World Literature (Aesop Fables)｜世界文学（イソップ童話）Lesson88: The Astrologer

PART A_1

Let’s learn vocabulary. Listen and repeat the words and the sentences with your tutor.

PART A_2

1.　gaze	/GEYZ/
	-to look for a long time at something or someone or in a particular direction
	The girl gazed at the sunset while appreciating its beauty.
2.　slippery	/SLIP-e-ri/
	-smooth and wet and difficult to hold or walk on
	A slippery road may cause accidents.
3.　muddy	/MAD-i/
	-covered by or containing mud
	She played outside and came back with her clothes muddy.
4.　fail	/feyl/
	-to not be successful
	She failed to do her household chores for the day, so her mom talked to her.
5.　climb	/klaym/
	-to go up, or to go toward the top of something
	She climbed the mountain to refresh her mind.

PART B_1

Let’s read the story. Please read them aloud, and I will check your pronunciation and intonation.

PART B_2

The Astrologer

A man who lived a long time ago believed that he could read the future in the stars. He called himself an Astrologer and spent his time at night gazing at the sky.

One evening he was walking along the open road outside the village. His eyes were fixed on the stars. He thought he saw there that the end of the world was at hand, when all at once, down he went into a hole full of mud and water.

There he stood up to his ears, in the muddy water, and madly clawing at the slippery sides of the hole in his effort to climb out.

His cries for help soon brought the villagers running. As they pulled him out of the mud, one of them said:

“You pretend to read the future in the stars, and yet you fail to see what is at your feet! This may teach you to pay more attention to what is right in front of you, and let the future take care of itself.”

“What use is it,” said another, “to read the stars, when you can’t see what’s right here on the earth?”

Take care of the little things and the big things will take care of themselves.

PART C_1

Let’s answer comprehension questions. Please answer them based on the story.

PART C_2

1.	What was the Astrologer trying to do?
2.	What happened while he was gazing at the stars?
3.	What did the villagers tell him?

PART D_1

Let’s discuss the story. Please answer the questions below and express your opinions.

PART D_2

1.	Why do you think the Astrologer was very fond of the stars?
2.	Do you think the villagers were correct with what they told to the Astrologer? Why or why not?
3.	What do you think the Astrologer realized after the incident?
4.	Do you agree with the moral of the story? Why or why not?
5.	What may be the effect if we keep on missing the little things because of trying to go after the big things? Please explain your answer.

REVIEW AND FEEDBACK

Now, let us review the things that you learned in this lesson.

ではこのレッスンで学んだことを振り返りましょう。

(Please give a short feedback on how your student did on your class.)

	Grammar 文法	Pronunciation 発音	Vocabulary 単語	Comprehension 理解
GOOD	文法の誤りはほとんどなく、完全な文章で話すことができる	ほとんどの単語をはっきりと正しく発音することができる	習った表現を適切に使うことができる	文章を理解し、質問に正しく答えることができる
FAIR	文法の誤りはあるが、完全な文章で話すことができる	発音の練習が必要な言葉がいくつかある	たまにミスはあるが、習った表現を適切に使うことができる	文章を完全に理解するのは難しく、質問に正しく答えられないときもある
POOR	文章で話すのは難しく、単語だけで話すことができる	発音の練習が必要である	習った単語と表現を少しだけ使うことができる	文章を理解するのは難しく、質問に答えるのは難しい

TUTOR FEEDBACK

GRAMMAR
Good:	Was able to speak in complete sentences with minimal grammatical errors.
Fair:	Was able to speak in complete sentences with evident grammatical errors.
Poor:	Was able to speak using words only.
PRONUNCIATION
Good:	Was able to pronounce most of the words clearly and correctly.
Fair:	Mispronounced a few words.
Poor:	Mispronounced most of the words.
VOCABULARY
Good:	Used appropriate expressions learned in class.
Fair:	Used appropriate expressions learned in class and made a few errors in word choice.
Poor:	Used only a few words and expressions.
COMPREHENSION
Good:	Was able to understand the passages and answer the questions correctly.
Fair:	Had a little difficulty in understanding passages and answering questions.
Poor:	Had a hard time understanding passages and answering questions.

Parts of this lesson material are based on:
An eBook from The Project Gutenberg.
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