Comprensión lectora: Lee el texto y contest alas preguntas J. R. R. Tolkien – short life story John Ronald Reuel Tolkien was a famous British writer. He is best known for his fantasy books The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings. Tolkien was born on 3 rd January 1892, in South Africa. When he was four years old, the family moved to England. In 1900, his mother became a Roman Catholic and four years later, when his mother died, Tolkien was taken care of by a Catholic priest. He attended King Edward’s School in Birmingham and then Exeter College, Oxford. He was very good at languages. He studied not only Latin and Greek, but also Gothic and Finnish. He studied Anglo-Saxon (Old English), Germanic languages and classic literature. Tolkien met his future wife when she was 16 years old. As Edith was a Protestant and Tolkien Catholic, it was forbidden to see each other. When he was 21, Tolkien stated his love to Edith, who was then engaged to another man. But she broke her engagement and the couple remained together until their deaths, for 55 years. She was the inspiration for the character of Lúthien (the most beautiful elf princess that has ever lived). In the same year they married, he was sent to war to the Western Front. Soon he became ill and was sent back to England. After the war, Tolkien taught English language and literature at the University of Leeds. Later he became a professor at Oxford University. There he started a writing group called The Inklings. One of the members of this group was C.S. Lewis (‘The Chronicles of Narnia’), who became one of Tolkien’s closest friends. They shared great enthusiasm for the myths, sagas, and languages of northern Europe. Over the course of his life he invented several languages, such as „Elvish“, „Dwarvish“, „Entish“ and „Black Speech“, purely for fun.
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Comprensión lectora: Lee el texto y contest alas preguntas
J. R. R. Tolkien – short life storyJohn Ronald Reuel Tolkien was a famous British writer. He is best known for his fantasy books The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings.Tolkien was born on 3rd January 1892, in South Africa. When he was four years old, the family moved to England. In 1900, his mother became a Roman Catholic and four years later, when his mother died, Tolkien was taken care of by a Catholic priest. He attended King Edward’s School in Birmingham and then Exeter College, Oxford. He
was very good at languages. He studied not only Latin and Greek, but also Gothic and Finnish. He studied Anglo-Saxon (Old English), Germanic languages and classic literature.Tolkien met his future wife when she was 16 years old. As Edith was a Protestant and Tolkien Catholic, it was forbidden to see each other. When he was 21, Tolkien stated his love to Edith, who was then engaged to another man. But she broke her engagement and the couple remained together until their deaths, for 55 years. She was the inspiration for the character of Lúthien (the most beautiful elf princess that has ever lived).In the same year they married, he was sent to war to the Western Front. Soon he became ill and was sent back to England. After the war, Tolkien taught English language and literature at the University of Leeds. Later he became a professor at Oxford University. There he started a writing group called The Inklings. One of the members of this group was C.S. Lewis (‘The Chronicles of Narnia’), who became one of Tolkien’s
closest friends. They shared great enthusiasm for the myths, sagas, and languages of northern Europe. Over the course of his life he invented several languages, such as „Elvish“, „Dwarvish“, „Entish“ and „Black Speech“, purely for fun.
In summer 1930 he saw a blank piece of paper on his desk. Suddenly inspiration came and he wrote the first sentence of The Hobbit: “In a hole in the ground there lived a hobbit“. In 1937, Professor Tolkien published The Hobbit, with his own drawings. He wrote it as bedtime stories for his own children. The book became immediately successful and the publisher asked Tolkien if he had more material. It took him seventeen years to publish The Lord of the Rings, in 1954. The Lord of the Rings was written for older children, the same audience who had grown up since The Hobbit was published. As it was quite a big story it had to be published in three parts. It became a global bestseller at once.
J. R. R. Tolkien died from a stomach ulcer on 2nd September 1973, at the age of 81.
His son Christopher later edited several works that weren't completed.
A film version of The Lord of the Rings by New Zealand director Peter Jackson, released in three parts (2001–03) achieved worldwide critical and financial success. The films won 17 Academy Award nominations, and The Return of the King (the 3rd part) holds the record for most Oscars ever.The Return of the King is also the only fantasy film to have won the Academy Award for Best Picture (best film).Jackson then also adapted The Hobbit as a trilogy (2012-14) with three Academy Award nominations which also became a hit among the Tolkien’s fans worldwide.
a) Read the text and answer the following questions. (Contesta las preguntas)
1 Where was J. R. R. Tolkien born? _________________________________________________________________
2 What did Tolkien study at Oxford? _________________________________________________________________
3 Who was the inspiration for the character of Lúthien?_________________________________________________________________4 Where did Tolkien became a professor and started teaching?
_________________________________________________________________5 What was the name of the writing group that Tolkien started?_________________________________________________________________6 Why did he start to write a story about a hobbit?
_________________________________________________________________7 Who adapted The Lord of the Rings into a trio of films?
