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Time Machine – 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 today’s lesson by telling you about some of the words and phrases that you will hear me use in today’s story. So let’s start.

Okay, first is a “time machine.” So a time machine is a machine that allows people to travel backwards and forwards in time. So as of right now there’s really no such thing as a time machine. It’s a make- believe thing. But there have been movies where people have used time machines to travel backwards and forwards in time. And also there have been books where people have used time machines. So let me give you an example with time machine. Last year Brad read a book about a man who had a time machine and that man used the machine to travel back to the year 1962. Okay, so what I’m saying is last year Brad read a book about a man who had a machine that allows people to travel backwards and forwards in time. And that man used the machine to travel back in time to the year 1962.

Okay, so next is a “rip off.” And this is one that’s used a lot in America. So a rip off is something that has an unfair price, okay? It’s something where the price is too high, okay? So let me give you an example. I wanted to buy the car and I knew it was worth $5,000.00, but the salesman would not sell me the car for less than $10,000.00 so I didn’t buy the car because it was a rip off. Okay, so what I’m saying is I wanted to buy the car and I knew it was worth $5,000.00 but the salesman would not sell me the car for less than $10,000.00 so I didn’t buy the car because the price was too high. The price was unfair. It was a rip off. Okay?

Okay, so next is to “haggle.” Okay, so if you haggle with someone it means that you bargain with that person but it’s not really a friendly bargain. It’s more like an argument even over the price, okay? So let me give you an example with haggle. I haggled with the rug salesman over the price of the rug. I argued about the price of the rug with the rug salesman. I haggled with him over the price.

Okay, so next is to “not budge.” So if a person does not budge it means that they’re unwilling to change their opinion or their decision about something. They do not change their opinion or their decision about something, okay? So let me give you an example of this one. I wanted to pay $5,000.00 for the car but the salesman wanted to charge me more and he would not budge on the price so I didn’t buy the car. Okay, so another one with the car as you can hear in this example. So anyway I wanted to buy the car for $5,000.00 but the salesman wanted to charge me $10,000.00 and he would not budge on the price. He would not change his opinion on the price, okay? Or he would not change his decision on the price so I didn’t buy the car.

Okay, so I have one more for you and this one is one that’s used a lot in America and it’s one that I really like a lot. It’s to “get cold feet.” So if you get cold feet it means that you get nervous right about the time

you’re about to do something, or I should say right before you’re about to do something, okay? So here’s an example with to get, or excuse me, here’s an example with to have cold feet or to get cold feet, I mean to say. The day before his wedding, John got cold feet. Okay, so what I’m saying is the day before his wedding, John got nervous about getting married is what we’re talking about, okay? He got cold feet. He got nervous about getting married.

Okay, so now I’m going to tell you a story but I’m 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 tell me the first answer that you think of in your mind, okay? Don’t worry about making a mistake. You’re going to listen to this lesson many times so you may make a mistake this time when you listen to this lesson but you probably will not make the same mistake next time then.

And whenever you speak, I always want you to speak with confidence and when you answer these questions, I also want you to speak with confidence. So when you answer these questions speak with confidence and speak loudly. Okay, well it’s time for our story then so let’s begin.

There was a man and his name was John and John wanted to travel back in time to the year 1977. Yes, John wanted to travel back in time to the year 1977 because he wanted to meet Bob Marley. You see, Bob Marley was his favorite singer, that’s why he wanted to meet him. But unfortunately, John was unable to travel back in time. He was unable to travel back in time because he didn’t have a time machine.

Okay, time for some questions. Who wanted to travel back in time?

John did, John wanted to travel back in time.

And did AJ want to travel back in time?

No, no, AJ didn’t want to travel back in time, John did.

And tell me this. What did John want to do?

He wanted to travel back in time.

Did John want to travel back in time or forward in time?

Oh, he wanted to travel back in time. He did not want to travel forward in time.

Okay, so what year did John want to travel back to?

1977, John wanted to travel back in time to the year 1977.

