2 minute read
READING 4 FUN
86 1 Listen and read.
THE TORTOISE1 AND THE HARE
(an Aesop2 fable)
In a forest near a river there lived a hare who was very proud3 of himself. Most of all he liked to talk about the way he could run. Of course, the other hares did not like him and did not want to listen to him.
But he forgot all about his decision when he saw a tortoise. He looked at her short legs and cried, “Oh, I am so glad that I am not a tortoise!” The tortoise called out to him, “If you can run so fast, let’s have a race.”
The hare began to laugh, “Have a race with you? I can get to the fi nish and back before you cross the starting line.”
The tortoise said, “Do you see that big tree over there? The fi nish will be at that tree.”
The tortoise was very clever, and she wanted to teach the hare a lesson.
The hare ran off as fast as he could, and the tortoise started slowly after him. The hare ran very fast and soon he was not far from the tree. He thought, “I shall wait for the tortoise here and when she comes near, I shall run to the fi nish and be the fi rst.”
But the day was very hot, and he soon fell asleep. Some time later he woke. He looked around and saw that the tortoise was nearly at the fi nish. The other hares were watching her and laughing. The proud hare got up and ran as fast as he could, but the tortoise had already reached the tree. The other hares laughed and said to each other, “He boasted very much, but he couldn’t win a race against a tortoise, who is one of the slowest animals in the forest.”
1a tortoise [9tc:t3s] — черепаха 2Aesop [9I:s4p] — Езоп, стародавній грецький байкар 3to be proud [praUd] — пишатися 4to boast [b3Ust] — вихвалятися
Lesson 2
2 Read and say if it is true or false according to the fable.
1 The hare told he was a great runner. 2 All the other hares liked to listen to him. 3 “I must boast,” the hare thought. 4 The hare was glad that he was not a tortoise. 5 The hare wanted to have a race with the tortoise. 6 The hare won the race. 7 The tortoise taught the hare a good lesson.
3 Look at the pictures and tell the story.
There lived … Once he saw a tortoise …
The day was hot and … The hare ran as fast as he could but …
4 Read and answer.
A fable is a kind of story. The characters of fables are animals or people. The animals often act like people. A fable shows a problem and teaches a lesson. When you read a fable, you learn the lesson, too. Most of the lessons in fables are about how people should or shouldn’t act. “The Tortoise and the Hare” is one of the fables. What lesson does the fable above teach you?
