Learn English Conversation — English Today Beginner Level 4 — DVD 4
__________________________________________________
Hello! And welcome back again to ‘English 2day!’ This is DVD4 of the beginner level. And in this DVD you will see two more episodes of our story ‘That’s life!’ And then in our special TV programs you’ll see business debates about work-life balance followed by discussion about speed dating. Then in a grammar section we’ll study the Present Continuous and it’s uses and how to express a planned future. Ok? So, enjoy yourselves!
_____________________________________________
-Wake up! I’m going to school… Come on…
-Hi Alice.
-What are you doing?
-I’m just relaxing a bit, watching some TV.
-What’s on?
-I’m watching the news.
-So… What’s happening in the world?
-The usual… politicians are trying to pretend they know what they are doing.
-Alice, you are such a sceptic!
-That’s the way I am.
-What’s that?
-It’s a book I’m reading.
-What’s it about?
-It’s a story about a woman, a young woman… who can’t stand her father.
-That sounds interesting.
-Yes, it’s not that bad…
-Alice, what’s wrong? Do you want to talk about it?
-No, I’m so tired now. I’m going to bed.
-Good night!
-Night.
______________________________________________________
Hello again and welcome back to ‘English 2day’ for some more Englsh. Now in that last episode of ‘That’s life’ did you notice that Anne said ‘What are you doing?’ , and Alice said ‘Oh, I’m just relaxing, I’m just relaxing, I’m watching TV’. Now, they were using the Present Continuous tense, and that is a tense that we use to describe something which is happening now at this very moment, ok? Now I want to practise that with you. So, you watch me and tell me what I’m doing. Ok? So…this…
What am I doing? What am I doing? I’m reading, exactly, I’m reading.
Now, this, what am I doing? Uhhhmm… I’m relaxing, I’m relaxing.
Now, what am I doing? Bla-bla-bla…yea… I’m phoning or I’m calling, I’m phoning.
Next, this… What am I doing? Ok? I’m writing, I’m writing, good.
Next, what am I doing? Mmmm… uuu… What am I doing? I’m listening to music, listening to music, ok?
This one. … What am I doing? Like Anne, I’m cleaning the table. Cleaning the table.
Now, you. What are you doing at the moment? Well, you’re listenong to me and you’re watching television, for example, and you’re learning English, ok?
Now, my boyfriend, remember my boyfriend? What’s he doing? Well at this time he’s sleeping because it’s in the morning, he’s sleeping.
What about my dog Zukie? She’s probably sleeping too. She’s sleeping all the time. So, she’s sleeping too, I’m the only person who’s not sleeping.
We, what are we doing? Well, I’m asking you questions and you’re thinking of answers to my questions, ok?
So that’s the form, the form isn’t difficult. Let’s go to the screen and see it, see how we make up the Present Continuous. Now in the positive sentences we use the verb ‘to be’ so: ‘I am, you are, he is, she is, it is, we are, you are, they are’ and then we take the verb and we add ‘I-N-G’ to the verb. So, it becomes in the positive form ‘I’m reading’, no notice ‘I am’ is contracted, as always, and we say ‘I’m reading’, ‘you’re learning’, contraction ‘you are’ … ‘you’re learning’ , ‘he’s relaxing’, ‘she’s working’, ‘it’s raining’, ‘we’re listening’, ‘you’re talking’ and ‘they’re eating’. So the verb ‘to be’ contracted, then the infinitive of the verb plus I-N-G, not too difficult. So, look at the question form. Now the question form is easy, what we do is: we change the position of the subject and the verb ‘to be’. So it becomes: ‘Where am I working this month?’, ‘Where are you staying?’, ‘What is he reading this week?’, ‘What is she doing now?’, ‘What is it eating?’ like the dog, ‘Who are we playing?’, ‘Who are you visiting?’, ‘Who are they working with?’. Alright?
And then the negative, remember the negative of the verb ‘to be’? We need it here, so we say: ‘I am not’ becomes ‘I’m not working’, ‘you are not’ becomes ‘you aren’t’, remember contraction, ‘you aren’t sleeping’, ‘he isn’t concentrating’, ‘she isn’t cooking’, ‘it isn’t snowing’, ‘we aren’t going out’, ‘you aren’t watching TV’, and ‘they aren’t studying’. So this is the Present Continuous tense that we use to describe an action happening now, at the moment, a very important tense, and we will definitely come back and look at more of that. Alright? Good. Thank you and I’ll see you again soon, bye!
