Supermarket contest егэ

Michael: That test was so long! Four hours! I really do not understand why we have to take this test anyway. Are our grade point averages not good enough for college?

Charlotte: That test did seem long, didn’t it? But since the curriculum of one high school is slightly different from another high school, this test allows the colleges to consider each student equally. Although one student might have taken different classes from another student, all high school students take the same test.

Michael: I suppose that makes sense. Either way, I really hope I do not have to take that test again!

Charlotte: Same here. Well, we will just have to wait and see. The scores will be out in a few weeks. Anyways, have you gotten your recommendation letters yet?

Michael: I have asked Mrs. Smith for one already, and I am thinking about asking Mr. Johnson for another one. I liked both their classes and I think they got to know me better than my other teachers, so hopefully the letters will be well-written. What about you?

Charlotte: I have also asked Mrs. Smith for a letter. Do you know Mr. Lawson? I would like to get a recommendation letter from him. I hope he remembers me as I have not had a class with him since last year. I am not sure who else I could have asked.

Michael: Well, at least we have one letter each. Mrs. Smith is the best, isn’t she? I wish I could have another class with her, but this is our last semester, and after that it is graduation!

Charlotte: I agree. Mrs. Smith really enjoys teaching, and that definitely helps her students to enjoy learning.

Michael: What colleges are you thinking of applying to? Have you visited any campuses yet?

Charlotte: I am still considering whether I should stay close to home or go to an out-of-state school. I have toured the Stanford campus and the people there were very friendly. I have also visited Notre Dame, the university in Indiana. What about you? Have you toured any campuses yet?

Michael: I want to stay close to home so I am hoping to go to either a California State University or the University of California.

Charlotte: Which one? There is practically one or the other in each of the big cities.

Michael: Perhaps to the University of California. But I am not too worried about getting into a college just yet. I am more worried about this test at the moment!

Charlotte: I understand how you feel. However, we should still consider what should be done next. It will be bad if we fall behind and don’t make it into college by next fall. Have you decided what to study yet? I’m thinking about majoring in English myself.

Michael: English is definitely a possibility. I was thinking about becoming an English teacher like Mrs. Smith.

Charlotte: I do not think you have to worry about getting into college. Still, let’s just keep trying our best!

Mike: Good morning, Jane. I am Mike.

Jane: Good morning.

Mike: How are you doing?

Jane: I am doing fine. Thank you.

Mike: How was the traffic coming over here?

Jane: I am so glad that the traffic was light this morning. No traffic jam and no accidents.

Mike: That is good. Jane, let’s start the interview. Are you ready?

Jane: Yes, I am.

Mike: First of all, let me properly introduce myself. I am the Finance Department Manager. As you know there is an open position in my department, and I need to fill this position as soon as possible.

Jane: Please, tell me a little bit about the position.

Mike: It is an entry-level position. The new employee will have to work closely with the Accounting department. He will also have to deal with the bank on a daily basis.

Jane: What type of qualifications do you require?

Mike: I require a four-year college degree in Finance. Some working experience would be helpful.

Jane: What kind of experience are you looking for?

Mike: Doing office work is good. However, since this is an entry-level position, I do not require a lot of experience. I am willing to train the new person.

Jane: That is great!

Mike: Jane, tell me a little bit about yourself.

Jane: I was a student at West Coast University, and I just graduated with a Bachelor degree in Finance. I have been working part-time as a payroll clerk for the last two years.

Mike: What are you looking for in a job?

Jane: The job should help me see what Finance is all about. I have learned a lot of Finance theories at school, and now it is time for me to put them into practice.

Mike: Anything else?

Jane: I also hope that it will help me grow in my field.

Mike: What are your strengths? Why should I hire you?

Jane: I am a hard-working person and a fast learner. I am very eager to learn, and I get along fine with people.

Mike: OK. Now, let me ask you a few quick questions. You do not mind working long hours, do you?

Jane: No, I do not.

Mike: Can you handle pressure?

Jane: Yes, I can. When I was going to school, I took quite a few courses each semester while working at least twenty hours every week. And, I handled that situation very well.

Mike: Do you still have any questions for me?

Jane: No, I think I have a pretty good understanding of the job. I believe that I can handle it with ease, and I hope to have the opportunity to work for you.

Mike: Jane, nice meeting you. Thank you for coming.

Jane: Nice meeting you too. Thank you for seeing me.

Helen: Hey, Ted, I’m looking for a gym. Actually, I hear you’ve joined a gym. Which one?

Ted: Yeah, actually, there’s a nice gym down town. It just opened about a month ago. Maybe two months ago. It’s really nice.

Helen: OK, what’s the name of it?

Ted: The name is Star Fitness Club.

Helen: Good name.

Ted: Yeah, so, and it’s pretty much has everything. I mean it has, you know, free weights, of course, and it has all the latest machines.

