UI_S1L15_100912_eclass101

UI_S1L15_100912_eclass101.mp3
Jonathan: In this lesson, you’ll learn how to use the past and present perfect continuous tenses. We’ll listen to a conversation between Dave and Isabel as they have their first date.　
Dede: Go Dave! They still don’t know each other very well and are eating at a nice restaurant.
Jonathan: Because of that, they will be speaking a little bit formally, but still not like business people.　
Dede: I think that’s it!
Jonathan: Let’s listen to the conversation.
Dede:
Lesson conversation
Isabel: You know, I have to admit, when you first asked me out, I thought you were kind of creepy. But this is a nice place. So I apologize for misjudging you.
Dave: Yeah, I can understand that. I'm sure that you have gotten a lot of invitations from witnesses before, though.
Isabel: Not exactly... So where are you from? How long have you been in D.C.?
Dave: I'm originally from Oregon; I have only been living in D.C. for a few months now. Before coming here, I had been living in Virginia when I went to school. Where did you go to college?
Isabel: I'm a proud alumnus of the school of hard knocks!
Dave: Oh, I see...sorry for asking.
Isabel: Why? For all my life I had wanted to be a cop. No need to go to college for that, so I went to the academy instead.
Dave: That's cool. So you have lived in D.C. your whole life?
Isabel: Born and raised!
Dave: A true Washingtonian.
English Host: Let’s hear the conversation one time slowly.
Isabel: You know, I have to admit, when you first asked me out, I thought you were kind of creepy. But this is a nice place. So I apologize for misjudging you.
Dave: Yeah, I can understand that. I'm sure that you have gotten a lot of invitations from witnesses before, though.
Isabel: Not exactly... So where are you from? How long have you been in D.C.?
Dave: I'm originally from Oregon; I have only been living in D.C. for a few months now. Before coming here, I had been living in Virginia when I went to school. Where did you go to college?
Isabel: I'm a proud alumnus of the school of hard knocks!
Dave: Oh, I see...sorry for asking.
Isabel: Why? For all my life I had wanted to be a cop. No need to go to college for that, so I went to the academy instead.
Dave: That's cool. So you have lived in D.C. your whole life?
Isabel: Born and raised!
Dave: A true Washingtonian.
English Host: Now let’s hear it with the English translation.
Isabel: You know, I have to admit, when you first asked me out, I thought you were kind of creepy. But this is a nice place. So I apologize for misjudging you.
Dede: You know, I have to admit, when you first asked me out, I thought you were kind of creepy. But this is a nice place. So I apologize for misjudging you.
Dave: Yeah, I can understand that. I'm sure that you have gotten a lot of invitations from witnesses before, though.
Dede: Yeah, I can understand that. I'm sure that you have gotten a lot of invitations from witnesses before, though.
Isabel: Not exactly... So where are you from? How long have you been in D.C.?
Dede: Not exactly... So where are you from? How long have you been in D.C.?
Dave: I'm originally from Oregon; I have only been living in D.C. for a few months now. Before coming here, I had been living in Virginia when I went to school. Where did you go to college?
Dede: I'm originally from Oregon; I have only been living in D.C. for a few months now. Before coming here, I had been living in Virginia when I went to school. Where did you go to college?
Isabel: I'm a proud alumnus of the school of hard knocks!
Dede: I'm a proud alumnus of the school of hard knocks!
Dave: Oh, I see...sorry for asking.
Dede: Oh, I see...sorry for asking.
Isabel: Why? For all my life I had wanted to be a cop. No need to go to college for that, so I went to the academy instead.
Dede: Why? For all my life I had wanted to be a cop. No need to go to college for that, so I went to the academy instead.
Dave: That's cool. So you have lived in D.C. your whole life?
Dede: That's cool. So you have lived in D.C. your whole life?
Isabel: Born and raised!
Dede: Born and raised!
Dave: A true Washingtonian.
Dede: A true Washingtonian.
Dede
POST CONVERSATION BANTER
Dede: Is that really what a first date in the United States would sound like?
Jonathan: It’s true that in the United States, like many other countries, some of the first questions you ask when you get to know someone are about their background. The questions that Dave asked were pretty typical of the kinds of questions people will ask.
Dede: Hmm… What about differences between Washington, D.C. and the rest of the states?
Jonathan: Good question, I don’t think they are so very different, but especially in the high-powered world of Washington, D.C. the university or college that you attended is often asked about.
Dede: But Isabel didn’t go to college!
Jonathan: Exactly, this can be a tricky topic if someone did not go to college and it can be can be seen as a negative. Someone might be embarrassed if it is brought up. Generally though, small talk when you are getting to know each other centers around where the other person has lived, where they have worked, and where they have gone to school.
Dede: Hmm… So it’s usually OK to ask though?
Jonathan: Generally I think so… but after the little questions, then you get to ask more interesting, and more specific questions about who you are out on a date with.
Dede: I can think of a whole lot of other questions I want to ask!
Jonathan: That’s great! Wanna move to the vocab though?
Dede: I guess so…
Vocabulary and Phrases
Dede: Let's take a look at the vocabulary for this lesson.
