24. SUI-MING’S BUSINESS

SUI-MING’S BUSINESS/ suɪmɪngz ˈbɪznəs/

Sui-ming leaves school

   suɪmɪng   lɪːvz   skuːl

Poor Sui-ming was very sad.

    pʊə suɪmɪng   wəz  ˈvɛrɪ   sæd

 It was raining heavily and he was hungry.

   ɪt  wəz   reɪnɪŋ ˈhɛvɪli   ənd  hiː  wəz   ˈhʌŋɡri

 His foot was hurtɪŋ.

  hɪz   fʊt  wəz   həːtɪng 

His village was still two miles away.

  hɪz  ˈvɪlɪdʒ   wəz   stɪl    tuː   maɪlz    əˈweɪ

He sat down unhappily to rest.

  hiː   sæt   daʊn  ʌnˈhæpɪli    tuː   rest

-------

 Sui-ming looked back towards the town

   suɪmɪng   lʊkt  bæk   tɔːrdz   ðə    taʊn

 he had left that morning. 

    hiː  hæd  left   ðæt    ˈmɔːrnɪŋ 

 He had been at school there for five happy years,

   hiː   hæd   bɪn   æt   skuːl    ðer    fɔːr   faɪv  ˈhæpi     jɪrz

but now that was finished. 

    bʌt    naʊ   ðæt    wəz  ˈfɪnɪʃt    

The headmaster had spoken to him in his office.

   ðə   ˌhedˈ    mæstər    hæd   ˈspoʊkən   tuː   hɪm   ɪn   hɪz   ˈɔːfɪs

    ‘The end of the year has come, Sui-ming,

      ðə    end   ʌv    ðə   jɪr    hæz    kʌm ,   suɪmɪng

 and it is time for you to leave school’,

      ænd   ɪt    ɪz    taɪm   fɔːr    juː  tuː   lɪːvz    skuːl

the headmaster had said

   ðə  ˌhedˈ   mæstər    hæd    sæd 

. ‘You have learnt many things and I know you will be sad to go.

      juː    hæv    lə:nt   ˈmeni   θɪŋz    ənd   aɪ   noʊ     juː  wɪl    biː    sæd   tuː   ɡoʊ

But you are older than most of the other pupils

  bʌt   juː   ɑːr   oʊldər   ðæn   moʊst    ʌv   ðə   ˈʌðər    ˈpjuːplz

 and many younger children want to come here.

  ænd  ˈmeni   ˈjʌŋɡər   ˈtʃɪldrən    wɑːnt   tuː    kʌm     hɪr 

We must make room for them’.

  wiː    mʌst    meɪk    rʊm     fɔːr      ðem

   Sui-ming had said goodbye to his friends.

    suɪmɪng   hæd    sæd   ˌɡʊdˈbaɪ    tuː   hɪz      frendz

 He had picked up the few things that he owned.

    hiː    hæd    pɪkt    ʌp    ðə    fjuː    θɪŋz   ðæt        hiː oʊnd

Then he had started the long walk back to his home.

 ðen   hiː   hæd    stɑːrtɪd    ðə    lɔːŋ    wɔːk    bæk   tuː  hɪz   hoʊm

 He remembered all this

  hiː    rɪˈmembərd    ɔːl    ðiːz

as he sat by the side of the road.

æz   hiː   sæt   baɪ    ðə   saɪd   ʌv   ðə   roʊd

His face was still sad as he got up

hɪz   feɪs   wəz   stɪl   sæd   æz   hiː   ɡɑːt    ʌp

and walked through the rain again.

ænd   wɔːkt    θruː   ðə   reɪn   əˈɡeɪn/

 Sui-ming was pleased to see his family   

    suɪmɪng  wəz   pliːzd   tuː   siː   hɪz    ˈfæməli

when he arrived home,

wen    hiː    əˈraɪvd    hoʊm 

and they were pleased to see him.

ænd  ðeɪ   wɜːr   pliːzd     tuː    siː     hɪm

He helped his father in the garden.

hiː    helpt   hɪz    ˈfɑːðər     ɪn    ðə    ˈɡɑːrdn

He cut wood for the fire

hiː kʌt wʊd fɔːr ðə ˈfaɪər

and carried water for his mother.

