It is the rainy season in Japan. Many places have had heavy rainfall. Some places have had flooding and landslides. The water has destroyed roads, houses and towns. Luckily, my city has not had any disasters. It has just been raining a lot.
Around 14 years ago, my city was flooded. There is a wide river and a large lake in the centre of my city. It rained so much that the river and lake overflowed, and the water flooded into the city centre around the station. Many shops and other places were damaged. I hope it doesn’t happen again.
I hope the rainy season ends soon. I also hope the people in the disaster areas can recover quickly. It seems that every year, the rain causes more and more disasters. The weather is changing. We have more rain, and summers are hotter than before. I am looking forward to the end of the rainy season, but I am not looking forward to the hot summer!
This is a short story for learners of English from I Talk You Talk Press. You can read and listen at the same time, or you can try shadowing. We hope you enjoy the story!
Hilda’s house is very old. She does not have much money. When it rains, water comes into her house.
I must stop the water coming into my house, thinks Hilda.
She calls a local man who repairs houses. His name is Rory.
“Rory,” says Hilda. “The roof of my house is very bad. When it rains, water comes into my house. Can you help me?”
“OK, Hilda,” says Rory. “I will come and look at your house. I will come tomorrow. My daughter is home because it is university holidays. Maybe she will come and help me.”
Rory comes the next day. His daughter Wanda, comes with him.
Rory looks inside the house. Then he goes outside. Wanda holds the ladder for her father. Rory climbs onto the roof.
After a while, Rory comes into the house.
“Hilda,” he says. “You need a new roof.”
“Oh, no!” says Hilda. “I do not have enough money for a new roof!”
“I understand,” says Rory. “Maybe I can fix the holes in your roof. I will do my best, but more holes will come.”
Hilda is worried and unhappy. “Please do the best you can,” she says. “Maybe I will win a lottery or something. Maybe I can find enough money for a new roof before next winter.”
“OK,” says Rory. “I will go onto the roof and try to fix the holes.”
Hilda goes into her kitchen. Rory is a very kind man, she thinks. When Rory and Wanda take a break, I will give them a snack. I will make some cookies.
Hilda is taking her cookies out of the oven when she hears a loud noise. There is a crash and a bang. Then she hears loud voices.
Oh no! That’s Rory’s voice, thinks Hilda.
Hilda runs through the house. She gets a big shock. Rory is sitting on her living room floor. Hilda looks up. There is a big hole in the roof – Hilda can see the sky.
Wanda runs into the house. “Dad! Dad! Are you OK?”
“I’m fine,” says Rory. “Hilda I am so sorry about your roof. It was so old and weak. I fell through it.”
“Don’t worry about my roof,” says Hilda. “I am happy you are not hurt. Sit down in that armchair and I will bring you a cup of tea.”
Hilda brings tea and cookies for Rory and Wanda. She sits down with Rory and Wanda. They drink tea and eat cookies. They look at the sky.
Suddenly they hear strange noises. “Get out!” shouts Rory. “The roof is falling!”
They run to the kitchen. There is a lot of noise and dust.
After a while, the noise stops. “Stay here,” says Rory. “I will go and look.”
Hilda and Wanda wait for a long time. Finally, Rory comes back to the kitchen. He is hiding something behind his back.
“Hilda,” says Rory. “Who lived in this house before you?”
“My parents,” says Hilda. “And before them, my grandparents lived here.”
Rory smiles. “Well someone who lived here didn’t like banks! Look what I found in all the rubbish on the floor.” He takes a box from behind his back and gives it to Hilda.
Hilda opens the box. It is filled with old gold coins.
“Someone hid this box in the roof of your house.”
“I can pay for a new roof!” shouts Hilda. “It is wonderful!”
The other day, I went to a “dog cafe” with my friend. It was my first time to go to this cafe. Customers can take their dogs into the cafe. There are bowls of water in various places of the cafe for the dogs.
The owner’s dog stays in the cafe. He is very cute. He sat next to me and let me stroke him for a long time. He likes people. He is very quiet and gentle.
I think the cafe is a good idea. People who like dogs can enjoy playing with the owner’s dog while they have a drink. People who are walking their dogs can take a rest and enjoy a cool drink.
There was only one other customer in the cafe when I went. That customer didn’t have a dog, but he is a regular customer. He said that he lives near the cafe and goes nearly every day. He likes to play with the owner’s dog.
When I was playing with the owner’s dog, I remembered the dogs I had when I was a child. I wish I had a dog! If I had a dog, I would be a regular customer at the cafe!
Can you complete this English expression? It means that when something good or bad happens, many other good or bad things happen in a short space of time.
Yesterday was a cold, windy and rainy day. We went to Petone to eat lunch. Petone is about 20 minutes drive from our house.
The main shopping street in Petone is called Jackson Street. It has many interesting cafes, bars and restaurants. We like Mexican food, so we went to Viva Mexico.
It was very interesting. The cook and the waitress talked to each other in Spanish. I know a few words in Spanish, but I was pleased that the waitress talked to us in English.
The inside of the restaurant was Mexican style. The backs of the chairs were covered in very bright coloured materials. There were also a lot of cushions. The cushion covers all showed pictures of Frida Kahlo. She was a very famous Mexican artist. She painted many pictures of herself. She died in 1954.
We ordered enchiladas and empanadas. The food was very good and we enjoyed it.
I Talk You Talk Press EXTRA 
You must be logged in to post a comment.