A Morning at the Autumn Market — Calm English Listening

Transcript

Introduction

A: Hello, and welcome.

A: This is slow, calm B1 English for a quiet morning or a quiet evening.

A: Today you’ll hear two gentle stories about an autumn farmers’ market.

A: Between them, we’ll review ten phrases. Then there will be some quiet practice and a slower final pass.

A: Here are a few of the phrases. A stall. A basket of apples. Freshly baked.

A: And a few more. A jar of honey. The smell of cinnamon. To carry it home.

A: If you miss a word, let it go. Another one will come.

A: You can practice the phrases in Recursio another day. The link is in the description.

A: For now, just listen.

Saturday morning on the square

A: Every Saturday from May to November, there is a farmers’ market on the old square.

A: It starts at eight and finishes at one, in rain or sun.

A: In summer, it is loud and busy. In October, it is smaller and slower.

A: That is the version Ruth likes best.

A: Ruth is sixty-eight. She lives four blocks away, in a small yellow house. The garden is too big for her now.

A: She has come to the market almost every Saturday for thirty years.

A: She does not need much. She comes for the walk, and for the people, and for the apples.

A: This morning, the air is cold and clear, and the sky is very blue.

A: Ruth wears her green coat and a gray scarf, and she carries her old basket on her arm.

A: The basket is woven from thin brown branches. It was her mother’s.

A: There are about twenty stalls in two lines, facing each other across the square.

A: Each stall has a table, a small roof of white cloth, and a chalkboard with prices.

A: Some of the farmers have been here as long as Ruth has.

A: Some of them are the children of farmers she knew.

A: The first stall belongs to the Hadley family. They have an apple farm outside town.

A: Their table is full of apples in wooden boxes — red ones, yellow ones, and small green ones for baking.

A: Ruth always buys a basket of apples here in October.

A: It is too many apples for one person, so she shares them with her neighbor, Mrs. Lin.

A: Tom Hadley is behind the table. He is about forty, with red hands and a wool hat.

A: “Good morning, Ruth,” he says. “The Honeycrisp apples are ready.”

A: He cuts a slice from one apple and offers it to her on a small napkin.

A: Ruth likes to try a sample before she buys, and Tom knows this.

A: The slice is cold and sweet and very crisp. It tastes like October.

A: “They’re good this year,” she says. Tom smiles. “The rain came at the right time.”

A: Ruth stays a few minutes to chat with the seller. She has known Tom since he was a boy.

A: Tom tells her about his daughter, who started college in September and calls home every Sunday.

A: Ruth tells him about her garden, and the tomatoes that never turned red this year.

A: They don’t need important news. Ruth likes these small conversations.

A: Tom puts a dozen apples in the bottom of her basket. When she leaves, it feels heavier on her arm.

A: The next stall has no apples, only jars.

A: A beekeeper named Walter sells honey from his own bees, in small glass jars with handwritten labels.

A: Light honey from the spring, and dark honey from the late summer.

A: Ruth picks up a jar of honey and holds it up to the sun.

A: The honey is the color of old gold, and the light goes through it slowly.

A: She buys one jar, the dark one. Walter wraps it in newspaper so it won’t break.

A: Then, halfway down the square, the smell reaches her before she sees the stall.

A: Warm bread. Butter. And the smell of cinnamon, sweet and strong in the cold air.

A: A small bakery from the next town has a table here every Saturday.

A: Everything on it is freshly baked. The baker gets up at four to make it.

A: There are loaves of brown bread, apple pies, and a tray of cinnamon rolls, still warm.

A: A short line of people is waiting. Nobody seems to mind.

A: Ruth waits in the line too.

A: In front of her, a little boy holds his father’s hand. He looks at the cinnamon rolls without blinking.

A: When it’s her turn, Ruth buys a small loaf of bread and two cinnamon rolls.

A: One for her, and one for Mrs. Lin. They will have them with coffee this afternoon.

A: At the end of the market, there is always a flower stall.

A: In summer, it is full of roses and sunflowers. Now, there are dahlias, in orange and deep red.

A: The woman who sells them grows them behind her house.

A: Ruth usually doesn’t buy flowers. Her own garden gives her enough.

A: But this morning, the dahlias look so bright against the gray stones of the square.

