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This switcher only changes the instructions — the reading is always in English.
In bold: key vocabulary. Tap any word in the text to see its definition.
On Sunday at noon, Clara was trying to read on her sofa when the wall began to shake. Boom, boom, crash! The new neighbor in apartment 3B was playing the drums again. It was the third Sunday in a row.
She did not want to be rude. So she slid a polite note under his door: "Dear neighbor, I love music, but I can't concentrate on Sundays. Could you play a little quieter, or at a different time? Thank you, Clara (3A)."
An hour later, she found an answer under her door. "Dear Clara, I'm so sorry! These walls are thin, and I didn't know. I only have time to practice on Sundays because I work every day. When is a good time for you? Sam (3B)." Under the words, he had drawn a sad little drum.
Clara smiled. She wrote again: "How about between four and five? I'll be at my yoga class then. And on other days, I can give you earplugs." A few minutes later, the answer came: "Deal! And I'll buy you a coffee to say sorry."
The next Sunday, at four o'clock sharp, the drums started. Clara was at her yoga class, and the building was in peace. When she got home, there was a small paper cup outside her door, and a note: "Come and listen! I practiced your favorite song."
She knocked on 3B. Sam opened the door with two drumsticks in his hand. "Do you want to try?" he asked. Clara laughed. "I can't play the drums," she said. "Nobody can, at the beginning," he answered. She sat down behind the drums, and, for the first time in her life, made a terrible, wonderful noise.
