Whatever You Need

Callan Method - Lessons

2011-07-08T00:57:00.000-07:00

Lesson 001-009
Lesson 010-024
Lesson 025-039

Callan - Lesson (025-039)

2011-07-07T13:29:00.001-07:00

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Callan - Lesson (010-024)

2011-07-07T12:06:00.001-07:00

Lesson-010

Lesson-011

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Callan - Lesson (001-009)

2011-07-07T10:48:00.001-07:00

Lesson-1

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ESL Short Stories

2011-07-07T07:22:00.001-07:00

ESL 001 - New to America
ESL 002 - A Haircut
ESL 003 - The Yardman
ESL 004 - Grab Your Umbrellas
ESL 005 - Shopping for Bargains
ESL 006 - Horses to Ride
ESL 007 - Does Garlic Mean Garlic
ESL 008 - A Shower Injury
ESL 009 - Pete's Sharp Knife
ESL 010 - Provider Overbills Customer
ESL 011 - A Good Sandwich
ESL 012 - Sara's Upset Stomach
ESL 013 - Please Marry Me
ESL 014 - Laundry Day
ESL 015 - A Noisy Neighbor
ESL 016 - The New Realtor
ESL 017 - The Fire Alarm
ESL 018 - Eddie's Short Visit
ESL 019 - Carbon Monoxide
ESL 020 - A Visit to Asia
ESL 021 - School Boys
ESL 022 - The Loose Button
ESL 023 - The Pile of Paper
ESL 024 - Brussing and Flossing
ESL 025 - Raising The Kids
ESL 026 - A Clean Toilet Bowl
ESL 027 - A Love Letter
ESL 028 - Spock Saves His Dad
ESL 029 - A Bird Attacks
ESL 030 - A Day Time Robbery
ESL 031 - The Motorcycle Rider
ESL 032 - The Breakup
ESL 033 - Famous Model Dies
ESL 034 - Shopping Cards Everywhere
ESL 035 - Four Slit Throats
ESL 036 - Trick or Treat
ESL 037 - A Jealous Girlfriend
ESL 038 - Towns Hit by Snowstorm
ESL 039 - Another Jealous Girlfriend
ESL 040 - She Loves Her Son
ESL 041 - The Doctor's Exam
ESL 042 - Hospitals Can Make You Sick
ESL 043 - English Is So Hard
ESL 044 - Hollywood Stars and Movies
ESL 045 - Geico's TV Lizard
ESL 046 - Law and Order in LA
ESL 047 - Destruction of Iraq
ESL 048 - Have You Seen This Man
ESL 049 - LA Traffic Report
ESL 050 - LA Radio News

ESL 050 - LA Radio News

2011-07-07T06:26:00.001-07:00

This news report is sponsored by Blue Cross/Blue Shield. There's some serious problems in Arkansas. High winds and a tornado have sliced through portions of southern Arkansas. People have been injured and some residents are still unaccounted for. Emergency coordinator Bob Holly says rescue workers are on the case: "We had two ambulances set out first, and then when they saw the damage, that's when they called in the troops." Homes and businesses have been destroyed near a major highway at Dumas. A massive winter storm is sweeping through the Plains and upper Midwest. It's dumped more than a foot of snow in northern Wisconsin. Seven people were killed on slippery roads. And 100,000 customers have no power in Iowa, Oklahoma, and Nebraska.

Locally, police are trying to find a man who sexually assaulted a woman in Alhambra. She described the suspect as about 5'11", medium build, wearing blue jeans, a black jacket, black gloves, brown shoes, and a dark-colored ski mask covering his face. The woman was waiting for friends inside an apartment when the man entered through an unlocked door. He had a gun, sexually assaulted her, and then took her cell phone and left. The woman is in a local hospital. If you have seen this man, please call the Alhambra police.

Finally, one person was killed when a high-speed train derailed near London. The cause is being investigated.

ESL 049 - LA Traffic Report

2011-07-07T06:25:00.001-07:00

This traffic report is sponsored by
Cerritos Auto Square
. More people buy their car from
Cerritos Auto Square
than anywhere else in the world. KFWB news time, 8:01, with traffic on the ones. A cleanup is still underway from a SigAlert in Commerce, northbound at
Washington Boulevard
. The right lane is closed, and also the Washington onramp is closed. They're mopping up from an earlier diesel fuel spill.