Helen: Ah, good.

Ted: Actually some of the machines are complicated. I really don’t know how they work yet. I’ll have to ask the staff. I’m actually afraid to get on the thing. I don’t want to break it, you know.

Helen: Are there people that can help you?

Ted: Yeah, actually, the part of the problem is that you can’t use any of the equipment unless you get trained for it. They’re really specific, so you have to have guidance. It’s kind of annoying actually.

Helen: OK. But what happens if I’ve been to a gym before? Do I still need to get the training before I start?

Ted: Yeah. That’s how I was. I told them that I, you know, had been lifting weights for a while and they didn’t care.

Helen: OK, so, do they have classes though?

Ted: They do. Actually, they pretty much have everything. They have yoga, kick boxing, spin classes, dancing, so the schedule looks pretty diverse.

Helen: Oh, that’s good. I do prefer classes than the weights.

Ted: Only one thing that’s bad about the classes though is that because it’s new, and it’s a new gym and there are lots of people and it looks like it’s pretty crowded in there, I think you have to reserve what classes you’re going to join.

Helen: Oh, really.

Ted: Yeah, isn’t that terrible.

Helen: Yeah, when you feel like going to the gym, you go.

Ted: Right, right. One thing that is nice though is they have an actual gym floor, like a basketball gym, so you can play basketball. They have volleyball tournaments, so I mean, if you like more traditional sport, like tennis, they also have tennis courts. You can do that as well.

Helen: Lovely. OK. So, yeah, I would love to come and have a look at it.

Ted: OK, well next week, anytime, just give me a call. I’ll take you there.

Helen: Alright. Great. Thanks.

Susan: So Ben, you also learned English as a foreign language, right?

Ben: That’s right, yes.

Susan: It’s not your first language? So how did you do it?

Ben: That’s a good question. When I think back, I think, I try to think about the things that helped me most and I think it was a funny combination of things. I had one really interesting English teacher, she was really strict, but she was really interesting and I think she inspired me because her English was so good and I thought ‘wow’ that’s really great. The other thing that really helped me was reading like I really read so much in English. I think you’ve mentioned it too.

Susan: Yeah, I think so too. I read a lot, not because I wanted to learn but because I like reading and so I read in English and later on I realized I must have learned a lot of vocabulary and things that I didn’t even realize I learned.

Ben: I agree with you.

Susan: Just through reading.

Ben: Yeah, the same thing happened to me. My home had so many books in it, I was lucky I guess in that way and at least half of them were in English and when I discovered that there were books in the house that I couldn’t get into and I was really into stories and reading, I felt so angry then I started reading so much and it was really good for me in the end.

Susan: That’s interesting. You see people ask me how I learnt English. I didn’t really have a plan, I just enjoyed English that’s why I studied in my free time but I didn’t think of it as something I have to do, I just did it for fun.

Ben: Also in high school I remember my classmates complaining about all the homework in English and they couldn’t do it and they used to come to me for help. It didn’t feel like work to me. It just felt like something kind of fun.

Susan: That’s right.

Ben: But I can’t tell you where that fun started. I guess it has something to do with being curious about things that are written or said. Do you think so?

Susan: Yeah, I also remember when I first became interested in English but later on when I met some people from different countries, I became more interested in communicating with them and, like you said, my teacher also inspired me. I enjoyed just chatting to her in English.

Mary: Hey, James. What are you doing here?

James: I am looking for an apartment to rent. It is a real problem for me because I cannot make a decision where to live. All my friends have decided to live at the school dormitory but I want to try and find an apartment. What about you? What are you doing here? Looking for an apartment also?

Mary: Yes. Since my parents’ house is so far away, I need to find an apartment closer to school. I do not like to use public transport and as you know it is rather expensive to go by bus every day. But I thought you were going to stay at the school dormitory.

James: I still have not decided whether to stay at the dormitory or not. I am looking at different options to find the cheapest lodging. I hope to find the most convenient one but now I understand that it is rather hard.

Mary: So, what are you looking for?

James: All I need is a place big enough for my bed, my desk and my television. Of course, the place should have a kitchen so that I can cook my meals. I will be living on a very tight budget and will have to watch every dime.

Mary: Me too. I cannot work full-time like I did during the summer. I will cut down on my workload in order to spend most of the time on my studies. So, a safe and decent apartment is all I need.

James: How long have you been looking for it?

Mary: I’ve just started this week. Since school is going to start next month, I figured I better start the process as soon as possible. I hope that I could find something convenient and rather cheap.

James: It is not easy to find an apartment to your liking that does not cost a lot. I have been looking at the ads in the newspaper for two weeks, and I still have not found anything yet. I also have tried to search on the Internet but there are few ads and they sometimes offer fake apartments.

Mary: Really? Is it that difficult to find an apartment?

