داستان کوتاه

Magic Camera – 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 words and phrases that you will hear me use in the story. So let’s start.

Okay, first is to “be in short supply.” So if something is in short supply, it means that there is very little of it, okay? Here’s an example for you. John wanted to buy a home in San Francisco but affordable homes were in short supply. Okay, so what I’m saying is John wanted to buy a home in San Francisco but there were very few affordable homes, okay, they were in short supply.

Okay, so next is a “garage sale.” So a garage sale is when a person sells some of the things that they own and usually this happens in front of their house or sometimes even in their garage, okay? Here’s an example for you. Tony purchased an old computer and an old printer at a garage sale. Okay, so what I’m saying is Tony purchased an old printer and an old computer when someone was selling some of the things that they own in front of their house, okay? He purchased them at a garage sale.

Okay, next is to “blow a fuse.” So if you blow a fuse, it means that you get very angry and it usually happens very quickly, okay? Suddenly you become very angry. Here’s an example for you. When Joan crashed her father’s car, her father blew a fuse. Okay, so what I’m saying is when Joan crashed her father’s car, her father became very angry and he became very angry suddenly and quickly.

Okay, so next is “get off my back.” So if you say to somebody, “Get off my back,” what you’re telling that person to do is to stop bothering you or to stop harassing you, okay? Here’s an example. Remember I told you that Joan crashed her father’s car? Well, let’s continue that story. After Joan crashed her father’s car, she apologized to her father but her father continued to yell at her for 10 hours. So finally, she told her father to get off her back, okay? So what I’m saying is Joan apologized to her father but her father continued to yell at her for 10 hours so finally Joan told her father to stop bothering her, to stop harassing her. She told him to get off her back.

Okay, so I have one more for you and this one’s just a word but it’s an important word for the story I’m going to tell you. So this word is “scoreboard,” okay? So a scoreboard is just a place where the score of a game is displayed wherever the game is being played. Let me give you an example to help you understand this. John arrived late to the basketball game so once he arrived, he looked at the scoreboard to see if his team was winning. Okay, so what I’m saying is John arrived at the basketball game late so once he arrived, he looked at the place where the score of the game was displayed because he wanted to see if his team was winning. He looked at the scoreboard, the place where the score of the game was displayed.

Okay, well now I’m going to tell you a story but I’m also going to ask you a lot of questions as I tell you the story. So when I ask you a question, I want you to answer that question quickly. Just tell me the first thing that you think about, okay? But don’t worry about making mistakes either, okay? Because if you make a mistake and you learn from it, it’s actually okay and you’re going to listen to this lesson many times. And when you answer these questions, I want you to speak loudly and confidently. Alright, then, I think it’s time we’re ready for our story, so let’s begin.

There was a gorilla and his name was Charlie. And Charlie was married and his wife’s name was Rebecca. And unfortunately, Charlie and Rebecca had a problem. Their money was in short supply. Yes, Charlie and Rebecca’s money was in short supply so they did not have enough money to pay their rent. When I say their rent, I mean the rent for their home, okay? Their money was in short supply so they didn’t have enough money to pay their rent.

Okay, time for some questions. So tell me this. Was there a gorilla or was there a penguin?

A gorilla, of course, there was a gorilla.

And what was the gorilla’s name?

Charlie, the gorilla’s name was Charlie.

And was Charlie a penguin?

No, no, Charlie wasn’t a penguin. He was a gorilla, of course.

So was Charlie married or was he single?

He was married, Charlie was married.

Okay, so tell me this, what was Charlie’s wife’s name?

Rebecca, right? His wife’s name was Rebecca.

So was Charlie and Rebecca’s money in short supply?

Yes, yes, it was, Charlie and Rebecca’s money was in short supply.

What was in short supply?

Their money, Charlie and Rebecca’s money was in short supply.

And tell me this, whose money was in short supply?

Charlie and Rebecca’s, their money was in short supply.

