NATALIA RUIZ MEDINA FICHA 2075294

Text 1: Cowboys

(Short story: 450 words)

Sunset. The sun seals the working day with a long and hushed kiss. Herons
flying in groups stamp a long shadow on the green emerald plains, binding
the eternity of the heaven and earthly purity. In the immensity of the aquatic
world the water melts with the red of the sky, turning the orange of the
piranhas into an underwater rainbow, crossed by a world of tiny colorful
fishes.

The day was dying, but the shadows of the night were gathering to cover the
thirsty plains with his mystery and stillness veil, watched from the infinite by
the moon. When the moon appears, the maporas get enlightened with his
glow while the heaven dresses in thousands of colors, into and describe less
mirage of lights, feathers, yells and trills.

Dusk in the plains is an introduction to the appearance of ghosts, that’s why

the llaneros hurry home to avoid the goblin’s jokes. In the rivers they travel
in bongos, a tight large boat for transporting over the rivers. The beloved
horse is the only friend for the plains man, after the tame of the horse, he’s
the only priceless thing among all his possessions, but he can’t allow him to
sleep in the chinchorro.

It’s full moon night, just for ghost’s tales. The moon’s light glow make the
plains full of goblins. In the dark the objects tend to be bigger, creepier, the
distances to be deeper than it really is, and among the cowboys there’s
always someone who want to talk about ghosts that had seen. Night is the
moment to rest: the only meal during the day is the morning coffee, and until
sunset dinner. Imagine you have to work all day, trying cows and extremely
big strong horned bulls in thousand of squared miles around, crossing
rivers, swamps, and deserts under the burning sun running after the
livestock, and all what you drink is a cup of coffee, do you think you can
handle that? Well, you could do that if you have the power of the songs,
because whenever the llanero works, in his lips a song is running, a verse, to
calm down the cows when they are branded with burning iron. But tying is
not the sole labor they have to do. There’s a lot of work to do!

After dinner, each one goes to his chinchorro and the tales begin to flow
from mind, the thoughts, the joyful stories of the journey, and, the laugh and
tales as a background of the plains life, the journey ends, for giving birth to
another one the next morning, full of poems, dust, and braveness.

SUMMARY TEXT 1

Herons flying in groups stamp a long shadow on the green emerald plains, binding the
eternity of the heaven and earthly purity. The day was dying, but the shadows of the night
were gathering to cover the thirsty plains with his mystery and stillness veil, watched from
the infinite by the moon. Dusk in the plains is an introduction to the appearance of
ghosts, that’s why the llaneros hurry home to avoid the goblin’s jokes. In the rivers they
travel in bongos, a tight large boat for transporting over the rivers.

The beloved horse is the only friend for the plains man, after the tame of the horse, he’s
the only priceless thing among all his possessions, but he can’t allow him to sleep in the
chinchorro. It’s full moon night, just for ghost’s tales. The moon’s light glow make the plains
full of goblins. After dinner, each one goes to his chinchorro and the tales begin to flow
from mind, the thoughts, the joyful stories of the journey, and, the laugh and tales as a
background of the plains life, the journey ends, for giving birth to another one the next
morning, full of poems, dust, and braveness.

Text 2: The crane and the snake

(Short story: 450 words)

In a forest close to the river bank mere lived a crane with his wife. They were
very unhappy. Every time the wife laid eggs in their nest, a big black cobra who
lived in a hollow in the tree, would eat them up. The crane had a friend the crab.
He went to his friend the crab and shared his misery. "I feel so hopeless…That
sneaking thief has eaten our eggs again," complained the crane angrily.

“Don’t worry," said the crab comfortingly. “You need not be hopeless when you
have a friend like me. We will come up with a solution."

The crab sat to think of a plan. Suddenly he jumped up and rushed to the crane.

“Friend, I have a wonderful plan," said the crab and whispered something into
the crane’s ear.

The crane flew back to his nest and told his wife all about the crab’s plan. He
was very excited.

“Are you sure this will work?" asked the wife.

“I hope we are not making a mistake. Think twice before going ahead with the
plan."
 But the crane was eager to try out the plan. The crane flew down to the river
bank and began to fish. He caught several little fishes and went down to the
hole in which a mongoose lived. He dropped a fish at the mouth of the hole.
Then he took another fish and dropped it a little further away from the first one.
Repeating this, he made a trail of fishes leading to the tree where his nest was.

The mongoose smelt the fish and came out of the hole. “Ah, a fish!" exclaimed
the mongoose joyfully and quickly ate it up. He then followed the trail of fishes.
As he neared the tree where the cranes and the snake lived, the trail ended.
Finding no more fishes, he looked around.

Suddenly he came across the black cobra at the foot of the tree. Seeing the
mongoose, the cobra fought for his life. Both fought for a long time and in the
end the mongoose killed the snake. The cranes who were watching the fight
from their nest sighed with relief.

The next day the mongoose began to follow the same trail hoping to find more
food. When he came to the tree where the trail ended, he decided to climb the
tree in search of food.

The cranes who were away at the river bank returned to find the mongoose
climbing down the tree. On looking in their nest, they discovered that this time,
the mongoose had eaten up all their eggs.

