American English Conversations - English Speaking Practice

hometowns beth hey beth how's it going ollie hi i'm fine how are you fine thanks beth this is lee lee this is my friend beth nice to meet you nice to meet you are you from around here no i'm from seoul korea really that's interesting seoul's the capital of korea isn't it yes that's right how about you what's your hometown i'm from san antomo california san anselmo is that a big city no it's a small town in northern california there are about 20 000 people there what's the population of seoul it's a really big city there are over ten million people in seoul wow that's a lot of people yes it is but there's good public transportation so it isn't bad how about the night life are there any good clubs or discos are you kidding there are hundreds seoul has fantastic nightlife uh oh i have to run the library closes in 10 minutes see you guys later bye beth take care beth you too bye shopping hi beth come on in hi alicia how are you doing pretty good alicia this is my friend ollie he's from silver spring maryland hi ollie it's nice to meet you nice to meet you too well please come in and have a seat thanks can i get you something coffee soda oh no thanks no thank you i'm fine so alicia we're going to go shopping do you want to come gee i don't know i shop mostly online these days really why is that because it saves time and gas oh right what do you mean well you don't have to drive your car right and you don't have to look for parking the mall is so crowded these days yeah but online you can't see things very well and you can't touch them and with clothes you can't try them on i like to browse when i go shopping me too and it's such a nice day why do you want to sit in front of a computer screen yeah i see what you mean but i don't have much money no problem you can come with us and save money how we aren't going to take any money or credit cards with us and we aren't going to spend any money we're just going to look around that's right we're going window shopping great idea then i am going staying in touch lee are you okay what's the matter yeah lee why are you so sad i'm reading an email from my mom in korea is she alright yes she's fine but i miss her and i miss my other family and friends in korea i guess i'm homesick yeah i sometimes get homesick for my family me too i really want to see my family and friends in california soon how often do you hear from your family besides email i get two or three letters a month how about you i usually call home i usually stay in touch just by phone because it's easy well i really want to talk to my family email just isn't the same but it's expensive to call korea oh call them lee just talk for three minutes yeah that's not very expensive in fact you can use my phone card good idea call now before we go to the movies there's a pay phone over there you're right i really need to talk to them but wait for me okay great calling a hospital welcome to faber hospital and clinics if this is an emergency please hang up and call 9-1-1 please listen carefully as our menu options have changed for the 24-hour pharmacy please press one for family medicine press two for the health clinic press three to speak to the operator please press zero or just stay on the line hmm i need the clinic i'll press three health clinic can i help you yes i think i have the flu i feel awful would you like to make an appointment yes i'd like to see a doctor all right could you come in tomorrow afternoon at one o'clock yes i can come then oh should i bring any money no just your id and insurance card okay now could i have your name and insurance number yes my family name is halal h-a-l-a-l my first name is ali a-l-i and my insurance number is zero zero zero four eight one six two four okay you're all set don't forget to bring your health insurance card when you come in tomorrow okay all right we'll see you tomorrow at one yes thank you thank you very much bye bye going out okay great i'll see you tomorrow at seven o'clock right bye hmm who was that yeah someone special that was michelle a really nice guy in my computer science class he asked me out i accepted so so one phone call and now you have a boyfriend oh come on alicia he's not my boyfriend yet well it sounds nice i need my parents permission to go out on a date with a boy yeah one of my friends here at the college is from india and he says in his country parents used to arrange all dates and marriages too and sometimes they still do wow that's interesting hmm lee you said your friend is from india that's right and your friend is a guy right yes his name is varun well a girlfriend of mine in my math class is from india too her name is parvina do you think varun would like to meet her you mean on a date sure why not that's a great idea alicia i don't know maybe they need their parents permission oh come on lee okay okay i don't know why you want to be a matchmaker but i'll ask varun great and i'll call parveena sleep deprived olly what's the matter you look so sleepy yeah can't you wake up this morning no i can't i can hardly keep my eyes open i was up late last night my friend had a party i only got about four hours of sleep why didn't you sleep in this morning i have to meet my study group at the library we have a big test next week a big test why didn't you study last night instead of going to the party oh it's okay i studied a lot before the party maybe that's not a good idea why not i read a research study it said that if you don't get enough