The Neighbour — a short story for English reading and speaking

Introductory Questions

1. Do you have any elderly neighbours?

2. Do you talk to them?

3. If so, what do you talk about?

Story for Listening

Use this video to develop your English listening and speaking skills. First, listen to the story without reading and see how much you understand. Then listen again while following the text below. For shadowing practice, pause after each sentence and repeat it aloud, copying the pronunciation, rhythm and intonation. Finally, try speaking along with the narration.

The Neighbour

I'd been living in my new house for about a month before I finally met my next-door neighbour, Mr Jones.

I'd seen him a few times, usually through the kitchen window while I was washing up. He was an older man with thick white hair who seemed to spend a great deal of time looking after his garden.

Sometimes I'd catch sight of him through his front window as I left for work in the morning.

But we'd never actually spoken.

One Saturday morning, I stood in my back garden, looking at the grass. It was getting ridiculously long.

Everyone else in our little cul-de-sac had neat lawns and beautifully maintained gardens. Mine was beginning to look like an abandoned field.

The problem was my lawnmower.

My brother-in-law had given it to me when I moved in. It was ancient, and he'd warned me that it wasn't particularly reliable.

Now, after several attempts to start it, I was beginning to think it had finally packed up.

I pulled the starter cord again.

Nothing.

I gave it another pull.

Still nothing.

"Having a bit of trouble there?"

I looked up.

An elderly man was smiling at me over the garden fence. He had a friendly face and a thick head of white hair.

It was my neighbour.

"Yes," I said, standing up. "I think this old thing has had enough. Looks like I'll have to buy a new one."

"Well, we all get old eventually," he said, laughing. "Would you like to borrow mine?"

I'd seen his lawnmower before. It was a shiny green machine that seemed to glide effortlessly across his perfect lawn.

"That's very kind of you," I said. "But I wouldn't want to put you to any trouble."

"Nonsense. I'll bring it round."

Before I could say another word, he'd disappeared behind the fence.

A minute later, he appeared at the side of my house, pushing his lawnmower.

He plugged it into the extension cable I'd brought outside and showed me how to use it.

Within half an hour, my lawn looked completely different.

"Much better," he said, admiring our work.

I thanked him and offered to make him a cup of tea.

"Now, that's an offer I can't refuse."

We sat in my kitchen and introduced ourselves properly.

His name was George Jones.

He told me he'd lived next door for nearly thirty years.

"My wife died a few years ago," he said. "It's just me now."

I told him I was sorry to hear that.

"Oh, it's all right. You get used to being on your own."

He had a daughter, he explained, but she lived a long way away with her husband and children.

"She's got her own life to lead," he said. "Can't expect her to come running down here every five minutes."

We talked about the neighbourhood, our families and our jobs. Then, somehow, the conversation turned to sport.

"Do you follow football?" he asked.

"Not really. Never been much of a football fan."

"Neither have I."

"Cricket's more my thing."

His face lit up.

"Cricket! Now you're talking!"

It turned out that George was a lifelong cricket enthusiast.

We spent the next hour discussing England's chances in the next Test series and arguing about some of the great players we'd watched over the years.

It was wonderful to meet someone who enjoyed cricket as much as I did. Most of my friends preferred football or rugby, and whenever we went to the pub, there was always some important football match on the television.

George and I could have talked all afternoon.

And that was how our friendship began.

Over the following weeks, we saw more and more of each other.

Sometimes George would knock on my door and ask whether I'd heard the latest cricket result. Other times, I'd pop round to his house with a newspaper or simply to have a chat.

We often sat in his living room, drinking tea and listening to the cricket commentary on the radio.

George had an old-fashioned radio on a little table beside his armchair. He said he'd owned it for years and had no intention of replacing it.

"Still works perfectly well," he told me. "Why waste money on a new one?"

He had strong opinions about almost everything, but he was never unpleasant about them. We could disagree about something and still end up laughing.

I began to look forward to our conversations.

Living alone in a new house could sometimes feel rather lonely, especially in the evenings. Having George next door made the place feel more like home.

One afternoon, he knocked on my door looking rather embarrassed.

"Sorry to bother you," he said. "I've got a little problem in the kitchen. Wondered if you might be able to help."

His water heater had stopped working.

I'd worked with electrical equipment for years, so I offered to take a look.

Fortunately, it turned out to be a simple problem with a loose connection. Once I'd safely isolated the power and fixed it, the heater started working again.

George was delighted.

"You're a lifesaver," he said. "I was beginning to think I'd have to call somebody out."

"Well, you saved me from buying a lawnmower. I suppose we're even now."

He laughed and put the kettle on.

Despite the difference in our ages, we'd become good friends. George was easy to talk to, and I enjoyed hearing his stories about the old days.

There was something comforting about knowing he was next door.

Then, one morning, something happened that I would never forget.

I was leaving for work when I noticed a car pull up outside George's house.

A woman got out. She looked to be in her forties, with dark hair and a serious expression.

There was something familiar about her face.

Then I realised she had George's eyes.

I remembered him telling me about his daughter, and I wondered whether she'd come for a visit.

