Beginner Dialogues - In a Shop

1. Can I help you?
2. Yes, I'm looking for a sweater.

1. What size are you?
2. I'm an extra large.

1. How about this one?
2. Yes, that's nice. Can I try it on?

1. Certainly, there's the changing rooms over there.
2. Thank you.

1. How does it fit?
2. It's too large. Do you have a large?

1. Yes, here you are.
2. Thank you. I'll have it, please.

1. OK, how would you like to pay?
2. Do you take credit cards?

1. Yes, we do. Visa, Master Card and American Express.
2. OK, here's my Visa.

1. Thank you. Have a nice day!
2. Thank you, goodbye.

Key Vocabulary Can I help you?
Can I try it (them) on?
size - extra small, small, medium, large, extra large
How does it fit?
changing rooms
How would you like to pay?
credit cards

Telecommunications

Vocabulary

A. = Adjective   ADV. = Adverb   IDM. = Idiom   N. = Noun   V. = Verb
a carrier	N. a company which provides telephone service
competition	N. when several companies in an industry sell the same product or service resulting in lower prices and better customer support
deregulation	N. the act of taking a government-controlled industry and opening it up to private companies for the purpose of introducing competition
a fee	N. a charge for a professional service
to hook up	V. to make the electrical connections required for a machine or information service
to install	V. 1) to put in or add a piece of equipment or hardware 2) to add (new software or hardware) to a computer
a monopoly	N. when one company (or the government) has control over an industry and does not allow competition
to place a call	V. to make a telephone call
the suburbs	N. an area outside a city where people live rather than work
telecommunications	N. the industry or technology of sending and receiving messages by telephone (or other electronic devices)

Getting an Apartment

Vocabulary

A. = Adjective   ADV. = Adverb   IDM. = Idiom   N. = Noun   V. = Verb
an application	N. a written request for an apartment, a job or entrance into a school or an organization
a credit report	N. a complete history of a person's paying habits In the United States, detailed credit histories are kept on all Americans describing how they pay their credit card bills, rent payments, electricity bills, car payments, telephone bills, etc. People are given grades called "credit ratings" for how well they pay off their debt. When a person moves into an apartment, landlords often request credit reports to find out if a person regularly pays on time.
to deposit	V. to put money in a bank
a deposit	N. 1) money which is put in a bank 2) money which is given to ensure that something will be returned or remain in good condition For example, if you want to rent a bicycle, you might have to leave a deposit to ensure that you bring the bike back.
to fill out	V. to complete (a form) by writing in the information
furnished	A. having furniture used with apartments or rental properties
a landlord	N. the man who runs an apartment building or property
a landlady	N. the woman who runs an apartment building or property
non-refundable	A. cannot be returned (money)
a reference	N. 1) a person who will provide information about your character or ability 2) a written letter which will provide information about your character or ability When looking for an apartment in the United States, it is common to provide a landlord with references who will say that you are a good person who will not cause problems.
to sublet	V. to rent your apartment temporarily to someone else
a tenant	N. a person who is renting a room or apartment

Grocery Store Choices

Vocabulary

A. = Adjective   ADV. = Adverb   IDM. = Idiom   N. = Noun   V. = Verb
to bill	V. to send a  request for payment
a bill	N. a request for payment
to come to	V. to equal (an amount of money), to add up to, to total
to deduct	V. to take away, subtract (an amount of money)
to discount	V. to reduce or lower the cost of a product
a discount	N. a reduction in the cost of a product
discount	A. costing less money
to enter	V. 1) to put in information electronically 2) to write in information
to issue	V. to officially give out or print
to pack	V. 1) to put things into a grocery bag 2) to put things into a box to move 3) to put things into a suitcase to take with you
pressed for time	IDM. in a hurry
to swipe	V. to put a card through a computerized machine quickly so it can scan the information We usually use this word with ATM cards, credit cards, debit cards, identification cards, etc.
to verify	V. to make sure that something is true

