Episode 04

Episode 04

Carolina is having some problems with money. What can she do to solve them? Adam and Rob talk about all the different types of weather you have in your countries.

Transcript

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!

Discussion

Language level

Topics

Average: 5 (4 votes)

Submitted by Muhammad Erad on Wed, 05/09/2018 - 10:45

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There is a word 'Houri' and it means 'woman of paradise' but it does not exist in British English Dictionary. Is it correct word or is there any other word? Regards

Hello Muhammad,

I couldn't find 'houri' in the Cambridge Dictionary, but it was in the Oxford Dictionary. There's also an entry for it in the Wikipedia. My guess is that many native speakers wouldn't be familiar with it, so it would probably be a good idea to define it.

All the best,
Kirk
The LearnEnglish Team

Submitted by User_User on Sun, 19/08/2018 - 17:33

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Hello Series 3 number 4 task 5 My first job I worked at durodont which was a company that produced beauty products (cosmetics). Several decades have passed since I worked there but I guess the wage was perhaps 9 DM. That would be 4.50 € now. I got the job because my father worked there as a worker. One job I did was to make cartons and stick a label on them. A worker wanted that I work more slowly so that they don't have to work faster too. I've made more boxes than they later needed. It wasn't difficult at all. It wasn't loud or dirty. There was a canteen with cold drinks. The food was disgusting. Bye
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Submitted by Nathalie on Wed, 27/06/2018 - 08:40

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Hi i am french i worked when i was teenager To pay my driving licence i looked after children string the summer and others holidays That was great inspite of few children was ont really Nice That is a big responsability for a young people of 17 or 18 years old

Submitted by Hal55 on Mon, 11/06/2018 - 08:05

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Hello My first job was part-time job at MacDonald when I was a high school student. I became to be allowed to work on part-time when I went on to high school. so I decided to work at MacDonald where is near my house and my brother worked at the same place before. So I started working there after school. but the payment was so very bad like almost the lowest price in my town. and it was quite hard work and too busy during rush time. so I quit MacDonald pretty quickly. I think I worked there for about three or four months only. but good thing was I could eat a lot of burgers and chips after work.
Profile picture for user loyulan

Submitted by loyulan on Mon, 30/04/2018 - 16:07

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My first nob was in a shoe-store when I was 14.

Submitted by kathy_97 on Wed, 21/03/2018 - 10:07

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Hello there! My first job was as a room attendant in a big hotel. I was an intern from school - that's how I get the job. At first it was very hard because the working hours were a lot and there was a lot of work, but after a couple of months it started to get easier and I had a lot of fun because I could see a lot of interesting things such as people's customs.

Submitted by Muhammad Erad on Wed, 14/02/2018 - 11:04

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What is the difference between stroll and walk? Please guide me.

Hello Muhammad Erad,

Strolling is a specific kind of walking -- if you follow the link you can see a definition for it. Most people walk much more often than they stroll. 

All the best,
Kirk
The LearnEnglish Team

Submitted by yla.jay on Sun, 11/02/2018 - 11:27

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My first job has been when I was 15 years old. I worked in a supermarket as a cashier. A cashier is a person handling payments and receipts in a store, bank, or other business. I found the job by myself.