TingMate · English Learning

📝 Today's sentences

① My hair is getting long again.

② But I keep avoiding the haircut.

③ Getting one here is expensive.

④ It's like sixty or seventy bucks, before tip.

⑤ And it's kind of a gamble.

⑥ They don't always know how to cut Asian hair.

⑦ Last time, I came home and fixed it myself.

⑧ So I'd rather just wait.

⑨ And get it all done back home.

⑩ It's cheaper there, and they do it right.

⑪ But you know how I am.

⑫ Some things I just save...

📝 Today's sentences

① I was at the store today, using self-checkout.

② I scanned a few things and bagged them.

③ Then the machine started beeping at me.

④ It kept saying, unexpected item in the bagging area.

⑤ But I didn't do anything wrong.

⑥ I took it out and put it back.

⑦ It still wouldn't work.

⑧ The line behind me kept getting longer.

⑨ I felt like everyone was staring at me.

⑩ I was so embarrassed.

⑪ Finally, I had to wave down an emp...

📝 Today's sentences

① I've been back in Austin for a few days now.

② And I finally figured out what I miss most.

③ It's not the California sunshine.

④ It's the little café right by my old place.

⑤ Back there, it was within walking distance.

⑥ I could just shuffle over in my slippers.

⑦ Here, everything is a drive.

⑧ If I want a coffee, I have to get on the road.

⑨ That's a half hour round trip.

⑩ So now I just make it at home.

⑪ But it's not...

📝 Today's sentences

① I just landed back in Austin.

② The heat hit me the second I stepped outside.

③ It's like walking straight into a wall.

④ Three weeks of Bay Area weather, gone just like that.

⑤ And I already miss it.

⑥ I got in my car and cranked up the AC all the way.

⑦ On the drive home, I kept asking myself why.

⑧ Why do I keep doing this to myself?

⑨ But deep down, I already know the answer.

⑩ There's no state income tax in Texas.

...

① I just booked my flight back to Austin.

② I've been in the Bay Area for three weeks now.

③ I've had three weeks of nothing but beautiful sunshine.

④ Now it's time to head back to Texas.

⑤ And the weather there is just brutal.

⑥ I haven't even started packing, and I already feel awful.

⑦ When I got this job, I thought it was my dream company.

⑧ Moving to a new city was no big deal to me.

⑨ I told myself I'd move to Mars for it.

⑩ But it's ...

A slow English story about An annual checkup, a pain level of eight, and a big mix-up over the American pain scale. 16 simple sentences. Word by word. About 17 minutes.

📝 Today's sentences

① This trip back, I also saw my family doctor for my annual checkup.

② My stomach has been bothering me lately. I wake up with a stomachache every morning.

③ The doctor asked, on a scale of one to ten, how bad is it?

④ I thought about it and said, pr...

① California sunshine is a love-hate thing for me.

② I love it, but it's rough on my skin.

③ This time, I forgot to bring my sunscreen.

④ And I'm pretty stubborn about it.

⑤ I only use one brand. It's this Chinese brand you can only buy back home.

⑥ So these days, I go out with a hat and sunglasses.

⑦ I keep putting off going to Sephora. And it's literally a five-minute drive.

⑧ I know I really should buy a new one.

⑨ I feel like my sunspo...

A slow English story about A restaurant taxed the tip before the tax, so I got the bill fixed. 13 simple sentences. Word by word. About 13 minutes.

📝 Today's sentences

① Today I went out for dinner with a friend.

② The food was great, and so was the service.

③ When the bill came, I was about to leave a 20% tip.

④ But then I noticed something was off.

⑤ Normally, you only pay tax on the food itself.

⑥ And the tip just gets added on top. I...

A slow English story about A lazy weekend, a farmers market across the street, and a little businessman at one stand. 14 simple sentences. Word by word. About 13 minutes.

📝 Today's sentences

① This weekend, I slept in really late.

② I skipped breakfast and went out for some porridge.

③ Then I noticed a lively crowd across the street.

④ I love a good crowd, so I went over to check it out.

⑤ It turned out to be a farmers market, and I abs...

