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Bad Coffee

Date: Nov 04 2003

Intro

1. Learn Vocabulary - Learn some new vocabulary before you start the lesson.

chai

2. Read and Prepare - Read the introduction and prepare to hear the audio.

Hi Friends!
For many people, coffee is an essential part of every day. Coffee contains caffeine, a drug which can help stimulate the brain, so drinking it is a good way to feel more alert. However, caffeine also has some side effects, so drinking too much of it can be a problem.
Beth is a coffee drinker. Getting a cup of coffee is part of her daily routine. Without it, she sometimes feels tired and irritable.
Beth recently told John about a bad experience she had with a cup of coffee. Listen in to their conversation to hear all about it!

Dialog

1. Listen and Read - Listen to the audio and read the dialog at the same time.

2. Study - Read the dialog again to see how the vocab words are used.

John

Beth

John: Beth, you look kind of flustered. What’s up?

Beth: Well, I just went to buy a, a cappuccino and it was so bad. I mean, beyond bad. It was the kind of drink that you get and you’re just like, “Why did I just go out of my way to this specialty coffee place to get this disgusting drink?”

John: Which place did you go to?

Beth: Well I’m not going to name names, but it was just really bad. I’ll describe it to you. It’s supposed to be like a fluffy, foamy coffee drink, and it was basically half a glass full of this white, just nasty kind of… it looked like old milk. It was so bad.

John: So what’d you do? Did you take it back and, and demand a new coffee?

Beth: Well, in a polite way I told the person who made it that it just didn’t look right and it would make me happy if she could make another one. So, she was really nice and made another one and I said thank you, and, and definitely let her know that I appreciated having her make a second one. But, you know, sometimes you just have to stand up and say, “This is not acceptable.”

John: Well, I know you, and you’re not picky, so it must have been a terrible cappuccino.

Beth: It was.

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Discussion

It sounds like Beth takes her coffee very seriously. I’m proud of her for standing up for herself and making the coffee shop give her a new cappuccino. Many people wouldn’t have the courage to do something like that.
I never drink coffee. I don’t feel like I need the caffeine, and besides that I don’t really enjoy drinking hot drinks. When I go to a coffee shop with friends, I usually end up getting a chocolate milk shake or an iced chai tea.
Have a great week!
Tanis

Comments

odnod

Mongolia

I really like this lesson. Actually coffee is not good for human health and I try not to drink coffee often. But I like to drink that :)

Olya1106

Ukraine

I’m not a coffee drinker

princessanika

Iran, Islamic Republic Of

i think tea is better than cofee,but sometimes we like drink cofee for free.my father said u can drink coffee everytime u want but never drink it at night cause u need sleep well.

jiang hui

China

Coffee is a very good drink,when I am tired ,I would liked to have one cup of coffee if possible,especially in winter.But our college are far from city .That’s a pity.