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صفحة: 9
Read and listen to the story about the Sirens and find out how Ulysses tricked them . The Sirens A Greek Myth In ancient times , many ships were wrecked on the rocky shores of one of the islands of Greece . People believed that these shipwrecks were caused by the Sirens , the daughters of Phorcys , the god of the sea . The Sirens , who were mythical creatures , had the body of a bird and the head of a woman . They also had the most charming and beautiful singing voices . Their voices had the power to charm everyone who heard them sing . The Sirens lived on an island . All day long , they sat and sang songs to tempt sailors to the island . When the sailors heard the Sirens sing , they wanted only to come to the island and listen to the Sirens' beautiful voices . They forgot all about their ships and many oftheir ships were wrecked on the rocky shores ofthe island . Many sailors met their death in this way . However , the great hero , Ulysses , was warned by the gods before he sailed on one of his voyages . He wanted to hear the Sirens singing , but he also wanted to sail past their island safely , so he made a plan to trick the Sirens . He told his crew members to tie him tightly to the ship ' s mast so that he would be able to hear the Sirens singing . Then he told his men to plug their ears with wax so that they could not hear anything . When the ship passed their island , the Sirens tried to tempt Ulysses with their beautiful voices . The temptation was so great that Ulysses shouted to his crew to sail to the island ofthe Sirens so that he could hear their beautiful voices more clearly . However , his men could not hear him and sailed on past the island . Ulysses was the only man who ever heard the Sirens sing and lived to tell the tale . Closer Reading Look at the story and discuss the following questions . 1 Which paragraphs describe the setting ? Which paragraphs describe the events ? § What is the climax of the story ? 3 Who are the characters in the myth ? 4 What does the story show about the main character ? 5 Which event or fact of nature does the myth explain ?
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