Shopping Cards Everywhere

            Shopping Cards Everywhere  mp3 file 

Look at those damn shopping carts, Joe thought. Two of them were parked on his front lawn. Two more were parked behind his car in the driveway. His neighborhood had gone to hell. He lived half a mile from Foodco, a supermarket chain. Nobody should take a shopping cart half a mile from the supermarket. And no one with any respect for others should leave a shopping cart in a stranger's yard.

Shoppers should push the cart out to their car, and then leave it there. If they don't own a car, they should buy their own personal cart to transport their groceries home.

He called Foodco to tell them that four carts were on his property. They said they would be over as soon as they could. That meant about a week. Throughout his neighborhood, carts were scattered in various places, including the streets themselves. As if kids, pets, and potholes weren't enough, drivers now had to dodge shopping carts. Joe wondered how there could be any left in the supermarket. Foodco paid over $100 for each cart, so he thought they'd guard them better. Instead, they did nothing to secure the carts. They simply paid someone to drive around the neighborhood once or twice a week to pick up stranded carts.

Joe opened the yellow pages of his phone book. He was going to hire a contractor to build a fence around his lawn and a locking gate for his driveway. Enough was enough.

Towns Hit by Snowstorms

           Towns Hit by Snowstorms     mp3   file

Redfield, New York, received twelve feet of snow last week. Its neighbors in Oswego are jealous because they got only ten feet of snow. An Oswego resident told a TV reporter that one more storm was coming in that would determine the winner. "I hope we get five more feet," he said. "That'll beat Redfield." This is the most snow the region has received in six years.

 

"The people who worry about global warming should come visit us. They'll worry less," said a Redfield resident. He said any visitors would have to wait till some snow melted, because most local roads were closed. Even the snowplows were waiting until after the next storm before they began to clear all the roads.

 

Schools were closed all week. Most kids were happy about it. They couldn't go ice skating or skiing because the roads were closed. But they did play in the snow, make snowmen, and have snowball fights.

 

"It wasn't a good week for me," complained one high school student. "I had to help my dad shovel all the snow off the roof." When he finished doing that, his dad asked him to shovel the snow off the driveway and the sidewalk. "I can't wait for school to reopen," he said.

The Doctor's Exam

          The Doctor's Exam           mp3 file

Rebecca's stomach hurt. She said that sometimes it felt like someone was peeling the skin off her belly; that pain felt worse than when she gave birth 17 years ago. She finally went to a doctor. He asked a lot of questions, and then examined her. He decided that she needed a couple of ultra-sound tests.

The tests revealed that she had two small ovarian cysts. The doctor said he did not think that those cysts were causing the problem. He wanted to do another test. It was called a colonoscopy. Rebecca told her boyfriend Ron about the doctor's suggestion.

"A colonoscopy?! You've got a problem in your belly, and he wants to examine your butt? Where did you find this quack? I'll bet he got his 'degree' off the Internet."

Rebecca asked her boyfriend where he got his medical degree from. Of course, he had no medical degree, but he told Rebecca that it was just common sense.

"If your car isn't running right, and the mechanic wants to look in your trunk to find the problem, what would you think? Would you let him charge you good money to examine your trunk, or would you go find a mechanic who knows what he's doing?"

Rebecca went to a medical site on the Internet later and discovered that some colon problems definitely could cause stomach pains

Hospitals Can Make You Sick

            Hospitals Can Make You Sick    mp3 file

About 100,000 people die each year in US hospitals from infections that they get while they are in the hospital. Less than half that many die on US highways. The hospital deaths are due to poor housekeeping and poor hygiene. Floors, walls, and doors are not cleaned regularly or thoroughly. Room dividers are almost never cleaned. The carts that carry food trays, and the trays themselves, are usually contaminated from handling and coughing. Cooks and other food handlers can easily infect the food by not washing properly after using the bathroom.

 

Doctors and nurses are just as guilty as other staff. Doctors rarely clean their stethoscopes after each patient. Nurses apply blood pressure cuffs to patient after patient without cleaning the cuffs. Doctors often put on gloves without washing their hands first. As a result, the germs on their hands are transferred to the outside of the gloves.

 

Consumer groups warn patients that they must demand cleanliness. If they see or suspect unsanitary conditions, they must tell someone immediately. It could be a matter of life or death. But, as one patient said, "No way! You don't tell your boss that he has bad breath, and you don't tell your doctor that he needs to wash his hands."

