-OR TODAY
BOOK THREE
The Way We Live
THE NATIONAL COUNCIL
OF TEACHERS OF ENGLISH

Revised Edition

ENGLISH FOR TODAY

Book Three

THE WAY WE LIVE

ENGLISH FOR TODAY

Book Three

THE WAY WE LIVE
by The National Council of Teachers of English

Project Director and General Editor:

WILLIAM R. SLAGER Department of English
University of Utah
Adviser for Content:

BERNICE E. LEARY, Formerly, Curriculum Consultant
for the Madison. Wisconsin, Public Schools
Readings for Book III:

DELIA GOETZ and BERNICE E. LEARY

McGRAW-HILL BOOK COMPANY
New York
Toronto
London

ENGLISH FOR TODAY, Book Three
THE WAY WE LIVE—Student Text
Copyright © 1964 by McGraw-Hill, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Printed
in the United States of America. This book, or parts thereof, may not
be reproduced in any form without permission of the publishers.

Library of Congress Catalog Card Number 62-17669
Philippines Copyright 1964 by McGraw-Hill, Inc.

34567890 WC-64 9 8 7 6

The editors wish to thank the following for permission to reprint material
in this text:

Field Enterprises Educational Corporation for quotations reproduced
from The World Book Encyclopedia with permission. Copyright © 1961
by Field Enterprises Educational Corporation. International copyright
© 1961. All rights reserved.

Harcourt, Brace & World, Inc., for “A Pine Tree Stands So Lonely”
from Heinrich Heine, Paradox and Poet, the Poems, by Louis Unter^er, copyright 1937 by Harcourt, Brace & World, Inc., and reprinted
with permission of the publisher.

Advisory Board
Linguistics:

HAROLD B. ALLEN, University of Minnesota, Chairman
GERALD DYKSTRA, I eachers College, Columbia University
CHARLES A, FERGUSON, ( enter for Applied Linguistics
ARCHIBALD HILL, University of Texas
z\LBERT H. MARCKWARDT, Princeton University (also rep¬
resenting the Modern Language Association of America)
( LIFFORD H. PRATOR, University of California at Los
Angeles
JAMES SI EDD. Northwestern University
W FREEMAN TWADDELL Brown University

Literature:

DOROTHY BETHURUM, Connecticut College for Women
(representing the Modern Language Association of America)

N. HOOK. University

of Illinois
RUSSEI I NYE, Michigan State University

J,

( intent.

Hl RNK E E. LEARY, Formerly, Curriculum Consultant for
the Madison. Wisconsin. Public Schools

Contents
UNIT I: WAYS OF LIFE
I. In a Small Town

1

Review of noun plurals, Compound nouns, Review of -s
forms of verbs, 4-5; Review of two-word verbs, 5-6; Verb
constructions, Review of present progressive and modals
can, will, 6-7; Clauses with as, when, if, who, Prepositions,
7-8
2. In a Big City

9

Affirmative requests and reported speech, Negative requests
and reported speech, Object pronouns in reported speech,
11—12; Verb constructions: present perfect, present perfect
progressive, 12-13; Noun possessives, 13-14; Compounds
with -man, 14

3. In the Desert
Reported speech, 18; Review of regular past forms, 19; Verb
constructions: the passive, 20-21

... In the Far North

15

22

Verb constructions: the past perfect, 24-26; Reported speech,
26-27; Irregular past forms (cut), 28

5. On a Farm
Verb constructions: the past perfect, 32; Irregular past forms
(build), 32-33; Clauses with before, that, while, 33-34;
Review of irregular past forms, 35

29

UNIT II: EATING TO LIVE

ty

6. The Search for Food
If clauses for unlikely or unreal conditions, 39-4 1 ; If clauses
for the past, 42; Irregular past forms (meet), 42-43
vii

7. Great Food Regions of the World
If clauses for imaginary conditions, 47; Clauses with unless,
48-49; Irregular past forms (sleep), If clause with past perfect
and main clauses with would have or could have, 49-50

44

8. What We Eat and Drink
Clauses with even if, 54; Clauses with whether or not, Review
of if, unless, even if, whether or not, 55-56; Irregular past