_______________________________________________________________
-What are you doing?
-I’m connecting to the Internet because I need to send an email.
-Who are you sending an email to?
-To my boss in America. He needs the weekly report immediately.
-Why?
-Because he has a meeting with the shareholders tomorrow morning.
-What’s happening with the laptop?
-The Internet connection isn’t working very well.
-Sometimes it happens with my computer, too.
-Do you have a suggestion?
-Usually Peter lends me his computer.
-Is Peter at home?
-No, I think there’s only Sharon.
-Okay. I’m going anyway…
_________________________________________________________________
Anne has daggers for Sharon! Doesn’t she? Things are beginning to heat up. Now did you notice that they use the Present Continuous a lot? A lot of things were happening at that moment. With Jack getting on the Internet, having problems with his computers, asking peter for help etcetera.
I want tot tell you something about when we use the Present Continuous. Because there are two occasions to start with. First when we describe something happening right now, for example: ‘We are learning English’. But then we use the Present Continuous to describe an action happening around the present. I can say for example: ‘At the moment I’m doing yoga’. Which doesn’t mean at this very moment, but at this point of time… in this month for example, ok? So at the moment, which is around the present, I’m doing yoga, one use, and the other is ‘Now, we are learning, we are studying English’. Okay! So that’s interesting, let’s look at the screen at some examples about that, ok?
SO, Present Continuous asking or telling about something happening now at this present moment in time, ok? So the examples: ‘I’m teaching now’, ‘you’re listening now’, ‘he’s learning at the moment’, ok? And the other example is when you are speaking about something happening around the moment. So ‘We’re studying Englis’, for example, ‘this month’, or ‘She’s reading a new book this week’. Or ‘They’re working on the project this week’. So you see the slight difference between the two? That’s important. Now let’s go back to ‘That’s life!’ and listen again to how they use the present Continuous and then I have something else to tell you about it after, ok? So see you later, bye!
___________________________________________________________
-Yes, I am listening to you! Yes, I’m listening!
-Who is she talking to?
-I don’t know, i guess it’s her father.
-Just a moment. What do you want?
-Nothing. It’s four o’clock in the morning…
-Is everything alright, Alice?
-It’s none of your business!
-What? Excuse us. Sorry to interrupt!
-Listen… I know it’s late, I’m sorry. But I’m talking to my father. He’s in Boston now, it’s nine o’clock there!
-What?
-What do you want?
-I’m not tired anymore…
-Neither am I… What about eating something?
-I don’t know. I’m not really hungry. I’m going on the Internet to chat with a friend in Italy. Would you like to join me?
-Now, that I’m not sleeping anymore…
-Would you like to see him?
-How?
-I have pictures of him on my computer… And… you know what? He can see you, too, with the Webcam!
-What? Oh my Gosh! No, please! I’m horrible now!
-No, you’re not! And besides… He might be interested…
-Why? Do you think I need a boyfriend?
________________________________________________________
I think we know what Anne needs… don’t we? Now, I have one more thing to do with you related to the Present Continuous, and that’s the spelling of the Present Continuous. And to do that let’s go to the screen because it’s easier to see things written. The Present Continuous, for example: ‘I am talking’, now to form ‘talking’ what we usually do is: we take the verb, like ‘talk’, and we just add ‘ING’, for the majority of verbs we do that, look at the examples: talk -talking, work-working, start-starting. Now, as ever there are exceptions in the English language, what are they? Well, all verbs that end with letter E are exceptions, look what happens. ‘Have’ for example, end with E. You eliminate the E and you add ‘ING’. So ‘have’ becomes ‘having’ without the E, ok? other examples are ‘live’, ‘living’, ‘dance — dancing’, ‘make — making’, ok? So all verbs which end with E, you eliminate the E, add ‘I-N-G’. Then anothe group which is important is a group where the verbs end with a consonant-vowel-consonant. What does that mean? Well… give me example of… let’s have the example of ‘stop’. Now stop is -S-T-O-P, so the end of the verb is T-O-P, okay? So it’s consonant-vowel-consonant. So with these verbs we double the last consonant and it becomes ‘stop — stopping’. Now notice that in English pronunciation when there’s a double consonant we don’t hear it in the pronunciation. So for example we don’t say ‘stopPPing’ or ‘swiMMing’ ok? Not like other languages. So the pronunciation stays the same but we double the consonant. Examples are: ‘stop — stopping’, ‘plot — plotting’, ‘swim — swimming’, ‘get — getting’. Alright? So those are the different ways of spelling the Present Continuous tense verbs, great! Well now you are experts about the Present Continuous, so keep practising it, and I really look forward to seeing you in the next lesson… Bye!
