Unit 1 All About Me

 

Listening and Speaking

Audio Track 2-1-1/Audio Track 2-1-2

Nora (N): Is that your van?

Katherine (K): Yes, it is. We’re moving in.

N: Oh, I see. … We? Who is “we”?

K: My husband, Myles, and I. Oh, I’m sorry. Let me introduce myself. I’m Katherine —Katherine Jones.

N: I’m Nora Nelson.

K: It’s nice to meet you, Nora.

N: Welcome to Parkside Apartments. I live in 2A. By myself.

K: Oh, then we’re neighbors! We’re moving into Apartment 2B.

N: It’s a quiet building. Very nice. Except for …Wes and Lydia in 3B.

K: Oh?

N: Yes. They play loud music sometimes.

K: Oh … I see. …

N: Then there are the two students in 3A. They’re classmates at the university.

K: Um … I think I need to …

N: They’re good boys, but they have too many parties!

K: I …

N: It is a quiet building, though. … Let’s see, there’s also Mrs. Hanson in 3C. We’re related. She’s my aunt. She talks all the time and …

K: Nora, I’m sorry. I’m very busy right now. It was nice meeting you. Really … Um, goodbye.

N: What a strange woman!

 

Audio Track 2-1-3/Audio Track 2-1-4

Boy (B): Hey, Grandma, what’s in this box?

Grandma (G): Oh, nothing really. … Just a few old keepsakes.

B: Keepsakes?

G: Young man, you know what a keepsake is!

B: No, I don’t. I really don’t.

G: Well, it’s something you keep. It’s something that gives you a lot of memories.

B: Oh. What’s this?

G: Now don’t go just digging around in there! … Hmmm, let’s see … that’s my first diary.

B: Can I …?

G: No, you can’t read it! It’s personal! I wrote about my first boyfriend in there. He became your

grandfather!

B: Oh, OK. … Well then, what’s that? It has your picture in it.

G: That’s my passport. You can see, I traveled to Europe by ship.

B: What’s that big book?

G: My yearbook. It’s my high school book of memories.

B: Class of 1961! Boy, that’s old!

G: That’s about enough out of you, young man.

I think it’s time we put this box away and …

 

Audio Track 2-1-5/Audio Track 2-1-6

At the age of thirteen, I took my first trip alone. I went to visit my grandparents in Los Angeles. I felt very nervous about traveling so far, but my mother said, “Don’t worry. You’ll be fine.” I got on the airplane and talked for a long time to a very nice woman who sat next to me. My grandparents met me at the airport and took me to their home. I stayed there for two weeks, and I had so much fun with them! It was my first time in Los Angeles, and I saw lots of really interesting places. In the end, I didn’t want to go home!

 

Audio Track 2-1-7/Audio Track 2-1-8

Making memories

A popular new hobby is scrapbooking — making beautiful books to hold special memories. Scrapbook pages can include photos, drawings, journal entries. It’s not hard to make a scrapbook that you will enjoy for many years. Here are the steps.

1. Choose a theme for your scrapbook pages. Some examples: “School days,” “Family travel,” “Memories of my grandparents,” “Baby’s first year.”

2. Select photos for each page. Two or three really good photos are better than ten so-so photos.

3. Find other paper keepsakes to use with your photos. Look for old newspaper clippings, postcards, tickets, report cards, letters — anything made of paper. Use your imagination!

4. Design the pages. Put photos and keepsakes together on each page and move them around until you find a layout that you like.

5. Glue your photos and keepsakes into place. Then decorate your pages with felt pens, paint, and stickers. Use your imagination!

6. Label your pages. This is the most important step! Remember to write down the “5 Ws” of your photos: Who, What, Where, When, and Why. This will make your scrapbook much more interesting and valuable in the future.

 

Audio Track 2-1-9/Audio Track 2-1-10/Audio Track 2-1-11

Yearbooks in the United States

   Most high schools in the United States publish a yearbook. The yearbook comes out once a year, usually in the spring. It is a record of the school year — a “book of memories” for the students.

   Inside a yearbook is each student’s photo. The seniors are graduating soon, and their photos appear first. Next are the juniors. They are one year behind the seniors. Next come the sophomores, or second-year students. The last photos are the first-year students, the freshmen. The yearbook is not only about students.

