illustrated Everyday Expressions with Stories 2 » Lesson 11 - On the street
Betty: Wow! That was a huge fire last night.
Kim: It's hard to believe that there used to be a four-story office building right there. The whole thing to the ground.
Betty: Does anyone know how it ?
Kim: I heard someone say something about an electrical fire. Maybe it was bad wiring.
Betty: It's scary to think that could happen in our building as well.
Kim: , I feel pretty safe in our building. It's much newer than the building that burned down.
Betty: I guess they're going to the burned parts of the building that are still standing and build a new office building there.
Kim: I'm sure they will. Probably if we this spot in a few months, we won't even recognize the place.
Last summer, I visited my hometown. I had not been there for ten years. I kept in touch with my parents while I was away, but no matter how much they tried to tell me about the changes in our town, I was still surprised at what I saw. As I made my way through the streets around my parent's house, many of the places I saw brought back memories of my childhood. First, I saw my elementary school playground. Then I saw my best friend's old house.
Some of my favorite places were gone. For example, the old movie theater had burned down years ago. It caught fire when the heater in the basement blew up. The old store where I used to buy candy was torn down. Now a four-story office building stands in its place.
As I came to the corner by the old bank, I ran into Mr. Collins. My parents were friends with the Collins when I was young. I went up to Mr. Collins and said hello. He looked sort of confused.
I told him, "I'm John and Helen's daughter."
Mr. Collins said, "Oh! You're Helen's daughter. Such a beautiful lady." Then Mr. Collins called his wife over.
"Lucy! Come here! It's Helen's daughter. You remember Helen. Such a beautiful lady."
Mrs. Collins came over. She looked at me and said, "Oh, yes. Helen was so pretty." Then she said, "For the most part, you take after your father."
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