______________________________________________________________
-Fine. I’m looking forward to seeing you. Bye, bye. Oh my God! Okay guys, don’t panic!
-What?
-We have to be strong, and try to keep calm!
-What are you talking about?
-She’s coming! Tomorrow morning!
-Hey!
-Who, for God’s sake?
-Aunt mary! The owner of the flat!
-So what?
-Your auntie!
-What’s so terrible about her?
-Let me explain: imagine me in fifty years…
-You mean …You… Old… With your manias… Your cleaning obsessions?… Oh, my God! Okay, okay, don’t panic!
-So, what do we have to do?
-Let me see… What do you have scheduled for today?
-Today is a busy day! I have to finish my painting!
-No way! Painting means brushes, colours… Dirt and mess everywhere!
-As for me… Let’s check my datebook…
-Date book? I don’t believe it! You mean, you don’t have a PDA?
-Please, Alice. I have a program on my laptop. I don’t need a PDA as well.
-I’m just surprised, that’s all. You are usually highly technological.
-That’s not entirely true… I like to use paper and pen as well.
-Okay… Leave it guys! Let’s go straight to the point! What’s on your schedule today?
-I’m meeting a client from four to five. And then I’m going to the mall.
-Whay are you going to the mall?
-I want to buy a new modem for my PC.
-A new modem?! That’s not exactly business.
-Yes… Well… There’s something wrong with mine… Okay, maybe it’s not that important… I can go tomorrow morning…
-That’s very kind of you, Jack. Well, let me see… I’ve got a list with all your duties here…
-But…What is it?
-It’s always with me… For emergencies, you know… Just like this one.
-Jack!
-At your orders, general!
-You have to clean up the kitchen. You’re washing the dishes… Cleaning the oven and the fridge… The burners and the basin. Oh, and finally, you have to sweep and mop the floor.
-I’m ready!
-Oh, and obviously you have to clean your bedroom, too.
-It sounds exciting…
-Alice… you have to clean the living room. You have to throw all these magazines out, put all the CDs in order, clean up the carpet and dust the furniture.
-Do I have to mop the floor as well?
-Of course! As for me. I’m cleaning the bathroom and all the windows… Well, I want you both in the living room at half past six… for a detailed report, ok?
-Yes, sir!
____________________________________________________________
Hello again and welcome back to ‘English 2day’, your live television programme about the English language. Anne is really panicking in ‘That’s life!’, isn’t she? Did you notice how they were using the Present Continuous, but referring to the future? That’s interesting, isn’t it? We haven’t learned that yet… Present Continuous for the future. Well, in fact we use the Present Continuous when we are talking about future plans, and in ‘That’s life!’ in that episode we heard Anne says ‘she’s coming tomorrow’, ‘she’s coming tomorrow’, that’s her aunt, now that’s a plan, it’s a plan. Anne then says to jack: ‘What’s on your schedule today? What’s on your schedule?’ and Jack says: ‘I’m meeting a client from four to five and then I’m going to the mall’. Now those are both plans, so let’s look at how we can use the Present Continuous also for plans. We often use it when we describe what we have in our week, what we’ve arranged for our week. So in our diary, not agenda, remember diary… So let me tell you… next week… Well next week on Monday… I’m going to the dentist, I’m going to the dentist, that is not very nice. Number two… let’s look Tuesday… Tuesday I’m staying at home, ok I’m staying at home… that’s ok… Wednesday… Wednesday I’m having dinner with friends. Thursday, on Thursday I’m teaching some Chinese students… That will be different… interesting! On Friday I’m listening to my boyfriend, he’s playing in a concert, so that’ll be great… and then on Saturday and Sunday I’m going to the coast… to spend a relaxing weekend. That’s not a bad week, you? What about you? What are you doing? You notice when i ask you the question I use the Present Continuous because I want to know your plans… What are you doing? And also, my boufriend, I could say: What is he doing? What’s my boyfriend doing this Saturday? Well unfortunately he’s playing in a jazz festival in Berlin… and I can’t go… so… never mind. Alright? So let’s look at the summary now of the Present Continuous on the screen because it’s very interesting, all the different uses. So, we said, we use the Present Continuous to express actions happening now, at the moment. Ok? Remember that? ‘She’s doing her homework now’. ‘They’re playing basketball at the moment’. Alright? So that’s now. Then we said we use the Present Continuous to describe actions aaround this moment in time, for example: ‘She’s studying Spanish this month’ or ‘We’re going to do yoga’, ‘We’re doing yoga this week’. So around the present time. And this lesson we learned Present Continuous for a planned future, a programmed future. Okay? So, ‘I’m going to the dentist this afternoon’. That’s a plan, it’s a schedule. ‘Jack’s meeting a client’. That’s a plan. ‘Aunt Mary is coming tomorrow’. And the question? ‘What are you doing tomorrow?’ ‘We’re flying to New York’. Alright? So, important that. Have a look at that episode again and listen for the Present Continuous used in the future, and also listen for something else which Anne uses… she uses often the verb ‘have to’ for duties and responsibilities, because we are going to study that together, alright? Great! I’ll see you soon… bye!
