Intro
1. Learn Vocabulary - Learn some new vocabulary before you start the lesson.
2. Read and Prepare - Read the introduction and prepare to hear the audio.
Everyone appreciates a beautiful smile. But you never know how much time, money, and pain it might have taken to achieve that perfect grin.
In the US, it’s very common for people to get braces in order to make their teeth straight. Most get braces when they are in middle school or high school, and keep them on for a year or more. Braces are expensive and uncomfortable, but as the saying goes, “No pain, no gain!”
Jason and Amy both had braces when they were younger. Hear about their experiences.
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.
![]() Amy |
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Amy: Man, last night, I had this recurring dream that I have, that I had braces on again.
Jason: Oh, you had them before?
Amy: I had them as a kid, and I had them for like four years.
Jason: Geez.
Amy: I know, and I had to have headgear.
Jason: Oh my gosh.
Amy: And rubber bands, like, holding my upper and lower teeth together, basically.
Jason: Wow.
Amy: And it was just so painful and such a big part of my life, and I still have this nightmare every once in a while that I’ve got braces again.
Jason: Wow. Braces are sort of barbaric seeming to me.
Amy: I know. Did you have braces?
Jason: I did, and it was horrible, and it didn’t even fix my teeth all the way.
Amy: I know. My teeth aren’t perfect either. But did you wear your retainer and do all those things you were supposed to?
Jason: I was a very bad braces haver.
Amy: So was I.
Jason: I hated them so much, I demanded to have them off before it was done, even. It just seems really insane to have something constantly pulling on a part of your body.
Amy: I know.
Jason: So they took them off, and then my teeth continued to get straighter on their own.
Amy: Woah. So the braces had kind of just set them off in the right direction.
Jason: I guess.
Grammar Point
Go Super to learn "Simple Past Tense" from this lesson
Quizzes
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Discussion
When Amy was younger, she had to have braces. The braces were very painful and Amy hated wearing them. As an adult, she still has nightmares sometimes about having her braces back on.
Jason also had braces. He says they are painful and barbaric. Neither his braces nor Amy’s made their teeth perfectly straight. But Jason made the dentist take his braces off early, and both he and Amy did a poor job of following their dentist’s instructions, which might explain why they didn’t work.
Have you ever had braces? Where you live, is it common for people to try to make their teeth straighter with braces?
Comments
United States |
United States |
Philippines |
Egypt |
Saudi Arabia |
Philippines |
Japan |
Japan |
China |
United States |
Mexico |
Indonesia |
United States |
Jordan |
Indonesia |
Morocco |
Iran, Islamic Republic Of |
Turkey |
Algeria |
United States |