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 Lesson
11 - The Big Snow
In this lesson a big snow is coming. Anna and Pete work
all weekend to report on it. Have they both prepared for
the blizzard? Let's find out! |
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Lesson Video
Watch the video and then read the video script. |
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Video Script
Kelly: Hi, Anna. Why do you have all this weather stuff?
Anna: I love weather.
Kelly: Me too! Weather is so important.
Anna: It is. It affects people’s lives!
Kelly: Have you ever reported on a big weather event?
Anna: I have. I’ve reported on a blizzard.
Kelly: Do mean the one last weekend?
Anna: Yes! I had been waiting for that blizzard for years. When it came, I was
ready.
Prof. Bot: Welcome to our most perfect lesson! Why is it perfect? Today we are
reviewing the present perfect and past perfect verb tenses. These show that an
action is completed.
Kelly uses the present perfect when she says,
Kelly: Have you ever reported on a big weather event?
Anna uses the past perfect when she says,
Anna: I had been waiting for that blizzard for years.
Listen for "have" or "had" and the past participle to find more sentences with
the perfect tense. I'll color those words to help you.
Anna: I have wanted to report on a big weather event my whole life.
Kelly: Who hasn’t? Did you report all weekend ... by yourself?
Anna: No, no. I volunteered Pete to help me.
Pete: Why am I here on a Saturday? Why are you carrying things? Why? Why?
Anna: Pete, these are my supplies – food, a blanket; warm clothing. Where are
your supplies?
Anna: Pete, Pete, Pete. This could be the “blizzard of the century.”
Pete: It’ll be fine.
Kelly: How else had you prepared?
Anna: Well, I had just bought the latest weather forecasting software. So, I
brought it!
Kelly: Do you mean The Weather Genie Pro?
Anna: You know it. Pete thought it was pretty great too.
Pete: Do you have any games on that thing?
Anna: Yes! I have the best weather survival game. Boom!
Pete: Sounds fun.
Anna: It is. But right now, Pete, this computer is a work tool. It will give us
the temperature, wind speed, wind direction and amount of snowfall … in real
time! Boom, boom!
Pete: I can’t wait.
Anna: Pete, we need a name for this blizzard.
Pete: No, we don’t.
Anna: All the great storms have names.
Pete: No, they don’t.
Anna: I know -- “The Big Snow!”
Pete: I am not saying “The Big Snow.”
Pete: Welcome to “The Big Snow.”
Kelly: The Big Snow broke all kinds of records, didn’t it?
Anna: Yes it did. And every time a record was broken, we celebrated!
Anna: So far, in Washington, D.C. 29 inches of snow has fallen. That, my dear
listeners, is a record! (Honks horn)
Anna: We just broke the wind speed record! (Honks horn)
Anna: Snow has been falling for 30 hours straight! That’s another record! (Honks
horn. Pete comes into room and breaks the horn.)
Kelly: By Saturday night, stores and restaurants had closed. Did you bring
enough food?
Anna: I thought I had brought enough food. But I ran out.
Anna: Hey, Pete, where is my bag of popcorn?
Pete: Maybe you ate it already.
Anna: No, I didn’t.
Pete: I haven't seen it. (Pete has popcorn in his beard. Anna tries to hit him.)
Anna: We had reported together for 48 hours straight!
Kelly: Wow. That must have been a great team-building exercise for you and Pete.
Anna: Yeah. You - you could say that.
Prof. Bot: I hope you found all the sentences with perfect tenses. Learn more on
our website! |
Listening
Now practice listening to only the audio portion of the conversation. |
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New Words |
- affect -
v. to act on (someone or something) and cause a
change
- amount -
n. a quantity of something
- blizzard -
n. a severe snowstorm that goes on for a long
time
- century -
n. a period of 100 years
- event -
n. something (especially something important or
notable) that happens
- forecast -
v. to predict (something, such as weather)
after looking at the information that is available
- record -
n. a performance or achievement that is the
best of its kind or at an extreme when measuring data
- software -
n. the programs that run on a computer and
perform certain functions
- straight -
adv. without interruption
- survival -
n. the state or fact of continuing to live or
exist especially in spite of difficult conditions
- volunteer -
v. to say that someone will do something
without asking if he or she wants to do it
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Source: Voice of America |
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Additional
Conversation Lessons |
 Conversation
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
natural encounters in English....these
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
advanced students. |
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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. |
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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. |
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Search Fun Easy English |
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