English Conversation Learn English Speaking English Course English Subtitle Part 17

hello again and welcome back to english today this is DVD 17 and the fifth DVD of your upper intermediate level and in this DVD we'll begin with another two episodes of our story that's life followed by our special TV programs where our culinary experts will be talking about how to set the table this will be followed by a discussion about e-commerce and about doing business on the Internet then in the grammar section will study how to position adjectives in the English sentence and also look at some of the main differences between American and British English alright so enjoy yourselves and enjoy your viewing I knew it couldn't have been different but watch out oh did you hurt yourself huh you should what were you going oh no I don't know I'm just walking into things you know I'm a bit absent-minded oh when I was a kid I was always falling over I was always covered in bruises but I always kissed me now the first full moon of the summer just wonderful hey what's the full moon got to do with anything but no nothing come on please only watch your reading it's just a beautiful love story full of passion it's a love story between a young lady of the nobility and a farmer the girl's father wants her to marry the Lord and he's against the relationship so he arranges to have the young farmer kidnapped and locked away in a secret room did I have hunger and thirst it's a sad story isn't it rather depressing well oh wait a minute I haven't finished the kidnapping happened in the first full moon of the summer just a moment before the two lovers had arranged to meet legend says that every year on that night the young girl's return to look for her lover do you see what should I see it's a legend don't tell me I should believe in such a stupid thing well on the contrary I think is shed this is the interesting part this love story took place here in this house and tonight there's the first full moon of the summer it is so exciting I know this holiday would bring some pleasant surprises you must be mad and by the way where on earth did you find this book or a fanatic it must have been written by one of Polly's ancestors if I known that room contains some treasures like this book I'd lock myself in there for the whole holiday shouldn't go nosing around everywhere Michel well then you should leave me alone then I'm going to get the others together now and we'll devise a plan for tonight so we can look for the young girl's ghost you you hey Sara like a flip I'm glad you here man incredible discovery what this about well according to Michelle this house is home to the spirit of a young girl and this young girl is going to appear to us tonight as a goof don't make fun okay it's true I read it in the book I found at home and I can feel it too there's a strange atmosphere almost surreal I think the only strange thing here is we're that's exactly what I said okay enough of that listen to me this is the plan for tonight when the moon sign in the sky we'll get some candles and go and look for the ghost Paula didn't she know anything about the story well my grandfather did tell me something about it I when I was a boy I used to go looking for spirits at my cousin's didn't you feel frightened I know it was a great fun sure everyone knows ghosts don't exist oh you run there you know one night we had some strange noise someone was shouting oh we were so scared and we run up to our rooms and my youngest cousin cried for two days he was so terrified what rubbish I think you just invented the whole story okay stop arguing power and I are going to look for the ghost tonight Sandra you're coming with us I don't really believe in these things but if you're both going well why not it'll be a bit of change from the other evenings and by the way I'm quite curious to find out whether this ghost really exists or not Sarah are you coming with us oh no I don't believe in spirits and I don't do such stupid things I'll just stay in my room and read oh come on Sarah don't believe this coil come with us you'll see it'll be fine don't insist I said no the dance club she wouldn't be like this if it heaven burned down I know you're right well just let's try not to let our problems get us down Sandra can you calm I can and will tell them what's the plan for tonight okay girls hunting under a foam oh yeah hi everyone and welcome back for another lesson now as you've been watching our story that's life you've probably noticed that there are different Englishes different accents like British English American English Australian English yeah now you can often notice that from the accent but we don't only notice the difference from the accent there are also differences in vocabulary and this is something that I want to look at with you now especially between British English and American English so we'll look at the screen and you can see the words written because British English and American English when I meet for example an American person I usually don't have any problems understanding but occasionally for let me tell you this story an American said to me once he said um hey do you have a moose and I didn't know what to answer said do you have a moose now in the English language a moose is either the dessert that you eat at the end of a meal like chocolate mousse or it's the animal with antlers that you see in Canada so none of those things were appropriate for the situation that we were in so