The test
How much did you catch?
7 questions about this story. Two minutes. Nothing to sign up for, and nothing about you is saved.
Or keep scrolling — the whole guide is below.
Exercises
Type your answers — they check themselves. Nothing is scored and nothing is saved.
1 · Fill in the blank
Javier touches the cable: it is dry and hard.
Up there, the curtain's cable is broken.
2 · Write it in Spanish
Javier tells Tito the story of the mountain.
Tito looks at the empty rows of red seats.
Javier wonders why the movie theater is so quiet.
Javier wonders why the curtain is falling.
The sun always hits that side.
3 · Put the words in order
4 · Match the word to the picture
Write the letter of the picture next to the word.
Vocabulary
18 words from this story. You will hear all of them in the song.
La canción · The song
The story, line by line
Read the Spanish first. Say it out loud. The English is there only when you need it.
Javier se pregunta por qué el cine está callado.
Javier wonders why the movie theater is so quiet.
Es mediodía y la película empieza a la una.
It is midday and the movie starts at one.
Javier abre la puerta grande del cine de Trujillo.
Javier opens the big door of the Trujillo movie theater.
Tito, el perro, entra y mueve la cola.
Tito, the dog, comes in and wags his tail.
Tito es un perro sin pelo y es gris.
Tito is a hairless dog and he is gray.
El cine es viejo y Tito lo conoce bien.
The movie theater is old and Tito knows it well.
Tito mira las filas de asientos rojos vacías.
Tito looks at the empty rows of red seats.
La pantalla blanca está detrás de una cortina roja.
The white screen is behind a red curtain.
Tito camina entre las filas y huele todo.
Tito walks between the rows and smells everything.
Javier le habla a Tito en voz alta.
Javier talks to Tito out loud.
Javier cuenta a Tito la historia de la montaña.
Javier tells Tito the story of the mountain.
Es la historia de la montaña con niebla.
It is the story of the mountain with fog.
En esa montaña, la niebla es blanca.
On that mountain, the fog is white.
Tito ya conoce la historia, pero mueve la cola.
Tito already knows the story, but he wags his tail.
El perro se sienta al lado de Javier.
The dog sits down next to Javier.
De repente, hay un golpe fuerte dentro del cine.
Suddenly, there is a loud bang inside the movie theater.
Tito ladra y mira hacia la pantalla.
Tito barks and looks toward the screen.
La cortina roja cae de un lado.
The red curtain falls down on one side.
Javier y Tito caminan hacia la cortina.
Javier and Tito walk toward the curtain.
La cortina está rota y toca el suelo.
The curtain is broken and touches the floor.
Javier se pregunta por qué cae la cortina.
Javier wonders why the curtain is falling.
Dentro del cine no hay viento ni lluvia.
Inside the movie theater there is no wind or rain.
Tito huele la cortina y mira a Javier.
Tito smells the curtain and looks at Javier.
Javier trae una escalera y Tito mira arriba.
Javier brings a ladder and Tito looks up.
Tito espera abajo y no se mueve.
Tito waits down below and does not move.
Arriba, el cable de la cortina está roto.
Up there, the curtain's cable is broken.
Javier toca el cable: está seco y duro.
Javier touches the cable: it is dry and hard.
Javier baja y Tito lo sigue a la caja.
Javier comes down and Tito follows him to the box.
En la caja hay papeles y una correa vieja.
In the box there are papers and an old strap.
Tito huele la correa: es vieja y fuerte.
Tito smells the strap: it is old and strong.
Javier sube otra vez y Tito espera abajo.
Javier climbs up again and Tito waits below.
Javier ata el cable roto con la correa.
Javier ties the broken cable with the strap.
La cortina sube y Tito ladra contento.
The curtain goes up and Tito barks happily.
Tito mueve la cola al lado de Javier.
Tito wags his tail next to Javier.
Javier está contento, pero la duda sigue ahí.
Javier is happy, but the doubt is still there.
Javier no entiende por qué el cable está seco.
Javier does not understand why the cable is dry.
Después, Javier va al balcón de su casa.
Afterward, Javier goes to the balcony of his house.
Tito camina detrás de Javier, muy tranquilo.
Tito walks behind Javier, very calm.
El balcón es pequeño y está lleno de plantas.
The balcony is small and it is full of plants.
Tito camina entre las macetas verdes y rojas.
Tito walks between the green and red flower pots.
En la mesa hay una olla con agua.
On the table there is a pot with water.
Javier da agua a las plantas y Tito mira.
Javier gives water to the plants and Tito watches.
Tito bebe agua en su plato y come.
Tito drinks water from his bowl and eats.
Después, el perro duerme un rato al sol.
Afterward, the dog sleeps for a while in the sun.
Javier y Tito miran las montañas lejanas.
Javier and Tito look at the far away mountains.
Arriba, en la montaña, hay niebla blanca.
Up there, on the mountain, there is white fog.
Javier cuenta a Tito la misma historia otra vez.
Javier tells Tito the same story again.
Tito abre un ojo y mueve la cola.
Tito opens one eye and wags his tail.
Tito huele una planta grande del balcón.
Tito smells a big plant on the balcony.
Javier toca las hojas: un lado está seco.
Javier touches the leaves: one side is dry.
Las hojas del otro lado están verdes.
The leaves on the other side are green.
Javier se pregunta por qué ese lado está seco.
Javier wonders why that side is dry.
Entonces Javier mira el sol del mediodía.
Then Javier looks at the midday sun.
El sol da siempre en ese lado.
The sun always hits that side.
Javier sonríe y acaricia la cabeza de Tito.
Javier smiles and pets Tito's head.
Ahora Javier entiende la historia del cable roto.
Now Javier understands the story of the broken cable.
En el cine hay una ventana pequeña arriba.
In the movie theater there is a small window up high.
Todos los días, al mediodía, el sol entra ahí.
Every day, at midday, the sun comes in there.
Y da justo en el cable de la cortina.
And it hits exactly the curtain's cable.
Por eso el cable está seco y se rompe.
That is why the cable is dry and breaks.
La respuesta es fácil, dice Javier a Tito.
The answer is easy, Javier says to Tito.
Tito mueve la cola y mira a Javier.
Tito wags his tail and looks at Javier.
Mañana Javier va a mover la maceta.
Tomorrow Javier is going to move the flower pot.
Y va a poner un papel en esa ventana.
And he is going to put a paper on that window.
Así el sol no va a romper cables.
That way the sun is not going to break cables.
Javier mira la montaña con Tito al lado.
Javier looks at the mountain with Tito at his side.
Tito mueve la cola y Javier está feliz.
Tito wags his tail and Javier is happy.
Answers
Now watch it again with no subtitles.
The third pass of the video is the one that counts. Put the guide down and just listen.