DIALOGUE

# Holidays # A: So what are you doing during the holidays? Any plans? B: Yes! Actually I’m going on vacation. I’m going to Thailand for 2 weeks with my parents. A: That’s great! Have you visited Thailand before? B: I’ve been there a few times. But it will be the first time for my parents. A: Ooh. How do they feel? I remember taking my parents with me to Mexico. It was a little stressful. Parents are not easy to travel with sometimes. B: My dad is a nervous traveler but my mom is easy going. As long as they have Google translate and Google maps, they will be okay. We aren’t doing anything too crazy – Just relaxing on the beach for a week and then a few days visiting different cities. A: That’s great. My parents aren’t so brave. They get nervous leaving the house. How are the beaches? B: Beautiful. There are a lot more tourists than before but still breathtaking. A: I can imagine. B: The secret is to travel to the smaller towns. Most tourists don’t want to explore. If you drive an hour or two hours outside the big cities, it’s very quiet. A: How about the food? B: Spicy! I’m a little worried my parents won’t be able to eat the food. They both love seafood but they don’t really like chilies. Thai people love chilies on everything. . . So what about you? What’s your plan? A: I think I will take it easy. We spent way too much money on our last vacation. So this time we will have a staycation. We will stay at home and do nothing. B: Those are nice. A: Yeah, probably we’ll go to some new restaurants and watch a few movies. Nothing special. B: Great! Well have a good holiday. A: You too. Good luck!

# New co-worker at the office # A: Hi. Sam. B: Michael. Good to meet you! A: Did you just arrive here? B: Yeah, We arrived last week. A: How do you like it? B: It’s exciting! It’s much busier than the last city we lived in. I was working in Seattle for the last 3 years. A: It really is very busy. I moved here from Tokyo 5 years ago and I still have trouble sometimes. Did you move here with your wife? B: Actually, I’m not married. I moved here with my dog, Charles. We are very close. A: Oh. I see. B: What about you? A: Yes, I am married and I have two children. B: How old are they? A: 6 and 8 years old B: Oh, great. That age is a lot of fun. A: But it is exhausting. B: I understand. My brother has kids the same age. Every time we visit he falls asleep on the sofa. A: Must be nice. We don’t have time to sleep, we have to drink a lot of coffee.

# Going to the movies # A: Hey What’s your plan tonight? B: No plans, I think I will relax at home. Work was busy today. A: I just got home too. Busy day! Do you want to go to the cinema? There’s a great movie playing downtown. B: Hmmm. What time? What movie? A : Maybe at 7 or 8? It is the new Iron Man movie. It looks amazing! B: Oh. Marvel. . . Actually I hate Marvel. I never spend money on Marvel movies. They are too boring. A: If you want, I will buy you a ticket. My treat. B: No thanks, I really don’t like Marvel. A: Okay. I will also buy you popcorn and a drink. B: I’m really not interested in Iron Man. A: Okay. Maybe I’ll take you shopping after the movie? B: Amazing! You are the best boyfriend ever. Pick me up at 7:30.

# Learning to paint # A. Oh. What a beautiful painting. Did you do that? B. Yes, I’ve been learning to paint this past year. I go to classes every Saturday. A. I never would have guessed. It looks like you have been painting for years. B. Thanks. I’m flattered. A. Is it difficult? I always wanted to try it but I didn’t know where to start. B. To be honest, there are a lot of things to learn but part of the fun is just doing it. I mean.. it doesn’t need to be perfect. A. Maybe I’ll try it. B. You should! And.. it’s a great way to deal with stress. A. Actually, I started going to mixed martial arts classes this year. B. Wow. Remind me not to start a fight with you. A. It’s really tough. But I feel great afterwards and I feel much more confident. B. Maybe I’ll try it next year.

# Study abroad # A: So where will you study? I heard you are going abroad next year. B: I'm planning to go to Canada. I applied to a few universities but I’m still waiting for confirmation. I need haven’t been accepted yet. A: Oh that’s great. Are you excited? What will you study? B: Very excited. You remember I told you I wanted to study journalism? A: Yes, of course. B: Well. Some of the graduate programs in Canada are very good… and they offer internships. I can work for a media company and maybe get a job there in the future. A: Well.. I hope it works out. How about the weather? Isn’t it cold. I had a friend that went to Canada and all he talked about was the cold weather. Negative 50 degrees. B: Yes, it’s very cold. But I like snow. It can’t be that bad. A: NEGATIVE 50. Are you crazy! B: It’s very international. If other people can do it, I can do it. A: Hopefully. Well.. it looks beautiful and I heard the food is really good. They have everything there. B: Yeah. We can eat a different type of food every day. Pho on Mondays. Sushi on Tuesdays. Italian on Wednesdays. Just thinking about it is making me hungry. A: Good luck! Let me know when you find out.

# Talking about TV # A: Did you see the last season of Game of Thrones? B: Yep.. I’ve got to say, I’m a little disappointed. I thought it would be better. A: Me too. It felt so rushed. They tried to do too much. But, the special effects were amazing. I mean..that dragon scene was epic. It looked so real. B: Shocking wasn’t it. They burnt everyone alive. A: Well. Now that the season is done I need something new to watch. Any recommendations? B: Did you see Wu-Tang? A: What’s that? Wu- Tang? As in the rap group? B: Yeah. they have a TV series. It’s pretty cool. A: No way. That’s great. Is it any good? B: Not bad. It won’t win any awards but it’s interesting to learn about them. A: It’s a documentary? B: No. It’s a drama. But it’s based on real life. A: Okay. So, what’s been your favourite TV show this year? B: Definitely Mr Robot. A: Oh. Yeah. It’s quite good isn’t it. It really makes you think. B: Yep. But probably we should be exercising more. Less TV more exercise. A: Agreed.