ænd   ˈkærid   ˈwɑːtər    fɔːr    hɪz    ˈmʌðər

But he was soon tired of doing the same things every day.

bʌt  hiː   wəz   suːn   ˈtaɪərd     ʌv   ˈduːɪŋ   ðə    seɪm   θɪŋz     ˈevri deɪ

At night, he sat in the house and talked with his parents.

 æt  naɪt  hiː   sæt   ɪn   ðə   haʊs   ænd     tɔːkt   wɪθ   hɪz     ˈperəntid

 But there were no books in the house

   bʌt   ðer  wɜːr   noʊ   bʊks   ɪn   ðə     haʊs

and the only radio in the village was broken.

ænd   ðə   ˈoʊnli   ˈreɪdioʊ   ɪn   ðə   ˈvɪlɪdʒ    wəz    ˈbroʊkən

 Sui-ming had an old bicycle,

suɪmɪng   hæd   æn   oʊl    ˈbaɪsɪkl

but one of the wheels was broken.

 bʌt    wʌn   ʌv   ðə    wiːlz    wəz   ˈbroʊkən

 He wished he had something else to do.

hiː   wɪʃt   hiː    hæd   ˈsʌmθɪŋ    els    tuː   duː

No eggs in town   / noʊ eɡz ɪn taʊn/

One day, Sui-ming’s father asked him

 wʌn  deɪ   suɪmɪngz   ˈfɑːðər   æskt    hɪm 

to go the town

tuː   ɡoʊ   ðə   taʊn

to sell some vegetables at the market.

 tuː   sel    sʌm    ˈvedʒtəblz   æt   ðə   ˈmɑːrkɪt

Sui-ming was pleased to go to town again.

suɪmɪng   wəz    pliːzd    tuː    ɡoʊ   tuː   taʊn    əˈɡeɪn

He climbed happily on to a market-lorry

hiː   klaɪmd   ˈhæpɪli     ɔːn   tuː   ə   ˈmɑːrkɪtˈ   lɔːri

and it started along the road to the market.

ænd  ɪt   stɑːrtɪd    əˈlɔːŋ    ðə    roʊd    tuː   ðə   ˈmɑːrkɪt/

 ----

 There were a lot of people at the market

 ðer  wɜːr   ə   lɑːt   ʌv  ˈpiːpl    æt   ðə   ˈmɑːrkɪt

and Sui-ming soon sold his vetgetables.

   ænd  suɪmɪng   suːn     soʊld   hɪz   ˈvedʒtəblz

His mother had asked him

hɪz   ˈmʌðər   hæd   æskt   hɪm

to buy some sugar and tins of fish

tuː   baɪ   sʌm   ˈʃʊɡər    ænd    tɪnz   ʌv   fɪʃ 

 so Sui-ming went to look for the right shop.

   soʊ  suɪmɪng   went  tuː   lʊk    fɔːr   ðə   raɪt    ʃɑːp 

The shop was full of people too,

ðə   ʃɑːp   wəz   fʊl    ʌv   ˈpiːpl    tuː

 and Sui-ming waited patiently.

  ænd    suɪmɪng   weɪtid   ˈpeɪʃntli

He heard two woman talking near one of the shelves,

hiː    hɪr    tuː   ˈwʊmən   tɔːkɪŋ    nɪr    wʌn    ʌv    ðə    ʃelvz 

’The shop doesn’t have any eggs, one of the woman said.

  ðə    ʃɑːp    ˈdʌznt   hæv   ˈeni eɡz    wʌn    ʌv    ðə  ˈwʊmən    sæd

 ‘I haven’t seen any eggs in the town for weeks’.

aɪ   ˈhævnt   siːn   ˈeni   eɡz    ɪn   ðə    taʊn    fɔːr    wiːks

 ‘It’s silly’, the other woman said.

   ɪts  ˈsɪli     ðə    ˈʌðər    ˈwʊmən    sæd

’Someone could easily start a chicken farm near here.

