THE FAN

Hola hola familia hoy les traigo una lectura super buena con un tema bastante interesante! .. Sabían que en la época antigua las mujeres usaban los abanicos para comunicarse con los hombres ya que no se les permitía hablar con ellos?? … De eso se trata esta lectura. Espero que la disfruten mientras practican el Reading y el Listening. Para practicar el Speaking lean en voz alta la lectura repitiendo después de mi. 😀 … El vocabulario esta en la parte de abajo de la lectura!

In the eighteenth century, it was not easy⁽¹⁾ for a young woman to talk to a man. Social convetions⁽²⁾ were very estrict and a young woman was usually accompained be her parents or a governess⁽³⁾.

Then came the fan⁽⁴⁾. At the begining, it was a simple instrument to keep⁽⁵⁾ flies away⁽⁶⁾. But with time, it became a means of comunication⁽⁷⁾ between a woman and her admirer. For example, when a woman touched her left cheek⁽⁸⁾ with a closed fan, it meant No!, when she touched her right cheek, that meant Yes!, when she touched her nose, it meant "I don´t trust⁽⁹⁾ you". And when she touched her forehead⁽¹⁰⁾, it meant "You are crazy".

There were two ways to say "I love you": by hiding⁽¹¹⁾ her eyes behind an open fan, or by pointing⁽¹²⁾ to her heart with the tip⁽¹³⁾ of a closed fan (but she had to hold it horizontally).

For the admirer, the two worst gestures were a yawn⁽¹⁴⁾ behind an open fan, it meant "You are boring" and an open fan in the right hand pointing towards⁽¹⁵⁾ the ground⁽¹⁶⁾, that meant "I hate you".

VOCABULARY:

1. Easy: Fácil.
2. Convention: Convensión, asamblea.
3. Governess: Institutriz.
4. Fan: Abanico.
5. Keep: Mantener.
6. Away: Lejos.
7. Means of comunication: Medio de comunicación.
8. Cheek: Mejilla.
9. Trust: Confiar
10. Forehead: Frente.
11. Hiding: Escondiendo.
12. By pointing: Señalando
13. Tip: Punta.
14. Yawn: Bostezo.
15. Towards: Hacia.
16. Ground: Piso.