The following is an excerpt from Chapter 1 of the short story The Best Coffee! from the upcoming Cuentos Breves En Ingés. The sentences are, for the most part, one per line so that English learners can follow the text a little easier. The book is targeted at beginner to intermediate English learners, but of course, the stories can be beneficial to all English learners, especially ones wishing to refresh or expand their vocabulary.
Please forgive any mistakes, as this has not been edited yet. 🙂
Acerca Del Libro
El Libro de Cuentos Breves en Inglés
The Book of Short Stories in English
Este libro fue escrito de una manera simple, usando oraciones y gramática fáciles de comprender. Cada cuento es lo suficientemente largo para satisfacer la mente, y a la vez, breve para que no sea agobiante. Además, los cuentos se presentan sólo en inglés sin traducción para que no haya distracciones. Los párrafos están centrados en cada página y las frases están separadas para que sean fáciles de leer. Si estás leyendo este libro usando la app Kindle, podrás instalar y usar el diccionario en inglés para buscar palabras que no conozcas.
It was just another day in the city of Misty Ridge.
Phil Cranston threw on his brown golf cap and slammed the door behind him.
He hurried out the door to grab the wet newspaper on the lawn.
The metal ribs of his umbrella swooshed open and he trotted up the street towards his little café.
The air smelled really sweet today.
The clean, crisp smell of the autumn rain filled Mr. Cranston’s nose.
The crack of thunder to the east behind him reminded him of the day he opened the East Coast Brewing Company.
This was the same kind of day.
He had always thought that the loud sound of the rain plinking on the the asphalt around him was comforting.
Mr. Cranston wiped his leather boots on the the welcome mat before going into the coffee shoppe.
Jack Snide was already there.
His head whipped around when he heard the tinkle-tinkle of the bell above the door as Mr. Cranston stumbled in.
“Jack! You’re already here!
That’s what I like about you, young man.
You’re always ready to go get ‘em.”
Jack managed a quiet laugh.
“Is there any other way to do it, Mr. Cranston?”
He had only worked at the East Coast since August, but was proving to be a great barista.
According to Jack, preparing and serving different types of coffee was in his blood.
He had worked at his Uncle Matt’s “The Roasted Bean” further up the street for several months until their fallout over his new girlfriend Susan.
That was to be expected, of course, seeing that Susan constantly expressed her opinion that Mr. Matt Snide was a grumpy old miser, only thinking about how he could benefit himself and his bank account.
VOCABULARY
Golf cap
Gorra de golfista
To slam
Cerrar de un golpe
To grab
Agarrar
The metal ribs
Las costillas metálicas
His umbrella
Su paraguas
To swoosh open
Abrirse con un zumbido
To trot
Caminar en trote, trotar
The crisp smell
El fresco aroma
The crash of thunder
El sonido fuerte de los truenos
To remind
Recordar
To plink
El sonido de la lluvia pegando la tierra
The asphalt
El asfalto
To be comforting
Ser reconfortante, reconfortar
To wipe
Limpiar
The welcome mat
El tapete de bienvenida
To whip around
Voltear la cabeza rapidamente
Tinkle-tinkle
El sonido de una campana
To stumble in
Tropezar al entrar
To be ready to go get ‘em
Estar listo para trabajar
To manage a quiet laugh
Lograr reirse en silencio
To prove to be
Resultar
To be in one’s blood
Ser una característica heredada
The fallout
El problema entre dos personas, el asunto
That was to be expected
Se esperaba que pasara eso
Seeing that
Ya que
A grumpy old miser
Un viejo avaro
To benefit oneself
Beneficarse a sí mismo
