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Litterbug – Mini-Story Lesson

Hi, I’m Joe Weiss and I’m one of the teachers and directors of Learn Real English and I’d like to welcome you to this mini-story lesson. Okay, I want to start this lesson by telling you about some of the idioms that you will hear me use in the story. So let’s start.

Okay, first is a “litterbug.” A litterbug is a person who litters or we could say it’s a person who throws trash on the ground because littering is just throwing trash on the ground instead of putting it in a place where trash is collected, okay? Alright, let me give you an example. Peter was a litterbug when he was just a boy but now that he’s an adult, he never litters. Okay, what I’m saying is when Peter was a boy, he was a person who threw trash on the ground but now that he’s an adult, he never litters. He never throws trash on the ground.

Okay, next is “pet peeve,” pet peeve. So a pet peeve is something that annoys you a lot, okay? Here’s an example for you. John’s pet peeve was when people speak while chewing their food. Okay? John, his pet peeve is when people speak while chewing their food. So it really annoys John when people speak while chewing their food.

Okay, so next is to “lose your temper.” To lose your temper. If you lose your temper, it means that you get angry and you get angry very quickly. Okay, so it happens very quickly. You get angry very quickly. Here’s an example. After John’s father learned that John had crashed his car, he lost his temper. Okay, so what I’m saying is after John’s father learned that John had crashed his car, he got very angry very quickly. Okay, he got angry very quickly.

Okay, next is to “brush up on something,” and this is one that I like a lot. If you brush up on something, it means that you practice doing something that you already know how to do but maybe it’s something you haven’t done for a while so you don’t do it very well at that time, so that’s why you’re practicing. Okay, so it’s to practice something that you already know how to do but maybe you’re out of practice with. You’re not doing it as well as you used to do. Let me give you an example. Jeff wanted to go to Portugal so he brushed up on speaking Portuguese. Okay, so what I’m saying is Jeff wanted to go to Portugal so he practiced speaking Portuguese. And it means that he already knew how to speak Portuguese but maybe he hadn’t done it in a while so he wasn’t very good at it so he wanted to practice doing it. He practiced doing something that he already knew how to do. He practiced speaking Portuguese. He brushed up on speaking Portuguese.

Okay, I have one more for you. This one is to “hold a grudge,” or we can even say to hold a grudge against someone. Okay, so if you hold a grudge it means that you remain angry about something that happened in the past. Here’s an example. Jeff held a grudge against Peter because Peter never paid

him the money that he owed him. Okay, so what I’m saying is Jeff remained angry at Peter because Peter never paid him the money that he owed him. He held a grudge against him, okay? He remained angry at him for something that already happened.

Okay, so now I’m going to tell you a story but I’m also going to ask you a lot of questions as I’m telling you the story. So when I ask you a question, I want you to answer that question quickly. Just tell me the first answer that you think of. Okay, and don’t worry about making a mistake. You’re going to listen to this lesson many times. So if you make a mistake this time when you listen to this lesson, you probably will not make the same mistake the next time you listen to this lesson. So if you make a mistake, just try and learn from it. And I’d like you to speak loudly and confidently when you answer these questions. Alright then, well it’s time for our story I guess, so let’s start.

There was a gorilla and his name was Gary. And one day Gary was driving his car and while he was driving his car, he was drinking a soda. And after he finished drinking the soda, he threw the bottle on the ground. Yes, he threw the bottle on the ground. You see, Gary had a problem. He was a litterbug.

Okay, time for some questions. Was Gary a goat or a gorilla?

Oh, he was a gorilla, of course, Gary was a gorilla.

And tell me this. Was Gary driving his car?

He was, yes, Gary was driving his car.

Who was driving his car?

Gary was, of course, Gary was driving his car.

And tell me this. Whose car was Gary driving?

His car, he was driving his car.

Was Gary driving his mother’s car?

No, no, he was driving his car.

And tell me this. What was Gary driving? Was he driving a truck or a car?

A car, Gary was driving a car, of course.

So tell me this now. While Gary was driving his car, was he drinking a soda?

