Do you know the verb “to startle“? Read the conversation below. Can you guess the meaning?
Helen: I think I startled your baby when I dropped the glass. He’s crying.
Yuko: It’s OK. He often cries when he is startled.
Does it mean:
a) surprise and frighten
b) annoy
c) irritate
d) surprise and entertain
The answer is below! ↓
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Answer: a) surprise and frighten
Do you know the phrase “to fall out with (someone)“? Read the conversation below. Can you guess the meaning?
Karen: Why aren’t you talking to your brother?
Tom: I fell out with him last week. He said bad things about my friend.
Does it mean:
a) move away from someone
b) have an argument and stop being friendly with someone
c) have an argument and make friends with someone
d) hit someone
The answer is below! ↓
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Answer: b) have an argument and stop being friendly with someone
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Here is a short story for Halloween!
Wallace lives alone. He doesn’t like children.
He hates Halloween. He doesn’t want any children coming to his door for Trick or Treat. He doesn’t want to give them candy.
When the children ring his doorbell, Wallace gets very angry. He doesn’t open the door. He stays inside and shouts “Go away!”
One Halloween, Wallace has an idea. I will scare the children. They will be too frightened to come to my door.
Wallace is very smart. He knows a lot about electronics. He goes to the electrical shop and buys everything he needs to scare the children. He buys a sensor, a mini sound player, speakers, batteries and switches.
He finds audio files of screams and groans on the Internet. He makes a recording.
Then he sets up his system in his mailbox. He tests it. It works very well.
If anyone walks towards his gate, the recording will start playing. There will be very loud screams and groans. Wallace thinks the sounds will frighten the children and they will run away.
This year, Wallace is looking forward to Halloween.
He waits until it is dark. Then he goes to his mailbox and turns the sensor on. He turns the volume on the recorder up to maximum. He goes back into his house and waits by the window.
I will see the children in their costumes, he thinks. I will see them come to my house. I will see them run away because they are so scared.
About 30 minutes later a group of children walks down the street. They are dressed as ghosts, princesses, and super heroes. Their parents are with them. The parents are dressed up too. They walk to Wallace’s gate. The sensor works. The sounds of moans and screams are very, very loud. Wallace can hear them easily inside his house.
The children shout. They jump up and down. Wallace cannot believe it. The children laugh. They do not run away. They run towards Wallace’s door. They ring the bell.
“Go away!” shouts Wallace. The children are still laughing and talking outside his door. He waits for a long time. Finally, it is quiet. The children have gone.
Wallace does not understand. I thought my plan was very clever. Why didn’t my plan work?
The next morning, Wallace goes out to his mailbox. He takes everything out of the mailbox.
Lucy Parks, who lives next door, comes into the street. “Wallace!” she shouts. “Thank you so much! The children loved your surprise!”
Wallace shakes his head and walks back inside.
It’s not surprising I don’t like children, he thinks. I don’t understand them at all!
Do you know the adjective “ravenous“? Read the conversation below. Can you guess the meaning?
Ellie: We’ve been hiking all morning. We should take a rest and have something to eat.
Rob: Good idea. I’m tired and ravenous.
Does it mean:
a) very hungry
b) very thirsty
c) very tired
d) lacking energy
The answer is below!↓
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Answer: a) very hungry
Do you know the adjective “lethargic“? Read the conversation below. Can you guess the meaning?
Vince: Are you OK? You have been working on that short report all morning.
John: I’m feeling lethargic. Maybe I need some coffee.
Does it mean:
a) energetic
b) hungry
c) thirsty
d) lacking energy
The answer is below!
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Answer: d) lacking energy
It is nearly Halloween, so here is a strange story. We hope you enjoy it!
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Malcolm has a new job in Bayerville. He will work as a mechanic in the gas station. It is a very small town. He has to find somewhere to live. It is very difficult, but he finds a small house about 2km outside Bayerville. The rent is very low. Malcolm is pleased.
I can save money and buy myself a new motorbike, he thinks. The house is old and dirty, but I can clean it up. And it’s next to the river. I like that. I am very lucky.
Malcolm works hard to clean the little house. After two days, he can move his furniture into the house. He rides his motorbike into Bayerville and buys food from the supermarket. He is pleased and excited.
He goes back to the house and cooks himself a meal. He drinks some beer. Then he feels very tired. He goes to bed.
Very early the next morning, Malcolm wakes up. There is someone in his bedroom!
He is very shocked. Then he sees that it is a small child. A little girl in a nightdress.
“What are you doing here?” he asks. “Where did you come from?”
The child doesn’t answer. She turns and walks out of the room. Malcolm jumps out of bed.
She is too young to be out alone at night. I must find out where her parents are. I must take her home, he thinks.
He sees the child’s footprints on the floor. The footprints are wet.
Has she been in the water? This is very strange. Malcolm follows the footprints. The child has walked out of the house.
