When is a big deal not impressive?
source http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p07c3z1v
Tuesday, 4 June 2019
Monday, 3 June 2019
Lesson 39: It’s Unbelievable!
Summary Anna sees an ad for a hair product on television. Her friend Pete is in the ad, so she believes that the product is a good one. She learns that she cannot believe everything she sees in television ads. Speaking In this video, learn how to say the new words. Then learn about using negative prefixes with adjectives. Pronunciation Use this video to learn about the pronunciation of the words "comfortable" and "uncomfortable." Conversation Anna: Hello! Winter weather in Washington, D.C. can be really windy. And wind messes up my hair. It is really windy today. Look at my hair. Will it be windy this weekend? I’ll listen to the news. I am tired of my untidy hair. Pete: Are you tired of your untidy hair? Anna: Yes. Yes, I am. And it’s … uncomfortable. Pete: Is it … uncomfortable? Anna: Yes. Yes, it is! Hey, is that … Pete? Pete: Hi. I’m Pete. And I have the perfect product for you -- Hair Be Good! Pete: Just spray Hair Be Good on your hair … wrap in a towel … and you are done! Hair Be Good works and it’s inexpensive. One can costs only $10! So, go online and order your Hair Be Good today! Anna: Hair Be Good sounds perfect! And I can trust Pete! I am buying some right now. Okay, I will order one can of Hair Be Good for $10. I’ll pay with a credit card. My delivery will arrive in 2 days. Awesome! Anna: It arrived! I'll use it before I go to work. Okay, Hair Be Good, make my untidy hair tidy! No, make it … fabulous! Amelia: Hi, Anna. Anna: Hello, Amelia! Amelia: Anna, you look … different. Anna: Thanks! I used a new product called Hair Be Good. Amelia: Well, it’s not. Anna: It’s not what? Amelia: Good. Your hair does not look good. Anna: Oh, no! This is not good. Amelia: Why don’t you go home and take care of … this. Anna: Good idea. Pete: Hi, Anna! Anna: Hello, Pete. Pete: Is something wrong? Anna: This is wrong! Pete: What did you do to your hair? Anna: Hair Be Good did this to my hair. Pete: Ah, you bought it! Anna: Yes, I bought it. You said in your ad it was a perfect product. This is not perfect. This is imperfect! Pete: It’s unbelievable! Anna: I believed your ad, Pete. It was dishonest! Pete: Anna, you don’t believe everything you see in ads, do you? Anna: No, Pete. Just the ones with my friends. Pete: Your hair will be okay. Just wash it ... a couple of times. Anna: Thanks. Thanks a lot, Pete! Here, here's your product! You should call it "Hair Be Really Bad!" Until next time, Pete! Till next time. Writing In this lesson, Anna believed an ad she saw on television. It was not a good decision. Do you believe the ads you see on television? Why or why not? Write to us by email or in the Comments section. Click on the image below to download the Activity Sheet and practice talking about ads. Learning Strategy Learning Strategies are the thoughts and actions that help make learning easier or more effective. The learning strategy for this lesson is Asking Questions to Clarify. When we try to get more information we ask clarification questions. The information may help us to better understand others. In this lesson, Anna asks Amelia to clarify. Amelia says, "Anna, you look … different." Anna thinks she looks great. She tells Amelia about the new hair product: "Thanks! I used a new product called Hair Be Good." When Amelia says, "Well, it’s not," Anna asks a question to clarify: "It’s not what?" Amelia clarifies, or explains her meaning: "Good. Your hair does not look good." Do you ever ask questions to clarify when you speak English? Write to us about it in the Comments section or send us an email. Teachers, see the Lesson Plan for more details on teaching this strategy. Quiz Listen to short videos and test your listening skills with this quiz. ______________________________________________________________ New Words can - n.a closed metal container that is usually shaped like a cylinder and that holds food, drink, or other liquids delivery - n. something that is taken to a person or place or something that is delivered dishonest - adj. not honest: such as saying or likely to say things that are untrue imperfect - adj. having mistakes or problems or not perfect fabulous - adj. very good inexpensive - adj. low in price o rnot expensive order - v. to place an order for (something): such as to request (something) from a company product - n. something that is made or grown to be sold or used