The Fire on the Hill
Key words and expressions:
to climb
a servant
a judge
Make up sentences with new words
Pre-reading task
How do you think? What does «mother’s love» mean?
Reading
Long, long ago there was a lake of cold water in Australia. At night many animals came there to drink. But people never came to the lake at night: the wild animals might kill and eat them.
Now, a rich man who had a beautiful daughter, once said: "The young man, who will go to the lake in the evening and stay in the cold water till morning will have my daughter for his wife".
One poor young man loved the rich man's daughter very much, and she loved him. He said to his mother, "I shall try to stay at night in the lake and then marry the dear girl".
"No, no", the mother said, "you are my only son. The water in the lake is very cold, and the animals will eat you. Don't go there!"
She cried and cried, but her son said, "Mother, don't cry, I must try. I love her so much!"
So the young man went to the girl's father. He told him that he wanted to go to the lake and stay in the cold water all night. The rich man sent his servants to a place from which they could watch the young man.
When night came, the young man went to the lake. His mother followed him, but he didn't see her. There was a hill forty paces from the place where the young man entered the water. The woman climbed up the hill and made up a fire there. The wild animals saw the fire and were afraid to go near that place.
The young man saw the fire too. He understood that his mother was there. He thought of his mother's love and it was easier for him to stay all night in the very cold water.
Morning came. The young man went to the rich man's house. The rich man saw him and said, "My servants say that there was a fire on the hill forty paces from the lake. It warmed you, and that is why you could stay all night in the water. So you can't marry my daughter. Good-bye". The young man was very angry. He went to the judge.
"Well", the judge said, "this is a very simple case".
The next morning the young man with his mother and the rich man with his servants came before the judge. There were many people there who wanted to hear the case.
The judge asked for a pot of cold water. Then he walked forty paces from the pot and made a fire. "Now", he said, "we shall wait a little until the water is warm". The people cried, "But the fire is so far away, it can't warm the water in the pot".
The judge said, "And how could that young man warm himself at a fire forty paces away?" So the case was over, and the young man married the rich man's daughter. They lived happily for many years.
Comprehension check
Retell the legend as if you were a poor young man.
WRITIHG
Compose ten questions on the legend and ask them your classmates.
A Careless Tongue
Key words and expressions:
impossible
to make up a story
to go from mouth to mouth
Make up sentences with new words
Pre-reading task
Try to explain the expression «It's not difficult to throw around small stones but it's impossible to find them all».
Reading
There was a young woman who liked to tell stories about her neighbors. Some stories were good, some stories were funny and the young woman told them to make people laugh. As always happens in such cases, the people who heard the stories, told them to their friends trying to make them funnier and funnier. As a result many good people suffered because of those stories.
An old man of the village where the young woman lived knew about it. He wanted to make her stop telling stories about her neighbors. He did not know how to do it, but then he thought of a good plan.
"Daughter," he said when he met her one day. "I want to ask you to do one thing for me. I have here a bag of small stones. On your way home throw them as far as you can in all sides. When you do it, come back and tell me."
The young woman was surprised to hear it. But it was easy and she agreed to do what the old man asked.
When the young woman came back, the old man said: "Daughter, I want to ask you to do one more thing for me. Go along the same road and pick up all the stones that you have thrown away."
"But, father, it is impossible!" said the young woman. "I can find some of the stones and bring them back to you, but I cannot find all of them."
"That's true," said the old man. "Those stones are like the stories that you tell about your neighbors. It's not difficult to throw around small stones but it's impossible to find them all. It's easy to make up stories about your neighbors, but it's impossible to call them back, because they go from mouth to mouth and become worse and worse. Remember this! First think, then speak! Remember this always!"
The young woman remembered it all her life.
Comprehension check
Put the following events (A-F) in the right order. Number them (1-6).
A."Daughter," he said when he met her one day. "I want to ask you to do one thing for me.
B. "But, father, it is impossible!" said the young woman.
C. An old man of the village where the young woman lived knew about it.
D. "That's true," said the old man.
E. But it was easy and she agreed to do what the old man asked.
F. As a result many good people suffered because of those stories.
| A | B | C | D | E | F |
| 1 |
WRITIHG
Write an article of about 30-50 words to express your point of view on the legend.
