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Willy got depressed because Angela didn’t love him. Because he learned that it was unrequited love. He loved her a lot, but she did not love him at all.
Two days later army officers came. Happily for Willy, I guess, army officers came two days later.
And so who came two days later?
Army officers did. Two days later army officers came. Willy was drafted into the army.
Who was drafted into the army? Angela the butterfly?
No, not Angela. Angela was not drafted into the army. It was Willy the worm who was drafted into the army.
Did Willy the worm join the army?
Yes, he did. He joined the army. He was drafted into the army. He became a soldier.
Was it good or was it bad for Willy to become a soldier?
It was very good for Willy.
Why was it very good for Willy?
It was very good for him, because in the army Willy the worm became strong and courageous. And of course, he learned how to stand up for himself.
What did the worm become in the army?
He became strong and courageous.
What did Willy learn in the army?
He learned how to stand up for himself.
Did Willy the worm learn how to defend himself when others attacked him?
Yes, exactly. Willy the worm learned how to defend himself when others attacked or criticized him. He learned how to stand up for himself.
What did Willy the worm learn to do in the army?
Yes, he learned how to stand up for himself.
Where did he learn how to stand up for himself?
Oh, I’ve just said it, in the army. Willy the worm learned how to stand up for himself in the army.
Can I say that the army changed Willy a lot?
Yes, of course. The army changed Willy a lot. He became strong and courageous. He learned how to stand up for himself. He was not that small, weak and shy Willy any more. He became William the worm.
When William the worm returned home, everybody was surprised by a new William, and Angela was surprised, too.
What was everybody surprised by when William returned home?
Everybody was surprised by a new William.
Was everybody surprised by a new or an old William?
By a new William, not by an old Willy. No, no, no. When William returned he was different. He was not weak and shy any longer. William the worm was strong and courageous.
What about the butterfly? Was Angela surprised by a new William?
Oh, yes. She was surprised, too. I’d say she was very much surprised by a new William.
Did Angela fall in love with William now?
I guess, she did. She didn’t tell that directly, but she fell in love with William. And William the worm fell in love with Angela again. And they lived happily ever after. The end, right?
No, that’s not right. It’s not the end. William the worm ignored Angela.
Ignored Angela the butterfly? That beautiful, gorgeous and rare butterfly?
Yes, he did. William ignored her. He refused to notice her. He got into University. He became a doctor. William the worm decided to devote himself to serving others.
What did William the worm decide to do?
He decided to devote himself to serving others.
After University William became a doctor, and he decided to spend a lot of time, energy and effort serving, helping others.
What did he decide to devote his life to?
Right! William the worm decided to devote himself to serving others.
This is the end of the mini-story for “Willy the worm”.
And of course, you know what to do, right? I am sure, you do. Of course, you are going to listen and answer the questions. You may pause after each sentence and repeat it after me. Imitate me. Play this game one or two times a day. Pause, repeat it after me and imitate me. Enjoy the game! And if you do this, you will definitely change the way you speak English. I promise, you’ll start speaking English the way you never did before. You’ll speak English easily, confidently and automatically – like native speakers do.
Okay, I will see you next time.
Unit 3
The Key to your better future is you
Hello, my special English learner. This is Alex. Hope you are having a nice day today. Welcome to our next story “The Key to Your Better Future is You”. In this story I am going to tell you about the importance of not complaining about your life. Why you shouldn’t complain, when many people around do it. The reason why you shouldn’t complain because when you complain nobody wants to help you, I think. Let’s get started.
Jim is married to a beautiful woman. They have two children. But Jim is not a success. Instead, he is in debts. He looks at his bank account and he is not happy. It is difficult for Jim to provide his family.
Jim always blames someone or something.
Jim has a list of reasons for not being a success.
He always blames the government and the prices. He always blames the taxes and his neighbors. He blames the weather and the traffic. He blames the company and the community. Jim doesn’t know what to do. As a result, he is falling into depression.
But one day fortunately he meets a successful businessman. The man asks him, “Out of curiosity, tell me, Jim, you are young, strong and you have a wonderful wife, but you are not successful. Why?”
Jim immediately goes through his list of reasons why he is not a success.
The man is very patient. When Jim finishes, the man looks through the list very carefully. He tells Jim that there is a big problem with his list.
“What is it?” Jim wonders.
“You are not on the list”, tells the man.
It revolutionizes Jim’s life.
Jim tears up the list of reasons for not doing well. Jim throws it away. He grabs a fresh piece of paper. He puts one word on it – him. He writes his name – Jim. Jim changes so does his life. He becomes a successful business man.
This is the end of the story. As always listen to this story every day. You can pause after each sentence, if you like, and repeat it after me. What will it do for you? It will certainly make your pronunciation and your understanding better. And it will certainly help you speak better than you are doing now. And of course, remember. Use your physiology: good posture, big smile, deep breathing. Get your blood moving.
What is next? Right! Next is your vocabulary lesson. See you there.
The Vocabulary Lesson
Hello, this is Alex again. Welcome to the vocabulary lesson for “The key to your better future is you”. The lesson which makes you free. The lesson that revolutionizes your thoughts about vocabulary. The lesson that can easily turn you into a confident, excellent and brilliant English speaker. Let’s start right away.
