A Foggy Morning in a Small Town — 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 a foggy morning.

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. Thick fog. Damp air. The church bell.

A: And a few more. A cup of something warm. The fog is lifting. The sun breaks through.

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.

Tuesday, before seven

A: The town is small. It sits on a slow river, between two low hills.

A: There is one main street, one church, one school, and one bakery.

A: Most mornings, you can see the hills from many windows.

A: This morning, the hills have disappeared.

A: Sam wakes up at six, as he always does. He is fifty-four, and he has lived in this town all his life.

A: He opens the curtains, and the world outside is white.

A: Thick fog has come up from the river in the night. It covers the yards, the street, and the roofs across the road.

A: He can see his own gate, and the first two trees. After that, nothing.

A: Sam likes fog. He always has.

A: On foggy mornings, the town feels quieter, and smaller, and a little like a secret.

A: He puts on his old brown jacket and a wool hat, and goes out.

A: The damp air touches his face as soon as he closes the door.

A: It is cold, but soft. It smells of wet leaves and the river.

A: Small drops of water sit on his jacket, on the gate, on every spiderweb in the hedge.

A: The spiderwebs look like they are made of tiny glass beads.

A: The streetlights are still on. They make small round circles of yellow light in the white air.

A: Between the lights, the street disappears.

A: Sam walks from one circle of light to the next, like stepping stones across a river.

A: Near the corner, you can barely see the post office. Only its red door, very faint, like a drawing in pencil.

A: A car goes by very slowly, with its lights on. Then the sound of it goes away, and it is quiet again.

A: Sam walks slowly. There is no reason to hurry. In fog like this, it is safer anyway.

A: Out of the white, a shape comes toward him. First a small dog, then a long leash, then a person.

A: It is Mr. Grant from down the street, in a yellow raincoat, with his old spaniel, Biscuit.

A: “Morning, Sam,” he says. “Can’t see a thing today.”

A: “Not a thing,” says Sam. “It’s beautiful.”

A: Mr. Grant laughs. “Only you would say that.” And he and Biscuit go back into the white.

A: On the main street, there is one warm window.

A: It is the bakery. Every morning at a quarter to seven, Mrs. Ellis turns on the lights and opens the door.

A: A bakery opening this early always makes Sam smile: lights in the window, the smell of bread, and someone ready to say hello.

A: This morning, Sam is the first customer.

A: “Good morning, Sam,” says Mrs. Ellis. She has flour on her apron and on one cheek.

A: “So you found your way,” she says, and smiles.

A: “I could do it with my eyes closed,” says Sam. “Today, that’s almost true.”

A: He buys a small loaf of wheat bread, as he does every Tuesday.

A: And on a morning like this, he wants a cup of something warm, too.

A: Mrs. Ellis makes him tea in a paper cup, with milk and a little honey.

A: He holds it in both hands. The warmth goes into his fingers.

A: At seven o’clock, the church bell rings.

A: To Sam, the bell sounds softer in the fog, as if it comes from everywhere at once.

A: Sam counts the seven rings, the way he did when he was a boy.

A: Then the air is quiet again.

A: After the bakery, Sam walks to the old stone bridge.

A: In the middle of the bridge, he stops and looks down.

A: He can hear the water moving under him, but he can barely see it. Only a dark shape, very slow.

A: A duck calls somewhere below, and another one answers.

A: Sam stands there for a minute, with the warm cup in his hands, and just listens.

A: Then he walks down the steps to the riverbank with his tea and his bread.

A: There is a wooden bench by the water. He wipes it with his sleeve and sits down.

A: The river is gray and almost still. He can see the first few feet of it, and then only white.

A: Somewhere across the water, a dog barks once. Somewhere, a door closes.

A: He drinks his tea slowly. He does not look at his phone. He just sits.

A: After a while, the white in front of him begins to thin. The air above the water grows brighter.

A: The fog is lifting.

A: First, he sees the other side of the river. Then the trees on the hill. Then the top of the hill itself.

A: And then, very suddenly, the sun breaks through.

A: A long line of gold falls across the water. The wet grass shines. The drops on the bench light up.

A: He turns around. Up on the street, the streetlights go off, one after another.

A: Sam finishes his tea. It is cold now, but he doesn’t mind.

A: He picks up his bread and walks home slowly, the way he came.

A: The town is back. The hills are back. The post office door is bright red again.

A: But he is a little sorry that the fog is gone.

A: At home, he cuts two thick slices of the wheat bread and puts butter on them.

A: He makes a second cup of tea, this time in his big blue mug.

A: He sits at the kitchen table by the window.

A: Outside, the yard is wet and shining. The last few leaves on the apple tree are bright orange.

A: A robin is walking on the grass, looking for worms.

A: Sam eats his bread and watches it for a long time.

A: It is only half past eight. The whole day is still in front of him.

Phrase review

A: Now, slowly, the ten phrases.

A: Thick fog. Fog so heavy that you cannot see very far.

A: “There was thick fog on the road this morning.”

A: “The buses moved slowly through the thick fog.”

A: You can barely see. You can see, but only a little, and not clearly.

A: “It’s so dark in here, you can barely see.”

A: “In the fog, you could barely see the house across the street.”

A: The streetlights are still on. The lights on the street are on, even though it is morning.

A: “It was so early that the streetlights were still on.”

A: “The streetlights were still on when I walked to the bus stop.”

A: Damp air. Air that feels a little wet.

A: “I don’t like the damp air in November.”

A: “The damp air made my hair curly.”

A: The church bell. A bell at a church. In Sam’s town, it rings at seven.

A: “We could hear the church bell from our kitchen.”

A: “The church bell rang at seven this morning.”