51

forms (bring), 56-57
9. Food Preservation
Clauses after wish, 61; Wish for the opposite situation: Very
much > more, 62; Wish for the opposite situation: Too > so,
62-63; Irregular past forms (dig), 63-64

58

—

—

65
10. Food Transportation
Unreal pasts after if only and suppose, 68; Unreal pasts after
Td rather and Ifs about time, 69; Irregular past forms (tell,
sell, find, wind), 1^7 \

UNIT III: BUYING AND TRADING
11. Simple Exchange: Barter
Modal perfect: would have or could have and the past
participle, 74-78; Irregular past forms (bite), 79

72

12. The History of Money
Modal perfect: must have or should have and the past
participle, 83-85; Irregular past forms (begin), 86

80

13. The Money Systems of the United States and Great Britain
Modal perfect with might have and past participle, 90—91;
Irregular past forms (drive, fly, come), 91-92

87

14. Banks and Banking
Modal perfect with will have and past participle, 96-97;
Irregular past forms (blow, shake), 98

93

IS. International Trade
Modal perfect progressive with modal + have been and the
present participle, 102-103; Irregular verb forms (review), 104

99

viii

UNIT IV: INTERESTING JOBS
16. Airline Stewardess

105

C lauses: when and as soon as, until and while, before and
after, 107-1 10

17. Training Dogs to See for People

111

Clauses with until and as soon as, 1 14-1 16
18. Forest Ranger

117

Clauses with when, as, while, after, before, 120-122
19. Scoutmaster

123

Clauses with before, after, whenever, since, once, now that,
by the time that, 1 25-128
20. Spaceman

129

Clauses with no sooner
clauses, 153-134

than, 132-133; Review of time

UNIT V: USING LEISURE TIME
21. The Olympic Games in Romo
Clauses with where and wherever, as, as . . . as,
the, 138-140; Other adverb clauses, 141
the

135

22. A Night at the Theater
Other adverb clauses, 145-147

142

23. Concert Night in Mexico
Restrictive relative clauses, 151-154; Nonrestrictive relative

148

clauses,

154-155

24. An Art Gallery

156

Infinitives and infinitive phrases, 159-162; Verb + verb
(without to), 162; Causative verbs (have, get), 163
25. A Day at the County Fair
Participles and participial phrases, 167-170
ix

164

UNIT I: WAYS OF LIFE
Lesson One: IN A SMALL TOWN
It's early morning in Fairfield,
The big clock above the door of
daythe Farmers' Bank is striking six.
Everybody gets up early in Fairfield. Rain or shine, Tim Brown, the milkman, delivers the milk
soon after five every morning, and Mike Moore throws the morning
papers at the front doors as he rides by on his bicycle. No one needs
an alarm clock in Fairfield.
There are only 800 people in Fairfield, and most of them do the
same thing at the same time every weekday. Every morning, Mon¬
day through Friday, just as the big clock strikes seven, old Ben
Cook walks past the Farmers' Bank. He's on his way to the rail¬
road station to get ready for the eastbound passenger train that
In a small town, every day is
much the same as every other

comes in at seven thirty. And just as Ben walks past the bank.
Barney Jones unlocks his grocery store next door and waves to Ben.
When Barney waves to Ben, you can set your watch at seven and
you know it's right.
If you miss Ben and Barney, you can set your watch when Miss
Mary Smith unlocks the door of the post office. You know it's
seven fifty-five. She has five minutes -to put away her boots, hang
up her umbrella, and take off her hat and coat. Rain or shine. Miss
Mary Smith brings her boots and umbrella. “You never can tell
1

whal the weather will be like when it's time to go home, she always
says.
At eight o'clock Miss Minnie Mason, principal of the Fairfield
School, walks past the post office, waves to Mary, and hurries on.
Miss Minnie. Mason is always on time. By eight thirty, crowds of
children hurry to school. They don't want to be late. Just before
eight forty-five, the big yellow school bus drives up Main Street with
children from the nearby farms.
One after another the stores along Main Street open for the day.
I he clothing store and the grocery stores get ready for business.
You can smell the fresh bread as you walk by the bakery. Just as
Mr. Fisher unlocks the bank, the clock above the door strikes nine.
Today Doctor Harmon is opening his office next to the bank at the
same time. But he doesn't always keep regular office hours. Tf
people are very sick, he visits them at home. Sometimes he has to
drive out in the country to a farmhouse. Once in a while he even
stops to talk with friends who aren't sick at all. But no one waits
long for Doctor Harmon.
At three thirty in the afternoon the westbound passenger train
comes in, and the children get out of school. Soon the yellow school
bus drives down Main Street on the way back to the farms. The
children who live in town walk home. On sunny days, they play

