February 27, 2023

TURNING POINTS IN HISTORY | Renaissance, Scientific revolution, Reformation and Enlightenment

TURNING POINTS IN HISTORY
Renaissance, Scientific revolution, Reformation and Enlightenment

Christianity ironically produced during this time a thinker who championed ARISTOTLE! His name was Thomas Aquinas. Though he gave arguments for God, he accepted all of Arstotle’s tenets and laid the questioning seeds of his own Religion, Christianity.

The world was witnessing a resurgence, a renaissance.

It started with the great art movements with pioneers like Michelangelo and Leonardo Da Vinci and others.

People realised that they are supreme, that man and this world needs to be understood, and then came the scientific revolution and this time with full observations and experimentation. Thus Inductive method took central stage, thanks mainly to Copernicus, Kepler, Galileo but especially due to Newton who made breathtaking and astounding generalizations and proved them and showed what IS proof!

He discovered the laws of motion and gravitation not on earth alone but as applied to the whole world, he made heaven and earth one and obviously weakened the religious fairy tales, in the world at large.

Slowly, as centuries passed, science came up with more and more and more discoveries, in electricity, magnetism, fluids, atomic structure of matter, heat, in the causes of chemical reactions, the classification of all elements in a periodic table,processes in living thins --astounding discoveries were made and man came of age.

Then slowly the kingly rule too was challenged and Christianity too, via Reformation of Church. There were the American and French revolutions. These proclaimed that Man had rights as an individual and right means nobody could take away his right to life, freedom and to work.

This was enshrined in especially the American constitution and a great secular, man centric country came into being. Man had finally learnt how to organise himself, and capitalism was born, rooted in man’s rights and not the collective rights or God.

February 17, 2023

THE BEST PEARS | RETOLD BY LEO TOLSTOY | MASTER READING - LISTENING WITH GRAMMAR ANALYSIS | INDIAN STORIES | EFL RESOURCES

THE BEST PEARS

A master sent his Servant to buy the best-tasting pears. The Servant came to the shop and asked for pears. The dealer gave him some; but the Servant said:

"No, give me the best!"

The dealer said:

"Try one; you will see that they taste good."

"How shall I know," said the Servant, "that they all taste good, if I try one only?"

He bit off a piece from each pear, and brought them to his master. Then his master sent him away.

THE MOUSE UNDER THE GRANARY | RETOLD BY LEO TOLSTOY | MASTER READING - LISTENING WITH GRAMMAR ANALYSIS | INDIAN STORIES | EFL RESOURCES

THE MOUSE UNDER THE GRANARY

A Mouse was living under the granary. In the floor of the granary there was a little hole, and the grain fell down through it. The Mouse had an easy life of it, but she wanted to brag of her ease: she gnawed a larger hole in the floor, and invited other mice.

"Come to a feast with me," said she; "there will be plenty to eat for everybody."

When she brought the mice, she saw there was no hole. The peasant had noticed the big hole in the floor, and had stopped it up.

THE DUCK AND THE MOON | RETOLD BY LEO TOLSTOY | MASTER READING - LISTENING WITH GRAMMAR ANALYSIS | INDIAN STORIES | EFL RESOURCES

THE DUCK AND THE MOON

A Duck was swimming in the pond, trying to find some fish, but she did not find one in a whole day. When night came, she saw the Moon in the water; she thought that it was a fish, and plunged in to catch the Moon. The other ducks saw her do it and laughed at her.

That made the Duck feel so ashamed and bashful that when she saw a fish under the Water, she did not try to catch it, and so died of hunger.

THE MILCH COW | RETOLD BY LEO TOLSTOY | MASTER READING - LISTENING WITH GRAMMAR ANALYSIS | INDIAN STORIES | EFL RESOURCES

THE MILCH COW

A Man had a Cow; she gave each day a pot full of milk. The Man invited a number of guests. To have as much milk as possible, he did not milk the Cow for ten days. He thought that on the tenth day the Cow would give him ten pitchers of milk.

But the Cow's milk went back, and she gave less milk than before.

February 08, 2023

THE PARTITION OF THE INHERITANCE | RETOLD BY LEO TOLSTOY | MASTER READING - LISTENING WITH GRAMMAR ANALYSIS | INDIAN STORIES | EFL RESOURCES

THE PARTITION OF THE INHERITANCE

A Father had two Sons. He said to them: "When I die, divide everything into two equal parts."

When the Father died, the Sons could not divide without quarrelling. They went to a Neighbour to have him settle the matter. The Neighbour asked them how their Father had told them to divide. They said:

"He ordered us to divide everything into two equal parts."

The Neighbour said:

"If so, tear all your garments into two halves, break your dishes into two halves, and cut all your cattle into two halves!"

The Brothers obeyed their Neighbour, and lost everything.

FINE THREAD | RETOLD BY LEO TOLSTOY | MASTER READING - LISTENING WITH GRAMMAR ANALYSIS | INDIAN STORIES | EFL RESOURCES

FINE THREAD

A Man ordered some fine thread from a Spinner. The Spinner spun it for him, but the Man said that the thread was not good, and that he wanted the finest thread he could get. The Spinner said:

"If this is not fine enough, take this!" and she pointed to an empty space.

He said that he did not see any. The Spinner said:

"You do not see it, because it is so fine. I do not see it myself."

The Fool was glad, and ordered some more thread of this kind, and paid her for what he got.