Literatura para aprender inglés: COUNT THE WAYS por Joyce Maynard

¿Quieres aumentar tu vocabulario inglés al 200%? ¿Deseas aprender cómo los nativos usan el idioma? La mejor forma de hacer eso es usar la Literatura para aprender inglés. Por eso he creado esta sección para en pocos minutos enseñarte a ir más allá en tu aprendizaje, con lo que lee la gente de habla inglesa. ¡Adelante!

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Pon atención especial al uso del pasado que la autora hace en este texto, te he marcado con azul las palabras y expresiones en pasado para que las distingas. 

A Familiar Road

The sound reached them all the way down to the field where the chairs were set up—so loud that if Eleanor hadn’t been holding Louise as tightly as she had, she might have dropped her. A few people screamed, and someone yelled, “Oh, shit!” Eleanor could hear the voice of one of the assembled guests begin to pray, in Spanish. Louise, observing the scene, burst into tears and called for her mother.

 

The noise was like nothing she’d ever heard. A crash, followed by a low, awful groaning. Then silence.

 

“Oh, God,” someone cried out. “Dios mío.” Someone else.

“We’ll find your mama,” Eleanor told Louise, scanning the assembled guests for her daughter, Louise’s mother, Ursula. Eleanor herself took in the event—whatever it was—with a certain unexpected calm. Worse things had happened than whatever was going on now, she knew that much. And though the piece of land on which she now stood had once represented, for her, the spot where she’d live forever and the one where she would die, this place was no longer her home, and hadn’t been for fifteen years.

 

It was impossible to know, at first, where the sound came from, or what had caused it. Earthquake? Plane crash? Terrorist attack? Her mind went—crazily—to a movie she’d seen about a tsunami, a woman whose entire family had been wiped out by one vast, awful wave.

 

But Eleanor’s family was safe. Now she could see them all around her—dazed, confused, but unhurt. All she really needed to do at a moment like this was to make sure that Louise was all right. Her precious only granddaughter, three years old.

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Ejercicio

Contesta estas preguntas:

1. What is the general idea of the text?
2. What was the reaction of the people when they heard the noise?
3. How do they describe the noise?
4. Were everubody safe at the end?

Aprende nuevas expresiones y palabras

Familiarizate con estas palabras y expresiones y usa la literatura para aprender inglés:

Reached them

Las / Los alcanzaron

1. The emergency services swung into action as soon as the news of the bomb explosion reached them.
2. Robert and Slogger were still cutting coal when David reached them.

all the way down

Todo el camino hacia abajo.

Hasta el fondo,

1. They drove all the way down from Boston to Miami.
2. Start with your head and scan all the way down to your feet.

Screamed

Gritó

1. She screamed when she saw a snake.
2. He screamed at the children for making noise.

Yelled

Gritó

1. She yelled out in pain.
2. ‘Help me!’ she yelled hysterically.

Could hear

Pudo escuchar

Podría escuchar

1. I could hear the old man behind me wheezing.
2. She could hear music playing somewhere.

Assembled guests

Invitados / as reunidos

A glance at the assembled guests told him what he already knew – that no one looked quite as good as he did.

Pray

Orar

1. They went to pray in the temple.
2. I will pray to God for your safety.

Burst into tears

Estallar en lágrimas

1. He burst into tears, begging her to forgive him and swearing to pay back everything he had stolen.
2. Bridget suddenly burst into tears and ran out.

Called for

Pidió

Solicitó

1. The government has called for a moratorium on weapons testing.
2. He called for the immediate release of all political prisoners.

Groaning

Gimiendo

1. He lay on the floor groaning.
2. He collapsed, groaning with pain.

Cried out

Gritó

1. She cried out with pleasure when she saw her little sister.
2. He suddenly cried out that the storehouse was on fire.

Scanning the assembled guests

Explorando los invitados reunidos

We’ll find your mama,” Eleanor told Louise, scanning the assembled guests for her daughter, Louise’s mother, Ursula.

Took in

Tomó

1. Polly took in a lungful of crisp cool air.
2. The children took in the spectacle open-mouthed.

No longer

No más

1. Your credit card is no longer valid.
2. There is no longer any stigma to being divorced.

Hadn’t been

No había sido / estado

1. If she hadn’t been so persistent she might not have gotten the job.
2. She hadn’t been attending during the lesson.

What had caused it.

Qué lo había causado.

The group should look to see if it provides a good understanding of what had caused the problem.

Earthquake

Terremoto

1. The bridge broke down in last earthquake.
2. Thousands of buildings collapsed in the earthquake.

Her mind went

Su mente se fue

1. For some inexplicable reason, her mind went completely blank.
2. Her mind went blank with panic.

Dazed

Aturdida / Aturdido

1. The splendor of the palace dazed him.
2. She looked dazed and frightened.
3. After the accident John was dazed.

Unhurt

Ilesa / Ileso

1. It’s a marvel that he escaped unhurt.
2. The lorry driver escaped unhurt, but a pedestrian was injured.

To make sure

Asegurarse

1. Stir the paint to make sure it is smooth.
2. Looking round to make sure he was unobserved, he slipped through the door.

EJERCICIO

Crea horaciones similares individuales con las nuevas palabras, luego escribe un párrafo corto combinando estas palabras.

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