The true sign of intelligence is not knowledge but imagination.

Albert Einstein

Wolf! wolf!

A long time ago there was a boy who watched his father’s sheep. Each day he took them to a pasture on the hillside above the village, and there he sat and watched them all day long. In the afternoon, as the sun began to go down, he drove the sheep home again. Often he would become quite lonely, because he had no one to play with. How he longed for just a little bit of company. One day, when he was feeling very lonely indeed, he remembered what his father had told him when he first began to care for the sheep. You must always beware of the wolf, his father has said. And if you should see one, be sure to call for help. Now the boy had never seen a wolf. But he thought that it would be so pleasant to have some company that he decided to make-believe. Wolf, wolf. Far below, the villagers heard him. They all dropped their work, seized their axes, and rushed up to the pasture. But, when they got there , they saw only the sheep and the boy. There was no wolf at all. He was so glad to see them that they were not very angry at him for having fooled them.But they told him that he must not do it again. And for a long time he did not. One day, though, he was feeling lonelier than ever. He knew that he should not , but he cried out, as loudly as he could. Wolf! wolf! And again the villagers came rushing to help him. But , when they got there , they saw only the sheep and the boy, and no wolf at all. He was very glad to see them, but some of them were quite angry, this time at having been fooled. They told him that he must not do it again. And he did not. One day as he sat quietly watching his sheep, he saw a big gray wolf come slinking out of the forest. Wolf! wolf! He called with all his might. Wolf!wolf! The villagers , far below , heard his cries, but  went on with their work. They did not want to be fooled again. Wolf! wolf! Cried the boy. Wolf! wolf!  Cried the boy. Wolf, wolf. At this the villagers were startled. Perhaps  he did need help. And they dropped their work, seized their axes and rushed to the pasture. But they were  too late. When they got there the wolf had gone, and all they ever found of the little boy was his pointed shepherd’s hat.

                                        

“ Silence is not always valued for what it actually is. Some people like to  sit silently and watch the world around. A lot others can't do that. It seems that only the old people should stay calm and say nothing.  

I always carry  a question with me:" Can people sit together without talking?" We often hear the saying that "Silence is gold", but who should know  such a saying?

Following there should be an answer. Enjoy reading it.

fm

A time for silence

The next time you have five minutes to spare, do you

know what you should do?  Just think!

Make sure that for once you are surrounded by silence.

Switch off your radio and your hi-fi. Turn off the

TV –and the lights. Shut your books, put down your

papers and magazines. Flick the switches. Turn off the

taps. Free yourself from the tentacles of our consumer

society. Like a frightening octopus, it sucks away what

remains of your freedom and spirit with its debasing

commercials.

Make everything silent around you. Make it silent

within you. And take  your pulse. You must find out

whether you’re already dead-buried in goods, in

that tight corset of money making, achieving.

At a thousand meetings you talk, you protest. The

poor of the third world,the poor at home- they will

get nothing out of your talk, your arguing, your

protests your resolutions.

They loathe them because they know you yourself are

drowing in the very things they must go without.

They will take you seriously only when your

consumption –fever cools off. I do know something to

take for this consumption-fever: it is restraint, 
self denial, sacrifice!

ENGLISH ADVANCED VOCABULARY TEST (1)

Q1 Thanks to the crash barrier in the middle of the motorway cars are …… from hitting those on the other side in the event of an accident.

(a) distracted                            (b) diverted                      (c) directed                   (d) prevented

Q2 It doesn’t matter what position you hold in society everyone is …… to the same laws.

(a) object                       (b) subject                       (c) controlled                         (d) restricted

Q3 As I was a stranger in that country I was not ….. with some of their customs and didn’t understand why 

people were laughing at me.

(a) addicted                         (b) attracted                      (c) acquainted                      (d) acquired

Q4 You can have that car in any colour you want in fact you have a …… of 24 different ones.

(a) choice                        (b) choosing                 (c) number                              (d) shade

Q5 The theatre was ….. to display in the entrance some of the excellent newspaper reviews the play had received.

(a) deluded                            (b) developed                             (c) demanded                       (d) delighted

Q6 As the hospital had been careless with its hygiene procedures, the patient found she had been……. with a harmful virus.

(a) detected                        (b) rejected                         (c) infected                              (d) suspected

Q7 As a …… of the district she had absolutely no difficulty in understanding the local dialect.

(a) inhabitant                               (b) relation                          (c) native                    (d) newcomer

Q8 There is a new company regulation to remove the danger of passive smoking, which ……. all employees from smoking at their place to work.

(a) prohibits                                  (b) promotes                       (c) professes                      (d) protests

Q9 He finds breathing very difficult in restricted spaces as he ……. from asthma.

