0:03 Hi, I'm Jaci and I have a story for you
0:05 today. And since we're in the Christmas
0:08 season, I'm going to tell you a story
0:09 that happened to me quite a few years
0:13 ago before Christmas. All right. So,
0:15 what we'll do is I'll tell you the story
0:18 first. You can follow along or you can
0:20 shadow with me if you want to and then
0:22 after that we'll do a repetition
0:24 activity where you'll practice the
0:26 pronunciation of the story and then
0:28 after you will tell me the story using
0:33 your best pronunciation. Are you ready?
0:36 When I was a young man living in Quebec,
0:38 I often took the overnight train from
0:41 Montreal to Halifax.
0:45 I usually made this 18-hour trip twice a
0:49 year, no matter what weather or season.
0:52 One year, just before Christmas, I
0:55 boarded the ocean via train around 700
0:58 p.m. Excited to spend the holidays with
1:01 my family in Nova Scotia. After a
1:04 delicious supper in the dining car, I
1:07 slipped back into my small rouette,
1:09 ready to rest as the train rumbled
1:12 through the dark countryside.
1:15 I could never sleep very deeply because
1:18 the cars rocked and swayed like a cradle
1:20 in the storm.
1:23 Around 3:00 a.m., a loud knocking
1:26 suddenly echoed down the hallway,
1:31 jolting passengers awake. Half asleep, I
1:33 assumed it was a prank from someone who
1:35 had enjoyed too many drinks in the bar
1:39 car. But when I opened my door, I found
1:42 a tense looking train employee urgently
1:45 waking everyone up. When I asked what
1:47 was happening, he told me that there had
1:50 been a massive landslide in eastern
1:53 Quebec near Remuski.
1:55 A long section of track had been torn
1:58 apart, making it impossible for the
2:01 train to continue. We were instructed to
2:04 pack our belongings quickly and prepare
2:08 to drain within 30 minutes.
2:11 When we finally stopped, the scene was
2:15 surreal. About 15 school buses lined up
2:18 in the freezing night, their headlights
2:21 cutting through the darkness. We learned
2:23 that Via Rail had arranged for an
2:25 identical train to be waiting for us
2:28 beyond the landslide, but it was hours
2:32 away by road. After a 3-hour bus ride
2:35 through winding, snow-covered roads, we
2:37 finally reached the replacement train
2:41 and climbed aboard. Exhausted,
2:44 I crawled into bed and surprisingly fell
2:47 asleep with no trouble. By breakfast
2:50 time, the entire dining car was buzzing
2:54 with excitement over our unexpected
2:57 nighttime adventure.
2:59 And like I said to you, this really
3:02 happened to me. And as usual with a lot
3:06 of trains in Canada, we arrived late. I
3:10 think it was about two or 3 hours later.
3:12 But it's something to be expected when
3:14 something like this happens, right?
3:16 Okay, let's go back and practice these
3:19 sentences. I will say the sentence and
3:22 you repeat after me. Are you ready?
3:24 One. When I was a young man living in
3:28 Quebec, I often took the overnight train
3:42 Two. I usually made this 18-hour trip
3:45 twice a year, no matter what weather or
3:55 Three.
3:58 One year just before Christmas, I
4:02 boarded the ocean via train around 700
4:05 p.m. Excited to spend the holidays with
4:22 four four. After a delicious supper in
4:25 the dining car, I slipped back into my
4:28 small room, ready to rest as the train
4:30 rumbled through the dark countryside. Repeat.
4:44 Five.
4:46 I could never sleep very deeply because
4:50 the cars rocked and swayed like a cradle
5:03 Six. Around 3:00 a.m., a loud knocking
5:05 suddenly echoed down the hallway,
5:21 Seven. Half asleep. I assumed it was a
5:23 prank from someone who had enjoyed too
5:37 Eight. But when I opened my door, I
5:40 found a tense looking train employee
5:55 nine. When I asked what was happening,
5:58 he told me that there had been a massive
6:02 landslide in eastern Quebec near Remusi. Repeat
6:15 10. A long section of track had been
6:19 torn apart, making it impossible for the
6:32 11. We were instructed to pack our
6:35 belongings quickly and prepare to drain
6:47 12.
6:49 When we finally stopped, the scene was
6:54 surreal. About 15 school buses lined up
6:56 in the freezing night, their headlights
7:13 13.
7:15 We learned that Via Rail had arranged
7:18 for an identical train to be waiting for
7:20 us beyond the landslide, but it was
7:36 14.
7:39 After a three-hour bus ride through
7:42 winding, snow-covered roads, we finally
7:44 reached the replacement train and
7:47 climbed aboard exhausted. Repeat
8:01 15.
8:05 I crawled into bed and surprisingly fell
8:15 16.
8:19 By breakfast time, the entire dining car
8:22 was buzzing with excitement over our
8:37 All right. Have you ever had anything
8:40 like this happened to you in a train?
8:42 Like I told you in other videos, I don't
8:45 like to fly, but I do like to take
8:47 trains, but this was an experience that
8:50 I hope never happens again either. Okay,
8:52 let's go back and this time I will say
8:54 the number of each sentence and I'll get
8:57 you to tell me the story. Okay, use your
11:53 Well, that was a good job. Okay, now
11:56 this text is not the easiest. Hey, I
11:58 would say this is an advanced
12:01 intermediate text. And really, when
12:03 we're speaking English, that's the level
12:04 we use a lot when we're speaking
12:08 everyday English, advanced intermediate.
12:10 So, if you had trouble with this, don't
12:11 feel bad. You can always go back and
12:14 practice with me again. Also, on your
12:16 player, you have adjustments as far as
12:18 speed. And if you don't have enough time
12:20 to repeat, just press the pause button
12:23 on your player. Well, before closing,
12:24 I'd like to remind you that if you have
12:27 not subscribed to this channel, do so
12:29 and you will have access to all my
12:32 activities because as you see in the box
12:33 here, there are different types of
12:36 activities, dialogues, texts, mini
12:39 stories, pronunciation challenges,
12:42 and the list goes on. So, it'll make it
12:45 easier for you to find them in my
12:47 different playlists, and you can pick
12:49 what is convenient for you, what you
12:52 need to focus on in your learning of the
12:54 English language. All right. Well, I'll
12:56 say goodbye to you for today, and I look
12:58 forward to seeing you in the next video.