A: A bakery opening. The moment a bakery starts its day, with lights in the window and fresh bread inside.

A: “A bakery opening early can make a street feel warmer.”

A: To walk slowly. To walk without hurrying.

A: “Let’s walk slowly. We have lots of time.”

A: “He walked slowly along the river.”

A: A cup of something warm. Tea, coffee, or hot chocolate — any warm drink.

A: “It’s cold outside. Would you like a cup of something warm?”

A: “After the walk, all I wanted was a cup of something warm.”

A: The fog is lifting. The fog is getting thinner and going away.

A: “Look, the fog is lifting. I can see the hills now.”

A: “Wait a little. The fog is lifting, and the view will be beautiful.”

A: The sun breaks through. The sun suddenly shines through the clouds or the fog.

A: “In the afternoon, the sun broke through and the day got warm.”

A: “It rained all morning, and then the sun broke through.”

The early ferry

A: In another place, far from Sam’s town, there is a long, narrow lake with a small ferry.

A: The ferry goes across the lake every hour, from a village on one side to a town on the other.

A: On this foggy morning, a young woman named Clara is waiting for the first boat, at half past six.

A: Clara works in a flower shop in the town across the lake. She takes this ferry every day.

A: Usually, from the dock, she can see the town on the other side. The houses. The church. The hill behind it.

A: Today, there is only thick fog. She can barely see the end of the dock.

A: The ferry comes out of the white very slowly, like a big gray animal.

A: Its lights are on, and it sounds its horn, low and long, to say it is coming.

A: Clara and three other people walk on board. One man has a bicycle. One woman has a sleeping baby.

A: Inside, there is a small room with benches and a machine for coffee and hot chocolate.

A: Clara gets a hot chocolate and sits by the window.

A: It is too hot to drink at first, so she holds it and waits.

A: On cold mornings, a cup of something warm is the best part of the trip. She has one every day from October to March.

A: Outside the window, there is nothing to see. Only white, and the dark water next to the boat.

A: The engine hums. The boat moves slowly. Nobody talks.

A: Halfway across the lake, the light changes.

A: The white outside gets brighter, and then thinner. The fog is lifting.

A: Clara can see the water now, and a few ducks sitting on it.

A: Then the sun breaks through, and suddenly the whole lake is gold and blue.

A: The other shore is there, closer than she thought — the houses, the church, the hill.

A: The man with the bicycle says, “Oh,” very quietly, to nobody.

A: The woman with the baby smiles at Clara, and Clara smiles back.

A: At the dock, Clara steps off and walks slowly up the hill to the flower shop.

A: The shop opens at nine, so she has plenty of time.

A: She thinks she will put some yellow flowers in the window today. It feels like a yellow day.

A: The shop is small and cool inside, and it smells of wet leaves and roses.

A: Clara turns on the lights and fills the buckets with fresh water.

A: She puts sunflowers and yellow roses in the window, the way she planned.

A: At nine, her first customer comes in. He is an old man. He buys one flower every week for his wife.

A: “Beautiful morning,” he says. “Did you see the fog on the lake?”

A: “I was in it,” says Clara. “I came across on the ferry.”

A: “Lucky you,” he says. And he chooses a yellow rose.

Quiet repetition

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

A: When Sam opens the curtains, the world outside is white. What has come up from the river in the night?

A: Thick fog.

A: Near the corner, Sam sees only the red door of the post office, very faint. Can he see it clearly?

A: He can barely see it.

A: It is morning, but the circles of yellow light are still in the street. What is still on?

A: The streetlights are still on.

A: What touches Sam’s face as soon as he closes the door — cold, soft, and smelling of the river?

A: The damp air.

A: At seven o’clock, a sound seems to come from everywhere at once. What is it?

A: The church bell.

A: Mrs. Ellis turns on the lights and opens the door at a quarter to seven. What does Sam like to see?

A: A bakery opening.

A: There is no reason to hurry, and it is safer in the fog. How does Sam walk?

A: He walks slowly.

A: On a morning like this, Sam wants more than bread. What does he want?

A: A cup of something warm.

A: At the river, the white gets thinner and the air above the water grows brighter. What is happening?

A: The fog is lifting.

A: A long line of gold falls across the water. What happens?

A: The sun breaks through.

A foggy morning, more slowly

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

A: You wake up early and open the curtains.

A: Outside, there is thick fog. The world is white.

A: You put on a warm jacket and go out.

A: The damp air touches your face. It smells of wet leaves and the river.

A: The streetlights are still on, small circles of yellow light.

A: You walk slowly, from one circle of light to the next.

A: You can barely see the houses. Only a red door, very faint.

A: On the main street, there is one warm window.

A: A bakery opening this early brings light to the street. You stop and smell the fresh bread.

A: You hold a cup of something warm in both hands.

A: The warmth goes into your fingers.

A: The church bell rings. Soft, from everywhere at once.

A: You count to seven.

A: On the old stone bridge, you stop and listen.

A: You can hear the water under you, moving slowly.

A: A duck calls, and another one answers.

A: By the river, you sit on a wooden bench.

A: The water is gray and almost still.

A: Slowly, the fog is lifting.

A: First the other side of the river. Then the trees. Then the hill.

A: And then the sun breaks through.

A: A long line of gold falls across the water.

A: You walk home slowly, the way you came.

A: For a moment, there is nowhere you have to be.

Final phrases and goodbye

A: The ten phrases, one last time.

A: Thick fog.

A: You can barely see.

A: The streetlights are still on.

A: Damp air.

A: The church bell.

A: A bakery opening.

A: To walk slowly.

A: A cup of something warm.

A: The fog is lifting.

A: The sun breaks through.

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.