in the park or in their own yards. On rainy days, they play in their
attics or basements.
Toward the end of the afternoon everything begins to close. The
bank closes first. Mr. Fisher locks the bank doors promptly at four
o'clock. Miss Mary Smith leaves the post office an hour after that.
A half hour later Barney Jones locks his grocery store, and Miss
Minnie Mason leaves school. If the three-thirty train is on time,
Ben Cook walks past the Farmers* Bank at five thirty. By six o'clock
everything is closed along Main Street except the gas station, the
restaurant, and the drugstore. By six o'clock most people arc at
home getting ready for dinner.
Saturday is different, especially in summer. Then most stores stay
open all evening, and people from the nearby farms come to town
to shop or to visit with their friends. Sometimes they go to a movie.
But every weekday, Monday through Friday, people go to bed
early in 1 airfield. The streets are quiet, and the houses arc dark
when the big clock over the Fanners' Bank strikes ten o'clock. The
small town is getting ready for tomorrow.
4

Understanding ideas

I . Find two sentences that are not true:
a. The eastbound passenger train comes into Fairfield at seven
thirty in the morning.
b. The westbound passenger train comes in at two thirty in the
afternoon.
c. Doctor Harmon keeps regular office hours.
d. People in Fairfield go to bed early.
e. Most people in Fairfield do things on time.
2. Match the names of people with their place of work :
>a.- grocery store
a. Barney Jones
b. the bank
b. Miss Mary Smith
c. Fairfield School
c. Mr. Fisher
d. post office
d. , Ben Cook
e. railroad station
e. Miss Minnie Mason
Understanding words

Find words in the lesson that mean: (a) things needed when it
rains, (b) a place where bread is made, (c) a room under a house,
(d) a room at the top of a house.
Talking and writing about Fairfield

Why doesn't anyone need an. alahn clock in Fairfield?
What docs Ben Cook do every rribcaing? Where does he work?
What four people are always on time? What work do they do?
Where do the children who ride in the yellow school bus come
from?
5. What can you buy in a clothing store? In a grocery store? In
a bakery?
6. What time docs the eastbound passenger train come into Fairfield? The westbound train?
7. Why doesn't Doctor Harmon keep regular office hours?
8. Where do the children play after school on sunny days? On
rainy days?
9. Is everything on Main Street closed by six o'clock?
HI Why is Saturday different in Fairfield? What do the people do
then?

1.
2.
3.
4.

3

GRAMMAR

Review of

noun

plurals

Model: docks

1.1

/s/

farmers

/z/

buses

/iz/

Say the singular and the plural forms in sentences like these:
“This is a bank. These are banks. That's a bank. Those are

banks.”

bank

train
watch
office
boot

bicycle
clock

umbrella

school
window
crowd

store

farm

day

attic
bus

Compound nouns

Model: milk 4~ man = milkman, milkmen

1.2 Write and say the compound nouns. Use each noun in two
sentences, once in the singular and once in the plural. You
must check in the story to find out if the compound is written
as one word or two words.

1 . alarm 4- clock =
2.- week + day =
3. railroad -p Station =
4 Dasseneer -1- train =
5. grocery + store =
6 oost -1- office =
7 . gas 4” station =
8. clothing store =
9. school 4- bus
10. office 4- hour =
1 1. drug 4- store =
12. farm 4~ house
13. week 4- end =

+

alarm clock
weekday

—

—

4

alarm clocks
weekdays

Review of

-®

forms of verbs

Mode!: strikes

/s/

delivers

/z/

misses

/iz/

1 .3 Say the -j forms in short sentences like these: “He gets up early.
She always waves at me. It stops here every day.”
get up

wave
rain
visit
look

throw
hang up
hurry

ride
take off
go
talk
leave

stop

elose

walk
tell
remember
live
stay

Review of two-word verbs
Model: Mary always puts away her boots.
She always puts them away.

