Real English Conversations

BIG APPLE BABY

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Description:

Kevin talks about his earliest memories in New York (the big apple) when he was still a baby.

Country: Kevin and Todd from the U.S.

Time: 2:00

Level: Intermediate

Normal speed

A bit slower

Audio Script

	TODD: OK. Hello!
	KEVIN: Hi! How you doing?
	TODD: I'm doing pretty good.
	KEVIN: Good.
	TODD: What's your name?
	KEVIN: My name is Kevin.
	TODD: Kevin. And where are you from?
	KEVIN: I'm from Phoenix, Arizona.
	TODD: OK. Nice.
	KEVIN: In the United States.
	TODD: Wow, were you born in Phoenix?
	KEVIN: Uh, actually, no. I was actually born in New York, because my parents happened to be living in New York at that time . My father was a Major League Baseball player, and the year I was born, 1971, he was playing with the Mets in New York City, and my birthday is in May, May 25th, to be precise, and so my mother happened to be with my father in New York cause it was baseball season, so I was actually born in New York, but I grew up in Phoenix, so Phoenix is what I consider to be my home town.
	TODD: Wow! That's Amazing! Do you remember anything about New York?
	KEVIN: Yes, actually, I do have a few memories because we spent probably, uh, from the time I was born, obviously, until I was about two and a half or three years, we spent summers, or the baseball season in, in New York, and we rented a condominium on the second floor, and I remember, it was right across the street from La Guardia Airport, and so of course, when I was a little kid, one, one and two years old, I used to love sitting by the kitchen windows, and I even remember it was a bay window, the kind where you can roll the window open, and I used to roll the window open, and just watch the airplanes take off and land all day.
	TODD: Wow!
	KEVIN: And another memory I have is the people, the couple that lived below us was an elderly couple and they acted pretty much like our grandparents, so I actually called them Grandma and Grandpa, and, uh, Grandma Stevenson used to give me a bath in the, in her, in her kitchen sink, cause I was so small. That she would actually give me a bath in her kitchen sink, and I remember that as well.
	TODD: Wow, those are good memories.

Vocabulary Notes

Doing pretty good

"[How are you doing?] I'm doing pretty good".

The phrase 'doing pretty good' is a common answer to questions about how we feel. This answer is actually incorrect grammar, but is used in everyday speech. Notice the following:

She's doing pretty good for just having surgery.
He's doing pretty good in school now.

Happened to be

“My parents happened to be living in New York at that time”.

We use the phrase 'happened to be' for things that happened by chance or coincidence or things that are suprising. Notice the following:

I happened to be sitting at a coffee shop when the accident happened.
She happened to see Britney Spears crossing the street.

To be precise

“My birthday is in May, May 25th to be precise”.

We use the phrase 'to be precise' when we want to give exact information about something. Notice the following:

It must be at least 90 degrees. The thermometer says 92 to be precise.
He's in his 50's, fifty-four to be precise.

Sit by

“I used to love sitting by the kitchen windows”.

If you 'sit by' something you sit near to it. Notice the following:

She prefers to sit next to the door in class.
It's nice to sit next to the fire in the winter.

Roll (the window) open / take off and land

“I used to roll the window open and just watch the airplanes take off and land”.

To 'roll a window open' is to use a hand crank to open it. When a plane 'takes off' it leaves the ground and when it 'lands' it comes back to the ground. Notice the following:

You have to roll the car window open because it's not electric.
What time did the plane land?

"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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