A bus stop, a battered notebook, and two brains, hers and his, that were looking for the same thing all along.
Level A2≈ 25 minutesBritish EnglishEvery tense, together
How to Get the Most from This Lesson
First, just read and listen. Nothing is checked here. Tap the underlined words to see them in Ukrainian.
Then do the exercises.
At the end, speak out loud. This is the most important part of the lesson. Do not skip it.
Lesson 1 Lesson 1 · On your own · текст, аудіювання, словник
Warm-up · From Episode 11
Before you start
Two minutes on Episode 11
Do not look back at the lesson. Guess, even if you are not sure. Remembering something badly is what makes it stay.
“I want to do this ,” Tom writes.
Last time, Tom something small. (finished)
Tom’s only clue: “Wear comfortable .”
Nina decides the secret plan is .
His name, in her list, spelled correctly, on .
Episode 11 in one line: the past explained, and a new plan, already in motion, with no details shared.
This episode is Thursday itself, and everywhere this story has already been.
Before you read
Looking back at twelve episodes
You have come a long way since Episode 1. What feels most different about your English now?
Step 1 · Text
Page One
Read it twice: once on your own, then again with the audio. This one uses every tense from the whole season.
Thursday’s surprise turns out to be nothing complicated: a slow walk, no particular direction, until Nina notices where her feet already know they are going.
Сюрприз четверга виявляється зовсім не складним: повільна прогулянка, без чіткого напрямку, доки Ніна не помічає, куди її ноги вже самі знають дорогу.
They stop at the bus stop. The actual one. “You brought me to a bus stop,” Nina says. “I brought you to the beginning,” Tom says, and takes a small, battered notebook out of his coat pocket.
Вони зупиняються на зупинці. Тій самій. «Ти привів мене на зупинку», каже Ніна. «Я привів тебе до початку», каже Том, і дістає з кишені пальта маленький, потертий блокнот.
“I keep one too,” he says. “Not three things. Just one, most days. The first one says: girl at the bus stop, fine thanks, not fine at all.”
«Я теж такий веду», каже він. «Не три речі. Лише одну, майже щодня. Перша каже: дівчина на зупинці, fine thanks, зовсім не fine.»
Nina laughs, and then she does not laugh, because two months of small, private noticing is sitting open in her hands, and every single page has her in it, one way or another.
Ніна сміється, а потім перестає сміятися, бо два місяці маленького, приватного помічання лежать відкритими в її руках, і на кожній сторінці є вона, тим чи іншим способом.
“What happens now?” she asks. “Now,” Tom says, “we go and get proper coffee, and I show you page two.”
«Що тепер?» питає вона. «Тепер», каже Том, «ми йдемо пити нормальну каву, і я покажу тобі другу сторінку.»
The brain finds what it looks for. Sometimes, it turns out, two brains were looking for the same thing, the whole time.
Мозок знаходить те, що шукає. Іноді, як виявляється, два мозки шукали те саме, увесь цей час.
Step 2 · Listen and write
What did you hear?
Five sentences from the story. Play each one on its own with the button beside it, as many times as you need, and write the missing word.
“I brought you to the .”
He takes a small, battered out of his pocket.
Just one, most .
Sitting open in her .
The same thing, the whole .
Step 3 · Words and phrases
Listen and repeat
Try to remember first, then flip the card. Say every phrase out loud. Not in your head, out loud, so your mouth remembers it.
no particular directionбез чіткого напрямку
battered/ˈbætəd/потертий, поношений
public transport infrastructureінфраструктура громадського транспорту (жарт)
most daysмайже щодня
You know since when.Ти знаєш, відколи.
proper coffeeнормальна, справжня кава
page twoдруга сторінка
quite a lot of pagesчимало сторінок
one way or anotherтим чи іншим способом
the whole timeувесь цей час
Nearly there.Майже прийшли.
I keep meaning it.Я щоразу маю це на увазі.
going in circlesходити колами
Lesson 2 Lesson 2 · With your teacher · діалог, граматика, вправи, говоріння
Before we start
Your own page one
You just read about Tom's secret notebook, quietly keeping track of Nina since the bus stop. Have you ever kept anything like that, without telling anyone?
Before the dialogue
Quick check: the text
You read this at home. Three questions, no looking back.
Tom takes Nina to the actual bus stop from Episode 1.
Tom’s notebook has three things written every day, like Nina’s.
Tom’s first entry is about the girl at the bus stop.
Before the dialogue
Answer in a few words
Short answers, from the text. The last one needs a full thought, not one word.
Where does Tom take Nina on their walk?
What does Tom take out of his coat pocket?
What does Tom’s first entry say?
What happens after the bus stop?
What does the closing line say about two brains?
Step 4 · Dialogue
Tom and Nina
Thursday, a slow walk with no explained destination.
