داستان کوتاه

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 today’s lesson by telling you about some of the idioms that you will hear me use in today’s story. So let’s start. Okay, first is “to be strapped for cash”. So if you are strapped for cash, it just means that you have very little money or it can even mean that you have no money at all. So let me give an example.

After John lost his job, he paid his rent and then he was strapped for cash. Okay so what I’m saying is after John lost his job, he paid his rent and then he had very little money or even no money at all.

Okay so next is “to drop out of school”, “to drop out of school”. So if you drop out of school, it means that you quit school. You no longer go to school. So let me give an example of this one.

When John was 16 years old, he needed to get a job so he dropped out of school. Okay so what I’m saying is, when John was 16 years old, he needed to get a job so he quit school. He no longer went to school.

Okay so next is “to pass away”, “to pass away”. So if someone passes away, it means that person dies. So when my grandfather was 88 years old, he passed away. When my grandfather was 88 years old, he died.

Okay so next I have another idiom that’s related to death. This one is “to pay last respects” or “to pay your last respects”. And when you pay your last respects to someone, it usually means you’re honoring and you’re respecting, you’re showing respect for a person who has died, by going to see their body. Or by going to see where the person is buried, okay?

So after my grandfather passed away, I flew to New York to pay my last respects to him. So what I’m saying is, after my grandfather died, I flew to New York to honor my grandfather or to show respect for him by going to see his body.

Okay I have one more idiom for you. This one is “to make money hand over fist”. So if you make money hand over fist, it means that you make a lot of money. So here’s an example with “to make money hand over fist”. After John started a successful business, he made money hand over fist. After John started a successful business, he made a lot of money.

Okay, so now I am 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 ask you a question, I want you to answer that question quickly. Just tell me the first answer that you think of. And do not worry about making any mistakes. You’re going to listen this lesson many times so you may make a mistake this time, when you listen to the lesson; but you probably will not make the same mistake the next time then. And when you answer these questions, I want you to speak loudly and confidently.

Okay so it’s time for a story, now. Let’s begin. There was a woman and her name was Jane and Jane wanted to buy a pink piano. Yes, she did a pink piano and the piano cost 2000, $134 so it was very expensive but Jane could not find the pink piano because she was strapped for cash.

Okay time for some questions. Who wanted to buy a pink piano? Did A.J want to buy pink piano? No, no, not AJ. Who wanted to buy a pink piano? Jane did. Jane wanted to buy a pink piano. And tell me this, what did Jane want to buy? A pink piano, right? Jane wanted to buy a pink piano. Did Jane want to buy a yellow piano? No, no, Jane did not want to buy a yellow piano. What color piano did Jane want to buy? A pink one. She wanted to buy a pink piano.

And what kind of instrument did Jane want to buy? Did she want to buy a guitar? No, Jane did not want to buy a guitar. What kind of instrument did Jane want to buy? A piano, yes, Jane wanted to buy a piano. So tell me this now. How much did the piano cost? $2134. It cost $2134. What cost $2134? The pink piano. The pink piano cost $2134. So did the piano cost more than $2000? Yes, yes it did. It cost $2134 and that is more than $2000.

Okay so tell me this now. Did Jane buy the pink piano? No, no, she did not. She was unable to buy the pink piano. Okay but why? Why was Jane unable to buy the pink piano? Was it because she was strapped for cash? Yes, yes she was. She was strapped for cash. Who was strapped for cash? Was A.J strapped for cash? No, no, A.J was not strapped for cash. Who was strapped for cash? Jane, Jane was strapped for cash. So did Jane have a lot of money? No, no Jane was strapped for cash, so that means she had very little money or even no money at all. She was strapped for cash.

Well Jane needed money to purchase the pink piano so she tried to find a job. She tried to get a job and she looked for a job for two months. But unfortunately she was unable to get one. Jane was unable to get a job because she never graduated from high school. Yes, you see, when Jane was just 13 years old, she dropped out of high school. So no one wanted to give her a job. So Jane went home and she cried. She cried and she cried because she was unable to get a job.

