Beginner English Listening Lessons

[Music]

my house

I live in a house my house is small my

house has two bedrooms

my mom and dad sleep in one bedroom my

sister and I share the other bedroom my

house has a kitchen

my mom and dad cooked dinner there every

night my house has a living room my

family watches television there every

night my house has a big bathroom my

house has a lot of closets my house has

a basement

my dad has a workshop in the basement

my dad makes wood furniture my house

does not have a second floor

my house has a garage my house has a big

backyard my backyard has a maple tree my

backyard has a swimming pool my backyard

has a vegetable garden

family likes our house

my flower garden

my name is Anne I love flowers I have a

flower garden

is in front of my house

my neighbor has a garden too my garden

has different types of flowers I have

roses in my garden I have tulips in my

garden I have petunias in my garden my

garden has different colors I plant red

flowers I plant orange flowers I plant

blue flowers I plant purple flowers I

take care of my garden I water my garden

every day I kill the weeds in my garden

I kill insects that eat my flowers I

love my beautiful garden

Jessica’s first day of school

today is Jessica’s first day of

kindergarten Jessica and her parents

walked to school

Jessica’s mom walks with her to her

classroom

her teacher

his name is mr. Parker

the school bell rings at 8:45 a.m.

Jessica hugs and kisses her mom goodbye

says I love you

at 9:00 a.m. Jess

stands for the national anthem

calls out children’s names each child

yells back here

Parker teaches them about letters

mr. Parker teaches them about numbers

at 10:15 a.m. the students have recess

recess is fun

play and eat

at 10:30 a.m. the students go to gym

class at 11:15 a.m. the students return

to mr. Parker’s classroom

mr. Parker tells the students to sit on

the carpet

mr. Parker reads the students a story

teaches the students a song

the lunch bell rings

Jessica’s first day of school is over

going camping

the brightfamily went camping on the

weekend the bright family went to silent

Lake the bright family left on Friday

they camped for three days the bright

family brought a big tent they brought a

lot of food they brought insect

repellent the bright family had a

campfire on Friday they roasted

marshmallows

they sang campfire songs on Saturday

they went canoeing on saturday they went

fishing on Saturday they went swimming

they went hiking on Sunday the

brightfamily saw many birds they saw

Blue Jays they saw hummingbirds what

brightfamily saw many animals they saw

raccoon they saw a squirrel but they

didn’t see a bear the bright family had

a fun vacation

my first pet

my name is Sarah I am 14 years old I

have a pet cat my cat’s name is Milo my

cat is black and white Milo’s paws are

white

milos body is black she is very cute

Milo’s fur is very soft Milo was a very

small kitten Milo is a very big cat Milo

cannot have kittens she is fixed

Milo likes to eat

likes to play outside Milo likes to hunt

for birds Milo likes to hunt for mice

she likes her ears scratched Milo likes

to sit in my laughs

Milo likes to sleep on my bed Milo is a

good pet

Jennifer the firefighter

Jennifer Smith is a firefighter she is

one of the first female firefighters

Jennifer works hard every day

Jennifer exercises everyday she lifts

weights she wants her muscles to be very

strong she saves people’s lives every

day she is very strong Jennifer is

married her husband is a schoolteacher

Jennifer’s husband is proud of her

Jennifer is a mother

she has two daughters

daughters are proud of her - Jennifer is

happy being a firefighter

is happy being a wife

fur is happy being a mother

summer vacation

today is the last day of school it is

summer vacation grace is very excited

this summer will be fun

grace is going to visit her grandparents

they have a cottage the cottage is on

Lake Erie it is a lot of fun grace is

going to swim she is going to play board

games she is going to talk with her

grandparents

grace is going to have fun grace is

going to a summer camp she will sleep in

a cabin

make lots of new friends grace will

learn campfire songs camp will be fun

grace is going to Cape Cod with her

parents we are going for two weeks we

are going to drive grace will see the

ocean Cape Cod will be beautiful summer

vacation is fun

Mark’s big game Mark’s favorite sport is

hockey he is 15 years old

mark practices three times a week

practices are two hours long

mark plays one game a week mark is a

good hockey player he plays on Friday

nights

Friday night hockey games are popular

Mark’s family watches him play Mark’s

friends watch him play too

there are always many fans tonight is

the big game

coaches are coming to watch mark play

wants to play in the National Hockey

League mark wants to make a lot of money

it is very hard to play in the NHL

Mark’s parents want him to go to college

they want him to have an education they

want mark to be successful they want

mark to be happy

the Easter egg hunt

Samantha is going to an Easter egg hunt

Tracy is going to an Easter egg hunt the

Easter egg hunt is at Sydney’s house it

is going to be fun Sydney’s mom hid

chocolate eggs Sydney’s mom hid

chocolate bunnies

everybody is here everybody has an

Easter basket the Easter egg hunt can

start everybody must close their eyes 1

2 3 go

Samantha finds an Easter egg the Easter

egg is behind a table she puts it in her

basket Tracy finds a chocolate Easter

Bunny it’s under the couch

Tracy puts it in her basket Sydney finds

a chocolate Easter Bunny too

it’s in front of the television

she puts it in her basket

everybody finds lots of chocolate

everybody shares their chocolate

Samantha Tracy and Sydney law of Easter

Joe’s first car

Joe is 18 years old Joe works at

McDonald’s

saves all his money Joe has $2,500 in

the bank he wants to buy a sports car

Joe starts to look for a new car

books in the newspaper Joe looks in

magazines

Joel finds a car he likes Joe goes to