We have several other problems out there right now. In Pasadena, some wooden boxes are in the #1 lane on the eastbound 210 at Lake. Be on the lookout, because the faster you're going, the quicker you'll come up on them. Eastbound 60 in Santa Fe Springs, just before
Grand Ave.
, there's an accident. A couple of cars in the #2 lane. Then in Pacoima, 118 westbound after
San Fernando Road
, an injury accident. A car went over the side. It's partly hanging over the side of the freeway. CHP and emergency crews are both on the way, so watch for activity on the right shoulder.

In Vernon, 710 northbound before Bandini, watch for a broken-down car on the right shoulder. It's partly sticking into the right lane. A tow truck is en route. Finally, on the westbound 10 before Fairfax, there's a roll of carpet, a ladder, and a lawn mower in the #3 and #4 lanes

ESL 048 - Have You Seen This Man?

2011-07-07T06:24:00.001-07:00

The local TV news showed a video of a man dressed in coveralls, a baseball cap, a long-sleeved shirt, and gloves. He was pointing a gun at the clerk. He reached over the countertop and grabbed money out of the cash register. Then he strolled out of the store. (Since they outnumber Los Angeles police by about 1,000 to 1, criminals don't bother to run anymore.)

The video camera was mounted near the ceiling of the store, so its lens was looking down at the scene. You, as the viewer, could see the clerk clearly, but not the criminal. He was so bundled up that you couldn't see even the tip of his nose. Because there was no audio, you couldn't even be sure if the criminal was a man or a woman!

Yet, the TV news announcer earnestly asked all the viewers, "If you have seen this robber or if you know who he is, please call the LAPD." To be fair to the TV station, they showed the same useless video at least six times in two days. The LAPD got zero phone calls. At other times, the TV news reader will give viewers a much better description: "The suspect is about 5'8", 170 pounds." This description also results in no arrests

ESL 047 - Destruction of Iraq

2011-07-07T06:23:00.000-07:00

It's a big country, but still, how can anything be left of Iraq? When you look at the news on TV, all you see is one explosion after another. Helicopters falling from the sky, and vehicles flying into the sky. Suicide bombers committing homicide, and two deeply religious sects going at each other's throats.

Iraqis are leaving the country as fast as they can, while terrorists are entering as fast as they can. About 30,000 Iraqi civilians are getting killed each year, while 2 million Iraqis have left their country since 2003. The US government, which has caused most of this suffering, has not welcomed these Iraqi refugees into the USA. Less than 800 Iraqis have been allowed to enter this country since the war began four years ago. What is the reason for this small number? The Iraqi people are our friends.

The US government tried to rescue Iraqis from Saddam Hussein and bring them democracy. Now there is no Saddam, but also there is no democracy. In the future, there might even be no Iraq. Many people worldwide, and many Iraqis, think that Iraq was better off before Bush and Cheney decided to "help."

ESL 046 - Law and Order in LA

2011-07-07T06:22:00.000-07:00

They say that Los Angeles is changing. In the past two weeks, a young woman was shot, and then her body was dropped off on a sidewalk and set on fire. This happened in broad daylight in a nice neighborhood. Another young woman's body was found lying in a dumpster. The decomposed body of another young woman was found in a park.

An 8-year-old girl was standing with her mom in the kitchen when a bullet from a gang member's gun killed her. The little girl and her mom had just arrived in America. The gang member was shooting at other gang members in the street outside. A hospital van driver pushed a paraplegic out of the van onto a Skid Row sidewalk and drove off. A mentally ill patient in a nursing home was slapped repeatedly by a staff member. The staff member's buddy took a cell phone video of the assault. It showed the staffer laughing as the patient cried.

A local TV station reporter went to a huge produce warehouse and filmed a worker urinating on a platform right next to boxes of fresh lettuce. Rats were shown walking throughout the warehouse and nibbling on the produce. Every day, this produce is distributed to hundreds of unsuspecting restaurants and supermarkets in Los Angeles. LA is changing, all right - for the worse.

