Exercise 64
We are tired. Today it’s snowing. Yesterday it was hail. Tomorrow it will rain. If you’re ready, we can begin.
Exercise 65
Merv is learning Italian. He asks his friend Carolyn how he can improve his speaking in Italian. What are the two of them saying?
Merv:
I want to improve how I speak Italian.
Carolyn:
You know Italian?
Merv:
Yes, a little.
Carolyn:
That’s news to me.
Merv:
I started learning three or four years ago.
Carolyn:
Really? Why?
Merv:
I love the language and the culture. I visited Italy for the first time on a school trip. And now I’m under the country’s spell.
Carolyn:
It’s very interesting to hear that. How are you able to study Italian?
Merv:
I’m doing a course on line, and I have an app on my phone. Nonetheless, without getting better at speaking.
Carolyn:
Do you watch Italian films and videos and listen to podcasts?
Merv:
Sometimes.
Carolyn:
Maybe you ought to spend more time with them.
Merv:
I’ll try. But it’s hard to understand everything that’s said.
Carolyn:
Why don’t you try watching films together with Italian subtitles? That way you can read Italian and listen at the same time. It will help with your listening skills and with your speaking skills too.
Merv:
That’s a good idea. What else should I do?
Carolyn:
Do you ever talk to Italians in Cornwall?
Merv:
No, I don’t really.
Carolyn:
I have an Italian friend. She’s still polishing her English, and she’s also learning Cornish. Perhaps you might help her, and try speaking a bit of Italian with her.
Merv:
Oh, it would be ideal!
Exercise 66
I shall do that for her. We are studying in order to learn Cornish well. For me this is not very interesting. He’s going to cook some fantastic food for you. Now everything is ready for you.
Exercise 67
Gwra esedha, mar pleg. Gwra debry dha soper. Gwra dhe’n gwely lebmyn. Gwra scrifa lyther dhe Dama Wydn. Gwra prena pasty ragof i’n popty.
Gwrewgh dos ajy. Gwrewgh derivas an nowodhow dhybm. Gwra ry hebma dhe’n bobel i’n arhanty. Gwrewgh debry yn yagh. Hag eva gwedren a leth pùb jorna.
Exercise 68
Na wra neyja i’n mor hedhyw. Na wra debry hedna! Na wra comptya an pluvednow plobm. Na wra mos dhe Arwednak hedhyw, mar pleg. Na wra côwsel ortans!
Na wrewgh esedha ena! Mar pleg, na wrewgh fystena. Na wrewgh côwsel i’n lyverva. Na wrewgh spêna oll agas mona. Na wrewgh golsowes ortans!
Exercise 69
Tôny is the director for Hunros in Nos Golowan. That’s the stage play of the Cornish Speakers in Year Seven and Year Eight at his school. (Presumably a Cornish adaptation of A Midsummer Night's Dream by Shakespeare.) It’s not an easy job! What are they all saying?
Tôny:
Where’s your head, Bottom? The donkey’s head. Can you put it on to rehearse this scene?
Bottom:
It’s very difficult wearing the head, sir. I’m hot in my donkey head, and I can’t see properly to read my lines.
Tôny:
Oh blast, you don’t yet remember your lines? With the performance two weeks away – no, ten days away!
Titania:
Sir, my wing's stuck on crooked. Can you straighten it?
Tôny:
I’m always straightening your wing! Do take care of these delicate wings of yours, without bending them!
Oberon:
The horns on my head, they’re loose. Oh dear! I’ll go to the dressing-room to attach them again.
Tôny:
No, you absolutely will not. Stay here. We’ll finish the whole rehearsal, and you can attach your horns more firmly for the next time.
Oberon:
The next time?
Tôny:
Yes. Tomorrow. We’re going to rehearse every afternoon until the day of the performance.
Oberon:
But tomorrow's the day of my football match!
Titania:
But tomorrow's the day of my violin lesson!
Bottom:
But tomorrow's the day of the parents conference, sir.
Tôny:
It really is! Oh, how can I ensure a good play? Lots of problems, little success. I wish I hadn't started the whole thing!