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Meg |
Todd |
Meg's Place
Meg talks about her apartment and the things she has in her place.
Todd: So Meg, do you live in a house or an apartment?
Meg: I live in an apartment near the train station.
Todd: Oh, you live downtown.
Meg: I do.
Todd: Do you like living downtown?
Meg: I do like living downtown because it's so convenient. Everything is close by, grocery stores, the mall, the station.
Todd: Oh, that's great. So what about your apartment? Do you have a nice apartment?
Meg: It's a nice apartment, but it's really small.
Todd: Oh yeah? How many rooms?
Meg: Well, there are three rooms. But each room is pretty small. There's a bedroom, a sitting room like a living room, and the kitchen room.
Todd: Oh, wow. So in your bedroom, like, do you have a big queen size bed, a small bed?
Meg: I have a small twin size bed or a single bed in the bedroom because it's pretty small. So there's not much space for a big bed.
Todd: All right. So do you have a TV in your bedroom?
Meg: No. Actually, I don't own a TV at all.
Todd: Really? So there's no TV in the living room, too.
Meg: There's no TV anywhere in the apartment.
Todd: Wow. What do you do in your house?
Meg: I have a laptop computer. So usually, I can watch some TV shows or videos on my laptop.
Todd: All right. Okay. Do you like to watch movies in bed?
Meg: Yeah. Sometimes I like to watch movies in bed or sometimes I prefer to sit in the living room and watch movies.
Todd: Right. So you must have high-speed Internet.
Meg: I do. Yes. I have an Internet box that my laptop can connect to.
Todd: Okay. Cool. Do you have a nice big sofa?
Meg: I have two small sofas. So you can push them together to make one big sofa or you can keep them separate. Usually, I keep them separate because there's more room for people to sit on.
Todd: Okay. Now, you like to cook. So you must have a nice kitchen.
Meg: Unfortunately, I have a very tiny kitchen.
Todd: Oh no. How do you cook?
Meg: I have to use some extra tables to have more space. The counter is really small, so there's not much space. So I have an extra table I use for preparing the food.
Todd: Okay. Do you have an oven?
Meg: I have a very small toaster oven. So it's not really an oven.
Todd: All right. So do you have a microwave?
Meg: I do have a microwave and a small refrigerator and one burner, like a stove top burner.
Todd: Okay. Do you cook every night?
Meg: I don't cook every night. Sometimes, I'm too busy. And sometimes because my kitchen is so small, I get a little frustrated. So I just pick up some food from a restaurant.
Todd: All right. Now, you live in an apartment, so how many floors does your apartment building have?
Meg: The building has five floors and I live on the fifth floor.
Todd: Nice. Fifth floor.
Meg: Yeah. The view is nice, but unfortunately, there's no elevator.
Todd: Oh no.
Meg: So you always have to take the stairs.
Todd: Wow. Five flights of stairs.
Meg: Five flights of stairs everyday. But it's good exercise.
Todd: So you're on the fifth floor. Do you have a balcony?
Meg: I have a small balcony where my washing machine is and I can also hang out my laundry out there.
Todd: Oh cool, washing machine is outside.
Meg: It is outside. It's a little different from my house in America.
Todd: So from your view, what can you see?
Meg: I can see the train station from one window and all the restaurants downtown. And from a different window, I can see the mountains.
Todd: Oh nice. Yeah, the mountains are nice.
Meg: Yeah, it's really pretty.
queen-size bed
Do you have a big queen-size bed, or a small bed?
Beds can come in three sizes: twin, queen-size and king-size. A queens size bed fits two people. Notice the following:
- My hotel had a queen-size bed.
- A king-size is too big for me. I prefer a queen-size.
separate
You can keep them separate.
When you keep things separate, you keep them apart from each other. Notice that separate, the verb and separate, the adjective, have different pronunciation. Notice the following:
- My parents sleep in separate beds.
- We work in separate rooms.
counter
The counter is really small.
A counter is a flat area you can set things on. Notice the following:
- Please set the bags on the counter.
- Can you wipe the counter for me?
frustrated
I get a little frustrated.
When you are frustrated, you are not happy because things are not going as you would like them to. Notice the following:
- I am frustrated with my progress.
- I know you are frustrated, but don't give up.
pick up
I just pick up some food from a restaurant.
Here, pick up means to buy something and take it home. Notice the following:
- I need to pick up some ice for the party.
- On your way home, can you pick up lunch.
flight of stairs
Wow. Five flights of stairs.
A flight of stairs is a level of stairs. For example, a five-story building will have five flights of stairs. Notice the following:
- I walked up three flights of stairs to get to my office.
- The cafe is three flights of stairs down from here.
Vocabulary Quiz
frustrated • pick up • flights of stairs
Related Video - One Minute English
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About the Teacher / Creator
Hello, and welcome to elllo. My name is Todd Beuckens. I've been an ESL teacher for 25 years. I created elllo to provide teachers and students free audio lessons and learning materials not usually found in commercial textbooks.
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