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Not a Victim – VIP Mini Story

Hello, this is A.J. Welcome to the mini story for this month’s lesson. Let’s get started.

Nicola is a woman. Her best friends are Chimmy the monkey and Heva the dog.

Together, they are treasure seekers. There is a rat named Geddy. He is also a treasure hunter and is the rival of Nicola, Chimmy and Heva. Right now, they all want to get the famous nunchucks of Bruce Lee because they are worth a lot of money. A big gangster named Rothschild owns the nunchucks. The nunchucks are being used in a new movie which is being shot on Hong Kong Peak.

Of course, ‘shot’ means recorded or made. We use ‘to shoot’ when we talk about shooting a movie; making a movie on Hong Kong Peak, the top of the mountain.

Nicola, Heva and Chimmy sneak into the prop tent on the movie set. When they get there, Geddy the rat is already there and already has the nunchucks. Just as they are about to fight with Geddy, security guards rush in to the tent. Nicola, Heva and Chimmy look at the security guards and then at Geddy. Geddy looks at the guards and then looks at the three. “We’d better stick together or we’re all finished”, says Geddy.

The security guards rush forward to grab Geddy, Nicola, Chimmy and Heva.

Geddy spins the nunchucks. “Wa-ta!” he yells, as he jumps, spins, leaps and attacks the group of guards. Geddy knocks out all of the guards.

To ‘knock out’ means to hit someone or hit some people and make them unconscious.

So I kicked them in the head and they go down. It’s like they fall asleep. They’re unconscious because you hit them in the head. We use the verb ‘to knock out’. So Geddy knocks out all of the guards. A boxer sometimes knocks out his opponent.

So who knocks out the guards?

Geddy. Geddy knocks out all of the guards.

Do the guards knock out Geddy or does Geddy knock out the guards?

Geddy knocks out all of the guards.

How does Geddy, the big, giant rat, knock out all of the guards?

He knocks them out with the nunchucks, which are two short sticks with a rope or chain in between. So he swings the nunchucks, hits the guards in the head and he knocks them out.

Does Geddy kill the guards?

No, Geddy doesn’t kill the guards. He only knocks them out.

So are the guards conscious or unconscious after he knocks them out?

They’re unconscious. The guards are unconscious after being knocked out by Geddy.

“Let’s go!” yells Nicola, as she, Heva the big dog, Chimmy the monkey and Geddy the rat dive under the wall of the tent and crawl out.

‘To crawl’ is to move like a baby on your hands and your knees.

What do they dive under?

They dive under the wall of the tent.

So are they inside a building?

No, they’re not inside a building. They’re inside a tent and the tent has walls made of cloth.

So do they go under the wall or through the wall of the tent?

They go under the wall of the tent because it’s only cloth.

Do they walk under the wall of the tent?

No, they don’t walk under the wall of the tent.

What do they do?

They crawl under the wall of the tent.

So do they crawl out or do they walk out?

They crawl out.

And who crawls out?

Nicola, Heva, Chimmy and Geddy all crawl out of the tent.

As they crawl out of the tent, they are seen by more security guards who chase them. They run and run until finally, they come to the edge of Hong Kong Peak with a long drop below them.

So where are they?

They’re on Hong Kong Peak.

So are they at the top of a mountain on Hong Kong Island?

Yes, they’re at the top of a mountain, the peak of a mountain on Hong Kong Island.

Where on the peak are they?

Well, they’re on the edge. They come to the edge of the peak.

The ‘edge’ means the end or the boundary. So they’re on the peak, they’re on the top of the mountain, they run and they get to the edge and after the edge, of course, it falls down a long way. We call that a long drop. They have a long drop below them. So they’re on the peak and then there’s the edge and then there’s a long drop.

Is there just a short, little drop below them?

No, it’s not a short, little drop. It’s a very long drop from the edge.

It’s a long drop from where?

It’s a long drop or a long fall from the edge of the peak.

And which peak are they on?

Hong Kong Peak. It’s the peak of the mountain on Hong Kong Island.

And are they in the middle of the peak?

No, they’re not in the middle of the peak.

Where are they?

The edge. They’re at the edge of the peak with a long drop below them.

The security guards run to catch them. Chimmy looks around and sees a long extension cord on the movie set nearby. He grabs it, ties it to a post, then leaps over the edge of the peak and repels nimbly down to a street below.

So what does Chimmy see on the movie set?

A long extension cord.

An ‘extension cord’ is a power cord. It’s like an extra power cord that’s very long. Usually power cords are only short or medium, so an extension cord makes it longer. It’s an extra-long extra power cord.

So does he see an extension cord?

He does. He sees an extension cord.

Who sees a long extension cord?

Chimmy. Chimmy sees an extension cord.

And what is an extension cord?

An extension cord is a long power line, a long power wire. It’s an extra-long power cord.

What does Chimmy do with the extension cord?

He grabs it and ties it to a post.

Does he grab and tie a rope around a post?

No, he doesn’t grab a rope. He grabs an extension cord, a very long extension cord.

What does he do with the extension cord?

He grabs it and he ties it around a post.

After he grabs the extension cord and ties it around a post, what does Chimmy do?

Well, after he grabs the extension cord and ties it around a post, he holds it and he leaps over the edge of the peak.

‘To leap’ is to jump.

So, does he jump off the edge?

He does. Chimmy jumps off the edge of the peak.

Does he fall a long way and hurt himself?

No, he doesn’t fall after he leaps over the edge.

So why, why doesn’t he fall after he leaps over the edge of the peak?

Well, because he’s holding the extension cord and the extension cord is tied to a post at the top.

So instead of falling after he leaps over the edge of the peak, what does Chimmy do?

