LECTURA SENCILLA 1

Work

Carolina writes an email to her friend about work:

"Hi Cristina, I am sorry I haven’t called you for so long. How are you? How is your new
apartment? I have been very busy at work. I arrive at the office at 7 am and leave at around
6:30 pm. I just get half an hour for lunch and a five-minute break in the morning and in the
afternoon. I am very tired when I get home so I just eat, watch some television and go to
bed. In the office, I am on the phone all day, listening to customer complaints and entering
them into our computer system. At the end of the day I have to write a summary of all the
calls I received during the day and give my boss a status on the complaints that are not yet
resolved. I do not know how much longer I can do this. I need a vacation, or even better, I
need another job! I’ll call you this weekend.

Carolina”

Q1: At what time does Carolina usually arrive at P1: ¿A qué hora llega Carolina a la oficina
the office? usualmente?
A1: R1:

Q2: At what time does she leave? P2: ¿A qué hora se va?
A2: R2:

Q3: What does she do almost all day at work? P3: ¿Qué hace ella casi todo el día en el trabajo?
A3: R3:

Q4: What does she have to give her boss at the P4: ¿Qué tiene que darle ella a su jefe al final de
end of each work day? cada día de trabajo?
A4: R4:

Q5: Does it seem like she likes her job? P5: ¿Parece que a ella le gusta su trabajo?
A5: R5:
1. My job is very stressful.

2. I don’t make enough money.

3. My company has laid off 30 employees.

4. That company doesn’t offer good benefits.

5. We are allowed two weeks of vacation for the

first ten years.

6. Some employees take more than an hour for

lunch.

7. I need to take the day off tomorrow.

8. My project does not make sense.

9. All of us have to reboot our computers.

10. We have to share cubicles.

11. The restrooms are down the hall.

12. Let’s meet in the cafeteria at noon.

13. Ramón works from home once a week.

14. I am not able to connect using the wireless

network.

15. You can connect remotely.

16. She remembers her user ID but she does not

remember her password.

17. The office is being renovated.

18. The Air Conditioning doesn’t work.

19. He was fired.

20. I was hired.

 LECTURA SENCILLA 2

Relationships

Renata walks into the restaurant. She sees her boyfriend Diego sitting at a table near the
window and smiles. He sees her and gets up. They hug and sit down. They call the waiter
and order two glasses of wine. He looks nervous and begins to talk. “Look, I know this is
awkward but let me…” but Renata interrupts him.

“You don’t have to tell me. I know how you feel. I was so excited when you called to invite
me to lunch. I have missed you too. Not seeing each other for a couple of months was the
best thing for our relationship. I realize now that you are the one for me. Let’s forget the
past. Things will be different from now on, I promise you.”

Diego takes a deep breath and takes a sip of wine. “Actually, I invited you to lunch because
I didn’t want to tell you over the phone. I’m sorry but I’ve met someone else”.

Q1: Why did Renata come to this restaurant? P1: ¿Por qué vino Renata a este restaurante?
A1: R1:

Q2: Does Diego want to restart the relationship? P2: ¿Quiere Diego reiniciar la relación?
A2: R2:

Q3: Why doesn’t he want to get back together? P3: ¿Por qué no quiere él volver a estar juntos?
A3: R3:

Q4: Why didn’t he tell Renata this over the P4: ¿Por qué él no le dijo a Renata esto por
phone instead of inviting her to lunch? teléfono en lugar de invitarla a almorzar?
A4: R4:

Q5: What would you do if you were in Renata’s P5: ¿Qué haría usted si estuviera en el lugar de
place? Renata?
A5: R5:
1. We have been going out for four months.

2. I gave him my phone number. Maybe he will ask me out.

3. I took my wife to Croatia in 2004. She was my fiancé at that

time.

4. Do you remember you met my boyfriend last year? Well, he is

now my fiancé.