ESL 045 - Geico's TV Lizard

2011-07-07T06:21:00.000-07:00

Nowadays, GEICO is a well-known insurance company. For many years, however, it was unnoticed. Other companies, like Allstate and Farmers, were more popular. Then GEICO tried something different; it got a new ad agency.

The owner of the agency, Billy Ray Childers, was from Virginia. Years ago, he had tried to start his own agency in Manhattan. But when New Yorkers heard his southern accent, they gave him the cold shoulder. Angry, Billy Ray returned to Virginia. Someday, he hoped to teach those New Yorkers a lesson.

He set up his new ad agency in Raleigh. Then he called up GEICO headquarters in New York. He told them that they could improve their sales if they used a gecko to advertise GEICO. They balked at first, but then approved his ad campaign. In the new commercial, the animated lizard said, "I'm a gecko, not a GEICO." GEICO was originally going to do one TV commercial with the bright green lizard, and then retire it. But viewers, especially women, fell in love with the cute gecko. So GEICO decided to do a few more commercials. And then a few more.

The clever lizard with the British accent is now eight years old and stars in a new commercial every several months. It has made GEICO famous - almost as famous as the gecko itself!

ESL 044 - Hollywood Stars and Tourists

2011-07-07T06:20:00.000-07:00

Tourists from around the world visit Hollywood. Buses take them past the Hollywood sign. At Grauman's Chinese Theater, they press their hands into the imprints of movie stars who long ago pressed their hands into wet cement. Tourists pause at the gold stars in the sidewalks with the movie stars' names on them.

Buses drive past movie stars' houses. Tourists hope to see a star chatting with friends or tanning by the pool. Unfortunately, most of the houses are behind high hedges or down long winding driveways; tourists are lucky to even see a chimney.

And finally, tourists take pictures everywhere and with everyone. A popular picture opportunity in Hollywood is with movie characters like Chewbacca from "Star Wars."

However, Chewbacca might not be so popular anymore. Last week, outside Grauman's, Chewbacca gave two young female tourists a hard time. He kept trying to hug them as they took pictures of each other. The tour bus driver yelled at Chewbacca to leave the ladies alone. Chewbacca took off his headpiece, walked over to the driver, and head-butted him. The driver fell to the sidewalk. Someone called 911, and the cops came and arrested Chewbacca.

Chewbacca was not apologetic. "Women come to America looking for Prince Charming, and here I am!" he shouted to all. "I hope they leave him in jail," said a tourist, who saw the whole incident. "That guy's an idiot."

ESL 043 - English is So Hard

2011-07-07T06:18:00.000-07:00

Johnny asked Dotty how her first day in her Duarte ESL class was. It was terrible, she told him. She understood little of what the Level 4 teacher said. He spoke too fast for her. She had struggled through a Level 3 class at a Monrovia school.

When the teacher asked if there were any questions, she told him that she didn't understand most of what he had said. He told her not to worry; she could take the class again if she failed it the first time. She didn't want to fail it the first time, however, or any time.

He gave them homework the first day, of course. They were supposed to write a 300-word essay supporting gun control. Of course, Dotty said, she could write that essay in her native language. But there was no way she could write it in English. She showed Johnny the textbook. The print was so tiny that trying to read just a few pages gave her a headache. On top of that was all the new vocabulary on each page. "I'm going to drop the class," she said. She wanted to cry. When was she ever going to learn this language?

ESL 042 - Hospitals Can Make You Sick

2011-07-07T06:17:00.000-07:00

About 100,000 people die each year in US hospitals from infections that they get while they are in the hospital. Less than half that many die on US highways. The hospital deaths are due to poor housekeeping and poor hygiene. Floors, walls, and doors are not cleaned regularly or thoroughly. Room dividers are almost never cleaned. The carts that carry food trays, and the trays themselves, are usually contaminated from handling and coughing. Cooks and other food handlers can easily infect the food by not washing properly after using the bathroom.

Doctors and nurses are just as guilty as other staff. Doctors rarely clean their stethoscopes after each patient. Nurses apply blood pressure cuffs to patient after patient without cleaning the cuffs. Doctors often put on gloves without washing their hands first. As a result, the germs on their hands are transferred to the outside of the gloves.

