Intro
1. Learn Vocabulary - Learn some new vocabulary before you start the lesson.
2. Read and Prepare - Read the introduction and prepare to hear the audio.
The New Year is here. There are many different ways to think about New Year’s. In the United States, New Year’s is a time for big house parties. People like to go out to bars, meet new people, and do a lot of reckless things. There is usually a lot of drinking. Many people see this as a time to forget the bad things and just think about the future.
Other people get very reflective at this time of year. It’s a time to think of the past, present, and the future. It’s a way to stop time and think about life. Some people say that the world should have ended by now, so we are just living on borrowed time. We have to make time count.
Nestor and Marni think about New Year’s in different ways. Listen as they discuss and reflect in today’s English lesson.
Dialog
1. Listen and Read - Listen to the audio and read the dialog at the same time.
2. Study - Read the dialog again to see how the vocab words are used.
Nestor |
Nestor: Marni, it’s almost New Year’s!
Marni: I know! Do you have your resolution?
Nestor: No, I’m-I’m just in it for, you know, the party.
Marni: Oh, really?
Nestor: Yeah! Noisemakers...
Marni: OK.
Nestor: Jumping up and down.
Marni: Lots of drinking.
Nestor: Yes.
Marni: Right, the reckless aspect of ending one year and starting another.
Nestor: Yeah! It’s not that reckless… doesn’t have to be.
Marni: Really?
Nestor: Yeah.
Marni: I guess, I just think, you know, for me, I’m always really reflective. A new year is coming… another one is ending. I’m getting older. I just, I like to kind of think about moving forward. What do I want to do this year? What do I want to accomplish? You know, before I die.
Nestor: Yeah, it’s really depressing, though. I mostly just like to go to house parties...
Marni: OK.
Nestor: And…
Marni: You like having fun?
Nestor: Yeah, it’s like when everybody is celebrating, no matter where you come from, because for the most part, we all agree that this is the end of the year, right?
Marni: Right.
Nestor: I know some people don’t agree, but… that’s fine.
Marni: Some people that aren’t… the Mayan calendar…
Nestor: Different calendars.
Marni: OK.
Nestor: Yeah, yeah, yeah. Well, no, that… the world ended already, I think, on that one.
Marni: Oh, yeah.
Nestor: That was a great party!
Marni: So, now we’re just, like, on borrowed time, right? The world’s already ended.
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Discussion
Nestor proclaims that it’s almost New Year’s! Marni asks if he has thought of his resolution. But Nestor says he’s just in it for the party. He likes noisemakers, jumping up and down to music, and drinking. Marni says that’s a very reckless way to start the New Year. Nestor says that it’s not that reckless.
Marni thinks of New Year’s differently. It’s not a time to just party and forget everything. It’s a time to be reflective, think, and move forward. It’s a time to think about your accomplishments and what you want to do in the New Year. By some calendars, the world should have ended already! We are on borrowed time, so we have to make it count.
What does New Year’s mean to you? Is it a time to reflect or forget?
The second sentence, “New Year’s is a happy time to celebrate” is correct. This is because the first sentence uses an adverb. An adverb is used to describe verbs, as in: “I quickly ran to the store.” Here, quickly describes the verb “ran.” In “New Year’s is a happy time to celebrate,” the adjective “happy” is used to describe the noun “time.”
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