想买水却拿到玉米浓汤：东京自动售货机前的英语闲聊

英文文本

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Available in 21 subtitle languages.

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I had been living in Tokyo for three weeks, and I still could not understand the vending machines.

They sold hot coffee, cold coffee, soup, ties, and something that looked like a small plastic egg.

I loved the city, but every day brought a new small confusion.

On Tuesday morning, I stood in front of a machine near my apartment.

I wanted water.

The machine had 40 buttons, and every button had a different picture.

I pressed one button, and the machine made a happy sound.

A can of hot corn soup fell out.

Okay, I said to the machine.

That is not water, but thank you.

A man in a gray suit stopped next to me.

He looked at the soup in my hand and smiled.

He wished me a good morning and asked if I was having soup for breakfast.

I told him I had wanted water, but the machine chose for me.

He said the machine knows what I need, that it is very wise.

I asked if it was and reminded him that yesterday it gave me a small towel.

He said that was also wise because you never know when you need a towel.

I laughed.

The man bought a can of coffee and walked away.

I drank the soup on a bench in the small park.

It was warm and sweet, and I had to admit it was better than water.

At lunch, I met my friend Yuki at a ramen shop.

Yuki was a student who practiced English with me, and I practiced Japanese with her.

We were both bad at each other's language, which made us perfect friends.

She asked how my morning was and told me I looked like a person who had fought a machine I said I had that the machine won and that I had soup for breakfast She said corn soup was normal there and that sometimes she had soup and rice and called it breakfast I told her that in my country breakfast is bread and coffee Simple with no surprises.

She said surprises are good, that today the machine gave me soup, and tomorrow it would give me a tie.

I said I do not wear ties.

She said then it would give you a tie and you would start a new fashion.

We ordered ramen.

I tried to eat with chopsticks, and the noodles kept escaping.

Yuki watched me with a kind smile.

She said I was improving, and that last week I ate with a spoon.

I said last week I was hungry, and today I was proud.

She said proud and hungry was a good combination.

I told her that in my country, we say a hungry person is an honest person.

She said that in her country, we say even a hungry person should not drop noodles on their shirt.

I looked down.

There was a small spot of soup on my white shirt.

I sighed and said the machine gave me a towel yesterday and I did not bring it.

She said, see, the machine knew, and that I should listen to machines.

After lunch, I walked to the train station.

I had a job interview at a small English school.

I was nervous, and my shirt had a soup spot.

I tried to hide the spot with my bag, but the bag was too small.

On the train, an old woman sat next to me.

She looked at my shirt and opened her handbag.

She took out a small packet of wet tissues and gave it to me, without a word.

I thanked her and said it was very kind.

She said you had a spot and I had tissues, and it was simple.

I told her she was like the vending machine, that she knew what I needed.

She said the vending machine was smarter than her because it never runs out of tissues.

I cleaned my shirt.

The spot was still there, but it was smaller.

I felt better.

I thanked her and told her I had an interview today.

She asked if it was for a job.

I said yes, that I wanted to teach English.

She said then I must smile because a smile is the best shirt.

I smiled.

She nodded and got off at the next station.

At the interview, I met the school director, Mr. Tanaka.

He was a small man with big glasses and a very serious face He asked me to sit down He asked why I wanted to teach English in Japan I said because I love this country and because I want to help people communicate.

He said good, and asked if I could explain the difference between I have been and I have gone.

I said yes, that I have been to Japan means I visited Japan, and I have gone to Japan means I am in Japan now, or I went and I am still there.

He said correct.

Then he asked what I would do if a student falls asleep in my class.

I said I would ask them to stand up and teach the next sentence.

He said interesting, and asked what if they refuse.

I said then I would let them sleep, because a sleeping student is a quiet student.

Mr. Tanaka laughed for the first time.

His serious face broke into a wide smile.

He said I had humor and that it was important, because students learn better when they laugh.

I said I hoped so and that I laugh at myself every day.

He said then I would be a great teacher and asked when I could start.

I asked if tomorrow was possible.

He said tomorrow was good, but first I should buy a new shirt.

I looked at my soup spot and laughed.

I told him the vending machine gave me soup, the train lady gave me a tissue, and now he was giving me advice.

that everyone was taking care of me.

He said that is Japan, that we take care of each other, even the machines.

I left the school with a new job and a small smile.

I walked past the same vending machine near my apartment.

I stopped and looked at it.

I told it that it won, but that tomorrow I wanted water.

I pressed a button.

The machine made a happy sound.

A can of cold coffee fell out.

