THE ARROW AND THE SONG

I shot an arrow into the air,

It fell to earth, I knew not where,

For, so swiftly it flew, the sight

Could not follow it in its flight.

I breathed a song into the air,

It fell to earth, I knew not where;

For who has sight so keen and strong,

That it can follow the flight of a song?

Long, long afterward, in an oak,

I found the arrow, still unbroke;

And the song, from beginning to end,

I found again in the heart of a friend.

Henry W. Longfellow

ENGLISH SPELLING

When the ENGLISH tongue we speak

Why is break not rhymed with freak?

Will you tell me why it's true

We say sew but likewise few?

And the maker of a verse

Cannot cap his horse with worse.

Beard sounds not the same as heard,

Lord is different from word.

Cow is cow, but low is low;

Shoe is never rhymed with foe

Think of hose and close and lose.

And of goose - and yet of choose.

Think of comb and tomb and bomb

Doll and roll, and home and some;

And, since pay is rhymed with say.

Why not paid with said. I pray?

We have blood and food and good;

Mould is not pronounced like could.

Wherefore done, but gone and lone?

Is there any reason known?

And in short, it seems to me

Sounds and letters disagree.

Activity 1. Which word doesn’t rhyme with the other three?

catch match thatch

slow know now grow

but put cut cup

worry hurry barrow sorry

our four hour sour

does goes toes hoes

quite guilt guile guide

seat meat read great

higher hire hitch hired

worm word worthy wore

monkey donkey money monk

dull null full sully

mean dean meant deal

raid trade red grade

pull full bull dull

fast waste past last

sight sit side sidle

by die din buy

most ghost frost host

some home mom come

found round ground soul

group proud soup could

owl bowl bow own

brown crow crown down

sow row saw know

steak head dead bread

hear heard her hurt

tough enough fought rough

blithely bridge bright bride

island ice Iceland iced

knight night knit knife

 

Activity 2. Which word doesn’t rhyme with the other words?

1. blown grown stone sewn lone

 

2. over clover Dover drover lover

3. smile style while vile aisle veil

4. hard cart stared barred starred charred

5. could good hood stood would flood

6. tough dough rough puff gruff bluff

7. stud mud bud blood wood thud

8. speak shriek cheek break deep scene

9. pier brier dear deer here weir

10. love glove dove move above

 

Activity 3. The words on the left are all irregular verbs in the past.

---

Date: 2015-12-18; view: 1421

---

<== previous page	|	next page ==>
Little Red Riding Hood and the Wolf.	|	Read the words and explain the reading rules.