Level 2 · Reading series
Lesson 11 · Dinner Was Later Than Usual
Audio track 11
Listen first
Listen once before opening the English passage.
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Dinner was later than usual because my mother had to work late. My brother and I were hungry, but we did not want to complain.
We decided to make a small salad. I washed the lettuce, and he cut the tomatoes. The pieces were not the same size, but the colors looked nice.
When our mother came home, she looked surprised. "You two made this?"
"Only a salad," my brother said.
"Not only a salad," she answered. "You made my evening easier."
Sentence practice
Play any sentence in Dicvo’s Jenny English voice. Before playing all, choose how many times each sentence plays. A practice pause about as long as the sentence follows each play, including before the next sentence. The complete reading remains above.
Choose a sentence to begin.
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Dinner was later than usual because my mother had to work late.
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My brother and I were hungry, but we did not want to complain.
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We decided to make a small salad.
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I washed the lettuce, and he cut the tomatoes.
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The pieces were not the same size, but the colors looked nice.
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When our mother came home, she looked surprised.
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"You two made this?"
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"Only a salad," my brother said.
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"Not only a salad," she answered.
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"You made my evening easier."
Check your understanding
After reading, state the main idea in one sentence and find a line that supports it.
Chinese translation
妈妈加班，所以晚饭比平时迟。弟弟和我都饿了，但我们不想抱怨。
我们决定做一小盘沙拉。我洗生菜，他切番茄。切出来的大小不一样，不过颜色搭配得很好看。
妈妈到家后，一脸惊讶：‘这是你们两个做的？’
弟弟说：‘只是一盘沙拉。’
妈妈回答：‘可不只是一盘沙拉。你们让我今晚轻松多了。’
Key words and expressions
Key terms have Chinese explanations. Hover over dotted words in the English passage for word help and pronunciation when available.
- later than usual
- 比平时更晚；than usual 表示与平常相比。
- work late
- 工作到很晚；这里指妈妈加班。
- hungry
- 饿的；兄妹在等晚饭。
- decide to do
- 决定做……；后接动词不定式。
- lettuce
- 生菜；沙拉里常见的叶菜。
- cut
- 切；cut the tomatoes 是‘切番茄’。
- piece
- 一块；文中指切好的番茄块。
- the same size
- 大小一样；文中说切出来的大小不一样。
- surprised
- 惊讶的；妈妈没想到孩子会做沙拉。
- make ... easier
- 让……更容易；这里指让妈妈的夜晚轻松一些。
Background notes (Chinese)
兄妹做的菜很简单，却替晚归的妈妈分担了一件事。妈妈看到的不只是沙拉本身，还有孩子主动帮忙的心意。