Unit 38A Horse and
Two Goats
Part I Listening & Speaking Activities
Part II Reading & Language Activities
Part III Extended Activities
Part I Listening & Speaking
Activities
 Warming-up
 Brainstorming
 Listening
 Speaking
Get Your
Meanings
Actions
Speak
LouderAcross
Than Words
 What is communication?
 How do people communicate? Work in groups to name
as many mediums of communication as possible.
 Verbal communication (oral, written)
 Nonverbal communication
e.g. signs, tones of voice, volume, speed, pausing,
body languages (e.g. facial expression, eye movement
such as winking, eye contact, foot tapping, cupping
the ear, folding arms, proximity, position of the body,
etc.)
What do these faces mean?
 Can you guess the nonverbal body language
the faces below are communicating?
Happy
Angry
Sad
Confused
Surprised
Thinking
Embarrassed Sleepy
Can You Understand Me?
 Work in groups to choose five of the situations listed as
follows and act them out by using non-verbal communication:
1.You can not hear your friend’s voice.
2.You want a child to come to your side.
3. You smell something bad when you enter the dormitory.
4.Somebody has asked you a question, and you do not know the
answer.
5.You want to tell your friend that the lecture is boring.
6.You signal to your friend who is talking on the phone to lower
his/her voice.
7.You beg for some money from your friend.
8. Your friend keeps talking to you but you are already a bit late for
class.
9.You want to tell your friend that you have forgotten to bring
something.
10.You want to tell your friend that everything is OK.
Cross-cultural Communication
 Look at the following examples of body language. Do
the messages conveyed by them differ among different
cultures?
1. Beckon with index finger
-“Come here” in U.S. but insulting in many cultures
e.g. the Middle East
2. Eye contact
- encouraged in U.S., but rude in Asia
3. Sit with sole of feet or shoes showing
- disrespect for others in some cultures e.g. Japan
4. The “Ring” or “OK” gesture
- “ok” in most cultures but an insult in Greece and
“money” in Japan
5. Nod one’s head
- “no” in some parts of India
Brainstorming
 1. Expressions for understanding/conveying messages:
understand, know, learn, acquire (knowledge,
information), have an idea of, take/get the message, be well
informed about something, get/put the message across,
make oneself understood, sth. dawns on somebody,
something occurs to someone
 2. Expressions for failures of communication:
be confused about..., get sb. wrong, be ignorant about
something, have misconceptions about ...., be
puzzling/puzzled, be mystifying/mystified
 3. Expressions for emotional states:
satisfied/dissatisfied, hospitable, hostile, enthusiastic, be
embarrassed/embarrassing, depressed, low-spirited, moody,
cheerful, delighted, overjoyed
 4. Expressions for body language:
nodding, winking, raise one's eye-brows, stare at somebody,
eye contact, avert one's eyes from somebody, pout one's lips,
stick out one's tongue, make a face, wave, take ... into one's
arms, kiss someone on the cheek, his/her eyes speak for
herself ...., a cloud crosses his/her face ...., be red in the face,
blush, beam
 5. Expressions for differentiating between various
meanings:
meaning(s), nuances of meaning, (fine) shades of meaning,
tell the slight differences between ...., capture the delicate
meaning of ..., actions speak louder than words
Listening: An unusual medium of
communication
 Listen and answer the following questions:
1. What unusual methods of communication can human
beings employ to get their meaning across when they cannot
communicate with spoken language?
- sign language, lip reading
2. Who and when will people use various
forms of sign language to communicate?
- deaf or dumb people, by football or
basketball referees, traffic policemen,
auctioneers.
3. When and where did the speaker discover
the whistled speech?
- in a remote area in Mexico last month
4. How did Mr. Martinez and the corn seller communicate with each
other?
-- The corn seller answered Mr. Martinez with whistling and the
interchanges were repeated with different whistles. They talked,
bargained over the price and came to an agreement satisfactory to
both parties, only using whistling.
