Part 1: Reading

HOBBITS, DWARVES AND RINGS – THE WORLD OF J.R.R. TOLKIEN

TASK 1

Read the text Over Hill and Under Hill. Are sentences 1 – 9 ‘True’ (T) or ‘False’ (F)? Choose ‘Not in the text’ (N) if there is not enough information to answer ‘True’ or ‘False’.

Tick (✓) the correct answer.

		T	F	N
1	Bilbo watched dwarves throwing stones at each other.			
2	Gandalf found a better place to stay for the night.			
3	It was impossible to get the ponies into the cave with their saddles on.			
4	Gandalf prevented the dwarves from making fire.			
5	Some dwarves wanted to buy tools with their part of the treasure.			
6	Bilbo had a hard time falling asleep.			
7	The goblins came out of a crack in the floor of the cave.			
8	The group of goblins was about the size of the group of dwarves.			
9	During the attack the wizard was separated from his companions.			

9 P.

TASK 2

Look at text 1, Over Hill and Under Hill. Six sentences have been removed from the text. Choose the correct gap (1 – 8) in the text for each of the sentences below (A – F).

Write the correct number of the gap behind each sentence. Be careful: There are two gaps which you do not need to use.

		Number
A	At the end of their talk, they dropped off to sleep one by one.
B	Neither the friends nor the goblins had any idea of that, and the goblins did not wait to find out.
C	By its light they explored the place from end to end.
D	There they stood, mighty glad of the change, with some hay to eat and their saddles next to them.
E	Soon they came crawling back to the rest of their group, holding on to the rocks in the strong wind.
F	Seeing the opening, he gave a very loud yell of warning, as loud a yell as a Hobbit can give, which is surprising for his size.

Schwarzweiß-Porträt eines Mannes im Anzug, seitlich aufgenommen.

J.R.R. (John Ronald Reuel) Tolkien 1892 – 1973

6 P.

TASK 3

Here are four texts about some of J.R.R. Tolkien’s companions. Read them and match them with the statements (1 – 8) below. Choose the correct text (A – D) and write its letter in the box. The texts may be chosen more than once.

A Edith Mary Bratt (1889 – 1971) was brought up in Birmingham by her mother and her cousin. Bratt and Tolkien met as teenagers while living in a boarding house. Aged 19 and 16, they fell head over heels in love with each other. They quickly became close, but Tolkien’s guardian forbade all contact between them until Tolkien turned 21. During their years apart Bratt got engaged to another man. But when Tolkien sent her a letter on the evening of his twenty-first birthday, she broke off her engagement in order to marry her first and one true love, Tolkien, in 1916 and start a family. Only a few months later Tolkien was sent to France to fight in World War I. Luckily, he returned safely and the couple had four children and a happy life.

B Clive Staples Lewis (1898 – 1963) was an Irish-born author. His father was a lawyer and his mother graduated from university, uncommon for women at that time. After serving in World War I, Tolkien and Lewis both worked at Oxford University. Although Lewis called himself an atheist, he turned to Christianity later, supported by his friend Tolkien. Both were members of the “Inklings”, a literary society. The club met up to discuss their new ideas and manuscripts. In 1950 Lewis published his popular children’s book and went on to write six additional stories, together called The Chronicles of Narnia. In the summer of 1963 he retired, a few months before his death.

C In 1905, at King Edward’s School, Birmingham, Tolkien met Christopher Luke Wiseman (1893 – 1987), a boy one year younger than him. Despite many differences in religion and family background they became friends because both shared a love of languages. During Tolkien’s last year at King Edward’s, the two set up a literary club, the “Tea Club and Barrovian Society”, or TCBS. Wiseman hosted at least one meeting at his London house in 1914. Later, they were all sent to the trenches in World War I and Wiseman and Tolkien were the only TCBS members who survived. Wiseman became a headmaster, leaving Tolkien to fulfil the dream of the TCBS.

D Christopher Tolkien (1924 – 2020) was the third child of J.R.R. and Edith Tolkien. From 1945 on, the task of reading The Lord of the Rings to the literature club, the “Inklings”, was passed on to Christopher. After his father’s death in 1973, he took charge of seventy boxes of papers. He edited and published a number of books and other writings left by his father. Together with his second wife he lived comfortably but modestly, giving much of the income from “the Tolkien business” to charities. In August 2017, at the age of 92, Christopher resigned from his position as director of the Tolkien Estate and protector of his father’s legacy.

This person …

		Letter
1	had a highly educated mother.
2	was not allowed to see Tolkien for a long time.
3	found religion with the help of Tolkien.
4	was responsible for Tolkien’s heritage.
5	donated parts of their wealth.
6	was promised to someone else.
7	wrote a series of well-known books.
8	opened his home for a club meeting.

8 P.

TASK 4

Verwende den folgenden Text und bearbeite die Aufgaben (1–6) stichpunktartig auf Deutsch. Die Aspekte müssen inhaltlich vollständig erfasst sein. Einzelwörter genügen nicht als Antwort.

Filmkritik zu Tolkien mit Bewertung und Textabschnitten

Adapted from theguardian.com.

1	Nenne eine Eigenschaft, die Tolkien und C.S. Lewis miteinander verbindet. ____________________________________________________________________________________
2	Gib an, was Tolkien von anderen großen Autoren unterscheidet. ____________________________________________________________________________________
3	Beschreibe die Rolle, die Tolkiens Freunde für ihn innehaben. _______________________________________________________________________________________
4	Gib ein Beispiel dafür, was Tolkien während der Zeit an der Front beschäftigte. _______________________________________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________________________________
5	Erkläre, wie sich die Kriegsszenen später auf Tolkiens Werke auswirkten. ____________________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________________
6	Gib zwei Szenen an, die die Verfasserin der Filmkritik besonders gelungen findet. ____________________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________________

7 P.

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