Entertaining Films

Vocabulary

A. = Adjective   ADV. = Adverb   IDM. = Idiom   N. = Noun   V. = Verb
alternative	A. something which is done in a different way, not done in the normal way In the U.S., alternative films are usually artistic films or foreign language films.
artsy	A. extremely artistic, overly artistic, too artistic This often suggests that someone tried too hard to make something artistic.
entertaining	A. something which entertains; amusing and interesting
hilarious	A. something which is very funny; something which makes you laugh
intense	A. 1) containing strong emotions or feelings 2) extreme An intense film is one which emotionally drains you or makes you tired. Intense is not necessarily negative, it just means that a movie is not light or relaxing.
light	A. relaxing, amusing, not too intense This is the opposite of "intense."
mainstream	A. something which is usual, or commonly done Mainstream films are those which are usually high-budget, popular, and made for entertainment. "Mainstream" is the opposite of "alternative."
superficial	A. 1) not deep or profound; lacking real content 2) only on the surface
suspenseful	A. something which makes you keep guessing or makes you question how something will end
thought-provoking	A. something which makes you think used to describe many different things, such as movies, books, conversations, ideas, issues, etc.

Turn off the TV

Vocabulary

A. = Adjective   ADV. = Adverb   IDM. = Idiom   N. = Noun   V. = Verb
a commercial	N. an advertisement on TV
a couch potato	N. a lazy person who sits around all day watching TV
a documentary	N. an educational TV program or movie usually describing nature or history
a drama	N. a serious TV program, movie or play that involves all the emotions
to kick back	V. to sit in a big comfortable chair or lie on a couch and relax
nope	this is an informal way of saying "no"
prime-time	A. between 8:00 PM and 11:00 PM every night This expression is used when referring to the television schedule.
prime time	N. the time between 8:00 PM and 11:00 PM every night  The most popular shows are shown during prime time.
a sitcom	N. a half-hour comedy show
trials and tribulations	N. problems and difficulties of life
trivia	N. unimportant or useless information

Returns and Refunds

Vocabulary

A. = Adjective   ADV. = Adverb   IDM. = Idiom   N. = Noun   V. = Verb
to carry	V. to offer a particular item for sale; to have an item in the store
a defect	N. a technical problem, a flaw, a mistake in construction
to exchange	V. to change one item for another
irritating	A. annoying, upsetting, bothersome
a model	N. a particular type of a mechanical product
a policy	N. a plan or course of action in business or government which is regularly followed
to refund	V. to return money which a person paid for a product or service
to ship	V. to send something large through the mail
store credit	N. a credit given to a customer which can be used to buy a new product When customers return a product to a store, sometimes instead of cash, they are given a store credit which allows them to buy another product of equal or lesser value.
a warranty	N. This is a guarantee given by a company which ensures that the product they sell is well made. If it breaks too soon, they agree to repair it or replace it free of charge.

Changing Jobs

Vocabulary

A. = Adjective   ADV. = Adverb   IDM. = Idiom   N. = Noun   V. = Verb
to be bought out	V. to be purchased, taken over by another company
to be laid off	V. to lose your job because the company wants to reduce the number of employees
competitive	A. 1) liking competition, always competing with other people used to describe personalities 2) having intense competition used to describe markets, industries or businesses
dedicated	A. 1) very loyal 2) working hard for a person, company or idea
to downsize	V. to reduce the number of employees in a company in order to lower costs
to get rid of	V. to throw away, remove, eliminate something or someone
outdated	A. too old, antiquated
to retrain	V. to reeducate someone for a job, train again
to streamline	V. 1) to form into a smooth shape which can easily move through air or water 2) to improve the performance of something 3) to simplify a process
to update	V. to make more modern
an update	N. the latest information or news

Ordering in a Restaurant

Vocabulary

A. = Adjective   ADV. = Adverb   IDM. = Idiom   N. = Noun   V. = Verb
an appetizer	N. a small dish at the beginning of a meal, a starter
a chef	N. a skilled cook
chives	N. a small onion-like herb commonly added to potatoes
chowder	N. a kind of soup usually containing fish and vegetables
to come with	V. to include (in a meal)
dressing	N. a sauce added to salads
an entree	N. a main dish
a menu	N. a list of dishes available in a restaurant
salmon	N. a large fish with silvery skin and pinkish meat
rare	A. very pink adjective used to describe a way of cooking meat
medium-rare	A. slightly pink adjective used to describe a way of cooking meat
medium	A. normally cooked adjective used to describe a way of cooking meat
well-done	A. fully cooked adjective used to describe a way of cooking meat

Vocabulary Resources

Visual Thesaurus

An interactive dictionary and thesaurus that leads you to discover the connections between vocabulary words in a visually captivating display. Word maps blossom with meaning, encouraging exploration instead of rote memorization to expand vocabulary.