see the car with his dad

really likes it

have enough money

Joe’s dad tells him to keep saving his

money Joe wants this car a lot

Joe asks his dad to help him Joe and his

dad make a deal Joe’s dad will lend him

the money

Joe must work hard he must pay the money

back to his dad Joe is very happy Joe

owns his first car

a baby

my aunt just had a baby girl we went to

the hospital to visit my aunt and to see

the new baby

my aunt was feeling fine although as she

was just a bit tired she walked with us

to a big window that had lots of babies

behind it she pointed to a crib with a

baby in it the baby was wrapped in a

pink blanket we all said how pretty the

baby looked I couldn’t believe how tiny

the baby was she was asleep so we

couldn’t see her eyes when the baby went

home we went to visit her

we heard the baby she was crying my aunt

said the baby was hungry my aunt had a

baby bottle full of warm milk she fed

the baby with it the baby was happy

after that my aunt patted the baby on

the back until the baby burped and then

the baby fell asleep I held the baby I

looked at her tiny fingers and tiny toes

I was very careful with her she opened

her eyes and looked at me I spoke to the

baby but I knew that she could not

understand me babies have to learn to

walk and talk my aunt changed the baby

babies were diapers so they need to be

changed often the baby has a lot of toys

but she is still too young to play with

them my aunt says that it won’t be long

before the baby is crawling and trying

to talk babies are cute I have seen

pictures of myself when I was a baby and

it’s hard to believe that I was once

that small

wild animals

some animals are wild they don’t live in

homes or cages they live in jungles or

on plains the lion is the king of the

beasts

he is very mighty he roars loudly the

giraffe has a long neck

he eats leaves from the tallest trees

the elephant is very large he has a

trunk and two tusks a tiger has stripes

some bears are black and some are brown

there are even white bears called polar

bears a kangaroo lives in Australia that

is the only place that you would find a

kangaroo except in a zoo it might be

frightening to run into a wolf or a fox

monkeys run and play in the trees in

Canada we don’t see lions tigers

giraffes or monkeys running wild there

are squirrels in my backyard sometimes I

see a raccoon or a chipmunk

in Northern Ontario you might see a

moose or a bear I have seen a deer in

the forest there are many wild animals

you can see wild animals if you go to

the zoo

Susan’s wedding day

Susan is getting married her fiance’s

name is Michael

are in love

getting married today Susan wakes up

early she is getting her hair done Susan

is having her makeup done - Susan looks

beautiful

puts on her white wedding dress

it’s on her veil Susan needs something

blue her garter is blue Susan needs

something old her grandmother’s ring

is old Susan needs something borrowed

she is wearing her mother’s jewelry

Susan needs something new her shoes and

dress on you

needs a penny for her shoe it will bring

her good luck Susan is ready to get

married

vacation

my family and I went on vacation to Lake

Huron the water is beautiful and blue

there and the sand is nice and white the

week that we were there was very hot the

Sun was hot but the water was still very

cold I went swimming and tried to catch

little fish in my hands I was careful

not to get sunburned we stayed at a

hotel that had a pool and a game room

I played pinball and video games

sometimes I’d like to swim in the hotel

pool but I like the beach better I would

lie on a big beach towel and get warm

then I would jump in the water and cool

off sometimes I would just lie on the

sand and watch the waves roll up on

shore I found some seashells and saw a

crab walking on the sand at first I was

a bit lonely because I didn’t know

anyone there it wasn’t long before I met

some other kids my age

we built sand castles together and swam

in the lake the other kids were from

different towns so we told each other

stories about our schools and friends we

found that we had a lot in common even

though we were from different places our

families got together and went to

restaurants together we played

volleyball on the beach and we sat

around a campfire at night and sang

songs at the campfire we would roast

marshmallows on a stick

I always burn my marshmallows that is ok

I like them that way mostly we just swam

in the lake until we were very tired I

was sorry when our vacation was over I

had a good time at Lake Huron I met some

very good friends there we still write

to each other maybe we’ll see each other

next summer

the restaurant

when you go to a restaurant you might

see a sign that says please wait to be

seated a host or hostess will ask you

how many people are in your party then

they will want to know if you want to

sit in the smoking or non-smoking

section the host or hostess will take

you to your seat you might sit at a

table or at a booth the host or hostess

will give you a menu to look at

sometimes there are different menus for

different meals there can be a breakfast

menu a lunch menu and a dinner menu

sometimes there is also a wine list and

a dessert menu the food and the prices

of the food are listed on the menu on

your table there will be cutlery cutlery

is the knives forks and spoons there

will also be a napkin you are supposed

to put your napkin on your lap when you

eat your waiter or waitress will take

your order you might want an appetizer

before your meal some people want a

salad or soup before their meal after

your meal you might have a dessert or

tea or coffee when it is time to go you

will pay your bill and leave a tip for

the waiter or waitress

my house

I live in a two-story house the bottom

of the house is painted white the upper

part of the house is made of red brick

the chimney is also made of red brick if

you go through the front door and turn

right you’ll see the living room the

living room is very large and

comfortable there are easy chairs a

