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Making A Living – 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’m going to start this lesson by telling you about some of the idioms that you will hear me use in this story. So let’s start there.

First is to “make a living.” So to make a living just means to earn enough money to live. Here’s an example for you. When Peter was 28 years old, he made a living as a lawyer. When Peter was 28 years old, he earned enough money to live by working as a lawyer.

Okay, so next is “take-home pay.” So take-home pay is the money that you have from working after you pay all taxes and fees that you need to pay, okay? Let me give you an example to help you understand this one. When Peter worked as a lawyer, he earned $1,000.00 every week and he had to pay $300.00 taxes from that money, so he made $700.00 take-home pay. Okay, so what I’m saying is when Peter worked as a lawyer, he earned $1,000.00 every week and he had to pay $300.00 in taxes, so he had $700.00 after he paid all of the money that he needed to pay for taxes and fees. He was paid $700.00 for work after he paid all of his taxes and fees, or he had $700.00 take-home pay.

Okay, so next is to “be bored stiff” and this is one I like a lot because I remember when I was a child, my father used to use this one a lot. But anyway, to be bored stiff means to be uninterested, okay…to be very bored. Here’s an example for you. Mary loved her husband Jim very much but whenever Jim spoke about baseball, Mary was bored stiff. Okay, so what I’m saying is Mary loved her husband Jim very much but whenever Jim spoke about baseball, Mary was uninterested. She was very bored. She was bored stiff.

Okay, so next is “down the road.” Now down the road just means in the future, okay? Down the road means in the future. Here’s an example for you. Jim loved dating but down the road he wanted to get married. Jim loved dating but in the future he wanted to get married, down the road he wanted to get married.

Okay, so I have one more for you. This one is to “give pointers.” Okay, so if you give someone pointers it means that you give that person advice about something, or you teach that person something. Here’s an example to help you understand this one. John had never played basketball before so before the game, his coach gave him some pointers, gave him some pointers about basketball, that is. Alright, so what I’m saying is John had never played basketball before so before the game, the basketball game, his coach gave him some advice about basketball or he taught him something about basketball, okay? He gave him pointers. He taught him or he gave him some advice.

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 tell you the story. So when I ask you a question, I just want you to answer that question quickly. Just tell me the first answer that you think of.

And don’t worry about making mistakes. Y’know, if you make a mistake, it’s okay as long as you learn from it. So if you do make a mistake, just try and learn from it. Try not to make the same mistake the next time that you listen to this lesson. And when you speak, I want you to speak loudly and confidently. Alright, well it’s time for our story then, so let’s begin.

There was a monkey and his name was John. And John made a living as an accountant and each week his take-home pay was $1,087, so he was paid well for being an accountant.

Okay, time for some questions. Was there a monkey or was there a tiger?

Oh, there was a monkey, of course, there wasn’t a tiger. There was a monkey.

And tell me this. What was the monkey’s name?

John, the monkey’s name was John.

And did John make a living as an accountant?

He did, yes, John made a living as an accountant.

Who made a living as an accountant?

John did, right? John made a living as an accountant.

And did John make a living as a lawyer or as an accountant?

An accountant, John made a living as an accountant.

So did John earn enough money to live working as an accountant?

He did, yes, John made a living as an accountant so that means he made enough money to live. He earned enough money to live and he did so working as an accountant.

Okay, so tell me this. Was John’s take-home pay $1,087 each week?

Yes, it was, John’s take-home pay was $1,087 each week, or you could say $1,087 every week.

How much was John’s take-home pay?

$1,087, his take-home pay was $1,087.

So was John’s take-home pay more than $1,090?

No, no, it wasn’t more than $1,090, it was less than $1,090 because his take-home pay was $1,087.

So tell me this. After John paid all of his taxes, did he receive $1,087 pay from his work?

Yes, yes, he did, John received $1,087 take-home pay so that means after he paid all of his taxes from the money that he earned, he received $1,087. His take-home pay was $1,087. You can think of it like this, the money that he took home from work after paying everything was $1,087.

Well, I want to tell you a little more about John. After John’s 33rd birthday, he did not want to be an accountant anymore. Every day at work he was bored stiff. Now after work he wasn’t bored stiff. You see, after work he was excited. He was excited because every day after work, he played guitar with his band.

Okay, so tell me this. After his 33rd birthday, did John want to continue being an accountant or did he no longer want to be an accountant?

Oh, he no longer wanted to be an accountant. He did not want to be an accountant anymore.

So when didn’t John want to be an accountant anymore?

After his 33rd birthday, after John’s 33rd birthday he did not want to be an accountant anymore.

So every day at work, was John bored stiff?

He was, yes, he was bored stiff, every day at work John was bored stiff.

Who was bored stiff? Was AJ bored stiff?

No, no, AJ wasn’t bored stiff.

Who was bored stiff?

John was, of course, John was bored stiff.

And how often was John bored stiff?

Every day, every day at work John was bored stiff.

So was John very interested when he was at work?

No, no, John was bored stiff so that means he was uninterested or you could say he was very bored. He was bored stiff.

So tell me this. Did John play guitar with his band every night?

He did, yes, every night John played guitar with his band.

Who played guitar with his band?

John did, John played guitar with his band.

And who did John play guitar with? Did he play guitar with his brothers?

No, no, he didn’t play guitar with his brother.