Vocabulary University

Looking for the previous version of this website? Visit www.vocabularyuniversity.com.

Cambridge Dictionaries Online

Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary and other excellent learner dictionaries are available online, free of charge.

Online Etymological Dictionary

A free and open resource for reliable information on word roots.

Vintage Vocabulary

A site highlighting American words and expressions with intriguing origins.

UsingEnglish

Designed for ESL learners, UsingEnglish contains an extensive list of English idioms.

Academic Word List (AWL)

Developed by linguistics professor Averil Coxhead, AWL contains frequently occurring English vocabulary words from a broad range of academic texts.

Tools and Tips for Teachers:

ReadWriteThink

A collaboration between NCTE and IRA, ReadWriteThink has a searchable lesson plan archive that features many lessons with a focus on vocabulary learning.

Education Oasis

Graphic organizers for teachers that can help students learn new vocabulary words and concepts.

Literacy Matters

A project from the Education Development Center with valuable resources for enriching vocabulary instruction as a means to improve content literacy.

Cuesta College Guide to Vocabulary

An overview of helpful vocabulary strategies that include interpreting context clues, recognizing word roots, and analyzing common relationships between words.

MEANING OF A FRIENDSHIP

In maintaining a good relationship with a friend is to keep the feelings of our friends, not closed, open with each other, and understand the nature and character of each.
Just as Anita friends with Abel friendship they've established long as they enter middle school atasn (sma) but the friendship they had destroyed only because of a misunderstanding between them.
Tebo is he a guy who liked Abel, abel anita told that he likes Tebo. Anita continues to encourage abel to keep fighting to get Tebo.
Until one when Tebo abel to express feelings of affection for, and abel was told about what to anita Tebo said he was told "yes you've received it, I'm sure he's a good guy for you."The next day straight to Tebo abel to respond and answer pengutaran Tebo, "yaa I also love you and want to be your girlfriend Tebo." They both had now become lovers.
Day after day they are getting closer and closer between Tebo relationship with abel. But their relationship was so chaotic because anita actually like Tebo has been a long time and have been close to abel Tebo just do not know it at all. Even behind abel anita same sms and phone Tebo. Abel was shocked and surprised, why be like this? Abel was puzzled what to do to them grieve. Finally they interrogated in order to avoid misunderstanding. Anita had apologized and would not interfere with the relationship between abel with Tebo. Tebo was not related at all to anita for the relationship between abel and Tebo he goes smoothly.
Abel has believed anita by Tebo will not hurt her anymore. But they both put through the same mistake, until finally abel do not forgive and keep anita anita. Abel was blinded by love, thoughts and his eyes just fixed on Tebo. And that one was Tebo, abel meyesal have any thought on anita berburuk.
Here we can take the conclusion, that do not just hear and see the error of one party only, but with the other party so as not to regret later.

fact story

A fact of life is a most beautiful gift from God Almighty, we as humans have to be grateful for what has been given from Him to us.Without having to complain about what we have now. Sometimes people do not ever be grateful for what he got. Always ask for more and more and also likes to waste what he had.
As an example: Billy he is a spoiled child who wants whatever he wanted always to be obeyed by his parents. In fact all the facilities he had but he was never grateful and always complain and complain. Unlike the case with Rama he was a child who is independent and full of patience, he was born from poor families. Up to school, he had to work to earn money to afford school finance. That's a big embroidery make it run my life.
Heeempphh ... here we can take the conclusion that we as humans should be thankful for what we have now and do not complain because God will love his servants who wait.

High School Musical 3: Senior Year

Sunny, wholesome, exuberant third installment of Disney's teen musical franchise is strictly for the kids. It's overdone in a comforting old Hollywood-meets-Bollywood way designed for the teen-and-younger demographic. Elders will have to look elsewhere for their own mega-dose of optimism.

