Present Perfect Progressive

Intro

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

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• obsolete
• budget
• upgrade
• goods

• stressful
• costly
• keep up
• gadget

• recoup
• smart phone

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

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New technologies are meant to make our lives easier, or just more fun. But sometimes they can have the opposite effect. It can be stressful and costly to try to keep up with all the latest gadgets out there.

The era before cell phones might seem like the dark ages to some. But before long, cell phones themselves could seem old-fashioned. Even last year’s model of your expensive new smart phone might soon be obsolete. Hear Mason and Jeff debate about the latest gadgets.

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.

Jeff

Mason

Jeff:  I don’t know if you know, Mason, but I have a pretty big travel budget. I fly around a lot.

Mason:  Right on.

Jeff:  So, I’ve been traveling around the world for the last 10 years or so. And one thing that has really made sitting on a plane for hours much, much better is my new iPad.

Mason:  Oh, you got one?

Jeff:  Oh yeah. I have the newest iPad.

Mason:  Yeah, that’s my problem with the whole thing, is that, you know, it’s kind of a neat toy, I guess. But, you know, it’s still not a real computer, right? And you can’t upgrade it or anything. So it’s just gonna be this obsolete thing and you need to buy a new one every year or two. And I like to feel that if I’m gonna spend five or six hundred dollars on something, I’m gonna get to keep it for five or six years. It seems like, you know, the whole conversation about the weird things that are happening with the amount that we’re needing to pay for these digital goods that we then can’t resell…I mean, think about it, you know, I own CDs and DVDs that have monetary value, and I can recoup some of that by selling them or trading them, and all these digital things that I own, I can’t really do that.

Jeff:  Whoa, whoa, whoa. Sounds like you need to get a higher-paying job.

Mason:  Who can argue with that!

Grammar Point

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Quizzes

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Lesson MP3

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