A slow English story about An indie developer says a much bigger company grabbed his trademark, and I hope it ends fairly. 13 simple sentences. Word by word. About 12 minutes.

📝 Today's sentences

① Yesterday, someone using our app told me about something.

② There's an indie developer who shared his story online.

③ He says a much bigger company grabbed his trademark first.

④ It was a small developer up against a much bigger company.

⑤ Th...

A slow English story about Halfway through 2026 already, looking back at the year's goals and the one unexpected win. 15 simple sentences. Word by word. About 17 minutes.

📝 Today's sentences

① Someone left a comment on my latest podcast episode today.

② She wrote, "Wow, half of 2026 is already gone, just like that."

③ Quick note for the folks using my app: I also have a podcast.

④ It's called TingMate too, on the Xiaoyuzhou app and the...

A slow English story about A week of working from home, so free but so much less productive, and that's OK. 14 simple sentences. Word by word. About 11 minutes.

📝 Today's sentences

① This week, I'm doing remote work.

② It just means I don't have to go into the office. I can work from anywhere.

③ We only get four weeks of it a year.

④ I was saving it for my Christmas holiday.

⑤ I planned to fly back to China then.

⑥ But this time, I was i...

A slow English story about Apple raised Mac prices across the board, and the increase alone could buy a whole laptop. 10 simple sentences. Word by word. About 9 minutes.

📝 Today's sentences

① Lately, I've seen a lot of posts about Apple raising prices.

② Macs went up across the board.

③ Someone online said they hesitated for a long time about buying one.

④ Before they could decide, the price jumped.

⑤ So I checked Apple's website. It wa...

A slow English story about Half a year after leaving the Bay Area, the old hiking group gets back together. 12 simple sentences. Word by word. About 12 minutes.

📝 Today's sentences

① I left the Bay Area about half a year ago.

② Now that I'm back, I reached out to my friends right away.

③ We used to have a hiking group. We hiked every week for almost a year.

④ After I left, everyone got busy. The group went quiet.

⑤ This time I posted in...

Day 40 · Champions

Tonight could be the night. Game 5. New York leads the series three to one.

None of us got a ticket. They were way too expensive. So we squeeze in front of one screen.

For most of the game, New York is down. At one point, down by sixteen. It looks over.

Then Brunson takes over! Thirteen points in a row! We can't believe it!

We are all on the edge of our seats.

The final minute. New York is ahead. Nobody says a word.

The...

Day 45 · Out of the Blue

This past Sunday, I got a text from a friend out of the blue.

He said he's landing in the Bay Area on Tuesday.

He flew from China to New York for an NBA game.

I promised to show him around Silicon Valley.

I've been really busy lately. It totally slipped my mind.

But he's coming all the way from China. I have to keep my word.

So I opened the Workday app. And I put in for time off, Monday and Tuesday.

Then I emailed ...

A slow English story about Back to work after the visit, meetings, a backlog, and just directing my AI assistant. 14 simple sentences. Word by word. About 14 minutes.

📝 Today's sentences

① Yesterday I saw my friend off. He flew back to China.

② I wanted to go back to China too. But as an adult, it's time to go back to work.

③ Because of my three days off, my work piled up. Now I've got a huge backlog.

④ This morning I had three meeting...

A slow English story about Touring my friend around Google, Apple, and Stanford in one packed day. 13 simple sentences. Word by word. About 17 minutes.

📝 Today's sentences

① We had a lot planned today. After picking him up, we went straight to Google.

② We had the employee breakfast, then rode the colorful bikes to Google headquarters.

③ We saw work areas themed like dinosaurs, forests, and oceans.

④ My friend said: "The working vibe h...

A slow English story about Picking up an old friend at the airport and showing him around San Francisco. 15 simple sentences. Word by word. About 17 minutes.

📝 Today's sentences

① Texas is two hours ahead of California. This morning I almost overslept.

② My friend texted me. He landed. I jumped out of bed.

③ Good thing I live close to the airport. I washed my face and drove straight there.

④ The airport roads were confusing. So I follo...