Adam and Rob
Both: Hello!
Adam: Welcome back, listeners – and welcome back, Rob! How was your holiday?
Rob: It was really nice, Adam, thanks. I went to Slovenia and the weather was fantastic.
Adam: Sounds great. And the comments you sent about the weather in your countries were great too! Many of you have very hot weather. Abuhekmat in Oman told us about weather that reaches 49 degrees! I can’t imagine being that hot. Fazliddin12 in Uzbekistan sees temperatures of 45 degrees and Saandari in Mongolia told us about weather that was hot, but not quite as hot as Oman, 35 degrees. The big difference in Mongolia is that in winter it reaches -35 degrees! That’s a huge difference between summer and winter.
Rob: That’s very cold. Many of you also wrote to us about cold weather in your countries. Kosovac in Serbia says it can be -20 degrees. ValiantSpirit in Pakistan says it can be -15 degrees. But what is cold? In other countries, maybe it’s a bit different. In El Salvador, Daxrosales says 15 degrees is a cold day, while in Malaysia, Shokmin says 24 degrees is a cold day. You also told us about other weather conditions in your countries. For example, in China Diqiudashi told us about the typhoons that come to the mainland and bring heavy storms.
Adam: Tkazerooni in Iran told us about weather called ‘Wolf & Ewe’. (A ewe is a female sheep.) ‘Wolf & Ewe’ weather is when dark clouds and white clouds are in the sky at the same time. The ‘wolf’ (the dark clouds) chases the ‘ewe’ (the white clouds) and Iranians say that this is very changeable weather, with a very high chance of rain. Remember, you can write to us at www.britishcouncil.org/learnenglish or via Facebook – look for ‘Elementary Podcasts’.
Rob: Now, do you remember what happened last time with Carolina, the student from Venezuela at Newcastle University? She returned from her summer holiday and talked with Emily about her new clothes, about missing English and, of course, about her boyfriend Jamie. Let’s see what’s happening this time!
Carolina
Carolina: Let me see. Oh dear. No, that's not right. Emily, what's seventy times twelve?
Emily: What?
Carolina: What's seventy times twelve?
Emily: Err, ten times seventy is seven hundred and two times seventy is a hundred and forty, so that makes erm, eight hundred and forty.
Carolina: What's seventy divided by fifty-two?
Emily: I don't know! I'm trying to read my book! Haven't you got a calculator on your phone?
Carolina: Oh, yes. Oooh. Oh dear!
Emily: What's the matter, Carolina?
Carolina: Nothing.
Emily: It doesn't sound like nothing. I can't read my book with your {big sigh} and {big sigh}. What's the problem?
Carolina: Well, I'm trying to work out my money. My money for the year.
Emily: Your money for the year. Mmm…
Carolina: And it's not very good.
Emily: It's not very good?
Carolina: Well, I haven't got enough.
Emily: You haven't got enough?
Carolina: Stop repeating everything I say!
Emily: Sorry.
Carolina: I don't know what I'm going to do.
Emily: Well, you did spend a lot of money in the summer, didn't you? You bought a lot of clothes and things.
Carolina: Yes. I did. And presents for my family and friends in Venezuela.
Emily: Oh dear. So, how bad is it?
Carolina: A disaster. After I've paid my rent for this room and the electricity and water, and my phone, and my travel card, well - there isn't very much left.
Emily: How much?
Carolina: About 20 pounds a week.
Emily: Twenty pounds a week!
Carolina: You're doing it again.
Emily: Sorry. But twenty pounds a week - you can't live on that. You have to buy food and books…
Carolina: And go out sometimes.
Emily: Can you ask your parents for some money?
Carolina: Oh, no. They've already given me a lot. I can't do that.
Emily: What about…
{doorbell}
Carolina: I'll go. It's probably Jamie.
Carolina: It’s so good to see you.
Jamie: It’s good to see you too. You been OK? Oh, hi Emily!
Emily: Hi Jamie. How's it going?
Jamie: Good, thanks. And you?
Emily: Yep.
Carolina: I'm going to get a job.
Emily and Jamie: Get a job?
