$  Reading Exercise 1:  top

Throughout the world, Valentine’s Day is celebrated on February 14^th. Chocolate is by far the most popular gift ________among couples.  Why do people associate chocolate with love and happiness?  One of the most pleasant ________of eating chocolate is the “good feeling” that many people experience after indulging.  The average piece of chocolate contains over 300 chemicals, many of which stimulate the brain and create a feeling of “happiness” and “tranquility”.

Chocolate is a product of the cacao tree.  This tree requires the warm, moist climate that is found only near the equator.  No one knows exactly when chocolate was first ________, but we do know that the cacao trees were first harvested as long as three or four thousand years ago.

Cocoa beans are harvested from these trees.  These brown beans have a bitter taste. The cocoa beans were known to the Olmec people as early as 400 B.C. and later to the Mayans, the Aztecs and the Toltecs in what is now Mexico.   These cultures discovered that by grinding the beans into a paste, adding water (to thin the paste), honey (to sweeten it), chillies (to spice it) and beating the mixture into a froth, they had a refreshing and stimulating drink that they named xocolatl (pronounced shoco-latle).

Although “drinking” chocolate was a well-established activity by the end of the nineteenth century, very few people ate chocolate because of its bitter taste and uneven texture.  Daniel Peter, famed Swiss chocolatier, was  inspired to try to improve the smoothness and taste of the new candy. Peter's idea was to ________some other ingredient with  chocolate to balance its rough flavour.  Naturally, his first  thought was, "What does Switzerland have a lot of that  I could use to process with chocolate?"  His answer:  Cheese!  The resulting experiment, as you might guess, was  very  ________! Eventually, milk and sugar were added to the candy to create the chocolate we know today. 

(PART ONE)    Instructions:  Replace the following missing words in the text:  

             invented        combine       effects     unsuccessful          exchanged  

(PART TWO)   Instructions: “Dictionary Work”    Use your dictionary to answer the following questions.

1.  What does the word tranquility (in the 1^st paragraph) mean? 

__________________________________________________________________________

2.      Which word is not a synonym for the word tranquility ?

 calm                 harmony                      turmoil               peacefulness

(PART THREE)    

3.      Why was “honey” first added to cocoa beans?  ________________________________ 

4.  Is “cheese” still used today in the making of chocolate?  ___________________________    

5.  The article mentions that “chocolate” is a popular Valentine’s Day gift.   What are some examples of other gifts that are exchanged among sweethearts on Valentine’s Day? 

__________________________________________________________________________ 

4  Grammar Exercise:   top
 Instructions:  Select the correct verb tense.

1.  Valentine’s Day is/was celebrated on February 14^th.

2.  Valentine’s Day was/has been celebrated since the 5^th Century.

3.  Every year, people throughout the world give/gave their sweethearts candy and flowers.

4.  This first Valentine’s Day car is/was sent almost 600 years ago.

5.  Hundreds of years ago in England, many children dress/dressed up as adults on Valentine's Day. They went singing from home to home.

6.  In Europe, wooden love spoons were carved/carving and given as gifts on February 14th.  Hearts, keys and keyholes was/were favourite decorations on the spoons. The decoration meant, "You unlock my heart!"

7.  In the Middle Ages, young men and women select/selected names from a bowl to see who their valentines would be. They would wear these names on their sleeves for one week. To wear your heart on your sleeve now means/meant that it is easy for other people to know how you are feeling.

8.  In some countries, a young woman may receive/received a gift of clothing from a young man. If she keeps the gift, it means she will marry/married him.

9.  A sofa is/are a couch; and a couch is/are a chesterfield. A love seat is/are a wide chair. The love seat, or courting seat,  has/had two sections so a romantic couple can sit together -- but not too closely!

10.  There is an old belief that if you cut an apple in half and count how many seeds are inside, you will also know how many children you had/will have.

11.  For many centuries, Cupid is/has been  known as a mischievous, winged child, whose arrows who would pierce the hearts of his victims causing them to fall deeply in love.

12.  Commercial valentines are/were first made in the early 1800's. Kate Greenway, a British artist, is/was one of the leading makers of valentines. Her valentines are/were still famous today.

13.  Casanova's name is/was synonymous with amorous adventure.

14.  From the moment it begins/begun beating until the moment it stops, the human heart works tirelessly. In an average lifetime, the heart beats/beat more than two and a half billion times, without ever pausing to rest. Like a pumping machine, the heart provides/provided the power we all need for life.

