Elementary Anecdotes A1 Beginner

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Elementary Anecdotes in American English
Anecdote 1
Jimmy lived in the country, and he loved playing in a very
shallow river near his house; but then his father got a job in a big city, and he moved there with his family.
Their new house had a garden, but the garden was very small.
Jimmy wasn’t very happy.
“Is there a river near here?” he asked his mother on the first morning.
His mother answered, “No, there isn’t, but there’s a beautiful
park near here, Jimmy, and there’s a pool in it. We’ll go there
this afternoon.” Then Jimmy was happy.
After lunch, Jimmy and his mother went to the park. Jimmy wanted to walk near the pool, but there was a sign in front of it.
His mother read it to him: “WARNING: This pool is dangerous.
367 people have fallen into it.” Jimmy looked into the pool carefully. Then he said, “I can’t see them.”
Answer these questions:
1. Where did Jimmy play in the country?
2. Why wasn’t he happy in the city?
3. What did he ask his mother?
4. What did she answer?
5. What did the sign in front of the pool say?
6. What did Jimmy say when his mother read the sign to him?

Anecdote 2
Mrs. Green was an old lady. She traveled often and she wasn’t afraid of flying. One day she was going from Chicago to San
Francisco in a big plane. There were a lot of empty seats on it.
Mrs. Green’s seat was near a window. There was a young
man on the other side of the aisle. He was near a window, too.
Mrs. Green looked at the young man several times.
“He’s always looking at the engine outside his window,” she
thought. She got up and walked around in the plane for a few
minutes. Then she sat down and looked at the young man again.
“Yes,” she thought, “he’s looking at that engine all the time.”
After half an hour Mrs. Green went over to him and said,
“Take a walk around the plane, young man. I’m going to watch that engine for you for a few minutes.”
Answer these questions:
Task A
1. How did Mrs. Green go from Chicago to San Francisco?
2. Where did she sit?
3. Where was the young man sitting?
4. What was he doing?
5. What did Mrs. Green want him to do?
6. What did she offer to do for him when he wasn’t in his seat?
Task B
Which words in the story mean the same as:
1. frightened
2. went on a trip
3. not far from
4. look at
5. more than two

Anecdote 3
It was a Saturday morning in May. When Mrs. Edwards opened her curtains and looked out, she smiled and said, “It’s going to be a beautiful day.” She woke her small son up at eight-thirty and said to him, “Get up, Teddy. We’re going to go to the zoo today. Wash your hands and face, brush your teeth and eat your breakfast quickly. We’re going to go to New York by train.”
Teddy was six years old. He was very happy now, because he liked going to the zoo very much, and he also liked going by train. He said, “I dreamed about the zoo last night, Mommy.”
His mother was ina hurry, but she stopped and smiled at her small son. “You did, Teddy?” she said. “And what did you do in
the zoo in your dream?”
Teddy laughed and answered, “You know, Mommy! You were there in my dream too.”
Answer these questions:
1. What did Mrs. Edwards say when she looked out of the window?
2. Why was Teddy happy?
3. What did Teddy dream about?
4, What did Mrs. Edwards ask Teddy?
5. What did Teddy answer?

Anecdote 4
Polly went to school when she was six years old. She liked her
first day very much. Her teacher, Miss Yates, was very nice, and the other children in her class were nice, too. But at the end of the second day, when the other children left the classroom,
Polly stayed behind and waited.
Miss Yates had some work to do and did not see Polly at first, but then she looked up and saw her. “Why didn’t you go with the others, Polly?” she asked kindly. “Did you want to ask me a
question?”
“Yes, Miss Yates,” Polly said.
“What is it?” Miss Yates asked.
«What did I do in school today?” Polly said.
Miss Yates laughed. “What did you do in school today?” she
said, “Why did you ask me that, Polly?”
“Because I’m going to go home now,” Polly answered, “and
my mother’s going to ask me.”
A.
Answer these questions:
Why did Polly like her school?
What did she do when the other children went home?
What did Miss Yates say when she saw her?
What question did Polly ask Miss Yates?
What did Miss Yates ask then?
What was Polly’s answer?
B.
Which of the answers are correct? Write the questions and the
correct answers.
Did Polly enjoy her first day at school?
a. Yes, she did.
b. No, she didn’t.
Were her teacher and her class nice?
a. Her teacher was nice, but some of the children were not.
b. Her teacher was not nice, but some of the children were.
c. Her teacher and the children were nice.
Why didn’t Polly leave the classroom with the other children?
a. Because she had some work.
b. Because Miss Yates had some work for her.
c. Because she wanted to ask Miss Yates a question.
Why did Polly say, “What did I do today?”
a. Because her mother always wanted to know.
b. Because her teacher always wanted to know.
c. Because she was angry with her teacher.

