Transcript item
Hello, and welcome to our mini reading club! So, you know when you're reading something and you're thinking, 'This is amazing! I need to talk to someone about this!' Or maybe sometimes you're confused and you're like, 'Huh? I don't get it. I've got questions.' So what you need in those moments is another person, or people, who have read the same story to talk to. And that's exactly what we're going to do here. So go and read the short story. It's called True Beauty. I'm not going to tell you anything about it now, but it's only probably about ten minutes' reading. So go and read it! There are two different levels, so make sure you choose the best level for you, and then come back here for the discussion. So it's going to be really interesting to hear what you thought of the story and share ideas with other learners. So, happy reading and I'm looking forward to seeing you back here for some interesting discussion.
Welcome to our reading club! In this step, you can read and discuss a short story called True Beauty with other learners.
On this page, spoilers are allowed! :) In the comments, we're going to be talking about the characters, the message of the story and what we thought of it.
So, before we discuss the story, please take a few minutes to read it. You might also want to do the exercises to help you with understanding.
- Intermediate learners can read True Beauty (A2/B1)
- More advanced learners can read True Beauty (B2/C1)
What do you think?
- How would you describe the characters at the beginning of the story? What makes you think that?
- What message does the story have about social media? Do you agree?
- Did you like the story? Tell us what you thought!
Replying to other users' comments is a great way to practise interaction and conversation skills. Press 'reply' to write a reply to a comment that you find interesting!
the funny thing is that an application showed them how social addicted they were! But in the end it makes sense: as they lost their contact with reality, the only chance to be reached out had to be from the inside...sometimes I'm so happy to be a boomer, and that's one of those times. So happy to be the neighbor!
What I learn about that story is that not every picture needs filter to look good, I mean, if anybody has a good resolution camera and a place with lots of lights, there are possibilities that the natural picture can look good.
Hello,
In this short story, I have been struck by repeated expressions:
"There was no point eating it now that it was cold."
"There was almost no point being fit..."
"What was the point of anything any more?"
Could I ask the team when this kind of phrase is used?
Thanks a lot.
Hi User_1,
Well spotted! The word "point" in these sentences means something like "purpose", "usefulness" or "meaning". When you want to say that an action is useless or futile, it's quite common to say something like:
For example: There's no point going to the train station now. We've already missed the last train.
I hope that helps to understand it! What did you think of the story?
Jonathan
LearnEnglish team
Hi Jonathan,
Thanks for your explanation.
About the story, I was struck by this sentence: the picture looked perfect with that filter.
It seems like everything is better if a filter fixes it instead of being natural, and unfortunately, nowadays it is this way.
And you? What did you think of the story?
Hi User_1,
I liked it! Sometimes I do see people like the characters in the story, who do things basically just for the photo. For example, I sometimes see people who order food in a café and take photos but barely touch the food. The story does a good job of showing what they are missing!
I definitely prefer real and unfiltered photos. But then again, that's very easy for me to say as I don't have a big social media presence. If I did, I might see things differently.
Jonathan
LearnEnglish team
Hi Jonathan,
Thanks for your reply.
I agree with you: the story shows what they are missing, and for me it is the same about the social media presence as well.