As I walked towards my car, I called out to her.

"Excuse me. Are you George's daughter?"

She turned and looked at me.

"Yes. That's right."

"Oh, hello. I'm his next-door neighbour. I've only been living here a couple of months."

"Hello," she said, giving me a faint smile.

"I've heard quite a bit about you from your dad."

Her smile disappeared.

"Have you?"

"Yes. Lovely man, your father. He's been a great help since I moved in."

She stared at me.

"I'm sorry?"

"He helped me out with my garden when my lawnmower broke down. And we've become good friends since then."

She didn't say anything.

"We're both mad about cricket," I continued. "Spend hours listening to it on the radio. Your dad certainly knows his stuff."

The woman frowned.

"Who did you say you were?"

I told her my name again and pointed towards my house.

"I live just there. Next door."

She looked at my house, then back at me.

"And you've been speaking to my father?"

"Of course. All the time."

She took a small step backwards.

"I don't understand."

I laughed nervously.

"Well, there's nothing to understand, really. He's a lovely bloke. I was only round there yesterday afternoon. We had a cup of tea and listened to the cricket."

The colour seemed to drain from her face.

"Yesterday?"

"Yes. About four o'clock, I think."

She shook her head slowly.

"That's impossible."

I didn't know what to say.

"Sorry?"

She glanced towards the house, then back at me.

"Are you telling me you've actually been inside that house? With my father?"

"Yes. Several times."

She put a hand against her car to steady herself.

I was beginning to feel uncomfortable.

"Look, is something wrong?"

She stared at me for a long moment.

Then she spoke, her voice barely above a whisper.

"My father passed away last year."

Reading Comprehension Questions

1. How long had the narrator lived in their new house before meeting Mr. Jones?

2. What had the narrator noticed about Mr Jones before they first spoke?

3. What problem did the narrator have with their lawnmower?

4. How did Mr. Jones offer to help the narrator with their lawnmower?

5. What sport did the narrator and Mr. Jones both have an interest in?

6. Describe George's family situation.

7. What did George and the narrator often do together after they became friends?

8. What kind of help did George ask the narrator for one day?

9. How did the narrator feel about their friendship with George?

10. Who did the narrator meet outside George's house one morning?

11. How did the narrator describe their friendship with George to his daughter?

12. How did George's daughter react when the narrator mentioned George's help in the garden?

13. What did the narrator insist about seeing George recently?

14. What was the woman's response when the narrator mentioned seeing George the previous day?

15. What information did the woman reveal about George?

16. What was wrong with George's water heater?

Essential Vocabulary

Exercise

Write down all the words and phrases in your vocabulary notebook. Look in your dictionary and find the meaning of each word. Write the definition next to each word.

Then make up your own sentences using each word or phrase.

For example:

Lawnmower — Noun. A mechanical device equipped with rotating blades, used for cutting and maintaining the grass in gardens, lawns, or outdoor areas.

Impossible — Adjective. Incapable of occurring, being achieved, or existing within the bounds of known laws, rules, or possibilities; beyond the realm of feasibility or practicality.

Then write a sentence of your own that uses the new word or phrase correctly.

The noisy lawnmower woke up the entire neighbourhood early on Sunday morning.

Sarah thought it was impossible to finish the marathon, but she pushed through and crossed the finish line.

Do this with all the vocabulary and, over time, this will help improve all your English skills — reading, writing, speaking and listening.

Discussion Questions

1. What is the significance of the title, "The Neighbour," in this story?

2. How does the narrator initially perceive Mr. Jones, their neighbour?

3. What does the narrator notice about Mr Jones during their brief sightings before they meet in person?

4. How does the broken lawnmower lead to the narrator's first real interaction with Mr. Jones?

5. Why does Mr. Jones offer to lend the narrator his lawnmower, and how does this act impact their relationship?

6. Describe the similarities and differences between the narrator and Mr. Jones in terms of their lives and interests.

7. How does the shared passion for cricket strengthen the bond between the narrator and Mr. Jones?

8. What is the significance of George's wife's death and his daughter living far away in the story?

9. How does the narrator's willingness to help with George's kitchen water heater issue further solidify their friendship?

10. Discuss the role of unexpected friendships in our lives. How can they enrich our experiences?

11. Why do you think the narrator didn't realize the truth about George's situation earlier?

12. How does the introduction of George's daughter change the narrator's perspective on their friendship with George?

13. What is the impact of the daughter's revelation that her father passed away last year on the narrator?

14. How might the narrator react to the possibility that George was a ghost?

15. Reflect on the idea of human connections and the way they transcend time and even death in this story.

16. Do you believe in the possibility of supernatural encounters or connections with the deceased? Why or why not?

17. If you were in the narrator's position, how would you feel about the interactions with the ghost of George?

18. How might the narrator's perception of their own life and the meaning of friendship change after this experience?

19. What do you think the author is trying to convey about the nature of human relationships through this story?

20. Can you share a personal experience of a surprising or unexpected encounter with a neighbour or stranger that had a significant impact on your life?