Anecdote 5
Jean was traveling around New England by car. One day she stopped in a small village to look at a beautiful old church. There was a cemetery in front of it, and an old man was raking the grass around the graves.
Jean got out of her car, went into the cemetery and looked at some of the graves. Then she went over to the old man and said to him, “Good morning. Do people often die in this village?”
The old man stopped working for a few seconds, looked at
Jean carefully and said, “No, they die once.”
Jean laughed when she heard this, and then said to the old
man, “I’m sorry. I didn’t say that correctly. I’ll ask it differently:
‘Do a lot of people die in this village?’”
The old man stopped his work again. “Yes,” he said. “All of
them do.” Then he began raking the grass again.
Answer these questions:
Why did Jean stop in the village?
What did she see in front of the church?
What did she say to the old man?
What did he answer?
What did Jean say then?
What did the old man answer?

Anecdote 6
When George was thirty-five, he bought a small plane and learned to fly it. He soon became very good and made his plane do all kinds of tricks.
George had a friend. His name was Mark. One day George offered to take Mark up in his plane. Mark thought, “I’ve traveled in a big plane several times, but I’ve never been in a small one, so I’ll go.”
They went up, and George flew around for half an hour and did all kinds of tricks in the air.
When they came down again, Mark was very glad to be back safely, and he said to his friend in a shaking voice, “Well, George, thank you very much for those two trips in your plane.”
George was very surprised and said, “Two trips?”
“Yes, my first and my last,” answered Mark.
A.
Answer these questions:
What did George learn to do when he was thirty-five?
Who went up with him in his small plane?
What did George do while they were in the air?
What did Mark say when they were on the ground again?
What did George say then?
What did Mark answer?
B.
Which of these sentences are true? Write down the correct ones.
George learned to fly a plane very quickly.
George took a long time to learn to fly.
Mark offered to take George up in his plane.
George offered to take Mark up in his plane.
Mark thought, “I’ve never been in a plane before.”
Mark thought, “I’ve already been in a plane.”
Mark was frightened because George did some tricks
with his plane.
Mark was not frightened when George did some tricks
with his plane.
Mark went up in George’s plane twice.
Mark went up in George’s plane only once.

Anecdote 7
Bill and Fred were students at a university and they were
friends. They didn’t have much money, so when it was time for their summer vacation, Bill said, “Let’s take our vacation in a trailer, Fred. It’s cheaper than a hotel. I can borrow my father’s trailer.” Fred was very happy, so they got into the trailer and began their vacation.
They wanted to get up early the next day to go fishing, but they didn’t have an alarm clock.
«That’s all right, Bill,” Fred said. “I/ll put these small pieces of bread on the roof of the trailer tonight and they’ll wake us up in the morning.”
Bill was very surprised, but he didn’t say anything.
Fred was right. As soon as it began to get light, small birds came down to eat the bread, and their noise on the roof of the trailer woke Bill and Fred up very quickly.
Answer these questions:
1. What did Bill say to Fred when it was time for their summer vacation?
2. Why did they want to get up early one day?
3. Why didn’t they set their alarm clock?
4. What did Fred do that evening?
5. What happened in the morning?

