Unique English Course Speak real English. Часть 2. Александр Чумаков

piece of paper? What does “crumpled” mean?

      Here “crumpled” means old and not looking nice and fresh. So the piece of paper that the young pig found was old and it didn’t look nice and fresh. It was a small, dirty and crumpled piece of paper.

      I see. Thank you.

      My pleasure. Let’s get back to the story.

      The farmer immediately called Alex. He asked him to come and teach his animals English. But Alex couldn’t come.

      Why?

      Because Alex was far away.

      Where was Alex?

      In Russia. Alex didn’t live in Japan anymore. Now he lives in Russia. But Alex said, “I cannot come to you, but you can buy my books, my English courses. And if you do the courses, I promise, you will understand English. You will read in English better and, of course, you will speak true, real and excellent English”.

      Will the animals understand English if they buy Alex’s English courses?

      Yes, they will.

      Will the animals read in English better if they buy Alex’s books?

      Yes, they will. And not only.

      Will the animals speak true, real and excellent English?

      Yes, they will. But they will only speak true, real and excellent English if they do the courses. The farmer and the animals were very happy and very excited.

      This is the end of the mini-story lesson for “The Japanese Farmer”. Listen to this lesson and answer the questions. Do it every day for seven days and I promise you will speak English better than you are doing now. See you soon, and have a great day!

      Unit 2. “A Little Girl”

      Hello, this is Alex. Hope, you are having a nice day today. Welcome to our next lesson, to our next story called “A Little Girl”. Let’s get started.

      There was a little, beautiful and kind girl. Her name was Amelia. She loved doing two things very much. She loved reading fairy tales, and she loved dreaming a lot. Every day Amelia read one fairy tale. Every day Amelia dreamed a lot. From reading fairy tales she learned about a magic wand. Because Amelia was a big dreamer, she began to dream of having a magic wand. Every day she imagined herself having a magic wand.

      Amelia often said, “I wish I had a magic wand. If only I had a magic wand, I would be the happiest girl in the world. And I would help less fortunate people to be happier.”

      One fine day, Amelia was helping her grandmother in the garden. The sun was shining bright. The birds were singing beautifully. The flowers were in bloom. The day was gorgeous.

      Suddenly, Amelia saw a little, beautiful and rare bird with something in her beak. In a flash, the bird landed on the ground next to Amelia.

      “This is a magic wand. It is for you, Amelia”, said the bird. “Take care of it. Protect it well and use it properly.” Then the bird flew away.

      Amelia was very much excited. She gladly accepted the gift.

      Amelia decided to go to the School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. In school, Amelia learned how to take care of her magic wand. She learned how to protect the magic wand well. She learned how to use the magic wand properly. She learned quickly. Of course, Amelia made mistakes. But because she was a diligent student, she was a success.

      After four years in the School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, Amelia became a master of her magic wand. Her dream came true. She became a real magician. She became a fantastic wizard. Amelia helped a lot of people to become happier and luckier. She was fulfilled.

      This is the end of the story called “A Little Girl”. As always listen to this story every day. Listen and enjoy. And, of course, dream big. Believe in what you imagine is possible for you, like Amelia did. And your dream will certainly come true. Next is your vocabulary lesson. See you there!

      Unit 2. The vocabulary lesson

      Hi, this is Alex again and this is the vocabulary lesson for “A Little Girl”

      And of course, I am going to focus on the words “a magic wand”

      What is a magic wand? A magic wand is a small stick used by magicians and fairies who perform tricks and magic. It also has the meaning of a quick and easy solution to a problem. Of course, you are well aware of that there is no magic wand to start speaking English better. You cannot just wave a magic wand and immediately start speaking true, real and excellent English. No. You have to work hard to speak true, real and excellent English. It’s obvious. But let’s get back to the story.

      Next we have the expression “I wish I had something”

      We use this phrase to express wanting something that you don’t have. It is when you want to have something or to do something, but you cannot have it because you don’t have enough money to buy it or you don’t have enough experience or knowledge to do it. In other words, you feel sorry for not having something that you would like to have or you would like to change in this or that situation. In our story, Amelia says, “I wish I had a magic wand.” She wants to have a magic wand, but she doesn’t have it. She expresses her regret at not having a magic wand. She would like her present situation to be different.

      In this lesson we also have another phrase which is “if only”

      In the story Amelia says, “If only I had a magic wand, I would be the happiest girl in the world”

      Here “if only” is simply another way of saying “I wish”. The difference between these two phrases is very small. You can use them both interchangeably. But if you really want to know the difference I will tell you. We use “if only I had” or “if only I knew”, and so on when we become more emotional and want to show that we would very much like the situation to be different. In other words, “if only” is stronger than “I wish”.

      In the story you see that Amelia says first, “I wish I had a magic wand”, but then she becomes more emotional and she says, “If only I had a magic wand, I would be the happiest girl in the world.” I think you get the idea, right?

      And, of course, we are going to find out the reason Amelia really wants to have that magic wand. We can see it from the next sentence which is “I would help less fortunate people to be happier”. It is good to wish to be happier. This is what Amelia does by saying that. But she not only wants to be happier than she is now, she also wants to help other people to be less fortunate. She wants people to be happier too. What does “less fortunate people” mean? Less comes from “little” when we compare something to something.”

      Less fortunate people are the people who are not as lucky or happy as others. Some people can be more fortunate than others by simply having better health or by being born in a wealthy family or by getting into luck. So Amelia wants to help those people who are not that happy, not that lucky, and not as bright as those who are. This is her dream. This is what she would like to change, if she had a magic wand. I think you get the idea, right?

      We move on and we have the expression “to be in bloom”

      Usually we say like that when we talk about a plant or a tree that has flowers on it. In the story you can see that the weather is gorgeous. It is probably spring time and the plants have flowers on them. They are in bloom. It is the period when flowers open. For example, the roses (are) in bloom.

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