The English Lesson 21 theme is SHAKA KING OF THE ZULUS

Part One: Learn English Skills

Read the following text and answer the questions that follow:

Shaka Zulu The story of Shaka's life is one of the most famous in South African history. In the 1800s he was a king of the Zulu people, and under his rule the Zulus became the largest and most powerful kingdom in southern Africa. As a result, some people today think of him as a hero and brilliant leader. Other people think of him as a cruel dictator who killed many innocent people.

Although he was the son of a Zulu chief, Shaka was chased from the tribe when he was still a child. He joined other tribes and, as he grew up, became a powerful soldier. When his father died, Shaka used this power and influence to grab control of the Zulu tribe.

It was his aim to rule all Africans and the new chief soon expanded his territory. He took control of neighbouring chiefdoms - either by negotiating with them or using violence.

The chiefdom's land then became part of Shaka's kingdom and the conquered people had to serve him. Most of the men became warriors in his powerful army, where he demanded the strictest discipline. Legend has it that he killed any soldier who showed signs of fear.

Nevertheless, Shaka's soldiers eventually began turning against him. He also faced opposition from the chiefs he had defeated, and from rivals in his own family who wanted control of the kingdom.

Two of these rivals, his half-brothers, finally killed Shaka. He had ruled the Zulu people for more than ten years and in that time had united many tribes.

As a result, Shaka remains an important figure in South Africa's history - no matter how he is regarded.

Your Turn

Some people think that Shaka was a hero and brilliant leader. What do other people think?
What was Shaka's aim?
When did Shaka take control of the Zulu people?
What happened to any soldier who showed signs of fear?
From whom did Shaka face opposition?
Genius question: What word in the text means the same as "despot" or "tyrant"?

Part Two: Learn English Structure

GO

GO is usually used to describe movement. We also compare GO with words that have similar meanings: GET, BEEN and GONE. GET AND GO Both GET and GO are used in relation to movement. GET is used for the end of a movement. In other words, it indicates the arrival. GO is used for the whole movement.

I GO to work by car and Robert goes by train. I usually GET there first.
If you want to GO to Shaka's kraal, you must cross the river. He will welcome you when you GET there.

We often use GET when there is some difficulty in arriving.

It wasn't easy to GET through the crowd at Shaka's funeral.
Can you tell me how to GET to the Waterfront? I'm lost.

GO: BEEN AND GONE

If somebody has GONE to a place, he or she is there now, or on the way.

Is Dingaan here? No, he has GONE to the neighbouring village. If somebody has BEEN to a place, he or she has travelled there and come back.

I have BEEN to Cape Town once.

Have you ever BEEN to Africa? BEEN is also used to mean "come (and gone away again)".

She's BEEN to see us twice since Christmas. We can also use GONE to say that something has disappeared, or that there is no more.

I was late, so when I arrived at the bus stop, the bus had GONE.

GO MEANING 'BECOME'

We can also use GO to mean 'become' before some adjectives. This happens with "colour words".

Leaves GO brown in autumn.

People GO blue with cold.

If you faint, everything GOES black.

In a formal style we use TURN instead of GO in these cases.

Leaves TURN brown in autumn.

We use GO with some other adjectives to talk about things changing, usually for the worse.

People GO mad.
Milk GOES sour.
Bread GOES stale.

Your Turn

Complete the following sentences using GO, GET and BEEN.

I don't know how we're going to ______ across that river.
People ______ green with seasickness.
Bruce visited Cape Town again last year. He has now ______ there five times.
I like to ______ to the beach. I use a bus to ______ there.
Men ______ bald when they grow older.

Part Three: Funnies

Sherlock Holmes and Dr Watson go on a camping trip. They retire for the night, and go to sleep.

Some hours later, Holmes wakes up and nudges his friend. "Watson, look up at the sky and tell me what you see."

"I see millions and millions of stars, Holmes," replies Watson.

"And what do you deduce from that?"

Watson ponders for a minute. "Well, astronomically, it tells me that there are millions of galaxies and potentially billions of planets. Astrologically, I observe that Saturn is in Leo. Horologically, I deduce that the time is approximately a quarter past three. Meteorologically, I suspect that we will have a beautiful day tomorrow. Theologically, I can see that God is all-powerful, and that we are a small and insignificant part of the universe. What does it tell you, Holmes?"

Holmes is silent for a moment. "Watson, you idiot!" he says. "Someone has stolen our tent!"

Part Four: Did You Know?

Shaka was conceived before his parents were married. So, according to tradition, his mother said her growing belly was caused by a shaka, or intestinal beetle. That is how he got his name.

Part Five: Quotations

I need no bodyguard at all, for even the bravest men who approach me get weak at the knees and their hearts turn to water, whilst their heads become giddy and incapable of thinking as the sweat of fear paralyses them. They know no other will except that of their King, who is something above, and below, this earth. - Shaka Zulu

Always avoid violence; in this age of charity and kindliness, the time has gone by for such things. - Mark Twain (1882)

Part Six: Links

If you quickly need to translate a document or a whole website, the World Lingo site can be very useful. It does a word for word translation, though, so it will not always make grammatical sense and cannot be used as a substitute for professional translation. Nevertheless, it can give you a very good idea of what the original text means.

You can translate from and into a wide number of languages, and then print out the translations.

http://www.worldlingo.com/products_services/worldlingo_translator.html

Answers

Answers to Part One

Other people think that Shaka was a cruel dictator.
It was Shaka's aim to rule all Africans.
He took control of the Zulus after his father died.
Soldiers who showed signs of fear were killed.
Shaka faced opposition from his soldiers, the chiefs he had defeated and from people in his own family who wanted control of the kingdom.
"dictator"