Congratulations for reaching Year 4 of your American English studies. This year we will read numerous American short stories to build listening and reading comprehension skills. Please pay close attention to each American short story assigned here and share your insights and what you’ve learned in the comments section below.
Directions: Listen and read each short story and then share what you learned in the comments section below.
Lesson 4.1.4: Lesson 1 -American short Story.
” The Gift of Magi’. written by Henry.
The gift of Magi is touching tale with moral lesson about giving gifts. The story is about young couple who has little money but wants to give each other Christmas gift. On Christmas Eve, a young woman named Della Dillingham Young known as Della found that she has only $I and 87 cents to buy a present for her husband James also known as Jim. Despite poor the couple loves extremely each other Both of them possess two valuable items as treasure. The young lady Della has knee length brown hair and Jim has gold pocket watch, which his father gave him. Jim always put his watch in his pocket whenever he wants to check the time, he takes out his watch out from his pocket and makes sure that no one is watching him.
Della thinks and thinks, during thinking, she cries too. Suddenly, Della gets up and changes her dress. She gets out of her house and visits the nearby shop of wig market. The owner of the shop is, Madam Sofronia sees her beautiful long brown hair, without wasting any time Madam buys her hair for $20. Della then uses the money to buy a gold chain for Jims’s watch, which he always attachés with a leather strap. When Jim comes home from work that evening, Della tells him that she sold her hair to buy him to chain for his watch. Jim also gives Della hers present, a set of her favort golden comb, which she will be unable to use until her hair grows back again. How far they went to show their love for each other even they did not bother to get rid of and sacrifices their valuable, material possessions.
The story teaches us that material possessions are fleeting but genuine love and sacrifices endure.