He 20th Century technology time line

Read the paragraphs again. Answer the question.
How did World War II change Norma’s life?
ALL THE WORLD’S A STAGE
I. PRE-READING
A.
Background information
Before movies and TV shows, people watched plays with live actors for 
entertainment. And without a doubt, the most famous writer of plays in the 
English language is William Shakespeare, who died in 1616.
The irst two lines of the exerpt in this section are some of Shakespeare’s 
most often–quoted lines.
They come from a speech in his play As You Like It. The speaker is 
comparing life to a play, and he lists seven stages in a man’s life. Included 
below are the irst three stages: infant, schoolboy, and lover, and the last one: 
second childhood.

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Entertainment | 99
B.
Words to know before you read
Read the words and their deinitions.
acts 
the sections of a play
mewling 
crying
woeful 
sad
satchel 
bag
san 
without
ballad 
song; often a song that tells a story
 C.
Reading strategy
Read the passage. Notice the use of time words to introduce the stages. Write 
each stage in order.
At first: ________________________
And then: _______________________
And then: _______________________
Last: _______________________
II. READ
Read the text. Mark the words you don’t know, but don’t stop reading to look 
them up.
All the world’s a stage, 
And all the men and women merely players: 
They have their exits and their entrances; 
And one man in his time plays many parts, 
His acts being seven ages. At irst the infant, 
Mewling and puking in the nurse’s arms. 
And then the whining school-boy, with his satchel 
And shining morning face, creeping like snail 
Unwillingly to school. And then the lover, 
Sighing like furnace, with a woeful ballad 
Made to his mistress’ eyebrow.
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Last scene of all, 
That ends this strange eventful history, 
Is second childishness and mere oblivion, 
Sans teeth, sans eyes, sans taste, sans everything.
From As You Like It by William Shakespeare.

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100 | Better Reading English
III. COMPREHENSION CHECK
Circle the letter of the sentence or phrase with the same meaning.
1. And all the men and women merely players. . .
a. 
All people are like athletes.
b. 
All people are like actors.
2. And one man in his time plays many parts, 
His acts being seven ages.
 
a. 
Each man’s life is divided into seven stages.
b. Each man acts like he is seven years old.
3. And shining morning face. . .
 
a. 
The schoolboy’s face is oily in the morning.
b. 
The schoolboy’s face is fresh and clean in the morning.
4. . . .creeping like snail
Unwillingly to school.
a. walking slowly and unhappily to school
b. walking quickly and happily to school
5. . . .with a woeful ballad. . .
 
a. 
with a sad song
b. 
with a long song
6. . . .mere oblivion. . .
a. 
forgetfulness
b. 
nothingness
IV. VOCABULARY BUILDING
A.
Understanding from context
Read the sentences. Before you look up words in the dictionary, use the context 
of the sentence to help you match the boldface words with the definitions 
below.
_____ 1. Why are you angry? I was merely trying to help you.
_____ 2. We couldn’t see the actors well because we sat very far from the 
stage.
_____ 3. No one could see the thief creeping quietly behind the house.
_____ 4. Her eyes were shining with happiness.
_____ 5. The little boy was whining for candy in the supermarket.
_____ 6. It’s cold in here. I think the furnace isn’t working.

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Entertainment | 101
_____ 7. The angry customer was unwilling to pay for the dinner.
_____ 8. He was tired after a very eventful week.
a. heater
b. a raised loor for performances
c. complaining in a high-pitched, crying voice
d. only
e. full of activities
f. giving out light
g. moving slowly, close to the ground
h. not happy to do something
B.
Use the new words
Use words from the sentences in Exercise A.
1. The mother was angry at her son because he was 
___________________________.
2. Make sure the ___________________________ is in good condition to avoid 
ires.
3. She felt very nervous when she was on the ___________________________ 
in front of an audience.
4. The newly washed car was ___________________________ in the sun.
5. I’m not the boss; I’m ___________________________ a low-level employee.
6. He didn’t see the purpose of the work, so he was 
___________________________ to do it.
7. There were several spiders ___________________________ around the 
wood pile.
8. Her weekend was boring and not very ___________________________.
V. UNDERSTANDING GRAMMAR: 
-ing ADJECTIVES
FROM VERBS
A.
Read about -ing adjectives
In the descriptions whining school-boy and shining morning face, Shakespeare 
is using -ing adjectives, also known as participial adjectives because they use 
the form of the present participle of the verb. This kind of adjective usually has 
the same meaning as the verb it comes from.
The boy was crying.
She gave a tissue to the crying boy.
That man ran for two hours.
The running man didn’t stop to rest.

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102 | Better Reading English
B.
Use -ing adjectives
Complete the sentences by using the verb as an adjective.
1. The customers paid for their dinner.
The manager was pleased to have ___________________ customers.
2. The boy slept until 7:00 a.m.
The mother kissed the ___________________ boy.
3. The birds sing in the trees outside my window.
I hear ___________________ birds every morning.
4. The movie captivated her attention.
She kept her eyes on the ___________________ movie.
5. She acted on the stage for many years.
The ___________________ job didn’t pay very well.
VI. READ IT AGAIN
Read the text again. Answer the question.
Shakespeare’s text describes unhappiness at every stage of life. Write the words 
that describe something negative about each stage.
infant __________________________________________
schoolboy ______________________________________
lover____________________________________________
second childhood _____________________________________________

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