Carolina: Now you're both doing it. I have to do something, Jamie. I can't live on the money that I've got for this year.
Jamie: Are you allowed to work here? Don't you need a special visa?
Carolina: No, I can work on my student visa - part-time. I'll check but I think I can work up to 20 hours a week.
Jamie: I'm not sure about this. You need time to study. And to go out and enjoy yourself - with me.
Carolina: I can't go out and enjoy myself if I haven't got any money, can I?
Jamie: I’ve got some money, I can pay.
Carolina: That's it. I've decided. Tomorrow morning I'm going to start looking for a job.
Adam and Rob
Adam: Oh dear. I hope Carolina manages to find a job or some other way to get more money.
Rob: It will be a lot easier for her if she has some experience, if she has done a job before. What was your first job, Adam?
Adam: I worked as a paperboy. That means I delivered newspapers to people’s houses early in the morning. It was quite interesting, although I didn’t have time to read anything more than the headlines. The real problem came when it was raining. What about you?
Rob: I worked as a waiter in a restaurant. It was quite hard work, but I didn’t earn a lot of money, unfortunately. Tell us about your first job. What did you do? Remember, you can write to us at www.britishcouncil.org/learnenglish or via Facebook – look for ‘Elementary Podcasts’.
Adam: Now, do you notice anything about these sentences? Have a listen:
Emily: How much?
Carolina: About twenty pounds a week.
Emily: Twenty pounds a week!
Carolina: You’re doing it again!
Jamie: Are you allowed to work here? Don't you need a special visa?
Carolina: No, I can work on my student visa - part-time. I'll check but I think I can work up to 20 hours a week.
Rob: Carolina says she has about twenty pounds a week. She also says she thinks she can work up to twenty hours a week. ‘A week’ means ‘every week’. We use ‘a’ and ‘an’ with other words, too. For example, ‘hour’. I earned three pounds an hour when I was a waiter.
Adam: And I see my family three or four times a year. There will be some exercises about this and other language areas on LearnEnglish. That’s all we’ve got time for today – remember to write to us and tell us about your first job at LearnEnglish or on Facebook.
Rob: We’ll be back next time with Tess & Ravi. So, until then…
Adam and Rob: Bye!
Comments
I don't get what the difference between "in" and "at" is, that many specific things strictly get just one of them (such as "at the university", "in the building", "in / at the morning".). Is there a clear rule where to use this one (at) and where to use the second one (in)? Please explain the usage?
Hello Muhammad Erad
It can indeed be confusing! I would recommend you have a look at this dictionary page, which gives a nice summary of how 'at', 'on' and 'in' are used to speak about places. I think the explanation there should answer many of your questions, but if you have any other after reading it, please don't hesitate to ask us here.
All the best
Kirk
The LearnEnglish Team
Hello Muhammad Erad
I'm sorry about that! I forgot to include the link yesterday. I've just added it to my comment above and here you have it in this comment, too.
All the best
Kirk
The LearnEnglish Team
I work for few month as a receptionist in the restaurant it was quite spectacular , i
saw more people and i enjoyed with a team.
My first job was to help my father in the fields, in banana plantations, corn, among others.
When i was fifteen years old i used to work as ball boy at sport club. i worked five hours per day through five years. I earned twenty pesos per hour.
With my first job I was able to pay for necessities such as tickets, food, clothes and school supplies. it was a great and funny experience but also very tired. In my first job also i could practice tenis, it is my favourite sport. Now I want to return at sport club like a client
1) I object on wearing yellow colour.
2) I object to wearing yellow colour.
Which sentence is correct. I am confused here, whether to use 'to' or 'on.'
Hello Muhammad Erad,
The correct preposition after 'object' is 'to', so the second sentence is correct. I think we would say 'the colour yellow' and not just 'colour yellow', however.
Peter
The LearnEnglish Team
Thank you.
In 1993 that's the year of my first job at the Algerian Water Services Company, in Bechar city, located in the southwest of Algeria, when I took a trade framework, and I have got 10.000 Algerian Dinar about (45 Euro) in month. it's very easy work for me and l was very happy in my job,but sorry I left it in 1995, because I didn‘t do the duty of national military service.
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