Reading and speaking practice.

[Evylinda]

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I had no recall as to how I had come to be walking down this long dusty road, or just how long I had been walking.
I was dog-tired and weary.
Looking down at the clothes that I was wearing, I wasn't really surprised that the few cars that had passed me by had completely ignored my attempts to hitch a lift.
I wouldn't have stopped either, seeing someone of my unkempt appearance hoping to be given a ride in a nice car.

The rain started to fall and I sought shelter under a large cluster of trees, in fact it was a small wood, and I was grateful for its being there to afford me some respite from what now had become a torrential downpour of rain.
Eventually even the trees began to drip their rain upon me.
They had done their job, and now it was up to me to find better shelter.

Looking around in desperation, I spied a large house standing majestically atop a hillside.
Surely someone there would let me stay in the barn, or even the garage.
Running as fast as I could I reached the house after a few minutes.
There was indeed a barn, and its door stood ajar.

Hurrying inside was like walking into another world. Dry and calm.
I closed the door behind me and lay down on a huge pile of hay that was stacked in the far corner.
I must have fallen asleep from exhaustion, for when I again opened my eyes it was night-time and the stars were shining in a clear sky.
The rain had long ceased to fall and the evening was still and calm.

Leaving the barn I slowly walked around the perimeter of the house. It was in total darkness.
No car in the drive, and no sign of occupants.
At the rear of the house I found the door to the kitchen standing wide-open.That was strange!

Knocking on the open door I called a tentative, "Hello," but received no reply.
To all intents and purposes the house was empty.
Surely the occupants hadn't left the house without locking the kitchen-door?
Switching on the lights I discovered that the kitchen was enormous.
Obviously a very wealthy family were living here.

Hunger overcame my reluctance to steal, and I opened the door to the large refrigerator that stood apart from the rest of the lavishly appointed kitchen.
What a sight greeted my eyes, for it was packed full with food of all descriptions.
Taking a ready-cooked chicken and a jar of pickles, I sat at the huge table and began to satisfy my hunger.
I made cup after cup of scalding hot coffee, and gulped them down between mouthfuls of delicious chicken.
There was even a pack of cigarettes lying on the worktop and I sat back smoking whilst enjoying my surroundings.

My next job was to go in search of something to write with, and on, as I'd no intention of leaving without writing an explanatory note to the hapless owners of this magnificent house.
Wandering through the expensively appointed rooms I was unable to find anything that I could use. Perhaps there would be something in the bedrooms.

I wandered upstairs and entered what turned out to be the master-bedroom.
There was nothing at all in the bedside cabinets. They were completely empty!
That again was strange.
I opened the wardrobe door and was surprised to find that there was only one suit hanging there.
On the shelf was an expensive shirt and a pair of dress shoes, and a set of underwear and sox.
The other wardrobe was completely empty!
This really was becoming a mystery.

The other bedrooms, apart from the furniture, were completely empty of clothing.
Perhaps the owners had gone on holiday?
That was the only suggestion my befuddled brain could come up with.

Entering the bathroom I found there were two large bath-towels hanging on a heated towel-rail, and an electric razor lying on the basin edge.
This was indeed a Godsend. Everything I needed for a fresh start.

I ran a hot bath, and while it was filling I shaved my face with the razor.
How beautifully it removed the unkempt stubble.
I was already beginning to feel like a new man.

Now soaking in the steaming bath I tried desperately to recall the events of the passed days, but I was only capable of odd flashes of memory.
Something about a hospital and nurses, a casino and gambling tables, two beautiful girls...
No, it made no sense yet, but it probably would eventually, given time.

Stepping out of the bath I towelled myself dry, and with the second towel tied around my waist, I walked back to the bedroom.
I donned the underwear and sox, put on the shirt and then the trousers. They fitted me perfectly.
On went the shoes and jacket, and I then inspected myself in the wardrobe's mirrored door.
The transformation was unbelievable.
"Clothes maketh the man." The old saying was indeed accurate.

Suddenly I had an overwhelming desire to rest once again, so I lay back on the bed, fully dressed, and closed my eyes.
Again flashes of memory overcame me; A doctor saying to a nurse that I would have to be committed to a sanatorium the next day.
The nurse giving me medication that I only pretended to swallow.
The furtive escape from the hospital during the night, wearing whatever clothing I had managed to find in the orderlies lockers.
Nothing fitted me, but I didn't care, I just needed to escape from this dreaded hospital.

