Reading : The Blind Men and the Elephant

I. ROOT 詞根 :  “bene” (well, good)

1. benefit 利益，好處；優勢

The discovery of oil brought many benefits to the town. 石油的發現給該鎮帶來很多利益。

One of the many benefits of foreign travel is learning how to cope with the unexpected. 學會如何應付突發事件是海外旅遊的眾多益處之一。

He's had the benefit of an expensive education and yet he continues to work as a waiter. 他接受過昂貴的教育，但卻繼續當一名侍者。

I didn't get/derive (much) benefit from school. 我從沒在學校裡學到（多少）東西。

2. beneficial有益的，有用的，有利的

A stay in the country will be beneficial to his health. 在鄉下生活一段時間，對他的健康有利。

II. IDIOM成語:

1. The blind leading the blind. 盲人教瞎子；外行指導外行 Someone who doesn’t know is listening to the advice of someone who doesn’t know

2. Turn a blind eye. 視而不見；聽之任之 Knowing something wrong is happening but not doing anything about it.

Management often turn a blind eye to bullying in the workplace. 管理層對工作場所發生的恃強淩弱行為常常睜一隻眼閉一隻眼。

                                                  Just For Laughs: Best of Blind

III. Story Vocabulary:

1. blind瞎的，盲的，失明的

She's been blind since birth.  她天生失明。

He started to go blind in his sixties. 他在60多歲時失明了。

2. beg乞討，行乞

There are more and more homeless people begging on the streets these days. 近來越來越多無家可歸的人在街上行乞。

She had to beg for money and food for her children. 她不得不為孩子們乞討金錢和食物。

3. pass經過，路過

I passed him on the stairs this morning.  今天早上我在樓梯上與他擦肩而過。

You should only pass a slower vehicle if it is safe to do so. 只有在安全的情況下，你才應該超越較慢的車輛。

If you pass a supermarket, could you get me some milk? 你若是路過超市的話，幫我買些牛奶好嗎？

I was just passing by, so I thought I'd drop in for a chat. 我正好路過，所以想進來聊聊。

A cloud passed over the sun.  一朵雲飄過，遮住了太陽。

4. argue爭論；爭吵；爭辯

The children are always arguing.  孩子老是吵個不停。

Kids, will you stop arguing with each other? 孩子們，你們別再吵嘴了好不好？

They were arguing over/about which film to go and see. 他們正在爭論去看哪部電影。

5. grab, grasp攫取；抓住；抓取

A mugger grabbed her handbag as she was walking across the park.

她穿過公園時一個劫匪搶了她的手提包。

He grabbed (hold of) his child's arm to stop her from running into the road.

他抓住孩子的手臂防止她跑到路中間去。

6. mistaken錯誤的；弄錯的

If you think you can carry on drinking so much without damaging your health, then you're mistaken. 如果你認為可以繼續喝這麼多酒而不損害健康的話，那你錯了。

I'm afraid I was mistaken about how much it would cost. 恐怕我搞錯了要花多少錢。

a case of mistaken identity 認錯人的案例

7. reach伸出手臂（去拿或觸摸），伸手及到

She's grown so tall that she can reach the door handle now. 她個子長高了，能夠著門把手。

He reached for the phone and knocked over a glass.  他伸手去拿電話時，碰倒了一個杯子。

The child reached down/out/over and picked up the kitten. 那個孩子彎腰伸手／伸出手／把手伸過去抱起那隻小貓。

He reached his hand out for the money. 他伸手去拿錢

8. foolish愚蠢的，傻的

That was a rather foolish thing to do.  做那樣的事可真是蠢。

She was afraid that she would look foolish if she refused.  她怕如果拒絕會使自己看起來像個傻瓜。

It was foolish of them to pay so much.  他們花了這麽多錢，真傻。

10. wall牆，牆壁，圍牆

The walls in this apartment are so thin you can hear just about every word the neighbours say. 這間公寓的牆太薄了，甚至隔壁的人說的每一句話你都可以聽見。

The walls look a bit bare - can't we put some pictures up? 這些牆看起來有點光禿禿的——我們能不能掛幾幅畫呢？