spray - v. to put a stream of small drops of liquid on (someone or something) tidy - adj. clean and organized or not messy towel - n. a piece of cloth used for drying things unbelievable - adj. difficult or impossible to believe uncomfortable - adj. causing a feeling of physical or mental discomfort untidy - adj. not neat or clean wrap - v. to cover (something) by winding or folding a piece of material around it ______________________________________________________________ Free Materials Download the VOA Learning English Word Book for a dictionary of the words we use on this website. Each Let's Learn English lesson has an Activity Sheet for extra practice on your own or in the classroom. In this lesson, you can use it to practice talking about advertisements. For Teachers See the Lesson Plan for this lesson for ideas and more teaching resources. Send us an email if you have comments on this course or questions. Grammar focus: Adjectives with negative prefixes (in-, un-, dis-, im-) Topics: Shopping online, Interpreting factual statements; Critical thinking about advertisements Learning Strategy: Ask questions to clarify or get more information Speaking & Pronunciation Focus: Using negative prefixes with adjectives; Pronouncing "comfortable" and "uncomfortable." ____________________________________________________________ Now it's your turn. Send us an email or write to us in the Comments section below or on our Facebook page to let us know what you think of this lesson.
source https://learningenglish.voanews.com/a/lets-learn-english-lesson-39-its-unbelieveable/3598920.html
source https://learningenglish.voanews.com/a/lets-learn-english-lesson-39-its-unbelieveable/3598920.html
Too and Either: Short Responses of Agreement
In English conversation, when we respond to a speaker, we often do not repeat all of their words. Instead, we may say just a few words. The speaker understands our meaning based on what is being said in the conversation. You will hear and see examples of this everywhere that English is spoken. On the American television show The Simpsons, for instance, Bart Simpson is a rebellious youth. He likes to play tricks on others. His favorite person to trouble is Groundskeeper Willie, an unpleasant man who works on the grounds at Bart’s school. Listen to a short exchange between Bart and Willie: Willie, I’ve got a girlfriend. Really? Well, uh, I do, too. She’s…a bikini model from Sweden. Haha, that’s great. Bart walks away, seemingly not believing Willie. But suddenly, Willie’s beautiful Swedish girlfriend appears. You heard Willie say, “I do, too” in response to Bart. English speakers everywhere use short responses like this one in speech and some kinds of writing. On an earlier Everyday Grammar program, we talked about using the words “so” and “neither” in short responses of agreement. Today, I will talk about “too” and “either.” All four words can be used to say that what is true for some person is also true for us. The word “too” shows agreement with positive statements. And the word “either” shows agreement with negative statements. You will hear and see examples of both today. How are they formed? But first, let's talk about how to form these statements. When we use “too” and “either” to show agreement, they appear at the end. The structure for “too” is: Subject + Auxiliary / Be + Too Auxiliary verbs are helping verbs that do things like help form verb tenses. The verbs “do,” “be” and “have,” for example, can act as auxiliary verbs or main verbs, depending on how they are used. In Willie’s statement “I do, too,” the word “I” is the subject and “do” is the auxiliary. “Too” comes at the end and, in written form, often follows a comma. The structure for “either” is: Subject + Auxiliary / Be + Either If Bart had said, “I don’t have a girlfriend” and that was also true for Willie, his response could have been, “I don’t either.” When we use “too” and “either” this way, the verb tense in the response matches the verb tense in the original statement. I do, too / I don’t either Let’s look at the simple present verb tense first and I will show you what I mean. We can say “I do, too” and “I don’t either” to agree with statements in the simple present tense. Listen to an exchange between speakers: She speaks a second language. I do, too. She doesn’t speak a second language. I don’t either. Note that the auxiliary verb “do” is used in simple present tense in the responses. I am, too / I’m not either But when the main verb is “be,” we do not use an auxiliary verb. To