Who did John play guitar with?

His band, John played guitar with his band.

And did John play drums or guitar with his band?

He played guitar, John played guitar with his band.

Well, John loved playing guitar. In fact, it was probably his most favorite thing to do in the entire world. But unfortunately, John only earned $27 each time he played with his band so he did not earn enough money playing guitar for him to pay all of his bills. But down the road he hoped to make a living playing guitar.

Okay, so tell me this. What did John love to do?

He loved to play guitar, right?

Did he love to play the drums?

No, he didn’t love to play the drums.

What did John love to play?

Guitar, right? John loved to play guitar.

And did John earn $27 every time he played with his band?

Yes, he did, yes, he earned $27 every time he played with his band.

When did John earn $27?

When he played with his band, he earned $27 every time he played with his band.

And how much money did John earn when he played with his band?

$27, he earned $27 when he played with his band.

So tell me this. Down the road did John hope to make a living playing guitar?

He did, yes, down the road John hoped to make a living playing guitar.

Who hoped to make a living playing guitar?

John did, of course, John hoped to make a living playing guitar.

And what did John hope to do?

Well, John hoped to make a living playing guitar.

So did John hope to earn enough money to live while playing guitar?

Yes, yes, he did, he hoped to make a living playing guitar so that means he hoped to make enough money to live and he hoped to do so by playing the guitar.

So when did John hope to make a living playing guitar?

Down the road, down the road he hoped to make a living playing guitar.

So did John hope to make a living playing guitar at that very moment or did he hope to make a living playing guitar in the future?

In the future, you see John hoped to make a living playing guitar down the road so that means he hoped to do it in the future because down the road means in the future.

Well, one day John was at a bar and he was playing guitar with his band and guess who else was at the bar that night? Barack Obama! Yes, Barack Obama was also at the bar and Barack Obama brought his guitar to the bar. And he asked John if he could play guitar with the band. And, of course, John said yes. But unfortunately, there was a problem. You see, Barack Obama started to play the guitar and he was terrible at it. He was one of the worst guitarists that John had ever heard. But John didn’t want Barack Obama to be embarrassed so John gave Barack Obama some pointers about playing guitar. John gave Barack Obama pointers about playing guitar. Excuse me.

Okay, time for some questions. Was John at a bar playing guitar with his band?

Yes, yes, he was, John was at a bar playing guitar with his band.

So where was John playing guitar with his band? At church or at a bar?

At a bar, John was at a bar playing guitar with his band.

And was John playing drums with his band?

No, of course not.

What was John playing with his band?

Guitar, of course, John was playing guitar with his band.

And who was John playing guitar with?

His band, John was playing guitar with his band.

So tell me this. In addition to John and his band, who else was at the bar that night?

Barack Obama was, Barack Obama was at the bar also.

Where was Barack Obama?

He was at the bar, Barack Obama was at the bar.

And what did Barack Obama bring to the bar?

His guitar, Barack Obama brought his guitar to the bar.

Did Barack Obama bring drums to the bar?

No, no, of course not, he didn’t bring drums. He brought a guitar to the bar. He brought his guitar to the bar.

So tell me this. Did Barack Obama play guitar with the band or did he play drums with the band?

He played guitar with the band.

Who played guitar with the band?

Barack Obama did and John also, but Barack Obama played guitar with the band.

So was Barack Obama really good on the guitar?

No, no, he was terrible. He was one of the worst guitarists that John had ever heard.

So tell me this. Did John give Barack Obama some pointers about playing guitar?

Yes, yes, he did, John gave Barack Obama some pointers about playing guitar.

Who gave Barack Obama some pointers?

John did, John gave Barack Obama some pointers.

And did Barack Obama give some pointers about playing guitar?

No, of course not, Barack Obama didn’t give John pointers about playing guitar. John gave Barack Obama pointers about playing guitar.

So tell me this. What did John give Barack Obama pointers about?

About playing guitar, John gave Barack Obama pointers about playing guitar.

So did John give Barack Obama some advice about playing guitar? Did he teach him something about playing guitar?

Yes, yes, he did, John gave Barack Obama pointers about playing guitar so that means he gave John some advice about playing guitar or you could even say he taught John something about playing guitar, oh, sorry, he taught Barack Obama something about playing guitar. He gave him pointers about playing guitar.

Well, after John gave Barack Obama some pointers about playing guitar, Barack Obama suddenly was able to play the guitar very well. It was an amazing transformation and Barack Obama was so happy that he offered John a job. He offered him a job to be his personal guitar teacher and he

offered to pay him $2,011 take-home pay every week. Well, John was so happy that the next day he quit his job as an accountant and he finally was able to make a living playing guitar.

Okay, well that’s the end of our story and I hope you enjoyed this one because now I want you to tell the story. I want you to tell the story to someone who you know. It can really be anybody who you know. And when you’re telling the story, I want you to use all of the idioms that you learned at the beginning of this lesson. Okay, and one more thing.

I want you to listen to this lesson every day for at least seven days because I want you to learn the material deeply. If, after seven days, you still do not know this material deeply, then please listen for a little bit longer. Listen for a few more days, okay? In this case, more is better. The more you listen to this lesson, the better you will understand the material. It’ll become more automatic for you to remember it. Okay?

Well, that’s all for this mini-story lesson. I’ll see you next time.