5. We are engaged. We have already set a date for the wedding.

6. They have nothing in common. How are they still together?

7. Verbal abuse should not be tolerated.

8. Our relationship is based on mutual trust and respect.

9. He is a true gentleman. He knows how to treat a lady.

10. Congratulations! You have really found your soul mate.

11. What do they mean by “friends with benefits”?

12. We got married in Hawaii.

13. Marriage is a sacred institution.

14. It was a marriage of convenience.

15. Is gay marriage legal here?

16. I now pronounce you husband and wife. You may kiss the
bride.

17. The bridegroom didn’t show up for the wedding.

18. We are celebrating our tenth wedding anniversary.

19. We just got back from our honeymoon.

20. I want to know if my husband is cheating on me.

21. The best man and the maid of honor were flirting with each
other the whole time.

22. I want you to be my bridesmaid.

23. We had a civil wedding first, followed by a church wedding.

24. We got a divorce.

25. The marriage was annulled.

 LECTURA SENCILLA 3
At the Airport
Miguel is standing in line at the airport. It is his turn and he walks to the counter. The lady
at the counter asks him for his ID and she checks his flight details. Yes, he is confirmed on
flight 103 from Los Angeles to Hawaii at noon. He does not have any bags to check in but
has one small carry-on bag that he will take with him. The agent prints out his boarding
pass. The airport security officers walk past him with a big dog. The dog is sniffing around
people’s luggage trying to detect drugs and explosives. Miguel is relieved when he sees the
dog walk past him. Suddenly, the dog turns and begins to sniff his bag and bark. The
security officer looks at Miguel. “Sir, please bring your bag and come with me.”

Q1: Where is Miguel? P1: ¿Dónde está Miguel?

A1: R1:

Q2: What is an ID? P2: ¿Qué es una ID?

A2: R2:

Q3: What time does Miguel’s flight leave Los P3: ¿A qué hora sale de Los Ángeles el vuelo de
Angles? Miguel?
A3: R3:

Q4: What does Miguel need in order to get on the P4: ¿Qué necesita Miguel para subirse al avión?
plane? R4:
A4:

Q5: What are the airport security agents trying to P5: ¿Qué están tratando de detectar los agentes
detect? de seguridad del aeropuerto?
A5: R5:
1. You can buy your ticket online.

2. I am not carrying a weapon in my bag.

3. I am traveling economy class.

4. My friend is traveling first class.

5. There is no need to panic. It is just turbulence.

6. When will this plane take off?

7. The plane has already landed. Let’s run to the gate.

8. The flight was bumpy but the flight attendant was

very relaxed.

9. The pilot made an announcement.

10. We are going to miss our flight.

11. Her seat does not recline.

12. They are bringing drinks and snacks.

13. Sir, may I offer you a beverage?

14. This is not a direct flight. I have to change flights at

Frankfurt.

15. I will have to call the airline to confirm.

16. They had to make an emergency landing.

17. It was a very smooth landing but the flight was

bumpy.

18. My bag is too big to fit in the overhead

compartment.

19. I am checking in this suitcase. I will take the

backpack as a carry-on.

20. I need one day to get over the jet lag.

 LECTURA BASICA 1
Michelle’s Weekend
Michelle had a difficult week at the office. She was very glad that the weekend had finally
begun. She had to work until 8 pm on Thursday and Friday and there was still one more
thing she needed to complete on the weekend before Monday. She decided that she would
take care of it on Sunday night.

She woke up at 7 am on Saturday morning, took a shower and went to the gym to work out.
After that, she had a quick breakfast at home, checked the news on the internet and replied
to her emails. For lunch she met some friends at a small café where they talked about the
week and she gave them an update about her relationship with Alex. She told them that she
would be visiting her parents in New Jersey on Sunday and that Alex would come with her
for the first time. Her friends told her not to worry and that everything would work out.

In the afternoon she went to the supermarket and shopped for groceries. She bought
chicken, pasta, lettuce, tomatoes, carrots, and cucumber. She also bought pasta sauce and
salad dressing. Since she is trying to lose weight, she didn’t buy any ice cream or potato
chips. She bought some bananas, oranges, apples, grapes and strawberries instead. After
she got home, she marinated the chicken and put it in the refrigerator so that she would be
able to cook it in the oven later.

At 5 pm, she met Alex and they went to their French class together. The topic of that day
was the subjunctive, which is very difficult for English speakers. The only way to learn it is
to practice it as often as possible, so she and Alex had been doing plenty of written
exercises using the subjunctive.

