Gift Imbalance

Intro

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

• screenplay
• nouveau
• overboard
• live up to

• size up
• greeting card
• pressure
• gift exchange

• make it up to
• salary

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

Your first Christmas together is an important time to size up your relationship. If you haven’t been together all that long and it’s not all that serious, a nice card or small gift will do. If it’s been a little longer, you have to make sure your gift represents how much the relationship means to you. It also has to show how well you know your partner.

That sounds like a lot of pressure. Mason and Amanda have been together for six months. What do you think they ought to get each other for Christmas? Watch their gift exchange in today’s soap opera episode.

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.

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

Amanda

Mason

Amanda:  Oh my gosh. I don’t know why I’m so nervous. I really hope you like this. OK. I actually had to sell plasma for it, so…Can I help you?

Mason:  Yeah.

Amanda:  OK. Can we do it faster?

Mason:  Oh wow!

Amanda:  Do you like it? Do you like it? Do you love it? Do you love it? I thought it was perfect. I asked all of our friends and I took a little survey and they thought that if I just saved up, like, three months, of my salary that I could buy it for you and show you how much I love you, and how our relationship is progressing. And I wrote a little screenplay and I was thinking maybe we could make our first movie tonight.

Mason:  And here’s the soundtrack.

Amanda:  Oh, OK. Is that code for something? Oh my God, I’m so excited ‘cause, you know, usually good things come in small packages and I feel like it might have diamonds or something. Is this, like, some cool nouveau packaging and something’s in here?

Grammar Point

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Quizzes

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Lesson MP3

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