He was, yes, Gary was drinking a soda while he was driving his car.

Who was drinking a soda?

Gary, Gary was drinking a soda.

And what was Gary drinking? Was he drinking milk?

No, no, Gary wasn’t drinking milk.

What was Gary drinking?

A soda, Gary was drinking a soda.

And what was Gary doing at the same time he was drinking the soda?

Well, he was driving his car, right? He drank the soda while he was driving his car.

So after Gary finished the soda, did he throw the bottle on the ground?

Yes, yes, he did, he threw the bottle on the ground.

Who threw the bottle on the ground?

Gary did, Gary threw the bottle on the ground.

So tell me this. What did he throw on the ground?

The bottle, Gary threw the bottle on the ground.

So was Gary a litterbug?

Yes, yes, unfortunately he was, Gary was a litterbug.

Who was a litterbug? Was AJ a litterbug?

No, not AJ, AJ wasn’t a litterbug.

Who was a litterbug?

Gary was, right? Gary was a litterbug.

So did Gary throw trash on the ground? Was he a person who threw trash on the ground?

Yes, yes, he was, Gary was a litterbug and a litterbug is a person who throws trash on the ground, or we could say a person who litters.

Well, guess what? I also want to tell you about a dog. The dog’s name was Jeff and Jeff’s pet peeve was littering. So when Jeff saw Gary throw the bottle on the ground, he lost his temper. Yes, Jeff lost his temper.

Okay, time for some more questions. What kind of animal was Jeff? Was he a gorilla?

No, no, Jeff wasn’t a gorilla.

What was Jeff?

A dog, yes, Jeff was a dog.

And was Gary a dog, too?

No, Gary wasn’t a dog, Gary was a gorilla.

So tell me this. What was Jeff’s pet peeve?

Littering, littering was Jeff’s pet peeve.

Whose pet peeve was littering?

Jeff, it was Jeff’s pet peeve.

And was littering also Gary’s pet peeve?

No, no, it wasn’t Gary’s pet peeve. It was only Jeff’s.

So was Jeff’s pet peeve when people threw trash on the ground?

Yes, yes, of course, it was, littering was Jeff’s pet peeve so that means his pet peeve was when people threw trash on the ground because littering is when a person throws trash on the ground.

So tell me this. Did Jeff lose his temper when he saw Gary throw the bottle on the ground?

Yes, yes, he did, Jeff lost his temper.

Who lost his temper?

Jeff did, Jeff lost his temper.

And when did he lose his temper?

Well, he lost his temper when Gary threw the bottle on the ground.

Did Jeff lose his temper when Gary littered?

Yes, sure, he lost his temper when Gary threw the bottle on the ground so that’s the same thing as saying he lost his temper when Gary littered.

So tell me this. Was Jeff happy or did he get angry?

Oh, he got angry, he lost his temper.

So one more question. Did he get angry very slowly or did he get angry very quickly?

Very quickly, he lost his temper, so when a person loses his or her temper it means that person got angry and that it happened very quickly.

Well, after Gary threw the bottle on the ground, Jeff followed him. Yes, Jeff followed Gary. And after some time, Gary stopped at McDonald’s. And when he stopped at McDonald’s, Jeff yelled at Gary. He yelled at Gary for five minutes. And after that, Jeff drove away. Yeah, he drove away very fast actually in his car.

Okay, so tell me this. Who followed Gary?

Jeff did, Jeff followed Gary.

And who did Jeff follow? Did he follow AJ or Gary?

Gary, he followed Gary.

And tell me this now. Where did Gary stop? Did he stop at church?

No, he didn’t stop at church.

Where did Gary stop?

McDonald’s, Gary stopped at McDonald’s.

And when Gary stopped at McDonald’s, did Jeff yell at him?

He did, yes, Jeff yelled at him.

Who yelled at Gary?

Jeff did, Jeff yelled at Gary.

And tell me this. How long did Jeff yell at Gary? Did he yell at him for five minutes or five days?

Five minutes, he didn’t yell at him for five days, he yelled at him for five minutes.

