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.
Something creepy is happening in the United States. People are dressing up as clowns and scaring other people! It first happened in South Carolina in the summer of 2016. Now people in other states are doing it, too. For a person with a clown phobia, there is nothing hilarious about someone wearing face paint and a wig.
Why do people dislike clowns? Maybe, it’s because of a scary clown in the 1990 movie ‘IT’. This movie made many children feel tormented. These scared children are now adults who are afraid of clowns. But other people think clowns are harmless. They think a clown is just a fun person, a person who wears a wig and juggles, a person who likes to make children laugh.
Dominique started being afraid of clowns as a child, and she still has scars from her fear. Listen to this English lesson to find out why this is bad news for Andy.
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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Andy_H: Dominique, I have the coolest idea for your daughter’s birthday party.
Dominique: What?
Andy_H: A clown!
Dominique: No, never.
Andy_H: What, why?
Dominique: I am deathly afraid of them. Like, I’ve been afraid of them since I was a child.
Andy_H: Oh no! You have a phobia of clowns.
Dominique: Yes.
Andy_H: Oh man, I already put a down payment on the clown, too.
Dominique: Well, you’re going to have to get it back. I’m sorry. I cannot do face paint. They just like make my skin crawl, they’re just creepy for no reason.
Andy_H: But think about all the kids at the party! They’ll get balloons, they might even be able to take the wig off, and the clown juggles!
Dominique: Andy, I am thinking of the children. They’re going to be tormented for the rest of their life. I still have scars, Andy!
Andy_H: OK, OK, I’ll figure something out. But I just want you to know, I have met Laughy. He is hilarious and talented. And harmless. Harmless, Dominique.
Dominique: Creepy. Scary. Scars.
Andy_H: Harmless.
Grammar Point
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Discussion
There will be a birthday party soon for Dominique’s daughter, and Andy has a surprise. He invited a clown named Laughy to come to the party! Uh oh. Andy doesn’t know that Dominique has a terrible phobia of clowns. Clowns make Dominique’s skin crawl. She thinks they’re creepy people, and she doesn’t want them at her daughter’s birthday party.
Andy has no problem with clowns. He tries to get Dominique to change her mind. After all, he already gave Laughy a down payment. Andy tells Dominique that Laughy is harmless. He juggles, he wears a funny wig, and the kids will think he is hilarious. But Dominique isn’t going to change her mind. She wants the kids at the party to have fun, not scars, so Andy will have to think of another surprise.
Do you have a phobia of something? What do you think is creepy?
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