1 .4 Say or write two sentences like those in the model.

1. Mike/hang up/clothes
Mike

He
2. Mary/hang up/umbrella
Mary
She
3. Tim/put on/gloyes
Tim
He
:
4. Mr. Fisher/put on/hat .
Mr. Fisher
He
5. Mary /take off/hat and coat
Mary
She
6. Miss Mason/take off /glasses
Miss Mason
She
7. Ben Cook/call up/Doctor Harmon
Ben

He
5

—.

1.5

The two-word verbs get up and wake up. Memorize the follow¬
ing conversations:

SI :
S2:
SI:
S2:

Si :
S2:
SI :

S2:
Si:
S2:
SI :
S2:
SI :
S2:

When do you usually g^t up?
I usually get up at (seven o'clock).
Do you get up at (seven) every day?
Yes, I do. (or) No, I don't. On (Saturdays) I get up
(later, earlier).
When do you usually go to bed?
I usually go to bed at (ten o'clock).
How do you wake up on time?
I hive an alarm clock, (or) My (mother) wakes me up.
What time did you go to bed last night?
I went to bed at (ten o'clock).
What time did you get up this morning?
I got up at (seven o'clock).
What time did you get up on (Sunday ) ?
I got up at (eight o'clock) .

Verb constructions
Review of the present progressive: get -> getting -> is getting
Model: Mike is getting ready for breakfast.
Mike isn't getting ready for breakfast.
Is Mike getting ready for breakfast?

1.6 Make affirmative statements, negative statements, and questions
like those in the model. AU of the words in the first box may
be used with aU of the words in the second.

the milkman
(is/are)

the doctor
the bakers
the bankers
the bus driver

(is/are) getting
ready for

breakfast
lunch
dinner
work
tomorrow

6

Review of the medals can and will
Model: The doctor can give medicine.
Can the doctor give medicine? Yes, he can.
The doctor can't bake bread.
Can the doctor bake bread? No, he can't.

Make sentences
guide words:

1.7

lil^e those

in the model. Use the following

milkman/delivcr milk/give medicine
bakers, bake bread /deliver milk

bus driver/drive a bus/teach- school
banker/cash a check/bake bread
doctor/give medicine /drive a bus
principal/teach school deliver milk
Model: It will be rainy tomorrow.
Will it be rainy tomorrow? Yes, it will.
It won't be sunny tomorrow.
Will it be sunny tomorrow ' No, it won't.

1.8

Make sentences like those in the model. Use the following
guide words :
cloudy /clear
sunny/rainy

warm /cool

hot/cold

clcar/cloudy
cool/ warm

Clauses
Clauses with as = at the same time that
Model: As the clock strikes seven, Ben walks past the bank.

1.9

Find the as clauses in the reading. Write them down. Write
live other sentences with as clauses.

Clauses with when and if
Model: When Barney waves

to Bon, you can set your

watch

at seven.

H people are very Sick, the doctor visits them

1. 10

at

home.

Find the when and if clauses in the reading. Write them down.
Write live other sentences with when clauses and five with if
clauses.

Clauses with who as subject
Model: People who live in cold climates need warm clothes.

1.11 Complete the following sentences with who clauses. Follow
the model. Use hot, dry, or wet.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.

don't need warm clothes.
need umbrellas.
need boots.
don't need umbrellas.
don't need boots.

People
People
People
People
People

Prepositions

1.12 Find the following prepositions in the reading. Use each of
them in a sentence of your own : above, after, along, at, before,
by, down, except, for, from, in, next to* of, on, outside, past,
through, to, up, with.
COMPOSITION

Write a short paragraph in which you answer the following ques¬
tions: When do you get up? How do you wake up on time? Do you
get up at the same time every school day? Do you get up later on
holidays? When do you go to bed? Do you like to stay up later?
“Early to bed and early to rise
Makes a man healthy, wealthy, and wise.”

