Skip to main content

Level: A1

Phone Left Behind

A quick plan saves a busy day.

CEFR A1 · 165 words · ~1 min read · US English

๐Ÿ”Š Listen to this passage

5:36 ๐ŸŽฌ Watch this story on YouTube Learn English with a Very Easy Story โ€” Phone Left Behind (A1 Beginner) Read the lesson below first. When you understand every line, open the YouTube link above and play this video in your earbuds โ€” while you walk, cook or ride the bus, with nothing to look up and nothing to pause. English you already understand, heard again and again, is what turns reading into listening.
๐Ÿ“– Open in interactive ESL Reader โ†’

In the reader, tap any word or sentence to hear it in English, translate it, or look up a definition.

Words to know

halfway
at the middle point between two places
forgot
to not remember to bring or do something
nodded
to move your head up and down to say yes
roommate
a person who lives with you in the same home
waved
to move your hand to say hello
missing
lost and not where it should be
guessed
to think something is true without being sure
caffeine
the thing in coffee that helps you feel awake

Picture words from this story

Tap ๐Ÿ”Š to hear a word, or ๏ผ‹ to save just that one to My Flashcards.

  • halfway

    halfway

    Halfway to work.

  • forgot

    forgot

    He forgot his phone.

  • nodded

    nodded

    She nodded. Yes.

  • roommate

    roommate

    We live together.

  • caffeine

    caffeine

    Coffee has caffeine.

Every sentence has a โ–ถ button โ€” tap it to hear that sentence read slowly, one word at a time.

Halfway to work โ€” an empty pocket
Halfway to work โ€” an empty pocket

John was halfway to work when he felt his empty pocket.

halfway

His phone was on the kitchen table.

phone

He didnโ€™t have time to go back.

no time

The bus was already turning toward the city.

bus
A stranger on the bus
A stranger on the bus

At the next stop, a woman boarded and sat next to him with a laptop bag.

laptop bag

John asked, โ€œExcuse me, could I send one quick email from your phone? I forgot mine.โ€

forgot
One quick email
One quick email

She nodded and handed him her phone.

nodded

He wrote to his roommate: โ€œCan you bring my phone to the cafe at noon?โ€ Then he thanked the woman and gave her phone back.

send
The cafe at noon
The cafe at noon

At lunch, John ran to the cafe.

cafe

His roommate waved from a table with two coffees and the missing phone.

roommate
โ€œYou guessed right.โ€
โ€œYou guessed right.โ€

โ€œI guessed you needed caffeine, too,โ€ the roommate said.

caffeine

John laughed. โ€œYou guessed right.โ€

laughed
A note and a chocolate bar
A note and a chocolate bar

Later, he left a thank-you note and a small chocolate bar for his roommate.

thank-you note

By evening, the small problem was only a story to tellโ€”and a reason to check his pockets before leaving home.

pockets

Check your understanding

  1. Where is John's phone?

    Show answer

    On the kitchen table at home โ€” John feels his empty pocket; his phone is on the kitchen table at home.

  2. How does John send a message to his roommate?

    Show answer

    He borrows a phone from a woman on the bus โ€” The woman on the bus hands him her phone, and he writes an email to his roommate.

  3. Who brings the phone to the cafe?

    Show answer

    John's roommate โ€” His roommate waves from a table with two coffees and the missing phone.

  4. John says thank you with a note and a small chocolate bar.

    Show answer

    True โ€” Later, he leaves a thank-you note and a small chocolate bar for his roommate.

โ† More Short Stories · All reading practice