(a) refers                               (b) defers                      (c) suffers                       (d) differs

Q10 I am very pleased to be working with you because I think the same way and ….. with your policies.

(a) accept                     (b) conform                             (c) confer                            (d) agree

Back to another story. Read it for your pleasure. 

  

    Lazy Jack

Once upon a time there lived in a little cottage an old woman and her son Jack. Every day the old woman sat in the corner and worked at her spinning, and every day her son sat by the fire and did nothing at all. So all the neighbors called him Lazy Jack. One morning his mother could stand his idleness no longer, and she told Lazy Jack that he must work for his bowl of ridge. So off he went to work  a day for a farmer who lived near by.At the end of the day , the farmer paid him a penny.  But Lazy Jack lost the penny in the brook on his way  home and had nothing  to show for his work. The next time , said  his mother, put what you earn in your pocket. The next day Jack worked as a cowherd for a dairyman who lived over the hill, and  at the end of the day , the farmer  paid him a jug of milk. Remembering what  his mother had  said, Jack tried  to put  the jug in his pocket. Of course he spilled all the milk and had only an empty jug when he got home. Next time, said his mother , you should  carry it on your head. Then you won’t spill it. The next morning Lazy Jack went once more to work for the dairy farmer.This time, when  the day was over , the man gave him some cream cheese. Remembering what his mother had said, Lazy Jack put the cheese on his head and started  home. But the cheese melted and ran down all over  his head, and Jack had nothing to show for his day’s work but a dirty face. Next time, said his mother patiently, you should wrap it in green leaves and carry it in your hands. At the end of the  next day’s work all Lazy Jack got was a tomcat.  He did  just as he had been told; he tried  to wrap it in green leaves and hold it in his hands. The cat did not like this at all and finally got away  from Jack who arrived home with nothing to show but scratched  hands. Stupid, said his mother , who still had to spin for their living. You should  have tied it to a string and pulled it behind you. So the next afternoon , when Lazy Jack  was given a ham as payment for his work, he carefully tied a string around it and dragged it home along the dusty road.  Oh , you strawhead, cried his mother when she saw the dusty, battered remains of what had been a fine ham. Why didn’t you carry it on your shoulder? So next day, when Jack was given a donkey for his work, he obediently hoisted it to his shoulder and started home. Now on his way Jack passed the handsome home of a wealthy man who had one daughter. The poor girl was both deaf and dumb, and  doctors said the only cure would be for her to laugh. But, try as he might, the father could find nothing that would make his daughter laugh. On this afternoon she was  sitting at the window gazing sadly at the road. Suddenly around a bend came  the strangest sight she had ever seen Lazy Jack struggling along with the donkey on his shoulder. The donkey’s four feet were waving in the air, and it was braying loudly. First she looked. Then she stared. And then , wonder of wonders, she burst out laughing. Father, she called at last. Father, look. My daughter , the old man exclaimed. Is that really your voice I hear? It was, of course and the girl was completely cured. Overjoyed, her father rushed out to the road. Drop your donkey, he cried to Lazy Jack.  You have given my daughter back her voice and her hearing , and no one but you shall be her husband. So Jack, who was called Lazy Jack no longer, and the daughter were married. They lived in  a fine new house and Jack’s mother came often to live with them. The old  man came often to visit them and as you can  well imagine , they all lived happily ever after.

Hi there,

Who has not heard that laughter is a common remedy for all ailments? Scholars always advise us to leave some room for it in our daily life. No matter how dire our life may seem at a given moment, never forget to take a break to laugh. Not only will we feel better, but we'll live longer. Who doesn't want it?
Enjoy what comes following,

Park in the sun

Park in the sun

In reality I don’t have such a long time on this world.

Between the eternity before my birth and the eternity

after my death, I am given such a short time for parking

on our little planet.

I have my own parking meter.

I can’t put back its hand. Neither can I make it give me

more time by popping in a few more coins.

My parking time here is relentlessly limited. There is

not a single thing I can do about it. My life is like  my

name written in the sand: a tiny breeze and it is gone.

So what should you do?

Don’t whatever you do cry about it. Try to park your

life in the sun and not in a wasps’ nest of quarrels and

wrangles, of nerve-wracking worries and problems.

Make beautiful days! Be enthusiastic about light, about

life,about good people and about good things. Be

friendly and warm to the old man who knows that his

parking time is nearly over. Be warm towards the sick,

the handicapped, the dispossessed, the disillusioned,

the cheated and the many unhappy folk who no longer

have a place in the sun.Make beautiful days for them

and for the people around you. You have to do

nothing more to be happy in yourself.

Park in the sun and the parking meter tick.