I had to say uh sorry what do you mean by moose and for him the mousse was a mattress you know part of the bed that you sleep on a mousse was a mattress so I was just flabbergasted I could never have guessed that a mousse was a mattress so let me show you or introduce you maybe you know some of these already especially if you watch the cinema a lot some of the difference in terminologies and vocabulary between American and English all right now look at the screen in British English we talk about living in a flat which is a small house in the condominium so that's a flat but the Americans tend to call that an apartment all right then we in England have gardens which are often attached to our houses or flats but in America they call that a yard all right a yard so in my backyard you often hear then when you have rubbish in England we put the rubbish in a rubbish bin but in American in America rubbish is garbage so they put their rubbish in a garbage can so rubbish bin garbage can if I say in British English I'm going to town the Americans will say I'm going down town I'm going down town in England walking along the streets the part beside the street itself beside the road is called a pavement but in America that is called a sidewalk pavement sidewalk we put our cars in the car park but in America they call a car park a parking lot okay parking lot we'd win in Britain we drive on motorways whereas in America you will hear the word freeway or highway or even superhighway all right so motorway in Britain freeway highway in America then when all the roads come together we call that in English a junction but the Americans call it an intersection Junction intersection when we are traveling in our car we go and we buy petrol the Americans buy gas or gasoline for us gas is a liquid air so gas gasoline inning British English is petrol okay then in England we go to the cinema in America they prefer often to use movies go to the movies then for example if you go to a theater and you want to go to the Wardrobe for example and leave your coats etc very often in America that is called the closet so wardrobe closet then if you're in a restaurant to begin with we in England have a starter the Americans have an appetizer and this is very interesting we when you take potatoes and you fry them and for example you have it with steak in English those are called chips the Americans use french fries now in English when you have a bag for example at a party if you're having an aperitif we often have nuts and what we call crisps now crisps are very thin pieces of potato chopped up very finely and then cooked usually in hot oil and put in plastic bags now we call those crisps but the Americans call them potato chips so it's very confusing for us chips is what you have with steak and the crisps are the things that we hear you have in the bag all right and one more thing in Britain we talk about summer winter spring and autumn but often in American English you will hear autumn refer to as fall so those are just a few examples of the difference between British English and American English but keep noticing the differences when you're especially when you're watching films because it really is very interesting and it will help you in preparation for when you go to both countries all right so good to see you again and I look forward to seeing you again in the next lesson bye so this is the abandonment yeah Oh she'd never have got involved in this Sharad I still company be persuaded me to come along oh come on Ann you're like fun one regret can anyone tell me exactly what it is we're looking for Mike geobella silver we'll talk to you we're looking for the ghost of a young girl legend says the wonderful moans high in the sky she returns here to look for a young lover she walks up him down the secret spot where she used to meet him and where is the secret spot well we don't know but Paula told me the last he'd heard strange sounds coming from his house huh good start from here we're here I couldn't possibly if we can't see anything in the dark don't worry I know this place very well okay silent otherwise we're not gonna hear anything did did anyone ask Sarah if she wanted to come along with us of course we did she isn't interested she doesn't believe in go you know you still should have insisted it's not nice to leave her all by yourself tonight okay can please start stretching again I don't see anything you sure I'm sure yeah sure they squeeze my shoulder okay now that we saw that mystery sounds everyone and let's continue well to be honest this place is clean it creepy creepier guys guys wait truss please to disturb my eternal sleep crikey I'm not feeling very well I think I'm going to faint shut up whoa what we read we read about you and we want to get to know you I don't like intruders do you know what happens to the people who cross my path Oh Robins a horrible death you must choose between being burnt alive or being eaten by wolves listen miss lady ghosts I think there must be some misunderstanding here we're all going to leave now and let you look for your lover and peace and quiet right everyone that's a minute it's too late your fate had been decided - please don't kill us I didn't even want to come and they forced me to come with them really quiet now all of you close your eyes and put your hands up in the air and now Sarah says so you were the ghost yes I was in my room reading when I thought of dressing up and scaring all of you and I must admit