coffee table and a sofa in there I like

to sit in there and relax next to the

living room is the dining room there are

a dining table and chairs in there we

use this room whenever we have visitors

over for dinner beside the dining room

is the kitchen the kitchen has a stove

and a refrigerator in it there’s also a

kitchen table with some benches at it

most of the time we eat in the kitchen

upstairs there are three bedrooms my

parents bedroom is very big

they have a large queen sized bed in

there and there are two closets for

their clothes my room is smaller my room

is painted pink and I have ruffled

curtains on the windows from my bedroom

window you can see the front yard

there’s a pine tree in the front yard my

brother’s bedroom is painted blue he has

blinds on the windows he has a bunk bed

in his room if he has a friend stay over

one of them can sleep on the top bunk

and the other can sleep on the bottom

bunk you can see the backyard from his

bedroom window there are rose bushes and

a picnic table in the backyard there is

also a white fence that has a gate in it

in the basement there is a recreation

room this is where we watch television

and have friends over to visit the

laundry room is also in the basement

there’s a washing machine and a dryer in

there beside our house is a garage we

keep the car in the garage

whenever the weather is bad our house is

just the right size for our family

friends are always welcome at our house

music

if you were in an orchestra what would

you play would you play a tuba a trumpet

or a saxophone perhaps you would prefer

a stringed instrument like a violin or a

cello maybe you would enjoy percussion

more you could play the kettle drum

there are instruments that have

keyboards a piano and an Oregon have

keyboards there are instruments that

have strings on them a guitar banjo &

mandolin have strings on them there are

instruments that you blow into a flute a

French horn and a harmonica are all

instruments that you blow into there are

instruments that you hit with a stick a

drum and a cymbal are two things that

you would hit with a stick if you are in

an orchestra you have to watch the

conductor he will lead you through the

piece of music you might just want to be

in a band for fun you could join a rock

band or a dance band some people learn

to read music music notes are written on

a staff each note represents a sound

there are whole notes half notes quarter

notes and eighth notes each one of these

is held for a different number of beats

it is good to learn about music you have

to learn your scales and learn about

sharps and flats if you want to learn

how to play an instrument it is best to

take music lessons

my family

my grandparents are coming to visit us

from Calgary Alberta my father is very

happy because they are his parents and

he’s glad that he will see them we don’t

see them very often because Calgary is a

long way from Toronto my grandparents

have two sons my father and my uncle

bill uncle bill is married to my aunt

Susan

they have a daughter who is my cousin my

cousin is a lot older than I so we do

not have a lot in common they also have

a son who is the same age as me he is my

favorite cousin because we both like the

same television shows and the same games

I have two brothers and one sister my

brothers are both younger than I they

are twins so they have the same birthday

my sister is one year older than I

people say that my sister and I look

alike

we both have blonde hair and blue eyes

my mother’s parents live near us

they are my grandmother and grandfather

who visit us often my mother does not

have any brothers or sisters she is an

only child I like it when all my family

is together I don’t have a lot of

cousins like some people do but I have

fun with my relatives my uncle will

often take my cousin and me to the

movies I like to take my grandparents

for walks so they can see my school and

they can meet my friends my parents

talked to my brothers and my sister and

I a lot we are a very close-knit family

people who have close families are very

lucky

the museum

the museum was very interesting there

were so many things in the museum that I

would need more time to really see

everything there were clothes from the

past I don’t know how people wore some

of those things they look like they

would be uncomfortable I like to wear my

jeans there were things from Wars there

were bullets and cannons and even

uniforms from the soldiers I don’t think

that war is a good thing but it is good

to remember the past and honor the

people who died for your country there

was an old fire truck at the museum this

fire truck was pulled by a horse there

were some very old photographs of the

firemen putting out fires there were

rooms in the museum that were set up

like an old house there were antique

irons and sewing machines the women used

to clean the clothes with a washboard

there were no modern appliances back

then I’m glad that we have electricity

and modern appliances the things that we

have make life so much easier

there were mummies from Egypt at the

Museum I was fascinated by those there

were artifacts from the Indians

there were arrowheads and cradles that

the babies slept in I tried my best to

see everything but it was almost

impossible the museum is a good place to

learn about your past I tried to imagine

my grandparents using some of the things

that were on display at the Museum

food

what kinds of food do you like to eat I

am lucky because in Canada there are

many foods to choose from I like to eat

hot dogs hamburgers and steak these are

all meat products I also like cheese ice

cream and yogurt these are all dairy

products I like vegetables my favorite

vegetables are broccoli cabbage carrots

and peas I eat a lot of fruit I eat

whatever fruit is in season in

strawberry season I eat a lot of

strawberries

in peach season I eat many peaches

sometimes my mother will make a peach

pie many different crops grow in Canada

we have many orchards and farms fresh