Okay, time for some more questions. Who needed money to buy a pink piano? Jane did. Jane needed money to buy pink piano. So did Kristin or Jane need money? Jane did, right? Jane needed money. Kristin did not need money. And what did Jane need money for? Why did she need money? To buy a pink piano. She needed the money to buy a pink piano. So did Jane try to get a job? She did, yes. She tried to get a job. And tell me this then, what did Jane try to do? Well, she tried to get a job. Jane tried to get a job.

So how long did Jane look for a job? Two weeks. Yes, she looked for a job for two weeks. Who looked for a job for two weeks? Jane, Jane looked for a job for two weeks. And what did Jane do for two weeks? She looked for a job, yes. Jane looked for a job for two weeks. So was Jane able to get a job? No, no, Jane was unable to get a job. So tell me this, what was Jane unable to do? Was she unable to read? No, no, Jane was not unable to read. What was Jane unable to do? To get a job. Jane was unable to get a job. Okay but why? Why was Jane unable to get a job? Well, Jane was unable to get a job because she never graduated from high school. Who never graduated from high school? Jane, Jane never graduated from high school. So did Jane ever graduate from high school? No, no, Jane never graduated from high school. She never graduated from high school.

Did Jane drop out of high school when she was 13 years old? She did, yes. Jane dropped out of high school when she was 13 years old. Tell me this then, who dropped out of high school? Did Kristin dropped out of high school? No, no, Kristin did not drop out of high school. Who dropped out of high school? Jane. It was Jane, of course, who dropped out of high school. And how was Jane when she dropped out of high school? She was 13 years old. Jane was 13 years old when she dropped out of high school. So tell me this, what did Jane do when she was 13 years old? She dropped out of high school. That’s what she did. Jane dropped out of high school when she was 13 years old. So did Jane quit high school when she was 13 years old? Yes, yes she did. She dropped out of high school. So that the same thing as saying that she quit high school. When you drop out of school, it means that you quit school. So Jane dropped out of high school. She quit high school.

So tell me this, did Jane go home and cry? Yes, yes, she did. Jane went home and cried. Okay but why? Why did Jane go home and cry? Well, Jane went home and cried because she was unable to get a job. Well, unfortunately the next day Jane also had a bad day. You see the next day, Jane’s uncle Manny passed away. And Jane loved her uncle Manny, very much so she was very sad when he passed away. But even though Jane was very sad, the next day she paid her last respects to her uncle Manny.

Okay time for some more questions. Who passed away? Did Jane pass away? No, no, Jane did not pass away. Who passed away? Jane’s uncle Manny, Jane’s uncle Manny passed away. So did Jane’s uncle Manny die? Yes, yes he did. He passed away so that’s the same thing as saying that he died. And how did Jane feel after her uncle Manny passed away? She was sad. She felt sad after her uncle Manny passed away. So did Jane pay her last respects to her uncle Manny? Yes, yes she did. She paid her last respects to her uncle Manny? Who paid her last last respects to her uncle Manny? Jane did. Jane paid her last respects to her uncle Manny. And who did Jane pay her last respects to? Her uncle Manny, she paid her last respects to her uncle Manny. So tell me this, did Jane show respect for her uncle Manny by going to see his body after he died? Yes, yes she did. She paid her last respects to her uncle Manny. So that means she showed respect for him by going to see his body after he died. She paid her last respects to him.

Well, about a week later, Jane’s mother called Jane and she told Jane that her uncle Manny wanted her to have his carpet after he passed away. And Jane’s mother had the carpet at her house. So Jane drove to her mother’s house to get the carpet but I have something to tell you about this court. This was not any normal carpet, no. It was a magic carpet. Yes, the reason it was a magic carpet was because the carpet could fly.

Okay, time for some more questions. Who called Jane? Did Jane’s father called Jane? No, no, Jane’s father did not call Jane. Who called Jane? Jane’s mother. Jane’s mother called Jane. And did Jane’s mother call Kristin or Jane? She called Jane. She did not call Kristin. She called Jane. So tell me this now, did Jane’s uncle Manny want Jane to have his carpet, after he passed away? Yes, yes, he did. Jane’s uncle Manny wanted Jane to have his carpet after he passed away. Who wanted Jane to have his carpet? Jane’s uncle Manny. Her uncle Manny wanted her to have his carpet. And who did Jane’s uncle Manny want to have the carpet? Jane, he wanted Jane to have the carpet. So tell me this, did Jane’s uncle Manny want Jane to have his car? no, no, he did not want her to have his car. What did Jane’s uncle Manny want Jane to have? His carpet. He wanted her to have his carpet. And when did he want her to have his carpet? After he passed away. Yes, he wanted her to have it after he passed away. So did Jane’s uncle Manny want Jane to have his carpet after he died? Yes, yes he did. He wanted her to have it after he passed away. So that’s the same thing as saying, he wanted her to have it after he died.

