Natsume S–Oseki Botchan

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YOUNG ADULT READERS LIGHT Natsume Soseki– Eli Readers is a beautifully-illustrated series of timeless classics and specially-written stories for learners of English. Botchan Natsume S

Natsume Soseki– oseki Botchan Botchan -

Botchan is from Tokyo in Japan. He becomes a teacher and moves from the big city to a small town on an island. He thinks teaching high school students is easy, but life in the country town is different. Teaching is difficult. His students are difficult. They play tricks on him. Botchan has many problems at school and many questions. He does not know who to believe. He does not know who his friends are. Follow Botchan as he learns good from bad and right from wrong.

In this reader you will find: - Information about Natsume Soseki– - Focus on sections - Glossary of difficult words - Comprehension and extension activities

Tags Classic literature Y O U N G A DUL A1 Up to 600 headwords Word count: 9450

Classic Full text on CD www.elireaders.com T ELI RE A DERS | L I GH

YOUNG ADULT ELI READERS LIGHT

ISBN 978-88-536-1588-6ELI s.r.l. Botchan E www.elireaders.com L T ELT YOUNG ADULT READERS LIGHT A 1 A1 YOUNG ADULT READERS LIGHT B2A1

The ELI Readers collection is a complete range of books and plays for readers of all ages, ranging from captivating contemporary stories to timeless classics. There are three series, each catering for a different age group; Young ELI Readers, Teen ELI Readers and Young Adult ELI Readers. The books are carefully edited and beautifully illustrated to capture the essence of the stories and plots. The readers are supplemented with ‘Focus on’ texts packed with background cultural information about the writers and their lives and times.

Young Adult ELI Readers Light: books especially designed for beginners and older readers. The FSC certification For this series of ELI guarantees that the paper graded readers, we used in these publications have planted 5000 comes from certified new trees. forests, promoting responsible forestry management worldwide. Natsume Soseki Botchan

Adaptation by Alastair Lamond Activities by Timothy Kiggell Illustrated by Toni Demuro

YOUNG ADULT READERS LIGHT Botchan by Natsume Soseki- Adaptation by Alastair Lamond Activities by Timothy Kiggell Illustrated by Toni Demuro

Founder and Series Editors Paola Accattoli, Grazia Ancillani, Daniele Garbuglia (Art Director)

The author would like to thank Janet Borsbey and Ruth Swan for their precious contribution to this project.

Graphic Design Airone Comunicazione - Sergio Elisei

Layout Airone Comunicazione - Diletta Brutti

Production Manager Francesco Capitano

Photo credits ELI Archive

Typeset in 11,5 / 15 pt Monotype Dante Printed in Italy by Tecnostampa Recanati – ERE002.01 ISBN 978-88-536-1588-6

First edition: September 2013 www.elireaders.com Contents

6 Main Characters 8 Before you read 10 Chapter One Botchan leaves Tokyo for Shikoku 18 Activities 20 Chapter Two Botchan meets Badger, Red Shirt, Clown, Porcupine and Squash 30 Activities 32 Chapter Three Botchan makes many mistakes 42 Activities 44 Chapter Four Botchan has problems with students, insects and some teachers 55 Activities 57 Chapter Five Who or what is Madonna? 67 Activities 69 Chapter Six Botchan now understands Porcupine and Red Shirt 80 Activities 82 Chapter Seven Kimonos and European-style suits 92 Activities 94 Chapter Eight Botchan and Porcupine against Red Shirt and Clown 104 Activities 106 Focus on... Natsume Soseki- 108 Focus on... The Meiji Era 110 Focus on... The London Years 112 Syllabus

These icons indicate the parts of the story that are recorded start stop

Main Characters

(Badger) The principal The The art teacher art The (Clown) The head teacher The (Red Shirt)

Botchan

(Squash) Mr. Koga Koga Mr. Kiyo

Mr. Hotta (Porcupine) Madonna (Ms. Toyama) (Ms.