fruit and vegetables are plentiful in

Canada meat and fish are also plentiful

here in Canada we have a lot of

different foods to choose from in my

city there are a lot of Italian

restaurants my favorite food at the

Italian restaurant is pizza my parents

would rather have spaghetti or lasagna

there are Greek restaurants Mexican

restaurants and Chinese restaurants in

fact there are restaurants from most

cultures I can go around from restaurant

to restaurant and pretend that I am

travelling the world and trying all the

different foods from around the world

sometimes I eat things that aren’t good

for me

I eat potato chips and candies these

foods aren’t part of a nutritious diet

but they are fun to eat

transportation

people move from place to place there

are lots of ways you can move around

from one place to another sometimes you

can just move your feet and walk walking

is good for you some places are too far

to walk to you might have to ride a

bicycle or ride on a skateboard

some places are too far away to ride

your bicycle too you might have to drive

in a car or a van or even a truck my

father has a car my uncle has a van I

have never been in a big truck trucks

are usually used to carry big loads from

one city to another I would like to be a

truck driver I would travel all over and

sit high up in the cab I have been in a

taxicab once my mother and I took a taxi

to the hospital there was a special

meter in the taxi when we finished our

taxi ride the driver looked at the meter

to find out how much money we owed him I

once rode a horse i sat in the saddle

and held on tight to the reins the horse

ran very fast it was a bumpy ride and I

was afraid that I would fall off the

horse not too many people around here

use horses for transportation they used

to use horses for transportation in the

old days if you want to travel very far

away you have to go on a train a plane

or boat if you are in a hurry it is best

to take a plane planes fly through the

air very fast trains go along the tracks

sometimes I can hear the train whistle

from my house boats take a long time to

cross

Oshin great big boats that cross the

oceans are called ships if you like to

take it easy and look out at the water

then ships are a good way to travel they

say that the world is a lot smaller now

because of transportation people can

travel to all parts of the world quickly

and easily the world is not really

smaller but it has become easy to get to

faraway places

which direction

which direction should I go in should I

go up if I go up I will head toward the

sky I can go up the stairs should I go

down I can go down the stairs to the

basement I can climb down into a hole

should I go left or right I am

right-handed so I know which way right

is should I go backwards I would be

going away from the things that I am

facing now if I went backwards if I went

backwards from the thing that I am

facing I would go away from it

should I go forward I will just go

straight ahead if I go forward if I am

facing something and I go forward then I

will go toward the thing that I am

facing maybe I should go sideways but

which side left or right it sounds very

complicated but it is not directions are

very easy to follow if you just stop and

think about them

months

there are 12 months in the year January

is the first month of the year it is

usually cold in January February is the

second month of the year it is still

winter when February comes they say that

March comes in like a lion and goes out

like a lamb that means that it is still

usually cold and sometimes stormy when

March begins by the time that March ends

the weather is starting to get a little

better April is the rainy month April

showers bring May flowers many of the

spring flowers bloom in May the weather

can be quite mild in May June is usually

a nice warm month many people get

married in June July can be hot people

have vacations in July it is a month to

do summer things it is still summer in

August but the summer is winding down

August is the time to have last-minute

vacations in September we go back to

school the autumn winds begin to blow

October really feels like autumn October

is Halloween time November is when we

really start to feel the chill December

is the Christmas month most people do a

lot of Christmas shopping in December

they spend quite a bit of time getting

ready for Christmas all of the months

are different which month were you born

in

Halloween night

Halloween is fun my mom buys candy

my mom buys potato chips

mom buys chocolate bars

trick-or-treaters my mom buys me a

costume it is a ghost costume I am going

to be scary my sister is going to dress

up as a princess

we’ll have a wand

we’ll have a crown she will look

beautiful my dad buys a pumpkin it is

going to be a jack-o'-lantern we draw a

face on the pumpkin we carved the face

with a knife

our jackal

looks funny we go trick-or-treating

neighbors door we say trick-or-treat our

neighbors give us candy we say thanks

to many houses we go home our parents

check our candy it’s safe we eat lots of

candy

we don’t feel very good we go to bed

cleaning up leaves

the leaves are changing colors I see red

maple leaves

I see orange maple leaves I see yellow

maple leaves

leaves are beautiful

is starting to get cold the wind is

strong winter is coming

the leaves fall off the trees

Saturday we will clean them up the whole

family helps

dad gets the wake my mom gets the

garbage bags

my brother and I help too

gather leaves with our hands we make a

big pile my brother and I jump in the

leaves we make a big mess our parents

don’t mind our parents fill our coats

with leaves

really big everyone laughs playtime is

over

back to work

Remembrance Day

my grandfather fought in World War two

my grandmother was a nurse in World War

two today is November 11th today is

Remembrance Day

day we celebrate soldiers everyone wears

a poppy poppies are red flowers poppies

remind me of my grandparents poppies

remind me of their sacrifice at 11 a.m.

