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Blessing in Disguise

Learn English with this fortune English lesson

Date: Mar 25 2014

Themes: Friend, Soap Opera, Work

Grammar: Imperative Form

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Intro

1. Learn Vocabulary - Learn some new vocabulary before you start the lesson.

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2. Read and Prepare - Read the introduction and prepare to hear the audio.

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Has anyone ever thrown a party for you? Surprise parties are usually fun, for birthdays, babies and weddings, and visitors we weren’t expecting can be a wonderful treat as well. People are often surprised by letters in the mail, or seeing an old friend at the grocery store. There are all kinds of ways that joy unexpectedly comes into our lives.

Perhaps even better is a blessing in disguise. Pretend that you are walking in the rain to a bookstore because your favorite author is going to read from her new book. You walk for an hour, and you arrive completely wet. When you walk in the door, you learn that the author is sick and won’t be reading after all. What a disappointment! You walked so far for nothing.

But when you look across the room, you see a friend you haven’t talked with in a year. In that moment, you agree to cross the street together to a coffee shop, and you talk for hours. The author’s sickness was unfortunate, but if she hadn’t been sick, you might not have had coffee with your old friend. It was a blessing in disguise.

Why was it a blessing in disguise that Jeff wasn’t at the office when Rafael popped by? Find out in today’s English lesson.

3. Watch - Watch the video without reading the dialog.

Dialog

1. Listen and Read - Listen to the audio and read the dialog at the same time.

2. Study - Read the dialog again to see how the vocab words are used.

Rafael

Marni

Rafael: Hey, Marni! What’s up?

Marni: Hi! Sorry. You startled me.

Rafael: That’s OK. I just actually popped by... I was looking for Jeff. I wanted to see if he wanted to grab some lunch with me or something.

Marni: He’s not here. He’s at a meeting and he won’t be back till later.

Rafael: Shoot!

Marni: But you know what? You are actually just the man I wanted to see.

Rafael: Really?

Marni: Mm-hm. Is it true that you’re looking for a job teaching yoga?

Rafael: Yes.

Marni: I have a friend who has a studio, and she’s looking for a new instructor.

Rafael: Really?

Marni: I guess her last yoga instructor took a job in Hawaii and had to leave suddenly.

Rafael: Just my luck! Maybe it was like a blessing in disguise that Jeff wasn’t here.

Marni: Could be. Do you have any experience teaching kids?

Rafael: Yeah, I taught kids once in a summer camp when I was in high school, actually.

Marni: OK, good. Because I think part of the job is teaching a kids’ yoga class.

Rafael: Interesting.

Marni: Yeah, I think it’s for kids 10 and up.

Rafael: OK. I think I could do that. That would be a really interesting challenge.

Marni: So, do you want to know how to get ahold of her?

Rafael: Yeah. I’d love that.

Marni: OK. Let’s put your number in my phone.

Rafael: Great.

Marni: Are you heading down?

Rafael: Yeah.

Marni: OK.

Rafael: But thanks so much, Marni. It really is a blessing in disguise.

Marni: That’s me! A blessing in disguise.

Grammar Point

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Discussion

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Rafael stops by the office to ask Jeff to go out for lunch. Instead, he and Marni surprise each other in the hallway when Rafael gets out of the elevator. She tells him the bad news, which is that Jeff is away at a meeting. But as luck would have it, Marni was looking for Rafael with some good news just for him.

Marni has a friend who owns a yoga studio. One of the instructors suddenly moved to Hawaii, so Marni’s friend needs a new yoga teacher to take the open job. Marni knows that teaching yoga is Rafael’s dream job, so she wants to tell him about it. She asks Rafael for his phone number so that she can give it to her friend.

At first, Rafael was disappointed not to see Jeff, but after talking to Marni, he now thinks it was a blessing in disguise that Jeff wasn’t there.

Have you ever experienced a blessing in disguise? What were you expecting to happen, and what happened instead?

