B2–C1: A Harvest of Love — the promise that changed everything (interactive + tasks)

How to use this lesson (B2–C1)

This interactive lesson is built around the story “A Harvest of Love”.
Your goal at B2–C1 is not only to understand the plot, but to work with motives, implied meaning, and tone.

✅ Tip: read the story once quickly, then do the tasks.

Advanced practice (B2–C1)

1) Inference: motives & strategy (answer in 1–2 sentences each)

1. Why does Arild remind the King: “once I was your friend”? What is he trying to activate emotionally?
2. Why does he offer such a specific promise: “marry, plant one crop, and harvest it”? What does that detail achieve?
3. What makes the King’s decision risky? What does it suggest about the King’s values?

2) Close reading: language with intention

Choose one line from Arild’s letter and rewrite it in two tones:

• More formal (legal / official)
• More personal (emotional / intimate)

Use this line if you want:
“Please grant me one wish.”
or
“You have my word that I will return…”

3) Ethical discussion (speaking)

Pick one and speak for 60–90 seconds:

• Was Arild honest, dishonest, or brilliantly fair? Why?
• Did he break the promise, or did he follow it in a technically correct way?
• Should the King reward cleverness, or punish manipulation?

4) Precision writing (C1-style, 120–160 words)

Write a short paragraph answering this prompt:

“Is Arild’s act a symbol of love, or a calculated loophole?”

Requirements:

• 1 contrast connector: however / whereas / even though
• 1 hedging phrase: it seems / arguably / tends to
• 2 precise verbs: justify / exploit / acknowledge / undermine / reinforce / challenge

5) Vocabulary upgrade (from the story)

Create B2–C1 alternatives for these words/phrases (one synonym each):

• asked → ______
• answered → ______
• very clever → ______
• grant me → ______
• awaits your return → ______

(Example directions: “asked → inquired”, “grant → allow/permit” — you choose.)

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