5. What happened when the whistled communication was over?
-- The corn seller came to Mr. Martinez’s hut and dumped the load
onto the ground. He was then paid and left without saying a word.
6. Why did the speaker decide to stay longer with Mr. and Mrs.
Martinez?
-- She was extremely interested to find more about the whistled
speech.
7. What did the speaker finally find out about the whistled speech used
in the community?
-- Whistling was men’s privilege, mostly for business purposes,
for bargaining, selling, and buying in the market place.
Neither of the couple had the slightest idea of when and why
they had started the tradition and kept it up.
Group Oral Tasks
 Task 1: Role play/conversation (2)
Suppose you met some trouble in communication with a
foreigner. What was the cause for the failure? How did you
overcome the difficulty? Make a role play or conversation
about it.
 Task 2: Speech (1)
Present a short speech on
the key factor(s) of successful
communication.
 Task 3: Story (2)
(1) Use your imagination to
make up a story based on
the picture on the right hand.
(2) Make up a story based on
page 138.
Part II Reading & Language
Activities
 Pre-reading Tasks
 Read the Text
 Words & Expressions
 Language Work (B, C)
Pre-reading Discussion
 What do you think might cause
misunderstanding in communication?
List possible causes.
language, cultural and personal backgrounds, religion
(lack of shared information), lack of mutual trust
(prejudice), …
 Have you ever experienced some trouble understanding
or being understood by other people? If any, how did
you try to get your meanings across?
Read the Text
 Questions for skimming:
1. What are the five Ws in the story?
(1) Where? At the entrance of the small Indian village of Kiritan.
(2) When? A summer afternoon.
(3) Who? An old local man and an American tourist.
(4) What? The tourist wanted to buy the horse-shape statue but
ended up buying two goats from the old man.
(5) Why? They failed to understand each other due to language
barrier and lack of shared information.
2. Summarize the story:
The story is about an encounter between an old Indian villager
and an American tourist, neither of whom understand the other’s
language. As a result, the American’s intention of buying the statue
of a horse is misunderstood by the Indian as an offer to buy his
two goats.
 Questions for close comprehension:
1. What was the old man doing at the beginning of the story?
He was drowsing in the shade of a tree and watching a pair of
goats graze in the pasture.
2. What did the old man take the American tourist for at the
beginning?
The old man took the tourist for a police officer from the
government.
3. Why did he think so?
Because the tourist wore in a Khaki-colored shirt and shorts, like a
policeman in uniform.
A murder in the neighborhood.
4. How did the American tourist try to make himself understood?
He tried to explain everything at length, uttering each syllable
carefully;
He smiled politely every now and then, trying to be friendly.
5. What was the result?
Those didn’t help at all; mutual mystification and misunderstanding
6. Summarize the first half of the story from the beginning to Then, he
turned to go.
The American tried to strike a conversation about the statue of the
horse he admired, but the old man mistook him for a police officer
investigating a recent murder in the neighbourhood.
7. What was special about the horse statue according
to the old man?
The horse was a sacred image and would appear
as the tenth avatar, the Redeemer, at the end of
the Yuga to help the good and punish the evil.
8. How did the old man understand the tourist’s
taking out a one-hundred rupee note?
He thought that the tourist wanted to change this
large note.
9. What did he suggest the tourist to do then?
To turn to the village headman.
10. Why did the old man look at his goats?
The village headman goes mad whenever he sees the old man and
his two goats.
11. What did the tourist do then?
He stroked the backs of the goats to please the old man by
showing an interest in his pets.
12. What thought occurred to the old man?
The thought that the tourist in fact wanted to make him an offer for
the goats.
13. What had the old been dreaming of all his life?
His dream of a lifetime was to sell the goats and open a small shop
with the capital got from the selling.
14. What did the old man mean by pointing at the wagon and what did
the American tourist mean by saying “Yes, of course”?
For the old man: taking the goats away in the wagon;
For the tourist: taking the horse statue in the wagon.