sleep after you study you may forget thirty percent of what you studied especially if you studied something that is very complex thirty percent that's almost one-third yes that's a lot are you sure alicia yes even two days after you study if you don't get enough sleep you forget a lot it's called being sleep deprived well i read that eating right can help you study you mean what you eat helps you study yes there are chemicals that help you stay alert i think the best foods are fish eggs soy rice and peanuts so you should get enough sleep and eat the right foods that sounds like good advice i'll see you two later where are you going ollie home to take a nap looking for a summer job thanks for coming with me to the placement center ali don't mention it it's nice to have your company besides i need to find a summer job too what kind of job are you looking for ali i'm hoping to find one in my major public health i'm sure you can do you have any experience in public health yes i do i worked part-time in a lab in maryland last summer that's great i want to find a job writing for a local newspaper i'd like to be a reporter your major is journalism isn't it uh-huh i had a great job last summer when i was in mexico city really what did you do i worked part-time for excelsior it's the biggest newspaper in mexico what did you do there i wrote local news stories you know news about mexico city but someday i want to write international news stories then i can travel around the world and find out what people are like in other places that sounds wonderful i'm sure you can do it are there any jobs in public health on the bulletin board no i don't see anything interesting you should try looking on the web there are some great job sites that's how i found the job in mexico city that's a good idea do i search for public health try jobs in public health or the names of specific jobs i search for newspaper reporter i'll go to the computer lab right now and try that see you later at a food court wow look at all these different places to eat you said it there are so many choices american fast food chinese italian vegetarian i can't decide what to eat what are you going to have dan i'm hungry i'm going to the fast food place i want a double cheeseburger and a large order of fries oh how many cheeseburgers do you eat every week you had a couple at the picnic yesterday didn't you yeah so what i like cheeseburgers i think pat's worried about you why i'm healthy but cheeseburgers have a lot of fat and a lot of calories okay okay what are you going to have i'm going to have some tofu and rice at that chinese place oh i forgot you're a vegetarian right right hmm i think i'm going to have a salad are you on a diet no diet i just like to eat healthy food what are you going to have to drink a large cola a large cola but there's lots of sugar and soda dan's right and sugar is bad for your tea all right i'll have a diet cola there's no sugar in that great and i'll have a salad too arriving in san francisco look guys up ahead there's san francisco we're almost there look at that skyline what's that tall triangular building it looks like a tower that's the transamerica building it's one of san francisco's landmarks it's almost as famous now as the golden gate bridge the cable cars chinatown well i can't wait to go to all those places and alcatraz too you said it alcatraz used to be the prison where the most dangerous criminals in the united states were put now it's a really interesting former prison and great place to tour let's try to go there tomorrow then we can also do something else tomorrow dan what's wrong with the car yeah why are we going slower oh no i think we have a flat tire we have a spare tire don't we yes i think so i'll pull over [Applause] there it is it is a flat tire now who can help me change it i can i can't believe we have a flat tire and just before we got to san francisco oh it'll take us just a few minutes to change it then we can start to explore the city earth day come in hi alicia how's it going hi lee i'm fine but busy what are you doing i'm making a sign for earth day earth day what's that on earth day people think about pollution and other problems with the environment really when is earth day next monday and is it every year yes it is the first earth day was in 1970 and it now happens every year on april 22nd on that day people talk and learn about problems with the environment like how well one year thousands of people came to washington dc to support clean energy in italy 150 towns and cities had car less weekends when nobody could drive you mean earth day happens all over the world yes it sure does earth day happens in many countries and what's going on here at the college there's a lot happening at the college at the student union there will be exhibits on pollution students will also plant some trees around the college campus so what are you planning to do on earth day i'm planning to give a speech about pollution also i'm going to carry this sign what does it say save the earth that's great alicia can i go with you and help i want to help the environment too surely would you like to carry a sign too yes i sure would meeting new friends hi how are you doing hi you're jack right yeah and sorry you're peter peter riley oh yeah we met on campus last week peter this is my friend ming lee she's just moved into the building heimingli nice to meet you you can just call me ming lee's my last name oh man that sounds chinese oh so you're from from san francisco my parents