I said, close enough.

I opened the coffee and sat on the bench in the park.

The sun was warm and the city was loud and busy.

I felt happy.

I had a job, a friend, and a strange relationship with a machine.

Tomorrow I would start teaching.

Today I would drink coffee and watch people.

A small boy walked by with his mother.

He pointed at me and said something in Japanese.

His mother smiled and bowed to me.

I bowed back.

I did not know what they said, but I understood the smile I thought maybe I didn need to understand everything that maybe I just needed to say yes to the soup I finished my coffee and went home to prepare for my first class In my bag, I put a small towel, a packet of tissues, and a can of corn soup.

I was ready for anything.

The next morning, I stood in front of my first class.

Six students looked at me with curious eyes.

I took a deep breath.

I said good morning, that my name was Anna, that I was from Canada, and that yesterday a vending machine gave me soup for breakfast.

The students laughed.

I smiled.

I knew it was going to be a good day.

After class, Yuki was waiting outside.

She asked how it was and if anyone fell asleep.

I said no, but that one student asked me why I had a soup spot on my shirt.

She asked what I said.

I told her it was a fashion from my country.

She asked if they believed me.

I said they wrote it down in their notebooks.

Yuki laughed so hard she had to hold the wall.

She said I was a dangerous teacher.

I said I was a teacher who learns from machines.

We walked to the ramen shop together.

I ordered the same ramen as yesterday.

This time, I did not drop any noodles on my shirt.

Yuki said I did it, that there was no spot.

I said I was improving.

She said next week I could try a fork.

I said one step at a time.

We ate and talked about the next day, the next class, and the next small adventure.

I did not know what the vending machine would give me tomorrow, but I knew it would be something, and I was ready to say thank you.

That night, I wrote in my notebook, Japan, day 22.

I have a job, a friend, and a machine that knows me better than I know myself.

Tomorrow, I will buy a tie just in case.

I closed the notebook and went to sleep.

In the morning, the machine would be waiting, and so would the soup.

New dialogues and stories every day, available in 21 subtitle languages.

You can practice all these dialogues sentence by sentence using the interactive player on our website.

Link in the description.