_____________________________________________________
-Fine. I’m looking forward to seeing you. Bye, bye. Oh my God! Okay guys, don’t panic!
-What?
-We have to be strong, and try to keep calm!
-What are you talking about?
-She’s coming! Tomorrow morning!
-Hey!
-Who, for God’s sake?
-Aunt mary! The owner of the flat!
-So what?
-Your auntie!
-What’s so terrible about her?
-Let me explain: imagine me in fifty years…
-You mean …You… Old… With your manias… Your cleaning obsessions?… Oh, my God! Okay, okay, don’t panic!
-So, what do we have to do?
-Let me see… What do you have scheduled for today?
-Today is a busy day! I have to finish my painting!
-No way! Painting means brushes, colours… Dirt and mess everywhere!
-As for me… Let’s check my datebook…
-Date book? I don’t believe it! You mean, you don’t have a PDA?
-Please, Alice. I have a program on my laptop. I don’t need a PDA as well.
-I’m just surprised, that’s all. You are usually highly technological.
-That’s not entirely true… I like to use paper and pen as well.
-Okay… Leave it guys! Let’s go straight to the point! What’s on your schedule today?
-I’m meeting a client from four to five. And then I’m going to the mall.
-Whay are you going to the mall?
-I want to buy a new modem for my PC.
-A new modem?! That’s not exactly business.
-Yes… Well… There’s something wrong with mine… Okay, maybe it’s not that important… I can go tomorrow morning…
-That’s very kind of you, Jack. Well, let me see… I’ve got a list with all your duties here…
-But…What is it?
-It’s always with me… For emergencies, you know… Just like this one.
-Jack!
-At your orders, general!
-You have to clean up the kitchen. You’re washing the dishes… Cleaning the oven and the fridge… The burners and the basin. Oh, and finally, you have to sweep and mop the floor.
-I’m ready!
-Oh, and obviously you have to clean your bedroom, too.
-It sounds exciting…
-Alice… you have to clean the living room. You have to throw all these magazines out, put all the CDs in order, clean up the carpet and dust the furniture.
-Do I have to mop the floor as well?
-Of course! As for me. I’m cleaning the bathroom and all the windows… Well, I want you both in the living room at half past six… for a detailed report, ok?
-Yes, sir!
________________________________________________________
I don’t know about you Mr. Monkey but there’s something I just can’t stand, is cleaning the house, just awful! Hello camera one, how are you? I was just talking to Mr. Monkey about what they’re doing in ‘That’s Life!’… cleaning the house, can’t stand it! Now, did you see Anne organizing everybody, responsibilities, duties, well she was using some language that I want to study with you now. Did you hear these sentences? Jack said so: ‘What do we have to do?’ and Anne replies to Jack: ‘You have to clean up the kitchen, you have to sweep and mop the floor and you have to clean your bedroom’. Like a child, yea?! And Alice, she says, she says: ‘She has to clean the living room, she has to throw all the magazines out and she has to put the CDs in order’. Like organize them. And this is the use of the verb ‘have to’ plus the infinitive, talking about duties and responsibilities.
So let’s look at other situations using ‘have to’.