Anecdote 8
Kate and Jenny went to school together for several years and were friends. Kate had a younger sister, but Jenny didn’t have any brothers or sisters. Then Kate and Jenny left school, and after a few years both of them got married and had children.
They didn’t live near each other now. Both of them were busy with their families, so they didn’t see each other, until Kate’s sister got married.
One day Kate and Jenny met in the city while they were shopping. They talked for some time, and then Jenny said to Kate, “How’s your sister getting along with her new husband?”
“Oh, fine, Jenny,” Kate answered quickly. “There’s only one
little thing.”
«Oh, what’s that?” asked Jenny.
«Well, she hates him,” said Kate. «But there’s always something wrong with everything, isn’t there? Nothing’s ever perfect.”
A.
Answer these questions:
Why didn’t Kate and Jenny see each other for some time?
What were they doing when they met in the city?
What did Jenny ask Kate?
And what did Kate answer?
What was the one thing that was wrong?
B.
Which words in the story mean the same as:
with each other
fast
doesn’t like
more than two
small
C.
Which of the answers are correct? Write the questions and the
correct answers.
Did Kate have any brothers or sisters?
a. No, she didn’t.
b. Yes, she had a sister.
How often did Jenny and Kate see each other after they got married?
a. Never.
b. Often.
c. Seldom.
Did Jenny go to Kate’s sister’s wedding?
a. No, she didn’t.
b. Yes, she did.
How did Kate’s sister feel about her husband?
a. She didn’t like him at all.
b. She didn’t like him very much.
c. She loved him.

Anecdote 9
Al Brown was very good at fixing things around the house when they broke. One day he went to another city to do some work there, and his wife was alone in the house. While Mr. Brown was away, one of the faucets on the bathtub broke. Mrs.
Brown didn’t know much about fixing broken faucets, so she telephoned a plumber.
The plumber came to the house that afternoon and fixed the faucet in a few minutes. When he finished, he gave Mrs. Brown his bill for the work.
She looked at it for several seconds and then said, “Your prices are very high, aren’t they? Do you know, the doctor costs less than this when he comes to the house?”
“Yes, I know,” answered the plumber. “I know that very well,
because I was a doctor until I was lucky enough to find this job a few months ago.”
Answer these questions:
Why didn’t Mr. Brown fix the broken faucet in his bathroom?
Why didn’t his wife fix it?
Who did fix it?
How long did it take him?
What did Mrs. Brown say when she saw the plumber’s bill?
What did the plumber answer?

Anecdote 10
When Mary Smith was a student, she always wanted to become a teacher, because she liked children. When she was twenty-one years old, she began teaching in a small school. She was a good teacher, and she laughed a lot with the children in her class. They enjoyed her teaching.
One day one of the girls in her class said to her, “Miss Smith, why does a man’s hair become gray before his mustache and beard do?”
Mary laughed and answered, “I don’t know, Helen. Why does it
become gray before his mustache and beard do?”
“I don’t know either, Miss Smith,” answered Helen, “but it happened to my father.” The other children in the class laughed when they heard this.
Then one of the boys said, “I know, Miss Smith! Men’s hair becomes gray first because it’s sixteen years older than their mustaches and beards.”
Answer these questions:
Why did Mary want to be a teacher?
Why did her students enjoy her teaching?
What did Helen ask her?
Did Mary know the answer?
What did Helen say then?
And what did one of the boys say?

Anecdote 11
Molly was the only little girl on her street, but when she was eight years old, another girl came to live in the house opposite hers. The new girl was eight years old too, and her name was Joan. Joan had two brothers. She didn’t go to the same school as Molly, but they soon began to play together after school.
One day Joan came home, had her milk and cookies, and then went to Molly’s house. She said to her friend, “Hi, Molly. Will you come to my house to play? I’ve got a nice new game.” Molly answered, “I’m sorry, Joan, but my Mother won’t let me play with you today, because your brother George has a bad cold, and she doesn’t want me to get it, too.” “Oh, that’s all right, Molly,” Joan answered quickly. “George isn’t really my brother. He’s my step-brother.”
A.
Answer these questions:
1. When did Joan come to live on the same street as Molly?
2. Did Molly and Joan play together at school?
3. When did they play together?
4. Who was George?
5. Why didn’t Molly’s mother want her to play with Joan one day?
6. What did Joan say when Molly told her this?
B.
Which words in the story mean the opposite of:
big
different
alone
old
slowly

