Elementary podcasts -> Podcast 06 Home-> Conversations
This page has the online practice materials for:
LearnEnglish Elementary Podcast Magazine No. 06
Section 1 - Conversations in English
You can listen online or download the podcast at Podcast 06 Home
You can also get print versions of the practice materials below in our Podcast 06 Support Pack (pdf file - 389 KB)
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“I've had a nightmare journey” – arriving late
This section starts at the beginning of the audio file, immediately after the Introduction, e.g. when the counter on your audio player is on 00mins.18secs
Section 1 is based on the Introduction. This section looks how to talk about arriving late because of problems when travelling.
Suggestion: One way to use this is to read the transcript, and then look at Tom's tip in this section. You can then do some exercises to help you to learn the common phrases. A good idea is to practise these with a friend who speaks English or is also learning English.
Transcript
Tess: Hello again and welcome to LearnEnglish Elementary podcast number six. I’m Tess – from London. And he’s Ravi, from Manchester.
Ravi: Hello.
Tess: And I have to say to the listeners, Ravi has just arrived. What happened Ravi? Oversleep?
Ravi: Oh, I’ve had a nightmare journey. The underground was closed for some reason so I had to get a bus and of course the bus was absolutely packed because the underground was closed and the traffic was awful. What a nightmare. Still, I got here. Just in time. What about you? Was your journey OK?
Tess: Well, I came in the car this morning. It was busy, but not too bad, you know.
Ravi: Ah well, you see. I was nearly late but you know – I use public transport because I care about the planet and the environment, but if you want to take your car ..
Tess: You use public transport because you haven’t got a driving licence. You won’t want a lift home then in my terrible car, will you?
Ravi: Oh, very kind, thanks – that’ll be lovely. Hey – I know what I wanted to ask you – your cat – has it got a name yet?
Tess: Yes. Yes, he has. He’s called Oscar.
Ravi: Oscar? Hmm. I quite like that. Why Oscar?
Tess: I don’t know, to be honest. He just looks like an Oscar. He’s so cute Ravi.
Ravi: Hmm. I still think you should have called him Gordon. How are you today Gordon?
Gordon: Fine, thanks Ravi.
Ravi: Gordon’s our producer - and king of the terrible jokes. We’ll hear from him again later. But now, on with the show. Tess, what have we got?
Tess: We’ve got all sorts. We’ve got the quiz, we’ve got Kazakhstan, we’ve got Carolina’s new flatmates and we’ve got I’d Like to Meet. Do you want to tell us about it?
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Tom’s tip
When we describe nightmare journeys, we are often answering a friend's question. They often make a joke that you're late:
• Good afternoon!
• Glad you could make it!
• Nice of you to come in today!
Then they ask you what happened
• What happened? Oversleep?
• Good party last night?
• Forget to set the alarm clock?
You then tell the story. This is often is a series of events: causes and results:
• First, so, then, because, so, then, finally…
So, a structure might look like this:
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Good afternoon!
Glad you could make it!
Nice of you to come in today! |
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What happened? Oversleep?
Good party last night?
Forget to set the alarm clock? |
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Oh, I’ve had a nightmare journey.
God. What a (series of) disaster(s) that was
I thought I'd never get here |
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The underground was closed for some reason
The train /bus was late / delayed / cancelled
My car / The train / bus broke down |
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so I had to get a bus / train / taxi
so I had to wait hours / ages for another one |
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and of course the train / bus was absolutely packed.
and the traffic was awful.
and it was boiling hot / freezing cold. |
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What a nightmare. Still, I got here. Just in time.
It was awful. But I got here – eventually.
But I made it. Just. |
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What about you? Was your journey OK?
Didn't you have any problems?
I suppose you didn't have any problems |
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Practice materials: talking about a nightmare journey- gapfilling activity
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Below are three stories about arriving late. Can you follow each story from top to bottom? The answers are at the bottom of the page
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Good afternoon!
What happened?
Oversleep? |
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Glad you could make it!
Forget to set the alarm clock? |
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Nice of you to come in today!
Good party last night? |
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Oh, I’ve had a nightmare journey!
The underground was closed for some reason… |
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God. What a series of disasters that was!
My usual train was cancelled … |
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I thought I'd never get here! My car broke down… |
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1: what's next? a, b or c? |
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2: what's next? a, b or c? |
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3: what's next? a, b or c? |
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a) so I had to wait ages for the next one… |
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b) so I had to phone the garage… |
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c) so I had to get a bus… |
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4: what's next? d,e or f? |
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5: what's next? d, e or f? |
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6: what's next? d, e or f? |
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d) and it took them an hour and a half to get to my house… |
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e) and the traffic was absolutely awful… |
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f) which had hundreds of people on it … |
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7: what's next? g, h or i? |
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8: what's next? g, h or i? |
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9: what's next? g, h or i? |
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g) so I had to stand all the way and they didn't make any announcements… |
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h) and they told me I had a problem with my starter motor… |
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i) It took 30 minutes to get to the next stop… |
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10: what's next? j, k or l? |
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11: what's next? j, k or l? |
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12: what's next? j, k or l? |
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j) so I decided to get off there and walk … |
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k) Then it stopped for ten minutes just outside the station… |
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l) so they changed it but it cost a fortune… |
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13: what's next? m, n or o? |
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14: what's next? m, n or o? |
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15: what's next? m, n or o? |
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m) I think I'll use public transport from now on. |
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n) and now I'm really hot. |
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o) and eventually we arrived 40 minutes late. |
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What a nightmare. Still, I got here. Just in time. |
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It was awful. But I got here – eventually. |
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What about you? Was your journey OK? |
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Didn't you have any problems? |
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I suppose you didn't have any problems |
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Next:
Continue to: Practice materials: Section 2: I'd like to meet
Return to: Elementary Podcast 06 Home Page
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Answers
1-c; 2-a; 3-b; 4-f; 5-d; 6-e; 7-h; 8-i; 9-g; 10-k; 11-l; 12-j; 13-n; 14-o; 15-m
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