James: No, it is just that everything I like so far is too expensive and way beyond my reach.

Mary: Is it because they are very close to school? I heard that the closer they are to school, the higher the rental cost.

James: Maybe that is the problem. Since I do not have a car, I need to find something close to school.

Mary: Have you thought about sharing an apartment? That could solve our problem.

James: It seems that sharing an apartment may work. Do you want to try it?

Mary: Yes. It’s a wonderful idea.

Laurie: So, what are your plans for this weekend?

Sam: I don’t know. Do you want to get together or something?

Laurie: How about going to see a movie? Cinemax 26 on Carson Boulevard is showing Enchanted.

Sam: That sounds like a good idea. Maybe we should go out to eat beforehand.

Laurie: It is fine with me. Where do you want to meet?

Sam: Let’s meet at Summer Pizza House. I have not gone there for a long time.

Laurie: Good idea again. I heard they have just come up with a new pizza. It should be good because Summer Pizza House always has the best pizza in town.

Sam: When should we meet?

Laurie: Well, the movie is shown at 2:00PM, 4:00PM, 6:00PM and 8:00PM.

Sam: Why don’t we go to the 2:00PM show? We can meet at Summer Pizza House at noon. That will give us plenty of time to enjoy our pizza.

Laurie: My cousin Karen is in town. Can I bring her along? I hate to leave her home alone.

Sam: Karen is in town? Yes, bring her along. We met her at Sara’s high school graduation party two years ago. She is such a nice person, and funny too.

Laurie: She will be happy to meet you again.

Sam: What is she doing these days?

Laurie: She graduated last June, and she will start her teaching career next week when the new school term begins.

Sam: What grade is she going to teach?

Laurie: She will teach kindergarten. She loves working with kids, and she always has such a good rapport with them.

Sam: Kindergarten? She must be a very patient person. I always think kindergarten is the most difficult class to teach. Most of the kids have never been to school, and they have never been away from mommy for long.

Laurie: I think Karen will do fine. She knows how to handle young children. I think the first few weeks will be tough. However, once the routine is set, it should not be too difficult to teach kindergarten.

Sam: You are right. The kids might even look forward to going to school since they have so many friends to play with.

Laurie: There are so many new things for them to do at school too. They do a lot of crafts in kindergarten. I am always amazed by the things kindergarten teachers do.

Sam: Yes, I have seen my niece come home with so many neat stuff.

Laurie: Maybe we can ask Karen to show us some of the things that we can do for this Halloween.

Sam: Maybe we can stop by the craft store after the movie. What do you think, Laurie?

Laurie: I will talk to her. I think she will like that. It will help her with school projects when Halloween comes.

Alex: Hey Jane, John, there is a musical concert in the park. You want to go and see the band play?

Jane: I am done with my homework; I can go. Hey, look at that sport car. Isn’t it neat?

Alex: That is exactly the kind of car that I want once I get a good job. I bet it is very fast. I want mine to be red though.

Jane: Keep on dreaming, Alex. That car costs a fortune.

Alex: It does not hurt to set high expectations. Maybe one day I will make a lot of money, and I might surprise you.

Jane: Talking about cars, why is the traffic so heavy today?

Alex: People are probably heading toward the park for the concert. The band does play pretty good music. For the last three years, I have never missed the concert. I have always arranged my schedule so that I could attend the event once the band was in town.

Jane: How long ago did the band start playing at our park?

Alex: I think it started this tradition five years ago before you moved into our neighborhood. Every year it always arrives the first week of June to play for the whole week. You will enjoy this evening, Jane. There will be good Country music.

Jane: It sounds like fun. My favorite is Rock and Roll music; however, I have to say that country melodies can be quite enticing. I can listen to them all day long. Alex, what kind of music do you like?

Alex: Oh, I like all kinds of music as long as it is not Hard Rock.

Jane: Wow, look at the number of people who have already shown up for the concert. Good thing that we are here already.

Alex: Jane, where do you want to sit? In the shade or in the sun?

Jane: In the shade, please. I have been in the sun too much lately.

Alex: There is a food stand over there. Do you two want anything?

Jane: Nothing for me, thanks. I already have my bottle of water.

Alex: I want a bag of chips and a soda. Are you sure you do not want any chips, Jane?

Jane: I am quite sure. Besides, my mother is cooking a good steak dinner, and I want to save my appetite.

Alex: Jane, you are so lucky to have such a good cook for a mother.

Jane: We will have cream cake for dessert this evening. I will save you a piece if you want, Alex.

Alex: I always love cake, so please save me a piece. Thanks, Jane.

Jane: OK, I will save a piece of cream cake for you tonight. We can meet at the cafeteria at lunch time tomorrow and I will give it to you.