The Sacred Python
Key words and expressions:
a slave-trader
to give a terrible scream
an arrow
Make up sentences with new words
Pre-reading task
Tell what do you know about pythons. Where do they live? How do they look like?
Reading
Many years ago a group of men went out hunting. They walked in the forest all day long. In the evening they were far from home.
"We will have to sleep in the forest tonight", said their leader. "Quickly look for a good place to sleep".
The hunters had to be careful. In those days there were many slave-traders all about the country, and they might attack the hunters at any moment.
Late in the evening they found a good place to sleep. After supper the hunters lay down on the ground and were soon all asleep.
When the weary men were asleep, a group of slave-traders surrounded them. They were to attack the sleeping men.
Suddenly something big and heavy fell from one of the trees on one of the young hunters. The hunter woke up, looked down at his body and gave a terrible scream: a huge python was lying on him! He jumped to his feet, but his comrades were already awake. In a moment they were ready to fight.
The slave-traders fired their guns. But the hunters hid behind the trees. The fight continued for a long time. When the hunters had no more arrows they fought with stones and even sticks.
The slave-traders could do nothing against the hunters. Some of the attackers were killed. The others had to run away.
After the fight was over the hunters came together round their leader. The leader looked at the young man and said: "What made you wake up?"
"It was a python", the boy said. "It fell on me from the tree".
"It was a sign specially for us", the leader said.» You can see that the python is now our friend. From this day on no man, woman or child in our clan will ever kill or eat a python".
To this day the people who live in those places remember the words of that man. If you go to their houses in the rainy season, you will find pythons there. In the daytime they sleep in holes under the houses, but at night they crawl about the rooms.
The people never harm the pythons and the pythons never harm the people.
Comprehension check
Some words are missing from the text. Choose the most appropriate answer from the box for each gap (1-6) in the text. Do not change the words. There is one word which you do not need to use.
| hunters, python, kill, child, leader, attackers |
The slave-traders could do nothing against the hunters. Some of the ____________ were killed. The others had to run away.
After the fight was over the _________ came together round their leader. The leader looked at the young man and said: "What made you wake up?"
"It was a _________", the boy said. "It fell on me from the tree".
"It was a sign specially for us", the ___________ said.» You can see that the python is now our friend. From this day on no man, woman or _________ in our clan will ever ___________ or eat a python".
WRITIHG
Work in pairs. Compose ten questions on the legend and ask them your partner.
The Lion and the Goat
Key words and expressions:
a she-goat
a cave
boldly
Make up sentences with new words
Pre-reading task
Try to explain the expression «to be brave».
Reading
Once upon a time there was an old she-goat. One day, when it was getting dark, she was returning home with many other goats. As she was old and weak, she got tired and was left behind. It became quite dark, and as she couldn't find her way back, she decided to enter a cave that she saw near by. What was her surprise when she went in and found a lion sitting there! She was terribly frightened and stood still for a moment, then she thought of what she could do.
"If I try to run", she thought, "the lion will soon catch me, but if I pretend not to be afraid of him I may manage to save my life". She walked boldly up to the lion as if she were not afraid of him at all. The lion looked at her, looked and looked, not knowing what to think of this boldness on the part of the goat. He knew the goats had never dared to come near him. At last he thought she could not be a goat but must be some other strange animal which he had not seen before.
"Who are you, old one?" he asked her.
"I am the queen of the goats," she replied. "I came to eat up a hundred tigers, twenty five elephants and ten lions. I have already eaten the hundred tigers and twenty five elephants and now I am looking for the ten lions."
The lion was very much surprised to hear this, and believing the goat had really come to eat him up, he went out of the cave saying that he was going to wash his face at the river.
Comprehension check
1. Try to retell the legend in five simple sentences.
2. Give better title for the legend.
WRITIHG
Into the box below write the words and word combinations which can characterize a goat and a lion.
| a goat | a lion |
Why Cats Wash Themselves After Eating
Key words and expressions:
to jump aside
Make up sentences with new words
Pre-reading task
How do you think? Why do cats wash themselves after eating?
