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Puzzles
Puzzles

Learn English with this puzzles English lesson

Date: Nov 06 2019

Themes: Hobbies

Grammar: Adverbs

Intro

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

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Does liking puzzles make you a nerd? No way! There’s a good reason that people are addicted to crossword and jigsaw puzzles: they’re a fun distraction from one’s troubles. After a long, stressful day at work, sitting down with a puzzle and a mug of tea can do wonders.

It doesn’t stop there. There are puzzles with letters and words, but also numbers. Some puzzles need to be picked up and fitted together, and sometimes picked up and taken apart. Some are meant for kids, and some for adults. The one thing they all share in common is that puzzles keep us busy and probably make us smarter. After all, we have to exercise our brains, too.

Find out if Amanda and Mason agree about puzzles in this English lesson.

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.

Mason

Mason

Amanda

Amanda

Mason:  What’s a five letter word for aggravate?

Amanda:  Mason. But you know what?

Mason:  I don’t think that goes with the word that I’ve got going across.

Amanda:  Are you doing another one of your silly crossword puzzles?

Mason:  I’m totally addicted. They’re just so much fun!

Amanda:  You’re such a nerd about it. There are so many other things to do, like go hike a mountain.

Mason:  Well, I did a cool jigsaw puzzle of a mountain the other day. Does that count?

Amanda:  Do you think you have a thing for puzzles because you’re naturally a problem solver? Is that it?

Mason:  Yeah, for sure. And it’s just fun to get out of my head and do something completely different. It’s a distraction. It’s a release.

Amanda:  But how much fun can it be to always have to find a solution to a puzzle or a problem. Who cares?

Mason:  It’s tons of fun. We’re biologically hard-wired to want to solve problems. It’s totally why we’re the best species.

Amanda:  What one cool celebrity that you know does puzzles?

Mason:  I hear Justin Timberlake is absolutely bonkers for Sudoku.

 

Grammar Point

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Quizzes

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Lesson MP3

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Discussion

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One thing is for sure: Amanda doesn’t like puzzles. She thinks puzzles are kind of nerdy, and that Mason could be spending his time doing more interesting things. Amanda tries to understand why he’s so into them, but his reasons don’t satisfy her. No matter what he says, Amanda still thinks Mason’s puzzles are kind of dumb.

To Mason, doing puzzles is a relaxing activity. Puzzles keep his mind busy when he needs a break from everyday life. He probably likes to be challenged, too. Mason’s more interested in completing a jigsaw puzzle of nature than actually going outside. He doesn’t care if Amanda likes them or not. It’s just something he loves.

Do you like solving puzzles? What do you like about it? What’s your favorite kind?

 

Comments

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tamago

tamago

Japan

I miss Mason and Amanda

03:39 PM Nov 06 2019 |

Uvercinka_

Uvercinka_

Turkey

I prefer difficult sudoku when I feel like doing nothing. I think it refreshes my mind.

06:30 AM Oct 24 2018 |

atifnaseri112

Afghanistan

Hello dears 


I like to speak english and some help me l

07:42 AM Aug 29 2018 |

1 person likes this

asef

asef

Afghanistan

I like playing puzzles very much,Puzzles are not only useful for our brain but also it keeps us happy and refresh all the time, I dont have a good memory and i can not keep puzzles in my mind.

06:42 AM Aug 29 2018 |

1 person likes this

DanielBorges

Portugal

I’m not addicted to solving puzzles, but i recently solved two. One from the Manhattan Island (a 3D pop art from Charles Fazzino) full of life and very funny. The other one, an oil and gold on canvas from the Austrian painter Gustav Klimt – The kiss. I think that doing puzzles could be a distraction or a kind of a release!

09:42 PM Oct 21 2013 |

Orchestra

Orchestra

Russian Federation

It’s turned so that not only are puzzles considered to be means of entertainment and realese to me, but also it’s a part of my work.