Back in the ’40s, the girls squealed for Sinatra. In the ’50s, it was Elvis and ’60s squealers went big-time for The Beatles. Today, all it takes is for the theatre lights to go dim as High School Musical 3: Senior Year gets ready to unroll and waves of shrieks break the silence. The star, this era, provoking such commotion is Zac Efron.

HSM3 hews to its unassailable formula, focusing on the talented, appealing basketball champs the Wildcats, many of whom are also members of Albuquerque’s attractive East High School Drama Club, and their student leaders—the romantic duo of Troy Bolton (Efron) and Gabriella Montez (Vanessa Hudgens). Under the guidance of lively drama teacher Ms. Darbus (“Dee” to the students), the kids—now seniors—gather to create their final show, the song-and-dance “Senior Year.”

Obstacles, reversals, high stakes, strong narrative and engaging dialogue play hooky in the film. HSM3 is all about looking pretty or flashy. Costumes and sets burst with loud colors and the many musical numbers—the boisterous R&B songs and duet ballads especially—are catchy. The Broadway-like showstopper “I Want It All” and the rousing “The Boys Are Back,” which Troy and pal Chad (Corbin Bleu) spearhead in an auto-parts yard, are standouts and display some electric choreography.

Appropriately, the drama students do face a little drama. There are the challenges of imminent graduation and where to go to school. And an offer from Juilliard generates some internecine competition. Juilliard reps will attend the show to award one Wildcat a full scholarship (but don’t jump to conclusions).

The heart of HSM3 is the Troy/Gabriella romance, which hits choppy waters as Troy plans to attend the local University of Arizona with Chad (both have basketball scholarships) and Gabriella looks to Stanford. More lightweight tension comes by way of Gabriella’s early departure from East High as a result of Stanford’s early-orientation award. Upping the drama an iota is Sharpay Evans’ (Ashley Tisdale) scheming to take her place next to Troy in the show.

The hilariously over-designed and Machiavellian Sharpay enlists twin brother Ryan (Lucas Grabeel), the club’s choregrapher and surely the school’s all-time best dresser, to get an early look at the lyrics that brainiac composer Kelsi Nielsen (Olesya Rulin) is writing for the show. Sharpay also locks horns in a backstage skirmish with new East High transfer Tiara (Jemma McKenzie-Brown), whose lame British accent won’t bother the kids.

And while Chad and Yale-bound girlfriend Taylor McKessie (Monique Coleman) have a smooth passage, there’s a dust-up between longtime pals Chad and Troy when the latter’s plans take an unexpected turn.

Of course, the “Senior Year” show goes on, problems are solved, relationships grow stronger, the kids triumph, and the girls in front of the screen go home happy with this four-squeal movie. With zero crossover potential, HSM3 is about as finely and assuredly targeted as a film can get, which is happy news for the elders who happen to be parents.

harry potter

An imminent part of the cultural landscape, therefore worthy of criticism despite the fact that it would make a gagillion dollars with or without good reviews, the Harry Potter saga continues in film form this week with the highly anticipated Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince. Unquestionably one of the best books in the series, HBP deepens the Potter mythology with a narrative that is overwhelming yet surprisingly scant. Closely following the details, if not the breadth, of the book, major events surrounding HBP happen more offscreen than on, which makes the big onscreen events all the more major. This led to major problems for director David Yates, who also sits in the reins for HBP and the upcoming finale(s) Deathly Hallows, in Order of the Phoenix where a large narrative full of small details became a messy episodic narrative which was slapdash and equally clunky.




Many of the same issues bely HBP in direction and execution where Yates and Co. appear unwilling to settle on a story, tone, or visual style for more than five minutes at a time – a move that magnifies silly missteps into larger, self-defeating issues. Though Yates tries to keep the comedy fervent, it undercuts the effect of the dramatic scenes with the majority of the biggest moments falling flat. Without the artistic ability to meld the worlds of expanding love and impending doom together, or at least making the sections seem like they belong to the same movie, HBP ends up being similarly uneven to Order and equally frustrating in that the good parts are so good but are totally overwhelmed by the weaknesses of clarity in the direction.