came over from hong kong before i was born oh that's cool actually uh i was thinking of taking chinese this term maybe you could help me well my chinese really isn't very good uh listen peter we're really hungry do you want to get something to eat with us sorry i can't i have to go meet my new roommate oh okay well stop by sometime i'm up in 212 hey i'm on the same floor i'm in 220. no kidding well nice meeting you ming i'm sure i'll see you guys soon see you later vacation plans wow look it's raining cats and dogs again i hate this weather when does winter break start winter break it's only october i know but i'm sick of studying i want to go someplace warm and lie on the beach for a week someplace where it's sunny and dry florida or hawaii maybe yeah where we can go swimming and snorkeling and get a great tan now that's my idea of a perfect vacation not mine i can't swim very well and i don't like lying in the sun oh yeah how come i don't know i just prefer the mountains especially in winter i love snowboarding in fact i'm planning to go to bear mountain with some friends in december do you guys want to come no thanks i went there last year i was freezing the whole time anyway i don't know how to ski very well last year i fell about a hundred times peter how about you sorry i'm like jack i don't want to go any place where it's below 70 degrees by the way what's the weather forecast for tomorrow the same as today cloudy cold and a 90 chance of rain oh no i left my umbrella at the library you can borrow mine i've got an extra one shopping for food well i got a few groceries that aren't on the list i can see that we're not shopping for an army you know i always do this when i'm hungry well let's see what you have here some nice fresh strawberries for only 1.79 a pound well that's fine they always have nice produce here but why do you have all these cookies don't you like them oh i don't know i hope you got a box of tofu i think i forgot where's the aisle with the asian foods again aisle three i'll go get it wait this steak you got looks really expensive well it isn't it's on sale for just 3.99 a pound and what's this more ice cream we already have a quart at home why don't you put it back meanwhile i'll get in line right here i'm sorry miss this is the express line and it looks like you've got more than 10 items oh and we don't take checks here oh in the city peter are you going downtown today uh-huh why can you give me a ride i have to run some errands where do you need to go uh a lot of places first i have to go to the bank could you drop me off at the corner of king boulevard and second avenue king and second oh sure i know where that is but why are you going to the bank why don't you use the atm machine on campus because my debit card isn't working i've got to get a new one and the cleaners is next door to the bank i have to pick up some clothes there anyway why don't you use the laundry room here in the building i'm not picking up laundry it's dry cleaning by the way is there a computer repair shop near there i need to drop off my laptop computer repair oh yeah there's a goodbye across the street from the bank they fix computers there oh that's convenient so what are you going to do downtown i'm going to the courthouse i've got to pay a traffic ticket no kidding i have to pay a ticket too i just got a ticket last week but kenji you don't drive i know i got a ticket for jaywalking really yeah i didn't know it's illegal to cross in the middle of the street finding the right apartment i'm so stressed out my landlord just raised my rent i think i'll have to move really you know my building has some vacancies it's a pretty nice place and it's just 10 minutes from campus oh yeah how much is the rent for a studio there are no studio apartments in our building my neighbor just moved out of a one bedroom he paid 850 a month i think that's not bad tell me more well one bedrooms come with a bathroom a kitchen a fireplace in the living room pretty big closets and uh are you looking for a furnished or unfurnished place unfurnished i have all my own stuff what about parking and laundry there's no garage you have to park on the street but there is a laundry room downstairs hmm i think i'm interested could you give me the address sure it's 1213 rose avenue the manager's name is mr azizi call him up or just stop by and talk to him thanks ming i'm going to do that tomorrow for sure learning new customs so salma is this your first trip to the united states yes it is and what's your impression so far well the people are really friendly and the city is beautiful but the food well it's not so good oh yeah that's what i thought too when i first got here but i'm used to american food now i actually love hot dogs and french fries so last night i took salma to a mexican restaurant i wanted her to try something exotic did you like it yeah the food was pretty good but it was too much i couldn't finish it all selma was amazed when i took the leftovers home in a doggie bag yeah that's funny isn't it they call it a doggy bag but it's for people anyway what else surprised you that the restaurant was so cold we don't use air conditioning so much in my country oh and the water had ice in it too i had to put on my sweater i was so cold excuse me hello oh hi eduardo excuse me miss but we don't allow cell phones in the restaurant oh sorry i didn't know eduardo i'll have to call you back that's strange for me in lebanon we use phones everywhere i mean we try to talk quietly in a place like