Daily Echo Practice: A Very Strange Woman
THIS WEEK
NEW!!! Listen to the three
episodes with
a new easy-to-use format!!!
https://jochun.tw/a-very-strange-woman/
Episode 1: 10/17/22-11/01/22
New!!! This episode in handy Echo practice
format
Copy and paste the numbered and segmented text below into oTranscribe,
then load the audio at the link below into oTranscribe.
Play and pause the audio file where required to do your Echo
practice:
Numbered
clip for daily Echo Practice:
https://homepage.ntu.edu.tw/~karchung/AVeryStrangeWomannum.mp3
Segmented text:
10/17/22
1. A Very Strange
Woman |
Brad and Ryan were just about |
to start their dinner of beef noodles. |
“She’s kind of cute,” Brad said, | glancing at a woman |
sitting alone at another table. |
“Yeah,” replied Ryan. |
“She looks busy with her work.” |
10/18/22
2.
“Her food’s here. | She’s put her work
away to eat,” | Brad said. |
After Brad and Ryan paid their bill, |
Ryan said, “She’s back at work, |
writing in her notebook. |
Maybe she has a deadline to meet?” |
10/19/22
3.
The next day Brad and Ryan |
found seats together on the MRT |
to go to campus. |
“Hey, isn’t that the woman |
we saw in the restaurant?” Brad asked, |
looking across the aisle. |
“Yeah, that’s her all right, |
reading a book,” replied Ryan. |
“Wonder where she’s headed.” |
10/20/22
4.
“Well, looks like we’re getting off first, |
so we won’t know,” Brad replied. |
After their classes, |
Brad and Ryan met again |
at their usual coffee shop. |
“There she is again,” Ryan said. |
“Three times in two days.” |
10/21/22
5.
Brad thought for a minute. |
“You know, there’s something |
really odd about her,” he said, |
“but I just can’t put my finger on it.” |
“She looks totally normal to me,” Ryan
replied. | “But I know what you
mean – |
there’s something kind of weird |
about her somehow. |
No idea what, though.” |
10/22/22
6.
Brad and Ryan chatted a bit more |
as they finished their lattes. |
Brad glanced up at the woman again |
and closed his eyes briefly. |
“I know what it is. |
And it is really, truly strange,” he said. |
10/23/22
7.
“So what is it?” | Ryan asked anxiously.
|
“Have you noticed, |
that every single time we’ve seen her…” |
Brad started. |
“What?” Ryan asked impatiently. |
10/24/22
8.
“…she has not pulled out her phone even once?!” |
Ryan looked up, |
then shook his head in amazement. |
“My gosh, you’re right!” he exclaimed. |
“That must be one of the weirdest things I’ve ever seen!!”
|
Original
clip, without numbering:
https://homepage.ntu.edu.tw/~karchung/CETPron2022/AVeryStrangeWoman.mp3
Episode 2: 10/25/22-11/02/22
New!!! This episode in
handy Echo practice format
Copy and paste the numbered and segmented text below into oTranscribe,
then load the audio file at the link below into oTranscribe.
Play and pause this audio file where required to do your
Echo practice:
https://homepage.ntu.edu.tw/~karchung/AVeryStrangeWoman2num.mp3
Segmented text:
10/25/22
9. “I wonder if
she’ll take | her phone
out this time,” |
Brad said. |
“She’s hard at work again, |
writing in her notebook,” |
Ryan replied. |
“She certainly must have |
to look something up |
sooner or later,” | Brad
said.
10/26/22
10.
“Or check her email,” |
Ryan added.
“Or her LINE,” Brad said. | “I
wonder if she’s on LINE.”
“Well, I have an evening class
now, |
so I won’t find out today”, Ryan said. |
10/27/22
11. “And I need to
get to work,” | Brad
said. |
“How have things been |
at the cram school lately?” | Ryan
asked, |
as he put on his jacket. |
“We have some new foreign
teachers,” | Brad
replied. | “We’ll
see how they do, |
and how long they last.” |
10/28/22
12. “Hmm,” Ryan said, | “if
past experience is any guide…” |
“Yeah, I know,” Brad sighed. |
“But we’ll wait and see how they do. |
See you tomorrow.” |
“Yeah, have a good work night. | Bye,”
Ryan said. |
10/29/22
13. Brad took the MRT | to
his cram school downtown. |
The two new teachers were
already |
in their classrooms teaching. |
Brad
watched and listened for a while |
from the window in the door. |
10/30/22
14. Things seemed to be
going OK, |
though he noticed | that
several of the students |
were
playing with their phones |
or chatting with each other. |
Brad went to his desk | and
started looking over | some
new promotions for the school. |
10/30/22
15. In-person
enrollments | had
fallen steeply | during
the pandemic, |
and several cram schools |
ended up closing permanently. |
Brad’s school was
struggling | to
fill its classrooms again. |
11/01/22
16. They would
also | be
needing some new teachers, |
since some teachers | had
to be let go. |
He didn’t want to
have to | go
through that again. |
11/02/22
17.
But in fact | it
happened fairly often |
at cram schools. |
He started writing up an
ad | to
be posted in the Taiwan News, |
wondering who,
if anybody, |
the cat would drag in this time… |
Original clip, without numbering:
https://homepage.ntu.edu.tw/~karchung/AVeryStrangeWoman2.mp3
Episode 3: 11/03/22-11/10/22
New!!! All episodes of "A Very Strange Woman"
in handy Echo practice format
Copy and paste the numbered and segmented text below into oTranscribe,
then load the audio file at the link below into oTranscribe.