Then only running, running, running, until totally exhausted, I had found this beautiful house.
I fell into a deep sleep. The last sleep that I was to ever have.

Meanwhile, in another country, a beautiful elderly lady was enjoying her breakfast.
She opened the morning paper and gazed at the picture of an unkempt face, along with an artist's sketch showing the face as it would appear were it truly recognisable.

Above were the glaring headlines, "DO YOU RECOGNISE THIS MAN?"
Accompanying the pictures was a graphic account relating to the man.
His body had been found in a derelict building in the city centre.
Police were asking for any information that the public could offer.

The lady smiled to herself, and folding the newspaper, she gently placed it in the rubbish bin.
It had taken a long time, but fate had finally evened the scores.

[Hailsheen]

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Please listen to my recording and respond with a voice message too. Many thanks.

[Parallel]

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Hi Evylinda

You were looking for Kitos? I'm very afraid but he has fallen severely ill and is still not back. But he posted one message recently, I put down the link to it at the end of my post, so you can check out for yourself. That's a good sign, and I hope very much that he will recover completely in the near future and join us again here on the forum! Who if not him would send us all those marvelous storys for our speaking practice?
Best regards

Urs

http://www.english-test.net/forum/sutra349838.html#349838

[Parallel]

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Hello fellows
I would like to practive my speaking skills once more by reading out loud a short story to you. The collection of Hanif Kureishi's collected storys was published in 2010.
The story I'm going to read has the title "we are not jews", but this is not at all what i't's about, but rather depickts the situation of an american woman who has married into a family of pakistani and struggels to keep things up and going despite a lot of embarrassements she and her boiy have to face up with, especially by people from the neighborhood... I hope you enjoy it.
Cheers Urs

[Parallel]

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This is part two of my short story

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part three

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The last part

[Evylinda]

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Hello Urs,

I'm glad to meet you!

I'm sorry to hear about Kitos! But I am sure that he'll feel better real soon.
He is a very good coach and I do appreciate his amazing stories here on the forum.
Let us send him our best wishes.

I'm not a teacher, Urs. I am a government employee.
I'm here on the forum to improve my English communications skills for purposes of friendship, work and travel.

To Kitos, please get better soon!
Take care of yourself and get sufficient rest.
We're looking forward to seeing you in the forum.

Warm regards,

Evylinda

[Parallel]

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Hi Evylinda

I learned you are not a teacher, but a state employee - nevertheless, I find your English is really excellent!

Did you spend some time in GB or in another English speaking country, or were you one of those very keen students and learned the Language just like that, by working hard and seizing every opportunity to practice it?

In any case, you are certainly an encourageing example to other members of this forum - me included - to keep struggling hard and to improve our English step by step, day after day so to be able in the end to communicate to whoever we might encounter - on this website or travelling or just around the corner...

And for Kitos, I really wish all the best for him and I hope that he will regain his strength and health and join us again.

Have a nice evening

Urs

[Helen Tran]

Hello Ketki,

I just joined this room a few hours ago. I don't know how to record it. I will try to study on it and do a try soon. I need to improve my English. I am looking for the partner to practice English. This is my nick's skype: helentran156.

I am waiting for you to add it and practice together!
Helen

[Evylinda]

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Hello, Urs!

Thank you for your lovely message.

I started learning English when I was 6 years old. I learned English the way everybody does — by going to English classes. It was awfully ineffective. I did everything that the teachers told me to do: I took notes; I did the homework assignments, everything. But I didn't get impressive results and my pronunciation was bad, and I could only speak English very slowly. I did most of my talking without paying much attention to it. As I spoke, my mind wanders and my sentences trail off.

I learned from imitation. Anybody is fortunate to hear only the best examples of speech at home, at school or in the community. I was motivated to listen carefully to English news, songs and movies; and I repeated how words were pronounced. Believe it or not, repeated repetition of correct language forms helped me drop my faulty language habits. Until now, I continue to do the same. I boost my English with reading, too! Reading activities make me see how sentences are structured and woven together. Then, I put it in writing whatever I learned. When I meet new words and phrases, I look them up in the dictionary, sometimes, the dictionary gives the definition and pronunciation.