So did Charlie and Rebecca have a lot of money?

No, no, their money was in short supply so that means they had very little money. If something is in short supply it means there’s very little of it so their money was in short supply, they had very little money.

So did Charlie and Rebecca have enough money to pay their rent?

No, no, they didn’t have enough money to pay their rent.

Who didn’t have enough money to pay their rent?

Charlie and Rebecca, Charlie and Rebecca didn’t have enough money to pay their rent.

So tell me this. Why not? Why didn’t Charlie and Rebecca have enough money to pay their rent?

Well, they didn’t have enough money to pay their rent because their money was in short supply.

Well, I want to tell you a little more about Charlie. One day Charlie purchased a camera at a garage sale and he paid $121 for the camera. Well, when Rebecca saw the camera, she blew a fuse. Yes, she blew a fuse because Charlie spent all of their money on the camera. And after Charlie purchased the camera, Rebecca yelled at him for 11 hours every day. So finally, Charlie told Rebecca to get off his back. Well, Rebecca told Charlie that she would get off his back when he had enough money to pay the rent.

Okay, time for some more questions. Did Charlie buy a camera at a garage sale?

He did, yes, Charlie bought a camera at a garage sale.

Who bought a camera at a garage sale?

Charlie did, Charlie bought a camera at a garage sale.

And tell me this. What did Charlie buy at the garage sale?

A camera, he bought a camera at a garage sale.

And did Charlie buy a camera when a person was selling some of the things they owned in front of their house?

He did, yes, Charlie bought a camera at a garage sale and a garage sale is when a person sells some of the things they own in front of their house. So Charlie bought a camera at a garage sale. He bought a camera when a person was selling some of the things that they own in front of their house.

Okay, so tell me this. How much did Charlie pay for the camera?

$121, he paid $121 for the camera.

And what did Charlie pay $121 for?

The camera, he paid $121 for the camera.

So did Rebecca blow a fuse when she saw the camera?

Oh, yes, she did, yes, she blew a fuse when she saw the camera.

Who blew a fuse?

Rebecca did, Rebecca blew a fuse when she saw the camera.

And tell me this. When did Rebecca blow a fuse?

When she saw the camera, yeah, she blew a fuse when she saw the camera.

So was Rebecca really happy when she saw the camera?

No, no, she blew a fuse when she saw the camera so that means she was very angry. She became very angry when she saw the camera. She blew a fuse.

Okay, so why’d she do it? Why did Rebecca blow a fuse?

Well, she blew a fuse because Charlie spent all of their money on the camera.

Who spent all of their money on the camera?

Charlie did, Charlie spent all of their money on the camera.

And what did Charlie spend all of their money on? Did he spend all of their money on a car?

No, no, not on a car.

What did Charlie spend all of their money on?

The camera, Charlie spent all of their money on the camera.

So tell me this. After Charlie purchased the camera, did Rebecca yell at Charlie for 11 hours every day?

She did, yes, after he bought the camera, Charlie, excuse me, Rebecca yelled at Charlie for 11 hours every day.

How long each day did Rebecca yell at Charlie?

For 11 hours, yeah, she yelled at Charlie for 11 hours every day after he purchased the camera.

So tell me this now. Did Charlie tell Rebecca to get off his back?

Oh, yes, he did, Charlie told Rebecca to get off his back.

Who told Rebecca to get off his back?

Charlie did, Charlie told Rebecca to get off his back.

So tell me this now. Did Charlie tell Rebecca to stop bothering him? Did he tell her to stop harassing him?

Yes, yes, he did, he told Rebecca to get off his back so that means he told Rebecca to stop bothering him or to stop harassing him. He told her to get off his back.

So did Rebecca tell Charlie that she would get off his back when he had enough money to pay the rent?

Yes, yes, she did, she told Charlie she would get off his back after he had enough money to pay the rent.

So tell me this. When did Rebecca tell Charlie she would stop bothering him?