Kate: Hey, Rick! I know you are keen on travelling! Would you mind giving me some tips how I can increase my hotel savings? Does it seem like hotel costs just go up and up? It’s true that they rise each year, sometimes significantly.

Rick: Hey, Kate, sure, with pleasure. I’ll tell you some factors to consider to help you save money, both before you book and during your stay.

Kate: So, what shall I pay attention to?

Rick: The more services your rate includes, the better You’ll want to make sure they are features you will actually use though, otherwise you’re spending more than you need to. Common extras that can save you lots are free breakfast, free Wi-Fiand kids eat free. All those bowls of fruit and free coffee and tea in the lobby are also included in your room rate, so take advantage of them during your stay.

Kate: I don’t like the breakfast to be included. I’d like to eat out, but on the other hand I should be trying to save money.

Rick: I don’t agree with you. Though room service sounds really appealing, prices for food on the menu can be twice as much as you would pay for the same food at a restaurant. Gratuity is always included in the tab and usually masked as a delivery charge. Most guests don’t know this and add a tip to the bill when the waiter brings their food.

Kate: I see. To say the truth, I haven’t chosen the hotel yet.

Rick: What about the Rozy Hotel? If the costs for transportation won’t make up the difference you’d be paying on a closer location, you can frequently get a fantastic deal this way. You could also look into staying in the university district of a city. Hotels are more affordable, cheap eateries are plentiful and public transportation is convenient.

Kate: Actually, it’s not a business trip. I’m going to have some rest and devote time to myself in a calm and peaceful atmosphere.

Rick: Room rates for hotels that get the majority of their business from professionals drop their prices when business is slow, like weekends and holidays.

Kate: Moreover, business hotels provide mini-bars in the apartments. They also have nice lounge-bars.

Rick: As for me, I usually bring my own snacks or hit the grocery store. I think, anything is better than the rates for items in the mini bar. The prices are outrageous and I never think about trying to replace it with the same item later.

Kate: Do you normally stay at the same hotel or use the same chain when you travel?

Rick: Sure! I sign up for their rewards programme. Not only can you rack up points for each stay that you can then use on upgrades and free nights in the future, but rewards members also get notified of exclusive deals that can save you a ton. You can sign up online!

Kate: Nice idea! Thank you!

Rick: My pleasure, Kate.

John: I will have to give a presentation on global warming on Friday, and I am so nervous.

Mary: There are a lot of things you can do to make you feel more confident and less nervous.

John: What should I do, Mary?

Mary: First of all, you need to understand the subject matter thoroughly. You need to know what is global warming, what causes global warming, and what people should do to abate the effects of global warming.

John: I have done a lot of research on the subject, and I know I can answer any questions I will receive from the audience.

Mary: The next thing that you need is an outline of your presentation. You should think about how to effectively present the subject matter.

John: You mean what I should talk about, or more precisely the sequence of my presentation?

Mary: Yes, what you should present first, second, third…

John: If that is the case, then I already have an outline. To make it easy for my audience to follow the presentation, I intend to post the outline on the board at all time during my speech.

Mary: Good idea! By the way, do you have any facts to back you up? For example, change of climate, yearly disasters…

John: No, I have not thought about that. I better get some statistics from the Internet. I should not have any problems since the Internet has all kinds of data.

Mary: Good. It is easier to convince people and to hold their attention with actual data. It would be even better if you show some pictures along the way. Do you have any?

John: No, it is another thing to add to my To Do list. I guess I will need at least two or three pictures to persuade people about the dangers of global warming.

Mary: Pictures will keep your audience from being bored. In order for you to succeed, you need to keep them interested and involved.

John: What else do I need? Is there anything else I can do to help me relax and be at ease during my presentation?

Mary: You need to practice your presentation. Just pretend that you are standing in front of your audience and start to give your speech.

John: Pretending is one thing; actually giving a speech is another thing.

Mary: Think positive. Tell yourself that you can do it without any problems.

John: I guess I can look at this as a presentation of my point of view to my friends. I mean a lot of my friends. I mean all the friends that I have made since kindergarten, plus all the relatives that I have on both my mother and father’s sides.

Mary: If you are really prepared, it will be a piece of cake. You will be able to speak with ease and confidence, and you will be amazed by how well you can express yourself.

John: I need to do this presentation really well. This is my first presentation in front of a big audience, and it is so important to me.

Mary: This is only the beginning, John. Being able to express your ideas with confidence and clarity is one of the best skills to possess.

John: You are absolutely right. I will take time to practice and to learn to relax and express myself really well. Wish me luck, Mary!

Mary: I know you. You can do it. Good luck, John!

Tim: Helen, what are you doing?

Helen: I have been trying to solve this physics problem for the last half hour, and I still have no idea how to do it.

Tim: When do you have to turn it in?

Helen: It is due at the end of this week.

Tim: Well, it is only Monday. Why don’t you get some after-schooltutoring tomorrow?

