Story #1 - Hungry Joe

LearnEnglishShortStories.com

Hungry Joe Youtube Video PowerPoint Slides

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Welcome!
Hey! Welcome to our first Learn English Short Story. Several of you said that you wanted to hear the story to improve your listening and English speaking skills. [0:16] So, in todays lessonIm going to tell you the story called Hungy Joe and explain some of the words that you had questions about. And of courseIll ask you some questions at the end about the story for you to answer. [0:33] I also want to take a moment and say that I really appreciate all the questions you asked and the feedback you left in the comments. It was very positive and helpful. Like some of these: Lenilson - Yes! Now I going to improve my English! Thanks so much! [0:55] Marcos - That's a good idea. I enjoyed reading the short story. I also looked up the words that I didn't know. It's a good way to improve our English. Thanks! [1:28] Felipe - Beautiful idea David. Nice story. I didn't know these 4 words: to groan, to squat down, soggy and rotting. And I have a question: Is Joe a beggar? [1:52] So, now lets go ahead and take a look at the words you all mentioned. Most of the words are very simple because its based on words that I teach my students in the very first class. [2:04] So, now that I know what words you didnt knowI can help you learn them now. Just follow along with slides to see the pictures. [2:11]

Vocabulary Lesson
Groan A sound you make when you are upset, hungry, etc. She groaned when she saw the mess on the floor. Im so hungry, he groaned.

Roseli - I have a suggestion, in my humble opinion the word groans was repeated several times how about: He cried out loudly. [2:49] Youre right Roseli. It is a synonym of cry out. But since groan is a word that many students arent familiar withI used it several times. That way you can hear it often and familiarize yourself with it. Next word [3:15] Loudly - Relatively high volumeas in the opposite of quiet The band played loudly. She screamed loudly. [3:34]

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Soggy soaked with moisture or liquidas in the opposite of crispy She put the cookies in her milk because she liked to eat them soggy He wanted to eat some crackers and peanut butter, but they were all soggy. [4:08]

Squat to crouch with your knees bent and the back of your thighs touching your heels They squatted around the fire to keep warm. She squatted because there was no chair to sit on. [4:28]

Trashcan a container in which waste or trash is thrown She threw the apples in the trashcan. He pulled the boxes out of the trashcan. [4:45]

Rot to decay or waste away due to bacteria and fungus The bananas rotted before we could eat them. Most of the pears rotted on the tree while we were traveling. [5:05]

Awesome! So, now lets go ahead and listen to the actual story. Listen to it several times until you can retell it in your own words to learn the correct pronunciation and reduce your accent. [5:25] Here we go!

Hungry Joe
There is a guy named Joe. He is hungry. Joe wants something to eat. He really wants to eat some chocolate. But he doesnt have any chocolate. Joe groans and sits down on a chair. [5:54] Joe picks up his backpack. He opens the backpack to see if he has some granola bars. But there arent any granola bars in his backpack. He groans again loudly. [6:12] He stands up and walks around the table. He walks to the trashcan and squats down beside it. He opens the trashcan to see if there is anything to eat in there. [6:31] Joe sees some old cookies in the trashcan, but they are all soggy. He also sees some apples in the bottom of the trashcan, but they are brown and rotting. Joe doesnt see anything that looks good. [6:52] He groans again for the third time. Joe is so hungry he starts to cry. He really wants something to eat. But he doesnt have anything good to eat. [7:12]

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Questions & Answers

Excellent! Now listen to the questions and try to answer them before I give them to you. This will help you develop fluency in your English speaking. Lets go [7:27] Who was hungry? Some guy named Joe [7:47] Where does Joe look for a granola bar? In his backpack [8:20] How does Joe groan the second time? He groans loudly [8:47] Why does Joe squat beside the trashcan? To see if there is anything he can eat [9:23] Are there any good apples in the trashcan? No. They are all rotten [9:55] What else does Joe find in the trashcan? Soggy cookies [10:25] Does Joe find anything good to eat in the trashcan? No. He didnt find anything good to eat [10:58] How many times did Joe groan? Three times [11:23] Is Joe happy? No, he isnt happy. He is hungry [11:47] When did Joe start to cry? After looking all over for some food but not finding any [12:21]

Awesome! Great job. If you werent able to answer them alljust keep practicing and improving your English skills. [12:32] Well have more Learn English Short Stories coming your way shortlybased on your feedback. Like these from [12:43] Luciane - How about both, either and neither? I think that theres a little mess when using these words for us Brazilians... thanks! [13:04] Kinda - I love it! I don't have any question about any and some. But if possible I would like to ask if you can explain for us or put some new stories about adverbs, adjectives and noun clause. I think that these points of English are very confusing. So, yeswell include these kinds of things in upcoming Learn English Short Stories for you. [13:29] Junior - I think if It was possible to include translations for some expressions to make it easier for learning would be wonderful. [13:39] I think its an awesome idea Junior! Translation would really help those who are just starting off. So, anyone who wants to send in a translation, and well choose the best one to include on the site. [14:06] Ill be busy preparing more short stories for you which means that I wont have time to find translations for other languages. [14:15]

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But anyone who wants to volunteer and help out creating more resources for each of the stories is more than welcome to do so. Well include your resources here. [14:40] These could be pictures, illustrations, extra information, lessons, etc. [14:51] For example, if you are an artist, and would like to draw a cartoon illustration of the story for us to include on the site as wellthat would be amazing. [14:58] Or even if you are an English teacher and want to create a lesson based on the storiesplease feel free to do that and share it with everyone here too. [15:12] Any ideas that you have and are willing to help out with will be really beneficial for all the English students here on the site. [15:20] I appreciate it, and want to say thank you in advance. [15:41]

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