A: She buys a bunch of flowers, orange and red, wrapped in brown paper.

A: Now the basket is full. Apples at the bottom, then the bread, the rolls, and the honey.

A: The flowers lie across the top.

A: Home is not far, but the basket is heavy, and Ruth walks slowly.

A: She does not mind. She likes to carry it home herself.

A: The streets are quiet. A few leaves come down from the trees and land on the sidewalk.

A: Somewhere, someone is burning leaves in a garden, and the smell is soft and smoky.

A: At home, Ruth puts the flowers in a white pitcher on the kitchen table.

A: She puts the apples in a bowl, and the honey on the shelf by the window.

A: Then she sits down for a minute, still in her coat, and looks at everything.

A: The kitchen smells of cinnamon and apples.

A: This afternoon, Mrs. Lin will knock on the door.

A: Mrs. Lin comes at three, as always, with her small dog under her arm.

A: She is eighty-one, and she walks more slowly than Ruth. But she never misses a Saturday coffee.

A: Ruth makes coffee in the old metal pot and warms the cinnamon rolls in the oven.

A: They sit at the kitchen table, next to the dahlias.

A: “You bought flowers,” says Mrs. Lin. “You never buy flowers.”

A: “I know,” says Ruth. “They looked so bright this morning.”

A: They eat the rolls slowly. Then Ruth cuts a slice of the brown bread and puts some of the dark honey on it.

A: Mrs. Lin closes her eyes when she tastes it.

A: They talk about the market, and the Hadley girl at college, and the tomatoes that never turned red.

A: Outside, the light is already getting lower. In October, the afternoons are short.

A: When Mrs. Lin goes home, she takes six apples in a paper bag.

A: Ruth watches her walk down the street, one small step at a time, until she turns the corner.

Phrase review

A: Now, slowly, the ten phrases.

A: A farmers’ market. A market, usually outside, where farmers sell their own food.

A: “There’s a farmers’ market on the square every Saturday.”

A: A stall. A small table or shop at a market, where one person or family sells things.

A: “My favorite stall sells apples and pears.”

A: “Let’s meet at the flower stall at ten.”

A: A basket of apples. A basket filled with apples.

A: “I bought a basket of apples for the whole family.”

A: Freshly baked. Baked a very short time ago, so it is still fresh, sometimes still warm.

A: “This bread is freshly baked. It came out of the oven an hour ago.”

A: “Nothing smells better than freshly baked bread.”

A: To try a sample. To taste a small piece of food before you buy it.

A: “Can I try a sample of the cheese?”

A: “Would you like to try a sample? It’s free.”

A: A jar of honey. Honey in a small glass container with a lid.

A: “She gave me a jar of honey from her own bees.”

A: The smell of cinnamon. The warm, sweet smell of a spice people use in cakes and rolls.

A: “The whole kitchen was full of the smell of cinnamon.”

A: To chat with the seller. To have a short, friendly talk with the person who is selling.

A: “I like to chat with the seller when the market is quiet.”

A: “She stopped to chat with the seller for ten minutes.”

A: A bunch of flowers. Several flowers together, usually wrapped in paper.

A: “He brought her a bunch of flowers from the market.”

A: To carry it home. To take something back to your home in your hands or in a bag.

A: “The pumpkin was heavy, but I wanted to carry it home myself.”

A: “Do you need a bag, or can you carry it home?”

A different market, a different Saturday

A: In another town, a few hours away, there is a bigger market, under an old metal roof.

A: On a Saturday in October, a young man named Daniel is walking through it for the first time.

A: He moved to the town three weeks ago for a new job. He does not know anyone yet.

A: His plan was simple. Buy some eggs and some bread, and go home.

A: But the market is warm and bright, and nobody here is in a hurry.

A: So he walks slowly, from one stall to the next, with his hands in his pockets.

A: At a cheese stall, an older woman asks him if he wants to try a sample.

A: He does. It is soft and a little salty, and he buys a small piece.

A: She asks where he is from, and he tells her. She tells him where to find the best coffee in town.

A: It is the first real conversation he has had in three weeks.

A: He walks on. There is a stall with only potatoes, in ten different kinds.

A: There is a stall with pumpkins, big and small, in orange, white, and pale green.