Okay, but why? Why did John want to travel back in time to the year 1977?

Because he wanted to meet Bob Marley, John wanted to meet Bob Marley. That’s why he wanted to travel back in time to the year 1977.

Who wanted to meet Bob Marley?

John did, John wanted to meet Bob Marley.

And tell me this. Who did John want to meet?

Bob Marley, he wanted to meet Bob Marley.

Okay, but why? Why did John want to meet Bob Marley?

Well, he wanted to meet Bob Marley because Bob Marley was John’s favorite singer.

Who was John’s favorite singer? Was Bob Dylan John’s favorite singer?

No, Bob Dylan was not John’s favorite singer.

Who was John’s favorite singer?

Bob Marley, Bob Marley was John’s favorite singer.

And tell me this. Was John able to travel back in time?

No, no, John was unable to travel back in time.

And what was John unable to do?

To travel back in time, John was unable to travel back in time.

Okay, but why? Why was John unable to travel back in time?

Well, John was unable to travel back in time because he didn’t have a time machine.

Who didn’t have a time machine?

John didn’t, John didn’t have a time machine.

So did John have a machine that allows people to travel backwards or forwards in time?

No, no, John didn’t have a time machine so that means he didn’t have a machine that allows people to travel backwards and forwards in time. A time machine is a machine that allows people to travel backwards and forwards in time and John did not have one of those. He did not have a time machine.

Well, John needed a time machine so John went to the store. He went to the store because he wanted to buy a time machine. And there were a lot of time machines at the store but unfortunately, all of the time machines were rip offs. Yes, each one of the time machines at the store was a rip off so John did not buy a time machine at the store.

Okay, time for some more questions. What did John need? Did John need a refrigerator?

No, no, John didn’t need a refrigerator.

What did John need?

A time machine, John needed a time machine.

Who needed a time machine? Did Kristin or John need a time machine?

John did, John needed a time machine.

And where did John go? Did John go to the beach or did he go to the store?

The store, John went to the store.

And why did he go to the store?

Because he wanted to buy a time machine.

Who wanted to buy a time machine?

John did, John wanted to buy a time machine.

And what did John want to buy, a refrigerator or a time machine?

A time machine, John wanted to buy a time machine. John did not want to buy a refrigerator.

So tell me this. Were all of the time machines at the store rip offs?

Yes, yes, they were, they were all rip offs.

What were rip offs?

All of the time machines at the store, all of the time machines at the store were rip offs.

So tell me this. Were all of the time machines at the store priced unfairly? Were they all overpriced? Was the price too high for each one?

Yes, yes, they were rip offs and if something is a rip off it means the price for it is too high. It’s overpriced or you could say the price is unfair. It was a rip off, okay, or they were all rip offs in this case.

Okay, so tell me this. Did John buy a time machine from the store?

No, no, John did not buy a time machine from the store because they were all rip offs.

Well, after John left the store he saw his friend Joe and he told Joe that he wanted to buy a time machine. And guess what? Joe had a time machine. He did, yes, and he was selling it. Joe was selling his time machine for $234,000. Well, John didn’t have $234,000 so he haggled with Joe over the price. But Joe did not budge on the price so John did not buy the time machine from Joe.

Okay, time for some more questions. Did John see his friend Joe after he left the store?

Yes, yes, he did, John saw his friend Joe after he left the store.

And who did John see after he left the store?

He saw his friend, John saw his friend Joe after he left the store.

Did John see Joe before he left the store?

No, no, he didn’t see John…or John didn’t see Joe before he left the store.

When did John see Joe?

After he left the store, he saw Joe after he left the store.

So was Joe selling a time machine?

Yes, yes, he was, Joe was selling a time machine.

Who was selling a time machine? Was John selling the time machine?

No, no, John was not selling the time machine.

Who was selling the time machine?

Joe was, Joe was selling the time machine.

And what was Joe selling, a refrigerator or a time machine?

A time machine, Joe was selling a time machine.

Okay, but how much was Joe selling the time machine for?