For example, I have a very important responsibility in my life and… you know who that is? Yeah… Zukie, you know, it’s a great responsibility if you have a dog. Let me tell you about it. For example, I have to take her for a walk at least twice a day, I have to feed her, give her food, what else? I have to keep her company too, because when she’s alone she often barks, you know ‘barks’ …? So I have to keep her company… what else? Oh yeah… if I go on holiday, I have to find her kennels, kennel is like a hotel for dog, so that she is looked after, so she’s a great responsibility.
Think of my boyfriend. Now, he’s a professional jazz musician, and he has responsibilities, for example he has to practise at least four hours a day. He has to learn new songs, what else? He has to attend master classes, for example. And… he has to work at night. Now what about you? I’m sure you have responsibilities and duties. What do you have to do? You have families maybe… and also you are learning English. So you have a responsibility towards learning the language. For example you have to learn new vocabulary and that takes memory, so vocabulary… You have to practise speaking, practise listening and you have to dedicate time to learning the language. Okay? So that’s ‘have to’ and I want to look at that with you now on the screen because it’s a very interesting verb, and when you want to talk about your responsibilities and duties this is the verb to use. Now, so ‘have to’ for daily responsibilities and obligations. Now we use the verb ‘have’, which is conjugated: I have, you have, he has, she has, it has, we have, you have, they have… then we add ‘to’… ‘have to’, okay? That’s very important, then we add the infinitive, so an example: I have to use a computer at work. Now, did you hear my pronunciation? ‘I have to’… notice I don’t say V, I say F… ‘have’ … ‘hafff’… it becomes ‘have to’, ‘have to’ becomes in pronunciation ‘hafto’… ‘hafto’, okay? So… i have to use a computer at work. She has to write a report. Third person ‘has’. She has to write a report. He has to answer emails. Alright? We have to, we go back to the pronunciation with F, we have to pay taxes, unfortunately. They have to go to meetings, which is sometimes boring… ‘Hafto’ okay? Duties, responsibilities. Good, now the examples of questions are: Do you have to speak English? We use the auxiliary ‘do’, very important, it’s like the verb ‘have’. So, do you have to speak English? How often do you have to travel? For example. What language does she have to learn? And where do we have to go? So remember use the auxiliary ‘do’ and ‘does’. So that ‘have to’ when we’re speaking about obligations and responsibilities and we have a lot of them in life, so it’s an important verb. Great! Let’s go back and see how the cleaning is going. Terrible, Mr. Monkey, cleaning! See you soon, bye!
_________________________________________________________
-Well done guys, I’m proud of you! Neat and clean! Rather stressful, i know, but at last the flat is perfectly clean.
-Yes, but now it’s us that needs to be cleaned…
-Excuse me… Hello! Aunt Mary… Everything is ready for your arrival… I’m peacking you up at the airport tomorrow at… What? Really? Oh, I understand. What a shame… Oh, no, no… Not a problem, at all… I hope you get well soon… Right. Bye, bye.
-So?
-What?
-Aunt Mary isn’t coming anymore. She’s got a cold…
-Hey guys! I’ve got the part! But, what’s happening here?
-Nothing special…
-Congratulations Peter…
________________________________________________________
Hello and welcome back to ‘English 2day’ the only lixe TV programme where you can learn the English language. Let me tell you what happens here… Well there are a lot of sound technicians, cameramen, technicians everywhere, helping me make this programme for you and it’s great, it’s a real pleasure to teach you. Now, in this lesson I want to do a general revision of the present tenses just to be sure that you’ve understood everything we learned so far, ok? Now, do you remember him? Mr. Dinosaur? Do you remember him? Dinosaur? He represents the Simple Present tense and when we use it, remember? Let’s check that Mr. Dinosaur…
DINOSAUR, these letters represent the beginning of frequency adverbs. Do you remember them? Let me remind you: O is ‘often’, so ‘I often drink coffee in the morning’. What about this? A… good! ‘Always’ great! ‘I always get up at half past six in the morning’. This one ‘usually’, this one ‘rarely, ‘rarely’ difficult pronunciation. his one ‘sometimes’ great! This one? ‘Never’? Okay! And this one here? D… ‘every day’. SO rememer DINOSAUR. This is when we use the Simple Present for habitual actions, actions that repeat themselves,with the frequency adverbs. Now do you remember also him? Mr. Snake? He is to remind you about ‘sss’… third person: I like, you like, he likes, she likes, it likes. Often we forget to put the S on the third person, he’s here to remind you. And also the auxiliaries: ‘does’, negative ‘doesn’t’, okay? So MR. Dinosaur, mr. Snake, Simple Present. Great! Then we learned the Present Continuous that… for example ‘I’m learning’. We learned that the Present Continuous has three uses, do you remember? Here they are: now, something happening now, ‘We’re learning English now’ then ‘at the moment’, something happening around the present, ‘at the moment: ‘I’m learning yoga’ for example. And then for a future plan ‘Tomorrow I’m going to Paris’. So the three uses of the Present Continuous, alright? Great! Let’s go to the screen and check those once more. So, we said: Simple Present is when we talk about activities or routines which take place on a regular basis. Mr. Dinosaur… Mr. Snake… Examples: ‘He goes to work every day’ Mr. Snake, ‘She gets up at 7 o’clock’, and the questions? ‘Where do you live?’ So auxiliaries ‘do’, ‘does’, ‘doesn’t’, ‘don’t’, okay?
