Las letras pequeñas
The Small Letters
The test
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6 questions about this story. Two minutes. Nothing to sign up for, and nothing about you is saved.
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Exercises
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1 · Fill in the blank
Andrés is a quiet and nervous man.
2 · Write it in Spanish
He thinks that today the laundromat does not wash.
Then he notices something behind machine one.
The water comes in and the clothes start to turn.
Below, in small letters, there are more words.
The cable is out of the wall outlet.
3 · Put the words in order
4 · Word search
5 words from the story hide across and down.
- FUNCIONAR
- ESCRIBIR
- NERVIOSO
- SUSPIRAR
- ENSENAR
5 · 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.
Andrés camina por la calle a las seis.
Andrés walks down the street at six.
La mañana de Arequipa está despejada y seca.
The Arequipa morning is clear and dry.
El sol brilla sobre las montañas blancas.
The sun shines over the white mountains.
Andrés lleva una bolsa grande con ropa sucia.
Andrés carries a big bag with dirty clothes.
En la otra mano lleva un termo rojo.
In the other hand he carries a red thermos.
Dentro del termo hay sopa caliente de pollo.
Inside the thermos there is hot chicken soup.
La sopa huele a ajo y a maíz.
The soup smells of garlic and corn.
En Arequipa la sopa caliente es un desayuno típico.
In Arequipa hot soup is a typical breakfast.
Andrés toma sopa caliente cada mañana temprano.
Andrés has hot soup every early morning.
Andrés tiene treinta y cinco años.
Andrés is thirty-five years old.
Él trabaja con cables, enchufes y máquinas.
He works with cables, outlets and machines.
Con las máquinas, Andrés es muy tranquilo.
With machines, Andrés is very calm.
Andrés es un hombre callado y nervioso.
Andrés is a quiet and nervous man.
Ahora abre la puerta de la lavandería del barrio.
Now he opens the door of the neighborhood laundromat.
La lavandería está vacía y muy silenciosa.
The laundromat is empty and very quiet.
El sol entra por la ventana grande.
The sun comes in through the big window.
Andrés está solo y eso le gusta.
Andrés is alone and he likes that.
Dentro hay tres máquinas blancas contra la pared.
Inside there are three white machines against the wall.
En la pared hay un papel amarillo.
On the wall there is a yellow paper.
El papel dice, con letras grandes: no funciona.
The paper says, in big letters: it does not work.
Andrés lee el papel y suspira.
Andrés reads the paper and sighs.
Él piensa que hoy la lavandería no lava.
He thinks that today the laundromat does not wash.
Andrés mira la puerta y piensa en volver.
Andrés looks at the door and thinks about going back.
Pero la bolsa de ropa sucia está llena.
But the bag of dirty clothes is full.
Entonces Andrés decide probar una máquina.
So Andrés decides to try a machine.
Abre la máquina uno y mete la ropa.
He opens machine one and puts in the clothes.
Pone jabón y cierra la puerta blanca.
He puts in soap and closes the white door.
Toca el botón verde y espera un minuto.
He touches the green button and waits a minute.
La máquina uno no hace nada.
Machine one does nothing.
No hay agua, no hay ruido, no hay luz.
There is no water, no noise, no light.
Andrés toca el botón otra vez, muy despacio.
Andrés touches the button again, very slowly.
La máquina uno sigue callada y seca.
Machine one stays quiet and dry.
Andrés está nervioso y mira el papel amarillo.
Andrés is nervous and looks at the yellow paper.
Él piensa que el papel dice la verdad.
He thinks the paper is telling the truth.
Andrés se sienta en una silla y suspira.
Andrés sits down on a chair and sighs.
Abre el termo y toma un poco de sopa.
He opens the thermos and drinks a little soup.
La sopa caliente es buena por la mañana.
Hot soup is good in the morning.
Andrés bebe despacio y mira las máquinas.
Andrés drinks slowly and looks at the machines.
Entonces nota algo detrás de la máquina uno.
Then he notices something behind machine one.
Hay un cable negro en el suelo.
There is a black cable on the floor.
El cable está fuera del enchufe de la pared.
The cable is out of the wall outlet.
Andrés se levanta rápido y mira el papel.
Andrés gets up quickly and looks at the paper.
Ahora lee todo el papel, palabra por palabra.
Now he reads the whole paper, word by word.
Abajo, con letras pequeñas, hay más palabras.
Below, in small letters, there are more words.
El papel dice: el cable está fuera.
The paper says: the cable is out.
Andrés comprende el papel y sonríe un poco.
Andrés understands the paper and smiles a little.
El papel no habla de una máquina rota.
The paper is not talking about a broken machine.
El papel habla solamente del cable negro.
The paper is only talking about the black cable.
Andrés toma el cable con las dos manos.
Andrés takes the cable with both hands.
Mete el cable dentro del enchufe.
He puts the cable into the outlet.
La máquina uno hace un ruido fuerte.
Machine one makes a loud noise.
Una luz verde brilla dentro de la máquina.
A green light shines inside the machine.
El agua entra y la ropa empieza a girar.
The water comes in and the clothes start to turn.
Andrés mira la ropa y está muy contento.
Andrés looks at the clothes and is very happy.
Ahora la lavandería funciona perfectamente.
Now the laundromat works perfectly.
Andrés piensa en el papel amarillo otra vez.
Andrés thinks about the yellow paper again.
Las letras pequeñas son un problema grande.
The small letters are a big problem.
Él saca un bolígrafo y un papel blanco.
He takes out a pen and a white paper.
Andrés escribe con letras muy grandes y claras.
Andrés writes with very big, clear letters.
Escribe el número uno: el cable dentro del enchufe.
He writes number one: the cable in the outlet.
Escribe el número dos: la ropa y el jabón.
He writes number two: the clothes and the soap.
Escribe el número tres: el botón verde.
He writes number three: the green button.
Después dibuja el cable y el enchufe.
Then he draws the cable and the outlet.
El dibujo es sencillo, pero se entiende bien.
The drawing is simple, but it is easy to understand.
Andrés pone su papel en la máquina uno.
Andrés puts his paper on machine one.
El papel nuevo enseña el secreto de la máquina.
The new paper teaches the secret of the machine.
Así, en el próximo turno todo es fácil.
That way, on the next turn everything is easy.
Andrés se sienta y bebe más sopa caliente.
Andrés sits down and drinks more hot soup.
La ventana está llena de sol.
The window is full of sun.
La ropa gira y la sopa está rica.
The clothes turn and the soup is delicious.
Andrés sonríe solo, tranquilo y orgulloso.
Andrés smiles alone, calm and proud.
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.