Today we have another true English story from Ivan, and a special guest who has published fiction books and is going to help you improve your storytelling. This is Aprender Inglés con Reza y Craig
Ivan’s True English Story
Vocabulary
creepy – de terror, de miedo
siege – the siege of an ancient city – sitio, asedio
to climb – escalar, ascender
to break a bone – romper un hueso
down to earth – volver a la realidad, recapacitar, natural, prático “He’s very down to earth’
to growl – gruñir
jaws (jaw bone = mandíbula) jaws of an animal – quijada
to drool – babear (to salivate) to drool over someone, animals drool
to glance – to look at quickly (a glance = ojeada, mirada)
snakes – serpientes
to crawl – gatear
to grasp – agarrar
paws – patas
that damn place – ese maldito lugar
out of breath – sin aliento
Questions
- Where did the story happen?
- What did Ivan and his friends climb over?
- What attacked Ivan and his friend?
Ivan from Valencia’s True English Story (original version)
Hi guys , i really wanted to share this funny and a bit creepy story with somebody else and what a better place tan here with all the english learners.Firstly , please be lenient with all the mistakes that I can make.
This brat adventure took place in a small suburb in the nearby of my home in Valencia.Me and my best friend Kini decided as any given day to live some kind of adventure because by when we almost turned 15 we always used to get away from home together to live new experiences and the further we went the funnier it was.Well it was a boring evening in summer when we both apparently had the same idea, go further!We decided to assault a school and after being around it for almost one hour like a siege of an ancient city we started to climb the walls , has to be said that I had to lie on his leg to jump and reach the top of the wall,after several attempts I got finally hold on the wall and jump to the other side , meanwhile Kini was staring incredulously at me , maybe he was wondering himself how did I get not to fall down .Anyway , while I was looking around, kini reached me after almost breaking some bone due to the painful way he drop to the ground.
As too brave and why not hasty and obviously not down to earth guys we advanced seeking the surroundings and staring at whatever it moved and suddenly a snap shocked us and we nearly got a heart attack.Two black and haunted growling dogs were running towards us while they showed us their jaws while drooling.As soon as we realized we turned and began to run as our life depended on that! .
I couldn’t help glancing often to make sure the dogs were still far from us and luckly we could reach the wall and as a couple of snakes crawled up the wall while the dogs jumped and tried to grasp us with their paws, fortunately they could nt do anything but stalk us while me and my friend were left that damn place.
In the end we went back to home without saying anything , out of breath and scared we both knew that that story was more a lesson to write down on our minds than anything,And for sure we would never try to repeat.
Answers
- Where did the story happen? – It ‘took place’ in a suburb of Valencia.
- What did Ivan and his friends climb over? – a wall
- What attacked Ivan and his friend? – Two black dogs
Ivan used some very nice vocab and expressions in his story:
Creepy
Please be lenient
The further we went the funnier it was
jump to the other side
staring incredulously at me
Pronunciation (Because Ivan wrote the story and then read it, some of the words are not pronounced correctly. Unlike Spanish, English is not pronounced as it is written.)
Nearby
Turned, reached, advanced, turned (only /t/ and /d/ at the end result in pronouncing the ‘-ed’ ending – started, landed, needed, decided, hated, wanted etc)
Further, funnier – the further we went, the funnier it was
Incredulously (word stress) – in-cred-u-lous-ly (incrédulamente)
Soon – as soon as
X a small suburb in the nearby of my home in Valencia. X – a small suburb near my home in Valencia.
X decided as any given day X – decided, as we did most days,
X by when we almost turned 15 X by the time we had almost turned 15
(it) has to be said that….
X to lie on his leg X – to step/stand on his leg
Misuse of ‘get’
X After several attempts I got finally hold on the wall X – After several attempts I could finally hold onto the wall
X how did I get not to fall down X – how did I not fall down
X we nearly got a heart attack. X – we nearly had a heart attack.
