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La Cena della Nonna

Every Sunday, the Rossi family goes to dinner at grandmother's house. Grandmother's name is Teresa, and she lives in a small house with a big garden.

Illustration for the A1 story "La Cena della Nonna": Every Sunday, the Rossi family goes to dinner at grandmother's house. The grandmother's name is Teresa and she lives in a small house with a big garden.

What you'll learn

  • Bilingual graded story
  • Native narration
  • 9 useful words
  • 3 comprehension questions

Then shadow

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Pause after this line and repeat it aloud without translating. Aim for three clean repetitions.

1Listen first

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Native Italian narration of this exact text. Keep the transcript visible on the first pass.

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2Then shadow

Ogni domenica, la famiglia Rossi va a cena dalla nonna.

Warm-up vocabulary

Preview 3 optional words before reading
abbraccia
hugs
“La nonna abbraccia forte i nipoti.”
profuma
smells
“La cucina profuma di sugo e pane.”
giardino
garden
“I bambini giocano in giardino.”

Your Italian story

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Story + translation + quiz

Ogni domenica, la famiglia Rossi va a cena dalla nonna. La nonna si chiama Teresa e vive in una casa piccola con un grande giardino. Quando i nipoti arrivano, la nonna li abbraccia forte. " Benvenuti, i miei tesori!" dice sempre. La è calda e profuma di sugo e pane fresco. La nonna prepara le lasagne, il suo piatto famoso. Il nonno la tavola con la tovaglia bianca e i piatti belli. I bambini aiutano a portare i bicchieri e le . " A tavola!" chiama la nonna. Tutta la famiglia si siede . Il padre taglia il pane. La madre serve l'insalata. " Nonna, le tue lasagne sono le migliori del mondo," dice la figlia più piccola. La nonna ride e dice: "Il segreto è tanto amore e un po' di pazienza." Dopo cena, i bambini giocano in giardino. Gli adulti bevono il caffè e parlano. La nonna guarda la sua famiglia e sorride. Questa è la sua felicità: tutti insieme, intorno alla tavola. Prima che vadano via, Teresa avvolge due porzioni di lasagne per i nipoti e ricorda loro di tornare la domenica successiva.

Show full English translation

Every Sunday, the Rossi family goes to dinner at grandmother's house. Grandmother's name is Teresa, and she lives in a small house with a big garden. When the grandchildren arrive, she hugs them tightly. " Welcome, my treasures!" she always says. The kitchen is warm and smells of sauce and fresh bread. Grandmother prepares lasagna, her famous dish. Grandfather sets the table with the white tablecloth and the nice plates. The children help carry the glasses and the silverware. " Time to eat!" calls grandmother. The whole family sits down together. Father slices the bread. Mother serves the salad. " Grandma, your lasagna is the best in the world," says the youngest daughter. Grandmother laughs and says, "The secret is lots of love and a little patience." After dinner, the children play in the garden. The adults drink coffee and chat. Grandmother looks at her family and smiles. This is her happiness: everyone together, around the table. Before they leave, Teresa wraps up two portions of lasagna for her grandchildren and reminds them to come back the following Sunday.

Reading Comprehension Exercise

B1 Italian Reading Comprehension Exercises

1. What is grandmother's famous dish?

2. What do the children do after dinner?

3. What does grandmother say about her culinary secret?

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