The True Courage Learn English through story level 3

story seven

the true courage of aaron brockovich

aaron was worried

did pg and e want to hide something

were the people of hinckley safe

aaron brockovich is one of julia roberts

best movies

it follows the life of a smart young

american woman

with no husband and three young children

the movie has everything that a

successful story needs

lots of action

strong people and a happy ending

but most surprising of all

aaron’s story

is true

erin was in trouble she had no money no

job no husband and three young children

life is difficult when you are a single

mother

but aaron loved her young family and she

wanted to make their lives happy and

comfortable

day after day she read the local

newspapers and called for jobs

but every phone call and every interview

was unsuccessful

it was time to try something new

erin visited her lawyer ed massary

i’m smart i’m hard working and i’ll do

anything she told him

please give me a job

it was a strange way to find a job but

aaron did what she had to do

she wanted to be a good person and a

good mother

aaron was not like the other office

workers she did not always speak

politely she did not wear dark suits

and she gave her opinions fearlessly

she worked hard organizing papers into

piles and boxes every day

but the work was too boring for a smart

woman like aaron

soon she started reading some of the

letters and lawyers papers to make her

days more interesting

erin was a careful worker and she wanted

to do her job well

one day she found some people’s health

papers in the same box as their house

papers

this was unusual

why are these together she thought

maybe there’s a mistake

she started looking at the big box of

papers one page at a time

it seemed that a large electricity

company pacific gas and electric company

pg e

wanted to buy hundreds of houses in the

small town of hinckley close to their

electricity station

but why

more importantly

why were the homeowners health papers in

the same boxes

it was a mystery

erin could not sleep that night

she was worried

did pg e want to hide

something were the people of hinckley

safe

aaron was already a busy woman with her

own problems she had little time to

worry about other people

but deep inside aaron felt that

something was wrong

could she solve the mystery

she needed more information

the next day she spoke to her boss ed

with his help aaron started looking more

closely at the papers

aaron discovered more and more strange

papers in the hinckley box

she realized that there was a serious

problem

she loved her family and she wanted to

spend more time with them she wanted to

see her children grow up

but people in hinckley were very sick

and only aaron knew about it

she wanted to help

so she bravely decided to solve the

hinckley mystery

alone

aaron visited people in hinckley and

spoke to them about pg e their houses

and their health

she wanted to find the true story

erin was not a lawyer she was friendly

and interesting and the people of

hinckley liked talking to her

they told her that pg e was a good

company it made their water safe it paid

for their hospital tests and it offered

good jobs

but aaron was not so sure

aaron always got what she wanted

now she needed help and information

she was working alone but this did not

stop her

she called and visited scientists

doctors and lawyers

she talked to anyone who could help her

and every day she worked hard

at last she got the piece of information

that she really needed

pg e was poisoning the water near

hinckley

pg d is one of the biggest companies in

the u.s

and people liked and trusted it

but aaron realized that the company told

lies

the water was safe they said

but they were poisoning it

aaron was not important famous or rich

she was not even a lawyer

but she decided to fight against pg e

for the people of hinckley

she knew that she had to help in every

possible way

how many people were poisoned in

hinckley

was anyone in danger

aaron returned to the town to find out

people knew aaron now they trusted her

and they talked honestly about their

health problems

hundreds of people in hinckley had

terrible illnesses and some were dying

as aaron listened to the great problems

and worries in these people’s lives

she became very angry

pg e knew that it was killing people

it was expensive to clean the water from

its electricity station so the dirty

water ran into hinckley’s river and

drinking water

now the company wanted to buy the houses

and keep the secret

it was not worried about the people who

became sick it was worried about

possible payments to those people

money was a big problem for ed mastery

too at this time

aaron’s work was important he knew that

but lawyers only get paid when they win

it was almost impossible for a small

local law office to win against pg e

ed was afraid

but he was a brave man too

he trusted aaron

and aaron’s courage and hard work

carried them through the most difficult

times

from start to finish aaron’s work for

the people of hinckley took more than

five years

during that long and difficult time

aaron and ed made a great team

as aaron talked to different hinckley

people

her name and face became famous in the

town

she had to be careful though

she did not want pg e to know about her

work

as more people told their stories aaron

got the necessary information

she worked longer and longer hours

she still had a family to look after too

her body and mind were tired

but she knew that quick action was

important

finally it was time to fight pg e

aaron and ed sent 634

notices for lawsuits from their small

office to the large expensive offices of

pg and e

it was brave

but was it crazy

pg e was a dangerous enemy

was this the end for ed’s company

when pg e received the notices for the

lawsuits its lawyers immediately

realized the danger

the sick people of hinckley wanted a lot

of money from the company

more lawyers were brought in on both

sides

the lawsuits were too big for aaron and

ed alone

but aaron continued to work on them

the hinckley people were her friends now

she truly loved them and she knew more

about their lives and problems than

anyone

so aaron ed and the lawyers from other

companies work together to do their best

for the people of hinckley

after months of hard work

important lawyers in expensive clothes

filled a small courtroom

pg e bosses sat quietly in their chairs

trying not to look worried

erin was nervous and excited

she thought about her friends in

hinckley and she remembered the long

years behind her

as the judge spoke his final words she

listened silently

p g and e had to pay 333

million dollars to the people of

hinckley

it was the largest amount of money for

this type of lawsuit in the history of

the united states

this also gave hope to other ordinary

people and small law offices

and when pg e stopped poisoning the

water at hinckley

hundreds of people’s lives were saved

after their fight against pg e aaron and

ed had enough money to stop working

forever but today aaron is still working

for ed’s office

she is not a lawyer she always like to

do things her own way and she has not

changed

she says that she is proud of the movie

but her health her family and the people

of hinckley are more important

today she works for other ordinary

people who are fighting against big

companies

her courage and hard work continues to

help people

and save lives

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