Introduction
Floods! Food shortages! Spies! Invasion! Such cries we read daily in British newspapers. If they fall on deaf ears, Aesop of Samos would have said that the newspapers had only themselves to blame.
ONCE there was a shepherd boy, who repeatedly climbed up the fell-side and shouted: Help! Wolves! The farmers would come at a run to the sheepfold, only to find it was all a lie. Time and again he did the same thing, and time and again the farmers found it was a lie, so they turned and walked away.
Then one day a wolf really did slip into the sheepfold. The boy wailed: A wolf! Come quick! but no one believed him. No one came to help. The wolf had complete licence to do as he pleased, and he gobbled up the entire flock.
And the moral of that is, that among the many good reasons for not telling lies is the fear that no one will believe you when you tell the truth.*
See also Lord Salisbury on ‘Never Trust Experts’.
Archive
Word Games
Spinners Find in Think and Speak
For each group of words, compose a sentence that uses all three. You can use any form of the word: for example, cat → cats, go → went, or quick → quickly, though neigh → neighbour is stretching it a bit.
This exercise uses words found in the accompanying passage.
1 Not. Please. Same.
2 Into. Real. Side.
3 Again. All. No.
Variations: 1. include direct and indirect speech 2. include one or more of these words: although, because, despite, either/or, if, unless, until, when, whether, which, who 3. use negatives (not, isn’t, neither/nor, never, nobody etc.)
Statements, Questions and Commands Find in Think and Speak
Use each word below in a sentence. Try to include at least one statement, one question and one command among your sentences. Note that some verbs make awkward or meaningless words of command, e.g. need, happen.
This exercise uses words found in the accompanying passage.
1 Reason. 2 Repeat. 3 Help. 4 Lie. 5 Run. 6 Fall. 7 Time. 8 Fear. 9 Slip.
Variations: 1. use a minimum of seven words for each sentence 2. include negatives, e.g. isn’t, don’t, never 3. use the words ‘must’ to make commands 4. compose a short dialogue containing all three kinds of sentence: one statement, one question and one command
Homonyms Find in Think and Speak
Each of the words below has more than one possible meaning. Compose your own sentences to show what those different meanings are.
This exercise uses words found in the accompanying passage.
1. Found. 2. Lie.
High Tiles Find in Think and Speak
Make words (three letters or more) from the seven letters showing below, using any letter once only. Each letter carries a score. What is the highest-scoring word you can make?
Your Words ()
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