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Lesson Info

Post Type
Social Post
Level
Level 2 / A2
Published
Title
Neighbor Complains About My Cooking
Webpage
https://eslnewsstories.com/smposts/2025-12-23-neighbor-complains-about-my-cooking/

In this lesson:

  • Warm-up Prediction task and general discussion questions.
  • Vocab List Useful words and meanings.
  • Reading Read the main text.
  • Comment Tone Check Read comments and identify the tone.
  • Listen and Fill Gaps Listen for missing words.
  • True or False Check understanding.
  • Put Events in Order Arrange events from the story into the order they happened.
  • Vocab Match Connect words to meanings.
  • Sentence Completion Think about tense, subject-verb agreement, and prepositions to complete sentences.
  • Discussion Questions Open speaking questions for discussion (or writing practice).
  • Answers Answer key for the printed tasks.

Think Ahead: What makes the neighbor problem difficult for the poster?

a) The neighbor complains about smells from normal cooking.

b) The neighbor asks to eat dinner with her every night.

c) The neighbor reports every visitor to the landlord.

A woman at a table, looking up at the ceiling, worried.
Lina is worried about the upstairs neighbor.

Ask: (1) Do you know your neighbors? (2) What smells do you like or dislike?

VOCAB LIST

Neighbor (n.) ā€” A person who lives near you.
Volume (n.) ā€” How loud a sound is.
Spicy (adj.) ā€” Having a strong, hot taste and smell.
Confrontational (adj.) ā€” Wanting to argue or fight with someone.
Annoying (adj.) ā€” Making you feel bothered or angry.
Landlord (n.) ā€” A person who owns a building and rents it to others.
Bang (v.) ā€” To hit something hard and make a loud sound.
Embarrassed (adj.) ā€” Feeling shy or uncomfortable.
Ceiling (n.) ā€” The top inside surface of a room.

Reading

Yesterday at noon, my upstairs neighbor knocked on my door. He has recently moved in, and things have gotten more annoying. He said my cooking smell is too "spicy". He said it annoys him. I felt embarrassed, but also angry.

I cook at home after work. I open a window, but the smell still goes up. I think cooking smells are normal in apartments. I can be careful, but I don't want to stop cooking.

The smell is not the only problem. When I watch something on my laptop, he bangs on his floor. His floor is right above me. My volume is only a little up. I never play music late. When he bangs, I jump every time. It makes me feel stressed in my own home.

But he watches TV for hours at night. I can hear it through the ceiling, and I have to sleep through it. I have not complained, because I don't want a fight. So it feels like his noise is fine, but mine is not.

I am not confrontational, so I have stayed quiet. I have started using headphones more. I can try to be quieter, but yesterday made me really angry. What can I do without a big fight? Should I write a calm note, or talk to the landlord?

Neighbor Complains About My Cooking

Level 2 Social Ā· Checked

Warm-up ā†’ Read & Listen ā†’ Check Understanding ā†’ Language ā†’ Use It

A woman at a table, looking up at the ceiling, worried.
Lina is worried about the upstairs neighbor.
Lina @quietkitchenlife

Yesterday at noon, my upstairs neighbor knocked on my door. He has recently moved in, and things have gotten more annoying. He said my cooking smell is too "spicy". He said it annoys him. I felt embarrassed, but also angry.

I cook at home after work. I open a window, but the smell still goes up. I think cooking smells are normal in apartments. I can be careful, but I don't want to stop cooking.

The smell is not the only problem. When I watch something on my laptop, he bangs on his floor. His floor is right above me. My volume is only a little up. I never play music late. When he bangs, I jump every time. It makes me feel stressed in my own home.

But he watches TV for hours at night. I can hear it through the ceiling, and I have to sleep through it. I have not complained, because I don't want a fight. So it feels like his noise is fine, but mine is not.

I am not confrontational, so I have stayed quiet. I have started using headphones more. I can try to be quieter, but yesterday made me really angry. What can I do without a big fight? Should I write a calm note, or talk to the landlord?

likes Ā· 3 comments

Comment Tone Check

Comment Tone Check

Choose the tone that best matches each comment.

  • SoftSpiceCook

    That sounds stressful. Write down the dates and times, then talk to your landlord if it continues.

    Nice Tough Fair

    Nice
  • UpstairsLogic

    You should try to reduce the smell and keep the volume low. You both need to share the building.

    Nice Tough Fair

    Tough
  • CalmNeighborVibes

    Maybe start with a short, calm message. Ask for a fair plan about noise and cooking smells.

    Nice Tough Fair

    Fair

Speaker: American Female  Duration: 1:24  Watch on YouTube

Two ways to use this audio:

  • Method 1: Listen for the main idea: what is the article about in one sentence? Listen a second time for more details, then try the Understanding activities below.
  • Method 2: Read the article first to learn the vocabulary and ideas. Then look at the gap-fill sentences to see what to listen for, and listen to fill them in.

