Ufficio postale - Lettura - Trascrizione
Hello everybody! Welcome to the EnglishBlog. In this podcast, you’ll be learning some interesting survival English on how it took 60 years for a man to receive letters from World War II.
Before starting, let me first explain that the lesson is divided into two parts:
PART ONE: you’ll be listening to some useful English expressions that will help you understand the article; you’ll then hear a short explanation of these words, followed by an example of how they are used.
PART TWO: you’ll be listening to information about the sad story of how an old soldier finally received letters from his mother after 60 years.
So let’s start!
Woman: Most people have experienced problems with post, but during World War II, to send and receive post was much more difficult.
Listen and learn some words that will help you to understand the following article.
Woman: A soldier
Man: Is a member of an army. During World War II, all men of a certain age had to do military service.
Listen to this short conversation:
Woman: Heh, I haven’t seen you for ages. How are you? What does your son do now?
Man: He’s a soldier.
Woman: Where is he based at the moment?
Man: With the United Nations peacekeeping army in Afghanistan.
Woman: Relatives
Man: As a noun, a relative means a member of your family, close or distant. For example, cousins, aunties and uncles.
For example
Woman: Do you have a big family?
Man: Well, I only have three children, but I’ve got hundreds of relatives. I’ve got cousins in America, that I’ve never even seen.
Woman: Heartbreaking
Man: Heartbreaking is an adjective that means something makes you feel very sad.
For example:
Woman: Can you change the channel please?
Man: Why? It’s the news.
Woman: I know, and it’s all bad news, it’s heartbreaking. Put something more relaxing on please, I’ve had a long day at work.
Man: You’re right, let’s see what else is on.
Woman: Track down.
Man: Track down is a phrasal verb, and it means to find somebody or something after searching for him, her or it.
For example:
Woman: Have you tracked down where you left your mobile phone yet? It’s definitely ringing in this room.
Man: Here it is, under the cushion on the sofa.
Woman: Now let’s listen to an article adapted from www.bbc.co.uk about how a missing letter arrived 60 years after it was sent.
An old soldier has received a heartbreaking letter which could have changed his life. Ken McKernan, 79, from Liverpool, should have received his mother’s letter while he was serving with the Royal Fusilliers in World War II (seconda guerra mondiale). Mr McKernan’s mother emigrated to the USA when he was a boy. He was brought up by relatives and he thought (pensava) that his mother had forgotten about him.
The letters, written in 1944, were found in a cigar box in a Dutch museum. McKernan fought in Holland during the war, but he said that he had no idea how the letters ended up in the museum. They were returned to him after an international search to track down the author via relatives in the USA. “I am so happy the letters have finally reached me, even if it is 60 years too late”, said McKernan. “If only I had known I would have gone to join her. My life could have been a totally different story.”
Woman: If you wish you can hear this lesson again. In the meantime we hope we have helped you to be more confident with your English. Watch out for the next topic. Thank you for using the EnglishBlog.
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