Please Hear What I'm Not Saying

Please Hear What I'm Not Saying

by Charles C. Finn

September 1966

Don't be fooled by me.

Don't be fooled by the face I wear

for I wear a mask, a thousand masks,

masks that I'm afraid to take off,

and none of them is me.

Pretending is an art that's second nature with me,

but don't be fooled,

for God's sake don't be fooled.

I give you the impression that I'm secure,

that all is sunny and unruffled with me,

within as well as without,

that confidence is my name and coolness my game,

that the winter's calm and I'm in command

and that I need no one,

but don't believe me.

My surface may seem smooth but my surface is my mask,

ever-varying and ever concealing.

Beneath lies no complacence.

Beneath lies confusion, and fear, and aloneness.

But I hide this. I don't want anybody to know it.

I panic at the thought of my weakness exposed.

That's why I frantically create a mask to hide behind,

a nonchalant sophisticated facade,

to help me pretend,

to shield me from the glance that knows.

But such a glance is precisely my salvation, my only hope,

and I know it.

That is, if it's followed by acceptance,

if it's followed by love.

It's the only thing that can liberate me from myself,

from my own self-built prison walls,

from the barriers I so painstakingly erect.

It's the only thing that will assure me

of what I can't assure myself,

that I'm really worth something.

But I don't tell you this. I don't dare to, I'm afraid to.

I'm afraid your glance will not be followed by acceptance,

will not be followed by love.

I'm afraid you'll think less of me,

that you'll laugh, and your laugh would kill me.

I'm afraid that deep-down I'm nothing

and that you will see this and reject me.

So I play  my game, my desperate pretending game,

with a facade of assurance without

and a trembling child within.

So begins the glittering but empty parade of masks,

and my life becomes a front.

I idly chatter to you in the suave tones of surface talk.

I tell you everything that's really nothing,

and nothing of what's everything,

of what's crying within me.

So when I'm going through my routine

do not be fooled by what I'm saying.

Please listen carefully and try to hear what I'm not saying,

what I'd like to be able to say,

what for survival I need to say,

but what I can't say.

Who am I, you may wonder?

I am someone you know very well.

For I am every man you meet

and I am every woman you meet.

 

Leopard Makes Himself at Home

Leopard Makes Himself at Home
(Can You Believe It? Book 1 by Jann Huizenga)

Leopard

Quick Reading

Chandigarh, India. A four-year-old boy is at home watching TV. He goes to the kitchen and tells his mother, "There's a tiger in the bedroom." She laughs, thinking he is talking about a TV program. Later, she looks into the bedroom. She is horrified by what she sees. There's a leopard watching TV on the bed! She grabs her son and runs away. The leopard soon turns over and falls asleep. When forest department officials arrive, the leopard is still taking a nap. They take him to a zoo.

New Idioms and Expressions

make oneself at home - make yourself comfortable in someone else's home

at home - in your house or apartment

be horrified by something - feel shock and horror at something

run away - leave quickly; escape

turn over - turn to the other side

fall asleep - begin to sleep

take a nap - sleep for a short time during the day

Complete the Idiom

a. leave quickly; escape                         = run _ _ _ _

b. begin to sleep                                   = fall _ _ _ _ _ _

c. turn to the other side                         = turn _ _ _ _

d. sleep for a short time during the day   = take a _ _ _

e. in your house                                     = at _ _ _ _

About the Story

a. Where is the little boy watching TV?

b. What does he tell his mother? Does she believe him?

c. Later, what is she horrified by?

d. What does she do?

e. What does the leopard do after watching TV?

f. What is he doing when officials arrive?

g. In your opinion, how did the leopard get in the house?

About You

h. Who make themselves at home at your house?

i. What do you like to do at home?

j. Do you like to take a nap?

k. When do you usually fall asleep at night?

l. Do you ever have trouble falling asleep?

Please Get Rid of that Smell

Please Get Rid of that Smell
(Can You Believe It? Book 1 by Jann Huizenga)

Quick Reading

Phyton

Baltimore, MD, USA. It's winter. Barbara Pridgen, 43, is driving her car. When she turns on the heater, there's a terrible smell in her car. It gets worse and worse. She can't stand it! She takes the car to the repair shop. "What's the matter with my car?" she asks. "Can you get rid of this smell?" The mechanic takes a look at the engine. He examines the heating system. Then Barbara screams. She loses it. The mechanic pulls out a big, fat, dead phyton!

New Idioms and Expressions

get rid of something - remove something
turn something on - start a machine or the flow of electricity, water, etc.
get worse and worse - become very bad
can't stand something - dislike something very much
what's the matter (with something or someone)? - what's wrong (with something or someone)
take a look (at something) - look quickly (at something)
lose it - become too excited; lose one's self-control

Complete the Idiom

a. look at quickly          = take a look _ _
b. start a machine        = turn _ _
c. dislike very much      = can't _ _ _ _ _
d. what's wrong?           = what's the _ _ _ _ _ _ ?
e. become very bad      = get worse and _ _ _ _ _
f. become very excited = lose _ _

Answer the Questions

a. Why does Barbara turn on her heater?
b. What happens when she turns it on?
c. Does Barbara like the smell?
d. What does she want the mechanic to do?
e. What does the mechanic take a look at?
f. Why does Barbara lose it?
g. Why do you think the snake was in the heater?

