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Braces
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Braces
牙套

Simple Past Tense

Date: May 14 2012

Themes: Health

Grammar: Simple Past Tense

Intro

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

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Everyone appreciates a beautiful smile. But you never know how much time, money, and pain it might have taken to achieve that perfect grin.

In the US, it’s very common for people to get braces in order to make their teeth straight. Most get braces when they are in middle school or high school, and keep them on for a year or more. Braces are expensive and uncomfortable, but as the saying goes, “No pain, no gain!”

Jason and Amy both had braces when they were younger. Hear about their experiences.

每个人都喜欢动人的微笑。但你不会知道为拥有这完美的笑容,要花费多少时间、金钱,以及忍受多少痛苦。
在美国,人们戴牙套矫正牙齿非常普遍。很多人在初中或高中时便已开始戴牙套,并且要戴一年或者多年。牙套昂贵又不舒服,但正所谓“付出才有收获!”
詹森和艾米在少年时期都戴过牙套。听听他们述说此段经历。

Dialog

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

Amy

Amy

Jason

Jason

Amy:  Man, last night, I had this recurring dream that I have, that I had braces on again.

Jason:  Oh, you had them before?

Amy:  I had them as a kid, and I had them for like four years.

Jason:  Geez.

Amy:  I know, and I had to have headgear.

Jason:  Oh my gosh.

Amy:  And rubber bands, like, holding my upper and lower teeth together, basically.

Jason:  Wow.

Amy:  And it was just so painful and such a big part of my life, and I still have this nightmare every once in a while that I’ve got braces again.

Jason:  Wow. Braces are sort of barbaric seeming to me.

Amy:  I know. Did you have braces?

Jason:  I did, and it was horrible, and it didn’t even fix my teeth all the way.

Amy:  I know. My teeth aren’t perfect either. But did you wear your retainer and do all those things you were supposed to?

Jason:  I was a very bad braces haver.

Amy:  So was I.

Jason:  I hated them so much, I demanded to have them off before it was done, even. It just seems really insane to have something constantly pulling on a part of your body.

Amy:  I know.

Jason:  So they took them off, and then my teeth continued to get straighter on their own.

Amy:  Woah. So the braces had kind of just set them off in the right direction.

Jason:  I guess.

 

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Discussion

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When Amy was younger, she had to have braces. The braces were very painful and Amy hated wearing them. As an adult, she still has nightmares sometimes about having her braces back on.

Jason also had braces. He says they are painful and barbaric. Neither his braces nor Amy’s made their teeth perfectly straight. But Jason made the dentist take his braces off early, and both he and Amy did a poor job of following their dentist’s instructions, which might explain why they didn’t work.

Have you ever had braces? Where you live, is it common for people to try to make their teeth straighter with braces?

 

Comments

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ola33

ola33

Japan

I like Jason’s reaction, “Geez, Oh my gosh, Wow” :) Well, teeth are important and if there’s a chance to straighten them up, it’s better to go for it. You’ve got a new smile and with this new smile you’ll find a job, get married and be happy :) But, in order to get dental care let alone the braces (which is luxuary), you need to have a private insurance or be financially free, since dental care is not included in universal health care sytem in Canada. Very often, people end up extracting the tooth which is cheaper rather than going through the expensive treatment. Despite this, braces are getting popular for those who can afford it. More and more you can see them in kid’s, teen’s and adult’s smiles. And it’s not a cheap “entertainment” at all.

02:59 AM May 14 2012 |

wAr^^Yu

wAr^^Yu

Croatia

kak  was  zawut

02:54 AM May 14 2012 |

siberian tigger

Mexico

It means that somebody needs to achieve being strong for facing whatever kind of trouble around him or her.


Hi! Fellas

02:42 AM May 14 2012 |

1 person likes this

wAr^^Yu

wAr^^Yu

Croatia

halo

02:23 AM May 14 2012 |

alexa1

alexa1

Saudi Arabia

yes it is very common in our country ..don’t wishing the pain of teeth for anyone even your enemy .. it is very painful ..

02:21 AM May 14 2012 |

 julito

julito

Argentina

I would like to know if wearing retainers or braces is so common in another countries as it is in the US. I can understand   Amy when she says that  she is still having recurring dreams  about  this ” Devil´s invention “hehehehe…. I  have to brag about my ” perfect grin”, last year my dentist couldn´t believe  that  in spite my age the  ”choppers”  were mine  and not implanted  and  still  in  good conditions.. very unusual. thanks Mom. miss ya.   Laughing

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