kati1200777

30.03.2021 20:21 •  Английский язык

A nation ofstorytellers hardly any country can claim to have a richer storytelling tradition than Ireland. This is the result
of a mixture of many people - the Celts, the Vikings,
the Normans and the English - who came to the island
at various times and all left a bit of their culture behind.
In the Celtic tradition ofspoken storytelling, singers
and poets called bards were extremely important
people, There was no written language tradition
in those davs, so bards had to memorise the stories,
poems and songs to be able to perform them live.
Good storytellers knew hundreds of stories by heart.
The stories were the only record of important events,
and people appreciated them: they were the best
entertainment available.
This tradition has been influential for more than 2,000
years and, in many ways, it's still alive today. Stories
have been handed down from generation to generation,
with very little change. Storytellers used to move from
village to village. Wherever they appeared, they were
warmly welcomed, and people gave them food and
shelter for the night.
The Irish love ofstories can be felt all over the country.
In many places, older people still remember the céilí
(pronounced 'kaylee' and meaning 'get-together'),
in which people would meet in a house, sit near the
fire, tell stories, sing songs, dance and play music.
Interestingly, in recent years, there have been successful
attempts to revive this tradition, and some of the most
popular contemporary storytellers are very young.
The elegant way talented storytellers use language is
called 'the gift of the gab'. If you want to get the gift
ofthe gab, you have to go to Blarney Castle in Cork,
in the south of the island. You have to climb to the top
of the castle, lie down and bend over backwards to kiss
the Stone of Eloquence. And, of course, there's a story
to explain this. It tells of an Irish King who rescued a
woman when she fell into a river. The woman was so
grateful that she cast a spell over him. She gave him the
ability to speak so well that he could persuade people to
do whatever he wanted. But, for the spell to work, he
had to kiss a particular stone on top of Blarney Castle.
This is what he did, and it worked. So whoever kisses
the Blarney Stone will get the same gift.
There are eight highlighted words
or phrases in the text. Match them with these
definitions.
1 passed (from older people to younger people)
2 change the position of your body so your head is
nearer the floor
3 were able to say from memory
4 bring back to life
5 document
6 said words that had magical powers
gave value or importance to
8 a safe place to stay