this but same in japan this kind of rule is getting more popular though i'm sorry selma no no it's okay when in rome do as the romans do touring a health club [Music] hi i'm adele i'm sure you're going to like it here let me show you around here's the weight room we've got the newest machines our instructors can show you how to use them this is cool yeah i really need to start lifting weights [Music] and here is a cardio class i've never tried cardio it's just dancing isn't it not really actually they're working harder than you think and cardio is very good for your heart it sure is but you should do it at least three times a week if you want to be in good shape well i already jog three times a week that's terrific you also have boxing and yoga classes here don't you yes i'll give you a schedule of classes when we finish our tour now here's our swimming pool wow look at that woman in the middle lane she's really fast isn't she oh yeah that's ellen one of our instructors i'd like to take lessons from her you're not the only one come on i'll show you the showers in the locker room you know if you want to join our gym you ought to do it before the end of the month really why well because we have a special discount for students this month let's go to my office and i'll tell you all about it watching tv hey listen to this the average american watches four hours of tv a day a day you're joking no it says so right here in this newspaper hmm i guess you're an average american jack you always have your tv on come on are you saying i'm a couch potato yeah i really think watching tv is a waste of time oh come on some programs are bad like those soap operas but what about sports or the news you watch those sometimes don't you well actually for the news i prefer the newspaper or the internet why first because they give you a lot more information and i can read them anytime i want plus i hate all the commercials i know what you mean that's why when the commercials come on i just turn down the volume or change channels yeah i noticed that channel surfing drives me crazy okay next time you come over i'll let you have the remote control oh that's so sweet but i have a better idea next time i come over let's just turn the tv off advertisers meeting old friends ming look i can't believe it it's dan hey dan how are you yolanda ming wow i haven't seen you guys since graduation night i know you look great thanks so do you so what have you been up to well i go to faber college really do you like it yeah so far but i've been studying really hard sure you have so what's your major it's computer science ah that makes sense you always were good at math and science thanks anyway what have you guys been up to well i'm a sales rep for a publishing company no kidding how do you like that oh i love it i'm on the road a lot but i get to meet some interesting people that's terrific and how about you yolanda i'm studying pre-med at state college wow you can be my doctor you always were good at science too well it was great seeing you both let's keep in touch from now on email me sometime here's my address explaining a sport okay guys let's warm up and stretch we've gotta work on balance and flexibility so ming when did you get into this karate stuff karate's japanese ming's showing us taekwondo and it's korean cool so what's the difference tae kwon do uses hundreds of different kicking moves but karate well kenji it sounds like you know something about karate yeah karate uses more punches and blocks too maybe you've seen guys break wooden boards with punches you know like i learned that when i was in school that's great i wish i could do that so ming why did you get into taekwondo i had a korean friend in middle school and he said it could help me get in shape and build my confidence so i tried it and i really liked it it looks like you succeeded well i'm still working on it i've really improved my speed and power it also helps you focus you'll see awesome let's get started on a college campus excuse me could you tell me where kimbell hall is oh you mean campbell hall oh yeah right do you see that brown building over there uh behind the fountain yeah that's it come on i'm going there too are you here for the english placement test yes i am how about you actually i'm one of the english teachers here oh really maybe i'll be in your class it's possible what's your name mariko honda but most people call me mari and you i'm nancy anderson so where are you from japan aha and uh how long have you been here just three weeks really but your english sounds great thanks that's because my family used to come here every summer to visit my grandmother when i was little i can speak pretty well but now i want to go to college here so i need to improve my skills especially writing yeah so uh that's why i signed up for this english program i see uh what do you want to major in international business my father has an import export company and he does a lot of business here in the states oh i see and i also want to take art classes because i'm really into art art and business wow that's an interesting combination but can't you study those things in japan well sure but you have to speak good english these days to get ahead in business it's better for my career if i go to college here well here's campbell hall good luck on the placement exam it was nice meeting you mari thanks you too see you later bye bye finding a place to live hello may i speak to nancy please speaking uh hi um my name is mari and i'm calling about