Helen: I have to sign up for it first. I guess I will go sign up for the Wednesday session tomorrow. You should reread the chapter before you show up for the session. It will help you understand the subject matter better.

Helen: OK, I will do that.

Tim: Now that your problem is solved, I need you to lend me a hand with my problem.

Helen: What is up?

Tim: I need to build a new doll house for Nancy. I was putting her doll house away, and somehow I accidentally dropped it. It was broken into pieces.

Helen: How clumsy of you! Does she know?

Tim: I told her about it. I could not lie to her.

Helen: How did she take it?

Tim: My sister really liked that doll house, and obviously she was not very happy. But, I told her that I would build a better one for her. So, I need your help.

Helen: Me? Help you? I have never built anything in my life.

Tim: Me neither. But, don’t worry. Putting together pieces of wood is not going to be difficult.

Helen: It is more than just putting pieces of wood together. You need to put in windows and doors. Have you thought about how you would do that?

Tim: Who says houses need to have windows and doors?

Helen: So, you are going to build a doll house with no windows and no doors?

Tim: Yes, I do not see anything wrong with that. Do you?

Helen: No. But, are you sure that Nancy will not mind having a doll house with no doors and no windows?

Tim: No, I am not sure. What should I do then?

Helen: Get help from somebody who knows how to build a doll house. I would not be of any help to you in this project.

Tim: Who do you suggest I ask?

Helen: Mr. Brown used to be a carpenter. He will be glad to help you out.

Tim: You are right. Thanks for your advice.

Laura: Can you go shopping, Mike?

Mike: I guess I can. I am done with my homework. What do you want me to buy?

Laura: Well, buy some groceries, meat and vegetables, you can buy something for snacks and breakfast.

Mike: What do you want for breakfast?

Laura: I guess some cereal as usual.

Mike: I do not want cereal every day. I will buy some pancakes and syrup then.

Laura: Get the new FineFood pancakes in the frozen food section please. I want to see how it tastes.

Mike: Do we still have enough coffee and cream for mom and dad?

Laura: Yes, we do.

Mike: Next, what do you want for snacks?

Laura: Some chips would be fine with me. You probably want your chocolate cookies.

Mike: I better write down all these things; otherwise, I will forget them.

Laura: Right! As far as meat, mom wants some pork and some chicken.

Mike: Just any kind of pork?

Laura: I forgot to ask mom about that. Anyway, you can ask the butcher for his opinion. He knows what is best.

Mike: Now, how about vegetables? Buy carrots, potatoes, cabbages and some lettuce.

Laura: That would be fine. We need some fruits also. What do you want?

Mike: Dad always packs an apple for lunch every day. I want the same thing.

Laura: We have already run out of eggs. So, get a carton of eggs also.

Mike: How about some soft drinks?

Laura: No, buy some bottled water instead. It is healthier for us. We need to cut down on our intake of sugar, as too much sugar is not good for our bodies.

Mike: I need to put bread on the list before I forget. Should I get one loaf or two?

Laura: One loaf will be enough.

Mike: Do we need anything for dessert?

Laura: Get a box of ice cream.

Mike: Ice cream? Isn’t ice cream packed with sugar?

Laura: Yes, but since I already drink water instead of soft drinks, one or perhaps two scoops of ice cream after dinner is not too bad. Besides, mom loves ice cream, especially cherry vanilla.

Mike: OK, I will put down one box of ice cream if you say so.

Laura: Drive carefully please!

Mike: I will.

Brendan: Hey, Susan, throw your stuff in the back and ride up front with me.

Susan: OK, Brendan. Thank you for giving me a ride home. I did not want to call my parents because they were at Mimi’s Café for my aunt’s birthday.

Brendan: Mimi’s Café? That place has the best burgers in town! The atmosphere is also nice. By the way, do you have any plans set up for the upcoming vacation?

Susan: Well, besides going to basketball practices with you, I will most likely be working.

Brendan: Oh, working? Did you get a new job or are you still working at Starbucks?

Susan: Well, Starbucks was a good first job for me and I loved the people I worked with. However, my work schedule was neither convenient nor easy.

Brendan: Well, what are you doing now at your new job?

Susan: Well, I am an Administrative Assistant for a company called Multi-Max. I’m busy inputting data into the computer and following up on customers’ orders.

Brendan: Oh, that sounds pretty easy.

Susan: Well what about you? Do you have any plans for break?

Brendan: Not really. I think I am just going to hang out at home and read some books. I am planning a snowboarding trip though.

Susan: Oh, that sounds like fun! Who is going and where are you guys going to go snowboarding?

Brendan: As of right now, my roommates, Jay and Kristian, are planning to go. And, there are Josh, Alexis, and Ann. We are planning to go to Big Bear. I hear that there are pretty good conditions for skiing and snowboarding this season up there.