Consumer groups warn patients that they must demand cleanliness. If they see or suspect unsanitary conditions, they must tell someone immediately. It could be a matter of life or death. But, as one patient said, "No way! You don't tell your boss that he has bad breath, and you don't tell your doctor that he needs to wash his hands."

ESL 041 - The Doctor's Exam

2011-07-07T06:15:00.000-07:00

Rebecca's stomach hurt. She said that sometimes it felt like someone was peeling the skin off her belly; that pain felt worse than when she gave birth 17 years ago. She finally went to a doctor. He asked a lot of questions, and then examined her. He decided that she needed a couple of ultra-sound tests.

The tests revealed that she had two small ovarian cysts. The doctor said he did not think that those cysts were causing the problem. He wanted to do another test. It was called a colonoscopy. Rebecca told her boyfriend Ron about the doctor's suggestion.

"A colonoscopy?! You've got a problem in your belly, and he wants to examine your butt? Where did you find this quack? I'll bet he got his 'degree' off the Internet."

Rebecca asked her boyfriend where he got his medical degree from. Of course, he had no medical degree, but he told Rebecca that it was just common sense.

"If your car isn't running right, and the mechanic wants to look in your trunk to find the problem, what would you think? Would you let him charge you good money to examine your trunk, or would you go find a mechanic who knows what he's doing?"

Rebecca went to a medical site on the Internet later and discovered that some colon problems definitely could cause stomach pains

ESL 040 - She Loves Her Son

2011-07-07T05:50:00.000-07:00

Maria had to buy food for herself and her son. Divorced for ten years, she was used to doing the shopping for her son. He was a junior in high school, which meant that he would be entering college in two years. Then she would be shopping only for herself. She felt sad when she thought of this. She hoped that he would attend the local junior college and then transfer to a university. That way he could continue to live at home for another two years. She loved him, and dreaded the day that he would no longer be her daily company.

Maria drove to Costco, a chain store that sold food in bulk packages. By selling in bulk only, the store helps its customers save money. She parked far from the entrance. That meant a longer walk, but also a faster exit from the parking lot. She grabbed one of the big shopping carts outside and pushed it into the store. Her purse stayed tightly hung over her shoulder. Surprisingly, the store wasn't too crowded.

In the produce section, she examined nine packages of seedless green grapes before she found one that she liked. She carefully selected some bananas, apples, and other fruit. But she couldn't find her son's favorite brand of tangerines. On the way home, she planned to stop at another market or two until she found them

ESL 039 - Another Jealous Girlfriend

2011-07-07T05:49:00.000-07:00

Scott was sound asleep when the phone rang.

"Are you awake?" Jolene shouted. Scott mumbled something. How could he still be asleep, she asked. It was almost noon. He told her that he hadn't gone to sleep until 6 a.m. Jolene told him to get up, and come pick her up. They had to go to the store to return the birthday gift he had given her.

It was a tangerine plant. The leaves were curling up. It was going to die, she said. "Curling leaves means the plant is going to die?" Scott asked. Of course, she told him.

"Look, honey," he asked, "let me go back to sleep for one hour, okay? Then I'll come pick you up." Jolene wondered why he needed one hour. Was he expecting a phone call from his ex-girlfriend? No, he patiently tried to explain, he just wanted to get another hour of sleep.

But he could not sleep anymore. Once Jolene mentioned anything about Amy, he'd better get over there quickly. Scott broke up with Amy five years ago. Now they were just friends. But, Amy still loved him. That wasn't a problem for Scott, until Jolene found out about it. If Amy still loved Scott, Jolene figured that they just might get back together.

She can recognize a dying plant but not a dead love affair, Scott grumbled as he rolled out of bed

ESL 038 - Towns Hit by Snowstorms

2011-07-07T05:47:00.000-07:00

Redfield, New York, received twelve feet of snow last week. Its neighbors in Oswego are jealous because they got only ten feet of snow. An Oswego resident told a TV reporter that one more storm was coming in that would determine the winner. "I hope we get five more feet," he said. "That'll beat Redfield." This is the most snow the region has received in six years.