A: A little girl is sitting on the biggest pumpkin while her mother pays.

A: Nobody tells her to get down.

A: Near the back, the smell of cinnamon comes from a stall with apple cake.

A: The cake is freshly baked. Daniel buys a slice, and the man selling it gives him the last corner piece.

A: “The corners are the best part,” he says. “Everybody knows that.”

A: Daniel buys his eggs and his bread. Then, at the last minute, a jar of honey.

A: He does not really need it. But the golden honey reminds him of his grandmother’s kitchen.

A: On the way out, he sees a bucket of flowers by the door, yellow and white.

A: He almost walks past them. Then he goes back and buys a bunch.

A: His apartment is on the third floor, and there is no elevator.

A: He carries two small paper bags, a carton of eggs, and the flowers up the stairs, holding it all close to his chest.

A: At the top of the stairs, he stops to breathe, and laughs a little at himself.

A: Next Saturday, he thinks, he will bring a bag.

A: And he will say hello to the woman with the cheese.

A: That evening, he puts the flowers in a glass on the windowsill. He doesn’t have a vase.

A: He makes toast with the bread and puts honey on it, standing at the kitchen counter.

A: Outside the window, the town is getting dark, and the lights come on one by one.

A: It still doesn’t feel like home. But it feels a little more like home than it did this morning.

Quiet repetition

A: Now a few quiet questions. Try them in your mind, or just listen if you prefer.

A: Where do farmers sell their own food, often outside, on a square?

A: At a farmers’ market.

A: What do we call one small table at the market, with a roof of white cloth?

A: A stall.

A: What does Ruth buy from the Hadley family every October, and share with Mrs. Lin?

A: A basket of apples.

A: The baker made everything early this morning, and the rolls are still warm. How do we say that?

A: It is freshly baked.

A: Tom offers Ruth a slice of apple on a small napkin. What does she do?

A: She tries a sample.

A: Walter’s honey is in small glass containers with handwritten labels. What does Ruth buy?

A: A jar of honey.

A: Warm, sweet, and strong in the cold air. What reaches Ruth before she sees the bakery?

A: The smell of cinnamon.

A: Ruth stays a few minutes and talks with Tom about his daughter. What is she doing?

A: She is chatting with the seller.

A: Orange and red dahlias, wrapped in brown paper. What does Ruth buy at the end?

A: A bunch of flowers.

A: The basket is heavy, but it is not far. What does Ruth do?

A: She carries it home.

A morning at the market, more slowly

A: Now the market again, very slowly. You don’t need to answer anything. Just listen.

A: It is a Saturday in October.

A: The air is cold and clear, and the sky is very blue.

A: You walk to the farmers’ market on the old square.

A: The stalls stand in two lines, with small white roofs.

A: At the first stall, a man offers you a slice of apple on a small napkin.

A: You try a sample. It is cold and sweet.

A: You buy a basket of apples, red and yellow.

A: You stay a minute to chat with the seller.

A: About his daughter. About your garden. About nothing important.

A: At the next stall, you hold a jar of honey up to the sun.

A: The light goes through it slowly, like old gold.

A: Then the smell of cinnamon comes to you through the cold air.

A: The bread is freshly baked. The rolls are still warm.

A: You wait in a short line. Nobody is in a hurry.

A: At the end of the square, there are dahlias, orange and deep red.

A: You buy a bunch of flowers, wrapped in brown paper.

A: Now the basket is full, and a little heavy.

A: You walk slowly. You carry it home yourself.

A: A few leaves come down and land on the sidewalk.

A: At home, the kitchen smells of cinnamon and apples.

A: You put the flowers in a white pitcher, and sit down for a minute.

A: There is nowhere you have to be.

Final phrases and goodbye

A: The ten phrases, one last time.

A: A farmers’ market.

A: A stall.

A: A basket of apples.

A: Freshly baked.

A: To try a sample.

A: A jar of honey.

A: The smell of cinnamon.

A: To chat with the seller.

A: A bunch of flowers.

A: To carry it home.

A: That’s all for today. Thank you for listening.

A: If you’d like to practice these phrases later, the link is below.

A: Enjoy the rest of your day, or have a peaceful evening. Goodbye for now.