—John Clarke:

Paroetniologia Anglo-Lafina, 1639

8

Lesson Two: IN A BIG CITY
in a big city, people work and
play, day or night.

It's nearly midnight in the big
city js not a^p.
city. gu(
The sidewalks are crowded with
people. Some are leaving the movies, the plays, and the concerts.
Some are stopping to look in the bright store windows. Some are
waiting for buses and taxis. The restaurants are filled with late
diners. The hotels are filled with tourists and businessmen who
come from all over the world.
Many people work at night in the big city. Bright lights are shin¬
ing from the windows of the tall buildings. In newspaper offices,
reporters come and go, bringing the latest news; editors bend over
their copy and telephones ring. Soon the morning paper will roll
off the press. In hospitals, night nurses are making their usual
rounds. In the fire station, an alarm is waking up the firemen. A
fire has just broken out somewhere in the big city.
The streets are crowded with traffic. Taxis are bringing tired
people from the airport and the railroad stations to the hotels. They
hope to sleep a few hours before their busy day in the big city.
Trucks are bringing fresh fruit and vegetables into the city. Ships
loaded with food and fuel are tied up at the dock. Toward morn¬
ing the streets are quieter. But they are never deserted in the big
city.
Soon it's morning in the big city. By eight o'clock the streets are
filled again with people. Millions of people live in the big city.
And millions of people who work in the big city live in the- surround¬
ing suburbs. Now the working people who live in the suburbs, the
commuters, are hurrying out of railroad stations, subways, buses,
and private cars. The people who live in the city are hurrying out of
apartment houses. Hurry, hurry, hurry. Everyone is in a hurry.
Some stop only to drink a quick cup of coffee. There's no time for
breakfast. Others stop to buy the morning paper. They read the
headlines before they hurry on to the tall office buildings where they
work.
The noise of traffic grows louder and louder. Trucks are loading
and unloading. The early shoppers are stepping out of buses and
r^rs. The policemen blow their whistles again and again to stop
Ine traffic or to hurry it along. Elevated trains are roaring over¬
head. Subways are rumbling below the ground. These are the
noises of a city at work.
0

Six o'clock. Again it's evening. Most of the offices have closed.
Stores and shops arc locked. The commuters have gone home to
their families in the suburbs. The people who live in the city have
returned to their apartments or have gone to a restaurant to eat.
The tourists are coming back to their hotels. Since early morning,
they have been looking at the sights of the big city the museums,
the art galleries, and the tall buildings. Everyone is getting ready
for the evening.
All through the evening taxis and buses arc taking people around
the city. Restaurants are crowded. There arc long lines of people

—

waiting to get in to the plays and concerts. Ushers in theater lobbies
are asking people to buy programs. People are telling each other to
hurry and not to be late. You can hear the sound of voices talking,
laughing, and singing. You can hear music. These are the sights
and sounds of a city at play.
Day or night you can find people working and playing in the big
city. The big city never sleeps.
Understanding ideas

1 . Find two sentences that are not true :
& People in the big city go to bed early.
b. Everyone is in a hurry.
10

c. People cat their breakfast slowly.
d. Streets are never deserted in the big city..
e. It is easier to go to work in a small town than in a big city.
2. Which of these sounds are city sounds?
d. laughing voices
a. loading and unloading trucks
e. music
b. policeman's whistle
c. cows mooing
f. chickens cackling
Understanding words

Find words in the lesson that are opposites of these words: (a)
empty, (b) slow, (c) lower, (d) short, (e) louder, (f) late.

Let's talk and write about the big city
1 . What do people do at night in the big city?
2. Who works at night in the big city?
3. Describe the traffic in the big city: the cars, the taxis, the buses,
and the trucks.
4. What are commuters? Where do they live? Where do they
work?
5. What are some of the noises in the big city?
6. What are the sights of the big city? What do the tourists come
to see?
7. What are the sounds of a city at play?

GRAMMAR

J ffirmative requests and reported speech
Situation: Ken and Kathy went to the theater last night.

Model: Request: Kathy said, "Buy the tickets early."
Report: Kathy told Ken to buy the tickets early.

2.1

Put these affirmative requests into reported speech.
the model:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.