: The first word we shall see is:
Jonathan: to admit [natural native speed]
Dede: to concede the truth of something, to confess
Jonathan: to admit [slowly - broken down by syllable]
Jonathan: to admit [natural native speed]
: Next:
Jonathan: creepy [natural native speed]
Dede: makes you feel uncomfortable, inappropriate
Jonathan: creepy [slowly - broken down by syllable]
Jonathan: creepy [natural native speed]
: Next:
Jonathan: to misjudge [natural native speed]
Dede: to assess or judge incorrectly
Jonathan: to misjudge [slowly - broken down by syllable]
Jonathan: to misjudge [natural native speed]
: Next:
Jonathan: witness [natural native speed]
Dede: a person who saw something (often a crime)
Jonathan: witness [slowly - broken down by syllable]
Jonathan: witness [natural native speed]
: Next:
Jonathan: originally [natural native speed]
Dede: firstly, from the beginning, at the very start
Jonathan: originally [slowly - broken down by syllable]
Jonathan: originally [natural native speed]
: Next:
Jonathan: alumnus [natural native speed]
Dede: a graduate
Jonathan: alumnus [slowly - broken down by syllable]
Jonathan: alumnus [natural native speed]
: Next:
Jonathan: knock [natural native speed]
Dede: a loud noise created by hitting with the fist
Jonathan: knock [slowly - broken down by syllable]
Jonathan: knock [natural native speed]
: Next:
Jonathan: Washingtonian [natural native speed]
Dede: somebody from Washington, D.C.
Jonathan: Washingtonian [slowly - broken down by syllable]
Jonathan: Washingtonian [natural native speed]
: Next:
Jonathan: academy [natural native speed]
Dede: an institution of learning that focuses on a specific trade or skills (like science or the military)
Jonathan: academy [slowly - broken down by syllable]
Jonathan: academy [natural native speed]
: Next:
Jonathan: to be raised [natural native speed]
Dede: to grow up
Jonathan: to be raised [slowly - broken down by syllable]
Jonathan: to be raised [natural native speed]
KEY VOCABULARY AND PHRASES
Dede: Let's have a closer look at the usuage for some of the words and phrases from this lesson.
Jonathan: The first word/phrase we’ll look at is....
Dede: That’s all for this lesson. Do you want to look at some words and phrases in more detail?
Jonathan: I most certainly do, what’s up first?
Dede: "knock" – a loud noise created by hitting with the fist.
Jonathan: In the dialogue, Sheila said “I’m a proud alumnus of the school of hard knocks”.
Jonathan: "Alumnus" is another word from this line, and it means a graduate of some type of school. However, the “school of hard knocks” is not a real school, it is an idiom used to describe real life when they did not attend university or college. The phrase refers to living life in a difficult manner, and that maybe they got “knocked” and learned through the process. It is usually used in a light-hearted manner.
Dede: Oh yeah, my brother is studying at the school of hard knocks right now!
Jonathan: Oh really? I wanted to go there, but unfortunately I couldn’t get in…
Dede: Haha… Yeah you’re not so tough…
Jonathan: OK, so what’s our next phrase?
Dede: “Born and raised!”
Jonathan: Isabel says this when Dave asks her if she has lived in D.C. for her whole life. As we learned from the vocab section, where we were raised means where we grew up. We can use the phrase “born and raised” to tell someone that we spent out entire childhood in one place.
Dede: So where were you from again?
Jonathan: Well, I’m from West Philadelphia, born and raised of course.
Dede: Hmm I didn’t know that…Alright, I’m ready to move on then.
Jonathan: Go for it.
Lesson focus
Dede: In this lesson, we will be reviewing the present and past perfect continuous tenses
Jonathan: That’s right. You probably have already learned them, but these are two of the most difficult tenses to use correctly. Let’s start by listening again to something Dave said in the present perfect continuous tense. He said "I have only been living in D.C. for a few months now."
Dede: We use the present perfect continuous tense to describe things that began in the past but that continue today.
Jonathan: We often use it followed by “for” or “since”; “for” is used to say how long we have been doing it, and “since” tells us when they started.
Dede: Can you think of some examples?
Jonathan: How about “We have been doing this podcast together since last year.”
Dede: Wow! Has it already been a year? “I have been working here for too long!”
Jonathan: Haha, please don’t leave!
Dede: OK… you’ve convinced me.
Jonathan: Let’s move on my listening to something else Dave said. It was "I had been living in Virginia when I went to school."
Dede: This example shows the past perfect continuous tense.
Jonathan: The past perfect continuous can be even trickier to use correctly. We use this when we are talking about something that happened for a length of time in the past; something that started and ended before now. We often use it with another statement that provides the reference for the time.
Dede: Right, like when you got here today I had been waiting for 30 minutes.
Jonathan: Sorry! The train was late… But good example. Can you think of another?
Dede: "By the time I started working here, you had already been doing the podcast for two months."
Jonathan: Great!
Dede: It is difficult to know when to use these tenses though – a lot of the times it seems like I can just use simple past.
Jonathan: That’s true, many times you can change the structure a little and use simple past, but using the past perfect progressive gives it a nice sense of order in your sentences.
Dede: Hmm, I think this is one our listeners need to practice.
Jonathan: I agree, so listeners please remember that we have lots of resources available online at EnglishClass101.com.
Dede: Ok, is that it for this lesson?
Jonathan: Yup, we’re just about out of time. Thanks so much for listening everyone!
Dede: We can’t wait until next time!
Jonathan: Buh-bye!