Berto and HisGood Ideas

Magaly Rodríguez

Translation from Spanish by Blaine RayBasic Level

Edited by Contee Seely and Pablo Ortega López

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First edition published February, 2013

Copyright © 2013 by Blaine Ray. All rights reserved. No other part of this book may be reproduced ortransmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including pho tocopying, recording orby any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from Blaine Ray.

Printed in the U.S.A. on acid-free paper with soy-based ink.

ISBN: 978-1-60372-095-3

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Berto and His Good Ideasis published by:

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Questions by Blaine Ray

Art by Pol (www.polanimation.com)

&

Please note: While this book is not designed or intended primarily for children 12 years of age oryounger, it is certainly appropriate and safe to use with learners of all ages.

¡Hi! How are you? I am Berto. BertoRamírez Rodríguez. I am a boy. I ameleven years old. I am short. I havebrown hair and brown eyes. I am verysmart and very good looking. That’sright, I am very smart and very goodlooking. I am smarter than Albert Ein-stein and better looking than Brad Pitt.Yes, it is true.

This is my friend. Her name is Paula.Paula González García. She is my bestfriend. Paula also is eleven years old. Sheis tall and blond. She has blond hair andgreen eyes. She isn’t pretty. Well, sheisn’t ugly but she is not as pretty as I am.

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Chapter One:School is Boring, Horrible,Terrible….

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I am a student in a small school inMadrid, Spain. Madrid is the capital ofSpain. I have a lot of different teachers.My Spanish teacher’s name is MissPretty. She is boring. She talks a lot. Shetalks and talks and talks. She talks forforty-five minutes without stopping.

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My math teacher’s name is MissSmall. She is also very boring. Shedoesn’t talk very much. She yells a lot.She yells and yells and yells. She yells forforty-five minutes without stopping.

My history teacher’s name is MisterFlower. He is very interesting. He doesn’ttalk very much and he doesn’t yell verymuch. He sings a lot. He sings and singsand sings. He sings forty-five minutesevery day without stopping.

The most interesting teacher I have ismy science teacher. His name is Mr. Stu-art. He doesn’t talk and he doesn’t yelland he doesn’t sing. He sleeps. He sleepsand sleeps and sleeps. He sleeps forty-five minutes every day without stopping.Yes, it is true.

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I have a lot of friends in my school. Iam eleven years old. I don’t have elevenfriends. No, I have a hundred friends. No,I have a thousand friends at school. Ihave a friend named Juan. He is funnyand nice. I have another friend namedPablo. He is intelligent and serious. I alsohave a friend named Isabel. She is disor-ganized and full of energy. But Paula ismy favorite friend. She is my best friend.I like to spend time with my friends. Ilike to talk to my friends. I like to playwith my friends. Yes, it is true.

But, I don’t like school. I don’t like tostudy. I don’t like to do homework. I don’tlike to work. I like to play. I like to playsoccer. I like to play tennis. I also like toplay basketball. Yes, I like to play but Idon’t like to work. School is not fun.

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School is boring and horrible and terri-ble. Yes, it is true.

Paula also thinks that school is bor-ing. She thinks that homework is boring.She thinks tests are boring. She thinksteachers are boring. She thinks every-thing is boring and horrible and terrible.Yes, it is true.

There is a big problem. My mom andmy dad think that school is very impor-tant. They think homework is important.They think tests are important. Theyalso think school is fun. How horrible.They think school is more fun than Dis-ney World. They think school is very im-portant. They think school is moreimportant than oxygen. Yes, it is true.

So every day of the week (Monday,

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Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Fri-day) I have to go to school. I have to dohomework. I have to study. How boring!

Paula also has to go to school. She hasto do homework. She has to study. Shehas to work. How terrible!

But, I have an idea. I have a good idea.No, I have a lot of good ideas. I have ahundred good ideas, a thousand goodideas, a million good ideas…

Instead of going to school… Instead ofdoing homework… Instead of studying…Instead of working… Paula and I can…

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Questions

1. What is the name of the boy?

2. How old is he?

3. Is he short or tall?

4. What color is his hair?

5. What color are his eyes?

6. Is Berto smart?

7. Is Berto good looking?

8. What is the name of Berto’s friend?

9. How old is Berto’s favorite friend?

10. Is she short or tall?

11. What color is her hair?

12. What color are her eyes?

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13. Who is better looking, Berto or Paula?

14. Where is Berto’s school?

15. What is the capital of Spain?

16. What is the name of Berto’s Spanishteacher?

17. What does Berto’s Spanish teacher dofor forty-five minutes without stop-ping?

18. What is the name of Berto’s mathteacher?

19. What is the name of Berto’s scienceteacher?

20. Who is Berto’s most interestingteacher?

21. What does Mr. Stuart do for forty-fiveminutes without stopping?

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22. Does Berto like school?

23. Does Berto think school is boring orinteresting?

24. What does Paula think about school?

25. What do Berto’s parents think aboutschool?

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Chapter Two: Berto, the Wonderful Soccer Player

Instead of going to school, Paula and Ican play soccer. Yes, I am a wonderful soc-cer player. I have more talent than LionelMessi. I play soccer every day, ten hours aday. I play soccer in the morning. I play soc-cer in the afternoon. I play soccer at night.Yes, it is true.

Paula and I go to a soccer stadium inMadrid. The stadium is famous and isnamed the Santiago Bernabéu Stadium.We don’t go in a car and we don’t go on abicycle. We don’t go on a bus and we don’tgo in a taxi. That is boring. We go in a lim-ousine. Yes, we go in a big, giant, red,green, yellow, purple, and blue limousine.Yes, it is true.