SECTION 1 THE PARANORMAL

UNIT 3 GHOSTS

PART ONE

A. TEXT

Are you sure you've never seen a ghost?

Whose ghost did the writer of this article see?

What sort of people see ghosts?

I have seen a ghost. I wasn't sure at the

time, but I am now. At the time, I didn't dare
tell anyone about my experience; now I try to
bring up the subject of ghosts when I meet
new people. Two out of three tell me that
they have also seen one.

The chances are, then, that you have seen

one, too-or you are going to. And women, I
have found, are more likely than men to
become aware of ghosts, or 'presences'.
Perhaps it is because women have stronger
emotional relationships with people- friends,
parents, children, husbands.

Where there have been strong feelings-of

love or hate- between two people, or where the dead person feels that he or see has left
something undone, then sprits certainly can and do try to reach the living. This happens more
often than people realize. The link is love, a wish to comfort and help, to advise and console.
There are, of course, cases where the link is hate, but these are few.

Often people do not mention these supernatural events to anyone, because they are afraid
that their friends and family will laugh at them.

It is quite common for people who are going through a difficult period of life to become
aware of something strange close by. A presence can be seen, sensed, at times felt and
occasionally herd; it is rather like being aware of shadow. It can bring comfort, help and
sometimes telepathic advice.

When my own mother died, may times I had the definite feeling that she was standing
beside me, walking across the park, and there in her home or mine. Sometimes people have
only a vague feeling; one of my friends told me." Well, yes, something strange did happen
and still does from time to time" Sometimes the feelings are more positive:' I feel Mother near
me everyday" or " Whenever I'm in difficulties I can feel my mother near and I feel better".

Children see nothing unusual in these happenings, so they can talk freely and openly about
them. My own mother died in hospital. I was staying at my parents' home at the time with my
two children. The day after her death, I was helping my small sons to dress, when the seven-
year-old turned me and said: " Are you sure Nanna is dead, Mummy? " Yes, dear, why?" I
said. " Well, Nanna came in to kiss us goodnight last night, just like she always does" I
thought they were joking, but I could see that they were both completely serious. Both had
seen the ghost.

And a churchman recently stated that when he was four he saw the ghost of his
grandmother. At the time he had not even known that his grandmother was dead. He had
said:" I saw Grand last night. She came in and kissed me goodnight, and walked around the
bed and then she went. But she did look funny, She was wearing a white sheet."

For many years I was not able to talk about my experiences. Then I began to understand.
After years of disbelief, I learnt that love never dies. A ghost is nothing to be afraid of, accept
it. It is just part of the dead person's love.

B. EXPLANATIONS

bring up [v]
: nêu ra; đưa ra
These are matters that you can bring up
: Đây là những vấn đề bạn có thể nêu ra ở ủy ban.
in committee.
the chances are ... : có khả năng là ...
"presences" [n] : sự hiện ra của ma
spirit [n] : linh hồn; hồn ma
supernatural [adj] : siêu nhiên

C. FACTS AND OPINION

Which of these statements are facts (F) (sự kiện), which are the writer's opinions or
speculations (O) (ý kiến hoặc sự suy diễn)?

Note: There is no room for discussion as to whether the statements are facts or
opinions. This depends on whether you believe in ghosts and/or in what the writer says.

a. I have seen two ghosts

b. Two out of three people tell me that they have also seen one
c. Women are more likely than men to be aware of ghosts
d. Perhaps it is because women have stronger emotional relationships with
people
e. Often people do not these supernatural events
 f. It (a presence) can bring comfort, help and sometimes telepathic advice.
g. I had the definite feeling that she (my mother) was standing there
h. Children see nothing unusual in these happenings
i. My mother died in hospital
j. It (a ghost) is just part of a dead person's love

Answer Key

D. WORD CHECK

1. Opposite or same

Here are pairs of words from the text. Do they have the same meaning (S) , a similar
meaning (SI), are they opposites (O), or are they unrelated (không liên hệ) to each other
(U)?
a. dead/living
b. love/hate
c. (to) comfort/(to) help
d. (to) advise/(to) console
e. vague/definite
f. joking/serious
g. presence/ghost
h. events/happenings
i. freely/openly

Answer Key

2. Word families: Find words in the text related to these words

verb noun adjective

a x present
b x emotion
c feel x
d live x
e comfortable
f definite
g consolation x
h believe x
i advisory
 Answer Key

3. Verbs and nouns

Use your dictionary to check the differences in meaning and/or pronunciation between
the noun and verb forms of these words:

noun:
a. subject
verb:
noun:
b. comfort
verb:
noun:
c. console
verb:
noun:
d. shadow
verb:
noun:
e. state
verb:

Answer Key

PART TWO

A. TEXT

What did these ghosts have in common when they are alive?