Hi there,

There is always a problem with certain verbs in English. Sometimes it is not easy to choose the best option between them. Following are a few of those verbs. Try your best to give the right answer.

We will see them together no sooner than next week from today.

I wish you all a very nice evening.

fm

DO, MAKE, GET, TAKE

Q1 You must decide and ……. up your mind.

(a) do                             (b) get                         (c) make                         (d) take

Q2 What time do you …….. up in the morning?

(a) do                             (b) get                        (c) make                                (d) take

Q3 At the moment we are trying to ……. for the town centre.

(a) do                              (b) get                        (c) make                           (d) take

Q4 After they had shouted at each other, they decided to ……… it up.

(a) do                                (b) get                   (c) make                         (d) take

Q5 They are very good friends and ……. on well with each other.

(a) do                              (b) get                       (c) make                  (d) take

Q6 The firm has expanded and they want to …… on extra staff.

(a) do                                (b) get                         (c) make                  (d) take

Q7 She’s good at writing stories for children and is always keen to …… up new plots.

(a) do                             (b) get                                  (c) make                (d) take

Q8 As we don’t have much money at the moment, we’ve decided to …….. without certain luxuries.

(a) do                               (b) get                         (c) make                   (d) take

Q9 We mustn’t be late this morning because today is when the new boss is going to …… over.

(a) do                          (b) get                                   (c) make                 (d) take

Q10 Most of the telephone lines were destroyed in the storm last night and so it’s almost impossible to …… through to anybody today.

(a) do                             (b) get                                    (c) make                        (d) take

THE IMPORTANCE OF FAIRY TALES

“If you want your children to be intelligent, read them fairy tales. If you want them to be more intelligent, read them more fairy tales.” 
― Albert Einstein

          

 The little red hen and the fox 

One day the Big Black Fox said to his mother, “I am hungry. What is there in the house to eat?”

“Not a bite or a sip, “said Mother Fox.

“Well then, said the Big Black Fox, “ put a big kettle of water on the boil. This morning I shall go after the Little Red Hen.”

    So off he started with a sack slung over his shoulder, in which he planned to bring back the Little Red Hen.

Now the Little Red Hen had gone out to hunt some large, juicy worms for breakfast, and she had left the door of her little  house open. So when the Big Black Fox came sneaking up with his sack over his shoulder, he slipped right into the house and hid.

“Aha!” said he. :I won’t be long before the Little Red Hen comes back. Then what a delicious breakfast we shall have, Mother Fox and I.”

   Soon  the Little Red Hen came back with seven juicy worms for her breakfast. She stepped inside the house and stopped short. She knew immediately that something was wrong. But, before she could think what it was wrong. But, before she could think what it was, the Big Black Fox jumped out from his hiding place.

   Quicker than a wink the Little Red Hen dropped her seven juicy worms and fluttered up to the high mantel above her fireplace.

  “Come down!” cried the Big Black Fox.

But the Little Red Hen was too smart for that. “Not I , “she said. “I am safer up here.”

I know a way to fix that, “said the Fox, and he started to run around and around and around in a circle.

The poor Little Red Hen watched him, wondering what he was up to. And the longer she watched him circling, the dizzier she got. Finally she was so dizzy that she troppled right off the mantel.

     Chuckling wickedly, the Big Black Fox stuffed her into his sack and started for home. It was a long walk and a hot day, and the Little Red Hen was a heavy load, so the Big Black Fox had to stop often to rest. Once he stopped a moment too long, and he fell sound asleep.

     The Little Red Hen heard the fox begin to snore.

“This is my chance, “She thought.

She reached into her apron pocket,where she kept her scissors and needle and thread. Then snip, snip, she cut a hole in the sack big enough to wriggle through.

  “Now for a big stone,” she said to herself.

  She found one at last, just her own size.

This she rolled into the sack: then she sewed up the slit she had cut.

     Then off she went, lickety split, faster than she had ever gone before. She hurried back home. Once inside she closed the door behind her, locked it, and double locked it.

And she locked the back door too.

“Oh dear, the water must be all boiled away by now, :he said. “I must hurry home.”

When he had taken just a few steps, though, he noticed how heavy his sack was.

  “What a plump, juicy little hen she must be,” he thought, chuckling.

      When he got home, his mother was watching anxiously for him.

“You’ve been gone so long.” She complained, “that I’ve had to keep it from all boiling away. Sure enough, there was a great cloud of steam coming from the kettle. Good, said the Big Black Fox when he saw this. Now you hold  the cover off while I dump the Little Red Hen into the pot. But instead  of the Little Red Hen, the steaming  kettle , throwing boiling water all over the Big Black Fox and his mother. That was enough for those two bad foxes. Never again did they bother the Little Red Hen in her little house in the woods.