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El papel en la bolsa

The Paper in the Bag

El martes Elena salió para hacer unas compras. Primero compró pan para su mamá en una panadería cerca de su casa. Después fue a buscar sus zapatos a un pequeño taller. Necesitaba llegar antes de las doce. El dueño cerraba temprano ese día.

Elena llegó al taller a las once y media. Había dos personas delante de ella. Buscó el recibo en su bolso y revisó todos los bolsillos. También miró junto a su celular. Tenía dinero y una lista de compras. El recibo no estaba allí.

Buscó por todas partes dentro del bolso. Luego habló con el dueño. "No tengo el recibo", dijo Elena. Él preguntó por el color de los zapatos. "Son negros", respondió ella. El hombre señaló tres pares negros detrás de una mesa.

Elena leyó su lista en voz alta. Solo faltaban los zapatos. Al mirar la bolsa del pan recordó algo. Había guardado el recibo allí después de pagar en la panadería. Abrió la bolsa con cuidado. El papel estaba debajo del pan.

El dueño miró el número del recibo y encontró sus zapatos. Elena se los probó. Estaban cómodos y la reparación estaba lista. Pagó y salió a tiempo. En casa puso el pan sobre la mesa. Después guardó los zapatos para su primer día de trabajo.

On Tuesday Elena went out to do some shopping. First she bought bread for her mom at a bakery near her home. Then she went to collect her shoes from a small repair shop. She needed to arrive before twelve. The owner was closing early that day.

Elena arrived at the repair shop at eleven thirty. There were two people ahead of her. She looked for the receipt in her handbag and checked all the pockets. She also looked beside her cell phone. She had money and a shopping list. The receipt was not there.

She searched everywhere inside her handbag. Then she spoke with the owner. "I don't have the receipt," Elena said. He asked about the color of the shoes. "They're black," she answered. The man pointed to three black pairs behind a table.

Elena read her list aloud. Only the shoes were left. As she looked at the bread bag, she remembered something. She had put the receipt there after paying at the bakery. She opened the bag carefully. The paper was underneath the bread.

The owner looked at the receipt number and found her shoes. Elena tried them on. They were comfortable and the repair was complete. She paid and left on time. At home she put the bread on the table. Then she put away the shoes for her first day of work.

Key Phrases

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hacer unas compras

to do some shopping

A useful expression for buying a few things during an outing.

Voy a hacer unas compras después del trabajo.

I'm going to do some shopping after work.

antes de las doce

before twelve

This expression gives a time limit for an action.

La reunión termina antes de las doce.

The meeting ends before twelve.

por todas partes

everywhere

Used when looking in many places or describing something present in many places.

Buscamos las llaves por todas partes.

We looked for the keys everywhere.

en voz alta

aloud

Used for speaking or reading so other people can hear.

Luis leyó la dirección en voz alta.

Luis read the address aloud.

a tiempo

on time

Describes doing something before it is too late.

Llegamos a tiempo para la película.

We arrived on time for the movie.

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Why did Elena need to reach the repair shop before twelve?
Where did Elena find the receipt?
In this sentence, what does “por todas partes” mean?
Why is the adjective “negros” masculine plural in Elena’s answer?
What can we infer about how the receipt helped the owner?
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