The Great Plague

Материалы могут быть использованы в 9 классе при изучении темы Healthy Lifestyle (Unit 3).

What does the favourite children’s game of A Ring a Ring o’Roses have in common with such a terrible disease as the plague? Let’s investigate.

1. First make sure that you know the following vocabulary:

Disease Sign Plague Cough Sufferer Dead Case Spread Fight Dirty Rats Survive Deadly

If you don’t, learn the words:

2. Now listen and remember.

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3. How much dо you remember? Read the text. Fill in the missing words.

The Great Plague

In England, many children enjoy playing the game of Ring a ring o’ roses. They stand in a circle and then skip around, singing the song until the last line, when they all fall down. Where does this song come from?
Many people believe that the song is about the Great Plague of London, in 1665, when about 100,000 people died from a mysterious disease. The roses refer to the rosy rash which was
the first sign that someone had the disease. To hide the smell of the plague, people filled their pockets with flowers and this is the meaning behind the second line. Later, sufferers of the disease would cough and sneeze, making an «Ah-tishoo!» sound, before the end finally came and they fell down dead.
The first recorded case of the plague was on April 12, 1665, but by July of that year it had spread through London. By September, 7,000 people were dying every week and many
chose to leave London. A small number of doctors stayed to fight the plague, but nobody knew that rats were carrying the disease around the city’s dirty streets.
The plague continued in London until September, 1666, when the Great Fire of London burned down many of the streets where the rats lived.
Afterwards, Sir Christopher Wren designed clean streets for London and the plague didn’t return. London survived both disasters and today only the words of a children’s song remind us of the deadly disease.

4. Read the text again and speak about the Great Plague of London. Try to use as many words on the topic Health as possible.