Stupid farmer

There lived a rich farmer in England who had a friend. This friend had very good apple-trees. One day he gave the farmer a young apple-tree and told him to take it home and plant it. The farmer was very pleased with the present but when he came home he did not know where to plant the tree. He thought: "If I plant it near the road, somebody will steal the apples. If I plant it in my field, my neighbours will come and rob me. If I plant it near my house, my children will take the apples."

So he planted the tree in a forest where nobody could see it. But there was too little sun and the tree died. When the farmer's friend heard of it he got very angry and asked the farmer why he had planted the tree in such a bad place. "Where could I plant it?" said the farmer. "If I had planted the tree near the road, somebody would have stolen the apples. If I had planted it in my field, my neighbours would have come and robbed me. If I had planted it near my house, my children would have taken the apples." His friend listened to the farmer and said: "But then somebody would have enjoyed the apples, and now nobody can have them and you have lost a nice tree."

Based on Short stories for reading and listening

http://som.fio.ru/RESOURCES/FILIPPOVMA/2004/02/stories/stories1.htm

1. Why didn’t the farmer know where to plant the tree?

2. Did he eventually choose a right place for the tree?

3. Why did the tree die?

4. What was the reaction of his friend when he learned that the tree had died?

5. How did the farmer explain his choice?

6. What was his friend’s reply?

2) Перекажіть текст від імені друга фермера.

Вправа 8. А) Прочитайте, що написала своїм читачам американська письменниця Jessica Inclán на одному з веб-сайтів. Потім напишіть їй відповідь.

I was thinking about what I should write to you all about, and I came up with a list of things I wish I hadn’t done. And a list of things I wish I had. Some are ancient and some are brand new, but I was thinking about my characters and their lists, and I thought I should have one of my own. Here we go:

What I wish I hadn’t done:

• Said “yes” to the South Dakota Book Festival and then cancelled at the last minute (oh, such bad karma!).

• Told my uncle who lives in South Dakota that I would be visiting! (Even worse karma).

• Had two glasses of wine at the No Name Restaurant in Boston (when wine comes in red, white, and rose, one should know there is trouble!)

• Given my landlords notice. So how am I going to find another apartment?

• Eaten that hamburger last night.

What I wish I had done:

• Kissed that cute boy on New Year’s Eve, 1978. What was his name? If I’d kissed him, maybe I’d still know.

• Kept playing the guitar. Mom was right.

• Started my diet about three years earlier.

• Read more, laughed more, and not tried to get an A on every testing college.

So what about you? What do you wish you’d done? Not done? I am wishing a lot of things right now.

Б) А тепер прочитайте одну з численних відповідей, які отримала Джесіка.

Kalen Hughes said…

I'm not sure I have any real regrets either way . . .

I sometimes wonder how my life would be if I'd: gone to Berkeley; married my college sweetheart; skipped grad school and gone to Germany; turned down my job and gone to Prague with Jesus Christ, Superstar; called that guy who gave me his number last New Year's Eve; etc.

But had I done any of those things my life would be totally different, and I LIKE my life.

Based on Jessica Inclan GuestBlog: Things I Wish I'd Done

http://romancebytheblog.blogspot.com/2006/10/jessica-inclan-guestblog-things-i-wish.html

karma – карма; to give (someone) notice – повідомити (когось); landlord – хазяїн будинку або квартири; cute – симпатичний; to wonder - хотіти знати; Berkeley – місто в США, в якому розташований престижний університет; sweetheart – коханий; to skip – утекти; grad school – курс навчання у коледжі або університеті після одержання першого ступеня; to turn down – відмовитися від.

В) Обговоріть у парах, яким могло бути життя Келен Хьюз, якби трапилося те, про що вона пише.

Вправа 9. А) Прочитайте уривок із статті англійського письменника Christopher Booker, розміщеної на сайті Інтернет-видання Daily Mail. Чи поділяєте ви думку автора? Обґрунтуйте свою відповідь.