Lesson Eight ENTERTAINMENT (II)
Part B Macro-Listening (Tapescripts, Notes, Exercises with Key)
Dialogue
I’ve Never Been in a Small Town
Tapescript
Woman Did you have a good time last weekend?
Man Yes, I did. I visited some friends in Pennsylvania. They live in a small town called Canonsburg.
Woman That must have been interesting. I've never been in a small town -- just big cities.
Man Neither had I. Woman What did you do?
Man There isn't as much to do as there is here. No plays or concerts, that is. People make their own entertainment, though. Woman What do you mean?
Man Well, Saturday we went to a potluck supper .
Woman A potluck supper? What's that?
Man The whole neighborhood has a party. Everybody brings something. It's all put on the table and you can eat whatever you like. That is a potluck supper.
Woman It's something like a picnic, isn't it?
Man Well, yes. The weather was warm, so we had this one outdoors. But in winter they have them indoors too.
Woman What else did you do?
Man Sunday we went for a drive. We had lunch at a drive-in.
Woman Is the countryside interesting?
Man Beautiful farmland. You'd like it.
Woman I'm sure I would.
Man Sunday evening some people came to dinner. It was very informal -- we just sat around and talked. Just a nice Sunday night supper.
Woman That's the kind of evening I like. I don't care for a formal dinner so much.
Man Neither do I.
Passage
Enjoying Dinner with Friends
Tapescript
Americans, like many people elsewhere in the world, like to invite friends to their homes for an evening of food, drink and conversation. Formal dinners in fine homes and hotels in the United States are much the same as formal dinners anywhere in the world. But as most people in the United States have no servants, their dinner parties at home are decidedly informal. As many new small homes have no separate dining room or just have very small dining space, guests can also serve themselves and eat in the living room, holding their plates or trays on their knees.
A more enjoyable form of entertainment is the picnic. Americans are great and almost every family has a picnic basket. Summer invitations are often for a picnic at a park or in the open countryside. Unless hamburgers or hot dogs are cooked over a fire, picnic food is usually cold -- sandwiches, salads, potato chips, pickles. Watermelon is a favorite dessert, followed very often by baseball for the young and active, and naps for the old and weary. |