"The people who worry about global warming should come visit us. They'll worry less," said a Redfield resident. He said any visitors would have to wait till some snow melted, because most local roads were closed. Even the snowplows were waiting until after the next storm before they began to clear all the roads.

Schools were closed all week. Most kids were happy about it. They couldn't go ice skating or skiing because the roads were closed. But they did play in the snow, make snowmen, and have snowball fights.

"It wasn't a good week for me," complained one high school student. "I had to help my dad shovel all the snow off the roof." When he finished doing that, his dad asked him to shovel the snow off the driveway and the sidewalk. "I can't wait for school to reopen," he said.

ESL 037 - A Jealous Girlfriend

2011-07-07T05:45:00.001-07:00

Gary and Alma were having problems, again.

"But you told me it was okay to call up Carol," said Gary. "I asked you if it was okay to talk to her, because it was her birthday and I've wished her a happy birthday every year for the last 10 years."

"But you had already promised me that you would never call her again. You promised me that. So, you lied to me."

"But I had forgotten that I told you that. You know that I forget things. I'm not going to argue with you; you have a memory like an elephant. But you've got to believe me, I completely forgot. And more important, Carol is just a friend."

"No, she isn't. She's still in love with you."

"But I'm not in love with her. She can love me all she wants, but I'm not in love with her. I never was!"

"Well, you say that. Maybe it's true. Maybe it isn't. But the important thing is that you never know what the future will bring. You say that nothing will happen between you and her, but you don't know that for sure, because you don't know the future."

"Yes, you're right. No one knows the future. I could fall in love with her again, and she and I might run off and get married and have nine or ten kids."

ESL 036 - Trick or Treat

2011-07-07T05:44:00.000-07:00

Two girls were trick-or-treating on Halloween night when a large group of teens attacked them, leaving both high school seniors unconscious. One needed surgery to repair her eye socket.

The victims were white, and their attackers were black. Seven attackers were girls, and one was an 18-year-old boy. The boy said that he did not attack the girls; he tried to protect them.

"So why were you swinging a skateboard?" asked a witness. The boy said that he was swinging the skateboard at the attackers, not the victims.

The prosecution added "hate crime" to the charge of assault because racial slurs were made before the victims were attacked.

The trial in Long Beach lasted almost four weeks. All the attackers were found guilty, but not one spent even a day in jail. The judge sentenced them to "house arrest" for a month. House arrest meant that they had to sleep in their own beds at home. The boy had to do 20 hours of community service.

Law-abiding white and black adults were outraged at the light sentences. The two girls required hospital care, yet the thugs received a mere slap on the wrist. Concerned parents immediately created a website for recalling the judge

ESL 035 - Four Slit Throats

2011-07-07T05:43:00.000-07:00

An Italian couple murdered four people in the house next door. They slit the throats of their neighbor, Maria Como, and her mom. Then they slit the throats of Mrs. Como's 2-year-old little boy, Perry, and a woman who just happened to be visiting. Finally, they set the house on fire! This all happened two weeks before Christmas.

The couple had complained constantly to the Comos about the noise they caused, but no one else in the neighborhood seemed to think that the Comos were noisy.

"Maria was a kind and quiet person," said one of her neighbors. "She and her husband used to push little Perry around the neighborhood in his stroller. They were friendly to everyone. I can't believe this happened."

Police in the northern Italian town could not believe it either. A spokesman said that never in the history of Italy had a married couple worked as a team to slice four neighbors' throats and then try to burn their house down!

"I think if they claim temporary insanity, everyone will believe it!" said the spokesman.

After firemen found the four bodies, the couple calmly confessed to the police.

ESL 034 - Shopping Cards Everywhere

2011-07-07T05:41:00.001-07:00

Look at those damn shopping carts, Joe thought. Two of them were parked on his front lawn. Two more were parked behind his car in the driveway. His neighborhood had gone to hell. He lived half a mile from Foodco, a supermarket chain. Nobody should take a shopping cart half a mile from the supermarket. And no one with any respect for others should leave a shopping cart in a stranger's yard.