15. Why did the tourist sit down waiting after the old man left?
He thought the old man must have gone to fetch some help.
16. Summarize the second half of the story.
Both parties tried to employ different means of communication to
work out the other’s intention. But the misunderstanding continued
and got worse, finally leading to a hilarious ending when the
American was left alone waiting with two goats.
17. How do you think the story will end?
Words & Expressions
 with his tail looped up with a flourish
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[with his tail curled up spiritedly]
with a flourish [with one big, noticeable movement]
e.g. He took off his hat with a flourish.
drowse
[fall into a light sleep]
graze
[feed on grass]
at the sight of …
[when sb. sees…]
e.g. She fainted at the sight of blood.
at the thought of … [when thinking of…]
at the mention of … [when mentioning …]
presence
[being in a place]
e.g. The document was signed in the presence of two witnesses.
 respectfully
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[in a way to show respect]
e.g. "We're so pleased to meet you at last, " he said in a
respectful tone of voice.
Johnson is a highly respected doctor in Yorkshire.
a respectable young woman from a good family
She earns a respectable salary.
They are each recognized specialists in their respective
fields.
react to
[respond to]
ingratiatingly
[(disapproving) behaving in a way to make others like you by
pleasing and praising them]
e.g. He's always trying to ingratiate himself with his boss.
have a clean record
[have no criminal record]
at length
[for a long time]
e.g. George went on at great length about his various
illnesses.
 relate
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[vt. narrate, tell]
come to life
[become alive, full of activity]
e.g. The match finally came to life in the second half.
mutual mystification
[mutual confusion and misunderstanding]
chatter away
[talk rapidly incessantly and on trivial things]
peer
[look carefully or with difficulty]
e.g. she peered at the tag to read the price.
I saw her peeping through the curtains.
Close your eyes. Don't peek. I've got a surprise for you.
the like of sb./sth (sb’s/sth’s like)
[n. similar things or persons]
e.g. He described a superlative meal, the like of which he'd never
eaten.
He was a great actor – we will never see his like again.
 flourish
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[wave, exhibit dramatically]
e.g. She came in smiling, flourishing her exam results.
It is sound policy to do …
[it is a wise decision to do…]
… dawn on sb.
[sb. suddenly realizes sth.]
e.g. I was about to pay for the shopping when it suddenly
dawned on me that I had left my cheque book at home.
… when it suddenly came to me that …
… when it suddenly occurred to me that …
make sb. an offer for sth.
[offer to buy sth.]
on this very spot
[in this very place]
Language Work (B)
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massive
disturb
sacred
capital
related
ingratiatingly
respectful
Language Work (C)
 It suddenly dawned on the father that his son was lying to
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him.
The foreigner made the old woman an offer for the old jar
and she found herself unable to refuse.
The boy reacted to his teacher’s criticism by turning his back
on the teacher.
The prisoner felt very regretful at the thought of his past.
He stood at the street corner, following his mother with his
eyes until she got out of sight.
I don’t know which companies she was referring to when
she spoke of competing firms.
Mother paced in the corridor while her daughter was having
an operation inside the operating theatre.
I think that it is sound policy to ban smoking in all public
places.
Part III Extended Activities
 Dictation
 Read More
 Grammar Work
 Vocabulary Work
 Translation
 Cultural Information
Dictation
 Language is the commonest means of communication for human
beings, //but if people speak different languages,// they usually turn
to other means. //Gesture, then, is often the first choice. //Gestures
in most cases help people a lot in getting their meanings across.
//However, since the same gestures may be used for different ideas
in different cultures, //failures in communication often happen.
//Sometimes this may lead to terrible consequences. //Several years
ago, some European sailors were swimming near a coastal area in a
foreign country, //which was closed to outsiders. //Seeing these
unknown swimmers, the guards on the coast wanted to question
them. //The guards shouted to them to come nearer, //and made at
the same time their usual “come here” gesture. //The sailors did not
understand the language //and took the gesture to mean “go away”,
//and they realized they might be near coastal defenses, //so they
swam off. //The consequence was that the guards who were now
highly suspicious, //opened fire, with tragic results. //
Read More: Gestures
Questions for Reading Comprehension:
1. What usually will a person be doing while
he/she is talking?