Anecdote 12
Mike was a small boy, and he hated soap and water. Three or four times every day his mother said to him, “Mike, your hands are very dirty again. Go and wash them.” But Mike never really washed them well. He only put his hands in the water for a few seconds and then took them out again.
Mike’s uncle and aunt lived in another city. One day they came to stay with Mike’s parents, and they brought their small son, Ted, with them. Ted was a year younger than Mike, and he didn’t like soap and water, either.
The boys sat with their parents for a few minutes, but then they went outside. When they were alone, Mike looked at Ted’s hands and then said proudly, “My hands are dirtier than yours!”
“Of course they are,” Ted answered angrily. “You’re a year older than I am.”
A.
Answer these questions:
What did Mike do when his mother said, “Go and wash your hands”?
Who visited Mike’s parents one day?
Who did they bring with them?
What did Mike do when the two boys were alone?
What did he say to Ted?
What did Ted answer?
B.
Which of these sentences are correct? Write down the correct ones.
Mike did not like washing.
When his mother sent him to wash his hands, he washed them carefully.
His uncle and aunt lived near him.
Ted’s father was Mike’s uncle.
Mike’s mother was Ted’s uncle.
Mike was younger than Ted.
Ted did not like washing.
Ted’s hands were dirtier than Mike’s.
Mike’s hands were dirtier than Ted’s.

Anecdote 13
Peter was ten years old. One day his friend Paul said to him,
«Im going to have a birthday party on Saturday, Peter. Can you come?”
Peter asked his mother, and she said, “Yes, you can go.” She phoned Paul’s mother to tell her.
Before Peter went to the party on Saturday afternoon, his mother said to him, “Now, Peter, don’t forget to be polite. Don’t ask for food. Wait until someone gives it to you.”
“All right, Mom,” Peter answered, and he went to Paul’s house on his bicycle.
There were a lot of children at the party. They played together for an hour, and then Paul’s mother gave them some food; but she forgot to give Peter any. He waited politely for a few minutes, and then he held his plate up in the air and said
loudly, “Does anyone want a nice clean plate?”
Answer these questions:
What did Paul invite Peter to?
What did Peter’s mother say to him before he went?
How did Peter go to the party?
What did Paul’s mother forget to do?
What did Peter do and then say?

Anecdote 14
Nora was sixteen years old. She had a little brother. Her brother’s name was Jim. Jim was sometimes naughty, but he
made Nora laugh a lot, and she loved him and was always very nice to him.
One afternoon she was walking from her house to the store
when she saw a small boy running along the street towards her.
He was going very fast. When he came near her, she was surprised to see it was Jim.
“Hi, Jim,” Nora shouted to him. “Why are you running like that?”
Jim didn’t stop, but he waved to his sister and shouted, “I’m
trying to stop two boys from fighting.”
Nora was surprised again. She laughed and said, “That’s an
important job for a little boy, isn’t it? You don’t do things like
that very often. Who are the two boys?”
“They’re Tom and me,” answered Jim as he continued running down the street very quickly.
A.
Answer these questions:
1. What was Jim like?
2. How did Nora feel about him?
3. What was Jim doing when she saw him in the street?
4. What did she say to him?
5. What did he answer?
6. Which boys was he trying to stop from fighting?
B.
Which words in the story mean the same as:
1. going very fast
2. kind
3. liked very much
4. quickly
5. said very loudly
6. small

Anecdote 15
Hank lived in a small town, but then he got a job in a big city and moved there with his wife and his two children.
On the first Saturday in their new home, Hank took his new red car out of the garage and was washing it when a neighbor came by. When he saw Hank’s new car, the neighbor stopped
and looked at it for a minute. Then Hank turned and saw him.
The neighbor said, «That’s a nice car. Is it yours?”
“Sometimes,” Hank answered.
The neighbor was surprised. “Sometimes?” he said. “What do
you mean?”
“Well,” answered Hank slowly, “when there’s a party in town, it belongs to my daughter, Jane. When there’s a football game
somewhere, it belongs to my son, Joe. When I’ve washed it, and it looks really nice and clean, it belongs to my wife. And when it needs gas, it’s mine.”
Answer these questions:
What was Hank doing when the neighbor stopped outside his house?
What did he say to Hank?
When did the car belong to Hank’s daughter?
When did it belong to his son?
When did it belong to his wife?
And when did it belong to Hank?