We had to climb over a ten-foot wall to get into the garden. 我們不得不翻過一堵十呎高的牆以進到花園裡。

11. plain清楚的，明顯的

It's quite plain that they don't want to speak to us. 很明顯，他們不想和我們說話。

The reason is perfectly plain.  原因很清楚。

I made it quite plain I wasn't interested.  我直截了當地表示我不感興趣。

12. unkind刻薄的；不友善的；不客氣的

an unkind remark 刻薄的話

It was unkind of you to take his rattle away. 你把他的撥浪鼓拿走太不友善了。

13. agree持相同意見；贊成，贊同

Ann and I never seem to agree. 安和我好像從來都沒有意見一致過。

I agree with you on this issue. 在這個問題上我贊同你的意見。

My father and I don't agree about/on very much.  在很多問題上，父親和我意見都不一致。

READING 1: THE BLIND MEN AND THE ELEPHANT

There were once six blind men who stood by the road side every day and begged from the people who passed. They had often heard of elephants, but they had never seen one. How could they, they were blind? It so happened one morning that an elephant was down the road where they stood. When they were told that the great animal was before them, they asked the driver to let him stop so that they might see him. Of course they could not see him with their eyes, but they thought that by touching him they could learn just what kind of animal he was. The first one happened to put his hand on the elephant's side. "Well, well!" he said, "now I know all about this beast. He is exactly like a wall." The second felt only of the elephant's tusk (長牙). "My brother," he said, "you are mistaken. He is not at all like a wall. He is round and smooth and sharp. He is more like a spear (矛,槍,鏢槍) than anything else." The third happened to take hold of the elephant's trunk (象鼻). "Both of you are wrong," he said. "Anybody who knows anything can see that this elephant is like a snake." The fourth reached out his arms and grasped one of the elephant's legs. "Oh, how blind you are," he said. "It is very plain to me that he is round and tall like a tree." The fifth was a very tall man, and he took hold of the elephant's ear. "The blindest man has to know that this animal is not like any of the things that you name," he said. "He is exactly like a huge fan." The sixth was very blind indeed, and it was some time before he could find the elephant at all. At last he grabbed the animal's tail. "Oh foolish friends," he cried, "you have lost your minds (頭腦). This elephant is not like a wall or a spear or a snake or a tree, nor is he like a fan (扇子). But any man with a brain can see that he is exactly like a rope (粗繩). Then the elephant moved on, and the six blind men sat by the roadside all day and argued about him. Each believed that he knew just how the animal looked, and each called the others unkind names because they did not agree with him. People who have eyes sometimes act as foolishly.

Answer the questions:

1. What is the moral (道德教訓, 寓意) of the story? The moral of          the story is…(這個故事的寓意是)…What does this story try to teach us about reality?

 

                  

This story can also be used to teach conflict resolution

2. Why were the blind men on the roadside?

3. What does the elephant’s ear feel like to one of them?

4. How do the blind men treat each other?

5. Have you ever seen blind people before? If yes, then where? If no, than why not?

6. Have you ever given money to street beggars before? If yes, then where? If no, than why not?

Draw the Blind Idioms literally:

Turn a Blind Eye	The Blind Lead the Blind

Extra: The Blind Men and the Elephant (song by Natalie Merchant)

READING 2: Conversation

A：There’s a meeting soon, everyone better brace themselves. 等一下開會，大家皮要繃緊點。
B：Why? 為什麼？
A：When the general manager came into the office just now, he had a face like thunder. I think he’s in a bad mood. I bet he’s going to flip out. 總經理剛進辦公室時臉超臭的，感覺心情很差，待會可能發飆。
B：Oh. Would it be OK if I pop out to see a client and not go to the meeting? 呃……我可以公出拜訪客戶不去開會嗎？

Slang俚語Words: Matching
1. brace yourself               a. go outside for a short time
2. flip out                        b. get ready
3. pop out                        c. go crazy, get angry

++THINKING++

 1. How is your mood today?  I feel….

2. How is your friends’ moods?

3. Your teachers’ moods?

4. What can you do to improve your mood right now?