LESSON 5

Keeping in Touch With Others

I. YOUR GOAL

Upon successful completion of this module, students will be able to:

1. Express whether a statement is true or false based on your prior knowledge

2. Compare the two families in the selection
3. Compose a poem, sing a song, make a poster, or write an essay about
“Happiness”
4. Fill in the correct words to complete the given statements in reported speech
5. Change the given sentences from direct to reported speech

Introduction

“A man isn’t poor if he can still laugh, but a rich who can’t laugh is the poorest of all”
– Raymond Hitchcock

This quotation states that even though a person do not have a lot of money and material
things he still can afford to be happy, this is quite true as the saying goes “Money can’t buy
happiness”. If you know how to love and forgive then you don’t need to be the richest man in
the world, for as long as you are contented of what you have.

In this lesson, you will be able to discover on how the people in the society solve their
differences and conflicts.

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 II. GEARING UP

Task 1. TRUE OR FALSE

Draw a if the statement is true, and if the statement is false.

__________1.The children of the ordinary family enjoyed outdoor activities.

__________2. The children that came from the rich family were healthy and happy.
__________3. The rich man taught his children to be friendly and kind to others
__________4. The ordinary family had a sense of humor.
__________5. The rich man proved that the ordinary man and his family stole his wealth
and food.

Task 2. Lexis

Choose the meaning of the underlined words using the context clues.
1. The aroma of the food was wafted down to us.
a. came b. smelled c. enjoyed.

2. He looked at the mirror and stretched his mouth into grotesque shapes.
a. attractive b. humorous c. ugly

3. Mother fainted as she saw the bullfrog.

a. cried aloud b. burst into laughter c. fell unconsciously

4. The children became morose and sad.

a. pale b. miserable c. awful

5. We grow robust and full of life.

a. healthy b. bright c. nice

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Task 3. Complete Me

Write the words that will complete each statement in reported speech.
1. He said, “I like this song.”
He said _________________________________________

2. “Where is your sister?” she asked me.

She asked me ____________________________________

3. “The film began at seven o’clock,” he said.

He said _________________________________________

4. “Don’t play on the grass, boys,” she said.

She told the boys __________________________________

5. “Does she know Robert?” he wanted to know.

He wanted to know _________________________________

III. CONTENT

My Father Goes To Court

by Carlos Bulusan

When I was four, I lived with my mother and brothers and sisters in a small town
on the island of Luzon. Father’s farm had been destroyed in 1918 by one of our sudden
Philippine floods, so several years afterwards we all lived in the town though he
preferred living in the country. We had as a next door neighbor a very rich man, whose
sons and daughters seldom came out of the house. While we boys and girls played and
sang in the sun, his children stayed inside and kept the windows closed. His house was
so tall that his children could look in the window of our house and watched us played, or
slept, or ate, when there was any food in the house to eat.
Now, this rich man’s servants were always frying and cooking something good,

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and the aroma of the food was wafted down to us form the windows of the big house.
We hung about and took all the wonderful smells of the food into our beings.
Sometimes, in the morning, our whole family stood outside the windows of the rich
man’s house and listened to the musical sizzling of thick strips of bacon or ham. I can
remember one afternoon when our neighbour’s servants roasted three chickens. The
chickens were young and tender and the fat that dripped into the burning coals gave off
an enchanting odour. We watched the servants turn the beautiful birds and inhaled the
heavenly spirit that drifted out to us.

Some days the rich man appeared at a window and glowered down at us. He
looked at us one by one, as though he were condemning us. We were all healthy
because we went out in the sun and bathed in the cool water of the river that flowed
from the mountains into the sea. Sometimes we wrestled with one another in the house
before we went to play. We were always in the best of spirits and our laughter was
contagious. Other neighbours who passed by our house often stopped in our yard and
joined us in laughter.

As time went on, the rich man’s children became thin and anaemic, while we grew
even more robust and full of life. Our faces were bright and rosy, but theirs were pale
and sad. The rich man started to cough at night; then he coughed day and night. His
wife began coughing too. Then the children started to cough, one after the other. At
night their coughing sounded like the barking of a herd of seals. We hung outside their
windows and listened to them. We wondered what happened. We knew that they were
not sick from the lack of nourishment because they were still always frying something
delicious to eat.

One day the rich man appeared at a window and stood there a long time. He
looked at my sisters, who had grown fat in laughing, then at my brothers, whose arms
and legs were like the molave, which is the sturdiest tree in the Philippines. He banged
down the window and ran through his house, shutting all the windows.

From that day on, the windows of our neighbour’s house were always closed. The
children did not come out anymore. We could still hear the servants cooking in the

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kitchen, and no matter how tight the windows were shut, the aroma of the food came to
us in the wind and drifted gratuitously into our house.

One morning a policeman from the presidencia came to our house with a sealed
paper. The rich man had filed a complaint against us. Father took me with him when he
went to the town clerk and asked him what it was about. He told Father the man claimed
that for years we had been stealing the spirit of his wealth and food.

When the day came for us to appear in court, father brushed his old Army
uniform and borrowed a pair of shoes from one of my brothers. We were the first to
arrive. Father sat on a chair in the centre of the courtroom. Mother occupied a chair by
the door. We children sat on a long bench by the wall. Father kept jumping up from his
chair and stabbing the air with his arms, as though we were defending himself before an
imaginary jury.

