Unfortunately is a story by Fredric Brown (1906 – 1972) an American writer of science fiction and thrillers.
Now, read the first paragraph and tell the genre of this short story.
Read to the end.
Underline the following words, and match them with their synonyms:
inhabited amicable
supplies willingly
friendly mastery
inhuman provisions
freely restriction
fluency dull
abstinence seized
grabbed post
deaf very hot
seazling not human
stake populated
Unfortunately
by
FREDRIC BROWN
Ralph NC*5 sighed with relief as he caught sight of Planet Four of Arcturus in the spotter scope, just where his computer had told him it would be. Arcturus IV was the only inhabited or inhabitable planet of its primary and it was quite a few light-years to the next star system.
Ralph NC*5 fece un sospiro di sollievo quando nel suo visore apparve il pianeta Quattro di Arturo, proprio là dove il suo computer aveva detto che sarebbe stato. Arturo IV era l’unico pianeta abitato o abitabile del suo sole e distava solo pochi anni luce dal successivo sistema solare.
He needed food — his fuel and water supplies were okay but the commissary department on Pluto had made a mistake in stocking his scouter — and, according to the space manual, the natives were friendly. They’d give him anything he asked for.
Aveva bisogno di cibo – le sue riserve di acqua e carburante erano okay ma l’ufficio addetto al vettovagliamento su Plutone aveva fatto un errore nel rifornire il suo ricognitore – e, secondo il manuale spaziale, i nativi erano amichevoli. Gli avrebbero dato qualunque cosa avesse chiesto.
The manual was very specific on that point; he reread the brief section on the Arcturians as soon as he had set the controls for automatic landing.
“The Arcturians,” he read, “are inhuman, but very friendly. A pilot landing here need only ask for what he wants, and it is given to him freely, readily, and without argument.
Il manuale era molto specifico su quel punto, rilesse la breve sezione sugli arturiani non appena ebbe inserito i controlli per l’atterraggio automatico.
“Gli arturiani,” lesse, “non sono umani, ma molto amichevoli. Un pilota che atterri lì deve soltanto chiedere quello che vuole e gli sarà dato generosamente, prontamente e senza discussioni.
“Communication with them, however, must be by paper and pencil as they have no vocal organs and no organs of hearing. However, they read and write English with considerable fluency.”
“Tuttavia, la comunicazione con loro deve avvenire con carta e matita, dal momento che non hanno organi vocali o organi uditivi. Comunque, leggono e scrivono l’inglese con considerevole padronanza.”
Ralph NC-5’s mouth watered as he tried to decide what he wanted to eat first, after two days of complete abstinence from food, preceded by five days of short rations; a week ago he had discovered the commissary department’s mistake in stocking his lockers.
A Ralph NC-5 venne l’acquolina in bocca mentre cercava di decidere quello che voleva mangiare come prima cosa, dopo due giorni di completa astinenza dal cibo, preceduti da cinque giorni di razioni ridotte: una settimana fa aveva scoperto che gli addetti alle vettovaglie avevano commesso un errore nello stoccaggio della dispensa.
Foods, wonderful foods, chased one another through his mind.
He landed, The Arcturians, a dozen of them and they were indeed inhuman — twelve feet tail, six-armed, bright magenta — approached him and their leader bowed and handed him paper and pencil.
Cibi, cibi meravigliosi si susseguirono uno dietro l’altro nella sua mente.
Atterrò. Gli arturiani, una dozzina di loro ed erano veramente inumani – una coda di più di tre metri, sei braccia, magenta brillante – si avvicinarono e il loro capo si inchinò e gli consegnò carta e matita.
Suddenly he knew exactly what he wanted; he wrote rapidly and handed back the pad. It passed from hand to hand among them.
Improvvisamente seppe esattamente ciò che voleva, scrisse velocemente e riconsegnò il taccuino. Gli arturiani se lo passarono di mano in mano.
Then abruptly he found himself grabbed, his arms pinioned. And then tied to a stake around which they were piling brushwood and sticks. One of them lighted it.
Poi, di colpo, si trovò agguantato, le braccia immobilizzate. E poi lo legarono ad un palo intorno a cui stavano ammucchiando sterpaglie e rami. Uno di loro gli diede fuoco.
He screamed protests but they fell, not on deaf ears but on no ears at all. He screamed pain, and then stopped screaming.
The space manual had been quite correct in saying that the Arcturians read and write English with considerable fluency. But it had omitted to add that they were very poor at spelling; else the last thing Ralph NC-5 would have requested would have been a sizzling steak.
Lanciò urla di protesta, ma caddero non su orecchie sorde, ma su orecchie che non esistevano affatto. Urlò di dolore, e poi smise di urlare.
Il manuale spaziale era stato abbastanza corretto nel dire che gli arturiani leggono e scrivono l’inglese con considerevole padronanza. Ma aveva omesso di aggiungere che erano molto carenti in ortografia, altrimenti l’ultima cosa che Ralph NC-5 avrebbe chiesto sarebbe stata una bistecca sfrigolante.
Give a short description of the physical features of the Arcturians:
General understanding:
Say which of the following sentences are true and correct the false ones:
1- RalphNC*5 landed on Arcturus IV because he was short of fuel
2- Arcturus IV was one of the habitable planets of its solar system
3- The Arcturians were hostile
4- They didn’t know English
5- They communicated by paper and pencil
6- They didn’t give RalphNC*5 what he wanted
7- The space manual was very helpful
Further exploitation:
Bearing in mind that stake also means ‘execution by
burning at a stake’ (do you know Joan of Arc?) explain:
✏what RalphNC*5 asked for, what he got, and why.
Discussion:
Do you still think the aliens were friendly?
Who or what did the narrator put the blame on for this tragic misunderstanding?
What is the general tone of the story?
Guided summary:
Summarize the story using the following words to
fill in the gaps:
generous, supplies, land, inhabited, hungry, tail, bright, arms, vehicle, knew, paper,
aliens, pencil, deaf, sociable, magenta, steak, pilot, dumb, poor, fire.
RalphNC*5 was the -------------of a space---------.As he was short of food------------, he decided to----------- on Arcturus IV. The planet was ------------ by inhuman--------- with a long----------, six------------, and a------- ----- skin. They----------- English, but they communicated by --------- and-------- becuase they were---------- and--------. Anyway, they were --------------and---------. As RalphNC*5 was very-------- he aked for a sizzling ------------, but their spelling was very------------ so they mistook ---------- for--------- and poor RalphNC*5 died on a sizzling------- .
Unfotunately is a good example of Fredric
Brown’s style.
Here is a list of the main features of the
story, circle the adjectives that best define them:
Length long, short, very short
Language simple, rich, factual, abstract
syntax complex/simple sentences
Tone ironic, dramatic, funny, serious
End msurprising, logical, unexpected,
predictable
Now use them to write a short paragraph. You can start like this:
Fredric Brown was a succesful writer of …
Grammar exploitation:
You can use this story to introduce the prefixes in,
un, im to change the meaning of adjectives from positive to negative
At a higher level, you can also introduce if clauses type three