The Stately Ghosts of England

Ghosts, apparently, can belong to all social classes, and can appear in every type type of
building from ordinary houses to palaces. There are even supposed to be Royal ghosts. People
say that the sprits of King Henry VIII( 1491-1547) and Queen Elizabeth I (1533-1603) haunt
Windsor Castle, and that the ghost of Catherine Howard, the fifth wife of Henry VIII, runs
along the haunted gallery at Hampton Court. Henry had Catherine beheaded in 1542.

Burnt at the stake

Glamis Castle in Scotland, the early home of the present Queen Mother and the birthplace
of Princes Margaret (the Queen's sister), has two ghosts. One is Jane Douglas, who died at the
stake in the 16th century for helping to murder King James V. The other is sprit of Earl
Baerdie, who lost a bet with the Devil.
Kensington Palace
Kensington Palace in London is another stately home that is supposed to have strange
visitations. In this case the ghost is that of Caroline of Brunswick, the wife of George Prince
of Wales in the early 19th century. This poor woman suffered terribly at the hands of her
husband during the whole of their married life. He even refused to allow her to be at his
Coronation in1821, when he became king. A fortnight later she died at Kensington, but people
say that her unhappy ghost still wanders around the Palace, 'a cold, grey figure in the fashion
of her time".

The Brown Lady

Another unhappy lady is the " Brown
Lady" of Raynham Hall, Dorothy Walpole,
sister of Sir Robert Walpole, an 18th
century British Prime Minister. Her
husband led a dog's life, and even prevented
her from seeing her own children, whom
she loved passionately. One man who
actually saw her was Captain Marryat, a
writer. He did not believe in ghosts and
once, when he was staying at Raynham
Hall, he volunteered to sleep in the haunted
room. Before he went to bed he was talking
to friends about the guns they were going to use on a shoot the next day. On his way back to
the bedroom he met the ' Brown Lady". He shot at her with pistol, only to see the bullet go
straight through her and hit a door.

Through the rope

Osborne House on the Isle of Wight was one of Queen Victoria's homes. In August 1966 a
tourist was talking round Osborne when he came to a staircase with a rope across it. Just then,
a little girl in an old-fashioned dress skipped along and up the stairs, without going under the
rope or unfastening it.

B. EXPLANATIONS

stately [adj] :trang nghiêm, oai vệ

suppose [v] : cho là, tin là
There are even supposed to be royal ghosts : Người ta còn tin là có cả ma hoàng tộc
haunt [v] : (về ma) hay lui tới
behead [v] : chém đầu
stake [n] : cây cọc, cây cột
be burnt at the stake : bị thiêu chết khi đã bị trói vào cọc
bet [n] : việc cá độ
win/lose a bet : thắng/thua độ
visitation [n] : cuộc viếng thăm
coronation [n] : lễ đăng quang
: khiến ai phải sống khốn khổ (sống khổ như
lead sb a dog's life
chó)

C. FACT CHECK

Complete this chart with facts about the stately ghosts

Paragraph Burnt at the Kengsinton The Brown Through the

one stake Palace Lady rope
a. How many ghosts are there?
b. What is/are the name(s) of
the ghost(s)?
c. What place(s) does/do the
ghost(s) haunt?
d. When did the ghost(s) die?
e. How did the ghost(s) die?

Answer Key

D. WORD CHECK

1. Fact or fiction: Why does the writer use the underlined words in these sentences?

a. There are even supposed to be Royal ghosts ... (line 2)

b. People say that the spirits .... (line 3)
c. ... another stately home that is supposed to have strange ... (line 10)
d. ... but people say that her unhappy ... (line 15)

2. Ghost words: What is the meaning of these words?

a. to haunt
b. haunted
c. the spirit
d. strange visitations

Answer Key

E. LINK CHECK

Which words and which ideas link these paragraphs?

1. "Burnt at the stake" and "Kensington palace"

2. "Kensington Palace" and "The Brown Lady"

Answer Key

F. EXERCISES

Click here to view the exercises for Section 1 - Unit 3

G. UNIT ASSIGNMENT

You're supposed to finish and submit this assignment. Click here to view Unit
Assignment 1.