英語(yǔ)播客 A Cup of English Little dragons

My energetic daughter has been begging me to take her to karate classes. She had already enrolled in gymnastics, and our rule is to do only one after-school activity each season, so I decided to only look into it, and not agree or commit myself to taking her. The other day, however, we were in the neighborhood, so we popped into the karate school, just to have a look. It is situated in one of the older brick buildings, near the railroad tracks. It has been nicely converted, preserving the brick and old wood feel, but updating it at the same time. There are three rooms in the school. One long exercise room with a big mirror which is used for lots of running and jumping exercises, a room with lots of punching and kicking bags, and then the entryway with a large wooden floor space for further exercises. Domini had a twinkle in her eye when she saw the children exercising in their black suits. They all looked so cute! "Mum, can I quit gymnastics and do this instead?" Domini asked me. She was extra excited because there was a little boy there who she recognized from preschool. She had always played and got along well with him, so she felt at home. Well, I agreed. Domini will finish this month of gymnastics, and in the meantime, she will try a few classes of karate, and see how she gets on. So, today was her first time. Let's just say that it wouldn't surprize me to see my daughter with a black belt on in a few years. She loved it. There was a warm up, a break, more exercise, and then learning some forms. She was in a beginners' group with children her age. At one point they all had to do 10 push-ups because one of the boys wasn't listening. It was serious business, and you know, I think most kids enjoy that side of it too. It makes the whole event seem important. So, to conclude, she will get her black suit and join the rest of the little dragons, that's the name of her class. My only advice to her is not to practice on her brothers, at least, not yet.

Grammar notes.

Related vocabulary: energetic, to update, instead of, to conclude.

1. The old lady was feeling energetic, so she went for a long walk.

2. I updated my address book; I added many more names and addresses.

3. I don't feel like cooking tonight; let's get chinese food instead.

4. To conclude the concert, the trio played a piece by Bach.