World Literature (Aesop Fables)｜世界文学（イソップ童話）Lesson12: The Fox and the Grapes

PART A_1

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

PART A_2

1.　ripe	/rahyp/
	-having arrived at such a stage of growth or development as to be ready for reaping, gathering, eating, or use, as grain or fruit; completely matured.
	The boy ate two ripe bananas for breakfast.
2.　vine	/vahyn/
	-any plant having a long, slender stem that trails or creeps on the ground or climbs by winding itself about a support or holding fast with tendrils or claspers.
	Thick vines have grown over the wooden gate.
3.　miss	/mis/
	-to fail to hit or strike:
	The fighter had missed his opponent three times before he was able to finally knock him out.
4.　disgust	/dis-GUHST/
	-a strong distaste
	The kids stared at the moldy bread in disgust.
5.　pretend	/pri-TEND/
	-to appear falsely, as to deceive
	He pretended that he did not care about not being invited to the party.

PART B_1

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

PART B_2

THE FOX AND THE GRAPES

A Fox one day spied a beautiful bunch of ripe grapes hanging from a vine trained along the branches of a tree. The grapes seemed ready to burst with juice, and the Fox’s mouth watered as he gazed longingly at them.

The bunch hung from a high branch, and the Fox had to jump for it. The first time he jumped he missed it by a long way. So he walked off a short distance and took a running leap at it, only to fall short once more. Again and again he tried, but in vain.

Now he sat down and looked at the grapes in disgust.

“What a fool I am”, he said. “Here I am wearing myself out to get a bunch of sour grapes that are not worth gaping for.”

And off he walked very, very scornfully.

There are many who pretend to despise and belittle that which is beyond their reach.

PART C_1

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

PART C_2

1.	What did the Fox find?
2.	Was the Fox able to get the grapes?
3.	How did he feel after failing to reach the grapes?

PART D_1

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

PART D_2

1.	Do you think the Fox tried hard enough to get hold of the grapes?
2.	Was his reaction, in the end, something that you expected?
3.	What can you say about his reaction after his failure?
4.	The fable’s lesson is “There are many who pretend to despise and belittle that which is beyond their reach.” Do you agree with this? Why or why not?
5.	Why do you think some people react the same way?

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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