Scene 1 · The walk
TomNearly there.
NinaYou keep saying that.
TomI keep meaning it.
NinaAre we going in circles?
TomIn a way.
Scene 2 · The notebook
NinaYou brought me to a bus stop.
TomI brought you to the beginning.
NinaThat’s very dramatic for public transport infrastructure.
TomI keep one too.
NinaKeep what?
TomA list. Not three things. Just one, most days.
NinaSince when?
TomYou know since when.
Scene 3 · Page two
NinaWhat happens now?
TomNow, we go and get proper coffee, and I show you page two.
NinaOnly page two?
TomThere are quite a lot of pages, Nina.
NinaI’d like to read all of them, eventually.
Tom(smiling)Eventually. Not today.
Переклад діалогу. Сцена 1: «Майже прийшли.» «Ти весь час це кажеш.» «Я щоразу маю це на увазі.» «Ми ходимо колами?» «Певною мірою.» Сцена 2: «Ти привів мене на зупинку.» «Я привів тебе до початку.» «Це дуже драматично як для інфраструктури громадського транспорту.» «Я теж такий веду.» «Що ведеш?» «Список. Не три речі. Лише одну, майже щодня.» «Відколи?» «Ти знаєш, відколи.» Сцена 3: «Що тепер?» «Тепер ми йдемо пити нормальну каву, і я покажу тобі другу сторінку.» «Тільки другу?» «Там чимало сторінок, Ніно.» «Я хотіла б прочитати їх усі, врешті-решт.» «Врешті-решт. Не сьогодні.»
After the dialogue
Complete the line
Straight from the scenes you just heard. Pick the word that completes each line.
“I keep it.”
“Are we going in ?”
“That’s very dramatic for public transport .”
“There are quite a lot of , Nina.”
“I’d like to read all of them, .”
Step 5 · Grammar
Season review: every tense, together
1 · Present Simple: habits, truths, and real questions
Habits, states, general truths, and real questions with What, Where, Why, How often. Joined with and, but, because, so.
Звички, стани, загальні істини, і справжні питання з What, Where, Why, How often. З'єднані за допомогою and, but, because, so.
habit
He comes to the café most days.
state
I know exactly what that feels like.
question
Where do you work?
connectors
She likes her mornings, but now there is a problem.
2 · Present Continuous: now, temporary, and fixed plans
am/is/are + verb-ing, for right now, for a while, for an already-arranged plan, or for always + a complaint.
am/is/are + дієслово-ing, для прямо зараз, для якогось часу, для вже узгодженого плану, або для always + скарги.
right now
It is raining.
fixed plan
I’m working from the café on Friday.
always + complaint
You’re always doing this.
3 · Going to: intentions and predictions
am/is/are + going to + base verb, for a decision already made, or a guess based on evidence you already have.
am/is/are + going to + базове дієслово, для рішення, яке вже ухвалене, або здогаду, заснованого на доказі, який у тебе вже є.
intention
I’m going to say something.
prediction
This is going to be a long night.
4 · Past Simple: what happened, in order
Regular -ed and irregular forms, for one completed action, or a whole story told with when, before, after, then.
Регулярні -ed і неправильні форми, для однієї завершеної дії, або цілої історії, розказаної з when, before, after, then.
one action
Nina left early on Saturday.
in order
When Danny asked, Tom hesitated.
5 · Putting it together: check the idea
“I brought you to the beginning.” Is this happening now, or already decided and arranged?
Both readings work, but here it is a fact, already done: Past Simple, brought.
Обидва прочитання можливі, але тут це факт, уже зроблений: Past Simple, brought.
“I keep one too.” Habit, or action in progress?
A habit, Present Simple. Keep here means “I regularly have”, not “I am doing it this second”.
Звичка, Present Simple. Keep тут означає «я регулярно маю», а не «я роблю це саме зараз».
“I show you page two.” If Tom means he will do this in a few minutes, as part of a decision he just made, what should the sentence really be?
“I’m going to show you page two”, or, since it is right after this moment, “I’ll show you”. Plain Present Simple alone is too flat for a fresh, in-the-moment decision.
«I'm going to show you page two», або, оскільки це відразу після цієї миті, «I'll show you». Простий Present Simple сам собою занадто плаский для свіжого рішення в моменті.
Now the practice. Every sentence comes from this season. Write the correct form of the verb in brackets, in whichever tense fits.
Tom to the café most days. (come, habit)
Look, it . (rain, now)
I you properly. (surprise, intention)
When Danny asked, Tom . (hesitate, past)
Tom Nina to the bus stop. (bring, past)
He a notebook too. (keep, habit)
This a long story. (be, prediction)
You this. (always / do, complaint)
Part 3 · Speak
Speaking 1 · From the text
Retell the story in five steps
One sentence out loud for each card. Say it yourself first, and only then open the model.