# Plastic surgery # A. So what do you think about plastic surgery? B. What do I think about it? A. Yeah, would you ever get it done? It’s very common these days. B. I never really thought about it. To be honest, I don’t think I would. It seems so unnatural. I can’t understand why people do it. A. Well.. Maybe people don’t like their faces or they think it will get them a better job. B. I guess so… But … why can’t people just accept their own faces. Not everyone looks like a movie star. It’s not a bad thing. A. True. Society is kind of crazy that way. We all think we need to look like models. I blame advertising B. Advertising? Why’s that? A. In the past, people didn’t think so much about their appearance. I mean people didn’t care so much about what other people thought. But now social media is so important and everyone is addicted to their smartphones. B. I heard depression is more common these days. Many people have mental health problems. A. Wow. I didn’t know that. Why? B. I think it is because people always compare themselves to others. A. Maybe if people spent more time doing yoga and less time taking selfies. B. Agreed.!

# Who’s cooking tonight # A: Hello. B: Honey? It’s me . . . A: Where are you? B: At the station. I missed my train so I’m going to be late. A: Oh, that’s too bad. Will you get back in time to pick up the kids? B: I don’t think so. Can you get them? A: No problem. B: Make sure they start their homework. A: Don’t worry. What time do you think you’ll be home? B: Probably in about an hour. How was your day? A: Well, I worked for a few hours at the computer, and then I got sleepy, so I took a nap. B: You took a nap! You’re so lucky you work at home. I can’t take a nap in the office, you know. A: But I also did the laundry and the dishes. You can’t do those things at the office. B: Well, that’s true. Hey, what’s for dinner? A: Chicken. It’ll be ready when you get home. B: I can’t wait. I love your chicken. A: And I love you. See you around 6:30? B: I hope so. See ya.

# Shopping # SALESPERSON: Can I help you? LYNN: Thanks, we’re just looking. SALESPERSON: Well, let me know if there’s anything I can do for you. JIM: What do you think of these jeans? LYNN: They’re really nice. How much are they? JIM: Hmm . . . there’s no price tag. Where’s the salesperson? I’m going to ask her . . . Oh, there she is. Excuse me, how much are these jeans? SALESPERSON: I’ll be with you in a minute …. OK. Let’s see. They were $29, but I think today they’re 30 percent off. Yes, that’s right. They’re about $20. That’s a good price for these jeans. JIM: Can I try them on? SALESPERSON: Sure. The fitting rooms are right over there. Just go on in. JIM: Thanks a lot. JIM: Pssst. Lynn, how do they look? LYNN: Oh, Jim! They’re too big. I’ll get you a smaller size . . . Wait a minute . . . Here, try these. JIM: I think these are better. How do they look? LYNN: They’re perfect. SALESPERSON: Oh, they look very nice on you. JIM: Great. I’ll take them.

# A Question of Money # Brian: Where would you like to go for dinner tonight? Joan: Well, there’s a new French restaurant downtown, or we can go to the seafood place on Lincoln Avenue. What do you think? ‘ Brian: It’s up to you. Whatever you say is fine with me. Joan: You should choose the restaurant if you’re going to foot the bill. Brian: Actually, I thought we could go Dutch this evening. I don’t have much money. Joan: Oh. On second thought, let’s go to Hamburger Heaven. I haven’t been there for a long time. Brian: That’s a great idea. That way we won’t have to dress up.

# New Friends # A: Hey, Lia! It’s good to see you. L: You, too. I haven’t seen you in a few days. How are you? How’s it going? A: Not bad. I’m so busy with the classes I’m taking. How about you? L: I’m okay. I know you’re busy with classes. My job’s really hectic this time of year, too. What’s new with you? A: Nothing much. I’m on my way to the mall. I need some time off! Do you remember Lana? She’s there. Ha! She’s always at the mall! I think a lot of our friends plan to just hang out at the mall tonight. L: Who? Oh yeah. I remember Lana. She’s the one with the scary-looking dog. I don’t want to hang out with that dog! A: Ha! You aren’t afraid of that little tiny dog, are you? Well, I’m sure Rover isn’t at the mall. L: Actually, I’m headed to the mall later, anyway. There’s a huge sale going on. I think they’re open extra late. A: Great! Maybe I’ll see you there. L: Sounds good. We’re both good shoppers! If I get there before you leave, maybe I’ll see you. After all, we aren’t leaving until we see all the sales. And I’m not leaving until I have some cute new shoes!

# First Things First # Toni: That teacher always finds fault with my compositions. I spent a lot of time on this one last week and now he wants me to do it over. Janet: What’s the problem? Toni: Some small mistakes—that’s all. Look at my paper. Janet: These spelling errors do stand out. There shouldn’t be a y in studies, and you forgot the second p in stopped. Toni: I’m not to blame. It’s this crazy language! In my language, the spelling is very regular. Janet: English has a few basic rules, too. You’ll be better off if you learn them. Toni: It might be easier to go back to my country!