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.
Has anyone ever done something nice for you that you didn’t necessarily deserve or expect, but it made your whole day? Did it inspire you to do something nice for someone else? If so, then you were practicing the concept of paying it forward. Paying it forward means that when someone is kind to you, you turn around and are kind to someone else.
The barista at your local coffee shop is probably very familiar with paying it forward. Customers sometimes buy coffee for the person in line behind them, starting a chain of paying it forward. Even just one small act of kindness, like picking some flowers and leaving them on your coworker’s desk, might make your coworker intrigued enough to do the same thing for someone else.
Someone recently bought Dominique’s coffee when she was in line at Starbucks. Listen as she and Romeo talk about paying it forward.
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.
Romeo: So, I’ve been kind of intrigued by this whole pay it forward. You’re familiar with the concept of pay it forward, right?
Dominique: I am. So, this actually happened to me the other day.
Romeo: No way.
Dominique: I was in line at Starbucks. I ordered $20 worth of coffee and food…
Romeo: Uh-huh.
Dominique: And when I went to pay, the barista said, “Hey, it’s already taken care of. The lady in front of you took care of your…”
Romeo: What?
Dominique: I know!
Romeo: No way.
Dominique: It was so nice. So, I was going to…
Romeo: Right.
Dominique: Pay for the person behind me.
Romeo: Sure. Yeah, keep it going.
Dominique: But he was a total joke.
Romeo: He was a total joke?
Dominique: Joke. Yeah. He was talking on the phone…
Romeo: Oh!
Dominique: …and just being really, really, just, rude.
Romeo: Yeah, yeah. For sure.
Dominique: So, I paid for the lady behind him.
Romeo: Oh! Heck, to the no!
Dominique: Yeah.
Romeo: No, you didn’t!
Dominique: Yeah, I sure did.
Romeo: OK. Well, I mean, I guess he’s going to have to pay it forward to someone else, right?
Dominique: He probably doesn’t even know because it probably stopped. Or, no, it skipped him. So…
Romeo: The chain would still go…
Dominique: Yeah.
Romeo: He just wouldn’t be able to be a part of it.
Dominique: Yeah, I mean, you have to pay it forward to people that deserve it. He didn’t deserve…
Romeo: OK. That’s fair. I can respect that.
Dominique: …his coffee for free.
Romeo: Yeah. So, he had to pay for that coffee.
Dominique: Yup!
Grammar Point
Go Super to learn "Possessive Adjectives" from this lesson
Quizzes
Lesson MP3
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Discussion
Romeo asks Dominique if she is familiar with the concept of paying it forward. She says that she is. In fact, it happened to her the other day. She was standing in line at Starbucks, and the person in front of her paid for her coffee. She was going to pay for the person behind her, but he was being rude.
Dominique decided that since this person was a joke, she would pay for the coffee for the lady behind him. The pay it forward chain skipped the rude guy. Romeo can’t believe Dominique did that. Dominique says that since this guy was rude, he didn’t deserve his coffee for free.
Has a total stranger ever paid for your coffee? What is the nicest thing that you have done for someone you didn’t know?