ESL 297: Collecting Seashells at the Seashore


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Maria and Lisa were best friends. They shared a two-bedroom apartment in Hollywood. Maria was a clerk at a clothing store, and Lisa was a clerk at a supermarket. Their hours varied, so they didn't get to spend a whole lot of time together. But last weekend both were off work. "Let's go to the beach," suggested Maria.

"That's a good idea," agreed Lisa. "Which one?"

"Well, I would prefer an uncrowded beach, because I think I've put on a few pounds recently. I don't want any boys seeing my fat."

"Oh, please," said Lisa. "You eat so little. Ounces don't turn into pounds. How about Zuma Beach? That's pretty far north of Santa Monica Beach, so it's just right—not too crowded and not too empty."

"That sounds good," said Maria.

The drive to the beach took more than an hour. When they got there, the hot and sunny Hollywood weather had become cool, windy, and overcast beach weather. Both of them had been to the beach many times before, so they were not surprised by the change in weather. They put on their jackets, shoes, and socks, and headed north to hunt for seashells.

Within an hour they had collected about 20 beautiful shells into a plastic bag. They were still walking slowly north when they heard a roar. They turned around to see a four-wheel All Terrain Vehicle coming rapidly toward them. The driver braked at the last moment. Sand flew onto the two girls. They both screamed.

The driver was wearing a jacket that said Beach Patrol. He got off the ATV and started yelling at them. "What are you two doing here? Can't you read? The signs say Private Property. They say No Trespassing. Get out of here before I write you a ticket and have you arrested."

"What's your name?" Maria stood defiantly. "I'm going to report you to the police. You're not a real patrol officer. This is a public beach. Those signs are phony signs put up by homeowners who think they own the beach."

"My name is John Smith. Report me to whoever you want. Now get out of here or you'll be sorry."

"You can't make us leave. This is a public beach!" yelled Maria.

The man got back onto his ATV and started driving in circles around the women. The ATV was spraying sand and water all over them. He was laughing. They started running back south. When the ATV driver saw that they were leaving, he drove off.

"John Smith. A phony name to go with a phony uniform," said Maria when they slowed down to a walk. "We're going to the police station and make a complaint. I hope they put him in jail."

A few minutes later, Lisa asked, "Where are the shells?"

"Oh, gee, in all the excitement I left them back there. I'm sorry."

"No problem," replied Lisa. "There's plenty of seashells in the sea."

"Yeah, just like there's plenty of jerks on the shore."

*Vocabulary:

• circle:
• clerk:
• collect:
• complaint:
• defiantly:
• excitement:
• hunt:
• jerk:
• overcast:
• phony:
• plastic:
• roar:
• seashell:
• spray:
• terrain:
• trespass:

-----------------

*Wh-Questions:

• What did they share?

• Where was their apartment?

• Where did Maria work?

• What was Lisa's job?

• How much time did they get to spend together?

• What/Which weekend were they both off work?

• What did Maria suggest?

• What kind of beach did Maria prefer?

• What had Maria put on recently?

• What didn't she want any boys seeing?

--------------------

*Fill in blanks:

Maria and Lisa were best friends. They shared ____ two-bedroom apartment in Hollywood. Maria was a clerk ____ a clothing store, and Lisa was a clerk ____ a supermarket. Their hours varied, so they didn’t ____ to spend a whole lot of time together. ____ last weekend both were off work. “Let’s go ____ the beach,” suggested Maria.

“That’s a good idea,” ____ Lisa. “Which one?”

“Well, I would prefer an ____ beach, because I think I’ve put on a ____ pounds recently. I don’t want any boys seeing ____ fat.”

“Oh, please,” said Lisa. “You eat so . Ounces don’t turn into pounds. How about Zuma ____ ? That’s pretty far north of Santa Monica Beach, it’s just right—not too crowded and not too____ .”

“That sounds good,” said Maria.

The drive to ____ beach took more than an hour. When they____ there, the hot and sunny Hollywood weather had cool, windy, and overcast beach weather. Both of ____ had been to the beach many times before, ____ they were not surprised by the change in ____ . They put on their jackets, shoes, and socks, ____ headed north to hunt for seashells.

Within an ____ they had collected about 20 beautiful shells into ____ plastic bag. They were still walking slowly north ____ they heard a roar. They turned around to a four-wheel All Terrain Vehicle coming rapidly toward ____ . The driver braked at the last moment. Sand ____ onto the two girls. They both screamed.

The ____ was wearing a jacket that said Beach Patrol. ____ got off the ATV and started yelling at ____ . “What are you two doing here? Can’t you ____ ? The signs say Private Property. They say No ____ . Get out of here before I write you ____ ticket and have you arrested.”