Susan: Yes, that is what I heard as well. The whole trip sounds like fun. Where are you guys staying at? Did you rent out a cabin?

Brendan: No, we did not. My cousin actually owns a cabin up there, and he said it is OK for us to stay at his place for the weekend when I spoke with him last Friday.

Susan: Would it be OK with your cousin if I come along as well?

Brendan: I am sure that will be fine. He did not tell me there is a limit on the number of people I could bring, so you are more than welcome to join us.

Susan: Awesome! I am so excited! Well, I will check my schedule, and I will give you an update tomorrow. Hey, that is my house on the corner. Thanks again for the ride, Brendan!

Brendan: You are welcome, Susan. Have a good night and I will talk to you later about the trip.

Dan: Mom, I am home.

Mrs. Anderson: How was school, Dan? How did you do on the test?

Dan: School was OK, and I did great on the test. Mom, I was so worried about that test, but now I feel great. What a relief!

Mrs. Anderson: I am glad to hear that. You have been studying so hard the past few weeks. Now, you can relax and enjoy life.

Dan: What are you cooking? It smells so good.

Mrs. Anderson: I am baking cakes. This is your favorite carrot cake.

Dan: It looks really yummy. And I see muffins over there too. You were busy, weren’t you?

Mrs. Anderson: Yes. Jeff has to take something to school tomorrow. So, those muffins are for him. Don’t touch them.

Dan: Can I have a piece of carrot cake? I want to enjoy life right now.

Mrs. Anderson: You don’t want to wait until after dinner?

Dan: It looks inviting, and I bet it is delicious. No, I don’t want to wait. Can I, mom?

Mrs. Anderson: OK, go ahead.

Dan: Did you see the new recipe that was posted on Today Cooking’s website? I believe it was called Scrumptious Pie.

Mrs. Anderson: No, I did not. But I want to try that recipe. Your dad loves pie.

Dan: So do I.

Mrs. Anderson: So does Jeff. Our whole family is crazy about pie.

Dan: When do you want to try the new recipe? I want to learn too. Should we bake a cherry pie or an apple pie?

Mrs. Anderson: Since this is the cherry season, let’s make a cherry pie. Tomorrow, I will get some cherries at the supermarket, and we can start baking in the afternoon when you get home from school.

Dan: I need to finish a science project, and I will not get home until 3:30. Will it be too late to start baking, mom? If it is, you can start without me.

Mrs. Anderson: 3:30 PM is fine. I will prepare dinner early, and then I will have everything ready for our baking session before you get home.

Dan: It is a deal.

Mrs. Anderson: Enough about baking pies. I need to start working on today’s dinner. It is three o’clock already.

Dan: What do we have for dinner tonight?

Mrs. Anderson: I will make roast beef and cream of mushroom soup.

Dan: It has been a long time since you made cream of mushroom soup. Do you need any help, mom?

Mrs. Anderson: No, go do your homework and leave the cooking to me.

Dan: Thanks, mom.

Lizzy: So speaking of places like Starbucks, Paul, what do you think really makes a good café or a good coffee shop?

Paul: Well, Lizzy, number one are the employees themselves. People who run a café who are generally amicable people, and also the setting of cafés. Also I like cafes that have music or shows. That is really cool to me. What do you think?

Lizzy: Actually, I agree with that quite a bit. I think the atmosphere is a very important part of it. And actually I have another question for you. When you go to a café, do you actually go there for the coffee or do you go there for something else and you happen to buy a coffee there?

Paul: Sometimes both. I am a bit of a coffee addict. So I definitely go for the caffeine boost.

Lizzy: Okay. I think for me so often it’s that I want to sit down somewhere and read a book but I want to get out of my house. I want to get out and go somewhere where there’s energy and people. And so I think the atmosphere plays a big role for me because I usually go there to do some work or read a book or study language or things like that.

Paul: That’s so true, I could never study in a library because it’s so quiet that I can fall asleep but if I were to go to a coffee shop, there’s the ability to kind of zone out because there’s so much going on around you, people meeting to chat, plenty of table space to where you can go and you know just kind of sprawl out with all of your different belongings and study or even get lost in a book.

Lizzy: Right. And I think when I’m reading I want a really comfortable cushy chair but I find that actually when I’m studying especially if I’m writing, I’d rather have maybe a wooden chair and a table that I can work with.

Paul: But studying is really not that much fun so if you’re in a café you always have the ability of possibly running into somebody who’s going to distract you. What about your favorite bars, what about the atmosphere for them?

Lizzy: My favorite bars, I really like pub style settings more than places that are strictly a bar. When I go to a bar usually I try not to go alone as much as go with friends. How about you?

