Sample Unit

The Mountain Goat

Chapter Outline

Introduction
Learning Objectives
The Story
Let’s learn Grammar
Let’s Talk

Introduction

This very first unit of the course. We are going to have 15 such story based Lessons for you in this course of English. The very first lesson is having a story on the Mountain Goat. Based on the story, you will be asked to perform some exercises. Do them well. Best of luck.

Here is a story of a brave and clever mountain goat. Let us read and find out more about him.

Learning Objectives

After reading this chapter, you are expected to learn about:

Read and understand a simple story in English
Use the simple past tense
Use nature words
Introduce yourself in speech
Write and ask short questions

The Story

There was once a young mountain goat who lived in a valley at the foot of the Himalayas. The valley was full of beautiful flowers and covered with green grass. Living in such a fine place, the young goat never felt hungry and grew up to be a strong animal, sure of foot and able to run fast. He climbed any hill easily and skipped lightly from one rock to another. He was a handsome animal, with his coat of long brown hair and a head with a pair of large strong horns. With them he could face his life-long enemy, the tiger.

One day, our young friend the goat was grazing on a patch of green grass and suddenly he heard a sound. Quickly turning round, he found that the old tiger was following him. It was too late for him to run; so he stood his ground and faced the tiger, ready to meet any attack. The tiger, turning to the goat, said, “I see you are ready to fight, but why should we both get hurt fighting? If you can tell me any three truths, I shall let you go away.”

See the moral given by the Goat

“All right,” said the goat, “I shall tell you three simple truths about yourself and me. The first truth is this: if you go and tell the other tigers that you met me here and still you didn’t kill me, they will not believe you.”

“Too true,” said the tiger. “Go on, tell me the other two.”

“Well”, said the goat, "suppose I get away and tell the other goats that you did not want to fight, they will not believe me.”

“Too true”, said the tiger, “go on, tell me the next truth.”

“The next truth is this”, said the goat, “we are both talking here and you are listening to all I say without trying to kill me. So you cannot be really hungry.”

“Yes, yes,” said the tiger, “go in peace, you clever fellow, remember but the next time we meet, there will be no more talking. You will not live to open your mouth again.”

“Ah!” said the goat, “there is yet one more truth, the last. It is this: you will never catch me another time.”

So saying, the goat ran away and took good care that the tiger never caught him again.

Self-Assessment Questions (SAQs) {{{n}}}

SAQ 1

Tick the right answers.

The strong mountain goat lived
1. in a valley
2. in a cave
3. on a mountain.

The mountain goat looked handsome because
1. he was brown in colour
2. he had two strong horns
3. he had long brown hair and a pair of strong horns.

He did not feel afraid to face the tiger because –
1. he had two strong horns
2. he had four legs
3. he was well fed and strong.

Let’s learn Grammar

Past tense If we add "ed" in some of the verbs, they become past tense.
For Example, if we add ed with play, it becomes played. Similarly, if you add ed with move, it becomes moved. Now let us play a game... first you write the past tense of the following words to form new words.

play + ————— = —————-
talk + ————— = ——————
touch + ———— = ——————
move + ———— = ——————

Now use the new words to fill in the blanks in the following sentese :

Mohan and Reena ——— loudly while they ———— cricket. Mohan hit the ball hard and it fell on something.
 
It was grey and shining. Reena ———— it. To her horror it ———. The grey thing was a snake.

Good job.