there are two minutes of silence

people remember their friends and family

will recite the poem in Flanders field

it is a sad poem it helps us remember

wish for peace in the world

Christmas Eve

Ben and Melissa are getting ready for

Christmas Ben and Melissa’s house has

lots of lights on the roof the lights

are many colors inside they listen to

Christmas music Ben and Melissa drink

eggnog eggnog tastes good

Mellisa hang stockings on the fireplace

they string popcorn

Mellisa put the popcorn string on the

Christmas tree

Christmas lights on the tree they put

tinsel on the tree

Ben and Melissa put ornaments on the

tree

they put a star on top of the tree they

get ready for Santa Claus

they leave milk and cookies for Santa

Ben opens one present Melissa opens one

present they go to sleep Ben and Melissa

wake up early they run downstairs

a lot of presence under our tree

wake up their mom and dad Ben and

Melissa opened their presents they loved

our presence everyone cleans up the

wrapping paper it is time for breakfast

vegetables

vegetables are very good for you they

say that you should have three servings

of vegetables every day I like green

peas peas come in pods I also like snow

peas you eat the pods on the snow peas I

like corn when it is on the cob carrots

are good to eat raw beans are good for

you there are many different types of

beans there are string beans kidney

beans baked beans and lots of other

types of beans some people don’t like

green vegetables like broccoli and

brussel sprouts I like broccoli and

brussel sprouts you can make a salad and

put lots of different vegetables into

the salad in my salads I like lettuce

tomatoes celery cucumber radishes

cauliflower and spring onions I try to

have a salad with dressing on it every

day my dad likes root vegetables like

beets and parsnips my brother will only

eat potatoes he likes his potatoes baked

my mother likes to buy her vegetables at

the market she says they are fresher

there my mother buys a lot of onions

she puts onions in almost all the meals

that she cooks some children won’t eat

their vegetables I didn’t like some

vegetables at first but I have become

used to them

I like having vegetables with my meals

the kitchen

the kitchen is where we make and eat our

meals there is a stove in the kitchen

inside the stove there is an oven where

you bake things you can put a cake into

the oven to bake on top of the stove our

burners the burners get hot you put pots

or pans on the burners the refrigerator

is where we store the food that needs to

be kept cold

we keep milk eggs cheese and vegetables

in the refrigerator at the top of the

refrigerator is the freezer the freezer

keeps things frozen we have frozen

vegetables ice cream and ice cubes in

the freezer we have a toaster in the

kitchen you put the bread in the toaster

and it turns into toast we have an

electric kettle we boil water to make

tea in the kettle there is a double sink

in the kitchen that is where we wash the

dishes we turn on the hot tap and put

some dish detergent into the sink to

wash the dishes sometimes we put the

dishes into the dishwasher and the

dishwasher washes the dishes there are

other things in the kitchen

there are utensils like knives forks and

spoons there are tea towels and dish

cloths there are other myths and

potholders to take hot things out of the

oven there are pots to cook and boil

things in there are pans to fly things

we have dishes that we eat from we have

plates for our dinner and balls that we

can put our soup in we drink from cups

or coffee mugs or glasses we keep our

juice in a pitcher or a jug there is a

timer that you can set when you are

cooking the timer buzzes when the food

is ready we also have a microwave oven

in the kitchen if we are in a hurry we

cook our food in the microwave

pets there are many different animals

that you can have for pets

the most common pets are cats and dogs

I think the second most common pets are

birds and fish you can hug a cat or a

dog you can play with a cat or dog but

it is difficult to play with a bird or a

fish some birds are very smart and they

can be taught to do things parrots are

very clever

some of them even talk birds usually

stay in bird cages fish have to stay in

the water in a tank or a fishbowl some

people have gerbils or guinea pigs as

pets there are even people who have

ferrets as pets I have a friend who has

a lizard for a pet she has to buy live

crickets for her lizard to eat another

friend of mine has a pet snake I don’t

think I would like to have a pet snake

there are different types of dogs some

dogs are very big and some are small a

Labrador Retriever is a big dog a poodle

is usually a small dog although there

are some large poodles some dogs are

noisy and they bark a lot other dogs are

quiet and obedient I once had a dog it

was a cocker spaniel I used to take it

for walks there are different types of

cats too

my favourite type of cat is a Siamese

cat Siamese cats have blue eyes my

mother had a Persian cat it was very

furry my mother said that it used to

shed fur all over the house pets are a

lot of fun but they are a lot of work to

to be a good pet owner you have to be

very responsible

Thanksgiving

we are having Thanksgiving at our house

family is coming my parents bought a

turkey

weighs 30 pounds it takes a long time to

cook

surely to cook the turkey

the house with my dad the house smells

good

the kitchen I peel potatoes and carrots

makes pumpkin pies my mom cooks squash

make stuffing I mix the bread and spices

we make good stuffing

it goes inside the turkey we put on nice

clothes I set the table

my dad carves the turkey

my mom makes the gravy our relatives

arrive we say thank you for all we have

we eat and eat it is a good Thanksgiving

fruit

some fruit grows on trees apples grow on

trees you can get red yellow or green

apples some apples are green until they

ripen then they turn red

peaches grow on trees peaches have a

fuzzy skin cherries grow on trees you

can climb a ladder and pick cherries

from the tree cherries and peaches have

pits inside them the pits are not edible

pears also grow on trees

lemons grow on trees they are very sour

have you ever picked strawberries

strawberries do not grow on trees you

have to bend down to pick strawberries

have you ever tried strawberry shortcake

it is very good grapes grow on vines

people use grapes to make wine there are

many types of berries there are

blackberries blueberries raspberries and

cranberries just to name a few some

fruits are more exotic

there are mangoes and papayas they don’t

grow in Canada bananas and oranges don’t

grow in a Canadian climate either but we

are able to buy them here some fruits

have to be peeled and some can be eaten

as they are it is always a good idea to

wash fruit before you eat it

the farmers spray the crops with

pesticides to kill bugs so it is good to

wash that off

pretending

I’d like to pretend I like to make up

things that aren’t real I use my

imagination I was pretending that I was

in a time machine I set the date for a

prehistoric time I turned on the time

machine and it buzzed inward and spud

madly when it stops spinning I opened

the door and stepped out into a very

thick jungle I listened carefully to the

sounds of the jungle

I could hear strange animal noises and

the leaves were rustling I wasn’t sure

if I’d gone back in time or just landed

in a jungle somewhere in the 21st

century it didn’t take me long to

realize that I had indeed gone back in

time