Comments

aMaibaeyae9

Afghanistan

Lessons of the english are very important nd rightly mentioned. It is done and ascribed wit the reforms and all enhanced typeressay tendency of the times. It is injected and performed with the efforts of the soft and hard nature. It is coined and ascertained wit the energy of the humans and also natural help.

Giou1949

Afghanistan

Learning the English is always a great thing for all the people because in this way they can make their life good. English learning from the superiorpapers review can improve their confidence in the community and make their life good.

ola33

Japan

My hero is an ukrainian pilot Nadezda Savchenko who is in Russian prison and I cry for her freedom. I also cry for ending war in Ukraine.

Mahtab.bp

Iran, Islamic Republic Of

Thank you my dear Anja! <3

I think everyone has a hero inside!

We just need to find it! ;-)

buttafly

Germany

Mahtab, I”m really glad you are one of those overcomers. It always amazes me how we develop enough strength to get the engine running on this wild, bumpy and crazy road of life.

Mahtab.bp

Iran, Islamic Republic Of

Yes it happened to me many times!

When I had to go for working to another city and it was a wonderful experience and opportunity to me although it was really hard to me!

When I stopped to contact with some people in my life and I was sad so much but later I found out it was the best for me and my future!

When I lost someone special and it was a horrible event in my life but I understood how much I am strong and I can handle many problems and I can accept many reponsiblities for myself and others!!!!

Yes all of them and many other ones were the blessing in desguise in my life!

We can always find goodness in a bad event!

It is really great!

Seiyf_khawas

Turkey

cry is to cry only :)

with or without tears ))

buttafly

Germany

Olya..the cure for just about anything : Salt water ;-)

ola33

Japan

Yes, Anja, “ blessed are those who mourn, because it is they who will be comforted! “

buttafly

Germany

Crying can be a blessing in disguise. When all words fail, tears can explain it all. Cause that’s what tears do, they help us see, eventually :)

ahmet55

Germany

Yes. Actually, right last night I visited an old friend after a long time whereas i was on my way to grocery store with the purpose of buying some eggs for dinner. Indeed, we talked about our past diaries when we were spending time together associated with our other friends during those days such as playing football, going to school and things like this. This was the latest case of my blessing in disguise on the earth.

ttsuka

Japan

Let me be a bit cynical here. ”Blessing in disguise” is a way of thinking to save your disappointments from the past bad events happened to you. Regardless of the drawbacks, life goes on and chances are that you would come across something nice in due course. And here is the chance for you to finally bury the bad memories. You convince yourself that the good that has just happened to you is contingent on the bad you suffered, aka calling it a blessing in disguise.

it’s a rationalization. But I’m all for rationalization in the face of vagaries in life. Why not manage your mind by understanding how it works? It’s more productive than trying to lock your feeling up in a safe, I think.

alexa1

Saudi Arabia

We say in Arabic, it may be that you dislike a thing which is good for you

iammarkk

Brazil

There has been so many blessings in desguise that I don’t even know where I should start off :p

ola33

Japan

Blessing in disguise is a great positive attitude to look at life. No matter how dark it is, try to find a beam of light, draw the curtains wider to fill up the room with more rays of happiness and optimism. Every bad situation can be a blessing in disguise just let’s practice to recognize it.

Seiyf_khawas

Turkey

blessing in disguise means,

“when God closed a door ,he opens another door “

” when sun down,stars up ”

Zambuka

United States

kind of teaching how to see brighter side of things))) and my opinion is that every event is a blessing in disguise)) nothing happens just because, everything has an exact reason to happen

jansladek

Slovakia

my blessing in disguise is always with my lovely whife.While we heading shops for some new sales what she´s seen on TV and they actualy don´t have them at the moment or got sold out,then I suddenly find some perfect discounts for my.At the end she gets angry with me ,bt for me it was blessing in disguise…

Or last time we were traveling to our neighber country of Cech republic and we needed to get europian traveving insurance for short time (3days).I phoned to some insurance group and got an apointment on next day with their adress.When I actualy got on the place,there was a diferent insurance group so I wanted to leave,suddenly th insurance agent offered me with better and cheaper service then I was going to get.So I tought what aa bleassing in disguise…