154 Unit 12 The future of … ev5kk8 In this unit you will: think about what makes you happy make plans for your future laugh about bold predictions travel in time Read the poem and answer the questions below. READING + SPEAKING 1 Past, present, future by Emily Brontë Tell me, tell me, smiling child, What the past is like to thee1? ‘An autumn evening soft and mild With a wind that sighs mournfully2.’ Tell me, what is the present hour? ‘A green and flowery spray3 Where a young bird sits gathering its power To mount and fly away.’ And what is the future, happy one? ‘A sea beneath a cloudless sun; A mighty, glorious, dazzling sea Stretching into infinity4.’ By the way: Emily Brontë (1818–1848) was an English novelist and poet famous for her one novel, Wuthering Heights. 1 thee: dich 2 to sigh mournfully: traurig seufzen 3 flowery spray: blühender Zweig 4 infinity: Unendlichkeit 1 In this poem, two people are talking: the poet and a “smiling child”. How old do you think the child is? 2 What images are used for the past, the present and the future? 3 What do you associate with the past, the present and the future? Think of your own pictures. 4 Make a list of all the adjectives and adverbs that are used in the poem. Overall, are they positive or negative words? Which time span is characterised as most positive, which as most negative? Do you agree with this? Nur zu Prüfzwecken – Eigentum des Verlags öbv
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