Story about

Daily Routines
KEITH O'HARE
 Helping you Become a
Confident English Speaker

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Who is Joshua Smith?
 Chapter 1: The Routine

Joshua Smith, known to his friends as Josh, woke up to the familiar

sound of his alarm clock. He rubbed his eyes, stretched, and crawled
out of bed. He was a creature of habit. Every day, he woke up, had a
shower, and smiled at himself in the bathroom mirror, come rain or
shine.

The routine for the rest of his day goes something like this: he typically
has breakfast with his family, goes to work, and then comes home for
dinner. As regular as clockwork, he tells his family about his day. Then
he goes to bed, happy with his predictable life.
 Chapter 2: The Switch

One day, something strange happens. Josh wakes up and goes to brush
his teeth. When he looks in the mirror, he stops and suddenly screams.
He can see a different face. Staring back at him is Nick, his boss!

Josh feels confused but he decides to go with it. As per usual, he heads
off to work. But today, he is the boss. He checks his emails, manages
the projects and even does a little bossing around. At the end of the
day, he goes home, has dinner with his new family and goes to sleep.
 Chapter 3: The Employee

The next day, Josh wakes up in an unfamiliar room and he has become
someone else again. This time, he is Sarah, a new, junior employee at
work. Josh, now Sarah, goes to work. He finds out that being new is
hard. The weight of deadlines feels so heavy and at lunch he only has
time to grab a quick coffee.

At night he goes back to Sarah’s flat where she lives alone, and tries to
work out what is happening. He falls asleep, exhausted.

Over the coming weeks, Josh continued to wake up as different person

each day —each day a new perspective, a new life. But no matter whose
life he stepped into, a part of him yearned for the predictable comfort
of being Josh.

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 Chapter 4: The Final Reality

After many weeks, Josh finally wakes up as himself. He feels an

immediate sense of relief. He goes to the bathroom to brush his teeth,
as per usual. He gets ready, resuming his familiar morning routine with
his family. His family's presence feels incredibly comforting. He drives
to work as if floating on a cloud of joy.

He commutes to work and things seem normal. However, Nick and

Sarah act a bit strange around him. They look at him like they know
something he doesn’t. Josh shrugs it off as his imagination, and carries
on with his day.

After dinner, Josh gets ready for bed, and pauses before the bathroom
mirror. "I’m back. I'm me," he whispers to himself as he looks in the
mirror.

But then suddenly, his face flickers and starts to change! For a second,
he sees Nick's eyes and Sarah's smile. His face morphs into the many
people he has been, not just Josh. Finally, it becomes Josh again, but he
knows something is not right.

Josh feels scared and goes to bed. He sleeps, but not well. In the
morning, he gets up but does not look in the mirror.

As he leaves for work, he wonders, "Who am I today?"

THE END!

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 Useful Vocabulary

An Alarm Clock = A device used for waking up at a set time by making a

loud noise.

The alarm clock is so loud that it wakes up everyone in the house.

To crawl out of bed = To get out of bed slowly and with effort,
especially because of being tired.

After staying up late studying, I crawled out of bed the next

morning.

A creature of habit = A person who follows a routine and feels

uncomfortable with change.

My dad is a creature of habit; he walks the dog at 7 am every day.

Come rain or shine = No matter what the circumstances are.

We will have the picnic tomorrow, come rain or shine.

A routine = A fixed way or method of doing things, done regularly and

repeatedly.

Exercise is an important part of my daily routine.

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Typically (adv.) = Normally or usually; in a way that is typical.

She typically arrives at the office early to prepare for the day.

As regular as clockwork (adv.) = Happening regularly or predictably

without any variation.

He eats lunch at noon every day, as regular as clockwork.

As per usual (adv.) = As is usual; in the usual manner.

As per usual, the meeting started late because of technical issues.

A deadline = The time by which something must be finished or

submitted.

I have several deadlines this week, so I will be very busy.

Exhausted (adj.) = Extremely tired; depleted of energy or strength.

I was so exhausted after the marathon that I could barely walk.

To yearn for = To have a strong and earnest desire for something.

She had not seen her family for months, and was yearning to see
them again.

To commute = To travel regularly between one's home and place of

work.

She commutes an hour each way to get to her job in the city.

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To shrug something off = To dismiss or minimise the importance of
something.

He shrugs off criticism and continues to do things his own way.

To morph = To change form or character.

The software morphs into a different layout when you change the
settings

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