“Alas! We got rid of one enemy only to find another”, said the crane to his wife.
(English for students, s.f.)

SUMMARY TEXT 2

Every time the wife laid eggs in their nest, a big black cobra who lived in a hollow in the
tree, would eat them up. The crane had a friend the crab. He went to his friend the crab
and shared his misery. «The crab sat to think of a plan. »

The crane flew back to his nest and told his wife all about the crab’s plan. He caught
several little fishes and went down to the hole in which a mongoose lived. Repeating
this, he made a trail of fishes leading to the tree where his nest was. The mongoose smelt
the fish and came out of the hole.

«Ah, a fish!» exclaimed the mongoose joyfully and quickly ate it up. As he neared the tree
where the cranes and the snake lived, the trail ended. Suddenly he came across the black
cobra at the foot of the tree. Seeing the mongoose, the cobra fought for his life.

Both fought for a long time and in the end the mongoose killed the snake. The next day the
mongoose began to follow the same trail hoping to find more food. When he came to the
tree where the trail ended, he decided to climb the tree in search of food. The cranes who
were away at the river bank returned to find the mongoose climbing down the tree.
On looking in their nest, they discovered that this time, the mongoose had eaten up all
their eggs.
Text 3: The museum that was a prison

(Technical text: 593 words)

A building that was the most famous jail in the country, in times of civil wars
between the nineteenth and twentieth, known as "The Panopticon", now houses
the oldest museum in Colombia: The National Museum. Founded by the Decree
117 of July 28, 1823, with the name of the Natural History Museum and School of
Mines, this place holds many voices from the past through the history of their
formation and the current collection of over 20,000 pieces that symbolize
Colombia´s national heritage.

Indeed, this building that is currently located on the famous seventh street
“avenida carrera séptima” with 28, which breaks with the landscape of large
buildings in the area of the international center in Bogota, worked from 1874 to
1946 as the Cundinamarca’s Central Penitentiary. The English architect Thomas
Reeds, designed a type panopticon prison in which prisoners across the
country were convicted. But the Ministry of Education and the Organizing
Committee of the IX Pan American Conference in 1946, decided to transfer the
collection of the Historical Museum (it was those years’ name of the National
Museum) to the building that you can nowadays visit, and for free!

On the history of the National Museum of Colombia

The Museum is not only the first institution of its kind formed by legal order,
additionally it is one of the inaugural museums in Latin America. That is why we
are so convinced that when you read briefly a little about your history, your visit
will be more fruitful and interesting. By 1821 Simon Bolivar assigns Francisco
Antonio Zea to undertake various diplomatic missions in Europe, in search of
sponsorship and partnerships for research in natural sciences and economics,
for the exploitation of natural resources of the country, and thus start the
civilizing project of an independent Republic in the young nation that was
Colombia at the beginning of the nineteenth.

At the time, knowledge of the territory through science as mineralogy, botany

and engineering, were key in order to had a good economy and international
recognition. That is why in 1822, a commission of French naturalists graduated
from The Science Institute and de Museum of Natural History, travel to
Colombia to start with the project of the Museum of Natural History and School
of Mines, as an institution pointed to research and the guard of the progress of
the nation memories.

Though, civil wars throughout the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries,
hindered the process; multiple shipments of collections and the main interest
only on items that belonged to the great men of the country and their battles,
were leaving aside the visibility of other actors who also were participating on
the construction of the country: women, peasants, children, etc.
That is why, in the second half of the twentieth century, gradually were
incorporated elements of art, industry, countryside work, and archaeological
collections that call for the importance of material culture and customs of a
country that over the years and nowadays, it’s been working on recognize the
diversity of ethnicities and multiculturalism, as central figures to understand the
history of the country

Hence today, Colombians consider that National Museum story tells also the
history of the formation of the nation, as it was the place that hosted the first
results of research in natural sciences, elements of the independence wars, but
also material culture of everyday life and customs of generations of men and
women who have contributed on defining our culture from various disciplines
such as science, art, military, research, countryside work and industry. Is the
Museum for all who wanted to have a great background about Colombian
cultural heritage. (Bogotá Concierge, s.f.)

SUMMARY TEXT 3

Founded by the Decree 117 of July 28, 1823, with the name of the Natural History
Museum and School of Mines, this place holds many voices from the past through the
history of their formation and the current collection of over 20,000 pieces that
symbolize Colombia´s national heritage. On the history of the national museum of
Colombia The Museum is not only the first institution of its kind formed by legal
order, additionally it is one of the inaugural museums in Latin America. That is why we
are so convinced that when you read briefly a little about your history, your visit will be
more fruitful and

The Museum is not only the first institution of its kind formed by legal
order, additionally it is one of the inaugural museums in Latin America. That is why we
are so convinced that when you read briefly a little about your history, your visit will be
more fruitful and interesting. By 1821 Simon Bolivar assigns Francisco Antonio Zea to
undertake various diplomatic missions in Europe, in search of sponsorship and
partnerships for research in natural sciences and economics, for the exploitation of
natural resources of the country, and thus start the civilizing project of an independent
Republic in the young nation that was Colombia at the beginning of the nineteenth.