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Talking on the Phone

Learn about Gerunds and Infinitives

Date: Feb 27 2012

Themes: Friend, Tech

Grammar: Gerunds vs. Infinitives

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Intro

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

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These days, your phone probably doesn’t ring as often as it used to. But that doesn’t mean you have fewer friends. It’s just that they’d all rather text than call.

Wouldn’t you? Sending a text just seems so convenient. You don’t have to waste time talking about things that don’t matter, like how you’re doing and what you’ve been up to. You can get straight to the point.

But not everyone agrees. Some people still appreciate a good old fashioned phone call. Hear Marni and Mason discuss talking on the phone.

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.

Mason

Marni

Mason: Have you noticed that as our phones get fancier we talk on them less as phones?

Marni: Yes, I have noticed that, and I have to say, texting on smart phones has revolutionized our way that we have conversations with people.

Mason: Right. It’s like I don’t really want to talk to anybody anymore.

Marni: Right. I just wanna write you this quick message and get my point across, and there you go.

Mason: And not hear all the totally irrelevant things that you have to say, right?

Marni: Exactly.

Mason: Don’t you, though, have like family members or whatever that, you know, are from the older generations, and they keep wanting to actually call and talk to you?

Marni: Well, yes. My parents live out of state, so I do keep in touch with them. I use Skype a lot, but sometimes we just talk on the phone, and I actually still have a land line for that purpose.

Mason: What!

Marni: Because when I do talk to people, I want to talk to them, and I hate talking on cell phones.

Mason: Honestly, I’m imagining just the sound of an old telephone, and that’s so weird to me, because I only have mine on vibrate. Like, I would be really upset if there was a phone ringing off the hook in my house now. That would bother me.

Marni: Yeah. It’s sort of this…it’s kind of fascinating. It’s sort of like a relic of the past. But our ringer’s only on…it only rings three times. And I have to tell you, it doesn’t ring all that often.

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Discussion

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Mason says that he doesn’t talk on his phone very much anymore. He uses it to send text messages or go on the Internet instead.

Marni agrees that it is more convenient to send a text message than to call someone. In a text message, you can get straight to the point and not waste time. But sometimes, Marni still likes to talk on the phone. She likes to keep in touch with her parents, who live in a different state, by talking on the phone.

Marni doesn’t like talking on cell phones. So she keeps a land line in her house for having longer phone conversations. Mason is impressed that she still has a land line, because to most people, land lines are old fashioned. But Marni says she doesn’t use hers very much anymore.

Do you like talking on the phone, or do you prefer to text? Do you think talking on the phone is an old fashioned way to keep in touch?

Comments

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ttsuka

Japan

I don’t like talking on the phone. Why? I don’t know but calling is important, I feel. Yeah, texting/emailing is convenient because it keeps records and irrelevant to time. You just send when necessary. But the big pitfall of texting is its inability to convey nuances. For example, you write your words feeling sympathetic about the receipient but the recipient may well perceive in totally wrong ways without hearing how you say. Those marks such as smiley face might be useful but they are as good as the behind-the-scene laughter of sit-com shows. Conclusion, choose your methods by considering the communication goals ;)

Tew

Thailand

I always talking on the phone for an instantly case but text to friends sometimes..

La Princesse de la vie

Egypt

I already use land line if I want to talk with my friends when I’m bored.. But I often use facebook or emails to keep in touch with most people I know..

We can say that land lines will vanish over the time..

Gobsmacker

Germany

I definitely prefer talking on the phone! It’s so much more personal and one can hear the other persons reactions to what you’re saying which can be helpful when trying to avoid misunderstandings or the like. It may well be old fashioned but what do I care?! It’s a much nicer way of conversing with one another. Of course it depends on what exactly you want to tell the person. If I just want to tell someone where we are meeting I might as well do it by text but for having proper conversations I use the phone. It also depends on how close you are to this specific person. If it’s a person you barely know you text to give them a short piece of information like a time or a place. If it’s your best friend you phone them as you will probably want to talk about lots of things even though you are only calling to tell them when to come somewhere.

sara_55

United Arab Emirates

I prefer to send text and nowadays all people texting with Blackberry it’s more convenient. Sometime I like to talk just with my close people.

vip1

Canada

NoThinG like texting… u can say whatever u want no need to make an excuse.. just go straight to the point by writing one thing !! ^^

CatcheR

Iceland

Yeah sometimes for urgent matter I need to talk directly from phone but when it comes with my friends I prefer texting messages .

Berg

Switzerland

Actually, I prefer to have face-to-face conversations, but when it is not possible and the subject is easy to be sent by text I do so. Otherwise, when I feel it is needed more details nothing is better than talking and getting straight to the point. All we need is to be objectives.

manik athawale

India

I’m very much like to talking on phone because we heir direct vice and direct conversion lot of them

Lyn94

Malaysia

i prefer texting .hehe.

goodmahsa

Iran, Islamic Republic Of

I love to talk on the phone but only with my fiance otherwise I have no patience to have idle talk with others

sonrah

Algeria

I used to text my friends a lot (but not for the reasons mentionned above) it’s just because it was easier for me to express my feeilngs in writing than in front of the person. but now that I don’t see them as I used to. I prefer calling to keep in touch

kukuka

Ukraine

I don’t like to talk on the phone but I dislike texting messages even more. So, when I need to get my thoughts across to someone I’d rather call him or her than text a message. Despite that I have to say I pretty often use different messengers on my computer when I need to talk to people. Although, I’m usually being concise when I do it anyway.

kirthik sree

India

I always prefer to talk on the cell and send text messging not like the phone

Muhammad ilyas

Pakistan

i always like but under limit

navida

Pakistan

I always prefer to talk on the cell and send text messging not like the phone

davied-james

China

well ,somtime i like to talk with friends on phone for impotant things

Noizz

Russian Federation

Being frank, I don’t understand people texting constantly. It’s such a waste of time. Nowadays people have different accounts in social networks and this makes them stay online 24 7 with their smartphones answering all new messages. That’s not my pair of shoes.

gokuh

India

I prefer talking on phone..coz while talking on phone,texting takes mre time usualy when u r talking casualy as u hv to wait 4 d rpy ..whereas in phone calling,u get d instant rpy