The rich man arrived. He had grown old and feeble; his face was scarred with
deep lines. With him was his young lawyer. Spectators came in and almost filled the
chairs. The judge entered the room and sat on a high chair. We stood in a hurry and
then sat down again.

After the courtroom preliminaries, the judge looked at the Father. “Do you have a
lawyer?” he asked.

“I don’t need any lawyer, Judge,” he said.

“Proceed,” said the judge.

The rich man’s lawyer jumped up and pointed his finger at Father. “Do you or you
do not agree that you have been stealing the spirit of the complaint’s wealth and food?”
“I do not!” Father said.

“Do you or do you not agree that while the complaint’s servants cooked and fried
fat legs of lamb or young chicken breast you and your family hung outside his windows
and inhaled the heavenly spirit of the food?”

“I agree.” Father said.

“Do you or do you not agree that while the complaint and his children grew sickly and

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tubercular you and your family became strong of limb and fair in complexion?”

“I agree.” Father said.

“How do you account for that?”
Father got up and paced around, scratching his head thoughtfully. Then he said,
“I would like to see the children of complaint, Judge.”
“Bring in the children of the complaint.”
They came in shyly. The spectators covered their mouths with their hands, they were so
amazed to see the children so thin and pale. The children walked silently to a bench
and sat down without looking up. They stared at the floor and moved their hands
uneasily.
Father could not say anything at first. He just stood by his chair and looked at
them. Finally he said, “I should like to cross – examine the complaint.”
“Proceed.”
“Do you claim that we stole the spirit of your wealth and became a laughing family
while yours became morose and sad?” Father said.
“Yes.”
“Do you claim that we stole the spirit of your food by hanging outside your windows
when your servants cooked it?” Father said.
“Yes.”
“Then we are going to pay you right now,” Father said. He walked over to where
we children were sitting on the bench and took my straw hat off my lap and began filling
it up with centavo pieces that he took out of his pockets. He went to Mother, who added
a fistful of silver coins. My brothers threw in their small change.
“May I walk to the room across the hall and stay there for a few minutes, Judge?”
Father said.
“As you wish.”
“Thank you,” father said. He strode into the other room with the hat in his hands. It
was almost full of coins. The doors of both rooms were wide open.
“Are you ready?” Father called.
“Proceed.” The judge said.

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 The sweet tinkle of the coins carried beautifully in the courtroom. The spectators
turned their faces toward the sound with wonder. Father came back and stood before
the complaint.
“Did you hear it?” he asked.
“Hear what?” the man asked.
“The spirit of the money when I shook this hat?” he asked.
“Yes.”
“Then you are paid,” Father said.
The rich man opened his mouth to speak and fell to the floor without a sound.
The lawyer rushed to his aid. The judge pounded his gravel.
“Case dismissed.” He said.
Father strutted around the courtroom the judge even came down from his high
chair to shake hands with him. “By the way,” he whispered, “I had an uncle who died
laughing.”
“You like to hear my family laugh, Judge?” Father asked?
“Why not?”
“Did you hear that children?” father said. My sisters started it. The rest of us
followed them soon the spectators were laughing with us, holding their bellies and
bending over the chairs. And the laughter of the judge was the loudest of all.

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 IV. EVALUATION

Task 1. Understanding the Text

1. Differentiate the two families in the selection.

Wealthy
Family Ordinary
Family

2. What makes the ordinary family happy?

3. Why does the rich man file a case against the ordinary man and his family?
4. What is the best description that the narrator mentions about his father?
5. If you were the rich man would you do the same thing as he does? Why? Or Why not?

Task 2. Let’s do it!

Express the importance of the word “Happiness” in one’s life by doing the following:

Group 1 - Compose a poem about happiness.

Group 2 - Draw a poster about happiness.

Group 3 - Write an essay about happiness.

Group 4 – Choose and sing a song that best describes happiness.

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Task 3. Let’s Check it Out!

True or False: Draw a if the statement is true, and if the statement is

false.

__________1.The children of the ordinary family enjoyed outdoor activities.

__________2. The children that came from the rich family were healthy and happy.
__________3. The rich man taught his children to be friendly and kind to others
__________4. The ordinary family had a sense of humor.
__________5. The rich man proved that the ordinary man and his family stole his wealth
and food.

GRAMMAR IN FOCUS

Task 4. Transform Me

Change the following sentences from direct speech to reported speech.

1. “Did you see the exhibition?” the teacher asked me.

_____________________________________________________________________

2. He said to her, “What a hot day!”

_____________________________________________________________________

3. The priest said, “Be quiet and listen to my words.”

_____________________________________________________________________

4. “Don’t try this at home,” the stuntman told the audience.

_____________________________________________________________________

5. “Where have you spent your money?” she asked him.

_____________________________________________________________________

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 V. YOUR FINAL TASK

Resolving Conflicts

Write five conflicts that the country is facing now. Then give your own suggestions on how you
can resolve each conflicts.

Conflicts:

1. _____________________________________________________________________
2. _____________________________________________________________________
3. _____________________________________________________________________
4. _____________________________________________________________________
5. _____________________________________________________________________

Suggestions:

1. _____________________________________________________________________
2. _____________________________________________________________________
3. _____________________________________________________________________
4. ______________________________________________________________________
5. ______________________________________________________________________

REFERENCES

Grade 7 Learner’s Material pp. 374-377

K-12 Curriculum Guide Module 3 page 160

https://www.ego4u.com/en/cram-up/grammar/reported-speech/exercises?10

https://englishgrammar.org/direct-indirect-speech-exercise-4/

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