$234,000, he was selling the time machine for $234,000.

What was Joe selling for $234,000?

The time machine, he was selling the time machine for $234,000.

So tell me this. Did John have $234,000?

No, no, John did not have $234,000.

So did John haggle with Joe over the price?

Yes, yes, he did, he haggled with Joe over the price.

Who haggled with Joe over the price?

John did, John haggled with Joe over the price.

And who did John haggle with? Did he haggle with Kristin over the price?

No, John didn’t haggle with Kristin over the price.

Who did John haggle with over the price?

Joe, he haggled with Joe over the price.

So tell me this. Did John argue with Joe over the price?

Yes, yes, he did, he haggled with Joe over the price so that means he bargained in an unfriendly way with him about the price or you could even say he argued with him about the price. He haggled with Joe over the price.

So did Joe budge on the price?

No, no, Joe did not budge on the price.

Who didn’t budge on the price?

Joe, Joe did not budge on the price.

So did Joe change his opinion or his decision about the price?

No, no, Joe did not budge on the price so that means he did not change his opinion about the price or he didn’t change his decision about the price. He did not budge about the price or he didn’t budge on the price you could even say.

So did John buy the time machine from Joe?

No, no, John did not buy the time machine from Joe.

Well, John still wanted to travel back in time to the year 1977 because he still wanted to meet Bob Marley. But John was unable to buy a time machine so John built one. Yes, he did. John built a time machine. It took him 7 years to build one and it cost him $76,000 to build. And after John built the time machine, he was able to travel back in time. But unfortunately, before John traveled back in time he got cold feet. Yes, John got cold feet so he didn’t go. John did not travel back in time.

Okay, time for some more questions. Was John able to buy a time machine?

No, no, John was unable to buy a time machine.

And what was John unable to buy? Was he unable to buy a refrigerator or a time machine?

A time machine, John was unable to buy a time machine.

So who built a time machine?

John did, John built a time machine.

And what did John build?

A time machine, John built a time machine.

Okay, so tell me this. How many years did it take John to build the time machine?

7 years, yes, it took him 7 years to build the time machine.

And what took John 7 years?

Building the time machine, it took John 7 years to build the time machine.

How much money did it cost John to build the time machine? Did it cost him $78,000?

No, it did not cost him $78,000.

How much money did it cost John to build the time machine?

$76,000, it cost John $76,000 to build the time machine.

So tell me this then. Before John traveled back in time, did he get cold feet?

Yes, yes, he did, John got cold feet. He got cold feet before he traveled back in time.

Okay, but who got cold feet? Did Joe get cold feet?

No, no, Joe didn’t get cold feet.

Who got cold feet?

John did, John got cold feet.

And when did John get cold feet?

Before he traveled back in time, John got cold feet before he traveled back in time.

So was John nervous before he traveled back in time?

Yes, yes, he was, John got cold feet before he traveled back in time so that’s the same thing as saying that John got nervous or he was nervous before he traveled back in time. He got cold feet before he traveled back in time so he was nervous before he traveled back in time.

So tell me this then. Did John travel back in time?

No, no, he didn’t travel back in time. John did not travel back in time because he got cold feet.

Well, I have some good news for you about John. One year after John built the time machine, he had the courage to use it. Yes, and he did use it. He used the time machine to travel back to the year 1977 and John met Bob Marley. And Bob Marley asked John to join his band so John joined Bob Marley’s band and he had so much fun that he stayed. He never returned to the present time.

Okay, well that’s the end of our story and I hope you enjoyed this story because now I want you to tell the story. I want you to tell the story to someone who you know. It can be anyone who you know but when you tell the story I want you to use all of the words and phrases that I taught you at the beginning of this lesson, okay?

And if you really don’t have someone to tell this story to, just tell the story to yourself but make sure that you say it loudly and confidently even if you do tell it to yourself. Don’t just think about it, okay? And I would like you to please listen to this lesson every day for at least 7 days so you will be sure to learn all the material deeply.

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