本语言文本

每天都有新的对话和故事。提供21种字幕语言。

你可以使用我们网站上的互动播放器逐句练习所有这些对话。

链接在描述中。我在东京已经住了三个星期，但我仍然

无法理解自动售货机。它们卖热咖啡、冷咖啡、汤、领带，

还有一种看起来像小塑料蛋的东西。我爱这座城市，但每一天都带来

新的小困惑。星期二早上，我站在公寓附近的一台机器前。

我想要水。机器有40个按钮，每个按钮都有不同的图片。

我按了一个按钮，机器发出欢快的声音。一罐热玉米汤掉了出来。

好吧，我对机器说。那不是水，但还是谢谢你。

一个穿灰色西装的男人在我旁边停下。他看了看我手里的汤，笑了。

他祝我早上好，问我是不是早餐喝汤。

我告诉他我本来想要水，但机器替我选了。

他说机器知道我需要什么，它非常聪明。

我问是吗，并提醒他昨天它给了我一条小毛巾。

他说那也很聪明，因为你永远不知道什么时候需要毛巾。

我笑了。

那个男人买了一罐咖啡就走了。

我在小公园的长椅上喝了汤。

它又暖又甜，我不得不承认它比水好。

午餐时，我在一家拉面店见了我的朋友由纪。由纪是一个和我一起练习英语的学生，

我和她一起练习日语。我们彼此的语言都很差，这让我们

成了完美的朋友。她问我早上怎么样，并说我看起来像是一个和

机器搏斗过的人。我说是的，机器赢了，我早餐喝了汤。她说玉米汤在那里很正常，有时她喝汤吃饭，称之为早餐。我告诉她在我的国家早餐是面包和咖啡，简单

没有惊喜。她说惊喜是好的，今天机器给了我汤，

明天它会给我一条领带。我说我不戴领带。她说那它会给你一条

领带，你会开创一种新时尚。我们点了拉面。我试着用筷子吃，

面条总是逃掉。由纪带着温和的微笑看着我。她说我在进步，

上周我还用勺子吃。我说上周我饿了，今天我骄傲。

她说骄傲和饥饿是个好组合。我告诉她在我的国家，我们说饥饿的

人是诚实的人。她说在她的国家，我们说即使是饥饿的人也不应该

把面条掉在衬衫上。我低头看。我的白衬衫上有一小点汤渍。

我叹了口气，说昨天机器给了我一条毛巾，我没带。

她说，看吧，机器知道，我应该听机器的。

午餐后，我走到火车站。我在一所小型英语学校有一场工作面试。

我很紧张，我的衬衫上有汤渍。

我试着用包遮住污渍，但包太小了。

在火车上，一位老妇人坐在我旁边。

她看了看我的衬衫，打开了她的手提包。

她拿出一小包湿纸巾递给我，一言不发。

我感谢她，说这非常友善。

她说你有污渍，我有纸巾，很简单。

我告诉她她就像自动售货机，知道我需要什么。

她说自动售货机比她聪明，因为它从不会用完纸巾。

我清理了我的衬衫。

污渍还在，但变小了。

我感觉好多了。

我感谢她，告诉她我今天有面试。

她问是不是工作面试。

我说是的，我想教英语。

她说那我必须微笑，因为微笑是最好的衬衫。

我笑了。

她点点头，在下一站下了车。

面试时，我见到了学校校长田中先生。

他是个小个子男人，戴着大眼镜，表情非常严肃。他让我坐下。他问我为什么想在日本教英语。我说因为我爱这个国家，因为我想帮助人们

交流。他说好，并问我能否解释I have been和I

have gone的区别。我说可以，I have been to Japan意思是我去过日本，I have gone to Japan

意思是我现在在日本，或者我去了并且还在那里。他说正确。然后他问我如果

学生在我的课上睡着了我会怎么做。我说我会让他们站起来教下一

个句子。他说有趣，并问如果他们拒绝呢。我说那我会让他们睡，

因为睡觉的学生是安静的学生。田中先生第一次笑了。他严肃的

脸绽放出灿烂的笑容。他说我有幽默感，这很重要，因为学生

笑的时候学得更好。我说希望如此，我每天都笑自己。他说那我会

成为一个伟大的老师，问我什么时候能开始。我问明天可以吗。他说明天

好，但首先我应该买一件新衬衫。我看了看我的汤渍，笑了。我告诉他

自动售货机给了我汤，火车上的女士给了我纸巾，现在他给了我建议。

每个人都在照顾我。他说这就是日本，我们互相照顾，

甚至机器也是。我带着新工作和微笑离开了学校。我走过公寓附近

同一台自动售货机。我停下来看着它。我告诉它它赢了，但

明天我想要水。我按了一个按钮。机器发出欢快的声音。一罐冷咖啡

掉了出来。我说，差不多吧。我打开咖啡，坐在公园的长椅上。阳光

温暖，城市喧闹繁忙。我感到快乐。我有一份工作，一个朋友，和一段奇怪的

与机器的关系。明天我将开始教书。今天我将喝咖啡，

看着人们。一个小男孩和妈妈走过。他指着我，用

日语说了些什么。他妈妈微笑着向我鞠躬。我鞠躬回礼。我不知道他们说了什么，

但我理解那个微笑。我想也许我不需要理解一切，也许我只需要对汤说好。我喝完咖啡，回家准备我的第一堂课。

在包里，我放了一条小毛巾、一包纸巾和一罐玉米汤。我准备好了

应对一切。第二天早上，我站在第一堂课前面。六个学生用

好奇的眼睛看着我。我深吸一口气。我说早上好，我叫安娜，我来自

加拿大，昨天一台自动售货机给了我汤当早餐。学生们笑了。我

笑了。我知道这会是美好的一天。课后，由纪在外面等着。她问

怎么样，有没有人睡着。我说没有，但有一个学生问我为什么衬衫上有

汤渍。她问我怎么说的。我告诉她这是我们国家的时尚。她问

他们信了吗。我说他们记在笔记本上了。由纪笑得不得不

扶着墙。她说我是个危险的老师。我说我是个向机器学习的老师。

我们一起走到拉面店。我点了和昨天一样的拉面。这次我没有

把面条掉在衬衫上。由纪说你做到了，没有污渍。我说我在进步。

她说下周我可以试试叉子。我说一步一步来。我们边吃边聊

第二天、下一堂课和下一次小冒险。我不知道自动售货机明天会给

我什么，但我知道它会给点什么，我准备好说谢谢了。那天晚上，

我在笔记本上写道，日本，第22天。我有一份工作，一个朋友，和一台比我自己

更了解我的机器。明天，我会买一条领带以防万一。我合上笔记本，

去睡觉了。早上，机器会在那里等着，汤也是。

每天都有新的对话和故事，提供21种字幕语言。

你可以使用我们网站上的互动播放器逐句练习所有这些

对话。

链接在描述中。