   The teachers have photos, too. The yearbook also has photos and descriptions of sports teams,

academic subjects, and extracurricular activities. These are activities students do after school, such as the chess club and Spanish club. There is even a yearbook club. Students in this club write, design, and take photos all year for the yearbook. At the end of the year, the book is printed.

   In the yearbook, some students receive special titles. The seniors vote and choose the “class clown” (a funny student), the “most likely to succeed” (a student everyone thinks will be successful), and the “best dressed” (a student with a good fashion sense). There are also other awards and categories.

   Students typically sign each other’s yearbooks. This is especially important for the seniors, because they are graduating. Students write notes to each other, such as, “We had a lot of fun,” or “I’ll never forget you.” They also write about all the fun and funny experiences they shared in school together.

 

Audio Track 2-1-12

Conversation 1

Sandy: Hello?

Joe: Hi, Sandy. It’s Joe.

Sandy: Oh hi, Joe.

Joe: What are you doing?

Sandy: I’m sleeping.

Joe: Oh, sorry.

 

Conversation 2

Josh: Hello?

Lisa: Hi, Josh, how are you?

Josh: I’m really busy.

Lisa: Why? What are you doing?

Josh: I’m painting my bedroom.

Lisa: O.K. Talk to you later!

 

Audio Track 2-1-13

1. He’s dating a really nice girl.

2. I’m fixing my car.

3. She’s working in her garden.

4. We’re going to the movies.

 

Audio Track 2-1-14/Audio Track 2-1-15

Conversation 1

Maria: Hi, Junko.

Junko: Hi, Maria. It’s good to see you again!

How are you?

Maria: I’m fine, thanks. How about you?

Junko: I’m fine.

Maria: Junko, this is Ricardo. We’re classmates.

We’re both taking accounting this semester.

Junko: Hi, Ricardo.

Ricardo: Hi, Junko.

 

Conversation 2

Yong Il: Hi. Let me introduce myself. I’m Yong Il.

Ileana: Nice to meet you. My name is Ileana.

Yong Il: It’s nice to meet you, too, Ileana.

I’d like you to meet Tammy.

Ileana: Nice to meet you, Tammy.

Tammy: Nice to meet you, too, Ileana.

Yong Il: We’re colleagues.

We work in the same department.

 

Audio Track 2-1-16

Liu Xiang: David, let me introduce you to Shakira, one of the greatest singers and songwriters of our time. She is from Colombia in Latin America.

David:    It’s very nice to meet you, Shakira.

Shakira:   Very nice to meet you too, David. What do you do?

David:    I’m an international footballer and a model.

Shakira:   Oh! In which country do you play football?

David:    I’ve won football championships for teams in England, Spain and America.

Shakira:   That’s wonderful. Did you know Liu Xiang is an extremely talented athlete too?

Liu Xiang: Oh Shakira, you are too kind.

 

Video Course

Video Track 2-1-1

Alex:    The most important people in my life are my mother, my father, my two sisters, and my brother.

Alejandra: My grandmother is a very important person to me. Her name is Ester and she is 80 years old.

Kumiko:  The special person in my family is my grandfather, because he’s always kind to me and supportive.

Calum:  My friends are important to me because I like to go out with them and I can talk to them about most things. I think the three most important people in my life are my friends Tony, Dan, and David.

 

Video Track 2-1-2

Kumiko: The special person in my family is my grandfather, because he’s always kind to me and

supportive.

Calum:  My friends are important to me because I like to go out with them and I can talk to them about most things. I think the three most important people in my life are my friends Tony, Dan, and David.

 

Video Track 2-1-3

Catherine: Memories are very important to me. I have a shoe box where I put all the letters and pictures and all the little things that I’ve collected for the past years and … um … have it in the shoe box.

Agnes:   My favorite memory is my visit to my grandfather. He was a very old and wise man and he told me a lot of interesting stories.

Calum:   One of my happiest memories is when I was a child and I went outside Scotland for the first time. I went to an amusement park in France and I had a very good time there with my family.