About You

h. What makes you lose it?
i. What things do you turn on in your house every day?
j. What are some smells or foods that you can't stand?
k. Think about the problems in your community, native country, or in the world. Which ones are getting worse and worse? What can you do about them?

Land Transportation

LAND VEHICLES

Human-powered rickshaw

Rickshaws (or rickshas) are a mode of human-powered transport: a runner draws a two-wheeled cart which seats one or two persons. Rickshaws are commonly made with bamboo. The word rickshaw came from Asia where they were mainly used as means of transportation for the social elite. In recent times the use of rickshaws has been discouraged or outlawed in many countries due to concern for the welfare of rickshaw workers. Runner-pulled rickshaws have mainly been replaced by cycle rickshaws and auto rickshaws.

Pedicab

The term "rickshaw" originates from the Japanese word jinrikisha (jin = human, riki = power or force, sha = vehicle), which literally means "human-powered vehicle."

The cycle rickshaw is a small-scale means of transport; it is also known by a variety of other names such as pedicab, bike cab, cyclo, becak, or trisahaw or, simply, rickshaw. Cycle rickshaws are human-powered, a type of tricycle designed to carry passengers in addition to driver. They are widely used in major cities around the world, but most commonly in cities of South, Southeast and East Asia.

Horse-drawn carriage

A carriage is a wheeled vehicle for people, usually horse-drawn. The carriage is especially designed for private passenger use and for comfort or elegance, though some are also used  to transport goods. It may be light, smart and fast or heavy, large and comfortable. A public passenger vehicle would not usually be called a carriage -- terms for such include stagecoach, charabanc and omnibus. Working vehicles such as the (four-wheeled) wagon and (two-wheeled) cart share important parts of the history of the carriage, as does the fast (two-wheeled) chariot.

Kalesa

A kalesa or calesa (sometimes called a karitela) is a horse-drivern calash (carriage) used in the Philippines. The word, also spelled calesa, predates the Spanish conquest and descends ultimately from an Old Church Slavonic word meaning "wheels." This was one of the modes of transportation introduced in the Philippines in the 18th century by the Spaniards that only nobles and high ranked officials could afford. The Kalesa driver is commonly called as "Cochero" or "Kutsero."

Racing motorcycle

A motorcycle (also called a motorbike, bike or cycle) is a single-track, engine-powered, two-wheeled motor vehicle. Motorcycles vary considerably depending on the task for which they are designed, such as long distance travel, navigating congested urban traffic, cruising, sport and racing, or off-road conditions.

Motorcycles are one of the most affordable form of motorized transport in many parts of the world and, for most of the world's population, they are the most common type of motor vehicle. There are around 200 million motorcycles (including mopeds, motor scooters and other powered two and three-wheelers) in use worldwide, or about 33 motorcycles per 1000 people.

What Animals See

(New Century Readings, Methold and Jones)

  
Pre-reading activity 

1. What animals do you like?
2. Do you have any animals in your home?
3. Do you think that most animals can see as well as we can?

Scientists think that many -- perhaps most -- animals don't see colors. The world is black and white to them. To find out if dogs could see colors, scientists played a certain piece of music before giving their dogs some food. After a few days the dogs started getting ready to eat every time they heard this piece of music. They did not get ready to eat when they heard other pieces of music.

Then the scientists showed the dogs a certain color before giving them food. After a few days the dogs would get ready to eat when they saw this color. The scientists then showed the dogs a different color and the dogs got ready to eat again. The dogs could not distinguish between the different colors.

Monkeys, however, can see distinct differences between colors. For example, if we put food in a red box on a daily basis, a monkey will always go to the red box to get the food. If we then fill a blue box with food, the monkey won't go to it. 

 

New words

find out - to get information about something

certain - particular but not named

get ready - to make or become ready

distinguished between - to recognize the difference between things

however - nevertheless, yet

distinct - not the same, clearly different

on a daily basis - happening or done every day

fill with - to make a container full with something

Main idea

Choose the correct answer.

The story is about

1. monkeys and boxes               3. scientists and color

2. scientists and boxes              4. animals and color

Looking for detail

1. All color look the same to

    a. dogs              b. monkeys        c. scientists           d. all animals

2. Some scientists wanted to find out if dogs

   a. liked eating     b. saw colors     c. liked monkeys     d. liked music

3. The scientists played a certain piece of music

   a. after giving the dogs some food

   b. before giving the dogs some food

   c. before showing the dogs some boxes

   d. after showing the dogs some monkeys
 

Vocabulary

1. Match the words in A to the words in B to make sentences.

 

                   A                                                                      B

a. I'm trying to get fit,                        e. to fill the kettle with water. 

b. It takes about half an hour               f. my sister doesn't.

c. I eat meat; however                        g. so I exercise on a daily basis.

d. To make a hot drink, you need          h. to get ready for school.

2. In the passage you read, "...the dogs started getting ready to eat..." Choose the correct expression with get to complete the following.

getting ready       getting together       getting old       get going

 

a. A: What are you doing today?

    B: I am _____ with my friends.

b. A: We should _____ or we'll be late for the movie.

c. A: I wish you'd hurry up. You've been _____ for an hour.

d. A: Why are you unhappy?

    B: I have had a long life, but now I am _____.

3. Choose the correct word or words.

a. I would like to _____ if animals can count. [ hear / find out ]

b. I get sick if I eat _____ foods. [ certain / different ]

c. These two pieces of fabric are too similar.

    Let's choose two _____ patterns [ different / distinct ]

d. The Simpson between them. [ distinguish / see ]