Great! Then the Present Continuous, we use it for something happening now, at the moment and in the future, so the examples are: ‘I’m reading ‘An Italian Affair’ this month’ for example, ‘They’re cooking dinner now’and ‘She’s meeting with Jack tomorrow’, okay? So you really are truly experts about the present tense now. So keep practising that, keep using it and then it’ll really go into your heads. And I look forward to seeing you and to teaching you some more things about the English language very soon… so take care… Bye!
______________________________________________________
-Good evening and welcome to another edition of ‘Let’s talk’. In the studio with me this evening are our commentators Marie and Tom, welcome.
-Hello.
-Hello.
-Well, what’s the subject of our debate this evening?
-We’re talking about the work-life balance.
-Wow! Sounds interesting… What exactly does the expression ‘work-life balance’ mean?
-Well… work-life balance is about enjoying a good quality of life without working too much…
-Yes! it’s important for people to have some control over when, where and how much they work.
-In other words, we’re talking about the importance of not working too much.
-Exactly,Eric!
-Today for many people work is the only thing they think about. We have no time for family, no time to relax and no time for ourselves!
-You’re right, Marie! An of course today with the Internet and mobile phones it’s possible for people to work 24 hours a day from home, from the car, from anywhere!
-That’s true… but… you need to have a job to live…
-Of course! But work isn’t the only important thing in life. Workers today are tired and feel stressed.
-Yes, people are working long hours. Do you know that 30% of UK workers take work home in the evening and at weekends?
-Really? In the evenings and at weekends, that’s a lot of work…
-Yes, it’s a real problem… for our quality of life I mean.
-Right! And there are also problems at work for mothers with young children and workers who look after ill or old family members.
-Of course? Are there any solutions to these issues?
-Well, companies are looking for solutions. They’re studying new ways of working.
-What are these new ways of working?
-For example companies can introduce flexible working hours. I mean, workers start work early and finish work early or start work late and finish work late.
-Or they can encourage homeworking. Workers can use the Internet and work from home. That way they save time as they don’t travel to the office.
-Hm, interesting solutions… And what about part-time work?
-Yes, this is another way of solving the problem of too much work. Workers can work 2 or 3 days a week.
-So… there are ways of finding a good work-life balance we need to put them into practice.
-That’s right Eric!
-Ok! So remember, don’t work too much! A good work-life balance is important for the individual, for the company and for society. Thank you to our commentators.Thank you!
-Thank you!
-And good bye! And see you again soon for the next edition of ‘Let’s talk!’
____________________________________________________
Let’s have a closer look at the expressions from our debate about work. As marie and Tom just said, many people work too much, so they are stressed and tired. Do you work long hours? ‘To work long hours’ means you work a lot of hours in a day. A lot of people take work home, this means if you don’t finish your work in the office you take it home and finish it there. Can you take work home in your job? This is different from homeworking. ‘Homeworking’ means you work from home. You have a computer at home with Internet access and you do your job at home. ‘Flexible working hours’ means you don’t work from nine to five every day, you work eight hours a day, but you can decide when you start and finish. ‘paart-time work’ means you don’t work every day, perhaps just two or three days a week or only in the morning. if you work part-time then you have a part-time job. ‘Full-time work’ means you work eight hours a day, five days a week. You work full-time, you have a full-time job. Notice how we say: in the morning, in the afternoon and in the evening. We use ‘in’ for parts of the day but we say ‘at night’ and we say ‘at weekends’. in American English you can also say ‘on weekends’. Let’s take a quick look before we finish at some vocabulary.
