Hodja and the Scientist
Before Your Read
1.
Vocabulary
scholar
knowledgeable
motion
curious
vaporize
wiggle
palms
swirl
respond
fascination
perpendicular
blazing
1.
A foreign scholar and his group were passing through Aksehir, Hodja
Nasreddin's home town. The scholar asked to speak with the town's most
knowledgeable person. Of course the townsfolk immediately called Nasreddin
Hodja. The foreign scientist didn't speak Turkish and our Hodja didn't speak any
foreign languages, so the two wise men had to communicate with signs, while
the others looked on with fascination.
The foreigner, using a stick, drew a large circle on the sand. Nasreddin
Hodja took the stick and divided the circle into two.

2.
This time the foreigner drew a line perpendicular to the one Hodja drew
and the circle was now split into four. He motioned to indicate first the three
quarters of the circle, then the remaining quarter.
To this, the Hodja made a swirling motion with the stick on the four
quarters. Then the foreigner made a bowl shape with two hands side by side,
palms up, and wiggled his fingers. Hodja responded by cupping his hands
palms down and wiggling his fingers.

3.
When the meeting was over, the members of the foreign scientist's group
asked him what they talked about.
"Nasreddin Hodja is really a learned man.' he said. "I told him that the
earth was round and he told me that the equator was in the middle of it. I told him
that three quarters of the earth were water and one quarter of it was land. He
said that there were undercurrents and winds. I told him that the waters warm up,
vaporize and move towards the sky. Then he said that the water cools off and
comes down as rain.'

4.
The people of Aksehir were also curious about how the conversation
went. They gathered around the Hodja.
"This stranger has good taste," the Hodja started to explain. "He said that
he wished there was a large tray of baklava. I said that he could only have half of
it. He said that the syrup should be made with three parts sugar and one part
honey. I agreed, and said that they all had to mix well. Next he suggested that we
Hodja and the Scientist
should cook it on a blazing fire. And I added that we should pour crushed nuts
on top of it."
Exercises
1. Understand the Story
With a parner, scan the story for answers to these questions. (Scanning is to look
over something for particular answers)
1. Who was visiting the town?
2. Why did the scholar ask to see the Hodja?
3. Did the scholar and the Hodja speak a common language?
4. How did they solve their language problem?
5. Describe what the scholar was saying with his signs.
6. Describe what the Hodja was saying with his signs.
7. Sum up the conclusion of the listener/reader of this story.
II. Vocabulary: Choose the best word to complete the sentence.
perpendicular
scholar
knowledgeable
palms
fascinated
curious
1. The men used the ___________ of their hands to explain.
2. The visiting __________________ explained his view about the earth.
3. Everyone was interested; they were _________________ by the signs.
4. The Hodja was chosen as the most _______________
_______ man.
5. Unable to understand they people were __________________.
6. The men put their hands at 90° to show ___________________.
III. Practice: Change the verb from present to present continuous tense.
Example: He wiggles his fingers. He is wiggling his fingers.
1. The scholar motions with the stick.
2. Hodja swirls the stick around.
3. The men respond to each other with signs.
4. The fire blazes in the chimney.
5. You vaporize the water into air.
IV. Now you talk
1. Did anyone learn anything in this story?
2. Tell this story to your group.
3. What is the joke of this story?
V. Write a little.
1. Using the questions in Exercise 1, write a summary of the story.
2. Write a letter from Hodja, telling about what happened.
3. Describe the travelling group of foreigners.
Hodja and the Scientist
VI. ROLE PLAY: Students take roles, plan a short dialogue and act it out.
1. Foreign Scholar and townsman. He asks to meet a local scholar.
2. Scientist and Hodja: Their first meeting.
3. Scientist and Hodja: Their parting.
4. Scientist and his group: He explains the signing.
5. Hodja and his group: He explains the signing to them.
VII. Story Theater: Follow the directions after story #1

VIII. WORD GAME: Cross word or word search with the following words.
scholar
knowledgeable
palms
fascination
motion
curious
swirl
perpendicular
vaporize
wiggle respond
blazing