the room for rent i saw your ad at the campus housing office oh right okay uh are you a student well right now i'm just studying english but i'm planning to start college full time in march i see where are you living now i've been living in a house with some other students but i don't like it there why what's the problem well first of all it's really noisy and it's not very clean the other people in the house are real slobs i mean they never lift a finger to clean up after themselves it really bugs me i need a place that's cleaner and more private well it's really quiet here we're not home very much what do you do i teach english at the college wait a minute didn't we meet yesterday at the placement exam oh you're the girl from japan what was your name again mari right what a small world it really is by the way who else lives in the house the ad said there are three people well besides me there's my husband andrew and my cousin jeff he's a musician and a part-time student uh are you okay with having male roommates sure as long as they're clean and not too noisy don't worry they're both easy to live with okay um is the neighborhood safe oh sure we haven't had any problems and you can walk to school from here well it sounds really nice when can i come by and see it can you make it this evening around five then you can meet the guys too yeah five o'clock is good what's the address it's 3475 hayworth avenue do you know where that is no i don't okay from university village you go seven blocks east on olympic avenue at the intersection of olympic and alfred there's a stoplight turn left and go up one and a half blocks our house is in the middle of the block on the left that sounds easy yeah you can't miss it listen i've gotta go someone's at the door see you this evening okay see you later bye bye borrowing money hello hi dad jeff how are you i'm fine dad how's mom did she get over her cold yes she's fine now she went back to work yesterday that's good um dad i need to ask you something i'm sure son what is it well uh the truth is i'm broke again could you lend me 200 just till the end of the month broke again jeff when you moved in with nancy and andrew you said you could make ends meet but this is the third time you've asked me for help i know i know i'm sorry but see my old guitar broke and i had to buy a new one i can't play on a broken guitar right look jeff if you want to play in a bad that's okay with me but you can't keep asking me to pay for it okay okay you're right but what do you think i ought to do everything costs an arm and a leg around here well first of all i think you'd better go on a budget make a list of all your income and all your expenses and then it's simple don't spend more than you earn but that's exactly the problem my expenses are always larger than my income that's why i need to borrow money from you then maybe you should work more hours at the computer store dad i already work 15 hours a week how can i study and work and find time to play with my band come on jeff when i was your age i know i know when you were my age you were already married and working and going to school that's right and if i could do it why can't you because i'm not you dad that's why all right jeff calm down i don't expect you to be like me but i can't lend you any more money your mother and i are on a budget too you know maybe i should just drop out of school work full-time and play in the band in the evenings i can go back to school later i wouldn't do that if i were you yeah but you're not me remember it's my life all right jeff let's not argue why don't you think about this very carefully and call me back in a few days and in the meantime you'd better find a way to pay for that new guitar yes dad all right goodbye son bye finding a job hey jeff what's going on oh i'm looking at the classified ads it looks like i have to get a job i thought you had a job at a computer store or something yeah but that's part time i need something full time really but what about school what about your band how can you work full time well to tell you the truth i'm probably going to drop out of school for a while i'm just not in the mood for studying these days i'd rather spend my time playing with my band but my father won't support me if i'm not in school i see well what kind of job do you want to get well ideally something involving music like in a record store but if that's not possible i don't know but whatever i do it'll be better than my first job oh yeah what was that believe it or not the summer after i finished high school i worked at burger ranch you in a fast food place what did you do there i was a burger flipper you know i made hamburgers all day long that sounds like a pretty boring job it was the worst and i haven't gone inside a burger ranch since i quit that job what's so funny do you remember my job at the burger ranch oh yeah that was pretty awful but actually it doesn't sound so bad to me right now why nancy what's wrong oh i'm just really really tired i'm teaching four different classes this term and two of them are really large sometimes i think i've been teaching too long how long have you been teaching 12 years maybe it's time to try something else like what well i've always wanted to be a writer i could work at home oh don't listen to her mari she always talks this way when she's had a bad day at school at least you have a good job nancy look at me i'm broke and dad won't lend me any more money oh stop complaining if you're so poor why don't you go back