Buondì.
On Wednesday, I posted Chapter One of this week’s new ‘easy reader’ ebook, which is A2/B1 (pre-intermediate/intermediate) level but, in my opinion, is accessible for anyone with reasonable reading skills.
By which I mean not obsessing over every word or sentence you don’t immediately understand, but instead trying to follow the story. That article, if you missed it, is here: How to read in Italian (and why you really should!)
Then on Friday I followed up with Chapter Two, something I rarely ever do (we always have ONE free chapter, almost never more). You’ll find that here: Move your eyes along the first line, from left to right
Now you might be marvelling at my commercial craftiness! Be amazed. I tempt ’em with a high-tension story line, until they can’t resist biting, jerk the rod so the hook embeds deeply, then on the Monday of launch week, reel them in. And laugh all the way to the bank, pardon the mixed metaphors.
Well, there’s that, but actually, I still have stitches in my groin (don’t ask how many as I was forbidden from touching the dressing, so can’t look.)
I’m not sleeping well because of the (now fairly light but still present) pain.
And anyway, I’m supposed to be convalescing. Which means less time at the computer, in theory.
Hence the short cut of posting sample chapters, and the untasking job of writing about why and how you should read them. It’s just EASIER, hang the commercial effect.
So what the heck, I think I’ll copy/paste a third FREE chapter (see below) and save myself the hour or more it would take to write something sage.
I expect you can’t wait. But hang about, here’s a tip for you.
Reading and listening is EVEN BETTER than reading on its own, for language learners, at least. If you get a text with accompanying audio (all our ‘easy readers’ have accompanying audio…) then what I usually advise you do with it is (lazily copied and pasted from the FAQ of our ebooks store):
How should I use my easy reader?
Here’s how to use our easy readers:
- First read/listen at the same time. Don’t worry about stuff you don’t understand, don’t stop to look up things. Try to finish the book, or at least the chapter, at the speed of the audio. You should get a sense of achievement just by ‘finishing’ the audio + text, even if your understanding is very limited…
- Now (maybe another day) read again at your own pace. Best to guess the difficult words from context if you can. Use a dictionary only if you really must, as it will make the whole thing more arduous and reduce the benefit you’ll get from actual reading…
- [optionally, repeat stage 1 at this point]
- The next stage is to listen again but this time without the text. This phase is to work on listening comprehension. You should by now have a reasonable idea of what’s going on, so the challenge is to see how much you can pick out when just hearing it. You can repeat this as often as you want. It’ll be hard at first, but will get easier with practice. And come back to it again in the future! As with a song, the more times you hear it, the more you might get out of it, until it becomes boring of course.
- Now get another book and repeat the process. Stay at approximately the same level of difficulty until you can do the steps above with confidence. Then move up to something harder, knowing though that you’ll feel less confident at first. Gradually push up through the levels until you feel confident moving on to authentic materials like novels, films, etc.
And yet, you mutter, he only posted the text for the two free chapters, not the audio!
True, that was because it wasn’t ready yet. But now it is. So I will.
N.b. The audio for our easy readers is always available and always free. And the link to the online audio is always to be found in the free sample chapter (.pdf), which can be found on the Catalog page of our ebook store, here. You just have to look, which most people don’t.
Don’t believe me? Then go check out the Catalog page. There are literally hundreds of easy readers, all with sample chapters, and in the sample chapters there are links to the online audio for the entire text, absolutely free, no purchase required.
So if you’ve been paying attention and have worked on your listening skills, instead of or as well as obsessing with grammar, then there’s a mass of graded listening material that you could use to raise yourself heavenwards through the levels, from earthly A1 to celestial C2. For free.
But of course, most people like to have the full text of a story, as well as the audio. That adds value. And that’s how we pay our bills.
Never mind that now, though. Below is the third and final FREE sample chapter for ‘Quando suonano alla porta’. You’ll find the audio link for the entire story (go back and listen to the two chapters from last week, why not) in the FREE sample chapter .pdf, which is linked to in the product description below.
Enjoy!
(A mercoledì.)
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Capitolo 3. Il naso come un clown
“Che vuol dire che papà è in codice rosso?”
“Codice rosso? Significa che è caduto e gli è diventato il naso rosso…”
“Solo il naso?”
“Sì, solo il naso. È diventato tutto rosso, come quello di un clown.”
“Ah. Non mi piacciono i clown.”
Non sono bravo con i bambini.
Non ho pazienza, non ho fantasia, non so mai cosa fargli fare.
Sono le 5 del mattino, io ho dormito circa tre ore, e in casa mia c’è Alex, in pigiama, che osserva con attenzione il disordine del mio soggiorno.
Sul tavolo ci sono ancora i piatti sporchi della cena di ieri e una bottiglia di vino, quasi vuota. Per terra, accanto al divano, la borsa della palestra aperta e un paio di scarpe da ginnastica. Molti libri sono sparsi in giro, un po’ per terra, un po’ sul tavolo, qualcuno anche sotto il divano. Tutti libri che inizio, ma non finisco mai, non ho costanza, non ho pazienza.
Metto la caffettiera sul fornello, ho bisogno di un caffè.
“Vuoi fare colazione?”
“Sì, ho un po’ fame”, dice Alex.
Apro la dispensa. Fagioli in scatola. Mandorle (scadute da mesi). Spezie in barattolo per quando decido di provare a cucinare qualcosa. Niente di utile per la colazione di un bambino.
“Ti va un toast? Faccio dei toast buonissimi con prosciutto e formaggio o con l’avocado!”
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Quando suonano alla porta (A2/B1)
After an evening of wine and streaming TV series, singleton Stefano is asleep on his couch, surrounded by books and pizza boxes. But at five a.m. the doorbell rings…
“Stefano! Stefano apri, ti prego!”
Di chi è questa voce? Chi è che batte con forza alla porta di casa mia?
“Stefano, sono Laura. Per favore, apri, è un’emergenza!”
- .pdf e-book (+ audio available free online)
- .mobi (Kindle-compatible) and .epub (other ebook readers) available on request at no extra charge – just add a note to the order form or email us
- 8 chapters to read and listen to
- Comprehension questions to check your understanding
- Italian/English glossary of ‘difficult’ terms for the level
- Suitable for students at pre-intermediate level or above
- Download your Free Sample Chapter (.pdf)
This being the first week, Quando suonano alla porta is 25% discounted, so just £5.99 rather than the usual ‘easy reader’ ebook price of £7.99.
Do check out the FREE sample chapter (.pdf) before you buy a copy, though. That way, you’ll know whether the level is suitable and that the format works on the device you intend to use it on.
Buy Quando suonano alla porta just £5.99 | FREE sample chapter (.pdf) | Catalog
How do I access my ebook?
When your order is ‘completed’ (normally immediately after your payment), a download link will be automatically emailed to you. It’s valid for 7 days and 3 download attempts so please save a copy of the .pdf ebook in a safe place. Other versions of the ebook, where available, cannot be downloaded but will be emailed to people who request them. There’s a space to do that on the order form – where it says Additional information, Order notes (optional). If you forget, or if you have problems downloading the .pdf, don’t worry! Email us at the address on the website and we’ll help. Also, why not check out our FAQ?
P.S.
Did you read/listen to Saturday’s bulletin of ‘easy’ Italian news?
It’s FREE! But perhaps you didn’t see it?
Subscribing is also FREE.
Subscribers get the three weekly bulletins (audio + text) sent directly to their email inboxes (or email spam folders… please check!)
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