Learn English meaning of ‘couch’

Date: Apr 06 2018

Themes: Family, Friend, How To

Grammar: Verbs with "-ing"

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Intro

1. Learn Vocabulary - Learn some new vocabulary before you start the lesson.

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

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Do you know someone who is preparing for the next life? As if thinking of death wasn’t hard already, there are a lot of things people want to take care of before they die. One thing is that we usually have a lot of stuff by the time we’re older. We have knick knacks, furniture, books, and all these things that we can’t take with us.

That’s why it’s a good idea to do some prepping and clean things up. Maybe, there is a couch your nephew wants. Maybe, there are some sentimental things you want to make sure go into the right hands. Either way, simplifying is the best way to prepare for the afterlife. That way, you can focus on the things that matter.

Dominique’s grandma is passing away. Listen and she and Romeo discuss death cleaning in today’s 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.

Romeo

Dominique

Romeo: Uh, is your grandma going to sell that couch anytime soon?

Dominique: I don’t know, but I think she’s prepping.

Romeo: Yeah, she’s selling like a lot of other stuff. I wanted to get dibs on the couch.

Dominique: Yeah, I don’t know, I think you have to be family, but she is, you know, putting names on things and giving stuff away for when she passes away. It’s kind of weird.

Romeo: Yeah. She’s probably seeing it as simplifying. Either way, I still want the couch.

Dominique: I don’t know. It’s kind of sentimental.

Romeo: Oh. OK. Well, I mean, if you get it, then it’ll end up in the apartment, so then I guess I’ll be able to hang out on the couch. So, it’s kind of like we both get it. So, that’s fine.

Dominique: Yeah. OK. Yeah, right now my grandma’s just kind of organizing and you know, going through all her things in her basement, and she’s donating items and discarding items. And… I don’t know if this is like an aging process or what, but it’s kind of scary.

Romeo: Yeah, I guess…

Dominique: I wonder if this is what a lot of older people go through.

Romeo: I could see… I could see her probably just, you know, figuring it’s better to just declutter and, you know, simplify her life and get rid of things she doesn’t have any use for anymore since she probably doesn’t feel like she’s going to be around very much longer.

Grammar Point

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Discussion

Go Super to Listen

Romeo asks if Dominique’s grandma is going to sell her couch. He wants dibs on it. Dominique says she is selling a lot of stuff before she passes away. The couch is probably for her family members. Dominique feels weird about everything. Romeo says that her grandma is probably trying to declutter. He still wants the couch.

Dominique says that the couch is kind of sentimental. It doesn’t make sense for Romeo to get it. Romeo says it’s fine because if Dominique gets it, they can share it in their apartment. So, he’s OK with it! Dominique wonders if her grandma is going through a normal phase in the aging process. Is death cleaning just a part of passing away?

What do you want to give away when you die? Do you want to make sure your stuff goes into the right hands?

Comments

shadow of willow

Turkey

Understanding life begins with thinking of death.

hofpils

Germany

btw: that text is really hard to understand by listening. Romeo is speaking very fast and not really clear. :)

kelvindu

China

I do not want to give furniture, books, applicances or any those things to my friends or family members because I do not think it makes much sense. I do want to start collecting photoes with my family members from now on and give the photoes to my family members when I am about to pass away. This will help them feel better after I pass away and remind them of the fantastic times we have spent together in the past.