STORIES THAT TEACH VALUES

2A STORIES THAT TEACH VALUES

READING and SPEAKING

Read the text on the right and answer the following questions.

1. Why do these kinds of stories inspire and teach? 2. Which values are most often emphasized in these stories? 3. Do you know what the two stories mentioned in the text are about? There are many types of stories that have a simple ‘moral’ for the reader: fables, myths, fairy tales and so on. These stories teach, whether the storyteller intends to or not. The fable called The Tortoise and the Hare teaches people that they will achieve a lot by taking slow steps. The Boy Who Cried Wolf warned us of the dangers of dishonesty. Through reading, we can learn about values that are truly important, such as honesty, sincerity, tolerance, generosity, forgiveness, gratitude, and self-discipline. Young people in particular need examples of what is right and wrong and books serve to illustrate some easily recognizable human characteristics. Stories show the consequences of bad behaviour and the benefits of good behaviour. They spark the imagination, leave lasting impressions, inspire and teach.

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FOLLOW UP

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Read the short story Old habits die hard and then discuss the questions.

Not satisfied with his son’s behaviour, a wealthy man requested an old wise man help his son change his bad habits. The old man thought for a while about how to make the boy improve his manners. Eventually, he had an idea. He took the boy for a walk. While they were strolling through a garden, he asked the boy to pull up a tiny plant growing there. The youngster held the plant between his thumb and forefinger and pulled it out. The old man then asked him to pull up another, slightly bigger plant. The boy pulled hard and the plant came out, together with its roots. ‘Try that one,’ said the old man pointing to a bush. The boy had to use all his strength, but finally managed to pull it up. ‘And now this one,’ said the old man, indicating a small apple tree. The boy grasped the trunk and tried to pull it up, but it would not move. He was panting with the effort. ‘I can’t. It’s impossible,’ he said. ‘You see, so it is with bad habits,’ said the wise man. ‘When plants are young, it is easy to pull them out, but when they take hold they cannot be uprooted easily. Don’t wait for bad habits to grow in you; drop them while you have control over them or else they will take control of you.’ The boy then realized what the moral of the story was and that he should take the old man’s advice and change his behaviour.

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gratitude – thankfulness, the feeling of being grateful or thankful spark – stimulate (an activity, interest) grasp – to take or hold firmly pant – to breathe rapidly, with short, quick breaths indicate – point out; show to pull up – to pull (a plant and its roots) out of the ground 2

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Answer the following questions.

1. What kind of request did the wealthy man have? 2. Why did the old man take the boy for a walk? 3. How did the boy’s attempts to pull up the plants serve the old man’s purpose? 4. What did the boy decide to do?

What about you? Do you have any bad habits which have lasted too long?

VOCABULARY

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Use the words from the Glossary in the correct form to complete the sentences below.

1. He wants to express his sincere __________ for all your help. 2. The man __________ her by the wrist and shouted. 3. The question __________ a lively discussion and we stayed an hour longer. 4. Somebody ___________ all the flowers from my garden last night. 5. The boy ____________________ when he reached the top of the hill, unable to get his breath back. 2

Find a word in the box which most closely matches one of the pairs of synonyms below. There are two extra words.

effort request slightly tiny lasting point truly sincere

1. ask, demand __________ 2. very small, little __________ 3. really, surely __________ 4. permanent, endless __________ 5. direct, indicate ___________ 6. frank, honest ________

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PREPOSITIONS

Fill in the correct prepositions from the text and then use the phrases to make sentences.

1. consequence _______ 2. benefit _______ 3. based __________ 4. point______ 5. stroll________ 6. grateful ________ 2 Fill in the gaps with the correct prepositions. See the Appendix

and check your answers.

1. He will never forgive me _________ breaking up with him. 2. He was accused _______stealing a valuable painting. 3. He blamed me ________the theft. 4. They congratulated me ___________ passing my exams. 5. I will never agree ______ any of his proposals. 6. Modern paintings differ _______ earlier paintings in many ways. 7. I succeeded ________ getting to the meeting on time. 8. I am thinking of applying _______ the scholarship. 9. They were suffering ______ shock after the explosion. 10. I strongly disapprove ________your teaching methods.

PHRASAL VERBS with DOWN Guess the meanings of the phrasal verbs from the context. Then match the phrasal verbs with their meanings (a-f).

1. The government should do something to bring down oil prices. 2. He has cut down on sugar in his coffee because he wants to lose weight. 3. They pulled down the old restaurant to build a new one. 4. Calm down! There’s no point worrying about it now. 5. He really let me down. I won’t forgive him. 6. My car broke down on the motorway yesterday. a. destroy; demolish b. stop feeling upset/ excited c. disappoint somebody d. stop working (machine) e. make something cheaper/less f. consume less

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Complete the following sentences using the phrasal verbs with ‘down’.

1. You need to________________ a bit or the stress will give you a headache! 2. They decided to _________________ the old bridge because it was dangerous to cross it. 3. I think we should try to ______________ the level of unemployment. 4. He _____________on coffee and cigarettes, and ate a balanced diet. 5. You mustn’t rely on her – she always _________ people _________.

WORD FORMATION

MAKING NOUNS

Make nouns from the adjectives (1-6) in the table. The first one has been done as an example. Then use the words from the table to make sentences.