Paul: I love bars that are true to like a theme. Like my favorite bar probably in my home town, it’s only beer and wine but it has a massive lawn. And it has like just kind of karaoke that they do on like Sunday nights and it’s all wood. And you can just sit outside at a picnic table and just drink beer and wine. It’s not like you have to be classy, not like you have to dress up. We’re just going to hang out and have a summer time like beer and maybe listen to music if they have a band playing on the lawn.

Lizzy: That sounds like a pretty nice place to me.

Paul: Yeah, it’s really nice.

George: Taking one step back to the newspapers, my impression was that newspapers got all their money from the advertisements, and that people buying newspapers basically paid for the paper, the actual printing and maybe the delivery. That the actual cost, that any money they make was through advertisements so I don’t see how that’s any different than if they just had it online where they would get rid of all those costs of delivery and the paper and the printing and then just still have the same advertisement so I don’t understand why they can’t make that transition more smoothly.

Anna: And actually I heard that they get more money from online advertising than from the print advertising so, yeah, I don’t really know why it matters come to think of it.

George: I’m sure that the newspaper will go the way of the Dodo fairly soon.

Anna: Yeah, yeah.

George: But again, why is it that people will accept that but not books?

Anna: ‘Cause I think …I can handle a small article, like one page on screen, but I’m not for a long time. I can’t read the same like. And also with news you just want to flick through it. You don’t really … you don’t use it to relax.

George: That’s true. That’s true. It’s usually more active.

Anna: Yeah, whereas with a book you can read in the bath, or you could read it on the bed, or just … it’s a pleasurable sort of thing rather than a «OK, I’ve got to do this to be …»

George: Up with current events.

Anna: Yeah.

George: Yeah, actually, and one nice feature about reading news online and that I’ve noticed lately when I went to the, I shouldn’t say names, but the BBC web site and so I was reading an article.

Anna: What do you mean?

George: Recently in the news, they were talking about Iran and the elections and things like that, and they mentioned a lot of names of different positions in the government, and on the side was all of these links to background information about those people and about those positions and about the government and the structure of the government and it was really fun to be able to go through it and learn quite a bit quite quickly about the government system in Iran and that kind of thing.

Anna: I see.

George: That’s much better than a newspaper where you read it and go, «Ooh, where’s my encyclopedia?»

Anna: Yeah. Exactly. Yeah, I did a similar thing with a report about Iran, and then looking at people who are campaigning against the government and I was like, «I don’t know these people. But who are they?» and there was a link and I could find out about more which was cool.

George: Yeah, it’s nice. It’s nice. Yeah. So …

Anna: The death of the newspaper.

George: The death of the newspaper. I think it’s inevitable.

Anna: The book still survives.

George: Let’s keep the books. I like that.

Rebecca: So what about America? If you lose your job, what happens?

William: Well, we have what you have. It’s not called the dole though, it’s called welfare, and basically what happens is if you lose your job, you can get money from the government, but it’s really short-term. I think it’s only six months or a year, but the biggest difference I think between Europe and America is the word. We call it welfare. And welfare is really negative. If you tell somebody that you’re on welfare, or even on unemployment, then people really look at you negatively.

Rebecca: Why do you think it is negative?

William: Well, actually let me clarify. There’re two: There’s welfare which is kind of more long-term like if you have children, and then there’s unemployment which is money you get from the government if you don’t have a job. If you’re on unemployment, it’s not as bad but people still kind of look at you like you’re a loser. That you should go out and find a job, and if you’re on welfare, it has a really negative connotation. People look at you like you’re just lazy basically.

Rebecca: Is that true if you’re in a community where, like, the majority of people are on welfare? Are there any places like that in America?

William: Yeah, there are some really poor areas that have a lot of people on welfare and I imagine that they probably look at it differently but I think that maybe deep down they probably wouldn’t want to be on welfare. I mean the main problem is that those people probably weren’t given the same quality of education. They don’t have the same job opportunities, so deep down they probably wish they had a better job, but they don’t, so they’re kept in this vicious cycle that keeps them down, so I think that there might even be indignation.

Rebecca: Yeah, that sounds similar to areas of Britain with like extreme deprivation. There’re places like that where three generations have been on the dole. Another problem is for single mothers. Sometimes, the cost of childcare means that it’s not actually worth them getting a job. Is it the same in America?

William: Yeah, definitely. We don’t have any government supported childcare. And actually there’s been instances where law enforcement people like sheriffs and police officers have said that they actually prefer that some single mothers are on welfare.

Rebecca: Really? But why?

William: Because if they’re not then it makes their children be more likely to be infl uenced by crime or by life in crime, so if they don’t have a strong parent figure at home, it could really have affects, you know, later on in life, so it really is sort of this vicious cycle for single mothers in poor areas that they don’t have child care. They don’t have education. They don’t have job opportunities, and so it’s really kind of hard for them to get out, and they feel almost hopeless.