“What’s your name?” ____ stood defiantly. “I’m going to report you to ____ police. You’re not a real patrol officer. This ____ a public beach. Those signs are phony signs ____ up by homeowners who think they own the ____ .”

“My name is John Smith. Report me to ____ you want. Now get out of here or ____ ’ll be sorry.”

“You can’t make us leave. This ____ a public beach!” yelled Maria.

The man got ____ onto his ATV and started driving in circles ____ the women. The ATV was spraying sand and ____ all over them. He was laughing. They started ____ back south. When the ATV driver saw that ____ were leaving, he drove off.

“John Smith. A ____ name to go with a phony uniform,” said ____ when they slowed down to a walk. “We’re____ to the police station and make a complaint. ____ hope they put him in jail.”

A few____ later, Lisa asked, “Where are the shells?”

“Oh, ____ , in all the excitement I left them back ____ . I’m sorry.”

“No problem,” replied Lisa. “There’s plenty ____ seashells in the sea.”

“Yeah, just like there’s ____ of jerks on the shore.”

----------------

*Translate into Vietnamese:

.............

ESL 297: Collecting Seashells at the Seashore

*Vocabulary:

• circle: vòng
• clerk: nhân viên bán hàng/kế toán/ghi sổ sách
• collect: thu thập
• complaint: than phiền
• defiantly: xác định
• excitement: phấn khởi
• hunt: săn đuổi
• jerk: cú giật/ngớ ngẩn
• overcast: bị che
• phony: giả mạo
• plastic: nhựa
• roar: gầm thét
• seashell: vỏ sò
• spray: phun
• terrain: địa hình
• trespass: sự xâm phạm

==========================================================

*Wh-Questions:

• What did they share? a two bedroom apartment in Hollywood

• Where was their apartment? in Hollywood

• Where did Maria work? at the clothing store

• What was Lisa's job? a clerk at a supermarket

• How much time did they get to spend together? not a whole lot of time together

• What/Which weekend were they both off work? Last weekend

• What did Maria suggest? Let's go to the beach

• What kind of beach did Maria prefer? an uncrowded beach

• What had Maria put on recently? a few pounds

• What didn't she want any boys seeing? her fat.

===========================================================

*Fill in blanks:

Maria and Lisa were best friends. They shared _a___ two-bedroom apartment in Hollywood. Maria was a clerk __at__ a clothing store, and Lisa was a clerk __at__ a supermarket. Their hours varied, so they didn’t __get__ to spend a whole lot of time together. __But__ last weekend both were off work. “Let’s go __to__ the beach,” suggested Maria.

“That’s a good idea,” __agreed__ Lisa. “Which one?”

“Well, I would prefer an __uncrowded__ beach, because I think I’ve put on a __few__ pounds recently. I don’t want any boys seeing __my__ fat.”

“Oh, please,” said Lisa. “You eat so little. Ounces don’t turn into pounds. How about Zuma ___Beach_ ? That’s pretty far north of Santa Monica Beach, it’s just right—not too crowded and not too__empty__ .”

“That sounds good,” said Maria.

The drive to __the__ beach took more than an hour. When they__got__ there, the hot and sunny Hollywood weather had cool, windy, and overcast beach weather. Both of __them__ had been to the beach many times before, _so___ they were not surprised by the change in __weather__ . They put on their jackets, shoes, and socks, _and___ headed north to hunt for seashells.

Within an _hour___ they had collected about 20 beautiful shells into __a__ plastic bag. They were still walking slowly north __when__ they heard a roar. They turned around to a four-wheel All Terrain Vehicle coming rapidly toward __them__ . The driver braked at the last moment. Sand __flew__ onto the two girls. They both screamed.

The _driver___ was wearing a jacket that said Beach Patrol. __He__ got off the ATV and started yelling at __them__ . “What are you two doing here? Can’t you __read__ ? The signs say Private Property. They say No __Trespassing__ . Get out of here before I write you __a__ ticket and have you arrested.”

“What’s your name?” ____Maria__ stood defiantly. “I’m going to report you to __the__ police. You’re not a real patrol officer. This __is__ a public beach. Those signs are phony signs __put__ up by homeowners who think they own the __beach__ .”

“My name is John Smith. Report me to __whoever__ you want. Now get out of here or __you__ ’ll be sorry.”

“You can’t make us leave. This __is__ a public beach!” yelled Maria.

The man got __back__ onto his ATV and started driving in circles ____around__ the women. The ATV was spraying sand and ____water__ all over them. He was laughing. They started ____running__ back south. When the ATV driver saw that _they___ were leaving, he drove off.

