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.
Drive-in movie theaters are a nostalgic reminder of life in America in the late 1950s and early 1960s. The number of drive-in theaters across the U.S. peaked at about 4,000, and their numbers have been dwindling ever since.
Listen to Didi and I talk about drive-in theaters.
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.
Didi |
Dave: When I was a kid, our family tradition in the summertime was to go to the drive-in movies.
Didi: Oh.
Dave: Every single weekend we’d go to the drive-in.
Didi: Oh, fun.
Dave: Have you been to the drive-in?
Didi: Only once or twice, and it was with a family friend. My parents didn’t go.
Dave: Okay.
Didi: So, I just barely remember it.
Dave: Yeah.
Didi: In fact, I think I fell asleep in the back, which was intended. The parents wanted to go to the movies, and they stuck us in the back and gave us a sleeping bag and said goodnight.
Dave: That’s what was great about it, as a kid. We’d go outside, sit in front of the car with our sleeping bags and watch the movies. But you always fall asleep because they play from, what? They start at 9:00 and go until 1:00 in the morning.
Didi: Mm hm.
Dave: Because they usually do three movies.
Didi: I wonder why they don’t have them anymore?
Dave: I don’t know why. I think they’re great.
Didi: I wonder why. I really do. People love their cars.
Quizzes
Lesson MP3
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Discussion
Drive-ins peaked in popularity in the “Nifty Fifties.” However, they quickly developed a reputation as “passion pits” because young people would use the theaters to hook up with their boyfriends or girlfriends. There are only a few hundred drive-in theaters left in the U.S., but if you have the opportunity you should definitely check one out.
Here is a site that lists the remaining drive-in theaters.
Drive-in Theaters