it was worth it you don't know how funny you all looked your face is white with fear and your voice is pleading for mercy I've never had so much fun yes you gave us all a big shock yes but if it's made me also I come back then long live goes do you believe in ghosts I do you know once when I was teaching in England I was in a mansion a beautiful old house in the country and they told me that every day in one of the rooms in a mansion there was a breeze which passed through the room every afternoon at four o'clock and they said it was a Friendly Ghost a she a woman who haunted the house every day she passed through the room at four o'clock on the dot I believe in ghosts they are all in Scotland and Britain I think in general now I want to do something with you in this lesson related to English adjectives if you look at this bag if you want to describe this bag you could say it's big you could say it's brown it's it's useful it's casual so these are a few adjectives which you could use to describe the bag now the problem is if you want to use more than one or two adjectives before the noun how do you order them do you say it's a big casual useful brown bag or it's a brown big casual useful bag that's the problem well in English there is an order a specific order which we're now going to look at on the screen together so that you can decide every time you're using adjectives what order to put them in let's take the bag so look at the screen the first adjective that we would say is the adjective of opinion so adjectives of opinion are for example interesting boring fascinating in this case useful okay or even casual then we talk about the dimension or the size so it could be big small thin thick in this case the bag is big after we talk about the age is it new is it modern is it ancient is it old and I think we could say about this that it's a new more or less a new bag so so far we have a useful big new bag then we talk about the shape this bag is square it could be oval it could be round so we got shape then we talk about the color are for example pink blue light green brown after that the origin is it French English American Italian okay and then the material it's made of if it's wooden plastic woollen cotton in this case so if we want to describe this bag using all those adjectives it would become this it's opinion a casual big new follow the screen new square brown Italian cotton bag okay now we don't usually put eight or nine adjectives before the noun but if you do want to use three or four then that's the order which you follow and remember that in English all adjectives go before the noun not after because in some languages you can put adjectives before the noun and adjectives after the noun however in English the rule is adjectives always before the noun okay great so that's the lesson about adjectives and I'll see you very soon bye welcome to cooking today hi Lisa good to see you good to see you again Nancy Lisa tell us what you're going to talk about this time I've chosen a letter in particular I've received so many here we are it comes from Lynn dear Lisa you're the person I most admire in my life please help me my husband has decided to invite his boss and wife for dinner and I have no idea how to arrange a formal table setting husband's can be so insensitive well dear Lynn you don't need bone china silverware or crystal to set an attractive table where does one begin I'd start with the table covering the ideal tablecloth for a formal dinner is a damask one or a cloth would delicate embroidery can it be placed over a bare table your better place a protective padded cloth underneath what do you think about placemats they're acceptable for every occasion except formal dinners and table runners are they pretty they are and very trendy nowadays since they come in a wide range of colors now tell us about napkins they're usually sold as a coordinated set with tablecloths she's not supposed to use paper napkins I suppose it's considered a bit crass you can use paper napkins for picnics it's a napkin ring necessary why not in the past each family member would have one either award or engraved silver today they're available in many materials and styles now what about dinnerware I think that a set one color dishes would be very smart round playing plates a side plate and serving dishes are perfect what about glassware the best for formal dinners is a long-stemmed goblet of medium height Lin will need a wine glass a water glass and a flute for champagne and cutlery how do you arrange forks and knives forks are placed to the left of the plate spoons and knives to the right with a blade facing the plate at the top of the plate you've placed dessert forks and spoons of course carving corks and knives are necessary when serving roasts I said how do you feel about centerpieces well a basket filled with fresh flowers would smarten the plainest of tables you can also use candles it's a real work of art yes and a pretty setting makes food taste better thank you Lisa for this informative chat it was a pleasure now let's see which term leaves are used to talk about table setting first of all she said there are different kinds of table coverings a tablecloth is what we use to cover the table with during meals placemats are individual settings for more informal meals table runners are long and narrow pieces of fabric which can hold several places a centerpiece can be placed in the middle of the table usually with fresh flowers as decoration