7 Before you read

Word Groups

1 Look at the word groups. Choose the correct word.

1 teacher, principal, [student / table] 2 nose, mouth, [shoe / cheek] 3 suit, shirt, [kimono / noodles] 4 knock, break, [swim / hit] 5 agree with, believe, [trust / move] 6 friend, lover, [fiancée / fight] 7 street, road, [car / path] 8 hotel, bed & breakfast, [guest house / restaurant] 9 bed, pillow, [chair / blanket] 10 servant, waiter, [maid / bowl]

Japanese Words

2 Here are some Japanese words from Botchan. Complete the sentences below with a Japanese word from the box. Use the Internet if you need to.

kimono • soba • rickshaw • sashimi • tatami • yen

1 I went home. I took off my suit, shirt and tie. I put on my ______. 2 What is ______? It’s a kind of Japanese noodles. Often in a soup. 3 This ______is very delicious. The slices of fish are very thin. 4 This sake is from Kyushu. It is expensive. A glass of sake is 20 ______. 5 I took a train from Tokyo to Kobe. Then I took a ______from the train station to the school. 6 The men sat on the ______in the restaurant. They listened to the geisha girls singing. 8 Bath House

3 In the evening, Botchan usually went to a traditional bath house. Here’s how to take a Japanese bath. Put the last five sentences in the right order. Enter the bath house and take off your shoes. Pay your money. Walk to the changing room and take off your clothes. Take a small towel and walk into the bath room. Sit down. Turn on the water. Wash yourself with warm water and soap. Wash off the soap carefully. Hang up your towel. Step into the large bath. The water is deep and hot. Sit in the bath quietly. Relax. Do not swim! Do not use any soap or shampoo in the bath!

[ Dry yourself. [ Get dressed. [ Walk home. [ Step out of the bath. [ Go back to the changing room. Writing

4 Read pages 106, 107 and 110, 111. Complete the information about Natsume Soseki.–

1867: Natsume ______Kinnosuke was born in Tokyo, Japan. 1884: He studied at ______. He learned how to write Japanese haiku poems. 1887: He started to write. He used the name Natsume Soseki.- 1895: Natsume became an ______at Matsuyama Middle School. 1900-1903: He lived in ______and studied English literature and language. Natsume was not happy, but he learned how to ride a ______. 1907: He became a ______. His stories were in the Asahi Shinbun every day. 9 Chapter One Botchan leaves Tokyo for Shikoku

2 I was a very strange child. I did too many bad things. Perhaps it was something in my family history. Once I jumped from the second floor of my school. I do not know why I did it. I hurt my leg. I was in bed for a week. My father was angry with me. Someone gave me a small knife. I showed some friends. ‘Your knife is not dangerous,’ said one boy. Not dangerous? I cut my hand! I remember the pain. Another day some friends and I went to some

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rice fields near our house. I put some rocks in the field to stop the water. Rice must have water. There was no water, so the rice died. The farmer was very angry. He came to our house. He told my mother and father about the rocks. They gave him some money. I was a bad son. My father did not like me very much. My father and mother always preferred my big brother. Mother often talked about my life after school. I did not like school. ‘You must study. You must work hard. A man must have a good job: a man needs money,’ she said. I was very young when she died. My brother studied English hard. He wanted to work in a company. He did not like me and I did not like him. We fought* every day. Once I cut his head. He told our father. Father was

fight (fought, fought) people hurt each other when they fight

11 natsume soseki-

angry with me. Father was always angry with me. Father decided not to give me money after he died. I did not like that! Kiyo, our old servant*, wanted to help me. She cried. She said sorry to my father for me. She asked him to give me some money. She helped me. Kiyo’s father was rich, but he lost all his money when the Meiji Era* started. Kiyo was our servant for many years. Old Kiyo loved me very much. I did not know why. Perhaps she loved me too much. My mother and father did not love me. I was nothing to them. Our neighbours* did not like me as I was a bully*. My Kiyo was different. Sometimes, when my parents and brother were not in the house, we talked.

servant man or woman who cleans, cooks and neighbours people living next door or very near helps in another family’s house bully a bad person who hurts others for no Meiji Era from 1868 to 1912 in Japan reason

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‘You are a good boy, Botchan,’ said Kiyo. That was a surprise. Nobody said good things about me! After my mother died, Kiyo’s love for me was important to me. Sometimes she bought me nice things. When the night was cold, she made hot noodles* for me in secret. She gave me some things to use at school. Our servant! She gave me things when my father and brother were not in the house. I did not like that. ‘Why do you give those things to me and not to my brother, too?’ I once asked Kiyo. Her answer was a surprise. ‘Your father gives him everything!’ Father died six years after mother. In April that year, I left school. Two months later, my brother finished business school. He was lucky.