Get good seats. Kathy asked Ken
Be on time. Kathy told Ken
Get tickets for a comedy. Kathy asked Ken
Buy a program. Kathy asked Ken
Listen to the music. Kathy told Ken
11

Follow

Negative requests and reported speech

Model: Request: Ken said, "Don't be late."
Report: He told her not to be late.
2.2

Put these negative requests into reported speech:
I
2.
3.
4.

5.

Don't
Don't
Don't
Don't
Don't

_— —

—

pick a comedy. He told her
sit too close to the front. He asked her
talk so loud. He told her
buy expensive tickets. He asked her
leave yet. He told her

Object pronouns in reported speech

Model: Request: Don't buy me a sandwich.
Report: She asked him not to buy her a sandwich.

2.3 Change these requests to reported speech:
1. Get me a taxi. She told me
2. Give us a cup of coffee. They asked me.
3. Don't give me any cream and sugar. He asked me
4. Show me where the museum is. I asked him
5. Don't pay us the money. We asked her

_

—
_—

•
•

——

-

Yes,

they

•

•

Verb constructions
The present perfect: go -> gone -> have gone
Model: The commuters have gone home to their families.
Have the commuters gone home to their families?
have.

2.4 Make affirmative statements, questions, and short answers like
those in the model. Use the following guide words:
the commutcrs/suburbs
the night nursc/hospital
the fircmert/firc

the policemen /police station
the taxi/hotel
the tourists/airport
12

Model: The commuters haven't stayed in the city.
Have the commuters stayed in the city? No, they haven't.

2.5 Make negative statements, questions, and short answers like
those in the model. Use the following guide words:
the firemen museums
the night editor, movie
the policemen restaurants

the commuters /hotel
the tourists 'suburbs
the night nursc/thcater

2.6 Use the sentences you have just made in 2.4 and 2.5 in con¬
versations like the following:
S 1 : Have the commuters gone to the suburbs?
S2: Yes, they have.
S2 : Have the commuters gone to the hotel?
(etc.)
S3: No, they haven't.

The present perfect progressive: look
have been looking

looking-* been looking-*

Model: They've been looking of the tights of the dry.
They haven't been looking at the tights of the city.
Have they been looking of the tights of the city?

2.7 Make negative statements and questions like those in the model:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.

He's been taking taxis.
They've been sleeping.
The tourist has been waiting.
The telephone has been ringing this morning.
The taxis have been bringing people from the airport today.

Noun possessives

Model: student's /s/
2.8

cousin's /Z/

nurse's /IZ/

Write the singular possessive form of these nouns. Pronounce
it. Then use each singular possessive in a sentence: man,
child, son, uncle, aunt, milkman, editor, artist, nurse, Mike,
George, Paul, Doris, Dave, Helen, Jack, woman, daughter.
13

Model: s': students'
's: men's

2.9

cousins'
women's

nurses*

children's

Write the plural possessive form of the. nouns' listed in 2.8
above, except proper names. Pronounce them. Then use
each of them in a sentence.

Compounds with -man

2.10

Imitate your teacher's pronunciation of the compounds listc
below. Then use each of the compounds ( both singular and
and plural) in a sentence.
(mm

=

milk 1 man
mail । man
business | man

—

—

police 1 man
fire man =
post man gentle i man =

a-

milkman

=

mailman
businessman

men

r

milkmen
mailmen
businessmen

=

man = a
policeman

policemen

fireman

firemen

postman
gentleman

postmen
ocntlcmcn

men

a

COMPOSITION
Write a paragraph in which you answer the following questions
about your village, town, or city : When do the stores open and close0
What do the stores sell? How mans people arc there ' What- is the
climate like? Is it hot in the summer and cold in the winter? What
are -the seasons of the year in your country?

“The great city is that which has the
greatest man and woman.
If it be a kw ragged hrHs, it is still the greatest city m
the whole world
-Whitman

Lesson Three: IN THE DESERT
In the desert, people and animal*
art alway. on the move.

