[00:00.00]Lesoon 35 Text A
[00:09.59]A Proud Linguist
[00:13.09]Once upon a time there was an Austrian emperor who made it a rule to interview every one of his soldiers once a year.
[00:22.15]During the interviews he invaiably asked three questinon-"How old are you?"
[00:30.04]"How long have you been in my army?"and"Are you satisfied with your pay and the food you get?"-in the order.
[00:39.44]One year,the day before the imperial interviews,a French-man got himself enlisted in the Austrian army.
[00:48.85]Since he knew no German he was on tenterhooks.
[00:53.00]Now there was an old soldier in his unit who knew a little French and was anxious to help.
[00:59.48]In fact he knew just about enougt French to be able to teach his young friend the shortest possible answers,
[01:08.05]in the proper,to the imperial questions.
[01:11.89]The day arrived with all the sound and colour that befitted it.
[01:17.30]The Emperor in all his splendour was seated on the throne,his entourage attending respectfully in the background.
[01:27.30]The soldiers filed past him,each taking barely half a minute during which time the question were asked
[01:37.07]and the answer reverently provided.
[01:40.10]When the Frenchman's turn came,far from being nervous he was sure of himself,having reciteddteh answer,in teh proper order,
[01:51.18]he did not know how many times.
[01:53.79]The Emperor looked at him long and hard an suddenly took it into his head that he had seen the young man somewhere before.
[02:04.68]he began,a little out of the usual order,with the second question:"How long have you been in my army?"
[02:14.35]"Twenty-one years,"replied the Frenchman,not without some pride in his abilly to lean a foreign language so quickly and so well.
[02:25.71]The monarch was suprrised,for the young man did not look very much older than than,but he went on to ask"
[02:35.12]"Then how old are you?"
[02:36.76]"One day,"came the answer.
[02:40.31]That was too much for the Emperor,who sat back and muttered"
[02:45.20]"Well,well.That beats me.It seems either you're mad or I am."
[02:52.02]Positive that that was the last of the imperial questions,the proud linguist wtepped forward and withe a smile said:
[03:01.86]"Both,your majesty."
[03:05.91]Text B What Am I Going to Do?
[03:11.76]Mr Davidson is staanding outside his house.He has forgotten to bring his key with him.
[03:19.63]Henry Black an John Field walk past an they say"Hello"to Mr Davidson.
[03:26.73]Mr Davidson:Hello,boys.Can you help me?I've forgotten my key and I can't get in.
[03:33.42]John and Henry:We'll try our best,Mr Davidson.
[03:36.97]Mr Davidson:You're both taller than me,aren't you?
[03:40.24]Mohn:Yes,I'm over five foot ten.I'm the tallest of the three of us.
[03:46.17]Henry:But I'm almost as tall as John.
[03:49.46]Mr Davidson:Can you climb on John's shoulders an reach that window?
[03:54.08]Henry:All right.(He climbs on John's shoulders.)What shall do now?
[03:58.73]Mr Davidson:Open the window,please,and climb through it into the house.
[04:04.01]Henry:Oh dear,I can't move it.It's fastened inside.
[04:09.39]Mr Davidson:Can you break the window?
[04:11.87]John:Look!There's a policeman!He's coming towards us.
[04:18.48]7.Read the following passage once.Underline the key words while reading and retell the story to your partner.
[04:31.52]Adventure at Midnight
[04:35.44]Long ago there lived two brothers who were very poor.
[04:40.22]They lived in tiny huts at opposite sides of their large wheat field.
[04:46.51]At the end of each summer, when harvest time came, the brothers divided the grain they had grown into two equal parts.
[04:57.80]Some of it they took to be milled into flour, from which they baked bread.
[05:03.99]The rest was sold for money, with which they bought shoes, clothing,and tools.
[05:11.72]Although they toiled from sunup to sundown, six days a week, they hardly had enough to eat.
[05:21.31]In spite of this, they were happy because of their great love for one another.
[05:27.39]But one year, Simon, the younger brother, felt a great sadness.
[05:33.77]His wife said, "Tell me what is making you so blue?
[05:39.02]You no longer sing while you work, and the twinkle is gone fromyour eye.
[05:45.13]"You are right, dear wife. I am worried about my older brother, Ruben.
[05:52.86]He is alone in the world, with neither wife nor children.
[05:57.54]Who will care for him when he gets old and can no longer work?
[06:03.23]If only he had some money to save for his old age!
[06:08.07]It isn't fair that we share the harvest equally.
[06:12.61]But he is proud and will not accept gifts from me.
[06:16.79]"What shall I do?"
[06:18.44]"Would  you  take food from  your own  children?"She asked in astonishment.
[06:24.44]"There is nothing you can do, "she said. "So forget it."
[06:29.12]Simon knew that his wife was right, but be was determined to help Ruben,come what might.
[06:37.17]Meanwhile, Ruben was sitting under a tree, thinkingdeeply.
[06:43.33]When he noriced a bird on the way to its winter home, he said.
[06:49.05]"That bird and are fortunate because we are free.
[06:54.35]Neither of us has a wife and children always needing to be fed.
[07:01.09]But my poor brother, Simon, is burdened with a family.
[07:05.12]"It isn't fair that we share the harvest equally. Surely he deserves more than I!
[07:12.93]But he is very proud and will not,accept gifts from me. What can I do?
[07:19.48]In several days we'11 take our harvest to town.If I don' t think of a plan soon, it will be too late."
[07:28.71]That night, when the moon was high in the sky,
[07:32.83]Ruben went quietly to his barn where he filled a sack with wheat and put in on his shoulder.
[07:40.02]Then he crossed the empty field to his brother's but and secredy placed his wheat with Simon's.
[07:48.04]"Ah," he said when he had finished, "this is better.
[07:52.37]Now my dear younger brother will have more than I."
[07:56.71]Ruben went happily hack to his hut and slept soundly for the first time in weeks,
[08:04.52]An hour later, Simon woke up with a start. He had dreamed of a marvelous plan.
[08:12.80]He crept out of bed, got dressed, and went to his barn.
[08:18.39]Filling a sack with wheat, walking across the field to Ruben's hut, and placing it there took very little time.
[08:28.32]Before long, he was hack in bed, pulling up the covers.
[08:33.72]"Now I can sleep peacefully," he thought, "because Ruben will have a little extra to save for his old age."
[08:42.97]The next morning Ruben and Simon were amazed. How could this be?
[08:49.27]Their piles were equal, yet each knew he had secretly given wheat to his brother.
[08:56.58]Something must have gone wrong.
[08:59.32]So that night Ruben waited until midnight, when he again took Simon some cd his grain.
[09:07.29]"There! Now I am fully awake and I' m sure I put it on his pile,
[09:13.48]Tomorrow mine will be smaller and his larger, as it should be."
[09:18.86]A short time later, Simon did the same. He, too, was sure that all would be well this time.
[09:27.59]But when day dawned, each brother saw that his share was exactly half the harvest.
[09:34.80]Ruben and Simon were desperate. Tomorrow they were to go to town to sell their grain.
[09:42.45]Tonight was their last chance.
[09:45.17]Midnight came again. But this time Ruben and Simon
[09:51.12]chose the same moment to carry out their mission of brotherly love.
[09:55.80]Each placed a sack of wheat on his shoulders and began to walk acrossthe field. Halfway across they met.
[10:06.90]"Ruben! What are you doing out so late at night?" cried Simon in dismay.
[10:13.04]He tried to hide his sack.
[10:15.63]Startled, Ruben dropped his bundle. Then he saw Simon's sack and they both began to laugh.
[10:24.77]When they finished laughing, they hugged each other tightly.