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Pablo opened the door

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Release Date: 01/30/2023

The Rope show art The Rope

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Something like a rope passed him again. It was not tied to anything. It was floating. It moved slowly, back and forward, like seaweed. Pablo watched it for a moment. It did not feel dangerous. He reached out and pushed the rope away from his body. He pushed it to the side so he could start to go up. His breath was running out. His chest felt tight. He needed to go back to the surface. Then he saw more of it. Not all at once. At first, it was only a shape. A grey shape moving in the water. It did not look like a rope anymore. It looked like skin. That was when he understood. It was a shark. He...

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Learning the Water show art Learning the Water

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Pablo had only learned to swim recently. He was in his early twenties. It took him a long time. He worked full time. He also had a part-time job. That day, he swam out from the shore and dived down. He wanted to see the rocks he had heard about under the water. He did not know how deep the ocean was there. Even close to land, it could be very deep. He felt like he was about five meters down. He did not look up at the surface. Something touched the back of his leg. It frightened him, but he kept going. The seaweed was large. It felt thick, like kelp. It brushed past the tattoo on his leg. He...

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Pablo — The Kitchen show art Pablo — The Kitchen

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Perhaps he thought when he got home he could hang his wooden spoons up, although at the moment they were sitting in a great big blue jar—which seemed to be the right place, as then he could just grab them beside the air fryer, you know, that kind of thing, when he was cooking on the run. This was making him hungry now, thinking about all these wooden spoons and the boat made of wooden spoons. He was thinking about dinner. Maybe he could have some nice pasta with some garlic and some black pepper, vegetables, and maybe some olives. He might be able to put some tuna in there too, and he may...

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The boat made of wooden spoons show art The boat made of wooden spoons

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After his swim, Pablo decided that he was going to sit down and do some writing. And when he sat down, he suddenly remembered that he had a dream the other night about a boat, and the boat was made from wooden spoons. Why would a boat be made of wooden spoons? That was an interesting idea. They must have been all glued together because the boat was bobbing along quite well in the water, and there was a small crew of sailors sitting in the boat having a lively chat. What were they talking about? He wondered. He hadn't remembered that part of the dream. Was the discussion about coming to land or...

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Swim First show art Swim First

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From here on, new episodes are released on Apple Podcasts.

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The Room show art The Room

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The Lite Library:   A short fragment as the show rolls out on Apple Podcasts.   

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Not a Busy Day show art Not a Busy Day

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Pablo jumped up to snatch the newspaper show art Pablo jumped up to snatch the newspaper

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A different cup show art A different cup

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Pablo was suddenly very tired. He was also feeling very thirsty. So he decided to go home and make himself a nice cup of coffee. It was a beautiful, warm, sunny day. And though he was feeling hungry, he decided first he needed to get himself a nice drink. Normally, he wouldn't drink coffee after about 2:00 PM as he felt somehow made it more difficult for him to sleep. He was thinking about his favorite coffee cup when he suddenly realized that he had a series of habits that some people might have found a bit strange. The first habit he had was that in the morning first thing he would have a...

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Pablo in the park show art Pablo in the park

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Pablo sat down on the stool in the kitchen and closed his eyes to think back for a moment. He remembered a few weeks ago being in the park near his apartment, sitting on a bench in the sun and noticing a small blackbird. “It can’t be the same one,” he thought.  Then he remembered that was the day it rained. He had gone for a walk, turned his phone on silent, and sat on a park bench. One of his teachers had told him years ago that he should improve his skills in observation. So, when it rained, he stayed on the bench with his rain hat and raincoat for a few minutes, observing the...

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Pablo opened the door, and standing in front of him was Sylvia.

 

Sylvia held a small handful of things, including a small bunch of bright-green leaves. 

I thought you could do with some of these? She winked. 

I heard you were making a pizza. 

What is it? Pablo asked. 

Arugula, she said. Arrrrrrrrrrrrrrr ugula, she said again in her heavy accent and laughed. 

But where I come from, boy, we call it Rocket, and it grows like a rocket it does too. 

Very good for you, lad, packed with vitamin C and K, improves ye bones and keeps you healthy, boy 

And what does it taste like? Pablo asked 

Like a spicy bite, peppery hot wakes you up; it does and is great on a pizza. 

In the oven? Pablo asked 

Ha, Sylvia laughed. Rip it after a quick wash under the tap. 

Throw it on your pizza after it's just out of the oven and you are about to put it on the plate, lad. 

Try it, she said, holding out a piece. Pablo grabbed it and bit into it. 

He said he thought it was peppery and almost nutty; it tastes excellent, he said 

 

Sylvia smiled and gave Pablo a small box with garlic and onions. 

 

Where did you get it? He asked 

 

Time will soon tell, Sylvia said and waved goodbye.

 

Pablo placed the box, and the Arugula, or Rocket as Sylvia had said it was also called, onto the kitchen table and looked out the open window. 

 

There he could see the faint drops of rain, and then he could smell a strange and familiar smell; he knew that smell it was the smell of …

 

English lesson Objectives:

Learn to recognize new vocabulary related to food and cooking.

Understand the use of different accents in the English language.

 

Exercises:  

Define and describe any new words you may have learned in the story. 

 

Answer the questions below 

"What did Sylvia bring to Pablo?" 

 

 "What did Sylvia tell Pablo about Arugula?"

 

"What is another name for Arugula?

 

Discussion 

"What accents do you find easy to understand"?  

 

"What kind of accent do you think Sylvia has"?

 

Describe each of the words below and add them to your vocabulary list 

 

  1. Arugula
  2. Handful
  3. Leaves
  4. Wink
  5. Pizza
  6. Accent
  7. Rocket
  8. Vitamin C and K
  9. Peppery
  10. Smell