Adjective Noun

1. virtuous virtue

2. tolerant

3. generous

4. grateful

5. honest

6. proud

SPEAKING

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Pair work

There is a proverb which says that ‘what you plant now, you will reap later’. a. Explain the meaning of the proverb. b. Think of a similar proverb in your language.

Choose a fable/ fairy tale that you know and tell it to the class.

Example: Virtue is thinking and doing what is right.

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GRAMMAR - TENSE REVIEW

THE PAST SIMPLE and PAST CONTINUOUS TENSES

Identify the tense in the sentences (1-10) and match them with their use (a-j).

1. At noon we were still driving through the country. 2. Last year, I travelled to Japan. / Did you have dinner last night? 3. He was talking to a policeman for two hours yesterday. 4. David turned off the light and went to bed. 5. I was studying while she was making dinner. 6. When did he come back from Italy? 7. He used to play the piano. 8. Several people were busily typing and some were talking on the phones. 9. She was always coming home late. 10. I was taking a bath when the telephone rang. a. a longer action in the past which was interrupted b. with always or constantly expresses the idea that something is irritating c. an action which was in progress at a particular moment in the past d. finished events in the past with no connection to the present e. two actions happening at the same time f. to express a long action g. a sequence of completed past actions h. questions beginning with when i. to describe past habits j. background information, to give atmosphere to a story

Complete the fable with the correct past form of the verbs in brackets.

The bear and the two travellers

by Aesop Two men ________________ (travel) together when a bear suddenly _______________ (appear) in their path. One of them, in order to save himself, _______________ (climb) quickly up into a tree, and _____________(hide) in the branches. The other _______________ (fall) flat on the ground. He _____________ (lie) motionlessly when the Bear came up and smelt him all over. He_______________ (hold) his breath and pretended to be dead as much as he could for it is said that bears won’t touch a dead body. As soon as the Bear had left him, the other traveller _____________ (come) down from the tree and asked: ‘What _______________ (the Bear /whisper) in your ear?’ His friend replied: ‘He ____________ (give) me this advice: Never travel with a friend who deserts you at the approach of danger.’ Moral of the fable: Misfortune tests the sincerity of friends.

Choose which tense (the past simple or continuous) fits better.

1. I ________ – I didn’t 4. Did you talk to your boss? hear you come in. Yes, I ________ to her a. was sleeping yesterday. b. slept a. was talking 2. I ________ to see her b. talked twice, but she wasn’t at 5. How long ________ the home. flu? a. was coming a. did you have b. came b. were you having 3. What ________? I was watching TV. a. did you do b. were you doing 6. ________ a good time in Paris? Yes, it was wonderful! a. Were you having b. Did you have 7. I ________ when the waitress took my plate. a. still ate b. was still eating

THE USE OF ARTICLES

THE INDEFINITE ARTICLE We use the indefinite article, a/an, with countable nouns when the listener/reader does not know exactly which one we are referring to. E.g. The police are searching for a 14-year-old girl.

The indefinite article is also used:

- to refer to something mentioned for the first time - with names of jobs - with nationalities in singular and religions - with a noun complement - to refer to an example of a class of things - after the words ‘what’ and ‘such’ with nouns in the singular - in certain expressions of quantity: a lot of, a great deal of, a great many, a couple, a dozen, a hundred There is a flag on their house. He wants to be a mechanic. John is an Irishman/a Catholic. She is a good student. A crocodile is a dangerous animal. What a nice day! / She’s such a clever girl. There is a great deal of money in that business.

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Note:

• The indefinite article is also used in a number of phrases:

It’s a pity that … / It’s a shame … / as a rule … / to be in a hurry… / to take an interest in... / to have a headache/a cold/a pain/a cough/a sore throat / to have a chance/an opportunity to ... • We do not use an indefinite article with plural nouns and uncountable nouns:

She was wearing blue shoes. (= plural noun)

She has short blonde hair. (= uncountable noun)

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PRACTICE

Add the indefinite article where necessary.

1. He said he was _____ employee at _____ shop in town. 2. She’s staying at _____ hotel in _____ small town in Colorado. 3. I’m on _____ diet. No _____ sugar for me! 4. She’s sent me _____ postcard from Italy. She says they are having such ____ nice weather. 5. He wants _____ bottle of _____ water. 6. He bought _____ dozen roses for his wife. 7. I think_____ pizza is bad for your health. 8. Don’t you know that _____ cookies contain _____ lot of sugar? 9. I ate at _____ Chinese restaurant. The restaurant was very good. 10. What _____ pity I can’t stay! I have had such ____ busy day.

FOCUS ON

THE INFINITIVE WITHOUT TO The infinitive without TO is used: • after auxiliaries/modals (can/may/will/ should, etc.)

He can run very fast. / Diana will come back soon. • after make and let

He wanted to make the boy improve his manners. / Sandy let her child go out alone. • after verbs of perception + object (to say that the action is complete): feel, hear, see, watch, notice

They saw him climb up onto the roof. / Mandy noticed the boy steal an apple.

Note: After these verbs, the –ing form can also be used if the focus is on an action in progress. E.g. We could smell something burning in the kitchen. • after the following expressions: had better – You had better clean up your room. would rather – Susan would rather study for her exam tomorrow. would sooner – I would sooner read a book than watch this film.

Note: In the passive voice, we use make with the infinitive with ‘to’ and be allowed to instead of let. E.g. He was made to go. / She was allowed to go.