Reading
One day a bird flew into a farmer's yard. There was always something to eat for him there. He jumped around in the dust from one place to another picking up this and that from the ground and singing a loud song. The old bird, Tim by name, had a very good appetite and always ate a lot.
Old Tim was so busy that he did not look up or around and did not see a large black cat watching him from behind the farmer's house.
"How hungry I am!" thought the cat. "But soon I am going to have wonderful breakfast."
Soon old Tim finished his breakfast and was going to clean his leathers when the cat jumped at him and the bird was between the cat's teeth.
"What a fine breakfast I am going to have!" said the cat.
"Oh, no, Mr. Cat, you can't!" cried out Old Tim. "You are certainly not going to eat me up, are you?"
"But I am!" answered the cat. "Do you think I am going to look at you or to listen to your silly songs?" And the cat sat down ready to begin his breakfast.
"Oh, no, Mr. Cat, you can't do that."
"But why not? Don't get it into your head that I am going to let you fly away! Oh, no, you are wrong here," answered the cat.
"But have you already washed yourself?"
"No, I haven't. But what does it matter?" said the cat.
"Oh, Mr. Cat! What did your parents teach you? How can you have your breakfast without washing yourself first?" answered the bird.
"Do you think I can't? I don't see it your way."
"Of course, you can't!" repeated Old Tim. "Ask anybody and they are going to tell you that I am right. People never eat without washing themselves first," said the poor bird.
"Hm, well, I think you are right," said the angry cat. "All right, I am going to wash myself first and only after that have my breakfast."
And with those words the cat began to wash himself. The cat was so busy cleaning his coat that he did not see how Old Tim jumped aside and flew away.
When the cat finished his washing and wanted to begin his breakfast there was no Tim there – he was high in a tree singing his song. Old Tim knew how to fool cats!
The cat was very angry with Tim and with himself.
"Well, let people do as they like but I'm never going to wash myself before eating!" he said.
So from that day on all cats wash themselves only after and not before eating.
Comprehension check
1. Retell the legend as if you were a cat.
2. Give an outline of the legend.
WRITIHG
Make up a plan of the legend covering its main events.
How Animals Learned to Do Something
Key words and expressions:
man's early history
to be lazy
angrily
Make up sentences with new words
Pre-reading task
Do you have a pet? Try to describe it.
Reading
Many years ago, in the man's early history, when people and animals were great friends, a man called all the animals together. He got on a large stone for all the animals to see him and began to speak:
"My dear friends! Listen to me!" the man went on to say. "I am angry with you. You are very lazy, you do not do anything. You have learned nothing. You can't go on like this, it's time for you to learn to do something. In a month's time I want you to come here and show me what you have learned. I am sure you can learn a lot of things if you want to."
With these words the man got off the stone and said good-bye to the animals. The animals said good-bye to the man and to each other and left.
The animals thought and thought, they thought from early morning till late at night. In the end they thought of something and each animal began to learn to do something. The horse began to learn to run quickly and carry loads. The dog learned to bark, it wanted to help the man to watch his animals. The cow began to give milk. The cock learned to sing early in the morning and thus wake up the man. The cock's wife, the hen, began to lay eggs. The bee learned to make honey.
Many birds learned to sing beautiful songs, they had their singing lessons every day.
A month passed and the man again called all the animals together. "Well", he said, "I think you have learned to do something. It's time for you to show me what you have learned."
And the horse ran quickly, the cow gave milk, the hen laid eggs, the bees began to make honey, the cock sang and then the birds began to sing beautiful songs.
The man was very pleased with them all. To have milk, eggs and honey every day! It was wonderful.
"And what about you?" the man said to the fish. The fish stood behind the other animals and didn't do anything.
"What's the matter with you? Haven't you learned anything?" The fish only opened and shut its mouth – it didn't know what to say.
"So you haven't learned to do anything and you cannot say a word," said the man angrily. "Very well, then you must always be like that and I don't want to see you again."
And from that day on the fish has not said a word and has lived in l he water where nobody can see her.
Comprehension check
Complete the table. What can these animals do?
| a horse | a cow | a dog | a cock | a hen |
WRITIHG
Compose ten questions on the legend and ask them your classmates.
The Parrot
Key words and expressions:
no doubt about it
wise