Our first word is a success. Here a success means a person who is successful. The person who has achieved a lot. Usually we say it about the person who has got money, who is powerful and famous. But in the story we see that Jim is not a success. So he is not successful. Jim has not achieved a lot.
Our next expression is in debts. It comes from the sentence “Instead, he is in debt”. When someone is in debts it means that it is a situation in which he or she owes money to other people. It means that he has no his own money. Jim is not a success. He owes money to other people. Jim has no his own money. Jim is in debts.
Next we see the verb to provide. The sentence says “It is difficult for Jim to provide his family”. You may already know this word, but one more time let me explain it to you. Provide. Provide simply means to give someone what they want or need. Here we see that for Jim it is not easy, it is difficult to give what his family want or need such things as: food, clothes, housing and so one. It is difficult for Jim to provide his family.
Okay, in the story we also have a verb to blame. We use this verb to blame when we say or we think that someone or something is responsible for a problem or bad situation, but not us. I say it in the sentence “Jim always blames someone or something”. Actually, it means that Jim always finds someone or something else what or who is responsible for the reason why he is not a success. Jim blames everything outside, but he never blames himself.
Next we have a very common expression to fall into depression. You can see it the sentence “Jim doesn’t know what to do. And as a result, he is falling into depression”. To fall into depression means to enter into a condition where you feel extremely unhappy or supper sad, because you have lost hope for a better future. Jim is falling into depression. He is entering into that condition, where he feels extremely unhappy because he is not a success, because he cannot provide his family, and he has lost hope for a better future. Jim does not know what to do. He is falling into depression.
I have a feeling that you are becoming more and more liberated, actually, with every word that you learn in this lesson. Am I right?
Okay, next we also have an expression out of curiosity. In the sentence like “Out of curiosity, tell me, you are young, strong and you have a wonderful wife, but you are not successful. Why?”
Out of curiosity. It means I want to know, I desire to know, I wonder or tell me why. That famous and successful business person wants to know why Jim is not a success. He says it because he wants to learn, he wonders why he has not been a success yet: being young and strong, having a wonderful wife. The man is curious about it. He is curious about the reason why Jim is not a success yet.
Okay, next we see the expression to go through. The sentence says “Jim goes through his list of reasons why he is not a success.” Here go through means to read out again or to tell the same reasons why he is not a success yet. So Jim tells that man, he reads out to that man his list, his list of reasons, why he is not a success yet. He goes though the list of reasons that stops him from being a success.
A little bit lower we see another very common expression to look through. In the sentence like “Jim finishes, the man looks through the list very carefully”. Look through. To look through means to read something usually quickly, especially to find the information you need. That businessman reads Jim’s lists quickly because he wants to find the information he needs to understand why Jim is not a success. And as you know he doesn’t find it.
Okay, our next verb is to wonder. To wonder means it is interesting to know or I want to know, I want to learn. “What is it?” Jim wonders. Jim wants to know, he wants to learn what is wrong with his list. It is interesting for him to learn, where there is a big problem.
Next we have another good and useful verb, this is to revolutionize. As you may already guess, it comes from the word revolution which means a big, huge or major change in something. To revolutionize something means to completely change the way that something is done, thought about or made. In other words, this idea of not being on the list of reasons why he is not a success, this thought has completely changed Jim’s life. He changes the way he thinks about being a success. It revolutionizes his life.
Our next expression for his vocabulary lesson is to tear up. To tear up means to destroy something such as a piece of paper or clothing by pulling it into pieces. And you can see it in the sentences “Jim tears up the list of reasons for not doing well”. Jim destroys the list of reasons for not doing well. He tears up the list of reasons for not doing well.
Our final word for today is to grab. Here to grab means to take something quickly and you hold it. So Jim takes a fresh piece of paper quickly and he puts one word on it, which means he writes one word on it – him. Of course, you understand the idea of the story that you are the only person who is responsible for your own success. No one else can decide for you.
Alright, and that is all for the vocabulary lesson for “The key to your better future is you.” See you for the mini-story.
The Mini-Story Lesson
Hello, my superstar English student! This is Alex. Welcome to the mini-story for “The Key to Your Better Future is You”. Let’s get started. By the way, this time I am going to ask the story in the present tense, not in the past tense. Let’s go!
Jim is married to a beautiful woman. And they have two children.
Who is Jim married to?
He is married to a beautiful woman.
Is Jim married to a beautiful or an ugly woman?
Beautiful, of course. Not ugly. Who wants to marry to an ugly woman? And Jim is married to a beautiful woman, of course.
What is her name?
Oh, you don’t know. I’ll tell you. Her name is Dorothy. Oh, what a nice name, right? Dorothy.
So Jim is married to a beautiful woman, named Dorothy.
What do they have? Dogs?
No, no, not dogs. They don’t have dogs. They have children.
How many children do they have?
Two, right! They have two children.
Do they have two girls?
No, they don’t.
Do they have two boys?
No, they don’t.
Do they have a girl and a boy?
Yes, that’s right. They have two children: a girl and a boy.
Okay. That’s lovely. And Jim is a success, right?
No, unfortunately, not. Jim is not a success. Instead, he is in debts.
What is Jim in?