Okay so tell me this, where was the carpet? Was the carpet at Jane’s uncle Manny’s house? No, no, the carpet was not at uncle Manny’s house. Where was the carpet? At Jane’s mother’s house. Yes, the carpet was at Jane’s mother’s house. So did Jane drive to her mother’s house to get the carpet? She did, yes. She drove to her mother’s house to get the carpet. Who drove to her mother’s house? Jane did. Jane drove to her mother’s house. And how did Jane get to her mother’s house? Did she walk there? No, no, she didn’t walk there. How did Jane get to her mother’s house? She drove. Yes, Jane drove to her mother’s house. And where did Jane drive to? Her mother’s house. Jane drove to her mother’s house. Did Jane drive to her mother’s house to eat dinner? No, no, that’s not why she drove to her mother’s house. Why did Jane drive to her mother’s house? To get the carpet, she drove to her mother’s house to get the carpet.

Okay, so tell me this, what type of carpet was it? Was it a red carpet or was it a magic carpet? Oh, it was a magic carpet. It was not a red carpet. It was a magic carpet. And what could the carpet do? Fly, the carpet could fly.

All right, let’s continue with our story. Well, when Jane got the carpet, she learned how to fly it and then she started a new business. The name of the business was the magic carpet ride. And she charged $197 for a ride on the magic carpet. And every day, Jane had a lot of customers, so she made money hand over fist.

Okay for some more questions. Who learned how to fly a magic carpet? Did Jane’s mother learn how to fly it? No, not Jane’s mother. Who learned how to fly the magic carpet? Jane did. Jane learn how to fly the magic carpet. And tell me this, what did Jane learn how to do? Well, she learned how to fly the magic carpet. Did Jane learn how to fly an airplane? No, no, Jane did not learn how to fly an airplane. What did Jane learn how to fly? The magic carpet. Yes, she learned how to fly the magic carpet.

Okay tell me this then, who started a new business? Did A.J start a new business? Oh no, not A.J. Who started a new business? Jane did. Jane start a new business. And what was the name of the business? The magic carpet ride. The business was named the magic carpet ride. So did Jane charge $197 for a ride on the magic carpet? Yes, she has. Yes, charged $197 for a ride on the magic carpet. How much did Jane charge for a ride on the magic carpet? $197. Yes, she charged $197. So did Jane charge more than $200 for a ride on the magic carpet? No, no, Jane charged less than $200 for a ride on the magic carpet. Remember she charged $197 and that’s less than $200.

So well, tell me this now, what did Jane charge $197 for? A ride on the magic carpet. She charged $197 for a ride on the magic carpet. So what? Did Jane have a lot of customers every day? Yes. Yes she did. She had a lot of customers every day. So tell me this, who made money hand over fist? Jane did. Jane made money hand over fist. Did Kristin make money hand over fist? No, no, Kristin did not make money hand over fist, Jane did. So did Jane make just a little bit of money? Or did she make a lot of money? Oh, she made a lot of money. She made money hand over fist, and when a person makes money hand over fist, that means the person makes a lot of money. So she made money hand over fist. She made a lot of money.

Well, I have something else to tell you about Jane. One week after Jane started her new business, she purchased the pink piano. And the business continued to make money hand over fist. So every day, Jane thanked her uncle Manny by placing flowers on his grave.

Okay, well that’s the end of our story. And I hope you enjoyed the story because now it’s your turn to tell the story. I want you to tell the story to someone who you know. It can be anyone who you know. And if you really do not have someone to tell the story to, please just tell the story to yourself. But don’t just think about it in your mind. I want you to actually say it out loud, okay? And speak confidently when you say the story. And I want you to listen to this lesson every day for at least seven days. And I’m sure after those seven days, you will be able to tell the story even better than I can. Okay, well, that’s all for this mini-story lesson. I’ll see you next time.