English is So Hard

                 English is So Hard   mp3 file

Johnny asked Dotty how her first day in her Duarte ESL class was. It was terrible, she told him. She understood little of what the Level 4 teacher said. He spoke too fast for her. She had struggled through a Level 3 class at a Monrovia school.

When the teacher asked if there were any questions, she told him that she didn't understand most of what he had said. He told her not to worry; she could take the class again if she failed it the first time. She didn't want to fail it the first time, however, or any time.

He gave them homework the first day, of course. They were supposed to write a 300-word essay supporting gun control. Of course, Dotty said, she could write that essay in her native language. But there was no way she could write it in English. She showed Johnny the textbook. The print was so tiny that trying to read just a few pages gave her a headache. On top of that was all the new vocabulary on each page. "I'm going to drop the class," she said. She wanted to cry. When was she ever going to learn this language?

Hollywood Stars and Tourists

                          Hollywood Stars and Tourists   mp3 file

Tourists from around the world visit Hollywood. Buses take them past the Hollywood sign. At Grauman's Chinese Theater, they press their hands into the imprints of movie stars who long ago pressed their hands into wet cement. Tourists pause at the gold stars in the sidewalks with the movie stars' names on them.

Buses drive past movie stars' houses. Tourists hope to see a star chatting with friends or tanning by the pool. Unfortunately, most of the houses are behind high hedges or down long winding driveways; tourists are lucky to even see a chimney.

And finally, tourists take pictures everywhere and with everyone. A popular picture opportunity in Hollywood is with movie characters like Chewbacca from "Star Wars."

However, Chewbacca might not be so popular anymore. Last week, outside Grauman's, Chewbacca gave two young female tourists a hard time. He kept trying to hug them as they took pictures of each other. The tour bus driver yelled at Chewbacca to leave the ladies alone. Chewbacca took off his headpiece, walked over to the driver, and head-butted him. The driver fell to the sidewalk. Someone called 911, and the cops came and arrested Chewbacca.

Chewbacca was not apologetic. "Women come to America looking for Prince Charming, and here I am!" he shouted to all. "I hope they leave him in jail," said a tourist, who saw the whole incident. "That guy's an idiot."

LA Traffic Report

        LA Traffic Report    mp3 file

This traffic report is sponsored by

Cerritos Auto Square

. More people buy their car from

Cerritos Auto Square

than anywhere else in the world. KFWB news time, 8:01, with traffic on the ones. A cleanup is still underway from a SigAlert in Commerce, northbound at

Washington Boulevard

. The right lane is closed, and also the Washington onramp is closed. They're mopping up from an earlier diesel fuel spill.

We have several other problems out there right now. In Pasadena, some wooden boxes are in the #1 lane on the eastbound 210 at Lake. Be on the lookout, because the faster you're going, the quicker you'll come up on them. Eastbound 60 in Santa Fe Springs, just before

Grand Ave.

, there's an accident. A couple of cars in the #2 lane. Then in Pacoima, 118 westbound after

San Fernando Road

, an injury accident. A car went over the side. It's partly hanging over the side of the freeway. CHP and emergency crews are both on the way, so watch for activity on the right shoulder.

In Vernon, 710 northbound before Bandini, watch for a broken-down car on the right shoulder. It's partly sticking into the right lane. A tow truck is en route. Finally, on the westbound 10 before Fairfax, there's a roll of carpet, a ladder, and a lawn mower in the #3 and #4 lanes

A Noisy Neighbor

A Noisy Neighbor   mp3 dosyası

Barbara couldn't take it any more. Her upstairs neighbor was blasting his stereo again. She had asked him twice already to turn the volume down. The first time she asked, he was surprised. He said he didn't know that she could hear his stereo.

"Yes," she said, "it's just like your stereo was in my living room. I can hear every note!"

He said he would keep it down. She hoped that he was telling the truth. Of course, he wasn't. The very next day, he blasted his stereo. She marched upstairs to remind him of his promise. He said the volume was so low that he could barely hear it. She asked him to turn it lower. He said he would try. Barbara could swear that when she reentered her apartment, the music was louder than when she had walked upstairs.

