Below is an an excerpt from Chapter 2 of Something’s On The Roof, which is part of my soon-to-be released Cuentos Breves En Inglés book. This book features not-so-common English words to expand the vocabulary of the Spanish-speaking English learner. A vocabulary list will be at the end of each chapter, as seen below this one…
El siguiente extracto viene del Capítulo 2 de Something’s On The Roof, el cual es un pasaje de mi próximo libro Cuentos Breves En Inglés. Este libro presenta palabras que no son muy comunes que ayudarán al estudiante de Inglés a ampliar su vocabulario. Habrá una lista de palabras al final de cada cápitulo…
“You guys hungry? You look hungry.”
Chimi and Changa always look at me as though they understand.
“Here’s your favorite:
Moisty Chunks dog food.”
I opened the packet and poured it into their bowl.
Of course they didn’t eat it.
And I could just imagine their thoughts:
“We don’t want that crap! Why don’t you eat it?”
They decided instead to sit and stare at me
while I ate my cereal and toast.
The day was long, and I felt like a zombie from lack of sleep.
I went to work, which is about 30 feet away from my dining room table.
I sat there in my office, staring at the computer screen.
I’ve been writing for a long time now,
but I started doing it full-time about a year ago,
after I retired from the tire shop.
I sat there in my faux-leather chair trying to write my story…
the one about aliens that land in a dry river bed
and slowly take over a small town,
terrorizing people and animals alike.
As I sat there, I couldn’t help thinking about the night before.
What were the dogs barking at?
A coyote? Each other?
I went to the bedroom and sat my high-powered air rifle
in the corner of the room, right next to my bed.
My 9mm Glock 17 was still in the closet if I needed it, but if there is an animal coming into the back patio at night, the BB gun will be enough to scare it away.
I have become more sentimental towards animals in general
since getting Chimi and Changa two and a half years ago,
so killing the little critter would be something I would try to avoid.
I sat down at my HP laptop again and started to write.
This time, a little less worried than before.
“The alien spaceship landed in the riverbed with almost no sound at all. The hatch slowly opened and pressed against the river rocks below, scaring away the
group of young cotton tails that had sat there
blinded by the bright lights of the huge machine…”
VOCABULARY
(Are) You guys hungry? | ¿Tienen/Tenéis hambre? |
To pour | Verter, echar |
I could just imagine | Podría imaginar |
Their thoughts | Sus pensamientos |
That crap | Esa mierda |
The lack of sleep | La falta de sueño |
The dining room | El comedor |
The computer screen | La pantalla de la computadora/el ordenador |
I’ve been writing for a long time now | Llevo mucho tiempo escribiendo ya |
Full-time | A tiempo completo |
The tire shop | El taller de reparación de llantas/neumáticos |
Faux-leather chair | Silla de cuero de imitación |
Aliens | Extraterrestres |
To land | Aterrizar |
A dry river bed | Un lecho seco |
To take over | Tomar control de |
To terrorize | Aterrorizar |
The night before | La noche anterior |
High-powered air rifle | Rifle/carabina de aire comprimido |
The closet | El armario |
The BB gun (ball bullet) | Rifle de balines |
To scare away | Ahuyentar |
To avoid | Evitar |
Laptop | Ordenador/computadora portátil |
Less worried than before | Menos preocupado que antes |
The spaceship | La nave espacial |
With no sound | En silencio |
The hatch | La escotilla |
Pressed against the river rocks below | Presionó contra las piedras del río abajo |
The cotton tails | Los conejos de cola blanca |
Blinded by the bright lights | Enceguecidos por las luces brillantes |
The huge machine | La enorme maquinaria |