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.
Where do your clothes come from? Even if you buy them at the store, someone, somewhere sewed them for you. Some people sew by hand, while others use state-of-the-art sewing machines. Sewing is a skill that used to be essential to any homemaker, but today, it’s a skill that fewer people possess.
But that may be changing. Like many other crafts and do-it-yourself activities, sewing is seeing a rise in popularity. Pretty soon, the cool thing might be not to have the newest outfit from the mall, but to be able to make that outfit yourself. Find out whether Greta and Amanda can sew in this hobbies English lesson.
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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Greta: Amanda, I really like your coat. Did you make that?
Amanda: Well, of course I did. You know what I’ve been noticing is instead of book clubs lately, there are sewing clubs.
Greta: Really?
Amanda: Yeah. You bring your own sewing machine, and you teach each other how to cross-stitch and serge.
Greta: Wow, it feels like that whole do-it-yourself culture is really coming back into style.
Amanda: Absolutely. And with today’s economy, you really can’t afford to buy new apparel.
Greta: That’s true. The recession has really affected the way that we think about the things that we need versus the things that we want.
Amanda: How much do you know about sewing?
Greta: I know a little bit about sewing. I spent most of my sewing career, so to speak, with just a needle and thread, but I recently graduated to a sewing machine.
Amanda: And what have you made recently? Perhaps a dress? A briefcase?
Greta: This afternoon I finished a cape.
Amanda: Really? Is that for Halloween?
Greta: No, it’s for a costume for a show.
Amanda: I’ve got it.
Grammar Point
Go Super to learn "Present Progressive Tense" from this lesson
Quizzes
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Discussion
Amanda does a lot of sewing. She made the coat she’s wearing, and, recently, she’s heard about people forming sewing clubs. At these clubs, people get together and work on sewing projects. Amanda thinks it makes sense that more people are making their own clothes in the bad economy.
Greta agrees. She has started sewing more recently, too. She just started using a sewing machine. The first thing she made is not something she’ll wear every day, though. It’s a cape for a costume for a show.
Do you know how to sew? Do you wear homemade or store-bought clothes? Do you think it’s important to know how to do things like sew in today’s economy?
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