Play and pause this audio file where required to do your Echo
practice:
https://homepage.ntu.edu.tw/~karchung/AVeryStrangeWoman3num.mp3
Segmented text:
11/03/22
18. The
bell rang, | and students
started streaming out | of
the classrooms.
Brad watched them
| jostle each other | and chatter and laugh noisily
as they headed | for the restrooms and elevators.
|
11/04/22
19.
Finally, the teachers emerged. |
“How’d things go
today, Owen?” | Brad asked. |
“Fine!” Owen
replied, | “at least as far
as I can tell.” |
11/05/22
20.
“Need help with anything?” |
Brad asked. |
“No, everything
seems | to be OK, thanks. |
Some students
don’t seem | that happy to be
here, |
but there’ll
always | be a few of those,”
| Owen replied. |
11/06/22
21.
“Most of them | seem to get
into | what we’re doing.” |
“Keep up the good
work!” | Brad said, then
added, |
“Do you know of
anybody | who might be
interested | in a teaching
job here?” |
11/07/22
22.
“Mmm…not offhand,” | Owen
replied, | “but I’ll ask
around.” |
“Thanks,” Brad
said. | “Have a good night.”
|
“You too,” Owen
replied, | as he pulled up
his backpack |
and headed toward
the elevators. |
11/08/22
23. Brad
got back to his ad writing. |
“Tired of your
old job? | Join our energetic
team! |
TESOL certificate
| and one year | teaching experience required. |
11/09/22
24.
North American accent preferred. |
Evening hours. |
Send your
complete cv | with cover
letter | to the email address
below," | he wrote. |
The phone rang. |
“Adore English,”
Brad said. |
11/10/22
25.
“We’re calling | from
Zhongshan Precinct,” | a
man’s voice said | in a serious
tone. |
“Do you have a
foreign employee | named
“Miles Greene”?” he asked. |
“Umm,” Brad
hesitated… |
Original clip, without numbering:
https://homepage.ntu.edu.tw/~karchung/AVeryStrangeWoman3.mp3
Episode 4: 11/10/22-11/18/22
New!!! All episodes of "A Very Strange Woman"
in handy Echo practice format!
mp3 file:
https://homepage.ntu.edu.tw/~karchung/AVeryStrangeWoman4num.mp3
Segmented text:
11/11/22
26.
“Is Miles in some kind of trouble?” |
Brad asked. |
“I just need you to
tell me | if Miles Greene | is currently employed | at your company,” | the man said. |
“Well, he did
| use to teach classes here, | but left the company | late last year,” | Brad replied. |
11/12/22
27.
Brad really would have liked |
to pass the call on to Mr. Lin, |
the owner of the cram school, |
but he wasn’t in. |
In addition, |
Mr. Lin didn’t know much |
about hiring and the teachers. |
Teachers came and
went so often | he didn’t really try
| to keep track of them
all. |
That was Brad’s job. |
11/13/22
28. In
addition, | Brad was now a bit
curious. |
On the one hand, |
he knew how problematic |
Miles was. |
He was often late for
class, | and he sometimes |
called in at the last minute |
to say he couldn’t make it that day. |
Sometimes
he was simply AWOL | with no notification. |
11/14/22
29. Brad
had to be ready | to step in and sub
for him | at any time. |
Sometimes Brad even had to |
make a special trip | to
the school to fill in | when
he wasn’t on duty. |
This pattern got old pretty
fast, | and everybody agreed |
it was time to send Miles on his way. |
But they needed a replacement |
before they could take action. |
11/15/22
30.
And while there are always |
plenty of foreigners | looking for |
relatively
undemanding work | and OK pay, |
you had to
screen them | very carefully, |
or you
might end up | in the same fix again, |
or worse. |
11/16/22
31.
So it took time, | lots of often
fruitless interviews, | and
a number of applicants | on
three-week probation, |
but
they were finally | able to find |
a replacement for Miles, |
and then give him the boot. |
Miles did not
go quietly. |
11/17/22
32. He said |
that he was only late |
or missed class | due
to “emergencies” | beyond his control, |
like the
time | a broken pipe |
led to flooding | in
his apartment. |
He said the students loved
him, | and they were making
great progress | in their speaking. |
11/18/22
33. Funny how many more
“emergencies” | Miles had in his life |
than anybody else Brad knew. |
As for the
students’ progress, | Brad only knew |
about the frequent complaints he received |
from both
the parents | and the students. |
11/19/22
34.
Parents said | they weren’t getting |
all the class time |
they’d paid for. |
You’d
sometimes see Miles | joking around with
students | during break, |
so maybe he
got along | with some of them OK. |
11/20/22
35.
But others reported | that he often told
raunchy jokes in class |
and flirted |
with some of the prettier girls. |
Some said |
he sometimes showed up in class |
after one too many beers. |
11/21/22
36.
Miles was flaky, |
no question about it. |
But criminal?
| Brad didn’t think |
he was quite that bad. |
So why was
he now | in police custody? |
Brad
suddenly realized | he’d missed something |
Officer Liao had just said, |
and asked
him to repeat it. |
Original clip, without numbering:
https://homepage.ntu.edu.tw/~karchung/AVeryStrangeWoman4.mp3
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