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Worthy Goals - Commentary mini-story

Okay, welcome to the commentary mini-story for the Worthy Goals article.

This time I’m going to do something a little different. I’m going to tell a little short story, using some of the new vocabulary.

When I tell the story, l’m gonna ask a lot of questions. Try to answer the questions quickly and answer before I answer them. This will help you to remember the new vocabulary and phrases. Ok!

Once, there was a miserable guy named A.J. He was stuck in a miserable job, but he made a lot of money. The job was degrading, because he had an oppressive boss. A.J had no autonomy. He had to ask for permission to do anything.

One day, A.J decided he was sick of the drab and sterile office. He yelled at his boss, “take this job and shove it. I quit!”

A.J decided to travel the world on a quest for fun and adventure. He never hesitated. He bought a plane ticket to India and left the miserable job forever. Now, he’s not miserable any more.

Okay, one more time. Let’s do it again.

Once, there was a miserable guy named A.J.

What kind of guy was A.J? Was he happy?

No.

Was he sad and terrible and he felt horrible?

Yes, he was miserable. He was stuck in a miserable job.

Was it a good job?

No.

Was it a fun job?

No.

Was it an interesting job?

No, it was a miserable job.

He made a lot of money at this miserable job, but the job was degrading, because he had an oppressive boss.

Was the job fun?

No, it was not.

Did he feel good at the job?

No.

Why not?

Because it was a degrading job.

Did he have a good time at his degrading job?

No, he did not. He felt weak and powerless, because it was a degrading job. And his boss was oppressive.

Was his boss kind to him?

No.

Did his boss make him feel powerful?

No, his boss made him feel weak. His boss was oppressive. His boss pushed him down. He was an oppressive boss. A.J had no autonomy. He had to ask for permission to do anything.

So did A.J have to ask for permission to do anything? Or did he have autonomy?

He had to ask permission, of course. He did not have autonomy.

Did A.J have the independence at his job?

No, he did not. He did not have autonomy. He had no independence.

Could A.J make decisions by himself at his job?

No, he could not. He had no autonomy. He had to ask his boss first.

Okay, one day, A.J decided he was sick of the drab and sterile office.

Was the office a nice office?

No, it was not.

Did it have a lot of colors and art?

No, it did not.

Did the office have a lot of life? Did it have emotion and feeling?

No, it did not. The office was gray. The office had no color. It’s just grays and tans and whites. It was a drab office, a sterile office. So A.J yelled at his boss finally, “take this job and shove it”.

Did A.J want his job anymore?

No, he did not.

Did A.J want to stay at his job forever?

No, he did not.

So, what did he do?

He quit his job. He told his boss, “take this job and shove it”. That means, I don’t want this job anymore. It’s very rude.

Okay, did A.J talk quietly to his boss?

No, he was rude and angry and he yelled at his boss, “take this job and shove it”. A.J decided to travel the world on a quest for fun and adventure.

Did A.J go on a quest for money?

No, of course not.

Did A.J go on a quest for women?

No, he did not.

What did A.J go on a quest for? What was he searching for?

A.J went on a quest for fun and adventure. This was his quest. This was his search, his journey.

Did A.J hesitate? Did he wait to do this?

No, he did not. A.J did not hesitate. He never hesitated. He went quickly. He went immediately. He never hesitated. He bought a plane ticket to India immediately, right away. And he left the miserable job forever.

Did he leave a good job?

No he did not.

Did he leave an interesting and fun job?

Of course not. He left a miserable, terrible, sad, depressing, boring job. It was a miserable job.

Now, A.J’s not miserable anymore. Now he’s happy. Now he’s excited. He’s teaching English on the internet to great, wonderful members of Effortless English. He’s not miserable anymore.

Okay, that’s today’s mini-story. Please listen to this mini-story podcast a few times. Try to listen to it, I suggest, five, six, ten times. The repetition will help you.

You may think you know the words the first time, or the second time. Of course that’s okay. But the more you listen, the more the vocabulary and the grammar will sink into your brain. It will become more automatic. That’s why repetition is important, especially repetition in different situations.

So listen to the original article many times. Then listen to the vocabulary explanations many times. Finally, listen to this mini-story, this commentary mini-story many times.

If you do this, you will hear this words and phrases in a lot of different situations. That will help you learn the vocabulary and the grammar automatically, effortlessly, without trying too hard.

And hopefully in the future, if you do this, you will start to use this vocabulary automatically, without trying.

Okay, so please listen to each part of this lesson, the article, read the learning guide of course, the vocabulary podcast and now this podcast. Listen to all of them many different times.

And your final homework, and please do this, your final homework after you listen to all of this, go to the forums page and write a short essay, maybe 3 paragraphs, 2 paragraphs about this topic.

The topic of worthy goals, the topic of bad jobs and good jobs, whatever. But try to use some of the new vocabulary. When you write your forum, it’s important, try to use some of this new vocabulary. That’s how you will learn it really well and get it to stick in your brain.

Okay, See you next time. Bye-bye.