A strong family A farmer lives in the country with his four sons. The sons like to quarrel. So this family is unhappy. The harvest on the field isn’t rich.
One day the farmer calls his sons together. He puts some sticks on the ground in front of them. He picks up one of his sticks and breaks it with his hands. Then he picks up five sticks and ties them together. He gives them to the strongest son and says, “Break them!”
The young man can’t break the five sticks. The other three sons can’t break them either.
Then the farmer says, “It is easy to break one stick. But it is not easy to break five sticks together. Our family is like those sticks. By quarreling you will become weak. By staying together you will be strong”.
LISTENING COMPREHENSION VARIANT 36
1. Listen to the text and decide if the statements are true or false. 1) The farmer has five sons.
2) Their quarrels make them happy.
3) The harvest on the field isn’t rich.
4) The farmer tells the weakest son to break the sticks.
5) The family lives in a farm.
6) Their farm is in the country.
7) The farmer says, «It is easy to break one stick».
8) Our family is like those trees.
9) By quarreling the family will become not weak.
10) By staying together you will be strong.
2. Choose the correct answer to complete the sentences. 1. Why is the family unhappy?
a) They never quarrel. b) They like to quarrel. c) They live in the country.
2. Is the harvest on the field rich?
a) Yes, it is. b) No, it isn’t. c) No, the field is large.
3. What does the farmer break first?
a) He breaks one stick. b) He breaks five sticks. c) He breaks sticks one by one.
4. What does he do with the five sticks?
a) He breaks them with his hands. b) He puts them on the ground.
c) He ties them together.
5. What does he say to the strongest son?
a) He tells him to quarrel. b) He tells him to break the five sticks.
c) He tells him to break one of the sticks.
6. What must they do to be strong?
a) They must stay together and not quarrel. b) They must quarrel every day.
c) They must break the sticks.
7. Who calls the farmer one day?
a) his sons together. b) his daughters together. c) his son.
8. How many sticks does the farmer pick up firstly?
a) five of his sticks. b) All of them. c) one of his sticks.
9. Is it easy to break five sticks together?
a)Yes, it is. b) No, it is. c) No, it isn’t.
10) How does the farmer break the sticks?
a) with his hands. b) with a help of his legs. c) he doesn’t break them.
