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A Bone to Pick With the Landlord

A Bone to Pick With the Landlord

A tenant confronts her landlord about deliberately withholding disturbing information about the rental unit.

DialogueC1Horror & mysteryFree to learnPrintable worksheet
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I've got a bone to pick with you about the flat you rented me.
I'm listening, though I can't imagine what's bothering you this time.
You conveniently forgot to mention the previous tenant vanished without a trace.
That was hardly relevant to the lease agreement, if you ask me.
Not relevant? I've been hearing footsteps overhead in an empty attic for weeks.
Old buildings settle. It's nothing more sinister than creaky floorboards.
You're skirting the issue, and frankly, it's starting to wear thin.
Fine, I'll level with you. There was talk among the neighbors, yes.
Talk of what, exactly? I'd like the full story, not a watered-down version.
They claimed the woman before her left in the middle of the night, spooked out of her wits.
And you had the nerve to hand me the keys without a single word of warning.
I didn't want to scare off a tenant over what's probably just idle gossip.
Idle gossip or not, I'm breaking this lease, and you're refunding my deposit in full.
Let's not be hasty. Perhaps we can work something out between us.

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About this lesson

A tenant confronts her landlord about deliberately withholding disturbing information about the rental unit. It is written at C1 level, so Complex, natural language. Read it, listen where audio is available, tap words you do not know and finish with the quiz.

Frequently asked questions

What level is this lesson?
It is C1 (Advanced) on the CEFR scale: Complex, natural language.
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Tap any word for its meaning, save it to your word list, and review it later with spaced repetition.

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