15. A romantic is/are someone who is/are perceptive of his/her sweetheart’s needs and take/takes the time to show it. It may be a simple kiss on the check, a  well-timed "I Love You" or a helping hand--all signs that you care about that special someone.                                                             

O Pronunciation   /I/  &  /i/  top

Person One Worksheet

(PART A)  Instructions:   Listen to your teacher and circle the words that you hear.  When you are finished, practice these words with your partner.

seat  …  sit

eat  …  it

each  …  itch

feet  …  fit

green  …  grin

sheep  …  ship

leaving  …  living

feel  …  fill

heel  …  hill

 

(PART B)  Instructions:    Alternate with your partner reading the following sentences and circling the word that you hear. 

1.  Anna is sleeping/slipping.

2.  Is Cupid leaving/living?

3.  Did he fill/feel it?

4.  I see another sheep/ship.

$  Reading Exercise 2:  top

The History of Valentine’s Day

_________the world, Valentine's Day is celebrated on February 14^th.  Although it is celebrated as a lovers' holiday today, with the _________of candy, flowers, or other gifts between couples in love, the holiday originated in 5^th Century Rome as a tribute to St. Valentine, a Catholic bishop.

Prior to the establishment of Valentine's Day, the Romans had practiced a pagan _________in mid-February _________young men's rite of passage to the god Lupercus. The celebration featured a lottery in which a young man would select a piece of paper from a box that held the name of one of the village women. This couple would be united as companions for the coming year.

In an effort to  improve the morality of this pagan festival, Pope Gelasius ordered a slight change in the lottery. Instead of the names of young women, the box would contain the names of saints. Both men and women were allowed to select from the box, and the goal was to emulate the ways of the saint they drew, during the rest of the year. Instead of the pagan god Lupercus, the festival now honoured the patron saint of love “Valentine”.

At the time of Valentine.  The emperor Claudius had determined that married men made poor soldiers; so he banned marriage from his empire. Valentine disapproved of this and he would _________marry young couples that came to him. When Claudius found out about Valentine, he was stoned and beheaded.

During the days that Valentine was imprisoned, he fell in love with the blind daughter of his jailer. His love for her, and his great faith, managed to miraculously heal her from her blindness. Before he was taken to his death, he signed a farewell _________to her, "From your Valentine." The phrase has been used on his day ever since.

The tradition of  Valentine cards originated from this practice. The first Valentine card was sent in 1415 by Charles, duke of Orleans, to his wife. He was imprisoned in the Tower of London at the time. Cupid, another _________  of the holiday, became associated with it because he  was the son of Venus, the Roman god of love and beauty. Cupid often appears on Valentine cards.

(PART A)  Instructions:   Replace the following missing words in the text: 

  symbol     celebration    secretly     giving   message     commemorating      throughout

(PART B)  Instructions:  Find a synonym in the text for each of the following:

celebration   ___________________                  ethics     __________________________

in jail    ___________________                          female spouse   ____________________

(PART C)   Instructions:   Answer the following questions True (T)  or   False (F)

1.  Charles’ wife was imprisoned in the Tower of London.    True    False 

2.  Valentine’s Day is celebrated in many countries around the world.   True    False 

3.  The emperor Claudius believed that married men never had any money.  True    False 

4.  Prior to the establishment of Valentine’s Day, village women lived in boxes.  True    False 

4.      Cupid, flowers and the giving of candy are associated with modern Valentine’s Day.  True    False    

4  Grammar Exercise 2:    Phrasal Verbs  top

(PART A)  Instructions:   Complete the sentences with the following phrasal verbs: 

ask out         give out       get along        cheer up         pick out

1.   Valentine’s Day is associated with love and peace, so everyone tries to _______________.

2.   I spent a lot of time in the store trying to _______________ the perfect gift for my sweetheart.

3.   In elementary school, children often _______________ Valentines to all their friends in the class.

4.   Hector feels nervous because he wants to _______  Laura ________ on a date. 

5.   Recently you have looked so sad; so I hope these dozen roses _________ you ________.

(PART B)  Instructions:   Match the phrasal verb in Column One with the correct association in Column Two.

Column One    “Phrasals”

ask out

break up

look up

give out

take after

Column Two    “Associations”

appearance

former boyfriend/girlfriend

a date (romantic)

information

Valentine’s Day cards