Cold as Ice

Intro

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

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• breakneck speed
• cold as ice
• warm up
• fly by

• straight up

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

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In the sport of luge, athletes shoot down a track at breakneck speeds. They travel feet-first on sleds, reaching the bottom of a mile-long track in under a minute. Many of the Olympians who compete in the luge travel at over 90 miles (144 km) per hour!

At the Olympics, Jason visits the luge track hoping to meet some cool people and talk to some of the athletes. Watch the competitors teach Jason the true meaning of the phrase “cold as ice.”

3. Watch - Watch the video without reading the dialog.

Dialog

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

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

Jason

Jason:  Welcome to English, baby! I’m Jason, and we are here at Whistler for the 2010 Winter Games. We’re gonna learn about the phrase “cold as ice.” If you try to talk to someone, and they completely ignore that you exist and don’t even turn and look at you or answer what you’re saying, that person is as cold as ice. So we’re gonna see if we can get these lugers to warm up and talk to us a bit, or if they are, in fact, cold as ice.

Jason:  Any minute now, one of these super fast lugey guys is gonna luge past us. Let’s see if we can ask one of these guys a question. What does it mean to…Whoa. That was cold.

Jason:  Need a snack?

Jason:  What does it mean to have breakneck speed?

Jason:  Have you seen Captain Jeff? Man.

Jason:  What country are you rooting for? Hello? Man, this chick is cold as ice! Sometimes, when a guy is trying to meet a girl and she just ignores him and walks the other way, he can say that she is cold as ice. And these lugers, they’re cold as ice ‘cause they just fly right by and don’t even stop to answer our questions.

Jason:  Let’s try one more. Are you cold? Man, that guy is cold. He is cold as ice ‘cause he straight up ignored me when I tried to ask him a question. That was pretty intense. I don’t know if I can handle this sport. I think I better try my hand at speed skating. This is English, baby! Are you cold?

Grammar Point

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Quizzes

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Lesson MP3

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