Real English Conversations
ENGLAND AND JAPAN
- Escucha la conversación. Elige "modo normal" o "un poco más lento". Es recomendable que escuches primero sin seguir el script.
- Pon atención al vocabulario nuevo y enfocate en la pronunciacíon.
- Al final podrás elegir un personaje y silenciar su parte de la conversación para que tomes su lugar en una conversación simulada. (Para ello haz click sobre los simbolos micrófono que aparecen en su imagen, luego presiona "modo continuo" para empezar la conversación)
Description:
Clare is from England but works in Japan. She compares the two countries.
Country: Clare from England and Todd from the U.S.
Time: 1:40
Level: Intermediate
Normal speed
A bit slower
Audio Script
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TODD: Uh, Clare, you're from England. |
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CLARE: That's right.
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TODD: Umm, how would you compare England and Japan? |
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| CLARE: Umm, well, I think, let's take price-wise, they're actually quite similar. Well, not, maybe not England as a whole but, umm, say Japan and London is very similar, I found, uh, in supermarkets, and in housing, and things like that. Umm, in other respects, the people are certainly different. I mean, British people are renowned to be very polite as Japanese people are too, umm, and Japanese people are very helpful as well, probably more so than British people, I would say. Umm, mm, what else? |
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TODD: What about the weather? |
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CLARE: The weather? Uh, well, it's been raining a lot in Japan recently, so we could say that it's quite similar, although actually, when I was e-mailing my parents, they've been going on about how there hasn't been much rain the past couple of months and how they think there is going to be a drought. That typical British stereotype of the weather is then not true at the minute and it's probably wetter in Japan, but uh, yeah, I think climate-wise it's quite similar in terms of temperature. It's definitely much more humid here than at home. |
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Vocabulary Notes
| Price-wise / Climate-wise |
“Price-wise, England and Japan are similar”
When you compare two things or places 'price-wise' you are comparing them in terms of the cost of things and life. We can use the word '-wise' after a noun to show that we are referring to that particular characteristic. Notice the following:
- It's better to go that way distance-wise.
- Weather-wise I preferred living on the beach.
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Renowned (to be...) |
“British people are renowned to be very polite”
If a group of people or a place is 'renowned' to be or for something in particular this aspect is very well known. We can replace this phrase with 'considered to be' or 'known to be.' Notice the following:
- That road is renowned to be very dangerous.
- Thailand is renowned to have beautiful beaches.
| Go on about |
“My parents were going on about how they think there's going to be a drought”
When someone 'goes on about' something they continuing talking about the topic. Notice the following:
- He can go on about plants for hours.
- She just went on and on about her new boyfriend.
| Stereotype / at the minute |
“The British stereotype of the weather is not true at the minute”
A 'stereotype' is a common idea about a place or a group of people. When we use the phrase 'at the minute' we are showing that we are referring to the conditions or situation right now. Notice the following:
- The stereotype about Americans being loud is generally true.
- What are you doing at the minute?
| Humid |
“It's definitely much more humid here than at home”
A place is 'humid' if there is a lot of moisture in the air, and is usually expressed when the weather is also hot. This happens frequently when a place experiences a lot of rain. Notice the following:
- The jungle is more humid than the coast..
- It is so humid today that I can't stop sweating.
Now, it's your turn!
"Click on "Start Step by Step" for listening each sentence one by one. Click on "Start Continuos mode" to listen the whole dialog. If you want to listen a sentence click on it. If you see a micro over a character picture, you have to get its role and read its text on its turn."
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