to the burger ranch listen you two stop arguing look at me i can't work at all because i'm an international student okay okay i'm sorry nancy tell you what let's go out to dinner i'll pay but you're broke all right you pay a single mother who's there it's sharon and joey hi come on in what's happening jeff can you do me a big favor i just got a call from the office they want me to look into a computer problem right away would you mind watching joey until i get back sure no problem is he asleep yeah he just fell asleep 10 minutes ago he usually sleeps for a couple of hours at this time of day but if he wakes up just give him a bottle oh what a cute baby he's so little mari this is our neighbor sharon and her son joey sharon this is our new roommate mari nice to meet you you too listen i've got to take off thanks so much jeff for helping me out bye bye hey jeff i didn't know you liked babies well joey is special i take care of him from time to time when sharon's busy and then she does favors for me in return like last week she lent me her car and her husband is he she's not married i don't think she ever was actually never nope never i think she's happy being a single mother oh is that pretty common in america well it's certainly becoming more and more common even nancy used to talk about it you know before she got married hi guys hi hi uh what were you saying about me that you used to talk about having a baby by yourself before you met andrew oh yeah i worried that time was running out you know like what if i never got married maybe i'm old-fashioned but i could never bring up a baby by myself i think it would be so difficult yeah raising a child is tough i'm really lucky i met andrew and if you have a baby you'll have jeff here to help you with babysitting we'll see speaking of babysitting i'd better check up on joey using technology to stay in touch come in am i interrupting it's okay i was just catching up on my blog oh yeah what's it about mostly it's about hip-hop like here's a comment from a guy named hassan talking about let's hip-hop see istanbul in turkey turkish hip-hop sure and here's one from my friend hiroshi the drummer in tokyo hmm maybe i should start a blog about learning english well it's a great way to meet new people that's for sure and all you need is an internet connection well speaking of the internet i wanted to ask your advice about something okay what's up well i just got my cell phone bill for last month and it was a hundred sixty dollars ouch yeah i can't believe it cell phone calls are so expensive here are they cheaper in japan much cheaper and we use our cell phones for email too a lot of people don't even own a computer it's amazing what you can do with cell phones these days talk take pictures send email yeah but anyway jeff i need to find a cheaper way to stay in touch with my parents and my friends in japan and i heard there's a way you can call overseas for free using your computer do you know anything about that of course it's a technology called voice over internet i use it all the time how does it work well you need a computer with a sound card if you've got that yeah i do and you also need a microphone and a headset i don't have those no sweat you can buy them at any electronics store okay what else well then you'll need to download the software which is free and then if the person you're calling installs the same software there's no cost for calling but what if they don't can i call from my computer to someone's phone yes there's a charge for that but it's a lot cheaper than using your cell phone believe me could you show me how it works on your computer right now no it's night time in japan now can we do it in about three hours no problem i'll be here great see you later what do people really mean yolanda hi hi mari how are you fine thanks um is anyone sitting here no have a seat thanks so how have you been oh you know busy i've got school and work and i'm getting ready for my brother's wedding next month oh yeah anyway it's gonna be a huge wedding and oh excuse me uh nancy over here hi nancy this is yolanda she works in the library yolanda this is my housemate nancy she teaches english here nice to meet you yolanda you too well listen actually i've got to go i have to be at work in 10 minutes i'll see you soon mari we'll go to a movie or something sure how about thursday night uh i have to check my calendar i'll call you okay okay see you oh i don't understand americans huh did you hear what she said i'll call you we'll go to a movie but every time i try to pick a specific day or time she says she's busy she has to check her calendar and then she doesn't call why do americans say things they don't mean they act so nice like they always say how are you but then they keep on walking and don't even wait for your answer they're so how do you say it two-faced i know it seems that way sometimes mari but it's not true it's just that for americans friendliness and friendship aren't always the same thing what do you mean well as you know americans can be very open and friendly like they invite you to sit down they ask you questions they tell you all about their families so naturally you think they're trying to make friends with you but actually friendship real friendship doesn't happen so quickly so when people say how are you they're just being polite they don't really care not exactly the thing you have to understand is that how are you isn't a real question it's more like a greeting a way of saying hello aha i get it and have