ˈsʌmwʌn    kʊd    ˈiːzəli    stɑːrt  ə   ˈtʃɪkɪn  fɑːrm   nɪr    hɪr 

Then we should always have plenty of eggs’.

ðen   wiː   ʃʊd   ˈɔːlweɪz   hæv  ˈplenti   ʌv   eɡz    

The two women talked about this for a long time.

ðə  tuː   ˈwʊmən   tɔːkt   əˈbaʊt   ðiːz   fɔːr  ə   lɔːŋ   taɪm 

They were quite angry

ðeɪ    wɜːr    kwaɪt    ˈæŋɡri

because they could not buy any eggs.

bɪˈkʌz    ðeɪ    kʊd     nɑːt    baɪ   ˈeni   eɡz 

Sui-ming was thinking hard

suɪmɪng   wəz   ˈθɪŋkɪŋ     hɑːrd

as he looked for a lorry to take him back to the village.

æz hiː    lʊkt  fɔːr  ə   ˈlɔːri   tuː   teɪk      hɪm  bæk  tuː   ðə   ˈvɪlɪdʒ

Sui-ming builds a farm/ suɪmɪng bɪldz ə fɑːrm/

Next morning, Sui-ming counted twenty-two chickens

nekst   ˈmɔːrnɪŋ    suɪmɪng   kaʊntid    ˈtwenti    tuː    ˈtʃɪkɪnz

that belonged to his mother and father.

   ðæt     bɪˈlɔːŋd    tuː    hɪz    ˈmʌðər    ænd      ˈfɑːðər

Often, they laid their eggs in the wood or in secret places

  ˈɔːftən  ðeɪ    leɪd     ðer    eɡz    ɪn    ðə    wʊd     ɔːr    ɪn    ˈsiːkrət     pleɪsɪz   

where no one ever found them.

   wer   noʊ   wʌn    ˈevər     faʊnd    ðəm

 Sui-ming went into the forest

   suɪmɪng    went     ˈɪntuː    ðə          ˈfɑːrɪst

and cut down branches

   ænd    kʌt    daʊn    bræntʃɪz

from the trees to make a fence.

   frʌm    ðə     triːz    tuː    meɪk    ə    fens

He worked hard,

   hiː    wɜːrkt     hɑːrd

making many posts for the fence

   meɪkɪŋ    ˈmeni    poʊsts    fɔːr    ðə     fens

and hammering them into the ground.

   ænd    ˈhæmərɪŋ    ðəm    ˈɪntuː    ðə     ɡraʊnd

Then he caught the chickens

  ðen    hiː    kɔːt    ðə  ˈtʃɪkɪnz  

and put them inside the fence.

  ænd    pʊt    ðəm    ɪnˈsaɪd    ðə  fens

 ‘Now I’ve got a chicken farm’, Sui-minh said.

  naʊ   aɪv    ɡɑːt   ə   ˈtʃɪkɪn    fɑːrm    suɪmɪng    sæd  

 ‘ So hurry,chickens!

   soʊ     ˈhɜːri    ˈtʃɪkɪnz   

Lay some eggs for me to sell’.

   leɪ    sʌm    eɡz    fɔːr    miː    tuː   sel

 But the chickens did not lay many eggs.

   bʌt   ðə    ˈtʃɪkɪnz    dɪd    nɑːt    leɪ    ˈmeni    eɡz

 Sui-ming was busy for the rest of the week,

   suɪmɪng    wəz    ˈbɪzi    fɔːr      ðə    rest   ʌv   ðə wiːk

collecting food for them

  kəˈlektɪŋ     fuːd    fɔːr       ðəm  

and cooking for eggs.

   ænd  ˈkʊkɪŋ    fɔːr    eɡz 

After one week,

  ˈæftər    wʌn   wiːk 

he had filled only four boxes

  hiː   hæd    fɪl   ˈoʊnli    fɔːr    bɑːksɪz

with very small eggs.

  wɪθ   ˈveri     smɔːl    eɡz 

He took them to town

  hiː    tʊk    ðəm    tuː   taʊn  

and sold them at a shop

 ænd   soʊld   ðəm    æt   ə     ʃɑːp

 ‘They are very small eggs’, the owner said.