a very strange bird-like creature with a

large beak flew overhead I had never

seen anything like it in my life I took

a few steps out into the long grass and

ferns I didn’t want to go too far away

from my time machine I heard a noise

over on my right side there was a man

who looked quite different from me he

was dressed in an animal skin and he

carried a big stick I didn’t want him to

see me so I hid behind a tree he didn’t

speak any language that I could

understand he grunted at someone who

must have been in the distance then I

felt the earth shake beneath my feet

I heard giant thumps on the ground as

the floor of the jungle shook the man

and the animal skin began to run I saw

why he was running a giant dinosaur

appeared above the tops of the trees it

was bigger than anything I had ever seen

my heart began to pound in my chest it

was coming toward me

I ran toward my time machine and jumped

in I set the dial for the 21st century

the machine word and buzzed my time

machine landed in the 21st century I got

away just in time

learning how to drive

amy is 16 years old she lives in a small

town amy is learning how to drive Amy’s

dad is giving her lessons

Amy’s dad’s name is Howard

amy has had three lessons

Amy and her dad argued during the

lessons Amy’s mom is giving her driving

lessons amy’s mom’s name is Jane

Jane has given Amy a lesson

has decided to stop giving a me lessons

Jane and Amy argued during the lessons

to amy’s parents call a driving school

amy is going to get lessons from a

professional the classes cost three

hundred dollars for ten lessons

lessons are very good Amy learns how to

drive

Amy gets her license

colors

red is a vibrant color roses are

sometimes red blood is red white is the

color of snow clouds are very often

white blue is the color of the sky and

the ocean black isn’t really a color at

all tar is black a crow is black green

is the color of grass it is also the

color of leaves on the trees in the

summer Brown is the color of dirt many

people have brown hair yellow is a

bright color

most people use yellow when they draw a

picture of the Sun orange is an easy

color to remember that is because an

orange is orange pink is the color that

we dress baby girls in we dress baby

boys in blue purple is the color of some

violets the Canadian flag is red and

white what color is your flag

traffic traffic moves along on the

streets and highways there are rules

that drivers must follow to make the

traffic flow smoothly you must wear a

seatbelt the seatbelt helps to keep you

safe you must stop and all stop signs

you must also stop at a red light a

green light means go and a yellow light

means to be careful if you see a sign

that says school crossing you have to be

careful because you are near a school

and children might be crossing the

street some places are crosswalks those

are places where people cross the street

people who are walking have the

right-of-way if you hear a siren behind

you you must pull over an emergency

vehicle like a police car or an

ambulance might need to get somewhere

fast when a school bus puts on its

flashing signals you have to stop you

can’t go past the school bus because

children may be crossing the street from

the bus

you should always obey the speed limit

it is not good to drive too fast people

should never drink and drive driving is

a serious business you have to obey all

the rules to be a good driver

the two sexes

there are two sexes or genders there is

the male gender and there is the female

gender males and females are different

both physically and mentally

humans are both male and female and

animals are both male and female if you

have a dog it is either a girl dog or a

boy dog boys grow up to be men men grow

hair on their faces and are usually more

muscular than women men dressed

differently than women men are males

males are masculine girls grow up to be

women only women can have babies

women are females females are feminine

another word for women is ladies it is

good that we have males and females your

father is a male your grandfather

brother and uncle are males your mother

is a female your grandmother sister and

aunt are female

emotions

do you ever think about your emotions

what kinds of things make you sad I get

sad when I get a bad mark in school or

when someone that I like moves away I

sometimes see sad movies that make me

cry I don’t like to be sad I don’t like

to have a frown on my face I’d like to

be happy I’m happy most of the time

parties make me happy being with my

friends makes me happy lots of things

make me happy if someone tells me a joke

I laugh I enjoy laughing funny movies

make me laugh I think that people look

the best when they smile what kinds of

things make you mad I get mad when my

brother breaks one of my toys I try not

to show it when I get mad my parents get

mad at me if I come home late

I don’t think anger is a good emotion it

is best to stay calm and talk things

over

emotions come from inside you but they

show on your face people can tell when

you’re mad or sad or happy I prefer to

look happy

sometimes I even smile when I’m feeling

sad and the smile makes me feel a little

better

me

I am special nobody in the world is

exactly like I am they might have the

same hair color and eyes that I do but

they are not exactly like me I am the

only person in the world who thinks my

thoughts no two people in the world are

exactly alike it is good to be your own

person it is good to be creative and be

natural people have to follow the laws

and the rules people should always be

kind to others I try to follow all the

rules I am kind to others I am a lot

like many other people yet I am

different I am like my friend Jane but

she has red hair and I have dark hair

she has a loud voice and I have a soft

voice she likes to eat vegetables and I

do not Jane and I are the same height we

both like movies and we are both afraid

of spiders we wear the same size shoes

and we both have the same favorite color

we are best friends but sometimes we

disagree about things we are alike in

many ways and different in many ways if

we were all exactly the same the world

would be a very boring place I am myself

and I am glad that I am special you are

special to use your own special talents

and take the time to meet other people

the world is made up of a lot of

different people and that’s what makes

life exciting

my classroom

my classroom is a large room it’s full

of brightly colored pictures my teacher

hangs pictures up all over the walls

there are blackboards at the front of

the room my teacher always has writing

all over the blackboards sometimes the

chalk squeaks when she writes on the

blackboard we cover our ears when that

happens our classroom is full of desks

there are a lot of students in our class

our desks are full of books notebooks

and pens I try to keep my desk neat but

I have a lot of things in there my ruler

and pencils are always falling out of my

desk at the back of the room is a

bookcase full of books we can sign those

books out and take them home to read I

have read a lot of the books I like

mysteries and biographies so I have

taken many of those home there are also

tables at the back of the room that’s

where we do our artwork we spread out

big sheets of paper and use paints or

crayons to make pictures sometimes we

cut things out of magazines with

scissors and we glue pictures to the

paper I like art class after school my

friends and I often erase the

blackboards for the teacher then we take

