
“Shere Khan, the tiger, is coming here for food1,” said Tabaqui.
“Impossible! He must tell us first,” said Father Wolf.
“He is hunting men, not animals tonight,” said Tabaqui.
“But the Jungle Law doesn’t permit man-killing.
It only brings men with guns.2”
Then, they heard a noise very close to them.3
“It’s a man-cub!” said Father Wolf.
A baby was in front of them.
He had no clothes.
The baby walked to Mother Wolf.
“Look, he is feeding with the other cubs,” she said.
“I have heard of this happening before.4”
Check up
What did Father Wolf and Tabaqui find?
a. A wolf cub.
b. A tiger.
c. A baby boy.
Key Words
impossible (adj): không thể
hunt (v): săn
law (n): luật
permit (v): cho phép
kill (v): giết
bring (v): gây ra, khiến cho
(bring - brought - brought)
gun (n): cây súng
noise (n): tiếng ồn
close to (adj): gần
man–cub (n): thú con của con người
in front of (prep): đằng trước,
phía trước
clothes (n): áo quần
feed (v): ăn
(feed - fed - fed)
happen (v): xảy ra
Key Sentences
1 Shere Khan, the tiger, is coming here for food.
2 It only brings men with guns.
3 Then, they heard a noise very close to them.
4 I have heard of this happening before.
At that moment,
Shere Khan’s large head appeared in the cave.1
“Shere Khan! It is good to see you.
What do you want?” asked Father Wolf.
“I am looking for a man-cub.
I know he is in there with you.2
Give him to me,” demanded Shere Khan.
Shere Khan was a very big and scary tiger.
But Father Wolf was not scared
because the tiger was too big to enter the cave.
“No. You cannot have him. He is ours now,” said Father Wolf.
“I will raise him as my son,3” said Mother Wolf.
“Go away, Shere Khan, fish killer!”
This made Shere Khan very angry.4
“That man-cub will be mine one day, you thieves!” Shere Khan said and left the cave.
Key Words
at that moment: ngay lúc đó
appear (v): xuất hiện
demand (v): yêu cầu, đòi hỏi
scared (adj): hoảng sợ
enter (v): đi vào
raise (v): nuôi nấng
“go away!”: “Đi đi!”, “Cút đi!”
one day: một ngày nào đó
thief (n): kẻ cắp, kẻ trộm
(plural: thieves)
Key Sentences
1 At that moment, Shere Khan’s large head appeared in the cave.
2 I know he is in there with you.
3 I will raise him as my son.
4 This made Shere Khan very angry.
Father Wolf was very surprised.
“Do you really want him as your own son?” he asked Mother Wolf.
“Yes. Let’s keep him.
I want to call him Mowgli, the frog,1” she said.
“What about the Law of the Jungle?
The Law says that when all wolf cubs can run, they must go to the pack.2”
Father Wolf was worried, but they decided to raise Mowgli as their own cub.3
Mowgli ran and played with all of the other cubs.
Check up
What is true about the story?
a. Father Wolf was against raising Mowgli till the end.
b. Mowgli played with the other baby wolves.
c. When wolves are grown up, they have to stand on their own legs.
Key Words
surprised (adj): ngạc nhiên
one’s own: của mình
keep (v): giữ lại
call A B (v): gọi A là B
What about...?: .... thì thế nào?
(dùng để hỏi tin tức hay ý kiến của ai)
worried (adj): lo lắng
decide to (v): quyết định
Key Sentences
1 I want to call him Mowgli, the frog.
2 The Law says that when all wolf cubs can run, they must go to the pack.
3 Father Wolf was worried, but they decided to raise Mowgli as their own cub.
One day, there was a pack meeting at the Meeting Rock.1
Akela, who was a gray wolf, was the leader.
He called for all of the wolf cubs to stand before him.2
Father Wolf pushed Mowgli in front of Akela.
Then, from somewhere in the trees, the wolves heard a growl.3
It was Shere Khan. “He is mine,” he growled.
Akela, unafraid, said, “Who will speak for this man-cub?
Except for his father and mother, two voices are needed.”4
Check up
What is not true about the story?
a. Akela is the leader of the wolves.
b. Father Wolf brought Mowgli to the meeting.
c. The wolves decided to send Mowgli to Shere Khan.
Key Words & Sentences
meeting (n): hội họp, hội nghị
rock (n): tảng đá, hòn đá
gray (adj): màu xám
leader (n): người dẫn đầu,
con thú đầu đàn
before (adv): trước, đằng trước
push (v): đẩy
somewhere (adv): đâu đó, ở nơi nào đó
growl (v): gầm
unafraid (adj): không sợ hãi
speak for (v): chứng minh cho, biện hộ cho
except for: ngoại trừ, trừ ra
1 One day, there was a pack meeting at the Meeting Rock.
2 He called for all of the wolf cubs to stand before him.
3 Then, from somewhere in the trees, the wolves heard a growl.
4 Except for his father and mother, two voices are needed.
Baloo, a brown bear, and Bagheera, a panther, entered the circle of wolves.1
“I will speak for him,” they said.
“It is very bad to kill a man-cub,”2 said Bagheera.
“Also, a man-cub cannot hurt you.
He may even help you later.”
“I will also teach him all of the Jungle Laws,” said Baloo.
The other wolves agreed.
Akela was happy with the decision.
“He will be able to help us later when he is a man.
You must raise and teach him well.”
So Mowgli became a member of the Seeonee Wolf Pack.
Father Wolf, Baloo, and Bagheera taught Mowgli everything he needed to know.3
Key Words
bear (n): con gấu
panther (n): con báo
circle (n): nhóm, giới, những đối tượng có quan hệ với nhau
hurt (v): làm bị thương, làm hại
(hurt - hurt - hurt)
may (model verb): có thể
(chỉ khả năng)
later (adv): sau này
teach (v): dạy
(teach - taught - taught)
agree (v): đồng ý
decision (n): quyết định
be able to: có thể
become (v): trở thành
member (n): thành viên
need to (v): cần phải
Key Sentences
1 Baloo, a brown bear, and Bagheera, a panther, entered the circle of wolves.
2 It is very bad to kill a man-cub.
3 Father Wolf, Baloo, and Bagheera taught Mowgli everything he needed to know.
Comprehension Quiz
A. Write down the name of the character next to each line.
a. Baloo
b. Mother Wolf
c. Shere Khan
Akela
1. Who will speak for this man-cub? ____________
2. I want to call him Mowgli, the frog. ____________
3. That man-cub will be mine one day. ____________
4. I will also teach him all of the Jungle Laws. ____________
B. Complete the following sentences in the past tense.
1. The father wolf ____________ from his sleep.
2. He ____________ and looked at the mother wolf and the four cubs.
3. He ____________ a familiar voice say, “Good luck.”
4. He found a man-cub. It ____________ no clothes.
C. Answer the questions.
1. What is Shere Khan hunting tonight?
_________________________________
2. Who wants to raise the man-cub?
_________________________________
3. In the evening, what does the father wolf have to look for?
_________________________________
4. Who are going to speak for Mowgli?
_________________________________
D. Choose the ones indicate the underlined words.
1. He called for all of the wolf cubs to stand before him.
(a) Mowgli
(b) Father Wolf
(c) Akela
2. It says that when wolf cubs can run, they must go to the pack.
(a) the Jungle Law
(b) the tiger
(c) a familiar voice
3. It only brings men with guns.
(a) man-killing
(b) the Jungle Law
(c) raising a man-cub