Julianna:  One of the happiest memories from my childhood was my first day of school. I was really excited and the thing I wanted the most was to learn how to read.

 

Video Track 2-1-4

Sun-hee: Hey, what are you doing?

Tara:    I’m getting ready for my blind date.

Sun-hee: A blind date? You don’t know this man?

Tara:    No, but he’s a friend of Claudia’s, so it should be OK.

Sun-hee: Oh. So where did she meet him?

Tara:    They met at work. He’s a colleague of hers. He’s from Brazil, too, but he’s working in the US office right now.

Sun-hee: Are you excited?

Tara:    Excited . . . and a little nervous! What jewelry should I wear?

Sun-hee: I don’t know. Hey, what’s that? That’s nice.

Tara:    This? Oh, this is a bracelet my first boyfriend, Joe, gave me. Isn’t it beautiful?

Sun-hee: Yeah.

Tara:    We were so “in love.” Too bad we were only 17 — too young.

Sun-hee: What’s this?

Tara:    That? Oh, that’s a souvenir from my first trip to the US I was five years old.

Sun-hee: Why are you still hanging on to it?

Tara:    Oh, I’m keeping it for the memories.

Sun-hee: How about this?

Tara:    Now, that is my favorite keepsake. It’s a pendant from my grandmother. She gave it to me when I was 18 years old.

Sun-hee: For your birthday?

Tara:    No. I was in my first year of college and things were rough. I had no friends. I hated my classes. I didn’t think I could make it. And one day my grandmother told me a story.

Sun-hee: Yeah?

Tara:    My grandmother’s father died when she was only eight years old. Things were hard for her family after that. She went to school. She helped out at home and she had a job.

Sun-hee: She was just a little girl!

Tara:  I know. She worked really hard throughout her whole childhood. So, when my grandmother turned 18, her mother gave her this pendant to say “thank you.”

Sun-hee: That was nice.

Tara:    Yeah. So . . . when life was difficult for me in college, my grandmother gave me the

pendant as a reminder to be strong …

Sun-hee: That’s beautiful. And it’s perfect for tonight.

Tara:    You know, you’re right. Here goes…

 

Video Track 2-1-5

Sun-hee: Hey, what are you doing?

Tara:   I’m getting ready for my blind date.

Sun-hee: A blind date? You don’t know this man?

Tara:   No, but he’s a friend of Claudia’s, so it should be OK.

Sun-hee: Oh. So where did she meet him?

Tara:   They met at work. He’s a colleague of hers. He’s from Brazil, too, but he’s working in the US office right now.

Sun-hee: Are you excited?

Tara:    Excited … and a little nervous! What jewelry should I wear?

Sun-hee: I don’t know. Hey, what’s that? That’s nice.

 

Video Track 2-1-6

Tara:    This? Oh, this is a bracelet my first boyfriend, Joe, gave me. Isn’t it beautiful?

Sun-hee: Yeah.

Tara:    We were so “in love.” Too bad we were only 17 — too young.

Sun-hee: What’s this?

Tara:    That? Oh, that’s a souvenir from my first trip to the US I was five years old.

Sun-hee: Why are you still hanging on to it?

Tara:    Oh, I’m keeping it for the memories.

 

Video Track 2-1-7

Sun-hee: How about this?

Tara:   Now, that is my favorite keepsake. It’s a pendant from my grandmother. She gave it to me when I was 18 years old.

Sun-hee: For your birthday?

Tara:    No. I was in my first year of college and things were rough. I had no friends. I hated my classes. I didn’t think I could make it. And one day my grandmother told me a story.

Sun-hee: Yeah?

Tara:   My grandmother’s father died when she was only eight years old. Things were hard for her family after that. She went to school. She helped out at home and she had a job.

Sun-hee: She was just a little girl!

Tara:  I know. She worked really hard throughout her whole childhood. So, when my grandmother turned 18, her mother gave her this pendant to say thank you.

Sun-hee: That was nice.

Tara:   Yeah. So … when life was difficult for me in college, my grandmother gave me the pendant as a reminder to be strong …

Sun-hee: That’s beautiful. And it’s perfect for tonight.

Tara:    You know, you’re right. Here goes …