And after he finished yelling at Gary, did he drive away very fast or did he drive away slowly?

Oh, he drove away very fast, Jeff drove away very fast after he yelled at Gary for five minutes.

Well, I want to tell you a little bit more about Gary. The next day, the day after he threw the bottle out of the car onto the ground, he had an interview with Google. Yes, Gary had an interview with Google the next day. And Google had an office in Spain and that’s where Gary wanted to work. Gary wanted to work in Spain. So that night, the night before the interview, Gary brushed up on speaking Spanish.

Okay, so tell me this. Who had an interview with Google? Gary or Jeff?

Gary did, of course, Gary had an interview with Google, he had a job interview with Google.

And who did he have an interview with? Who was Gary’s job interview with?

Google, he had a job interview with Google.

And did he have a job interview with Google that day or the next day?

The next day, he had his job interview with Google the next day.

So tell me this. Where did Gary want to work?

Spain, he wanted to work in Spain.

Did Gary want to work in Germany?

No, no, not Germany, Spain, he wanted to work in Spain.

So did Gary brush up on speaking Spanish?

Yes, yes, he did, he brushed up on speaking Spanish.

Who brushed up on speaking Spanish?

Gary did, Gary brushed up on speaking Spanish.

Did Jeff brush up on speaking Spanish?

No, no, not Jeff, Gary did, Gary brushed up on speaking Spanish.

And what did Gary brush up on?

Speaking Spanish, he brushed up on speaking Spanish.

So did Gary practice speaking Spanish and was it something that he already knew how to do?

Yes, yes, Gary brushed up on speaking Spanish so that means he practiced speaking Spanish but it also means that he already knew how to do it, okay? Maybe he hadn’t done it for a while, that’s why he felt the need to practice, but he brushed up on speaking Spanish so that means he practiced speaking Spanish and it was something he already knew how to do, even if was a long time ago that he had done it, okay?

Well, guess what? The next day Gary had the interview and when he arrived at Google’s offices, he met the vice president of Google, and guess who the vice president of Google was? Jeff! Yes, that’s right, Jeff the dog was the vice president of Google. Well, when Gary saw Jeff, he was nervous, yeah. Understandably so. But fortunately for Gary, Jeff did not hold a grudge. That’s right, Gary was nervous but Jeff did not hold a grudge against Gary, fortunately.

Okay, so tell me this. The next day did Gary have his job interview?

He did, yes, Gary had his job interview the next day.

And tell me this. When Gary arrived at Google’s offices, who did he meet?

The vice president of Google, he met the vice president of Google.

Did he meet the president of Google?

No, no, he didn’t meet the president of Google, he met the vice president of Google.

And tell me this. Who was the vice president of Google? Was Gary the vice president of Google?

No, no, Gary wasn’t the vice president of Google.

Who was the vice president of Google?

Jeff was, Jeff the dog was the vice president of Google.

So how did Gary feel when he saw Jeff?

Nervous, he felt very nervous.

So tell me this. Did Jeff hold a grudge against Gary?

No, no, he did not hold a grudge against Gary.

Who didn’t hold a grudge against Gary?

Jeff didn’t, Jeff didn’t hold a grudge against Gary.

So tell me this. Did Jeff remain angry at Gary?

No, no, he didn’t, he didn’t hold a grudge against Gary. If you hold a grudge against Gary, that means you remain angry at somebody. Okay, if you hold a grudge it means that you remain angry at that person for something that happened. But Jeff did not hold a grudge so that means he did not remain angry at Gary.

Well, I want to tell you a little more about the interview. It went very well for Gary. And Jeff really liked Gary so after the interview was finished, Jeff offered Gary a job, but only if he promised to never litter again.

Okay, well that’s the end of our story and I hope that you enjoyed it because now I want you to tell the story. I want you to tell the story to someone who you know. It can be anybody. But when you tell the story, I want you to use all of the idioms that you learned at the beginning of this lesson, alright? And I also want you to listen to this lesson every day for at least seven days because I want you to learn the material deeply.

Alright then, well that’s the end of this mini-story lesson. I’ll see you next time.