   ðeɪ    ɑːr    ˈveri    smɔːl   eɡz     ðə    ˈoʊnər    sæd  

‘Bring me some big eggs  

  brɪŋ   miː    smɔːl    bɪɡ     eɡz

and I’ll pay you well for them’.

  ænd     aɪl    peɪ    juː    wel    fɔːr    ðəm

Avisit to the Town Hall/ əˈvɪzɪt    tuː    ðə    taʊn      hɔːl/

Sui-ming was disappointed.

   suɪmɪng    wəz       ˌdɪsəˈpɔɪntɪd

He had worked hard

    hiː    hæd    wɜːrkt     hɑːrd  

but got very little money.

    bʌt   ɡɑːt   ˈveri    ˈlɪtl    ˈmʌni

He decided to ask someone

hiː    dɪˈsaɪdɪd   tuː     æsk     ˈsʌmwʌn

about his chicken farm.

    əˈbaʊt    hɪz     ˈtʃɪkɪn     fɑːrm

 He walked to the Town Hall

   hiː    wɔːkt    tuː    ðə    taʊn    hɔːl

and asked to speak to someone

  ænd    æskt    tuː    spiːk    tuː   ˈsʌmwʌn   

who knew about farming.

 huː    nuː     əˈbaʊt    ˈfɑːrmɪŋ 

The man in the office was very friendly.

   ðə    mæn   ɪn     ðə    ˈɑːfɪs    wəz   ˈveri    ˈfrendli

 ‘You have a chicken farm’, he said.

   juː   ˈhæv   ə    ˈtʃɪkɪn     fɑːrm    hiː    said

That’s a good idea’.

   ðætz    ə    ɡʊd       aɪˈdiːə

 Sui-ming asked

     suɪmɪng    æskt  

how he could make his chickens lay bigger eggs.

  haʊ   hiː   kʊd    meɪk   hɪz    ˈtʃɪkɪnz     leɪ     bɪɡər    eɡz

  ‘You must buy the right food for your chickens’,

   juː   mʌst    baɪ    ðə     raɪt    fuːd     fɔːr     jʊr     ˈtʃɪkɪnz  

 the man advised him.

    ðə     mæn     ədˈvaɪz    hɪm  

He told Sui-ming which food to buy

  hiː    tʊk   suɪmɪng  wɪtʃ    fuːd    tuː    baɪ

and Sui-ming carefully

   ænd     suɪmɪng     ˈkerfəli

wrote the name on a piece of paper.

roʊt   ðə    neɪm   ɔːn   ə    piːs    ʌv   ˈpeɪpər

 ‘Then you must discover

      ðen   juː     mʌst      dɪˈskʌvər

which chickens are not laying eggs’, the man continued.

    wɪtʃ    ˈtʃɪkɪnz    ɑːr     nɑːt     leɪŋ     eɡz      ðə        mæn   kənˈtɪnjuːd

This food is not cheap

   ðɪs   fuːd      ɪz      nɑːt      tʃiːp

so you should not give it to chickens

    soʊ    juː    ʃʊd    nɑːt    ɡɪv    ɪt     tuː    ˈtʃɪkɪnz

that don’t lay eggs.

    ðæt     doʊnt   leɪ     eɡz

You should buy some better chickens

     juː     ʃʊd   baɪ     smɔːl      ˈbetər  ˈtʃɪkɪnz 

that will lay bigger eggs’.

  ðæt   wɪl     leɪ      bɪɡər   eɡz

 Sui-ming asked where he could buy the good chickend food.

     suɪmɪng     æsk    wer  hiː    kʊd    baɪ    ðə    ɡʊd    ˈtʃɪkɪn    fuːd 

The man told him the address of a place

   ðə     mæn    tʊk     hɪm    ðə       əˈdres    ʌv    ə    pleɪs  

where he could buy better chickens.

  wer   hiː   kʊd   baɪ  ˈbetər    ˈtʃɪkɪnz    

Sui-ming thanked the man and went home.

   suɪmɪng     θæŋkt    ðə    mæn    ænd   went       hoʊm

The happy chicken farmer/ ðə  ˈhæpi   ˈtʃɪkɪn     ˈfɑːrmər/

    Slowly Sui-ming chicken farm improved.