Anecdote 16
Alice was twenty-three years old, and she was a nurse at a big hospital. She was very kind , and all of her patients liked her very much.
One day she was out shopping when she saw an old woman waiting to cross a busy street. Alice wanted to cross the street too, so she went over to offer to help the woman across. When Alice was near her, she suddenly laughed and said, “Mrs. Herman! You were my patient in the hospital last year!”
Mrs. Herman was very pleased to see her.
“Yll help you cross the street, Mrs. Herman,” Alice said.
“Oh, thank you very much, Alice,” Mrs. Herman said, and she
stepped forward. “No, no, Mrs. Herman,” Alice said quickly.
“Wait! The light’s still red.”
“Oh,” Mrs. Herman answered as she stepped back, “I can
easily cross the street alone when the light’s green.”
A.
Answer these questions:
Why did Alice’s patients like her?
Who was Mrs. Herman?
What did Alice offer to do?
What did Mrs. Herman do then?
Why did Alice stop her?
What did Mrs. Herman зау?`
B.
Which of the answers are correct? Write the questions and the
correct answers.
1. Was Alice old, or young?
a. She was old.
b. She was young.
2. Did her patients like her?
a. No, they did not.
b. Yes, they liked her a little.
c. Yes, they liked her a lot.
3. Did Alice know Mrs. Herman before she met her on the street?
a. No, she did not.
b. Yes, she did.
4. When did Mrs. Herman want to cross the street?
a. When the light was green.
b. When the light was red.
5. When did Alice want her to cross?
a. When the light was green.
b. When the light was red.

Anecdote 17
John left the United States in 1969 to workin Africa. Africa was hot, and when John came back to the United States in 1979, he said to himself, “It’s much colder here than it was before I left. I’m going to buy an electric heater. Also, everything is much more expensive.”
John went to a store the next day to buy an electric heater.
The salesman showed him three or four different kinds and then said, “And this is our best electric heater. It costs a lot of money, but it saves half of your electricity, and electricity is very expensive now, isn’t it?”
“Yes, it’s very expensive,” John answered, “and it’s becoming worse every year.” He looked at the electric heater carefully, thought for a few seconds and then said, “Well, I’ll take two of these, please, and then I’ll save all of my electricity.”
A.
Answer these questions:
How long was John in Africa?
What did he want to buy when he came back?
What did the salesman show him?
What did the salesman say?
What did John answer?
Can the two heaters save all his electricity?
B.
Which words in the story mean the opposite of:
cold
cheap
same
worst
carelessly
better

Anecdote 18
Steve was eleven years old, and his brother Tim was seven.
Both of them went to the same school, and both of them liked sports and games very much. They also liked fighting, but their mother wasn’t happy when they had fights with other boys.
A few days ago Tim ran into the house and went up to his bedroom. His brother was there too, listening to their record player. He looked up when Tim came in and said, “Why are you crying, Tim?”
“Because Harry hit me,” his younger brother said. Harry was one of the boys at school, and they often had fights with each other.
Steve laughed and said, “Did you hit him back, or did you cry like a baby and run home to Mommy?”
“T hit him back!” Tim answered angrily. “J hit him back first,
and then he hit me.”
A.
Answer these questions:
1. What three things did Steve and Tim like?
2. When wasn’t their mother happy?
3. Why was Tim crying when he came into the bedroom?
4, Who was Harry?
5. What did Steve ask Tim?
6. What did Tim answer?
B.
Which of these sentences are true? Write down the correct ones.
Steve liked fighting, but Tim didn’t.
Tim liked fighting, but Steve didn’t.
Steve and Tim liked fighting.
The boys’ mother liked fights.
The boys’ mother didn’t like fights.
Tim cried, but he didn’t run home to his mother.
Tim cried and ran home to his mother.
Tim didn’t cry, and he didn’t run home to his mother.
First Harry hit Tim, and then Tim hit Harry.
First Tim hit Harry, and then Harry hit Tim.