It is still dark outside. Malcolm takes a flashlight from the kitchen. He hurries out the door.
He can see the little girl walking towards the river.
“Stop! Come back!” shouts Malcolm, but she keeps walking.
She moves very quickly and Malcolm has to run.
At edge of the river, the little girl disappears.
Oh, no! She has fallen in the river! I have to save her! he thinks.
A little later, the man who delivers the newspaper comes to Malcolm’s house. He sees the door of the house is open. He is a very friendly man.
I will say ‘Hi’ to the new customer. I will welcome him to Bayerville, he thinks.
He goes to the open door. Then he stops. He can see very small wet footprints on the floor.
Oh, no! Not again!
He takes out his smartphone and calls the police. “Mary Lou is back!” he says. “Yes. I’m sure. There are footprints on the floor. This is the first time in ten years. Yes. I’ll wait here for you to come. I will help you search the river.”
He goes back to his truck and waits for the police.
Ever since Mary Lou drowned in the river, some people who live in this house disappear, he thinks. We always find their dead bodies in the river. The only clue is the wet footprints on the floor. I think she gets lonely.
Do you know the adjective “penniless“? Read the conversation below. Can you guess the meaning?
Lauren: Have you found a new job yet?
Jane: No. But if I don’t find one soon, I’ll be penniless.
Does it mean:
a) unsuccessful
b) have no money
c) bored
d) scared
The answer is below!↓
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Answer: b) have no money
Do you know the adjective “horrendous”? Read the conversation below. Can you guess the meaning?
Emma: How was the concert?
Sam: Oh, it was horrendous! The band played out of tune, and the singer forgot the words to three of the songs!
Does it mean:
a) extremely good
b) extremely interesting
c) extremely bad
d) average
The answer is below! ↓
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Answer: c) extremely bad
Do you know the verb “to despise“? Read the conversation below. Can you guess the meaning?
Katrina: I despise people who hurt animals.
Natalie: So do I. If I see someone treating an animal badly, I get really angry.
Does it mean:
a) like
b) hate
c) watch
d) admire
The answer is below!
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Answer: b) hate
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It’s Monday morning. Saori has no classes today, so she decides to clean her apartment. It takes a long time and it is almost 11:30am when she is finished. Next to the door are bags of bottles and jars and a pile of old magazines.
I take those to the recycling station, she thinks.
Saori ties some string around the magazines.
She puts on her jacket, and puts her keys and smartphone in her pocket.
She picks up the bags and the bundle of magazines and leaves her apartment.
The recycling station is at the local community centre.
It is a cold windy day, and Saori hurries along the road to keep warm.
Even thought the weather is not good, there is a group of older people outside the community centre. They are practising Tai Chi.
Saori puts the magazines in the paper recycling crate, and walks along to the bins of different coloured glass. There is a cage for clear glass, a cage for green glass and a cage for brown glass.
She is careful to put the glass bottles into the correct cage, but she makes a mistake.
Oh no! I have put a wine bottle into the clear glass cage. I must take it out.
Saori is not very tall, and it is difficult to reach the wine bottle. She leans over the edge of the cage. I’ve got it! Now I’ll just put it in the green bottle cage and I can go home, she thinks.
Saori doesn’t notice, but her smartphone has fallen out of her pocket. It is in the cage full of clear glass.
When Saori gets back to her apartment she thinks, I’ll call Michiko. She doesn’t have classes today. Maybe we can meet for coffee.
She puts her hand in her pocket. Where is my phone! It’s not here. I have lost it! Where did I lose it?
Saori remembers leaning over the recycle cage. Did it fall out of my pocket?
She runs out of her apartment. She runs to the recycling station. Oh no! The bins are empty! Someone has come and taken all the bottles and glass away!
Saori wants to cry. My phone! It has all my contacts! No one can call me. No one can text me! And it was so pretty!
“Excuse me.”
Saori is surprised. There is an old woman standing next to her. “Are you looking for something?”
“Yes,” says Saori. “I have lost my smartphone. I think I dropped it in the recycling cage. And now they are empty! My phone has gone!”
The old woman smiles. “Today is your lucky day,” she says. “When I finished my Tai Chi class, I walked past the recycling station. I saw something pink in the cage for clear glass. I thought ‘that’s not good. I must take it out’. It was too difficult for me. So I called our Tai Chi instructor. He is taller and fitter than me. He rescued your smartphone.”
The old woman puts her hand in the pocket of her track suit. She takes out Saori’s smartphone and gives it to her.
“Oh, thank you!” says Saori. “I am so lucky.”
“You’re welcome,” says the old woman. “But maybe you made your own luck. Your phone is pink. That’s why I saw it. Maybe if it was silver or black I could not see it. I think pink is a good colour for a smartphone. Maybe I will get a new one.”
I Talk You Talk Press EXTRA 
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