After he had enough money to pay the rent, she told him she’d get off his back after he had enough money to pay the rent so that means she’d stop bothering him after he had enough money to pay the rent.

Well, Charlie really loved the camera and soon he learned that it was a magic camera, yes. It was a magic camera because it took pictures of things five days in the future. Let me give you an example. When Charlie took a picture of a car, the picture was of that same car five days in the future. It was not a picture of the car at the moment the picture was taken.

Okay, so tell me this. Did Charlie have a magic camera?

Yes, yes, he did, Charlie had a magic camera.

Who had a magic camera? Did Rebecca have a magic camera?

No, no, Rebecca didn’t have a magic camera.

Who had a magic camera?

Charlie did, Charlie had a magic camera.

And tell me this. What kind of camera did Charlie have?

A magic one, Charlie had a magic camera.

Did Charlie have a magic television?

No, no, he didn’t have a magic television, he had a magic camera.

So did the camera take pictures of things five days in the future or seven days in the future?

Five days in the future, the camera took pictures of things five days in the future.

And one more question before we continue with the story. Did the camera take pictures of things five days in the past or in the future?

The future, the camera took pictures of things five days in the future, not in the past.

Well, I forgot to tell you where Charlie lived. He lived in Paris and at the same time Charlie bought the camera, the Gorilla World Cup was being played in Paris. And the championship game for the Gorilla World Cup was scheduled to be played five days from then, five days in the future. So Charlie went to the football stadium, that’s where the game was going to be played. So he went to the football stadium and he took a picture of the scoreboard. And after that, Charlie placed a large bet on the championship game.

Okay, so tell me this. Where did Charlie live? Did he live in Berlin?

No, no, he didn’t live in Berlin.

Where did Charlie live?

Paris, Charlie lived in Paris.

And was the Gorilla World Cup being played in Paris?

It was, yes, the Gorilla World Cup was being played in Paris.

What was being played in Paris?

The Gorilla World Cup was, the Gorilla World Cup was being played in Paris.

And was the championship game of the Gorilla World Cup to be played five days from then?

Yes, yes, the championship game for the Gorilla World Cup was going to be played five days from then, five days in the future.

So tell me this. Where did Charlie go? Did he go to the beach or did he go to to football stadium?

The football stadium, Charlie went to the football stadium.

And what did he take a picture of?

The scoreboard, Charlie took a picture of the scoreboard.

Who took a picture of the scoreboard?

Charlie did, Charlie took a picture of the scoreboard.

So did Charlie take a picture of the place where they served drinks or did he take a picture of the place where the score of the game was displayed?

Oh, he took a picture of the place where the score of the game was displayed. He took a picture of the scoreboard.

So did Charlie place a large bet on the Gorilla Cup championship game?

Yes, he did, Charlie placed a large bet on the Gorilla Cup championship game.

Who placed a large bet on the Gorilla Cup championship game?

Charlie did, Charlie placed a large bet on the Gorilla Cup championship game.

And what did Charlie place a large bet on?

The Gorilla Cup championship game, he placed a large bet on the Gorilla Cup championship game.

Okay, one more question before we continue. Did Charlie place a large bet or did he place a small bet?

Oh, a large bet, he bet a lot of money, he placed a large bet on the Gorilla Cup championship game.

Well, five days later the Gorilla Cup championship game was played and Charlie won the bet he placed. Yes, he won $176,000 on the bet and after he collected the money he went home and he showed it to Rebecca. And after that, Rebecca got off Charlie’s back.

Okay, well that’s all for this mini-story. I hope that you enjoyed it because now it’s your turn to tell the story. I want you to tell the story to someone who you know. It can really be anyone who you know. And when you tell that person the story, I want you to make sure you use all of the words and phrases that I told you about just before I started telling you the story, okay? And I want you to listen to this lesson every day for at least seven days so you can learn the material deeply.

Alright, well that’s all for this mini-story lesson then so I’ll see you next time.