Anecdote 19
Billy lived on a quiet street in a big city. His mother sometimes took him to the park to play, but when she was busy, he played in the street. One evening Billy’s father gave him a beautiful new ball, and the next morning Billy went out into the street to play with it. He played happily for a few minutes, but then a big dog came along. When the dog saw the ball, he wanted to play with it too.
Billy picked the ball up and held it above his head. He did not want the big dog to take it and run away with it, but the dog jumped up and knocked him over.
Billy’s mother came out of the house and ran to him at once.
“Did he bite you?” she asked.
“No, he didn’t bite me,” Billy answered, “but he tasted me.”
A.
Answer these questions:
What was Billy doing when the dog came along?
What did the dog want to do?
What did Billy do then?
And what did the dog do?
What did Billy’s mother ask him?
And what did Billy answer?

Anecdote 20
Mr. and Mrs. Williams got married when he was twenty-three, and she was twenty. Twenty-five years later, they had a big party, and a photographer came and took some photographs of them.
Then the photographer gave Mrs. Williams a card and said,
“They’ll be ready next Wednesday. You can get them from our studio.”
“No,” Mrs. Williams said, “please send them to us.”
The photographs arrived a week later, but Mrs. Williams was not happy when she saw them. She got into her car and drove to the photographer’s studio. She went inside and said angrily,
“You took some photographs of me and my husband last week, but I’m not going to pay for them.”
“Oh, why not?” the photographer asked.
“Because my husband looks like a monkey,” Mrs. Williams said.
“Well,” the photographer answered, “that isn’t our fault. Why
didn’t you think of that before you married him?”
A.
Answer these questions:
1. Who took photographs of Mr. and Mrs. Williams?
2. Where did Mrs. Williams go when she saw the photographs?
3. What did she say to the photographer?
4. Why didn’t Mrs. Williams want to pay?
5. What did the photographer say to Mrs. Williams?
B.
Which words in the story mean the same as:
1. after that
2. became husband and wife
3. came
4. give money for
5. glad
6. pictures

Anecdote 21
An old man went to the hospital. When the doctor came to see him, he said, “Well, Mr. Jones, you’re going to have some injections, and then you’ll feel much better. A nurse will come and give you the first one this evening, and then you’ll get another one tomorrow morning.”
In the evening a young nurse came to Mr. Jones’s bed and said to him, “I’m going to give you your first injection now, Mr. Jones. Where do you want it?”
The old man was surprised. He looked at the nurse for several seconds, and then he said, “Nobody’s ever let me choose that before. Are you really going to let me choose now?”
“Yes, Mr. Jones,” the nurse answered. She was in a hurry.
“Where do you want it?”
“Well, then,” the old man answered with a smile, “I want it in
your left arm, please.”
A.
Answer these questions:
1. Where did the old man go?
2. What did the doctor say to him?
3. What happened in the evening?
4. What did the young nurse ask Mr. Jones?
5. What did Mr. Jones answer?

Anecdote 22
Pat Hogan was traveling around the country in his car. One evening he was driving along a road and looking for a small hotel when he saw an old man at the side of the road. He stopped his car and said to the old man, “I want to go to the Sun Hotel. Do you know it?”
“Yes,” the old man answered. “I’ll show you the way.”
He got into Pat’s car, and they drove for about twelve miles.
When they came to a small house, the old man said, “Stop here.”
Pat stopped and looked at the house. “But this isn’t a hotel,
he said to the old man.
“No,” the old man answered, “this is my house. And now I’ll show you the way to the Sun Hotel. Turn around and go back
nine miles. Then you’ll see the Sun Hotel on the left.”
A.
Answer these questions:
. What did Pat ask the old man when he stopped his car?
. What did the old man answer?
. How far did they drive?
. What did Pat say when they stopped?
. What did the old man say to Pat?
C.
Which of the answers are correct? Write the questions and the correct answers.
Where did Pat want to sleep that night?
a. In the old man’s house.
b. In a hotel.
c. In his own house.
Why did Pat stop his car?
a. Because he saw a friend.
b. Because the lights were red.
c. Because he saw an old man.
Where did the old man take Pat?
a. To the old man’s house.
b. To Pat’s house.
c. To the Sun Hotel.
Why didn’t the old man stop Pat when they passed the hotel?
a. Because he wanted to get home.
b. Because he did not know the hotel.
c. Because he did not see the hotel.