Speaking is a skill. Therefore, it can be studied, it can be developed, and it can be perfected. Like what I said, learning the English language is a continuous process. And if we want to be effective in speaking and writing, we select the words that are reputable in use. In this case, we can be able to say clearly what we mean to say.

I guess, I talked a lot! So, these are all for now!

Warm regards,

Evylinda

[Evylinda]

Hi, Urs!

You too, have an excellent diction and aside from being friendly, you speak with others readily and well. That's an asset! There is nothing more important than being able to converse well.

Keep in-touch!

Regards,

Evylinda

[Evylinda]

Hello, Ketki!

You are welcome! We are happy to have you here on the forum and we'll be very glad to hear from you.

Best regards,

Evylinda

[Parallel]

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Hi Evylinda

Many thanks for your elaborated and warm reply! In return, I would like to tell you how I learned English. But before I start to do that I must say again that I'm really very impressed by all those people around the world who's native language is so completely different from English - in pronounciation, structure and writing, and despite that fact, they achieve to master it - like you - with great efforts!

When I was at school, we started to learn English at the age of fifteen. This may seem to be very late, especially when one bears in mind that small children could learn a language very quickly, for example when they move with their parents to a foreign country.

But on the other hand we began to learn Latin and French first, at 12, and, as you may know, the English has many words in common with theese two plus with the German - my native language. So the start was quite easy for me. Unfortunately, I was a really lazy student when it came down to learn vocabulary or grammar roules by heart. And my marks reflected that fact quite exactly.

It was not, that I didn't like the languages - my parents used them quite often when they didn't want us kids to understand what they were talking about at dinner for example. That made languages sort of a secret which we were eager to detect. But as I said and very much unlike my twin brother, I coulnd't bring myself round to sit down and learn my lessons.

Before my graduation I grew worried whether I would pass the exams and had to take action. We had to select several books in every language to read and were supposed to discuss one or two of them in the exams. My plan was to select very thick books, in order to be forced to read a lot and thus getting a feeling for expressions, often used words and so on. And it worked, I wasn't excellent but I passed at least - dear me!

In the last few years they changed the school system a bit, so my smaller boy started to learn English at 8 and next year, he will start with French in the fifth form too. They have got only two or three lessons per week but he likes it really. Especially the fact that all cool music is in English, you see?

I started to do something about my poor English about five years ago. My wife is a primary school teacher, and works part time since we had children. She thought that it would be a good thing. if she could teach that new English Language topic too. In order to get the qualification she had to pass the Cambridge "First" and "Advanced" Exam and attend courses to learn how to teach it. During that period, she stayed three weeks at a time in an English school in spring or autumn, as an opportunity to improve her skills more efficiently. Two times she went by herself and another two times she took the boys with her and they had English lessons too.

After she had begun this education I somehow felt like picking up an English book myself and, after a while, I just couldn't let go anymore. Later, I stumbled over this forum while searching the net for English tests.

As you can see, I'm a latecomer, but it's never too late to learn a language!
May I ask you what kind of work for the state it is exactly that you are doing? Has it got something to do with foreign people so that it is compulsory for you to be able to speek, read and write English?
So this was long too, I hope you won't be bored to read it.
Many greetings and a nice evening!
Cheers Urs

[Evylinda]

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Hello, Urs!

Thank you for taking the time to share your interesting story.

Yes, you’re right, it's never too late and I really appreciate your interest in learning the English language.
There is no age limit if we really want to achieve our goals.
The true learner always finds ways to learn from anybody;
he can always gain more knowledge and wisdom as compared to someone who refuses to learn.
Anyone, young or old, can teach us something important which we may have not learnt till now.

I work in the Dept. of Education at the Regional Level.
I belong to non-teaching group.
Sometimes, I attend national conferences and
participate seminar workshops and trainings.
I find English very useful in my career, that I decided to share my methods
and experiences with other people.
I do this with pleasure and I derive satisfaction from the process.

I heard your voice message and I truly appreciate your talent for communicating.
I understood every word without looking at the texts.
Keep it up, you are certainly doing well!

Please keep posting as I would love to listen to your interesting stories.

Thank you!

Best regards,

Evylinda