Reading and Speaking activity
The activity for the first week of June is related to a cartoons character: Garfield!
1. Read carefully this passage about
the creator of Garfield.
Jim Davis is a great artist. He
created "Garfield" in 1978. Jim was born in the state of Indiana in the
U.S.A. where he lived on a farm with his parents, a brother and twenty-five
cats. As a child, Jim had to stay in bed for long periods because he had
asthma. He started drawing then.
Later on, he studied at Ball State University
and he met Carolyn, his first wife. They have one son called James. They didn’t
have any cats because Carolyn was allergic to them. Unfortunately they divorced
after some time and Jim married his second wife, Jill. With Jill the family
expanded – they have 2 children, 3 grandchildren, 2 cats and a dog. They all
live in Indiana.
Many people read "Garfield" every day
and Jim won many awards in 1981, 1985 and 1989. Now Jim enjoys playing golf and
chess. He can play chess brilliantly. He likes fishing, too.
2. Based on the information above
answer the following questions:
a. How old is Garfield now?
b. When did Jim Davis start drawing?
c. Did Jim and Carolyn have any cats?
d. How many pets does Jim have nowadays?
e. According to the text what are Jim’s hobbies?
3. Imagine you are a journalist and are going to
interview Jim Davis, complete these questions to ask him and add some more. You
can do this in couples so that you can present this interview on
class.
Journalist: ________________________________some
questions?
Jim Davis: yes, of course you can.
J:
__________________________________________________?
Jim D.: No, I hate Mondays. That is why Garfield hates them too…
J: __________________________________________________?
Jim D.: Well, yes, Garfield represents me in many
aspects. However, we are very different in some things.
J: __________________________________________________?
Jim D.: No, I have never been to Uruguay but perhaps
in the future I may go.
J: __________________________________________________?
Jim D.: Yes, I’m going to create a new character
soon.
J: Ok, thank you very much for your time!!
Jim D.: You’re welcome.





