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Out of Thin Air
Out of Thin Air English, baby! Video Lesson

Learn English meaning of ‘out of thin air’

Date: Mar 27 2018

Themes: Hobbies, Soap Opera, Travel

Grammar: Past Perfect Progressive

Intro

1. Learn Vocabulary - Learn some new vocabulary before you start the lesson.

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2. Read and Prepare - Read the introduction and prepare to hear the audio.

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Almost everyone has been to a magic show. And one of the most classic magic tricks is to pull a rabbit out of a hat. The magician begins by showing the audience that there is nothing in his hat. It is filled with air. Then, out of thin air, he pulls the rabbit from the empty hat! The audience will linger after this trick, trying to understand it because when something appears out of thin air, it appears from nowhere.

Often, we use this expression when a person surprises us. Maybe, your friend told you she was going to hit the road. But when you turn around, she’s there again. Almost like magic, she appeared out of thin air. You can’t blame someone for feeling surprised when something appears in this way. And sometimes, it’s hard to accept that the person or thing is really in front of you.

Andy and Kelsey are both trying to make things appear out of thin air in today’s English soap opera. Watch to see if they can make a happy plan appear.

3. Watch - Watch the video without reading the dialog.

Dialog

1. Listen and Read - Listen to the audio and read the dialog at the same time.

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2. Study - Read the dialog again to see how the vocab words are used.

Kelsey

Kelsey

Andy_H

Andy_H

Kelsey:  People come, and people will go.

It’s hard to accept, but it’s easy to know.
If you try to linger with the…

Andy_H:  Hello, everyone! Andy again. And welcome to Cooking Magic! I’m Andy, and today, I’m going to be teaching you how to make my famous Andy Deluxe Magic Breakfast Sandwich. But first, we’ll need an egg! And out of thin air… ah! Fiddlesticks!

Kelsey:  Andy. What are you doing?

Andy_H:  I’m trying to work on my cooking magic-show-blog thingy. Today, I’m making my Andy Deluxe Magic…

Kelsey:  Your what?

Andy_H:  My cooking show blog thing…

Kelsey:  Never mind. I’m bored. I’m trying to make a new song appear out of thin air, and it’s not working.

Andy_H:  Well, come on over, and help me with my cooking show blog….

Kelsey:  I thought I’d write a song about all our friends who have moved away. I just can’t believe that Dominique is gone.

Andy_H:  Yeah, that was a surprise. I knew she’d been wanting to travel, but that opportunity seemed to come like that… just out of thin air. I don’t blame her for taking it. It sounds fun to hit the road like that.

Kelsey:  I know. I don’t blame her. I’m happy for her. I’m sad for me.

Andy_H:  Well, come on over, and help me with my cooking magic show.

Kelsey:  No, but I’ll come over and eat whatever you’re making!

Andy_H:  It’s my Andy Deluxe Magic…

Kelsey:  I’ll see you in a little bit.

Andy_H:  OK.

 

Grammar Point

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Quizzes

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Lesson MP3

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Discussion

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Kelsey is trying to write a song, and Andy is trying to do magic tricks. But they are both having some trouble. Kelsey calls Andy, and they talk about their projects. Andy tells her that he is making a Deluxe Magic Breakfast Sandwich. Kelsey doesn’t really understand and doesn’t want to linger on the topic.

Kelsey is bored. Her song isn’t working, and she doesn’t know what to do. Andy invites her to hit the road and come to his place. She could help him with his magic-show blog. Kelsey doesn’t know if she wants to make magic videos, but she will eat whatever Andy is cooking.

Can you make anything appear out of thin air? What is your favorite magic trick?

 

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