agree with simple present statements when the main verb is “be,” we can say, “I am, too” and “I’m not either.” Listen to this exchange: Ivan is an international student. I am, too. Ivan is not an international student. I’m not either. Present continuous Pay close attention to this next one. We also say “I am, too” and “I’m not either” to agree with statements in the present continuous verb tense. This verb tense is sometimes called “be + -ing.” Jocelyn is going to the antique show. I am, too. Jocelyn isn’t going to the antique show. I’m not either. Here, the verb “be” acts as an auxiliary verb. The main verb is “go” and it’s in the -ing form. I did, too / I didn’t either Now, we will move to the simple past tense. We can say, “I did, too” and “I didn’t either” to agree with statements in the simple past tense. Let’s hear how our speakers use them: We watched The Simpsons yesterday. I did, too. We didn’t watch The Simpsons yesterday. I didn’t either. I was, too / I wasn’t either And, lastly, we can say, “I was, too” and “I wasn’t either” to agree with simple past statements when the main verb is “be.” Here’s what our speakers say: I was happy about the book deal. I was, too. I wasn’t happy about the book deal. I wasn’t either. You can find examples with other verb tenses as well as modal auxiliary verbs on our website: learningenglish.voanews.com. Closing thoughts And now for a few closing thoughts. You might be wondering about the expressions “Me too” to respond to positive statements and “Me neither” to respond to negative statements. In English, these expressions are very informal but, in everyday conversation, completely acceptable. Another thing to note is that “too,” “either,” “so” and “neither” are not just for responses. Sometimes one speaker can state two or more agreeing ideas. For example: Penny was happy about the book deal. I was, too. Well, that’s all for today. Listen and watch for these short responses everywhere you hear and see English being used. If you like watching The Simpsons, for instance, you’ll find lots of examples. I’m Alice Bryant. Alice Bryant wrote this story for VOA Learning English. George Grow was the editor. ______________________________________________________________ We use short responses of agreement with most verb tenses and some modal verbs. Below are a few examples. Verbs Examples Use “have” or has” for present perfect They have been to Cartagena. I have, too. They haven’t been to Cartagena. I haven’t either. Use “will” or “won’t” for simple future Ivone will return the clothes tomorrow. I will, too. Ivone won’t return the clothes tomorrow. I won’t either. For modal verbs, repeat just the modal (“would” “can” “should” and others) I would enjoy playing an instrument. I would, too. I wouldn’t enjoy playing an instrument. I wouldn’t either. She can stand on her hands. I can, too. She can’t stand on her hands. I can’t either. ______________________________________________________________ Words in This Story respond – v. to say or write something as an answer to a statement, question or request conversation – n. an informal talk involving two people or a small group of people : the act of talking in an informal way positive – adj. showing or expressing support, approval, or agreement negative – adj. expressing denial or refusal comma – n. a punctuation mark used to separate words or groups of words in a sentence match – v. to be equal to antique – n. art, furniture or jewelry that was made at an earlier time and is often valuable modal / modal auxiliary – n. a verb that is usually used with another verb to express ideas such as possibility, necessity, and permission
source https://learningenglish.voanews.com/a/too-and-either-short-responses-of-agreement/4936054.html
source https://learningenglish.voanews.com/a/too-and-either-short-responses-of-agreement/4936054.html
Extensive Reading in English for Beginners #11 - Making Cookies
Lesson Audio Download MP3 Dialog Download MP3
source https://www.englishclass101.com/lesson/extensive-reading-in-english-for-beginners-11-making-cookies/
source https://www.englishclass101.com/lesson/extensive-reading-in-english-for-beginners-11-making-cookies/
Sunday, 2 June 2019
English Vocab Builder #165 - Rooms in a House
Lesson Audio Download MP3
source https://www.englishclass101.com/lesson/english-vocab-builder-165-rooms-in-a-house/
source https://www.englishclass101.com/lesson/english-vocab-builder-165-rooms-in-a-house/
Saturday, 1 June 2019
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