A mobile phone is the phone you can take everywhere with you. In American English it’s called a ‘cell-phone’ and in British English it is a ‘mobile phone’.
A company is a business or orgaization where people work. An a worker is someone who works in an office or factory. Notice this ‘worker’ comes from the verb ‘work’ + ‘ER’. In English it is common to add ‘ER’ to a verb to form the name of the person who does it. For example ‘teach’ + »ER’ = ‘teacher’; ‘sing’ + ‘ER’ = »singer’; and ‘play’ + ‘ER’ = ‘player’, like ‘football player’.
That’s all this time for now. I’ll see you next time! Bye, bye!
______________________________________________________________
-Hello everyone and welcome to ‘Let’s talk’ the Saturday evening debate with our two commentators, Tom and Marie.
-Good evening!
-Hello!
-Tom and Marie, tonight I’d like to hear your thoughts on… on these new ways for people to meet their ideal partner.
-What do you mean Eric?
-Well, a friend of mine is going to a speed dating event next week. And he wants me to go with him. I don’t know waht to do… I’m curious… I’d like to try but…
-Come on Eric! No ‘buts’! You have to go! Speed dating’s great fun! And even if you don’t find your soul mate it’s an interesting way to spend an evening.
-That’s true. Speed dating’s really popular at the moment. It’s a great opportunity to meet people. Sometimes very interesting people.
-Yes! And sometimes you can fall in love! I know a guy who married a girl he met speed dating!
-Uhm… This speed dating sounds interesting! I’m single, you know… But how does it work? Perhaps you can explain this to our viewers, too! I’m sure people would like to know exactly how speed dating works… I’d certainly like to find out!
-Well, speed dating events usually take place in nightclubs or pubs. The participants have a number and they sit around the tables. The men are on one side, the women are on the other side.
-Then the fun starts! You have four minutes to ask your questions, only four minutes remember. The other person asks questions too. Then you move to the next table and ask your questions again.
-What kind of questions can I ask?
-Anything you like. For example ‘What’s your name?’ , ‘How old are you?’ , ‘What are your interests?’… The kind of questions that you ask when you meet somebody for the first time…
-And what happens next?
-Well, you write down your thoughts about the person. The person facing you does the same thing. At the end of the event you give your thoughts about the people to the organisers.
-What do you mean: ‘my thoughts’?
-It’s easy, you select the people you’d like to meet again… The organisers then add your decisions to their website.
-And then what happens?
-The next day you go to their website and read the results!
-Oh… what ‘results’?
-Well, if you select a person and that person selects you, you can meet again… Now it’s time for a ‘slow’ date!
-Wow! it sounds really interesting! And fun, too. Well, I think I’ll go with my friend next Wednesday to that speed dating thing. Woud you like to try speed dating? Well, now it’s time to say goodbye to our commentators, to Tom and Marie.
-Goodbye Eric!
-Goodbye!
-And goodbye to you! And see you again soon in our next edition of ‘Let’s talk!’
Well, the speed dating sounds a little crazy but fun, so I think I’ll go! As Marie said, I don’t think I’ll find my ‘soul mate’ but I’ll definitely meet a lot of people. A soul mate is the perfect person for you, in other words your ideal partner, the best person to spend your life with. Do you have a soul mate?
Here are some other useful expressions and words to talk about ‘affairs of the heart’ for example. A date is a meeting with a ‘special’ person. We say ‘go on a date’ or ‘I’ve got a date’ with somebody. For example: I’ve got a date with Lucy! If you do have a boyfriend or a girlfriend then you are in a relationship. You say ‘I’m in a relationship’. When you fall in love with someone you like the person a lot, it’s a wonderful feeling and beautiful things happen! And you say you are in love with that person. And if you are in love with a person you may decide to marry them in a church or a town hall. When you marry you form a legal union with a person forever. And you say ‘I’m married’. But it doesn’t always last forever, people sometimes divorce, they separate from the person they marry, so they are divorced and they say ‘I’m divorced’. Do you have a boyfriend or girlfriend? Are you single? Well if you’re not in a relationship then perhaps you’d like to try ‘speed dating’ one day too!
That’s all from me for now, see you again soon.
_________________________________________________________________
—
