英語播客 A Cup of English A gargantuan doll.
Beginners.
The other day, my mother came to visit with a special present. It was something that she had bought at an auction. She often buys presents for my children; she's their grandmother, so she spoils them. It was a special gift for my daughter. I had no idea what it could be. When she showed it to me, I couldn't believe my eyes. It was the biggest doll that I have ever seen. It is bigger than my daughter. It's hair is long and curly, and it wears a frilly, pink dress. The dress will probably fit my daughter in two years! Well, she loves the present. However, my boys told me that it frightens them. What scares them about a doll? It's size.
Grammar notes.
Verbs: come (past = came); to be (past = was/ were); to buy (past = bought); to tell ( past = told).
Related vocabulary: present, gift, auction, to spoil, curly, frilly, frighten= scare.
Advanced.
When my mother told me that she had a surprize for my daughter, I thought, " Oh, the ususal cute little dolly or some art supplies". Well, I was wrong. Very wrong. This gift has stretched the boundaries of what I thought my mother was capable of. Apparently, she had been to an auction and bid on an expensive doll. Nobody else bid for it, so the starting price went lower and lower until it was very affordable. She was very excited to tell me about her acquisition, but she had a glint in her eye that made me wonder if martinis had been served at this auction. The cute, little, delicate doll is, in reality, a five foot, heavy giant of a doll. Should we even call it a doll? My daughter loves it. However, my three sons, even my ten year old, are scared of it. Since it has been in the house, they have all insisted on sleeping in the same bedroom. They expect it to come to life in the middle of the night to terrorize us all. The huge, frilly dress makes her even more terrifying. What was my mother thinking? It's not a toy I can accidentally on purpose drop into the dumpster; her limbs are so big, they would stick out, to the horror of the neighbors. Perhaps I could leave her on a park bench. Any suggestions?
Grammar notes.
Related vocabulary: cute doll, art supplies, acquisition, glint/ sparkle, to insist, frilly, dumpster, horror, park bench.
Verbs: to stretch the boundaries of belief; to bid; to be scared/ frightened of; to terrorize; to do something on purpose.
Should we? Could we? = similar to can we but conditional and hypothetical