It's early morning in the desert,
Chjef Omar steps out of hjs tent
and pulls his long wool cape
closely around him. The morning is cold. He hears voices in the
tents. Everyone is getting up early, for the nomads are going to
move their camp. Today everyone will move with the animals to
find new pasture.
Chief Omar steps back inside his tent. His sons are hungry and
ask him if it's time to eat breakfast. Soon the men of the family sit
down to eat their cheese and dates and to drink hot tea. On the
other side of the blanket that divides the tent the women of the family
eat their breakfast, too.
Now it's time to break camp. Everyone knows what to do.
Some take down the tents. Some roll up the rugs and blankets.
Some put the large bags filled with wool on the ground beside the rugs
and blankets. These bags are their chairs. Others pack the wooden
dishes and the copper pots. With these dishes and pots, they put bags
of goatskin filled with cheese or dates. Lastof all, they check the
goatskin water bags. There must not be any leaks. They cannot
lose even one drop of water, for in the desert water is more precious
than gold.
When all is ready, the camels kneel and the men place the loads
on them. Chief Omar mounts his camel and gives the signal to start.
Behind him the long caravan begins to move out over the desert.
Hour after hour the long caravan moves over the yellpw sand.
The sun climbs higher in the sky and the day becomes, hot. The men
take off the wool capes they needed in the cold morning. Now and
then a gazelle or a hare runs over the sand, but there aren't many
animals in the desert.
Everyone keeps looking for signs of water. Then one day the
men see patches of green grass. There are pools of water in the
hollows. Men and animals begin to hurry, for they know that rain
has fallen nearby. Farther on, they find enough grass for pasture
and enough water in the hollows for their animals. Chief Omar gives
the signal to make camp.
Again the camels kneel. And again the men unload them.
Quickly they put up their tents, with the openings facing east. They
spread rugs and blankets on the ground and place pillows on them.
IS

A blanket divides the tent into two rooms. Then they unload the
dishes and pots and bags of food and water. And once more the
nomads are at home.
Meanwhile the thirsty animals take a long drink at the water holes.
The goats drink first. Next come the sheep. Then cbme the camels.
They are the thirstiest of all. They drink and drink. They have
traveled for days without water. But at last they, too, turn away.

A caravan moves slowly out of sight

Rain has fallen here, and there will be pasture for many weeks.
The animals will grow fat on the green grass. Then the men will
choose the animals they want to sell. After they shear the sheep
and fill the bags with wool, they will go to the big town on the oasis.
Again the nomads break camp and move on. They pitch their
tents on the sand at the edge of the oasis. The first days in town
are exciting days. There is the excitement of seeing shops and
streets and crowds of people. The men must sell their animals and
wool, and buy supplies. They bargain at the bazaars, and they drink
coffee in the cool shade and listen to the sound of flowing water.
But soon the men become restless. They begin to miss the free¬
dom and the quiet of the great open desert. Then one morning the
black tents are gone. Far out from the oasis a caravan moves
slowly out of sight.
16

Understanding ideas

I . Find two sentences (hat are not (rue:
a. 1'he men and women eat breakfast together.
h. When it's time to move camp, nobody knows what to do.
c. In the desert, water is more precious than gold.
d. The nomads become restless in the big town.
2. Which of these things must the nomads do when they break camp?
d. fill large bags with wool
a. take down tents
e. check the water bags
b. sweep the nigs
c. roll up rugs and blankets

Understanding words

Find words in the lesson that mean: (a) a place for camels to feed.
(b) a watering place, (c) a long train of camels, (d) places to buy
things.

Let's talk and write about life in the desert
1 . Why did the nomads move?
2. What did Chief Omar eat for breakfast?
3. Why did they check the goatskin water bags?
4. What animal do the nomads use for transportation?
5. What did the men keep looking for?
6. What did the men know when they saw green grass and the pools
of water?
7. Which animals drank at the water holes? Which were the
thirstiest of all?
8. Where do (he nomads go when their animals have grown fat?
9. Why did the nomads like the big town on the oasis?
10. Why didn't the nomads stay in the big town?
“h is a rugged, restless, and uncertain existence that the
nomad leads, but he would have it no other way. Of all
men, says the nomad, he is the most free
Vhe World
lodav Its Patterns and ( 'allures bv Clyde 1 Kohn and
Dorothy Drummond, McGraw Hill, 1963, p 42S.
17

GRAMMAR

Reported speech
Model: St...