the erasers outside and clock them

together to get the chalk dust out of

them my friends and I walk home together

and talk about what we did in school and

what we’re going to do after supper

the police

my mother always told me that if I was

lost I could go up to a policeman and

that he would help me to find my way

home I never did get lost but I always

remembered what my mother told me about

the police

I think policemen look very nice in

their uniforms I see police officers

drive by in their police cars in my town

we even have police officers armed

bicycles policemen and police women have

a job that can sometimes be dangerous

they have to catch people who break the

law sometimes they have to chase people

or try to calm people down to be a

police officer you need a lot of

training it’s important to be able to

deal with people effectively a police

officer came to our school he had a

police dog with him the officer showed

us how the dog could track down

criminals the dog was very smart he

could even find things that were hidden

criminals sometimes hide things that

they don’t want the police to find the

policeman told us that he and his dog

were partners his dog lives at his house

with the policeman and his family

sometimes I see police cars on the side

of the road the police stop people who

are speeding or are not wearing their

seatbelts the police officers warn

people or give out tickets sometimes

they even have to arrest people police

officers are just doing their job when

they arrest people some people need to

be arrested and put in jail to make it

safer for the rest of us

spring

it rains a lot in the spring the trees

are full of buds and the flowers are

starting to bloom my favorite spring

flowers are tulips and daffodils the

birds come back from the south I can

always tell that spring is here when I

see my first Robin of the season

the Robins pull worms from the wet

ground when it isn’t raining my friends

and I go outside and toss a ball around

we look forward to the summer but we are

glad to get outside after the long

winter the air smells so fresh in the

spring my mother always tells me not to

track mud into the house it’s very muddy

in our yard in the springtime I wipe my

muddy feet before I go into the house

there are a lot of puddles in my yard

I sometimes splash in the puddles and I

get wet and cold so I have to go into

the house I like it when the snow has

melted the rain has stopped and the Sun

comes out on sunny days I always get

together with my friends on those days

we either wide our bikes or play ball my

parents like to go for walks on spring

evenings they also like to clean up the

yard in the spring everyone seems to be

outside the spring time brings people

out of their houses

the zoo

my class took a trip to the Toronto Zoo

I had a wonderful time there my favorite

animals were the Lions they look very

powerful and strong they say that the

lion is the king of the forest and I

think that title suits him the monkeys

were funny they were looking at us just

as much as we looked at them they were

swinging from branches and doing tricks

to impress us there was a baby monkey

that was clinging to its mother’s back

it was very cute the Tigers were pacing

back and forth they seemed Restless the

stripes on a tiger are very beautiful we

watched the toll giraffes as they

nibbled leaves off the tallest trees we

spoke to a colourful parrot that spoke

back to us we saw exotic animals that we

had never seen before some of them were

very strange there were different types

of bears there there were black bears I

saw a black bear once when I was camping

up north we saw polar bears polar bears

are white they like the cold we even saw

panda bears one of my friends bought a

toy panda bear from the gift shop

because she thought that the pandas were

so cute

we saw slithery snakes some of the

snakes had very bright skins most of the

girls were afraid of the snakes the

zookeeper was looking after the snakes

and one of them hissed at him he has to

be very careful when he works with the

snakes

the last thing that we saw at the zoo

was the elephant he was enormous he

looked at us then he raised his trunk

and made a loud sound it made us jump

jobs there are many different jobs that

you can choose from you can be a doctor

or a nurse you could work in a hospital

or doctor’s office you might be a

firefighter and put out fires a

policeman enforces the law an actor

plays roles on stage or in the movies

you could drive a taxi or be the pilot

of an airplane what kinds of things do

you like to do you might want to be a

sales clerk in a store maybe you are

good at a sport you could be a baseball

player or a hockey player being a

dentist is a good job a dentist fixes

teeth if you are good at arguing you

might want to be a lawyer do you like to

fix people’s hair you could be a

hairdresser or a barber if you are good

with your hands you might want to be a

carpenter or a mechanic if you like to

travel you could be a stewardess or a

travel agent you could be a teacher or a

photographer

are you artistic or creative you might

want to be an artist or a writer you

could work on construction and build

houses you could look after animals and

be a veterinarian if you like to cook

you could be a cook or a chef there are

so many places to work and so many jobs

to do maybe you could fix computers or

work in a library you

could wash windows or be the captain of

a ship there is no limit to what you can

be

transportation

every family that I know has at least

one car some families have two or even

three cars most people get their license

to drive when they are 16 in my house we

just have one car if my father takes the

car to work my mother will take the bus

I ride in a school bus to school my

sister works in another town

she gets on the train to go to work

the train station is not far from my

house the train tracks run right by my

house my grandfather from Ireland comes

to visit us he came over by boat

he had to cross the ocean we went to

Florida last year we flew on a plane the

plane flew right through the clouds my

friend’s brother drives a motorcycle

he wears a helmet I rode on his

motorcycle once I had to sit on the back

and hold on tight I ride my bicycle when

the weather is nice I also have a

scooter that I used to travel around I

took a helicopter ride once

the helicopters propellers were going

around when I got on I went straight up

in the air I enjoyed the ride I would

like to learn how to fly a plane or a

helicopter I like flying through the air

my body

on the top of my head I have hair below

my hair is my face I have two eyes

I have eyebrows and eyelashes below my

eyes I have a nose my mouth is below my

nose

I have lips if I open my lips you will

see my teeth and my tongue below my

mouth is my chin on the sides of my head

I have two ears my cheeks are on either

side of my nose my neck holds up my head

my neck attaches my head to my chest on

either side of my chest are my shoulders

my arms hang down from my shoulders

I have wrists on my arms my hands are

attached to my wrists my fingers are

part of my hands I have ten fingers and

ten fingernails my back is at the back

of me further down there is my waist if

I wear a belt I put it on my waist my

hips are below my waist my legs come

down from my hips my legs are made up of

my thighs my knees and my cats my knees

can bend my ankles are below my legs my

feet are attached to my ankles my toes

are part of my feet I have ten toes and