Rebecca: Yes, it sounds like we have some things in common even though our welfare systems are so different, but I hope these people, their children especially can get out of this cycle.

Jessica: OK, so we’ve talked about freelancing your skills and living and working abroad. Have you ever done that? Have you ever lived and worked in a…

Ted: Like digitally, just like a kind of nomad?

Jessica: Yeah.

Ted: Yeah, I did. I did it for a year. I was actually a nomad. I lived in five different countries and I did all my work online. I mainly was just doing web stuff but it was an interesting experience. I mean I had never, I thought it would be the perfect life and when I told people what I was going to do, everybody said that’s amazing. You know, I mean basically I said that I was just travelling the world and I would just work from whatever city I was in. I would choose my own itinerary and my own destination and I would work when I wanted to.

Jessica: And then why did you quit?

Ted: Well, I think you referenced it earlier. It actually became incredibly lonely. I was surprised how lonely I became. I would meet people but you didn’t have family and you didn’t have your social network. You didn’t have people that you would see every day at work.

Jessica: No workmates?

Ted: Right. You got no workmates, no-one to go out and have a drink with and after a while you really crave like social interaction and not always being the new person, like people that know your name. I remember the big thing that changed is one day I realised I had nowhere to go, I had noone to see and I can go anywhere in the world. I had complete freedom. I could go to the airport and buy a ticket to any place. I could have gone anywhere in the world. There was nothing to stop me. No schedule, no appointments, no-one to report to and it was actually kind of frightening. Like it was almost paralyzing.

Jessica: It’s like standing on the edge of an abyss looking down.

Ted: It was. It was like, you know, I realized I wanted normalcy again. I wanted to have a schedule. I wanted to, you know, have the norm that I had before so I went back to teaching at university and now in my university job I have a lot of time to travel in between but just living around the world going from place to place, yeah, it wasn’t so great.

Jessica: Well, I think it’s great that you had the chance to explore this option. I’m sure everyone would benefit maybe from trying it and then working out what it is they really value because I’m sure we all think wow freedom, absolute freedom, isn’t that like the ultimate goal but then when you have it, you realize well actually no, some of those constraints that I had were quite good.

Ted: Right.

Jessica: They gave me a sense of being or they give structure to my life or meaning to my life.

Ted: Totally, totally and actually now that I’ve done it, I would do it again. I would know how to do it right. I would do it different than I did it before.

Jessica: But it sounds cool though. I can see the attraction definitely.

Now we are ready to start.

Samantha: So talking about clothes, Tom, do you spent a lot of money on clothes?

Tom: I don’t really spend a lot of money on clothes, Samantha. I think the clothes that I buy last for a long time. And I have a lot of them but I only add to them very slowly over the years.

Samantha: The same for me, I don’t like to spend a lot of money on clothes, but every now and then it is nice to splurge on something that looks really good. There’s some great shops like TJ Maxx and Target and, they’re, you know, half price and not as expensive. But you can still find some great looking things.

Tom: Right. And I think by adding to the collection that I already have, I can wear different styles on different days.

Samantha: That’s true.

Tom: Do you think you have too many clothes by chance, do you feel like you need to get rid of any of your clothes?

Samantha: Right now I have way too many shoes actually. I kind of feel like I have a pair of sneakers that I use for sports and tennis, I have a pair of nice cute shoes that I wear when go out and dress up and then I have a pair of kind of everyday flipflops that I walk around in all the time. But there’s three other only things I need but in my closet right now I have about like probably 12 pairs of shoes and it’s ridiculous like you know I don’t need exactly three pairs of black shoes, one that’s heels, one that’s not, one that’s sandals. So I have way too many shoes for one. Shirts, I have maybe too many t-shirts, they tend to accumulate, if you go to certain events a lot of times you’ll get free t-shirts. I run in a lot of marathons and one of the things they give you is a t-shirt. So they’ve kind of accumulated and I have a lot, a lot of t-shirts. What about you?

Tom: Yeah, I think I have some shirts that I need to get rid of, a few t-shirts that are from events that don’t really look so nice. So I think I need to get rid of some of those.

Samantha: I have a terrible habit of when I find something that fits me well and I think looks good, I’ll buy several of the same thing, just in different colors, so I’m wearing the same thing all the time just with different colors. Yeah, I love hats, I tend to wear a hat whenever I go outside in the summer, when I play tennis, when I go to the beach, all the time. And they get so worn, I need more of them.

Tom: Yeah, I have a few hats. I don’t wear them very often, for me a hat is like a last ditch effort to save a bad hair day, like I woke up late, I have to go or I’ll miss the bus, okay here’s a hat.

Samantha: I do that all the time. Oh, I don’t have enough time to shower this morning, just throw on a hat.

Tom: Yeah.

Samantha: Nobody will ever know, it’s good.