Shoppers should push the cart out to their car, and then leave it there. If they don't own a car, they should buy their own personal cart to transport their groceries home.

He called Foodco to tell them that four carts were on his property. They said they would be over as soon as they could. That meant about a week. Throughout his neighborhood, carts were scattered in various places, including the streets themselves. As if kids, pets, and potholes weren't enough, drivers now had to dodge shopping carts. Joe wondered how there could be any left in the supermarket. Foodco paid over $100 for each cart, so he thought they'd guard them better. Instead, they did nothing to secure the carts. They simply paid someone to drive around the neighborhood once or twice a week to pick up stranded carts.

Joe opened the yellow pages of his phone book. He was going to hire a contractor to build a fence around his lawn and a locking gate for his driveway. Enough was enough.

ESL 033 - Famous Model Dies

2011-07-07T05:40:00.001-07:00

Once in a while, someone dies and you remember where you were and what you were doing when you heard the sad news. Thousands of people worldwide felt that way when they heard that the beautiful Anna Nicole Smith had suddenly died.

It was a "tragedy that shocked the nation," according to various TV and radio reporters. "The nation is in mourning," these same reporters claimed. She was only 39.

Her husband discovered her lying in bed unconscious and not breathing. Paramedics quickly arrived and tried to revive her, but it was too late. Her body was taken to the morgue, where the coroner did an autopsy the next day. No evidence of drugs was found. It might have been a heart attack, but further testing was necessary.

Anna was a cover girl, a model, and an actress. She married a billionaire who was 89 when she was only 25. The billionaire died a couple of years later.

Anna went to court to get her fair share of her husband's wealth. The case was still unresolved when she died. Now it will continue after her death, because Anna has a new-born daughter. The daughter might be entitled to millions when the court case is finally settled. At least three men have claimed to be the father of this millionaire baby.

ESL 032 - The Breakup

2011-07-07T05:39:00.000-07:00

Myra told Myron that they shouldn't see each other for a while. Her doctor had suggested that she take a short vacation from her job and a long vacation from Myron.

"What did you tell him about me?" Myron asked.

She told her doctor that she had dreams about Myron leaving her. She sometimes dreamed that he pushed her out of his car in the middle of nowhere. She would be crying on the side of the road in the middle of the night, cold and scared, as the taillights disappeared.

"What kind of dream is that?" Myron's voice was loud. "Do you think I would ever do that to you?" She said that she didn't know.

"You don't know?! Of course I wouldn't do that to you! I love you!"

Myra asked Myron to lower his voice. She no longer believed that he loved her. One day, feeling low and insecure, she had told Myron that it would be nice to get away for the weekend. Perhaps they could go to a quiet resort in the mountains. He told her that he was playing golf that Saturday. Maybe they could go to a resort another time. She was astounded.

"I needed you that weekend. Instead, you preferred to play golf. Now there is a shadow on my heart that nothing can remove," she told him sadly.

ESL 031 - The Motorcycle Rider

2011-07-07T05:38:00.000-07:00

Jay was born to ride. Just after learning to walk, he got his first tricycle. A year later he was on a bicycle with training wheels. At the age of five he was a skilled bicyclist, able to jump off ramps and fly through the air. His father made sure he did everything safely. Jay wore a helmet, a chest pad, elbow pads, and knee pads. He fell a lot, but he was never hurt badly.

He got his first motorcycle when he was seven. His father put the motorcycle in the back of his pickup and drove Jay out to the desert almost every weekend. Jay became a skilled rider. He entered motocross races all over the county. By the time he was 15, he had won 30 races. His future looked bright.

When he was 17, Jay took his girlfriend out for a ride on his motorcycle. A truck ran a red light, and Jay and his girlfriend crashed into the side of the truck. Jay went into the hospital for three months. His girlfriend died immediately.

Jay didn't ride a motorcycle again for 10 years. Then one weekend he bought a used Kawasaki. He took it out for a test run at dusk. It felt good to ride again. He got it up to 110 miles an hour on the local freeways. A highway patrol car chased him for about ten minutes, but he finally lost it in the freeway traffic and the dark. When he got home, he was excited. That was fun, he thought.