IN 1845, Livingstone married Mary Moffat, but he was reluctant to expose her or their four children to the dangers of an explorer’s life: he had narrowly escaped being killed by a lion only the year before.
Sadly, his anxiety was justified: Mary died of malaria on a visit to Africa in 1862.
In the meantime, however, Livingstone had crossed the entire continent, and on November 16th 1855 he became the first European to see the Victoria Falls, writing in his bestselling travelogue that “Scenes so lovely must have been gazed upon by angels in their flight”.
Two years after Mary’s death, he crossed the Indian Ocean to Bombay in a tiny river-boat, just to avoid having to sell it to Portuguese slavers.
On his return, he began searching for the source of the Nile south of Lake Tanganyika, but his health was failing. On 1st May, 1873, his companions found him dead in his room in Hala in northern Rhodesia. He had been praying.
Précis
Livingstone became famous in his own lifetime through his travelogue, in which he described the moment when he became the first European to see the Victoria Falls in modern Zimbabwe. After his wife Mary died in 1862, Livingstone continued his explorations but within a few years his health failed him, and he died in 1873. (55 / 60 words)
Livingstone became famous in his own lifetime through his travelogue, in which he described the moment when he became the first European to see the Victoria Falls in modern Zimbabwe. After his wife Mary died in 1862, Livingstone continued his explorations but within a few years his health failed him, and he died in 1873.
Variations: 1.increase the length of this precis to exactly 60 words. 2.reduce the length of this precis to exactly 50 words. 3.introduce one of the following words into the precis: about, because, besides, or, otherwise, since, unless, until.
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Word Games
Sevens Based on this passage
Suggest answers to this question. See if you can limit one answer to exactly seven words.
Variations: 1.expand your answer to exactly fourteen words. 2.expand your answer further, to exactly twenty-one words. 3.include one of the following words in your answer: if, but, despite, because, (al)though, unless.
Jigsaws Based on this passage
Express the ideas below in a single sentence, using different words as much as possible. Do not be satisfied with the first answer you think of; think of several, and choose the best.
Spinners Find in Think and Speak
For each group of words, compose a sentence that uses all three. You can use any form of the word: for example, cat → cats, go → went, or quick → quickly, though neigh → neighbour is stretching it a bit.
This exercise uses words found in the accompanying passage.
1 River. Than. Tiny.
2 Call. Find. Persuade.
3 Child. Person. Unambitious.
Variations: 1. include direct and indirect speech 2. include one or more of these words: although, because, despite, either/or, if, unless, until, when, whether, which, who 3. use negatives (not, isn’t, neither/nor, never, nobody etc.)
High Tiles Find in Think and Speak
Make words (three letters or more) from the seven letters showing below, using any letter once only. Each letter carries a score. What is the highest-scoring word you can make?
Your Words ()
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