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.
People who work regular jobs usually know exactly when they will start working and exactly when they will stop. For example, they might always start work at 8:00 in the morning and go home at 5:00 in the evening. Those start and end times are what makes a person’s “work day.” Unless something unusual happens at a person’s job, they know that they can go home at the same time every day.
But life isn’t the same every single day. Sometimes things happen that make us change what our work day looks like. For example, a teacher might need to go to the doctor’s office at 4:00. Even if she usually leaves at 5:00, she will call it a day and leave early for her appointment. Or an office worker might need to stay late until 7:00 because a big project needs to be finished. He will call it a day when he’s ready to go home because he feels that the project is complete.
When someone calls it a day, she or he is deciding that the work day is over. Why is Marni calling it a day? Find out in today’s English lesson about trouble at the office.
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.
2. Study - Read the dialog again to see how the vocab words are used.
Marni: Jeff? Hi, it’s Marni. Yeah, I’m in the office. I know, it’s the weekend, but I have a lot of stuff to do. Well, the problem is that everything’s wrong. The lights aren’t working and the printer’s jammed. Yes. And the heater isn’t working, either. I’m ready to call it a day. Really? You will? You’re the best ever. Thank you!
Jeff: Hey, what’s up?
Marni: How did you get here so fast?
Jeff: I was at the coffee shop downstairs. What’s up?
Marni: Wow. Thanks for coming. The lights.
Jeff: All right. I’ll go check on that. Let me know.
Marni: OK.
Jeff: All right. How’s that? Are they working?
Marni: Yeah! Wow. That’s great. How did you do that?
Jeff: It’s easy. I’ll show you sometime. What else?
Marni: Well, the printer and the heater.
Jeff: OK. That’s probably just some jammed paper. I’ll go check on the heater.
Marni: OK, I’ll check for the jammed paper. OK. Found it! That was weird.
Jeff: Cool.
Marni: I didn’t see this before.
Jeff: Yeah, printers… they’re a hassle, man. I think the heater is fixed. We should probably check on that in a few minutes.
Marni: OK.
Jeff: But until then, what do you say we go peek in on the world of celebrity?
Marni: Really? Do you think we should?
Jeff: It’s our little secret.
Marni: I don’t know.
Jeff: Come on.
Marni: OK.
Jeff: All right!
Marni: Is that a picture of Justin Timberlake?
Jeff: What? That’s not Jessica Biel!
Marni: No, no it is not! Is that Tiger Woods?
Jeff: I think so. Is that a… ?
Marni: Yeah, I think it might be, but…
Jeff: It totally is.
Marni: Is that what he’s holding?
Jeff: It totally is.
Marni: Yeah, that’s just crazy.
Jeff: You know what? I don’t think we should have come in here after all.
Marni: Yeah, you’re right. You know what? I think I’m going to call it a day and just go home.
Jeff: Don’t you have work to do?
Marni: Yeah, I do. But I don’t really trust myself here alone. I think I’m just going to go work from home.
Jeff: You know what? Good idea.
Marni: Yeah, let’s go.
Jeff: Yeah.
Grammar Point
Go Super to learn "Comparatives and Superlatives" from this lesson
Quizzes
Lesson MP3
The iTEP® test
-
Sponsored by
Discussion
Marni’s at the office on the weekend. She has so much to do that she wants to work when no one else is around. Unfortunately, everything seems to be going wrong. The lights aren’t working, and neither is the heater. The printer is giving Marni trouble as well. She decides to call Jeff for help.
Jeff comes over right away and fixes everything in minutes. He suggests to Marni that they look in StarScoop.com’s office to find out what stories Brian and Gary are working on. Marni’s not so sure, but she agrees, and they discover some surprising photos of Justin Timberlake and Tiger Woods. Marni then realizes that it would be better if she worked at home, so she decides to call it a day.
When do you know that it’s time to call it a day? Have you ever snooped in someone’s things and felt bad about it later?
Comments
Pakistan |
Iran, Islamic Republic Of |
Mexico |
Ukraine |
Algeria |
Iran, Islamic Republic Of |
Viet Nam |
China |
China |