    ˈsloʊli     suɪmɪng     ˈtʃɪkɪn      fɑːrm      ɪmˈpruːv  

  Some of the village people sold their chickens to him

      smɔːl    ʌv   ðə   ˈvɪlɪdʒ    ˈpiːpl     soʊld      ðer   ˈtʃɪkɪnz    tuː    hɪm

and Sui-ming changed his old bicycle

  ænd   suɪmɪng     tʃeɪndʒd     hɪz    oʊl    ˈbaɪsɪkl

 for ten more chickens.

   fɔːr    ten   mɔːr    ˈtʃɪkɪnz 

He fed them all with the best food.

  hiː   fed   ðəm    ɔːl     wɪθ    ðə    best    fuːd  

After one month the chickens

  ˈæftər   wʌn     mʌnθ    ðə      ˈtʃɪkɪnz  

were laying much bigger eggs.

   wɜːr   leɪŋ    mʌtʃ     bɪɡər   eɡz

  ‘These are good, big eggs’,the shop-owner told him.

     ðiːz    ɑːr    ɡʊd     bɪɡ    eɡz    ðə    ʃɑːp    ˈoʊnər    tʊk    hɪm

 ‘I’ll buy all the eggs you bring me’.

      aɪl   baɪ    ɔːl    ðə    eɡz     juː   brɪŋ    miː

    After three months, Sui-ming went to the airport

      ˈæftər    θriː    mʌnθz   suɪmɪng   went    tuː    ðə    ˈerpɔːrt

and collected three big boxes.

      ænd   kəˈlektɪd     θriː   bɪɡ     bɑːksɪz

On the side of each box was written ‘Best Chickens’.

  ɔːn    ðə   saɪd     ʌv       iːtʃ    bɑːks    wəz     ˈrɪtn     best    ˈtʃɪkɪnz

Sui-ming proudly carried them back to his farm.

  suɪmɪng   ˈpraʊdli    ˈkærid      ðəm    bæk    tuː   hɪz     fɑːrm

------

Now Sui-ming had enough eggs

   naʊ     suɪmɪng    hæd    ɪˈnʌf      eɡz  

 to take to the shops in town every day.

    tuː    teɪk    tuː    ðə     ʃɑːps    ɪn    taʊn     ˈevri     deɪ  

He also had to carry food back

   hiː    ˈɔːlsoʊ    hæd    tuː   ˈkæri     fuːd     bæk

to the farm for the chickens.

   tuː     ðə     fɑːrm    fɔːr     ðə     ˈtʃɪkɪnz

So, after a year, s

  oʊ   ˈæftər     ə     jɪr

he decided to buy a new bicycle.

  hiː   dɪˈsaɪdɪd    tuː    baɪ   ə     nuː  ˈbaɪsɪkl  

One day, as he cycled to town

   wʌn deɪ     æz    hiː    ˈsaɪkl    tuː    taʊn  

 with four boxes full of large fresh eggs,

     wɪθ    fɔːr    bɑːksɪz    fʊl   ʌv     lɑːrdʒ    freʃ   eɡz  

he suddenly remembered the day he left school.

  hiː     ˈsʌdənli      rɪˈmembərd     ðə     deɪ    hiː     left   skuːl  

He had been so unhappy then.

  hiː    hæd     bɪn     soʊ   ʌnˈhæpi      ðen

He wasn’t unhappy now.

   hiː   ˈwʌznt    ʌnˈhæpi    naʊ  

 He didn’t have time to be!

  hiː  ˈdɪdnt    həv    taɪm  t uː  biː

  Sui-ming smiled to himself and began to whistle cheerfully.

   smaɪld   tuː   hɪm  ˈself   ænd   bɪˈɡæn    tuː  ˈwɪsl        ˈtʃɪrfəli/