noodles Japanese food, like spaghetti

13 natsume soseki-

He was quick to find a job, but it was in Kyushu*, far from Tokyo. He decided to move there. I decided to live in Tokyo to finish school. We had many old things in our house. They were my mother’s and father’s things and their families’ old things. Perhaps my brother got a lot of money for all those things, but I do not know. He never said anything to me. Kiyo was very sad when my brother decided to move to Kyushu. She liked our house. She wanted to be my servant. However, that was too expensive for me. I did not know what to say. Kiyo moved out of our house to live with her brother. We were both sad. It was time for my brother to go to Kyushu. He visited me in my new place. He gave me 600 yen*. I went to Shimbashi Station to say

Kyushu the third largest island of Japan yen Japanese money

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goodbye. I never saw him again after that. I decided to go to university for three years. I was a bad student. What did I want to study? And which university? One day, I saw a new school in Tokyo. They wanted more students. I decided to go there. For three years, I studied hard. I was never a very good student, but I finished. The head teacher of my school spoke to me. A high school in Shikoku* wanted a teacher of mathematics. It was only 40 yen a month! The head teacher asked me to go to Shikoku. I thought about it. I did not want to be a teacher. I did not want to move to an island far from Tokyo, but I did not have any work in Tokyo. I decided to move to Shikoku. Poor Kiyo! I could not take her to Shikoku with me.

Shikoku the fourth largest island of Japan

15 natsume soseki-

My new school was on an island very far from Tokyo. Shikoku is a big island, but it looked very small on the map. I knew nothing about it. Perhaps that was because it was very far from Tokyo. I went to see Kiyo in her brother’s house to say goodbye to her. She was in bed because she was not well. She got up when she knew it was me. ‘Kiyo, there is a job in Shikoku for a mathematics teacher,’ I said. ‘It is far from Tokyo and it does not pay much. However, I took it. I leave tomorrow.’ Kiyo was very sad. She wanted to be my servant in my new house. She came with me to Shimbashi station. We went there in rickshaws*. I looked at Kiyo from the train. She looked at me. ‘Goodbye,’ she said.

rickshaw Japanese two-wheel taxi for 1-2 people

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Her eyes were sad, but she did not cry. I wanted to cry because I was sad, too. After the train left the station, I put my head out of the window. Kiyo was there. She watched my train for a long time.

17 AFTER-READING ACTIVITIES

Stop & Check

1 Match each question with an answer. 1 [ Where did Botchan jump from? 2 [ How did he cut his hand? 3 [ Why did the rice die? 4 [ Did Botchan like his brother? 5 [ Who helped Botchan? 6 [ Where did his brother find work? 7 [ Why did his brother sell their mother’s things?

a Kiyo, his servant. b In Kyushu, far from Tokyo. c He moved and closed the family house. d With a knife. e No, they fought every day. f Botchan stopped the water. g The second floor of the school. Words

2 Match each word with a definition. The words are all in chapter 1. word definition 1 [c strange a worker, helper in your house 2 [ rice b long, thin food 3 [ job c odd 4 [ neighbour d work 5 [ noodles e someone who lives near your house 6 [ servant f we eat this plant 18 Grammar

3 Write the answers. Use the past tense.

1 Where did Botchan jump from? (jump / second floor) ______e.g. He jumped from the second floor of the school. 2 What did his mother and father give the farmer? (give / money) ______3 What did his mother talk about? (talk / life after school) ______4 What did his brother study? (study / English) ______5 Why didn’t the neighbours like Botchan? (be / bully) ______6 What did Kiyo make for Botchan? (make / noodles) ______7 What did the brother do with their mother’s things? (sell them) ______8 Where did Kiyo say goodbye to Botchan? (say / Shimbashi Station) ______Summary

4 Complete the summary of chapter 1. Choose the correct words.

1 Botchan was young when his mother [died / moved]. His [sister / father] did not love him. 2 Kiyo gave [nice / bad] things to Botchan because his father gave everything to the [servant / brother]. 3 His brother [found / ate] work far from Tokyo. He closed the house. 4 Kiyo [cleaned / moved] out of the house because Botchan did not have [noodles / money] for her. 5 Botchan [finished / studied] school. He took a [job / book] in a school on a big island. 19 FOCUS ON...

