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 Lesson
1 - Budget Cuts
In this lesson we meet Anna's co-workers at The Studio:
Anna, Jonathan, Amelia, Kaveh, and Penelope. Rumors of
budget cuts travel through the office. But who is going
to get fired? |
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Lesson Video
Watch the video and then read the video script. |
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Video Script
Anna: Hum. Oh! “Important meeting. Everyone must come.” Well, back to work! And
my boss has called a meeting. I wonder what it's about. Maybe we're all getting
raises! Ooo, there's Jonathan! Maybe he knows.
Professor Bot: Hi! I'm Professor Bot! This video is all about work. People talk
about jobs and things that happen at work. Your assignment is to find as many
work words as you can. Don't worry, I'll help.
Anna: So, Jonathan, what do you think today's meeting is about? The email
sounded important.
Jonathan: Well, I have heard people in the building talking about budget cuts.
Anna: Oh! Budget cuts? Wait, who has been talking about budget cuts?
Jonathan: Mark in Accounting.
Anna: Mark in Accounting? That's one person. That's not “people.”
Jonathan: I know, but Mark knows everything that goes on at The Studio.
Anna: That is true. But wait, look at us. We shouldn't gossip. That's how rumors
start. We'll just go to the meeting and see what happens.
Jonathan: You're right. No more talk about budget cuts.
Amelia: Budget cuts? Oh no!
Amelia: I just heard Anna and Jonathan talking about budget cuts.
Kaveh: That must be what the meeting is about. When there are budget cuts,
people lose their jobs.
Amelia: Not you. You're a good reporter.
Kaveh: And it's not you. You've done a great job as a videographer.
Amelia: I can't go back to being a detective. Criminals scare me!
Kaveh: And I can't go back to being a teacher! High school kids scare me!
Professor Bot: Did you hear any work words? They talked about a lot of jobs. You
can make the name of a job by adding an ending to a verb! Kaveh reports, so,
he's a reporter. Amelia used to detect, so she was a detective. If you teach,
you're a teacher. And a videographer….uh, I think you understand. Back to the
story.
Kaveh: Penelope, have you heard the news? Today's meeting is about budget cuts.
Penelope: That's awful! What should I do?
Kaveh: Update your résumé. I’ve already updated mine. I’ll see you at the
meeting.
Ms. Weaver: Hello everyone! Quiet, please. Quiet, please!
Ms. Weaver: This meeting won’t take long. Then you can all leave.
Ms. Weaver: What is wrong with everyone? You look like I'm going to fire you.
Ha-ha-ha-ha-ha! Seriously, what is wrong with everyone?
Anna: Excuse me, Ms. Weaver?
Ms. Weaver: Yes, Anna.
Anna: Well, everyone has been worrying about, you know … We’ve been worrying
that you are going to fire us!
Ms. Weaver: I’m not going to fire any of you! No! The reason for this meeting is
to tell you what a good job you’ve been doing and give out new assignments.
Budget cuts have been happening. But only one person has lost their job -- Mark
in Accounting? Now, let’s talk about those new assignments.
Professor Bot: Ms. Weaver's team is doing a good job! How did you do? Did you
find all of the work words? Here's a list you can check. |
boss
meeting
raises
email
budget cuts |
Accounting
gossip
rumors
lose
reporter
résumé |
videographer
detective
teacher
update
fire
assignment |
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Listening
Now practice listening to only the audio portion of the conversation. |
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New Words |
- accounting -
n. the skill, system, or job of keeping the
financial records of a business or person
- assignment -
n. a job or duty that is given to someone
- boss -
n. the person whose job is to tell other
workers what to do
- budget -
n. an amount of money available for spending
that is based on a plan for how it will be spent
- calm -
adj. not angry, upset, excited, etc.
- criminal -
n. a person who has committed a crime or who
has been proved to be guilty of a crime by a court
- detective -
n. a police officer whose job is to find
information about crimes that have occurred and to catch criminals
- email -
n. a system for sending messages from one
computer to another computer
- fire -
v. to dismiss (someone) from a job
- go on -
phrasal verb. happen
- gossip -
v. to talk about the personal lives of other
people
- lose -
v. to fail to keep or hold
- raise -
n. an increase in the amount of your pay
- résumé -
n. a short document describing your education,
work history, etc., that you give an employer when you are applying for a
job
- rumor -
n. information or a story that is passed from
person to person but has not been proven to be true
- scare -
v. to cause (someone) to become afraid
- update -
v. to change (something) by including the most
recent information
- used to -
v. used to say that something existed or
repeatedly happened in the past but does not exist or happen now
- videographer -
n. a person who records images or events using
a video camera
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Source: Voice of America |
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Additional
Conversation Lessons |
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English conversation lessons. 52
lessons covering pronunciation, speaking,
writing, and grammar topics....these
lessons are for beginning students. |
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This is a collection of 30 situational conversations
which focus on a wide variety of communicative and
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lessons are for beginning students. |
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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. |
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This is a collection of 30
situational conversations. Each conversation is
accompanied by language notes....these lessons are for
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Conversation Information |
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(Beginner - Listening,
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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. |
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(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
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(Beginner - Listening)
An audio lesson to
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Click here to visit the lesson page with the written script for this
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More Conversation Information |
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(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. |
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Search Fun Easy English |
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