Anecdote 23
Jimmy started painting when he was three years old, and when he was five he was already very good at it. He painted many beautiful and interesting pictures, and people paid a lot of money for them. They said, “This boy’s going to be famous when he’s a little older, and then we’re going to sell these pictures for a lot more money.”
Jimmy’s pictures were different from other people’s, because he never painted on all of the paper. He painted on half of it,
and the other half was always empty.
That’s very clever,” everybody said. “Nobody else does that!”
One day somebody bought one of Jimmy’s pictures and then said to him, “Please tell me this, Jimmy. Why do you paint on the bottom half of your pictures, but not on the top half?”
“Because I’m small,” Jimmy said, “and my brushes don’t reach very high.”
A.
Answer these questions:
1, How old was Jimmy when he began painting pictures?
2. What was his painting like when he was five years old?
3. What did people say when they bought his pictures?
4. In what way were Jimmy’s pictures different from other people’s?
5. What did someone ask him?
6. Why didn’t Jimmy paint on the top half of his pictures?
B.
Which words in the story mean the opposite of:
1. bad 6. unknown
2. big 7. stupid
3, full 8. same
4. less 9. ugly
5. low 10. younger

Anecdote 24
Mr. and Mrs. Gray live in a big city, and they have a son. His name is Pete, and he does not like to wash. One day Mrs. Gray said to her husband, “Living in the city all the time isn’t good for Pete.” So last summer they found a small house in the country and took Pete there for a vacation.
When they arrived at the house, Mrs. Gray said to Pete,
“We’re going to stay here for two weeks.”
The boy ran into the house and looked in all the rooms, and
then he ran back to his mother and said to her, “I haven’t found the bathtub, Mom. Where is it?”
“This is a very small house, Pete,” his mother said, “and there is no bathtub.” «That’s very good,” Pete said. “This is going to be a very nice vacation.”
A.
Answer these questions:
Why did Pete’s parents take him to the country?
Where did they stay in the country?
What did Pete ask his mother when he got there?
What did she answer?
Was Pete happy?
Why?
B.
Which of these sentences are true? Write down the correct ones.
. Pete lives in the country.
. Pete’s father said, “Living in the city isn’t good for Pete.” . His parents took him to the country for a vacation.
. They wanted to spend two weeks there.
. Pete tried to find the bathtub.
. There was a very small bathtub in the house.
. Pete was happy because he did not like to wash.
. Pete was happy because he liked to wash.

Anecdote 25
One day Mr. Parker said to himself, “I haven’t seen my brother David for a long time, and he’s living in a new house now. I’m going to drive there and see him this afternoon.”
He took his brother’s address, got into his car and started out.
He drove for a long time, but he didn’t find the house so he
stopped and asked somebody to help him. |
“Go straight along this road for two miles,” the man said,
“then turn left, and then take the second road on the right.
Mr. Parker went straight along the road and turned left after
two miles, but then he got lost again. He drove for another mile, and at last he saw a road on his right and stopped. A woman was coming towards him, so he said to her, “Excuse me, is this the second road on the right?”
A.
Answer these questions:
1, What did Mr. Parker say to himself one day?
2. Did he find his brother’s house easily?
3. What did a man say when Mr. Parker asked him for help?
4, What happened then?
5, Who did Mr. Parker ask this time?
6. What did he ask her?
B.
Write this story. Put the words in (brackets) in the correct order.
Mr. Parker works with French people, because he speaks (very well) (French).
He came (late) (home) (this evening).
He came (home) (in his car), and the streets were (for him) (too crowded).
He got (faster) (home) (yesterday), because he left (earlier) (his office).