So, this was the third time. She took her baseball bat upstairs with her. She knocked very loudly on his door. When he opened the door, she screamed at him like a crazy person. She told him she would kill him if he didn't turn the music down and keep it down. His eyes got big.

She went back downstairs. She couldn't hear a note.

I can't believe I said that, she told herself.

Horses to Ride

Horses to Ride   mp3 dosyası

Laura went to the stable. Four horses stood there. She put a saddle on Star. He was seven years old, big and dark brown. Her sister came out to the stable. They were both going to exercise the horses. It was a warm, sunny day. Janice saddled up Moonbeam, a white mare. They got on the horses and started walking them.

A few minutes later, Laura was telling Janice about the new doctor in her hospital. She raised her hand for a second to make a point. Just then, Star bucked. Laura went flying into the air. She landed on her head and shoulder on the grass.

"Oh, my gosh!" Jan cried. "Laura, are you all right?"

Laura moaned. Jan gently rolled her over. She didn't see any blood. That's good, she thought.

"Can you move? You're not paralyzed anywhere, are you?"

Jan pulled Laura up into a sitting position. Laura slightly moved her legs and arms. She wasn't paralyzed. When she moved her right hand to touch her head, she groaned.

"What's the matter?"

"That hurt. When I moved my arm, it hurt."

They still didn't see any blood. Jan unbuttoned the top buttons on Laura's blouse and looked at Laura's right collarbone.

"Oh, no," she said.

 

Shopping for Bargains

Shopping for Bargains    mp3 dosyası

Jim went to the thrift shop. He wasn't looking for anything in particular. He liked to go there just to browse. A big sign on the front door said OPEN. The shop was closed on Sunday and Monday. The rest of the week, it opened at 10 a.m. and closed at 2 p.m.

Two women worked inside. They rang up sales and put the items into plastic bags for the customers to carry out. At the back of the shop was a big room where another lady worked. She sorted the new donations and put price tags on them. At the end of each day, she would bring the new donations out to the main part of the shop.

Everyone who worked at the thrift shop was a volunteer. The only "payment" they received was that they had the opportunity to see, and buy, any items in the shop before the customers did.

When Jim entered, the lady at the register told him hello. He smiled and said hello. She knew Jim because he was a regular customer.

Jim said, "What's new?"

She laughed and said that nothing was ever new at a thrift shop. "It's always old and it's always used," she smiled.

Jim looked at the watches in the glass case. He saw one that he liked.

"Could I look at that one?" he asked.

 

The Dog and The Sparrow

The Dog and The Sparrow

https://yadi.sk/d/ZElG4G6Rh42Hw     mp3 file

 

 

     A shepherd's dog had a master who took no care of him, but often let him suffer the greatest hunger. At last he could bear it no longer; so he took to his heels, and off he ran in a very sad and sorrowful mood. On the road he met a sparrow that said to him, 'Why are you so sad, my friend?' 'Because,' said the dog, 'I am very very hungry, and have nothing to eat.' 'If that be all,' answered the sparrow, 'come with me into the next town, and I will soon find you plenty of food.' So on they went together into the town: and as they passed by a butcher's shop, the sparrow said to the dog, 'Stand there a little while till I peck you down a piece of meat.' So the sparrow perched upon the shelf: and having first looked carefully about her to see if anyone was watching her, she pecked and scratched at a steak that lay upon the edge of the shelf, till at last down it fell. Then the dog snapped it up, and scrambled away with it into a corner, where he soon ate it all up. 'Well,' said the sparrow, 'you shall have some more if you will; so come with me to the next shop, and I will peck you down another steak.'



When the dog had eaten this too, the sparrow said to him, 'Well, my good friend, have you had enough now?' 'I have had plenty of meat,' answered he, 'but I should like to have a piece of bread to eat after it.' 'Come with me then,' said the sparrow, 'and you shall soon have that too.' So she took him to a baker's shop, and pecked at two rolls that lay in the window, till they fell down: and as the dog still wished for more, she took him to another shop and pecked down some more for him. When that was eaten, the sparrow asked him whether he had had enough now. 'Yes,' said he; 'and now let us take a walk a little way out of the town.' So they both went out upon the high road; but as the weather was warm, they had not gone far before the dog said, 'I am very much tired—I should like to take a nap.' 'Very well,' answered the sparrow, 'do so, and in the meantime I will perch upon that bush.' So the dog stretched himself out on the road, and fell fast asleep. Whilst he slept, there came by a carter with a cart drawn by three horses, and loaded with two casks of wine.


