Dialogue:
Denise: Hi, how’ve you been?
Lisa: If you really wanna know the truth…terrible!
Denise: Oh no! Why?
Lisa: Well, I’ve been swamped with work. Y’ know how things get this time of year. Denise: Tell me about it!
Lisa: What’s up with you?
Denise: Same old, same old! Work, work, work! Something’s really gotta give!
Lisa: Hey! Why don’t we try to get away this weekend?
Denise: I don’t know. Things are pretty hectic around the office…
Lisa: Oh come on! It’ll be fun!
Denise: I guess you’re right. I do need a break!
Lisa: Now you’re talking! We could check out one of the nearby islands; since the weather’s still good, we could even go swimming.
Denise: Sounds like a plan!
Lisa: Great! I’ll pack my bags!!!
Now answer the following question…
What’s Lisa’s problem? She’s been very busy lately.
Now listen again to the dialogue in parts. After each part there will be 3 to 4 questions on the details…
Part 1
Denise: Hi, how’ve you been?
Lisa: If you really wanna know the truth…terrible!
Denise: Oh no! Why?
Lisa: Well, I’ve been swamped with work. Y’ know how things get this time of year. Denise: Tell me about it!
Lisa: What’s up with you?
Denise: Same old, same old! Work, work, work! Something’s really gotta give! Now answer some questions…
1. Denise says, “I’ve been swamped with work.” How much work do you have if you’re swamped? You have a lot of work.
2. Lisa says, “What’s up with you? When you ask someone “what’s up” what do you want to find out? You want to find out how they are and what they’ve been doing.
3. Denise says, “Something’s really gotta give!” What does she mean? She means that something has got to change in her life because she’s tired of the same routine.
Now listen to part 2…
Part 2
Lisa: Hey! Why don’t we try to get away this weekend?
Denise: I don’t know. Things are pretty hectic around the office…
Lisa: Oh come on! It’ll be fun!
Denise: I guess you’re right. I do need a break!
Lisa: Now you’re talking! We could check out one of the nearby islands; since the weather’s still good, we could even go swimming.
Denise: Sounds like a plan!
Lisa: Great! I’ll pack my bags!!!
Now answer some questions…
1. Denise says “Things are pretty hectic around the office…” What does hectic mean? “Hectic” means busy.
2. Denise says “sounds like a plan!” What does she mean?
“Sounds like a plan” means “that’s a good idea”. So here Denise wants to say that they will probably arrange to something.
3. Lisa says “Now you’re talking!” What does she mean? When people say “now you are talking” they mean they completely agree!
4. Lisa says, “Maybe we could check out one of the nearby islands;” What does she mean when she says “to check out an island”? She means she wants to see what it’s like.
GLOSSARY
1. Check a place out (phrasal verb) Used informally. To go to a place in order to see what it is like. (e.g. I'm going to check out that new restaurant on Hope Street.)
2. Gotta is the informal spoken short form of got to. (e.g. Something’s really gotta give or else I’m gonna go crazy!)
3. Hectic (adjective) means full of activity; very busy and fast. (e.g. My schedule has been really hectic for the past month so I haven’t been able to see anybody.) 4. Now you're talking! (expression) is said when someone makes a suggestion or offer that is better than one that they have already made. (e.g. A: Forget the homework. Let’s go to the beach! B: Now you’re talking!)
5. Same old, same old! (phrase) is used when we want to say that nothing new or exciting has happened. It denotes a sense of boredom. (e.g. A: Has anything exciting happened in your life lately? B: No, same old, same old!)
6. Something’s gotta give! (expression) means that something really has got to change because you are tired of the same routine.
7. Sounds like a plan! (expression) is used to say we like and agree with the other person’s idea. (e.g. A: I’ll pick you up at 3:00 and we’ll go swimming. B: Sounds like a plan!)
8. Swamped (adjective) is used to describe a person who has too much to deal with. (e.g. I’m swamped with work and won’t be able to make it to the party.)
9. Tell me about it! (expression) is used when we want to agree with a negative comment they make. (e.g. A. The traffic is terrible here! B. Tell me about it. It took me half an hour just to get 1 kilometer yesterday!)
10.What’s up? (informal phrase) is used when you want to find out how somebody is and what they’ve been doing. (e.g. Hey, what’s up? I haven’t seen you for ages.)
Fill in the gaps with the correct form of the words from the glossary
1. I wish I could get away from the city and this……………………pace of life.
2. A: Let’s take this weekend off and spend it relaxing at a spa.
B: ………………………….! You always have such good ideas
3. I’m sorry I can’t talk to anybody at the moment. I’m……………………………..with work!
4. I’m going to………………………that new restaurant that opened up tonight. It got really good reviews!
5. …………………………..with Jen? I haven’t heard from her in ages.
6. James said he was …………………………take part in a marathon but he's gotta be kidding.
7. A. Have you eaten enough, or would you, like some desert? B. ………………………… 8. A. Hey Benny, I haven’t seen you in ages. How are you? B. Ah, you know. …………………………
9. I can’t take another day of this pressure! …………………………
10. A. It’s really hot today! B. …………………………It’s impossible to breathe!
1) hectic 2) Sounds like a plan! 3) swamped 4) check out 5) What’s up 6) gonna 7) Now you're talking! 8) Same old, same old 9) Something’s gotta give! 10) Tell me about it!
