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Unit 32 :
“Make hay while the sun shines
”
Pre-advanced
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. hay /heɪ/
grass that is cut and dried and used as animal food
They were kept on straw and were fed hay twice daily.
2. merry /ˈmer.i/
happy or showing enjoyment
She’s a merry little soul.
3. slog /slɑːɡ/
to work hard over a long period, especially doing work that is difficult or boring
I’ve been slogging away for days on this essay and I’m still not finished.
4. repent /rɪˈpent/
to be very sorry for something bad you have done in the past and wish that you had not done it
He repented (of his sins) just hours before he died.
Quick Reading
Read the short passage.
We can dry grass and make it into hay only when the sun shines.
Hay cannot be made in the rainy season.
It requires bright sunshine. Similarly we must carefully analyze the experiences that come our way and convert them into opportunities that will help us grow.
One must make the best use of any situation and draw the best out of it.
Once there lived a grasshopper with his family. All summer when the sun was shining and the grass was green, the grasshopper family enjoyed themselves singing and dancing and making merry.
Food was available in plenty and the lush green surroundings made them enjoy a lazy lifestyle.
In direct contrast was the ant family that worked tirelessly all day in transporting food and storing it all up in the ant hill.
Father grasshopper made fun of the ants saying, “Why don’t you ants enjoy the beauty of summer instead of slogging like this? Don’t you ever enjoy life?’
The Father ant would smile and reply, “Friend, if we don’t work hard now we cannot survive the winter. Food is available in plenty now. It is wise to store it for future use. Aren’t you worried about winter?”
‘There is still a lot of time for winter. You worry too much. I can’t slog like you,” said the grasshopper.
Soon winter came along and the entire place was covered with snow. Food was scarce and all the creatures ran in search of warm places. The grasshopper family was desperate to find food but could not find any.
They saw the ant family enjoying themselves in the cozy warmth of their home eating steaming hot food all the time.
Father grasshopper went to the ant’s house and requested them to be allowed inside. But father ant said, “You were lazy when it was time to work and made fun of me. Now we have enough food to see us through winter. We do not have extra food for guests. I am very sorry”.
In disappointment, the father grasshopper returned to its place. The other grasshoppers also spent their winter days with very little food and starved for want of food. They felt sorry for their lack of vision.
The grasshopper repented for his laziness and realized that working hard at the right time paid rich dividends.
It felt depressed that it had let go of opportunities that would have helped it live comfortably through the winter months.
Discussion
Answer the questions with your teacher.
- What do you understand from the proverb ” make hay while the sun shines”?
- If you are going to relate the word “hay” in your life, what would it be? Why?
- How important is season in the life of ants?
- Are you like ants who are hardworking?
