英语博客:The big gift（在线收听）

My son, Cass, has been playing the piano for over a year. He loves it! He practices at home, and attends his weekly class religiously. He really has the discipline thing 'down' as we say, meaning that he understands why and how to be disciplined. I am really impressed at his progress. When he first started lessons, I bought him an electronic keyboard that I found on Craig's List for seventy five dollars. It was a bargain. The previous owner was obviously serious about music, and had taken good care of the instrument. When I went to pick it up, I found a house full of music sheets and musical instruments, so I knew that the keyboard had been in good hands. And so, it came to our house. Cass used it and enjoyed it for a long time, especially all of the special effects and pre-recorded classical music that you can enjoy with the push of a button. But, there was a problem. It wasn't a full sized keyboard. We needed a keyboard or piano with 88 keys because his teacher had started to give him melodies that recquire the whole piano. So, I got on the internet, looked up Craig's List, and spotted a couple of pianos for sale. One was a little damaged. The other belonged to a family who was moving to another town and who didn't want to pay for the delivery. I dragged my feet about both; I wasn't very enthusiastic. Then, we received a phone call from one of Cass' friends. His parents had just bought him a new piano, and they wanted to give Cass the old one. He was thrilled! A week later, the moving men pulled up in their delivery truck and carefully rolled the dark, upright piano into our living room. We got to work, polishing, testing, and decorating with pictures. It now sits in a welcomed spot, and gets played every day.

Grammar notes.

Common expressions and related vocabulary: to drag one's feet, to pull up (in a vehicle), to have something 'down', previous.

1.  I'm dragging my feet about going to the party; I really don't feel like going at all.

2. A police car pulled up to the building. Then the fire truck (fire engine) pulled up close to the flames.

3. You really have the tennis serve down; you get it right every time.

4. We live in the country now, but our previous house was in the middle of the city.