Classroom Pronunciation Reductions Grammar Conversation Reading Listening Vocabulary Activities Videos
Idioms Slang Acronyms Phonics Portmanteau Words Handwriting Alphabet Surveys Tests
Holidays Movies Everyday Environment Learning News Places Flashcards Study Literacy
World America History Drive Education Teaching Dictionary Resources About Contact
 
Conversation Lesson 42
 
Lesson 42 - I Was Minding My Own Business

In this lesson Anna sees a crime and tries to help find the robbers. She hurts her arm. The news reporter wants to know, "How did she hurt herself?"
Quick Links
Conversation
Beginner
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13
14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26
27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39
40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52
Lesson Video

Watch the video and then do the activities on this page.
Video Script

Guy: Hello. I'm Guy Newsman with News Channel XYZ. I’m here in Washington, D.C. at the scene of a crime.
Guy: We are talking with this woman.
Guy: She saw the crime during her lunch break. It looks like she hurt herself while she was trying to stop the crime.
Guy: Tell us your name.
Anna: Hi, Guy. I'm Anna.
Guy: Anna, what did you see and what happened to your arm?
Anna: Guy, I was minding my own business. See, I work over there.
Guy: Um-hum
Anna: I left work to get some lunch. Then suddenly, I heard a woman yelling. She was yelling like this ... “Help! Help!”
Guy: Um-hum
Anna: Two robbers were grabbing her bag like this. She was hitting them with her umbrella.
Guy: Is that when you hurt your arm?
Anna: No. At that time, I was not fighting the robbers.
Guy: Um-hum.
Anna: See. I was too far away and I didn't have my own umbrella.
Guy: So, what happened next?
Anna: They grabbed her bag and ran away! So, I grabbed her umbrella and ran after the robbers.
Guy: Then that is the time that you hurt your arm?
Anna: No. I was yelling, “Stop, robbers! Stop!” She was yelling, “Hey, come back with my umbrella!”
Guy: Were you afraid?
Anna: I had no time to be afraid, Guy. Well, I had time while I was resting on a bench. I had a lot of time.
Guy: Then what happened?
Anna: The robbers got on a bus. So, I ran after the bus.
A VO: While I was running, I tripped and fell.
Guy: And that is the time that you hurt your arm?
Anna: No. While I was lying on the ground, someone stepped on my arm!
Guy: Ouch. That’s too bad.
Anna: Yeah. And they didn’t apologize. Well, then the robbers got themselves kicked off the bus.
Guy: Why?
Anna: They didn’t pay. You've got to pay when you get on a bus. The police came and took them away.
Guy: And that’s when you hurt your arm!
Anna: No.
Guy: Then, when did you hurt yourself?
Anna: Well, Guy, by this time, I was feeling very hungry. So, I went to my office to get a snack.
C: Anna, I'm calling for help right now.
C: (on the phone) Hello? Yes, please come right away. My co-worker is stuck in a vending machine.
Guy: You hurt your arm in a vending machine buying a bag of chips?
Anna: I was really hungry and the bag was stuck. I had to -
Guy: That’s all from News Channel XYZ. This is Guy Newsman saying goodbye.
Guy: Okay, we have to find ourselves another story, guys.
Anna: Until next time! Hi Mom!
Listening

Now practice listening to only the audio portion of the conversation.
Speaking

In this video, learn how to say the new words. Then learn how to use reflexive pronouns like herself, ourselves, and yourself.
Pronunciation

Use this video to understand how English speakers pronounce the words "did you" quickly and learn to say them as /didjə/.
New Words
  • arm - n. either one of the two long body parts that join the top of your body at the shoulder and that end at the hand or wrist
  • chips - n. thin, hard, and usually salty pieces of food
  • crime - n. an illegal act for which someone can be punished by the government
  • fall (past tense: fell) - v. to come or go down suddenly from a standing position
  • grab - v. (past participle: grabbing) to quickly take and hold (someone or something) with your hand or arms
  • ground - n. the soil that is on or under the surface of the earth
  • kick off - phrasal verb. (past tense: kicked off) force (someone) to leave
  • lie - v. (gerund: lying) to be in a flat position on a surface
  • minding my own business - idiom. doing what you normally do and not bothering anyone
  • robber - n. a criminal who steals money or property or a thief who robs people
  • snack - n. a small amount of food eaten between meals
  • step - v. to put your foot down - usually + in or on
  • stuck - adj. difficult or impossible to move from a position
  • trip - v. (past tense: tripped) to fall or nearly by accidentally hitting your foot on something as you are walking or running
  • umbrella - n. a device that is used for protection from the rain and sun
  • vending machine - n. a machine that you put money into in order to buy food or drinks
Activity

In this lesson, Anna hurt herself in the vending machine. Did you ever hurt yourself by accident? What were you doing when you hurt yourself? Write about it in the Facebook Comments section below. Then practice writing and using the past continuous tense and reflexive pronouns. Click lesson activity to get the printable PDF version. The page opens to a new window.
Source: Voice of America
 
Additional Conversation Lessons
Conversation

English conversation lessons. 30 lessons focusing mostly on communication and grammar topics....these lessons are for intermediate students.
Conversation

This is a collection of 30 situational conversations which focus on a wide variety of communicative and natural encounters in English....these lessons are for beginning students.
Conversation

This is a collection of 36 situational conversations which focus on spoken American English in a relatively natural way....these lessons are for intermediate students.
Conversation

This is a collection of 30 situational conversations. Each conversation is accompanied by language notes....these lessons are for advanced students.
 
Conversation Information
Are You How You Talk?
(Beginner - Listening, reading)

A video lesson to help with your understanding of American dialects.
The English is spoken at 75% of normal speed.
Click here to visit the lesson page.
Are You How You Talk?
(Beginner - Listening)

An audio lesson to help with your understanding of American dialects. The English is spoken at 75% of normal speed. Click here to visit the lesson page with the written script for this audio program.
Improve Your Pronunciation by Training Your Ears
(Beginner - Listening)

An audio lesson to help with your pronunciation and English language reductions. The English is spoken at 75% of normal speed. Great English pronunciation tips. Click here to visit the lesson page with the written script for this audio program.
 
More Conversation Information
Disagreements in Everyday Conversation - Part 1
(Beginner - Listening)

An audio lesson to help with your understanding of American conversation. The English is spoken at 75% of normal speed. Click here to visit the lesson page with the written script for this audio program.
Disagreements in Everyday Conversation - Part 2
(Beginner - Listening)

An audio lesson to help with your understanding of American conversation. The English is spoken at 75% of normal speed. Click here to visit the lesson page with the written script for this audio program.
Giving and Receiving Compliments
(Beginner - Listening)

An audio lesson to help with your understanding of American conversation. The English is spoken at 75% of normal speed. Click here to visit the lesson page with the written script for this audio program.
How to Make a Complaint in English
(Beginner - Listening)

An audio lesson to help with your understanding of American conversation. The English is spoken at 75% of normal speed. Click here to visit the lesson page with the written script for this audio program.
 
Search Fun Easy English
 
 
 
 
About    Contact    Copyright    Resources    Site Map