The London Years Voyage to London In the Meiji Era, the Japanese government sent many scholars and experts to several foreign countries. The government wanted them to return to Japan with new knowledge and information. They had a plan to make Japan become more equal and competitive with the West. Natsume Soseki- was a famous professor of English literature, so the government sent him to London in 1900 to study literature and the English language.

110 Tough Times Natsume’s time in London was not very happy. He had some serious health problems. English culture was very different from Japan’s. It was difficult for him to communicate with the people in his life. His government scholarship was too low to study at Cambridge University.

Soseki- Museum in London Good Times Natsume took a long train journey to visit Pitlochry in the north of Scotland. He enjoyed his time in Scotland. He also learned how to ride a bicycle in London. He wrote about his experience in his 1905 essay, Bicycle Diary. He bought hundreds of books and sent them all back to Tokyo. He used them for research and teaching his classes at Tokyo University. Now they are all in Tohoku University in Sendai.

The British Influence Natsume learned about the English language, British culture and society. This influenced how he thought and wrote when he returned to Japan. His London years helped him become one of Japan’s greatest authors. He wrote novels, poetry, haiku, essays and short stories. They are still very popular in Japan. Today Natsume’s works continue to influence new writers. Soseki- Museum in London

111 Syllabus

Nouns Verbs Abstract, concrete, animate, Affirmative, Negative, inanimate, collective, common, Interrogative, Infinitives, proper nouns, countable, regular and common irregular uncountable. verbs, Present Simple, Present Continuous with Pronouns present meaning, Simple past, Interrogative who, what; Imperative. Indefinite someone, something, Modal verbs can, have to, must. everything, anything, nothing. Adverbs Quantifiers Frequency, manner. All, a lot of, some/any, more. Type of clause Adjectives Simple one-clause sentences; Demonstrative, possessive, two clauses joined with and, but qualifying. or or. Time clauses introduced by when, before, after. Prepositions Place (Position and Direction), Time.

YOUNG ADULT READERS

STAGE 1 Jonathan Swift, Gulliver's Travels STAGE 4 James Joyce, Dubliners Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, The Hound of the Baskervilles Mary Shelley, Frankenstein Henry James, The Turn of the Screw STAGE 2 Charles Dickens, Great Expectations Emily Brontë, Wuthering Heights William Shakespeare, Romeo and Juliet Edgar Allan Poe, Stories of Mystery and Suspense Bram Stoker, Dracula Charles and Mary Lamb, Tales from Shakespeare William Shakespeare, A Midsummer Night’s Dream Charles Dickens, A Tale of two Cities Robert Louis Stevenson, The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde Anthony Hope, The Prisoner of Zenda

STAGE 3 Charlotte Brontë, Jane Eyre STAGE 5 Virginia Woolf, Mrs Dalloway Jane Austen, Pride and Prejudice Francis Scott Fitzgerald, The Great Gatsby Oscar Wilde, The Picture of Dorian Gray William Shakespeare, Macbeth STAGE 6 Joseph Conrad, Heart of Darkness Jane Austen, Sense and Sensibility J. Borsbey & R. Swan, Editors, A Collection of First World War Poetry Oscar Wilde, The Importance of Being Earnest

LIGHT

Edgar Allan Poe, The Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym of Nantucket Natsume Soseki,– Botchan YOUNG ADULT READERS LIGHT Natsume Soseki– Eli Readers is a beautifully-illustrated series of timeless classics and specially-written stories for learners of English. Botchan Natsume S

Natsume Soseki– oseki Botchan Botchan -

In this reader you will find: - Information about Natsume Soseki– - Focus on sections - Glossary of difficult words - Comprehension and extension activities

Tags Classic literature Y O U N G A DUL A1 Up to 600 headwords Word count: 9450

Classic Full text on CD www.elireaders.com T ELI RE A DERS | L I GH

YOUNG ADULT ELI READERS LIGHT

ISBN 978-88-536-1588-6ELI s.r.l. Botchan E www.elireaders.com L T ELT YOUNG ADULT READERS LIGHT A 1 A1