Three Names for One Fruit

Saturday the twenty-sixth of July, twenty thirty-one, the mountains two hours from Porto Alegre, in a rented car. Frost on the grass at eight, a roadside stall where a tangerine has a third name and the two in the car can't agree on the second, hot chocolate in a town that looks like Europe and knows it, and the conversation that has waited since June, which ends in a question nobody can answer on a mountain. At nine, a grandmother calls from Rio with three words, and they are about the dog. Say "frost in Brazil, that I had never seen", "bergamot, mandarin or tangerine, the fruit is the same", "it's been more than two years since we travelled, just the two of us", "today, just take it", "and who collects Alice at five, when we're both travelling", "that answer isn't found in the mountains" and "she said, Pipoca is a lap".

Audio instruction: English

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THE STORY

Saturday the twenty-sixth of July, twenty thirty-one, eight in the morning, a road climbing into the mountains two hours from Porto Alegre, in a rented car. Frost on the grass, a stall by the road, and a fruit with a third name. At ten, hot chocolate in a town that looks like Europe, and the conversation the two of them came for. At nine at night, a video call from Rio. This is the conversation you'll be able to say by the end of the lesson.

In this lesson, you’ll learn to

Say "frost in Brazil, that I had never seen" and "in Chicago, frost is October, here, it's July"
Name one fruit three ways, "bergamot, mandarin or tangerine, the fruit is the same", and hold your own, "at my mother's house, it was always mandarin"
Say "it looks like Europe, and the town knows it" and "it's been more than two years since we travelled, just the two of us"
Have the conversation, "today, just take it", "and who collects Alice at five, when we're both travelling" and "that answer isn't found in the mountains"
Hear three words from Rio, "she said, Pipoca is a lap", and a saying bent one more time, "a rule is a rule, but a marriage is a marriage"

The lesson, section by section

Flashcards

The words and phrases of this lesson, one card each. Best after you’ve listened.

Words and phrases

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a geadaah zheh-AH-dahfrost

eu nunca tinha vistoEH-oo NOONG-kah TEEN-yah VEES-tooI had never seen

Geada no Brasil. Isso eu nunca tinha visto.zheh-AH-dah noo brah-ZEEW. EE-soo EH-oo NOONG-kah TEEN-yah VEES-tooFrost in Brazil. That I had never seen.

Em Chicago, geada é outubro. Aqui, é julho.ayng shee-KAH-goo, zheh-AH-dah eh oh-TOO-broo. ah-KEE, eh ZHOOL-yooIn Chicago, frost is October. Here, it's July.

bergamotabehr-gah-MAW-tahthe South's word for a tangerine, on the sign

tangerinatahn-zheh-REE-naha tangerine, Rio's word

mexericameh-sheh-REE-kaha tangerine, the word his wife grew up with

Tangerina, não. Mexerica. Na casa da minha mãe, sempre foi mexerica.tahn-zheh-REE-nah, nowng. meh-sheh-REE-kah. nah KAH-zah dah MEEN-yah MAYNG, SAYNG-pree foy meh-sheh-REE-kahNot tangerine. Mandarin. At my mother's house, it was always mandarin.

Bergamota, mexerica ou tangerina. A fruta é a mesma.behr-gah-MAW-tah, meh-sheh-REE-kah oh tahn-zheh-REE-nah. ah FROO-tah eh ah MAYZ-mahBergamot, mandarin or tangerine. The fruit is the same.

a Europaah eh-oo-RAW-pahEurope

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Three Names for One Fruit

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