Hello students. I’m proud of you for completing years 1 and 2 of our American English course. In order for you to become a strong intermediate American English learner, you need to be able to read, understand, and discuss abridged American English short stories. In this lesson, throughout Year 3 of your studies, you will read, listen to, and write about popular American English short stories. Please follow the directions below closely.
- Study the American English vocabulary below.
Words in This Story
debate – n. a discussion between people in which they express different opinions about something
varmint – n. (chiefly US, old-fashioned + humorous) an animal that is considered a problem
lasso – n. a rope with a loop that is used for catching animals (such as cattle or horses)
tarantula – n. a large, hairy spider that lives in warm regions
scorpion – n. a small animal related to spiders that has two front claws and a curved tail with a poisonous stinger at the end
make up one’s mind – idiom. to decide on something
- Listen to the story.
- Watch the video and read along.
- Take the short story quiz.
Take the quiz: https://learningenglish.voanews.com/a/2595133/p1.html?isEmbedded=True
- Write a summary of the short story you just read and listened to in the comments section below. Click here to read an article that teaches you how to summarize a story. Remember to let us know who the characters of the story are, what they do, and what the story is about.