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Sana worked in a small bike rental shop. She loved her job very much. Every morning, she opened the shop at eight o'clock. She checked all the bikes before customers came. She cleaned the bikes and pumped the tires. The shop was on a quiet street next to some apartments. Sana always tried to keep the shop tidy and clean. She used tools to fix bikes every day. Sometimes the tools were loud. She did not think about the noise very much. The neighbours were usually friendly. They waved to her in the morning. Sana waved back and smiled. She thought everything was fine.
She had no problems with anyone. One Tuesday morning, a woman walked into the shop. She did not look happy. She said, "Excuse me, I live in the apartment above your shop." Sana smiled and said, "Hello, how can I help you?" The woman frowned and said, "Your shop is very noisy. I hear loud banging every morning. It wakes me up at eight o'clock. I cannot sleep because of the noise." Sana was surprised. She said, "I am very sorry. I did not know the noise was so loud." The woman said, "Please do something about it. I work at night, so I sleep in the morning." Sana nodded and said, "I understand. I will try to fix this problem." The woman thanked her and left the shop. Sana felt bad about the situation. Sana thought about the problem carefully. She decided to change her morning routine.
She moved the noisy repair work to the afternoon. In the morning, she only did quiet jobs. She cleaned bikes and helped customers softly. She also put a thick mat under her workbench. The mat helped to reduce the noise from her tools. The next week, the woman came back to the shop. She was smiling this time. She said, "Thank you so much, Sana. It is much quieter now." Sana was very happy to hear this. She said, "I am glad I could help." The woman rented a bike that day. They became friendly neighbours after that. Sana learned that listening to people is very important.
a statement that something is wrong or not good enough
"The neighbour made a complaint about the noise."
a loud or unpleasant sound
"The noise from the tools was very loud."
a person who lives near you
"Her neighbour lived in the apartment above the shop."
to fix something that is broken or damaged
"Sana had to repair the bike before the customer came back."
to make something smaller or less
"She wanted to reduce the noise in the morning."
the usual order of things you do regularly
"She changed her morning routine to help the neighbour."
a strong table where you do practical work with tools
"She put a thick mat under her workbench."
clean and with everything in its place
"Sana always kept the shop tidy."
do something about it
to take action to fix a problem
"The noise is too loud. Please do something about it."
wake someone up
to cause someone to stop sleeping
"The loud music wakes me up every morning."
I am sorry
used to apologise or show you feel bad
"I am sorry about the noise from my shop."
how can I help you
a polite way to ask what someone needs
"She smiled and said, "How can I help you?""
try to fix
to make an effort to solve a problem
"I will try to fix this problem for you."
feel bad about
to feel sorry or guilty about something
"Sana felt bad about disturbing her neighbour."
thank you so much
a strong way to show you are grateful
"Thank you so much for helping me with this."
I am glad
used to say you are happy about something
"I am glad I could help you."
Finished the A2 version? Challenge yourself with the B1 intermediate story.
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