2. How do usually people describe things like a
spiral staircase?
3. How do people across cultures convey certain
messages by gestures?
4. Do you know any special gestures used in your
locality which have special meanings?
5. Why do you think human beings need
gestures to help in communication?
6. What do you think is/are the key factor(s) to
successful communication across
cultures?
What do these gestures mean across cultures?
Intended Meanings
Gestures Used
“Come here!”
Spain:
What it means in England?
“See you!”
Italy:
What it means in England?
“Yes!”
Some parts of India:
Greece & Southern Italy:
“Hello!”
Britain:
Eskimos:
Polynesia:
“Follow this way!”
East Africa:
“Good luck!”
Britain:
“The performance sucks!
Go away!”
Britain:
What it means in other parts of Europe?
“Wonderful!”
Britain:
French:
Somoa:
Austria & Germany:
Some other countries:
Words & Expressions
 though
[adv. however, nevertheless]
e.g. We were at school together. I haven't seen her for years though.
 vary from one country to another
[vary from country to country]
 beckon sb. with your palm down
[call sb to you with your palm down]
 look up to sb.
[respect sb.]
 While in Rome, do as the Romans do.
[入国问禁，入乡随俗]
Grammar Work
 a. grateful, relieved, content, reluctant, determined, keen, due, fit,
free, frightened, inclined, easy, cheap, pleasant, thrilling
 b. 1. It will be difficult for me to do it.
2. It’s sound policy to save regularly.
3. It was very dangerous for Mike to drive the car so fast.
4. It is a disadvantage for her to take part in a composition
competition where all the other competitors are older than her.
5. It was a disgrace for her to quarrel with her husband in public.
6. It was a shame for you cheat in the exam.
7. It’s a convenient time for you to visit the hospital.
8. It was my honour to be invited to your party.
9. It was very generous of her to pay the bill.
10. It was mean of him to keep everything for himself.
Vocabulary Work
Expressions
start the ball rolling
Meanings
start the discussion
speak one’s mind
To put it in a nutshell, …
Sb. is long-winded
say exactly what one thinks
To say it in a few words, …
Sb. says things in a lengthy, indirect
way
get to the point
come to the important part of the
matter
talk rubbish
say stupid things
talk sense
wrap up the discussion
say intelligent, reasonable things
finish the discussion
Translation
 In the traditional Chinese opera The White Snake, the white snake
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(the lady white) comes down to the earth in the shape of a beautiful
girl and falls in love with Xuxian to whom she gets married later.
She feels dizzy at the sight of blood.
He kept drowsing in class this morning.
He related the whole story of the long-standing dispute between the
two families.
She would burst into tears at the thought of her child who was killed in
a traffic accident.
It dawned on me that he was actually trying to help me.
The cave for the three of them to hide in was no more than two meters
high.
The red-faced man looked at the goats grazing peacefully and then
sat down on the pedestal of the horse, as the westerly sun touched off
the ancient faded colors of the statue with a fresh splendor.
脸被晒红的美国游客看着正在静静吃着草的山羊，然后坐在了雕塑的
基座上，显得有些古老褪色的雕塑在夕阳的勾勒下变得格外亮丽壮观。
The Commonwealth of Nations (CN)
A voluntary association of 53 independent states, the
majority of which are former dependencies of
Britain.
 Primarily an organisation in which countries with
diverse economic backgrounds have an opportunity
for close and equal interaction.
 Queen Elizabeth as Head of
State of the Commonwealth
as well as its sixteen
members.
 The majority of the members
have their own, separate
Heads of State: thirty-one
members are republics and
six members have their own
royal families.
 Every four years the members celebrate the
Commonwealth Games, the world's second-largest
multi-sport event after the Olympic Games.