The screenplay by Steven Kloves does little to give any impetus to much of anything involving the rise of the Death Eaters. Although they are apparently running all around town, a couple random reminders are all that are given as the driving force of rising evil in the movie. Nothing much rises though, its just sort of there, even as Draco Malfoy awkwardly lurks around the castle waiting for his shining moment. In one of the more insanely ridiculous moments of the series since the entirety of Chamber of Secrets, a sweeping shot out of the castle windows shows Harry comforting Hermione, slides across to find Ron snogging Lavender, and then, at the very top of the tallest castle, Draco Malfoy, perched like a Gargoyle awaiting his chance to slide some roofies to his totally Goth girlfriend before sexually asphyxiating himself to sleep. This is a prime example of inserting parts of the narrative where they do not belong and the effective mishandling of both sides that are instrumental to HBP.

The oddest thing is that, random as they are, many of the funny love scenes work – Jessie Cave plays the aloofly head-over-heels in love Lavender Brown to near perfection – and many of the dramatic sequences are solid, but their artistic craftsmanship is so disparate, as seen in the hysterically forced moment mentioned above, that they fail to ever come together with smooth transitions to make HBP feel like one narrative. Instead, HBP often feels confused with which way it wants to head. There is so much time spend on goofing around with the love stories and playing Quidditch – a sport that has suddenly become a enormously literal dick swinging contest – HBP’s major moments feel light, undermotivated, and insignificant. By the time the ball gets rolling, two hours into the running time, there has been so much nothing for so long that the entire crux of the plot feels tacked on.


Yet, despite the faults, there is a saving grace. Amid the plethora of big name British actors and actresses who have starred in the series, HBP is the first film in the series to be written in a way that allows for a couple star turns for Michael Gambon and Jim Broadbent. With such a large cast, characters often get lost in the mix and become more slight – Alan Rickman as Snape has yet to be in any single movie enough – but HBP gives enough time for Dumbledore and Slughorn to have some real shining moments that keep Yates’s shoddy filmmaking out of mind. Although the awkward transitions in and out of the pensieve hurt their overall effect, Dumbledore and Harry’s trip to the cave to find Voldemort’s horcrux, an aspect that is brought up way too late in the movie for its own good, is one of the best scenes in the series. Sharply edited and legitimately terrifying, Gambon has never been better (and if anyone was still doubting his ability to really be Dumbledore post- Richard Harris, those questions have clearly been answered, even if the scene fails to display the gravitas it should feature.) Slughorn, on the other hand, is a bit of a one note character, but Broadbent brings some real charm to the role – almost enough to sell Hagrid’s overlong perfunctory appearance, but not quite.

Unfortunately, HBP’s main set piece – the arrival of the Death Eaters to Hogwarts and Dumbledore’s murder at the hands of Snape – brings the film back down by making one of the major scenes of the series, if not insignificant, totally banal. The entire scene, as well as that profound individual moment, is so small and shot so distantly that when a sudden close up of Dumbledore falling from the castle (oddly similar to Rickman’s fate in Die Hard) is less sad and shocking than out of place and silly.


Immensely frustrating, HBP has so much in its that is so good and an equal amount that is just bad. Yates and Kloves again have a major problem in the execution of narrative balance and even more annoying problems with simple fixes. (Like, for instance, not using the exact same shot of Malfoy pulling the curtain off the Vanishing Cabinet every time he does it. Nitpicky as hell, sure. But, I mean, seriously?) Perhaps this is some sort of progress. Despite this largely negative review, HBP does a lot of things right and is largely enjoyable even when its doing them wrong. Its just that for a story that was practically begging to be adapted to the screen – the books became more and more cinematic with each passing novel – HBP could have, and should have, been so much more.

Hachiko

Hachiko was born on November 10, 1923 and died on March 8, 1935; generations of Japanese have remembered the Akita dog for his loyalty to his owner: Hidesaburo Ueno. Ueno was a professor at Tokyo Imperial University. Given the dog in 1924, Ueno named him Hachi; the 'ko' on the end of his name is a suffix showing affection. Ueno died about a year later. Hachiko was put in a new home but would often go to Ueno's house. Later Hachiko was placed with a breeder in Shibuya. Every evening Hachiko would go to Shibuya Station, sit and wait for Ueno.