X breaking some bone X – breaking a bone
X As too brave and why not hasty and obviously not down to earth guys X – As too brave, hasty and obviously not down to earth guys…
Hasty? (apresurado/a, veloz) – maybe ‘impulsive (impulsivo/a)
X staring at whatever it moved X – staring at whatever moved
X we advanced seeking the surroundings X – we advanced looking at the surroundings
X Two black and haunted growling dogs X – Two black, growling dogs
X while they showed us their jaws while drooling. X – while they showed us their drooling jaws .
X to run as our life depended on that! X – to run as our life depended on it!
X In the end, we went back to home X – In the end, we went home
Punctuation (the story needs more sentences and more paragraphs) – compare the transcription in the show notes inglespodcast.com/168 with your original.
Ivan from Valencia’s True English Story (with suggested improvements)
This adventure took place in a small suburb near my home in Valencia. My best friend Kini and I decided, as we did most days, to have some kind of adventure because by the time we had turned 15 we would often go far from home together to live new experiences and the further we went the funnier it was.
It was one boring summer evening when we both apparently had the same idea, to go further! We decided to explore a school and after walking around it for almost an hour, like a siege on an ancient city, we started to climb the walls. I had to stand on Kini’s leg to jump and reach the top of the wall.
After several attempts I finally managed to grab the top and jump to the other side. Meanwhile, Kini was staring incredulously at me, maybe he was wondering to himself why I didn’t fall.
Anyway, while I was looking around, kini caught up with me after almost breaking a bone due to the painful way he dropped to the ground.
As two brave, impulsive, and obviously not very sensible guys, we slowly moved forward looking at the surroundings and staring at whatever moved. Suddenly, we were shocked by a loud snap and we nearly had a heart attack!
Two fierce black dogs were running towards us, growling and showing us their drooling teeth and jaws. As soon as we realized we turned and began to run as if our life depended on it!
I couldn’t help glancing behind me often to make sure the dogs were still far from us. Luckily we managed to reach the wall just as a couple of snakes crawled up it and the dogs jumped and tried to reach us with their paws. Fortunately, they could only bark and stalk us while my friend and I made our escape.
In the end, we went home without saying anything. Out of breath and scared, we both knew that this story was a life lesson to keep in our minds. For sure we would never try to repeat it.
Dana 
- How many books have you had published so far?
What is it that makes you write stories?
Do you only write in English, or also in foreign languages?
Do you read in foreign languages?
Do you do many drafts before the definitive version?
What advice can you give to our listeners who want to improve their storytelling in English?
Would you ever consider using a pen name? (eg. Charles Lutwidge Dodgson = Lewis Carroll; Eric Arthur Blair = George Orwell; Amantine Lucile Aurore Dupin = George Sand; Józef Teodor Konrad Korzeniowski = Joseph Conrad)
Who are your favourite writers and why?
Listen to a short piece of The Admiral’s Baths read by Dana At the end of this podcast.
To find Dana online go to Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/danagyntherauthor/
…and now it’s your turn to practise your English. Do you have a question for us or an idea for a future episode?
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We want to thank Arminda from Madrid, Alberto from Granada and Angélica Bello from Madrid for continuing to transcribe full transcriptions. We now have full transcriptions for episodes 131 to 142, and episodes 1 and 2 thanks to Angélica.
On next week’s episode: Speak English Like a Native
The music in this podcast is by Pitx. The track is called ‘See You Later’
Thanks a lot to all of you,as you said,I wrote it and then I read it but I obviously was very nervous but that’s not an excuse to justify my mistakes that I’ve fortunately Found out thanks to your gentle help.By the time I listened the podcast I had already learnt some of them,a really important ones like mispronuncing ( further,nearby,and so on).But overall thanls a lot and hope to pass the C1.I really big hug from me!
A pleasure, Iván. Thanks for taking the time to send in your story and I’m glad we helped a little. Good luck with the C1 exam.