In this lesson, we're going to focus on a real-life story. 
Have you ever found it difficult to talk about an experience you had?

This example will help you improve your storytelling skills in English. You are also going to learn useful vocabulary related to cars and fuel. 


STORY TIME  

"Last month, I was driving back home from work and I thought I had enough fuel in my car for that distance. When I was driving on the highway, I realised that I needed to fill up some fuel and I needed to get to the nearest petrol station. I didn't know where I could find an exit on the highway. The fuel gauge almost went down to empty. I pulled over in the emergency lane. I ran out of fuel so I had to call the police to help me. They called a tow truck for me which pulled me to the nearest petrol station. Finally, I filled up the tank, and was able to get back home." 

Have you ever run out of petrol? What did you do? 

IMPORTANT! 
Notice that we use PAST SIMPLE and PAST CONTINUOUS to tell stories about what happened to us.
It's really important to follow this rule so that you don't end up mixing tenses or, even worse, using Present Simple. 


VOCABULARY 

• to drive to work 
• to drive back home 
• ​gas station = petrol station 
• to overtake cars - to go past a moving vehicle or a person ahead of you because you are moving faster than they are 
• tow truck BrE /ˈtəʊ trʌk/ ; NAmE /ˈtoʊ trʌk/ - It is a truck used to move disabled or improperly parked motor vehicles. 
• fuel gauge OR gas gauge BrE /ɡeɪdʒ/ - It is an instrument used to indicate the amount of fuel in a fuel tank. 
• ​fuel tank - a large container for holding gas 
• low fuel light - This will show that you need to go to a petrol station to fill your tank up. 
• indicator BrE /ˈɪndɪkeɪtə(r)/ ; NAmE /ˈɪndɪkeɪtər/ - It shows you how much fuel you have. 
• empty fuel indicator 
• to be out of fuel (phrasal verb) - You don't have any left. 
• to refill the tank 

English Collocations with FUEL  

VERB + FUEL  

• burn fuel 
• consume fuel 

SWIM + NOUN 

• fuel costs 
• fuel prices 

Examples: 

• I overestimated how much fuel I had left in my tank. (= I thought I had more or enough.) 
• I usually fill my tank to the top. 
• You shouldn't drive around with low fuel light on. 
• Most drivers don't know how far they'll make it before running out of fuel. 
• The fuel gauge isn't always accurate. 
• You can damage your car if the level of gas in your tank runs low. (run low) 
• I was trying to avoid traffic because my car was running out of fuel. 
• Some people fill up their tank with little fuel to keep them on the road. 
• Make sure you don't run out of fuel. 

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How do people in your country usually socialise? Do you like socialising or do you prefer to spend time alone? What do you normally do to socialise? What do you think about working in coffee shops? 

Read the conversation below to learn about socialising in Vietnam. 

Pay close attention to word combinations. You can also take notes in your notebook. 

Kate: How do people in your country socialise? 
Liem: In Vietnam, it's really common to invite your colleagues for dinner after work. It's all about getting together to relax. I need to mention, though, that people drink a lot... I would say at least three bottles of beer per person. Usually they drink more until they're drunk. I don't like it because it's really unhealthy. That is the most common way to socialise in Vietnam. With your co-workers, it's always about eating and drinking, but with your friends, you can ask them to have a coffee at the weekend. In Vietnam, it's common to go to a coffee shop, and order a coffee or juice. You can sit there chatting for hours and hours. There are plenty of coffee shops you can choose from or you may have a favourite one. Personally, I don't drink coffee and I tend to stay at home. I would go only if someone invited me. I'm not very active in asking people to hang out, but my girlfriend likes staying in a coffee shop and working there, whereas I don't. 
Kate: I was going to ask you if people work in coffee shops as well, because I see this is becoming a trend nowadays and they seem to be the new workplace. 
Liem: Yeah, there are a lot of people working in coffee shops, however, I don't feel they're working because for me it isn't a workplace. If someone brings a laptop, put it on a table, order a drink, and stay there, I would think they're surfing Facebook, watching movies or doing something else rather than working. You know, how to work in a coffee shop when a lot of people are talking, moving around and there are a lot of distractions on your laptop? 
Kate: And also music... Music playing in the background in the coffee shop. 
Liem: And I also think a coffee shop is a place where people show off their latest gear, like their laptops. They usually bring their best laptop, for instance Macbook, and they put it on the table along with their phone. This is what I think when I see them using a Macbook in public. 
Kate: Yes, and actually I can't imagine myself taking my laptop, going to a coffee shop and using it there. I mean, to me, this feels really uncomfortable and it's not typical for me. 
Liem: Yeah, I could never do it! 
Kate: Yes, me neither. And do you know what? I've seen a lot of images of Japanese people who go to coffee shops to study English, and they pile their textbooks on the table, they take pictures of their drinks, food and they study there. I'm not sure if this can help you study anything, though. 
Liem: The only thing I think I can do in a coffee shop is brainstorming some ideas. I would choose a garden themed café because that would inspire me. I would never study in a coffee shop, especially studying English, because I can't speak out loud. It's really important to me. I'd rather stay at home and watch movies on TV. 
Kate: In English? 
Liem: Yes, in English, and turn off the subtitles. In Vietnam, we have garden cafés which are a popular café style. They are usually huge and may accommodate up to 500 people. There are lots of tables and a garden in the middle. I'm looking for an image to show you what it looks like. 
Kate: Oh, wow! And this is in Vietnam? Oh, I've never seen this type of coffee shops. I've watched videos with coffee shops in South Korea, but I've never seen anything like that, not even close. 
Liem: I think it's really specific to Vietnam. And yeah, it's worth a visit if you go to Vietnam. 
​Kate: I think there are a lot of coffee shops that I could visit, especially if they all look like that. 
Liem: Yeah. But I would say their coffee is terrible. Horrible. They usually charge high prices and what you get tastes like instant coffee, but it's not. And if you order an orange juice, you will get a little bit of orange juice with a lot of water and sugar. 
Kate: So they don't give you a normal orange juice and add water instead to make it seem more? That's not very fair. 
Liem: Yeah, but you see, they need to spend a lot of money on rent and maintaining the place. So, that's why. Drinks are a little bit expensive, but when you go there, you want to enjoy the refreshing and greenery surroundings, not the drink itself.  
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​TASK:
Answer the questions below. Leave us a comment! 

1. How do people in your country socialise? 
2. Do you have unique coffee shops in your country? Can you describe them? 
3. Do you think coffee shops are the next workplace? Why / Why not? Is this common in your country? 
4. Do you think working in coffee shops is annoying? 

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