Jose nearly died! How did that happen? Today we’ve got Jose’s True English Story and much, much more in…….Aprender Inglés con Reza y Craig

A voice message from Eugeni from Barcelona
Episode 149

“By no means will Eugeni stop listening to us!”
Keep on rocking!

Email from Antonio from Badajoz

Hi Reza and Craig! It’s Antonio again with another question for you.
Watching movies in original version, I’ve realised that a lot of times, I can hear the expression “How would you like…?” followed, for example, by either “a punch in the nose”, or “being left by a woman that way” or something like that.
I gather it’s some kind of complaint or threat, but, since I can’t entirely get my head round it.
I’d love you guys to shed light on that if you please.

Thanks in advance! hugs from Badajoz!

1. For offering someone something that you think they will enjoy.
How would you like a glass of wine?
How would you like a free T-shirt?

2. For telling someone to consider how they would feel if something bad happened to them, especially if it has already happened to you.
How would you like a punch on the nose? (threat)
How would you like someone stealing your mobile phone?
How would you like it if I spilled beer on your trousers and didn’t even apologise?
How would you like being left by a woman in that way?

Comment on the blog about the farming episode 155 from Nayabet who’s on a farm in New Zealand.
Thank you so much guys for this podcast, it will be really useful for me, in fact, I work on a dairy farm here in NZ and I’m a bit familiar with this (these) words but not with all of them.
So thank you once more.

Voice message from Lyan from Panama
Free courses and resources on Mansioningles.com and on our Facebook page at Facebook.com/mansioningles

Improve your speaking with an italki teacher

Jose’s True English Story
These stories began with episode 137 on how to tell a story in English:

Marcelo’s Story – Episode 157

Mamen’s story – Episode 148 

Jose’s Story

Vocabulary
Outskirts – alrededores
To flow – when liquid moves – fluir
Channel – a waterway (brazo, cauce, acequia) / canal
To drag – arrastrar
To overflow – derramarse
To slip – resbalarse
To yell – gritar – scream, shout
Edge – borde (bank – the land at river’s edge – orilla
To drown – to die/kill in water – ahogar(se)
To scold – regañar – (to tell off)
To hug – abrazar

Comprehension questions
1. How old was Jose when the story happened?
2. Who had drowned in the chanal in the past?
3. How long did the incident take from start to finish?

Now listen to Jose’s story and answer the questions

1. How old was Jose when the story happened – 10
2. Who had drowned in the chanal in the past? – gypsy children
3. How long did the incident take from start to finish – 30 seconds

Corrections
XHere is my story, I hope you likeX (it)
XAll over us had forgiven playing close to the channelX (All of us had been forbidden to play close to the canal)
You know how children are (good word order)
Pronunciation of ‘drown’ and ‘water’
XNowadays, the water is running undergroundX (runs underground)
XI realised that I was approaching to the tunnel.X – I realised that I was approaching the tunnel.

Transcript 

I was living in the outskirts of Valencia, in the same city where I’ve always lived. Close to my home flowed one of the seven main channels in this city. Its water was used by a big paper factory, therefore the channel passed into the factory by a tunnel where there were two enormous wood blades rolling constantly in order to break up the things that the water dragged.

Back then, the children we played on the street all our free time and naturally all of us had forbidden playing (had been forbidden to play) close to the channel. But you know how children are because you have also been two of them not very long ago.

One day, we were around this forbidden place and the channel was so fast-flowing because of the previous rainy days, that water was on the edge, almost overflowing. I was walking on the edge admiring the speed and strength of the water when I slipped and fell into the water. My friends started to yell my name because they wanted to help me, but they couldn’t because the water ran speedily and swept me along very quickly. I tried several times to reach the edge to get out from the water, but I couldn’t.

I realized, that I was approaching to the tunnel dangerously close to the tunnel and I knew I had just one more chance to reach the edge, but I fell again. Then, I knew that I didn’t have enough time to try it again. I was afraid because I was already entering into the tunnel and I knew that this meant dying like many gypsy children had already drowned.

However, the volume of the water was so high that my small body hit into the top of the tunnel and it stopped me for a few milliseconds and gave me time to reach the edge and get out from the water when my legs were already into (in) the tunnel. All of it happened just in around thirty seconds, no more.

When my parents were told about that, they didn’t scold me. Just gave me a huge hug and they thank God THAT nothing bad had HAPPENED to me. So, I could survive this way from a certain death from drowning. Surely I had still a lot of things to do in my life.

Of course, we never went to play near the channel again, at least me.

A few years later this channel was covered because of the city development, and nowadays the water is running underground.

Well, this is my story. I hope you like (it).

________________________________________________________________________________________

Recap – What makes a good story, like Jose’s?
An accurate mix of verb tenses. eg past simple V past continuous V present perfect, etc.
A varied, interesting range of vocabulary, including expressions/idioms
Using detailed, descriptive language, especially adjectives and adverbs
Using linking expressions. eg. contrast (although, etc); addition (on top of that, etc.); time (afterwards, etc.); consequence (as a result, etc.); reference (as for, etc) and so on.
Using suspense, drama, mystery, shock, and other emotions that grab the reader’s attention

…and now it’s your turn to practise your English. Do you have a true English story to tell us?
Send us a voice message or record it on your computer and send it to us by email. https://www.speakpipe.com/inglespodcast Emails to [email protected] or [email protected].

If you would like more detailed show notes, go to https://www.patreon.com/inglespodcast
Our lovely sponsors are:

Nikolay Dimitrov
Ana Cherta
Pedro Martinez
Maite Palacín Pérez
Lara Arlem
Maria Gervatti
Sara Jarabo
Carlos Garrido
Zara Heath Picazo
Mamen
Juan Leyva Galera
Corey Fineran
Mariel Riedemann
Jorge Jiménez
Raul Lopez
Rafael
Manuel Tarazona
Agus Paolucci
Manuel Velázquez
Néstor García Mañes

We want to thank Arminda from Madrid and Alberto from Granada for continuing to transcribe full transcriptions. Alberto has transcribed episodes 132 and 133, so we now have full transcriptions for episodes 131 to 141.

On next week’s episode: Vocabulary: The Environment

The music in this podcast is by Pitx. The track is called ‘See You Later’