He repels down to a street below.

‘To repel’ is to use a rope to go down quickly. They do this in the military, in the Army sometimes, they repel. They have a rope and the rope is kind of connected to them and then they jump over the edge. They jump over a mountain, jump over a cliff, then they very quickly zip. They go down quickly, but safely. That’s called repelling.

So what does Chimmy do with the extension cord?

He repels. He repels down the cliff. He repels down to a street below.

How does Chimmy repel? Does he repel clumsily?

No, he doesn’t repel in a clumsy way. He doesn’t repel clumsily. He repels nimbly.

‘Nimble’, as an adjective, means very well coordinated, skillful, athletic. ‘Nimbly’ is an adverb, it’s how you do something. So if you do something nimbly, it means you do it athletically. You do it skillfully, gracefully.

So how does Chimmy repel?

Nimbly. He repels nimbly down to a street below, gracefully, athletically, skillfully.

And who repels nimbly down to a street below?

Chimmy does. Chimmy repels nimbly down to a street below.

And why does Chimmy repel so nimbly?

Because Chimmy is a monkey. Chimmy is a monkey, so it’s easy for him to repel nimbly down to a street below.

Next, Heva grabs the rope gently with his teeth and he also repels down the side of the peak to the street below. So Heva, the big dog, grabs the rope. Well, it’s actually an extension cord, not a rope.

He grabs the extension cord with his teeth and what does he do?

He also repels down the side of the peak to a street below.

Does Heva repel nimbly?

No, not really. He does not repel skillfully and athletically, but he manages to do it.

Finally, Geddy the rat approached the edge of the peak and begins to shake. “I can’t do it”, he says. “I’m scared of heights.” “Hurry”, says Nicola, “they’re coming.” The security guards are coming to get them.

So what is Geddy scared of?

He’s scared of heights. He’s scared of high places. In fact, what he’s really scared of is falling from a high place.

So who is scared of heights?

Geddy. Geddy is scared of heights.

Is Nicola, the woman, is she scared of heights?

No, Nicola is not scared of heights.

Is Chimmy scared of heights?

No, no, of course not. He’s a monkey. He’s not scared of heights.

What about Heva? Is Heva scared of heights?

Nope, Heva also is not scared of heights. Only one person is scared of heights and that is Geddy the giant rat. Geddy is scared of heights.

Nicola says, “Hurry, hurry, they’re coming!” “I can’t. I can’t”, says Geddy, shaking harder as he peers over the edge.

‘To peer’ is to look, to look carefully. Usually when we say to peer, we mean we’re looking at something far away, a long way away. So he’s peering over the edge of the peak. It’s a long way to the bottom.

Does Geddy look quickly or does he peer over the edge?

Geddy peers over the edge of the peak.

Does he look a long way away or is he looking at something very close?

Well, he’s peering, so he’s looking at something a long way away. He’s looking at the bottom of the cliff. So he peers. He looks over the edge at the long drop below.

And who peers over the edge of the peak?

Geddy peers over the edge of the peak.

What does he do as he peers over the edge?

He shakes. He’s shaking because he’s so afraid. He shakes harder as he peers over the edge.

The guards run towards Nicola and Geddy. “We’ve got to go now!” yells Nicola.

Geddy hands her the nunchucks and says, “Go, I can’t do it. Go and save yourself.” Nicola grabs the cord and repels down. When she reaches the street below the three wait for Geddy, but he never makes it.

‘To make it’, in this situation, ‘to make it’ means to arrive or to complete something. If I say ah, I made it, it means I was successful, but we also often use this ‘to make it’ as a way to say I have arrived. I say, did you make it to the movie on time? Then you say yes, I made it on time. It means I arrived on time. Did you make it to your airplane flight on time? No, I didn’t make it on time. I was late. I didn’t arrive on time. I was late.

So did Geddy arrive at the bottom of the cliff?

No, he never arrived at the bottom of the cliff. He never made it.

Did Nicola make it to the bottom?

Yup, she made it to the bottom. She arrived at the bottom.

Did Chimmy make it to the bottom?

Yes, Chimmy made it to the bottom, also.

What about Heva? Did Heva make it to the bottom of the cliff?

Yes, he arrived at the bottom of the cliff, also.

One person did not make it. Who did not arrive at the bottom of the cliff?

Geddy the giant rat. Geddy the giant rat didn’t make it.

After waiting a while Chimmy says, “We gotta get out of here now.” ‘Gotta’ means must. We must get out of here now. We must leave. To ‘get out of here’ means to leave. So we gotta get out of here now. We must leave now.

Who says we gotta get out of here now?

Chimmy the monkey. Chimmy the monkey says, “We gotta get out of here now.” Said quickly it sounds like “We gotta get out a here now”, says Chimmy.

Nicola says, “Oh, I feel sorry for him.”

To ‘feel sorry for’ someone means to feel bad for them. This other person, something bad happened to them and you also feel bad for them. You feel sympathetic. I feel sorry for him.

So who or whom does Nicola feel sorry for?

For Geddy the rat. She feels sorry for Geddy the rat.

She says “Oh, I feel sorry for him.” “Me, too”, says Heva. “Phew, treasure seeking is a tough business”, says Chimmy. Finally, the three run several blocks and catch a cab back to their hotel.

A ‘cab’ is a taxi.

They pack immediately, head straight to the airport and fly back to San Francisco.

In California, they sell Bruce Lee’s famous nunchucks to a Hollywood collector for $360,000.

And that is the end of this month’s mini story. Just listen to the mini story every day, maybe one time, maybe two times, maybe more, each day. Pause and answer the questions. Listen repeatedly again and again for 14 days or more.

I’ll see you next time. Have a great day, bye-bye.