Hachiko continued this for many years after Ueno's death. Japanese began to refer to Hachiko and his faithfulness to his long deceased owner. One of Ueno's students wrote articles on Hachiko and his faithfulness. In October 1932, one of these articles appeared in Tokyo's largest newspaper, reporting on Hachiko waiting for his deceased owner; Hachiko became famous across Japan. The first Hachiko movie was produced. Teru Ando made the first sculpture of Hachiko, which was put in front of Shibuya Station in April 1934.

Hachiko died in March the following year on a street in Shibuya with filarial worms in his heart and three to four yakitori sticks in his stomach. In 1944, Hachiko's statue was melted down for metal as part of the war effort. Several years after the war ended, Takeshi Ando, the son of Teru Ando, made the second Hachiko sculpture. On August 15, 1948, the bronze statue was unveiled.

In 1987, a second Hachiko movie appeared in Japan; the movie was a blockbuster. Since then, there have been references to Hachiko in popular culture in America. Scooby-Doo and the Samurai Sword, the 2009 animated film, refers to the legend of Hachiko. Matt Groening's Futurama has an episode titled "Jurassic Bark" that is similar to the story of Hachiko. There have also been a number of children's books in the English-speaking world that feature Hachiko.

Next month a remake of Hachiko starring Richard Gere will be released in Japan. An American release will follow in October. The film was made in Rhode Island.

I believe we take to this narrative of Hachiko because Hachiko becomes the symbol of unconditional love and loyalty in a world in which both have conditions. In the real world love and loyalty depend on a laundry list of factors. We imagine thirty or fifty years ago that both love and loyalty were constant and enduring. We may say that long ago, employees were loyal and stayed in the same job or with the same team their entire lives. We may say that married people stayed together because they truly loved each other. We may have many images of how life used to be.

I wish I believed that there was such a time. Although we may be experiencing a world depression right now, I believe that the world is only superficially different today. Love and loyalty are based on relationships and options and behaviors. Given our world, Hachiko becomes a hero. He is the ideal being: always true, loving and faithful. We may yearn for the people around us to shower us with such loyalty. Unfortunately the world of Hachiko is quite different from the world that most of us live in.

Still I'm looking forward to seeing the movie about Hachiko because for the price of admission, I'll be able to forget the sometimes harsh realities of life and enjoy vicariously participating in Hachiko's world.

The Myth of Malin Kundang

A long time ago, in a small village near the beach in West Sumatra, a woman and her son lived. They were Malin Kundang and her mother. Her mother was a single parent because Malin Kundang's father had passed away when he was a baby. Malin Kundang had to live hard with his mother.
Malin Kundang was a healthy, dilligent, and strong boy. He usually went to sea to catch fish. After getting fish he would bring it to his mother, or sold the caught fish in the town.
One day, when Malin Kundang was sailing, he saw a merchant's ship which was being raided by a small band of pirates. He helped the merchant. With his brave and power, Malin Kundang defeated the pirates. The merchant was so happy and thanked to him. In return the merchant asked Malin Kundang to sail with him. To get a better life, Malin Kundang agreed. He left his mother alone.
Many years later, Malin Kundang became wealthy. He had a huge ship and was helped by many ship crews loading trading goods. Perfectly he had a beautiful wife too. When he was sailing his trading journey, his ship landed on a beach near a small village. The villagers recognized him. The news ran fast in the town; “Malin Kundang has become rich and now he is here”.
An old woman ran to the beach to meet the new rich merchant. She was Malin Kundang’s mother. She wanted to hug him, released her sadness of being lonely after so long time. Unfortunately, when the mother came, Malin Kundang who was in front of his well dressed wife and his ship crews denied meeting that old lonely woman. For three times her mother begged Malin Kundang and for three times he yelled at her. At last Malin Kundang said to her "Enough, old woman! I have never had a mother like you, a dirty and ugly woman!" After that he ordered his crews to set sail. He would leave the old mother again but in that time she was full of both sadness and angriness.
Finally, enraged, she cursed Malin Kundang that he would turn into a stone if he didn't apologize. Malin Kundang just laughed and really set sail.
In the quiet sea, suddenly a thunderstorm came. His huge ship was wrecked and it was too late for Malin Kundang to apologize. He was thrown by the wave out of his ship. He fell on a small island. It was really too late for him to avoid his curse. Suddenly, he turned into a stone.