Anecdote 26
Mr. and Mrs. Wilson lived in a big crowded city, and one summer they took a vacation in the country. They enjoyed it very much, because it was a quiet, clean place and very different from the city.
One day they went for a walk early in the morning and met an old man. He lived on a farm, and he was sitting alone in the warm sun outside his front door. Mr. Wilson asked him, “Do you like living in such a quiet place?”
The old man said, “Yes, I do.” Mr. Wilson said “What are the good things about it?
The old man answered, “Well, everybody knows everybody else. People often come and visit me, and I often go and visit them. And there are also lots of children here.” Mr. Wilson said, “That’s interesting. And what are the bad things?”
The old man thought for a minute and then said, “Well, the
same things, really.”
A.
Answer these questions:
Where did Mr. and Mrs. Wilson live?
Where did they take their vacation?
Why did they enjoy it?
Who did they meet one day?
What were the good things about living in the country?
What were the bad things?
B.
Which words in the story mean the same as:
full of people
liked
not dirty
not noisy
not the same
with nobody else

Anecdote 27
Don was traveling around the country, and one day he was ina hotel in a small town. Lunch was served from twelve-thirty to one-thirty. Don went out for a walk in the morning but he forgot to put on his watch. He walked for a long time, and then he saw a young man in the street, so he said to him, “Excuse me, 21 can you please tell me the time? The young man looked at his watch and then answered, “It’s twelve o’clock.”
Don wasn’t happy when he heard this, and said, “Isn’t it later than that?” He was hungry, and he wanted his lunch.
“No,” the young man answered. “It never gets later than
twelve o’clock in our town.” Don was surprised and said, “That’s interesting. What do you mean?”
“Well,” the young man answered, whenever it becomes
twelve o’clock, we always start from the beginning again one o’clock, two o’clock. . . .”
A.
Answer these questions:
1. Why did Don ask the young man the time?
2. What did the young man answer?
3. What did Don ask then?
4. What did the young man answer this time?
5. Why didn’t it get later?

Anecdote 28
Mr. Clark worked in an office, and he did a lot of important and difficult work, but then he began to forget things, and this made his work very difficult. One day he said to himself, “I’m going to go and see Dr. Martin about this.”
He waited in the doctor’s waiting-room with the other patients, and then the nurse said to him, “You can go in and see
Dr. Martin now.”
Mr. Clark hurried into Dr. Martin’s office, and the doctor
said, “Please sit down, Mr. Clark. What can I do for you?”
“Oh, doctor,” said Mr. Clark, “it’s terrible. I can’t remember anything for longer than half a minute, and its making my work very difficult. What can I do? Can you help me?” The doctor said, “When did this start, Mr. Clark?”
“When did what start?” Mr. Clark asked.
Answer these questions:
1. Where did Mr. Clark work?
2. What happened to him?
3. What did he say to himself?
4. What did he say to the doctor?
5, What did the doctor ask him?
6. What did Mr. Clark answer?

Anecdote 29
Mr. and Mrs. Davis have one son. His name is Bobby, and it was his birthday a few days ago.
Last Sunday Mrs. Davis’s old father came to visit her and her
husband, and he brought Bobby a nice toy train.
When he gave it to Bobby he said, “I’m sorry, Bobby, but I
forgot your birthday last Tuesday, so I didn’t give you this
present then.”
“Oh, that doesn’t matter, Grandpa,” Bobby answered. “Thank
you very much.”
“And how old are you now, Bobby?” his grandfather asked.
Bobby knew the answer to that question. “I’m five, Grandpa,
he said.
That’s good,” the old man said. “You’re a big boy now,
Bobby.”
«Yes, I am, Grandpa,” Bobby answered.
“And what are you going to be when you’re older? his grandfather said. Bobby knew the answer to that one too. “I’m
going to be six, Grandpa,” he answered.
A.
Answer these questions:
Why didn’t Bobby’s grandfather give him his present on his birthday?
What did Bobby say when he got the present?
What did his grandfather ask him then?
How old was Bobby?
What was his grandfather’s next question?
And what was Bobby’s answer?
B.
Which words in the story mean the opposite of:
little
next
remembered
question
younger