Lessons 36 · 1 lessons · G. T. Gasilova, Yu. Yu. Musurmanova. Russian Language, Grade 6 (for schools with Uzbek and other languages of instruction). 2nd revised edition. “O‘zbekiston milliy ensiklopediyasi”, Tashkent, 2017
36
L. N. Tolstoy. “Прыжок” (The Jump)
Textbook, pp. 136–137
GoalUnderstand L. N. Tolstoy’s story «Прыжок», find the parts of the plot (beginning, climax, ending) and evaluate the captain’s action.
New words
корабль · kemaмачта · machtaобезьяна · maymunпрыгнуть · sakramoq
Explanation
Lev Nikolayevich Tolstoy (1828–1910) is a great writer of world literature. «Прыжок» is a short story of the kind called «быль» — a story close to real events. The plot: on a ship returning from a voyage around the world a large monkey amuses everyone. It snatches the hat of the captain’s twelve-year-old son and climbs the mast. The boy chases it and gradually reaches the highest point — the crossbeam (перекладина) of the mast. Everybody freezes in fear: one wrong step and the boy would be killed. At that moment the captain, his father, comes out with a gun and orders: “Jump into the water! I’ll shoot!” The boy jumps when the count reaches “three”, and sailors pull him from the water. The father weeps and hides in his cabin. The story has three parts: the beginning (the hat), the climax (the danger on the beam) and the ending (the jump). Remember: the father took drastic measures to save his son — it was frightening but the right decision.
Worked examples
«Прыжок» (summary in my own words). «На корабле все смеялись над обезьяной. Она схватила шляпу мальчика и залезла на мачту. Мальчик полез за ней и оказался на узкой перекладине высоко над палубой. Все замерли от страха. Тогда отец-капитан закричал, что мальчик должен прыгнуть в воду. Мальчик прыгнул, и матросы спасли его. Отец заплакал от пережитого страха.» (Everyone on the ship laughed at the monkey. It grabbed the boy’s hat and climbed the mast. The boy climbed after it and found himself on a narrow beam high above the deck. Everybody froze with fear. Then the captain, his father, shouted that the boy must jump into the water. The boy jumped and the sailors saved him. The father wept from the fright he had lived through.)
Plot: «завязка» (opening: the monkey takes the hat); «развитие» (development: the boy on the mast); «кульминация» (climax: on the beam); «развязка» (ending: the jump and rescue). Vocabulary: «палуба» (deck), «матрос» (sailor), «капитан» (captain).
Class activity
“Plot staircase”. Draw 4 steps on the board: завязка – развитие – кульминация – развязка. Pupils place event cards on the correct step and retell with «Сначала… Потом… Вдруг… В конце…»
Practice
1
What did the monkey take from the boy?
шляпу
2
Which event is the climax of the story?
Мальчик стоит на узкой перекладине высоко над палубой.
3
Put in the simple future: «Мальчик прыгнул в воду.»
Мальчик прыгнет в воду.
4
Why did the captain order «Прыгай в воду!»? Was it the right decision?
If the boy stayed on the mast he could fall and die; in the water the sailors could save him. The decision was frightening but right.