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.
Sometimes if feels as if you have all the time in the world. You may have a list of some things you want to take care of, but it doesn’t matter. If you don’t do them today, you can do them tomorrow. It feels as if time is just an open road ahead of you.
But the truth is, time isn’t infinite. There are things that you need to do right away, or else you’ll lose your chance. These things can be as unimportant as using a pass to the movies before it expires, or as serious as visiting with a relative who’s sick in the hospital. In cases like those, it’s important that you seize the moment, instead of waiting until it’s too late.
Mason is ready to seize the moment about an important issue. Amanda, on the other hand, still wants to wait. Find out what the important issue is in this English lesson.
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.
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Mason: Hey, Amanda, sounds like the big promotion with Greta Vanderlake’s not going so great.
Amanda: Actually, the response has been pretty huge. I just can’t seem to get Greta to seize the moment. She’s really been dragging her feet on this whole thing. And it’s a shame, because once this promotion happens, it’s gonna get crazy around here.
Mason: You know exactly what I was thinking. You and I both know that this is going big, this company is doing big stuff. I think we should seize the moment to do something big and important.
Amanda: Are you talking about the babies?
Mason: No, it’s more about timing. It’s just that now is a really good time for us to have a baby! I just think we should seize the moment before it’s gone forever.
Amanda: Mason, we got married like 5 minutes ago. Maybe we could enjoy being newlyweds before we dive into this whole having a kid thing.
Mason: I think you’re not thinking about it. Why don’t we ask Jeff what he thinks. I feel he’s on my side with this one.
Jeff: Are you guys talking about skydiving?
Mason: No.
Jeff: Because in the karaoke contest I won…I told you about that, right?
Mason: Yes.
Jeff: I won a gift certificate to go skydiving. I admit, I was a little nervous at first, but I figured I should seize the moment. I’m young…do something crazy like skydive.
Mason: Dude, don’t you have a bad back?
Amanda: And a bad knee?
Mason: You go to the chiropractor like once a week.
Amanda: Are you really sure this is a good idea? Do you have any skydiving experience whatsoever?
Jeff: We had a trampoline when I younger. Do you think I should do it?
Lily: Yeah. Seize the moment, man.
Grammar Point
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Discussion
Mason has something important he wants to discuss with Amanda. Since the promotion with Greta isn’t going great, he thinks it might be time to move forward with having a baby. He believes that the company is going to do great things, but since not much is happening at the moment, he thinks that now is a good time to start a family.
Amanda just isn’t ready yet. The two of them just got married, and she thinks it would be fine for them to wait awhile.
It turns out that Jeff is trying to decide whether to seize the moment, too. His prize for winning the karaoke contest was a gift certificate to go skydiving. He’s never done it before, but he thinks now might be the time. Mason and Amanda aren’t sure that it would be a great idea for him to seize the moment. He has back and knee problems that could be upset by extreme sports. Lily thinks it’s a good idea, though, and since Jeff has a crush on her, he may listen.
Can you think of a time when you had to decide whether or not to seize the moment? How did you decide, and what did you do?
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