Step 1 · the walk
Where do Nina's feet already know they are going?
They already know they are going to the bus stop.
Step 2 · the notebook
What does Tom take out of his pocket?
He takes out a small, battered notebook.
Step 3 · the first page
What does the first page say?
It says: “girl at the bus stop, fine thanks, not fine at all.”
Step 4 · Nina's reaction
How does Nina feel, holding it?
She laughs, and then she stops, because she is in every page, one way or another.
Step 5 · what happens now
What do they do next?
They go and get proper coffee, and he shows her page two.
Now all five sentences in a row, in one recording.
Speaking 2 · From the dialogue
Be Nina
Tom speaks, you answer as Nina. Round 1: read along with the model. Round 2: speak on your own, with only a Ukrainian hint on screen.
Speaking 3 · Your turn
Your own full circle
Look back at the whole season. One thing you learned, one thing you do now, one thing you are going to keep doing.
1 · What you learned “I learned __________.” 2 · What you do now “Now, I __________.” 3 · What comes next “I’m going to __________.”
Now say them out loud. The page will listen and tell you which phrases from the lesson you used.
Speaking 4 · Fast
Ten seconds to answer
Five questions in a row, one for each tense from this season. Answer short and answer fast.
Get ready to speak out loud.
Lesson 3 Lesson 3 · On your own · місія, рефлексія, надсилання
Part 2 · Exercises
Exercise 1
Match the pairs
Tap a phrase on the left, then its meaning on the right.
Exercise 2
True or False?
About the text and the dialogue.
Tom’s surprise leads them to the same bus stop from earlier in the season.
Tom has been keeping his own notebook.
Tom writes three things in his notebook every day, exactly like Nina.
Nina is in almost every page of Tom’s notebook, one way or another.
Tom shows Nina every single page right away.
The story closes with the same idea from Episode 3: the brain finds what it looks for.
Exercise 3
Which tense fits?
Habit, now, plan, prediction, or the past? All four tenses from this season, mixed together.
He here most days. (habit)
Right now, she beside him. (this moment)
He’s her page two. (intention)
He her to the bus stop. (finished)
This a good day. (a guess, based on how it started)
He a notebook, most days. (habit)
Exercise 4
Put the lines in order
This is Scene 2. Drag a line by its handle, or move it with the arrows, until the conversation makes sense. Not sure? Listen to the scene and let your ear decide.
Nina: You brought me to a bus stop.
Tom: I brought you to the beginning.
Tom: I keep one too.
Nina: Keep what?
Tom: A list. Not three things. Just one, most days.
Nina: Since when?
Exercise 5
Translate into English
Write full sentences. Capital letters and punctuation are not checked.
Я привів тебе до початку.
Я теж такий веду.
Ти знаєш, відколи.
Що тепер?
Врешті-решт. Не сьогодні.
Speaking 5 · In real life
Your mission this week
Keep the habit going, even now that the season is finished.
Bonus · Twelve episodes later
Bonus
What I found, looking for it
Not checked, not sent anywhere. Just yours. The brain finds what it looks for. What did yours find, this season?
The line that closes the season: “The brain finds what it looks for. Sometimes, it turns out, two brains were looking for the same thing, the whole time.”
You started this course looking for words. You may be finishing it having found something else too. Both are worth writing down.
Tap a starter, then finish the sentence. Three lines are enough.
0 words
Текст лишається у твоєму браузері. Його не бачить ніхто, навіть викладач.
Займаєшся з викладачем? Прочитай свою рефлексію вголос на наступному занятті. Це гарний спосіб завершити сезон разом.
Send
Send your work to your teacher
This is what will be sent:
Takeaways
What to take with you
You made it through all twelve episodes. Here is what stays with you: a season of language, and a story that finally told the truth.
Key expressions from this episode
no particular direction Walking, without needing to explain why yet.
battered Worn from use, and worth more for it.
most days Not perfect, not every day, just often enough.
one way or another Present in every version of the story, however it is told.
proper coffee A small, real thing, worth doing right.
eventually. Not today. Patience, held gently, by two people now.
The whole season, in ideas
A stranger becomes a name, becomes a habit, becomes a choice, one small scene at a time.
Noticing, honestly, changes what your brain goes looking for next.
Misunderstandings shrink the moment someone finally asks.
Starting over rarely means starting from nothing. It means finally telling the truth.
Going to: intentions already decided, and predictions built on evidence.
Past Simple: one completed action, and a whole story in order with when, before, after, then.
Coming next season
A new tense waits for Nina and Tom's story: Present Perfect, for everything that started in the past and is still true today.
Until then: keep the list. Keep the habit. Most days is enough.
“The brain finds what it looks for. Sometimes, it turns out, two brains were looking for the same thing, the whole time.”
Narrator · Episode 12, English Energy
