World Literature (Aesop Fables)｜世界文学（イソップ童話）Lesson16: The Oxen and the Wheels

PART A_1

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

PART A_2

1.　groan	/grohn/
	-a low, mournful sound uttered in pain or grief:
	He would occasionally groan in his sleep.
2.　draw	/draw/
	-to pull or direct something in a particular direction
	Macy drew her mother’s coat tightly around her shoulders.
3.　endure	/en-dyoor/
	-to hold out against; sustain without impairment or yielding; undergo:
	The misery he had to endure for years was unimaginable.
4.　patience	/PEY-shuhns/
	-the quality of being patient
	All her patience paid off the in the end.
5.　suffer	/SUHF-er/
	-to undergo or feel pain or distress:
	Numerous marginalized farmers are still suffering.

PART B_1

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

PART B_2

THE OXEN AND THE WHEELS

A pair of Oxen were drawing a heavily loaded wagon along a miry country road. They had to use all their strength to pull the wagon, but they did not complain.

The Wheels of the wagon were of a different sort. Though the task they had to do was very light compared with that of the Oxen, they creaked and groaned at every turn. The poor Oxen, pulling with all their might to draw the wagon through the deep mud, had their ears filled with the loud complaining of the Wheels. And this, you may well know, made their work so much the harder to endure.

“Silence!” the Oxen cried at last, out of patience. “What have you Wheels to complain about so loudly? We are drawing all the weight, not you, and we are keeping still about it besides.”

They complain most who suffer least.

PART C_1

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

PART C_2

1.	Which animals had to pull a wagon down a country road?
2.	How did the wheels react to the task at hand?
3.	What did the oxen tell the wheels?

PART D_1

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

PART D_2

1.	How would you describe the characteristics of the oxen?
2.	How would you describe the characteristics of the wheels?
3.	If you were one of the oxen, how would you stop the wheels from complaining?
4.	The fable’s lesson is “They complain most who suffer least.” Do you agree with this? Why or why not?
5.	How do you deal with people who like to complain a lot?

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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