The sparrow, seeing that the carter did not turn out of the way, but would go on in the track in which the dog lay, so as to drive over him, called out, 'Stop! stop! Mr Carter, or it shall be the worse for you.' But the carter, grumbling to himself, 'You make it the worse for me, indeed! what can you do?' cracked his whip, and drove his cart over the poor dog, so that the wheels crushed him to death. 'There,' cried the sparrow, 'thou cruel villain, thou hast killed my friend the dog. Now mind what I say. This deed of thine shall cost thee all thou art worth.' 'Do your worst, and welcome,' said the brute, 'what harm can you do me?' and passed on. But the sparrow crept under the tilt of the cart, and pecked at the bung of one of the casks till she loosened it; and than all the wine ran out, without the carter seeing it. At last he looked round, and saw that the cart was dripping, and the cask quite empty. 'What an unlucky wretch I am!' cried he. 'Not wretch enough yet!' said the sparrow, as she alighted upon the head of one of the horses, and pecked at him till he reared up and kicked.


When the carter saw this, he drew out his hatchet and aimed a blow at the sparrow, meaning to kill her; but she flew away, and the blow fell upon the poor horse's head with such force, that he fell down dead. 'Unlucky wretch that I am!' cried he. 'Not wretch enough yet!' said the sparrow. And as the carter went on with the other two horses, she again crept under the tilt of the cart, and pecked out the bung of the second cask, so that all the wine ran out. When the carter saw this, he again cried out, 'Miserable wretch that I am!' But the sparrow answered, 'Not wretch enough yet!' and perched on the head of the second horse, and pecked at him too.



The carter ran up and struck at her again with his hatchet; but away she flew, and the blow fell upon the second horse and killed him on the spot. 'Unlucky wretch that I am!' said he. 'Not wretch enough yet!' said the sparrow; and perching upon the third horse, she began to peck him too. The carter was mad with fury; and without looking about him, or caring what he was about, struck again at the sparrow; but killed his third horse as he done the other two. 'Alas! miserable wretch that I am!' cried he. 'Not wretch enough yet!' answered the sparrow as she flew away; 'now will I plague and punish thee at thy own house.' The carter was forced at last to leave his cart behind him, and to go home overflowing with rage and vexation. 'Alas!' said he to his wife, 'what ill luck has befallen me!—my wine is all spilt, and my horses all three dead.' 'Alas! husband,' replied she, 'and a wicked bird has come into the house, and has brought with her all the birds in the world, I am sure, and they have fallen upon our corn in the loft, and are eating it up at such a rate!' Away ran the husband upstairs, and saw thousands of birds sitting upon the floor eating up his corn, with the sparrow in the midst of them. 'Unlucky wretch that I am!' cried the carter; for he saw that the corn was almost all gone. 'Not wretch enough yet!' said the sparrow; 'thy cruelty shall cost thee they life yet!' and away she flew.


 

The carter seeing that he had thus lost all that he had, went down into his kitchen; and was still not sorry for what he had done, but sat himself angrily and sulkily in the chimney corner. But the sparrow sat on the outside of the window, and cried 'Carter! thy cruelty shall cost thee thy life!' With that he jumped up in a rage, seized his hatchet, and threw it at the sparrow; but it missed her, and only broke the window. The sparrow now hopped in, perched upon the window-seat, and cried, 'Carter! it shall cost thee thy life!'


Then he became mad and blind with rage, and struck the window-seat with such force that he cleft it in two: and as the sparrow flew from place to place, the carter and his wife were so furious, that they broke all their furniture, glasses, chairs, benches, the table, and at last the walls, without touching the bird at all. In the end, however, they caught her: and the wife said, 'Shall I kill her at once?' 'No,' cried he, 'that is letting her off too easily: she shall die a much more cruel death; I will eat her.' But the sparrow began to flutter about, and stretch out her neck and cried, 'Carter! it shall cost thee thy life yet!' With that he could wait no longer: so he gave his wife the hatchet, and cried, 'Wife, strike at the bird and kill her in my hand.' And the wife struck; but she missed her aim, and hit her husband on the head so that he fell down dead, and the sparrow flew quietly home to her nest.