ten toenails I am me from the top of my

head to the tip of my toes

Travel it is fun to take a trip to a

faraway place my brother just went to

Italy and France he got on a plane at

Toronto Airport he took a flight to

France he stayed there for a couple of

days he visited the Eiffel Tower he was

in Paris he said that he enjoyed the

food in France he then traveled to Italy

he saw many towns and villages in Italy

he went to Rome and visited many of the

tourist attractions in Venice he saw the

canals he tried to speak Italian but he

is not too good at it

he said that the people were very

helpful they tried to understand him he

bought souvenirs for us when he was in

Italy he ate Italian food

he said that pizza in Italy is quite

different from the pizza we eat here in

Canada he saw many streets that were

made of cobblestones he saw many old

buildings a lot of people in Italy

travel around on scooters he stayed at a

very nice hotel in Italy he was sorry

when it was time to come home my brother

likes to travel

he likes to fly in airplanes

the airlines lost his luggage once he

was not too pleased about that next year

he would like to travel to England

the shopping mall

there are many different stores in the

shopping mall there are ladieswear

stores they sell dresses blouses and

many kinds of clothes for women in the

menswear stores there are suits ties

shirts and slacks

there are also clothing stores that

appeal just to teenagers some clothing

stores only sell children’s clothes

there is even a store that sells bathing

suits and cover-ups for the beach or

pool there are lingerie stores that sell

ladies underwear and nightwear there are

hardware stores that sell tools there

are shoe stores you buy shoes and boots

in a shoe store there are book stores

you can buy a book on almost any topic

at the book store there are stores that

sell compact discs those stores also

have tapes and videos there are sports

stores that sell special shoes and

clothes for sports they also sell sports

equipment and t-shirts and hats with the

logo of your favorite teams there are

gift stores that sell all kinds of

things that someone might want for their

house there are kitchen stores where you

can buy utensils and pots and pans those

kinds of stores also sell aprons and

napkins and anything you might need for

your kitchen there is a movie theater at

the mall there is a jewelry store that

has a lot of gold and silver jewelry

there is a hairdresser in the mall

sometimes I go in there to get my hair

cut there are fast-food places in the

mall you can get a quick lunch like a

hamburger or some french fries

there are also fancier restaurants in

the mall you can sit down for a nice

meal there is a furniture store in the

mall

you can buy a new sofa or bed at the

furniture store

there are bulk food stores and a bulk

food store all the foods are in bins you

take as much as you want and pay for it

at the counter

there is even a telephone store and an

electronics store at the mall my

brother’s favorite store is the toy

store he could spend hours in there

there are also department stores at the

mall department stores sell all kinds of

things

they sell perfume clothes shoes kitchen

utensils or just about anything you

might need you can get almost anything

you want at the shopping mall

clothing

I changed my clothes a lot if I am going

somewhere fancy I wear a dress I wear

stockings on my legs and I wear a pair

of nice shoes if I am going to play

sports I wear sweatshirt and jeans if I

am going to the beach I wear a bathing

suit or a bikini

my brother wear swimming trunks to the

beach at work I wear a skirt and the

blouse underneath my clothes I wear

underwear a lady wears a bra and panties

as underwear a man wears boxer or jockey

shorts as underwear today I am wearing a

blouse and a pair of jeans over my

underwear I have socks and shoes on my

feet in the summer I often wear sandals

on my feet in the summer the tops that I

wear are usually sleeveless I usually

wear shorts in the summer sometimes I

wear a sweater or a jacket if the

weather is cool I wear a cap or a hat on

my head I wear a belt to hold up my

jeans or my slacks women sometimes wear

a dress or a skirt men wear a pair of

slacks and a shirt some men wear a suit

and a shirt and tie

if it is very cold outside I wear winter

coat if it is cold I like to wear gloves

or mittens on my hands sometimes I wrap

a scarf around my neck to keep warm

I wear a to con my head in cold weather

I wear boots on my feet in the winter if

it is raining I wear a raincoat the way

that I dress depends a lot on the

weather

movies I go to the movies almost every

week sometimes I rent movies from the

video store my favorite films are action

films I like to watch car chases I like

it when the bad guy has a shootout with

the good guys I like the good guys to

win I also like science fiction movies I

like things that take place in the

future I like movies that have aliens

from different planets in them some of

the science fiction movies can be silly

and unbelievable I don’t like those ones

my mother likes dramas she has a lot of

favorite actors and actresses she

sometimes watches sad movies that make

her cry she also likes comedies she

laughs out loud if a comedy is very

funny my father likes horror movies he

likes movies with monsters in them he

also likes thrillers I have watched some

thrillers that keep you tense and on the

edge of your seat sometimes I have to

shut my eyes if the movie gets too scary

my brother likes animated films in

animated films there are no actors just

cartoon characters my brother goes to

the movies on Saturday afternoons with

his friends he goes to the matinee

he gets popcorn candy and pop he usually

comes back with a stomachache because he

eats so much sometimes my father watches

documentaries documentaries are about

real things you can learn a lot from

watching a documentary I watch

documentaries with him sometimes but I

would rather see a good

in film

flowers

there are hundreds of different types of

flowers most people like roses roses

grow on bushes and may smell beautiful

you have to be careful that you don’t

prick your finger on a rose thorn roses

come in many colors there are red pink

yellow and white roses in the spring

tulips are in bloom in Ottawa there are

many tulips some people go there just to

see all the tulips in the spring

forget-me-nots are also spring flowers

they are tiny and blue release of the

valley look like white bells where I’ll

live many of the trees have blossoms on

them in the springtime the apple and

cherry trees look particularly beautiful

when they are in blossom we have a

Blossom Festival in my town my neighbors

like to plant geraniums petunias and

marigolds in the summer some people

plant sunflowers sunflowers grow very

tall they have bright yellow petals all

of those flowers grow best in the

sunshine if your garden is shady you

have to plant different things

hostas grow well in a shady garden

chrysanthemums are fall flowers

chrysanthemums come in many colors also

there are purple yellow and white

chrysanthemums

flowers are good to give as gifts women

like to receive a dozen roses on

Valentine’s Day

carnations also make a nice gift they

have a very sweet smell

many people give away lilies for Easter

poinsettias are very festive

at Christmastime if someone goes to a

dance they often give their partner a

flower to wear if you go to a wedding

you will probably see a lot of flowers

there flowers help to make places

beautiful