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Unit 20 :
“Do not count your chickens before they are hatched”
Upper Intermediate
Objective
To be able to know more about idioms and expressions.
Vocabulary
Read and know the meaning of the words used in the article.
1. contingency /kənˈtɪn.dʒən.si/
something that might possibly happen in the future, usually causing problems or making further arrangements necessary
You must be able to deal with all possible contingencies.
2. cultivate /ˈkʌl.tə.veɪt/
to prepare land and grow crops on it, or to grow a particular crop
Most of the land there is too poor to cultivate.
3. paddy /ˈpæd.i/
a very angry state
There’s no need to get in/into a paddy.
4. lash /læʃ/
to hit with a lot of force
The prisoners were regularly lashed with electric cable
5. lavish /ˈlæv.ɪʃ/
large in quantity and expensive or impressive
The evening was a lavish affair with glorious food and an endless supply of champagne.
6. folly /ˈfɑː.li/
the fact of being stupid, or a stupid action, idea, etc.
She said that the idea was folly.
Quick Reading
Read the short passage.
If we have a basket full of eggs, there is no guarantee that all the eggs will hatch into chickens.
Similarly planning is important in life. But we should not pin all our hopes and plan too much for the future, expecting certain things to happen.
Because in life, events or incidents do not always happen the way we want them to do. It is necessary to plan but we must also be prepared to expect unexpected contingencies.
In this proverb, our plans are compared to chickens that come out of eggs.
It is better to plan things but one must also be prepared for uncertain eventualities to avoid disappointments and frustration.
Once there was a farmer Subramanian who had cultivated groundnuts on his farmland and got a good yield. He sold the groundnuts and made a huge sum of money. He wanted to perform the wedding of his daughter in a grand manner but realized that he was running short by a small amount.
Subramanian decided that he would cultivate groundnuts again the next season so that he would get a huge sum of money all over again.
Other farmers warned him not to do so since it was time for the monsoons and the meteorological department had predicted heavy rains that year.
They told him that paddy would be the best crop for cultivation and if he wanted he could cultivate groundnuts over a small area.
But Subramanian refused to listen to them and went ahead and cultivated groundnuts over his entire farmland. He was sure that he would get a good yield. He spent all the extra money that he had to conduct his daughter’s wedding.
Just as the crops were getting ready for harvesting, heavy rains lashed the village and all the crops got washed away due to heavy floods. The rain resulted in making heavy lose to all the farmers who had cultivated groundnuts in their lands.
Subramanian was a very sad man for he not only lost his crops but he also wasted all his money in lavish expenditure which was unnecessary.
He realized his folly in being over confident and not listening to his friends’ advice which resulted in him losing all his money.
Thereafter it took many years for Subramanian to settle all his loan amount which he borrowed to marry off his daughter.
Discussion
Answer the questions with your teacher.
- Why is planning important in life?
- Why are plans compared to chickens according to the passage?
Discussion for you
Answer the questions with your teacher.
- In your opinion, do you think planning is necessary in life?
- Cite a situation where planning is observed.