Listen and Fill Gaps

Listen to the audio on eslnewsstories.com and complete the gaps below:

Yesterday at (1) , my upstairs neighbor knocked on my door. He has recently moved in, and things have gotten more annoying. He said my cooking smell is too "(2) ". He said it annoys him. I felt (3) , but also angry.

I cook at home after work. I open a window, but the smell still goes up. I think cooking smells are normal in apartments. I can be careful, but I don't want to stop cooking.

The smell is not the only problem. When I watch something on my laptop, he (4) on his floor. His floor is right above me. My volume is only a little up. I never play music late. When he bangs, I jump every time. It makes me feel stressed in my own home.

But he watches TV for hours at night. I can hear it through the (5) , and I have to sleep through it. I have not complained, because I don't want a fight. So it feels like his noise is fine, but mine is not.

I am not confrontational, so I have stayed quiet. I have started using headphones more. I can try to be quieter, but yesterday made me really angry. What can I do without a big fight? Should I write a calm note, or talk to the (6) ?

True or False

Answer each question by selecting True or False, then click CHECK to see your results.

  • The writer's upstairs neighbor knocked on the door at 12 p.m.
    The writer says it happened at noon, which is 12 p.m.
  • The writer says the laptop volume was only a little up.
    The writer says the volume was only a little up, not very loud.
  • The neighbor watches TV for hours at night.
    The writer says the neighbor watches TV for hours at night.
  • The writer wants to solve the problem without a big fight.
    The writer asks what to do without a big fight.

True or False

1. The writer's upstairs neighbor knocked on the door at 12 p.m. TRUEFALSE True

2. The writer says the laptop volume was only a little up. TRUEFALSE True

3. The neighbor watches TV for hours at night. TRUEFALSE True

4. The writer wants to solve the problem without a big fight. TRUEFALSE True

Put Events in Order

Put the events from the story in the correct order from first (1) to last (4):

  • Lina's upstairs neighbor moved in recently.
  • Yesterday at noon, he knocked and complained about her "spicy" cooking smell.
  • Lina felt embarrassed.
  • Lina asked what she could do without a big fight.
  1. Lina's upstairs neighbor moved in recently.
  2. Yesterday at noon, he knocked and complained about her "spicy" cooking smell.
  3. Lina felt embarrassed.
  4. Lina asked what she could do without a big fight.
Vocab Match

Loading vocabulary activity...

Vocab Match

Write each vocabulary word next to its matching definition.

1. Neighbore) A person who lives near you.

2. Spicyd) Having a strong, hot taste and smell.

3. Bangc) To hit something hard and make a loud sound.

4. Ceilingb) The top inside surface of a room.

5. Landlorda) A person who owns a building and rents it to others.

a) A person who owns a building and rents it to others.

b) The top inside surface of a room.

c) To hit something hard and make a loud sound.

d) Having a strong, hot taste and smell.

e) A person who lives near you.

Sentence Completion

  1. Use the past simple tense.

  2. Use the present simple tense.

1.
1.
2.

Sentence Completion

Choose the correct word for each gap:

  1. The neighbor A) on the door yesterday.

    Use the past simple tense.

    A) knock / knocks / knocked

    The neighbor knocked on the door yesterday.

  2. Lina B) stressed when her neighbor C) on the floor.

    Use the present simple tense.

    B) feel / feels / feeling

    C) bang / bangs / banged

    Lina feels stressed when her neighbor bangs on the floor.

Discussion Questions

  1. Do you cook? What do you cook?
  2. Is it okay to cook spicy food in an apartment building? Why or why not?
  3. What can Lina do to reduce the cooking smell without stopping cooking?
  4. Is Lina's neighbor being fair? Why or why not?
  5. Have you ever had a problem with a neighbor? What happened?
  6. Should Lina answer with a note, or talk face to face? Why?
  7. When should someone talk to a landlord or building manager?
  8. Can you hear your neighbor's noise? Is it okay or too much?
  9. Do you worry that you are making too much noise at home?
  10. Are you confrontational? Or do you try to avoid fights?

Answers Neighbor Complains About My Cooking / Level 2

Think Ahead: a

Tone:

  1. Nice
  2. Tough
  3. Fair

Listening: (1) noon, (2) spicy, (3) embarrassed, (4) bangs, (5) ceiling, (6) landlord

True or False:

  1. True. The writer says it happened at noon, which is 12 p.m.
  2. True. The writer says the volume was only a little up, not very loud.
  3. True. The writer says the neighbor watches TV for hours at night.
  4. True. The writer asks what to do without a big fight.

Put Events in Order:

  1. Lina's upstairs neighbor moved in recently.
  2. Yesterday at noon, he knocked and complained about her "spicy" cooking smell.
  3. Lina felt embarrassed.
  4. Lina asked what she could do without a big fight.

Vocabulary:

  1. Neighbor: A person who lives near you.
  2. Spicy: Having a strong, hot taste and smell.
  3. Bang: To hit something hard and make a loud sound.
  1. Ceiling: The top inside surface of a room.
  2. Landlord: A person who owns a building and rents it to others.

Sentence Completion:

  1. A) knocked
  2. B) feels; C) bangs

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