a nice day is just a friendly way to say goodbye exactly now you're catching on but i'm still in the dark about yolanda does she want to be my friend or not it's hard to say maybe she's just too busy these days i guess you'll just have to be patient hmm that's good advice i guess thanks what do you like to do for fun come in hi hey dan how you doing great thanks hey i burned you some new cds cool hi you were at our show last night right yeah i was sorry mari this is dan dan this is mari it's nice to meet you nice to meet you too oh let me get that i'll be right back okay so mari did you have a good time at the club last night yeah it was pretty wild what did you think of our band well your music is great for dancing but to tell you the truth it was kind of loud i guess i really prefer jazz do you go to concerts much no not very often i can't afford them they're so expensive yeah i know what you mean well what do you like to do for fun i love to eat i love going to different ethnic restaurants and trying new dishes what's your favorite kind of food well japanese of course what about you well i'm not crazy about sushi or sashimi but i really like mexican food oh i can't stand beans and i don't like cheese uh what about indian food i don't care for it too spicy um do you like american food you know hamburgers hot dogs french fries yuck all that fat and salt and sugar we don't see eye to eye on anything do we well let's see what's your opinion of modern art there's a wonderful show at the county museum right now to be honest i don't get the modern stuff i prefer 19th century art you know monet van gogh renoir hmm how do you feel about sports are you interested in football american football i hate it basketball it's okay how about tall musicians with curly hair it depends okay i got it how about tall musicians with curly hair who invite you to a movie science fiction sounds great finally we agree on something to clone or not to clone your dog is so adorable nancy how old is he 11. wow that's pretty old yeah i just love him so much i don't know what i'll do when he's gone well you can clone him you know clone him you're joking right yeah of course but actually it is possible scientists in korea have cloned a dog you know i saw a picture of it in time magazine really i've heard of cloned sheep and mice and rabbits but not pets like dogs oh yeah believe it or not there is a company in california that offers a pet cloning service for fifteen thousand dollars you can have an exact copy of your pet that's so weird actually it kind of scares me pretty soon they'll start cloning people and then nah i don't think that's gonna happen i think cloning will be used in positive ways like what like saving endangered species for example scientists could save the giant panda and other animals before they become extinct oh yeah and another thing i heard that scientists will be able to clone body parts you know just grow a new heart or a new tooth uh-huh that's what stem cell research is all about which is similar to cloning a lot of medical problems are going to be solved with that for sure well i'm all for that especially if it can help us live longer or if they can help your dog live longer right right a baby shower hi jeff hi sharon look what i got in the mail hey hi mari join us for a baby shower honoring nancy anderson april 5th 11 a.m hosted by sharon smith and carolyn freeman oh good you got the invitation so can you make it i think so but well what is a baby shower exactly you know it's a party for a woman who's going to have a baby um it's like a welcoming ceremony for the new baby it's a party then why do you call it a shower because the custom is to shower the woman with gifts for the baby get it i see are you invited too jeff no way no man allowed really well not exactly lots of baby showers include men these days but traditionally showers are hosted by a woman's girlfriends or female relatives and they're only for women hmm but isn't nancy and andrew's baby due at the end of may and this invitation says april 5th well yes the custom is to have a shower before the baby is born when the woman is seven or eight months pregnant very interesting and everybody brings a gift right something for the baby you know toys or clothes or something for the baby's room okay the invitation says it's for lunch so yeah we'll have lunch and afterwards we'll play games games what kind of games girl games silly games like bingo or guessing games or baby trivia games and the winners get small prizes it sounds like fun it is and then at the end of the party there is usually a cake with baby decorations and then the mother-to-be opens her presents well the guests are still there sure that's my favorite part everybody gets to see the gifts and go ah and see how happy the woman is wow that's so different from our custom in japan we usually don't open a gift in front of guests really that is different well what kind of gift do you think i should get for her she's registered online so you can see what she's already gotten and what she still needs would you like me to write down the internet address for you sure that would be great uh is there anything i can do to help with the party maybe do the flower arrangements or something oh thanks but it's not necessary everything is all taken care of just come and have fun

Channel: Basic English Conversation

Views: 289,510

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Id: fI3rf-UwSlE

Length: 63min 42sec (3822 seconds)

Published: Tue Jun 28 2022