[Short Story with Audio] Where is my suitcase?

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!

Terry lives alone. His parents are dead. He does not have many friends. He does not have a girlfriend.

Terry is going on holiday. He saved money all year. He wants to have a wonderful vacation in Bali. He dreams of sun, adventure and romance.

He goes to a big discount store. He buys a suitcase with wheels and a handle. The suitcase is cheap, so the only choice of colour is black.

On Friday, Terry comes home from work. He packs his bag and suitcase. On Saturday, a taxi will come at 5am to take Terry to the airport.

Terry is very excited. He enjoys the flight very much, but when he arrives in Denpasar it is very late, and he is tired.

It is almost midnight, but it is still so hot! he thinks. He goes to the baggage claim area. Where is my bag?

He sees a black suitcase with wheels and a handle. That’s my bag. I can’t wait to get to my hotel. I can have a shower, and a long sleep.

Terry goes through customs and immigration, and finds the bus for his hotel. He checks into his hotel and goes to his room. It is very nice.

He puts his bag on the bed and opens it. Oh no! Terry is looking at a bag full of bikinis and sundresses and sandals! It’s not my bag! He looks at the luggage label. —M. Stanford I took the wrong bag! What can I do?

He closes the bag and hurries to the elevator. I must go downstairs. I must ask the man on the front desk what to do!

The elevator arrives. Terry hurries into the elevator carrying the black bag. There is a woman in the elevator. She looks very worried.

When the elevator stops on the ground floor, Terry and the woman walk to the front desk. Terry sees that the woman has a black suitcase. There are many bags that look like mine, he thinks. I was not careful at the airport. I didn’t check the luggage label.

At the front desk, Terry and the woman from the elevator start talking at the same time.

“I have the wrong bag,” they say.

“I took the wrong bag from the airport,” says Terry. “I am very sorry. What can I do?”

“I must go back to the airport to find my bag!” says the woman. “This is a man’s bag!”

The man on the front desk laughs.

“Two people with the same problem! What is your name, madam?”

“Mandy Stanford,” answers the woman.

Terry is excited. “I can solve your problem,” he says. “Here is your bag.”

“And your name, Sir?” asks the man at the front desk.

“Terry Wiggin.”

The woman starts to laugh. “I don’t believe it! You have my bag, and I have yours!”

Terry looks at the woman. She is about the same age as Terry. She is very attractive.

Suddenly Terry doesn’t feel tired or hot any more.

“It is a strange way to meet. But would you like to have a drink with me to celebrate,” he says to Mandy.

“I think you should!” says the man on the front desk. “I have to work. Otherwise I would join you.”

“OK,” says Mandy. “It seems that we were meant to meet.”

Terry’s holiday of adventure and romance has just begun!

By I Talk You Talk Press – Easy English Reading.

[Easy English Blog] Ice cream van

Do you have ice cream vans in your country? When I was a child, I got excited when I saw the ice cream van. In summer, at around 4 or 5 pm, the ice cream van drove around the streets near my house. It stopped in every street for a few minutes. The van played music, so we could hear it arrive.

My house was in the middle of the street, so the ice cream van always stopped in front of my house. I heard the music and asked my mother for some money to buy ice cream. All the children in the street loved the ice cream van. They all ran to it and bought ice creams.

The ice cream seller had a price list of the different kinds of ice creams on the side of the van. I enjoyed looking at the pictures and choosing an ice cream.

I still remember the music the van played. When I think of it, it reminds me of summer and my childhood. I would love to see the ice cream van again and buy an ice cream!

By Heather @ I Talk You Talk Press – Easy English Reading.

[Easy English Blog] French Extensive Reading

I study Chinese and French, but recently, I have been busy, so I haven’t studied very much. However, I have been practicing extensive reading with an easy French book.

I am studying Part 1 of the book. The story is about two friends called Marc and Julie. Marc is French, and Julie is American. They talk about language and cultural differences. I have read Part 1 many times. Sometimes I forget that I am reading in French.

I tried reading Part 2, which is about French history. It was too difficult for me, so I went back to Part 1.

Extensive reading (reading a lot of easy books or graded readers) is a good study method. I think I will buy more French graded readers. For me, reading is more fun than studying!

By Heather @ I Talk You Talk Press

[Short Story with Audio] Andy’s Glasses

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!