After the class they went home to Michelle’s house to watch a movie. Michelle put the
chicken in the oven and opened a bottle of wine for them to enjoy during the movie. The
movie was a French film called “The Closet”, starring Gerard Depardieu and Daniel
Auteuil. As it was a great comedy, they laughed a lot but they also learned plenty of new
French words and expressions.
 LECTURA BASICA 2 (Ricardo’s New Life)
Moving to a new country is tough especially when you are 17. There are so many new
things to learn and get used to! I’m Ricardo and I moved to Los Angeles from Juarez,
Mexico a year ago. I live with my Aunt and her family. They are very nice to me but I miss
my parents and sister back home. They say that Juarez is one of the most dangerous cities
in the world. I don’t think it is bad at all. I think bad things happen everywhere, but most
people there are very nice. Plus, the food is delicious. Sometimes I wish I could go back.

Adjusting to life in the United States is hard. I am in my last year of High School and it
hasn’t been easy. The language is the hardest part. I had 10 years of English in school in
Mexico and my parents sent me for private classes as well. Even with all the English I
studied in Mexico, I find it very hard to understand the other kids at school. They talk really
fast and use a lot of slang. Most of them don’t bother to talk to me as they already have
their own group of friends. It is very difficult to make new friends in your last year of High
School. I usually eat lunch alone and after school, I watch TV with my Aunt and her
family. It gets boring sometimes but I don’t have a choice.

Fortunately, apart from English, most of my classes are really easy. Physics, Chemistry,
Biology and Mathematics were much harder in Mexico. American history is boring. The
only part I like is the part about the First and Second World Wars. The homework is
usually so easy that I finish it even before the bus arrives to take us home. When I’m at
home, I try to read books or watch the news to improve my English.

My cousin Natalia tries to help me with my English, but at home we speak Spanish all the
time with the family. We switch to English, only when it’s just the two of us. A few months
ago, she invited me to go out with some of her friends, but when they realized that I didn’t
understand many American expressions they began to ignore me. After that I told Natalia
that she didn’t have to invite me anymore since her friends didn’t seem to like me very
much.

Recently, I made a new friend in my Physics class. His name is Jan. His family immigrated
to the United States from Poland 10 years ago. He often invites me to his house to work on
our Physics homework. He usually copies the homework from me because he doesn’t want
to read the book or pay attention in class. He talks about football all the time. It doesn’t
matter how many times I tell him that I like soccer, not football, he keeps telling me about
every game he watches on TV.

I would stop going to his house but his sister Klaudia is the most beautiful girl I have ever
seen. I keep going to his house hoping that I can talk to her but she barely notices me. She
is in college and is studying to be a lawyer. She is very smart and doesn’t have a boyfriend.
I watch every TV show about lawyers so that if she ever does talk to me I will sound smart.
Maybe then she would go on a date with me.
 LECTURA BASICA 3
Marco needs a job
Marco is desperate. He has been unemployed for two months and he needs to find a job
soon. He wakes up every morning at 6 am, gets dressed and leaves the house. He hasn’t
told his family that he was laid off. He says goodbye to them and leaves the house each
morning at the same time wearing his coat and tie. He then stops at a café a few miles away
from home, opens his laptop and begins looking for jobs on the internet and sending out
resumés.

He hasn’t had too many responses. Marco is a victim of the worldwide economic recession.
He is a software engineer. He designed and programmed software for a financial company.
When the financial crisis hit, his company needed to cut costs and so there was no money to
design and implement new computer systems. Marco and many of his colleagues in
Information Technology were let go.

He is now running out of money. The monthly payments for his mortgage are very high. In
two months he has spent half of his savings on paying the bills and buying groceries. He
would accept any job even if it didn’t pay as much as the job he had, but he hasn’t received
a single call. If he doesn’t find something soon, he will lose his home. It is time for him to
think of other options. The waitress comes over and offers him some more coffee. “Yes,
please” he answers. She pours him some coffee.

“Are you ok, sir?” she asks as she finishes pouring the coffee. “You don’t look well.”

“I am desperately looking for a job. Do you know anyone who needs someone with my
qualifications? I design and develop computer systems.”

“A computer guy, huh?” she replies. “I have a friend who is starting a new business. He
may need someone with your skills. I’ll mention your name to him but he probably won’t
need someone for at least three to six months.”

“Wow! That would be great but unfortunately, I am quite desperate. I need something now.
Do you need a cashier or maybe someone to work in the kitchen?”

“I’m sorry,” replies the waitress. “We don’t need a cashier right now. The only position we
have available right now is for a dishwasher. The one we had just quit yesterday.”

“I’ll take it!” replies Marco immediately.