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.
Not long ago, people used to get pretty excited when they saw the mailman coming. The mail used to bring letters, magazines, and sometimes even money! But these days, as more and more of our lives have moved onto the Internet, we hardly seem to use the real mail anymore. It’s just too slow. There’s even a nickname for it in English because of how slow it is in comparison with email and other forms of instant communication: snail mail. Still, some people don’t want to see the mail disappear altogether. Hear Amy and Ella talk about mail.
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.
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![]() Amy |
Ella: So, where I live, we don’t have mailboxes at our house. I have to have a post office box, and I just find it such a hassle to check it once a week. I refuse to go to the post office more than once a week to check the mail.
Amy: Oh my gosh, really? Checking the mail is like the highlight of my day. I love coming home and seeing what’s in the mailbox.
Ella: I just…I dread having to open a bill, and when I see all those coupon magazines and stuff, things I’ll never use, I’m just like, “This is a waste of paper and killing trees.” I hate receiving mail. Just send it to my email or send me a text.
Amy: Yeah, I understand getting kind of annoyed by junk mail. But for me, even bills, it’s kind of exciting to open up a bill and see what your gas bill is that month. Just the act of, you know, opening up an envelope. And there’s nothing better than getting something you actually want in the mail. Like what about getting a paycheck in the mail? That’s awesome.
Ella: That’s what direct deposit is for. Then I don’t have to keep track of everything, because it’ll all just be in a very convenient little file folder online somewhere. So then I don’t have to keep all these papers and junk mail and deal with the mailman. I mean, the only thing I like to receive is probably a package, but besides that, the mail can just stop.
Grammar Point
Go Super to learn "Gerunds vs. Infinitives" from this lesson
Quizzes
Lesson MP3
The iTEP® test
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Discussion
Ella lives in a house without a mailbox. She has a post office box that she checks once a week. Even though she only checks it once a week, Ella finds the mail annoying. She hates getting junk mail and bills. She would rather get all her mail online.
Amy disagrees. She thinks it is exciting to get the mail. She loves opening up envelopes and thinks it is better to get physical mail than email. Her favorite thing to get in the mail is money!
Do you like to check the mail? What are your favorite and least favorite things to get in the mail?
Comments
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