Andy wears glasses. He doesn’t wear them all the time. He wears them when he drives his car. He wears them to read, and when he works on his computer.

Andy gets an email from the eye doctor’s office. The email says— We have not checked your eyes for one year. You should make an appointment. We will check your eyes.—-

Andy goes to the eye doctor’s office. He does an eye test.

The eye doctor says, “Your eyes are OK, but maybe you need new glasses. You need glasses that are a little stronger.”

Andy says, “OK.”

The eye doctor says she will order new glasses for Andy. She says, “Maybe your new glasses will feel a little bit strange. Maybe you will get a headache for a few days. Maybe you will feel ill for a little while.”

After one week, the eye doctor’s office calls Andy. The receptionist says, “Your new glasses are ready. Please come and get your new glasses.”

Andy goes to get his new glasses. His eye doctor is not there. She is on vacation.

Andy pays for his new glasses and takes them away. He is very pleased. His new glasses do not feel strange. He does not have a headache. He does not feel ill.

A few weeks later, Andy gets a call from his eye doctor. “Please come and see me,” she says.

Andy goes to see his eye doctor. She is very unhappy. She says, “I ordered your new glasses, but I made a big mistake. I asked the company to make your new glasses but the order was the same as your old glasses. So , there was no change. I am very sorry. I have ordered new glasses for you and of course, you will not pay anything.”

Andy is a very calm person. He says, “It’s OK. Don’t worry.”

The eye doctor says, “Didn’t you think it was strange when your ‘new’ glasses were the same as the old ones?”

Andy laughs. “I didn’t feel sick! I didn’t feel strange! I didn’t have a headache!. I thought ‘my eye doctor did a very good job!’”

By I Talk You Talk Press – Easy English Reading.

[Easy English Blog] So much rain

Photo by Sam Willis on Pexels.com

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!

By Heather @ I Talk You Talk Press

[Short Story with Audio] Hilda’s Roof

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!”

Rory laughs. “Hilda you can pay for a new house!”

[Easy English Blog] Dog cafe

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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!

By Heather @ I Talk You Talk Press

[Easy English Blog] Mexican food

Today’s Easy English Blog post is from Patricia in New Zealand!

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.

By Patricia @ I Talk You Talk Press

[Easy English Blog] A strange year

Photo by Evie Shaffer on Pexels.com

We are halfway through 2020. It is turning out to be a strange year. There is a global pandemic, and many countries have been in “lockdown”. This means that people can’t go out freely, and have to stay in their houses.

Here in rural Japan, we didn’t have lockdown. We were advised not to travel to other prefectures, and not to go out at weekends and in the evenings. Many restaurants closed, and started a takeout service. Some shops closed early.

Now, most places are open and operating normally. However, we have to wear masks when we go to public places and clean our hands before we go inside. In some places, like the local community centre, we have to write our name and purpose of our visit on a form near the entrance. At a sports facility I go to, we have to write our name, address, phone number and body temperature on a form before we can go inside.

The city I live in has been lucky. There have only been around 25 cases of COVID-19. I hope there are no more cases. I hope the situation around the world improves. I wonder what the last few months of this strange year will be like….

By Heather @ I Talk You Talk Press

[Easy English Blog] Too many feijoas

Today’s Easy English Blog is from Patricia in New Zealand!

Do you know what feijoas are? Another name for feijoa is ‘pineapple guava’.

Feijoas are a fruit. They come from South America.  In about 1900 they were grown in California and then about 100 years ago people started growing them in NZ.

They grow well in most parts of NZ. There are many feijoa trees in gardens in NZ. I have two. They are very pretty –I like the leaves and the flowers. In April, the fruit is ready to eat.  It is an unusual fruit. It has a unique tatste. Some people love feijoas and some people think they taste very bad.

This year I had many feijoas on my trees. They are all ready to eat at the same time – there are too many for me to eat. I tried to give some away – but the people near my house didn’t want them! There were two reasons.

Some neighbours don’t like them. Some neighbours have their own feijoa trees so they have too many to eat  – they want to give some to me.

I don’t like to waste food so I have frozen a lot of fruit. They make great cakes,and muffins and my neighbour told me she has a good recipe for making feijoa ice cream. So I will have many sweet treats from my freezer later in the year.