if you want to protect your table from stains or heat you better place a protective padded cloth under the tablecloth a napkin is what we use to wipe our mouths with while eating today paper napkins are rather convenient but don't use them when Lisa's invited a napkin ring is a ring of different materials fabric wood silver which allows people to identify their personal napkin during family meals now let's go to dinnerware or dinner service also called crockery or plates side plates or serving dishes used for meals glassware refers to glasses that can be wine glasses water glasses or flutes used to drink champagne a stand goblet is a tall glass with a stem used in formal dinners cutlery commonly referred to as silverware refers to forks and spoons and knives serving forks and spoons are used to serve food from the serving dish that's all for this time see you again next week it's the new frontier retailing it's revolutionized the way we do business and it brings in customers from all over the world of course I'm talking about e-commerce I'm Eric brown and this is let's talk the discussion program with our commentators Tom and Marie good evening everyone good evening well what are your thoughts on e-commerce do you buy things online of course I do I always book low-cost flights and I also buy DVDs and books on the Internet as most people do I shop online not only for the convenience but also to pay the lowest price possible on any given item I used to visit different websites to shop around for the lowest price but now that automatic comparison shopping is possible my browser automatically shows me the prices for the same DVD at different online stores on the web I can easily compare prices and choose which one to buy Marie did you know that you're a typical online shopper in fact 52 percent of all online shoppers buy books 41 percent buy leisure and travel items including holidays and flights and 40% buy DVDs and CDs well Eric online shopping is very popular today in the UK for example 48 percent of people regularly shop on the Internet did you know that economists put the value of online shopping in the UK at two point two six billion pounds and that the e-retail market is growing by 32 percent a year actually that doesn't surprise me ecommerce is having a huge impact on the way we do business it's increasing markets improving efficiency and effectiveness and is transforming business processes Tom you so quiet what do you think about e-commerce well to tell you the truth I'm very skeptical about e-commerce for many reasons why exactly are you skeptical well let's start with the issue of security credit-card details can be stolen and it's possible to order goods from bogus companies ones that don't really exist there are also lots of scams to trick people into handing over their login details for online banking and then their accounts are emptied so according to you buying things online is risky yes also you can't be sure you'll get the goods you ordered and if there's something wrong with them who pays for the goods to be returned you do Tom I agree with you but up to a certain point there are some problems with e-commerce but these problems aren't stopping people from spending more and more online at the same time ecommerce has many advantages for business people could you explain some of these advantages Marie well it's cheaper for a retailer to set up a website than it is to rent a shop fit it out and pay someone to work there besides a website has global reach so customers can come from all over the world ok ok an interesting discussion but I'm afraid yet again we've run out of time once again I'd like to thank our commentators thank you thank you and goodbye to everyone and see you again next week for another edition of let's talk the topic today was e-commerce electronic buying and selling more specifically we spoke about e retailing and online shopping retailing is the selling of goods directly to consumers consumers are the people who buy goods online means with the internet so online shopping is buying things on the Internet the e retail market that is the selling of goods online is well online shopping has its positive aspects and negative aspects Murray said you can find the lowest price thanks to automatic comparison shopping automatic comparison shopping means your browser the program you use on the Internet automatically shows you the prices of the same products at different online stores an online store is a virtual shop on the web the web is another word for the internet with this kind of shopping you don't have to shop around the shop around means visit different shops to look for the lowest price it's cheaper for retailers people who sell goods to consumers to set up a website then to fit out a shop to set up a website means to develop a website notice how we say to fit out a shop this means to make a shop ready for use for example add shelves lights mirrors Tom on the other hand is skeptical about e-commerce this means he has doubts he says online shopping is a risk there are lots of bogus companies these are companies that don't really exist and lots of scams a scam is a trick to steal money from people again we have run out of time to run out of something means you have finished it so goodbye and see you again soon

Channel: Learn English Conversation

Views: 224,722

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Id: z-A5xt0E9R8

Length: 35min 50sec (2150 seconds)

Published: Mon Jan 13 2014