“John Smith. A __phony__ name to go with a phony uniform,” said ____Maria__ when they slowed down to a walk. “We’re____going__ to the police station and make a complaint. __I__ hope they put him in jail.”

A few____minutes__ later, Lisa asked, “Where are the shells?”

“Oh, __gee__ , in all the excitement I left them back ____there__ . I’m sorry.”

“No problem,” replied Lisa. “There’s plenty __of__ seashells in the sea.”

“Yeah, just like there’s ____plenty__ of jerks on the shore.”

===========================================================

*Translate into Vietnamese:

Nhặt vỏ sò trên bãi biển

Maria và Lisa là bạn tốt của nhau. Họ cùng ở chung căn hộ hai phòng ở Hollywood. Maria là nhân viên bán hàng ở cửa hiệu quần áo, và Lisa là nhân viên bán hàng ở siêu thị. Giờ giấc họ thay đổi, nên họ không ở cùng nhau cả ngày. Nhưng cuối tuần rồi cả hai đều được nghỉ. "Nào mình đi biển đi," Maria đề nghị.

"Đó là một ý hay," Lisa đồng ý. "Biển nào?"

"À, tớ thích biển không đông người, vì tớ nghĩ tớ mới tăng thêm vài pound gần đây. Tớ không muốn bất kỳ anh chàng nào trông thấy mỡ của tớ."

"Oh, làm ơn," Lisa nói. "Cậu ăn có chút xíu. Vài ounce đâu có thành vài pound. Biển Zuma thì sao? Biển đó hơi xa phía Bắc của biển Santa Monica, nên nơi đó vừa đúng-không quá đông mà cũng không quá trống."

"Nghe tốt quá," Maria nói.

Chuyến lái xe đến biển mất hơn một giờ. Khi họ đến đó, khí hậu nóng và nắng của Hollywood trở nên khí hậu biển mát, có gió và mây che. Cả hai người đã đi biển nhiều lần trước đây, nên họ không ngạc nhiên bởi khí hậu thay đổi. Họ mặc áo khoác, mang giầy, và vớ, và hướng về phía bắc để săn tìm vỏ sò.

Trong vòng một tiếng họ đã thu thập được khoảng 20 vỏ sò xinh đẹp vào trong một bao nhựa. Họ vẫn đi chầm chậm về hướng bắc khi nghe một tiếng gầm rú. Họ quay lại và thấy chiếc xe bốn bánh All Terrain Vehicle hướng nhanh đến họ. Tài xế thắng vào phút cuối. Cát bay lên hai cô gái. Họ đều hét lên.

Tài xế mặc áo khoác ghi chữ Tuần tra Biển. Hắn xuống xe ATV và bắt đầu hét lên với họ. "Hai người làm gì ở đây? Hai người không biết đọc à? Bản hiệu ghi Tài sản Tư nhân. Chúng ghi Không được Xâm phạm. Ra khỏi đây trước khi tôi viết giấy phạt và bắt giữ mấy cô."

"Tên anh là gì?" Maria đứng nghiêm nghị. "Tôi sẽ báo cảnh sát về anh. Anh không phải là nhân viên tuần tra thật sự. Đây là biển công cộng. Những bản hiệu trên là bản hiệu giả mạo cắm bởi mấy người chủ nhà nghĩ là mình sở hữu bãi biển."

"Tôi tên John Smith. Cứ báo cho bất kỳ ai mà cô muốn. Giờ ra khỏi đây hay là cô sẽ phải xin lỗi/hối tiếc."

"Anh không làm chúng tôi đi được đâu. Đây là biển công cộng!" Maria hét lên.

Gã đàn ông trở lại chiếc ATV của hắn và bắt đầu lái xe vòng quanh hai cô gái. Chiếc ATV bắn cát và nước đầy người họ. Hắn cười. Họ chạy về hướng nam. Khi tài xế chiếc ATV thấy họ bỏ đi, hắn lái đi mất.

"John Smith. MỘt cái tên giả mạo với bộ đồng phục giả mạo," Maria nói khi họ đi chậm lại. "Chúng mình sẽ đi đến đồn cảnh sát và than phiền. Tớ hy vọng họ sẽ cho hắn vào tù."

Vài phút sau, Lisa hỏi, "Mấy cái vỏ sò đâu?"

"Oh, trời, phẫn nộ quá tớ bỏ chúng ở đó hết rồi. Tớ xin lỗi."

"Không sao," Lisa trả lời. "Đầy vỏ sò trên biển mà."

"Ừ, cũng giống như đầy những gã ngớ ngẩn trên bãi biển."