And I do find it extremely exciting stuff, when you’re trying your very best to finally determine the clue to the comprehension of how it should be and what the correct answer is. As it comes, it makes me feel completed a kind of a mission and then leveled up to the higher intelligence position.))


Jigsaw ones are not an exception. It’s cool as well. However, when it consists of more than a thousand of pieces it can get more boring rather than amusing and carring away, to me at least.

09:27 PM Oct 21 2013 |

sheitooonak

Iran, Islamic Republic Of

I just love playing puzzle….It makes me feel so good after solving it :)

05:12 PM Oct 21 2013 |

clutchmann

clutchmann

Hungary

I like playing puzzle with my son. We play with Walt Disney’s puzzles.

01:59 PM Oct 21 2013 |

shahriarheydari

Iran, Islamic Republic Of

LIFE is a puzzle , everybody who could finds correct pieces ,certainly would be winner 

12:53 PM Oct 21 2013 |

chencylyq

chencylyq

China

i haven,t played  puzzles ,but since it is   quite a good way to make us smarter  while we keep thinking. maybe i will be addicted to it  only if i have a try!

11:52 AM Oct 21 2013 |

1 person likes this

 julito

julito

Argentina

Seift. I agree , life is a puzzle  ,  we  break  our brains trying to resolve  it, but it is like  the coiled tail of a dog , no matter how many times we  try straighting it out  ,it will  coiled it up again. lol….

11:18 AM Oct 21 2013 |

1 person likes this

bkmiller69

bkmiller69

United States

I like puzzles.

11:06 AM Oct 21 2013 |

Seiyf_khawas

Turkey

life has a lot of puzzles :) 


and 


everyone looks for missing or absent part on it ..for ending this puzzle..

10:53 AM Oct 21 2013 |

1 person likes this

Jasonlongo

Jasonlongo

Congo, Democratic Republic Of The

My favorite kind is sudoku, I do like them a lot.


Sometimes I try other kinds but it really doesn’t work, for sure !


Puzzles make people addicted to, and I don’t really want to spend much time playing at…But I really like them cos they open our mind and make us more clever.

09:49 AM Oct 21 2013 |

1 person likes this

shorio

shorio

Iran, Islamic Republic Of

If I had to choose one of those puzzles, I would choose Sudoku.


To me, doing the crossword is the activity that makes me really bored.Because I am not good at remembering  the words in that way.

08:57 AM Oct 21 2013 |

dreadslayer

Turkey

I used to like it when i was a kid.it was fun to solve puzzles .though i havent tried big ones those seemed terrified for me.I agree it’s gymnactic for brain . i definitely agree yousef if we dont exercise our brain it’ll be impaired . even for long term holidays i feel preoccupied of doing nothing so it’s imperative to run our brains :)

YunxiaChen

China

I agree that crosswords puzzle is a good tool for improving the memory of older people. So, i bought a crosswords puzzle book for my parents in law. As younger people, we prefer to go outside.  

06:03 AM Oct 21 2013 |

1 person likes this

yousefkohpeyma

Iran, Islamic Republic Of

Actually, I’m fond of solving puzzles. Basically, dealing with puzzles could be highly effective in some facets of our life. for instance, solving crosswords is useful for learning a foreign language, specifically, for ameliorating word power and vocabulary. Furthermore, in many books I have read if we don’t exercise our brain, it gets impaired, so it’s a great method through which brain is much healthier and less likely to be affected by diseases.What’s more, it can take our mind off of everything, including plights, problems and anxiety of life, at least for a short moment… Therefore, it is worth allocating some minutes to it per day.

05:49 AM Oct 21 2013 |

 julito

julito

Argentina

I am totally into crosswords puzzles, it’s kind of an addiction to me, but a healthy one ,like a therapy . in those moments I can easily forget the outside world with all its responsibilities . As we can go to a gym to exercise or build up our muscles ,likewise ,crosswords puzzles help to activate our brain to think deeper  and it is very much praised as a way  for improving the memory of older people  and  keeping Alzheimer away.  

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