Dialogue about Personalities in English with Quiz

Intermediate Listening Series 2 Lesson 4- Dialogue about Personalities in English

In this lesson, you listen to an English conversation between two people talking about personalities.

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English Listening Lesson Audio with Script

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Lesson Script

Jim: OK, Julia, we’re talking about types of people and we have some more that we can discuss. So the next one is worry wart. Are you a worry wart?

Julia: I guess when it comes to some things maybe yeah. Like sometimes I get insomnia and I know it’s because my brain is worrying about stuff.

Jim: Right. You just can’t let it go?

Julia: Yeah, which is kind of why I took up yoga and meditation because just calming down those, you know, those thoughts that are just going crazy round in your head. So I would be a worry wart if it wasn’t for my yoga practice. I think the yoga helps me keep my mind calm.

Jim: Oh, cool.

Julia: But I have that natural tendency I think.

Jim: OK, so what about things around the house? Are you a clean freak?

Julia: No. No, I am messy, like ridiculously messy. I don’t see mess. I don’t see it. It’s like a blind spot.

Jim: So you’re a slob?

Julia: Yes, kind of, yes and this is the one thing that drives my husband crazy because he’s very tidy, he’s very clean, very neat.

Jim: So you guys are yin and yang?

Julia: Yeah. He likes things to go in the proper place and he likes things to be tidied up, put away and for him it’s very, it’s a sort of therapeutic thing. It’s, I guess, the mirror of his mental state. If there’s a mess going on he feels uneasy so he needs to tidy up in order to kind of be focused and calm. I’m kind of the opposite. If everything’s too tidy and neat, I get a bit freaked out. I like, I’m comfortable in mess, very comfortable in mess.

Jim: Comfortable in chaos?

Julia: Yeah.

Jim: Well that leads us to the next one and maybe this relates to your husband. Is he a control freak?

Julia: Yes. Absolutely. He is, yes.

Jim: So can you explain what a control freak is?

Julia: A control freak is someone who likes to be in control, has to be in control all the time over all things.

Jim: And if there’s not, if there’s disorder or something left?

Julia: It causes him stress. It causes him stress so just simple things like maybe like a house guest. While he’s a very friendly and generous and warm person, having an extra person in the house makes him uneasy because it’s a factor that’s out of his control.

Jim: Hm, yeah. So how about other things like are you a, like a video game junkie or TV junkie?

Julia: There are certain games that I have to take off my phone because they will eat away my time.

Jim: Right, like Angry Birds and stuff like that?

Julia: Stuff like that. The ones that, just really simplistic ones, things like Tetris and putting squares in boxes and Bejeweled where you change, moving things around. Those kind of games I can get very readily addicted to so I have to, I have to be careful, I take them off. I had like a brief intense fling with TechM, like those fighting games. I was really into fights, fighting games and playing.

Jim: Wow, that’s hard core.

Julia: Yeah, but it was shortlived and I felt like it was an unhealthy obsession.

Jim: Yeah, you can, yeah.

Julia: But yeah it was great. I enjoyed it when I did it. It was fun.

English Listening Lesson Quizzes

Answer the following questions about the conversation.

1) How does Julia stay calm?

1. a) She cleans
2. b) She meditates
3. c) With music
4. d) With sleep

2) Julia’s husband is ____.

1. a) tidy
2. b) clean
3. c) messy
4. d) a slob

3) Julia’s husband doesn’ like ____.

1. a) order
2. b) disorder
3. c) control freaks
4. d) generosity

4) Julia takes games off her phone because she ___.

1. a) hates them
2. b) gets addicted
3. c) wastes time
4. d) can’ play well

5) She had an obsession with ____

1. a) Tetris
2. b) Angry Birds
3. c) Tekken
4. d) Fighting games

Answers

• 1=b
• 2=a,b
• 3=b
• 4=b,c
• 5=c,d

English Grammar Tips

Coming soon….

English Listening Lesson Phrases

worry wart

Are you a worry wart?

A ‘worry wart’ is a person who worries too much about everything, especially small things that he shouldn’t worry about. Notice the following:

1. She is annoying to travel with, because she is such a worry wart.
2. If you continue to be such a worry wart, you will miss out on a lot of incredible experiences.

Note: This word is found in #1238

insomnia

Sometimes I get insomnia, and I know it’s because my brain is worrying about stuff.

You have ‘insomnia’ when you are unable to fall asleep or get enough sleep, usually for many days in a row. Notice the following:

1. I suffer from insomnia, and I haven’t been sleeping very well recently.
2. He has problems with insomnia because of all the traveling he does for work.

Note: This word is found in #1238

tendency

I have that natural tendency, I think.

Your ‘tendency’ is what you naturally do. Notice the following:

1. It is kind of his tendency to lie about stupid things.
2. If I have the option, I have a tendency to sleep late.

Note: This word is found in #1238

yin and yang

So you guys are like yin and yang?

‘Yin and yang’ is just used to show that Julia and her husband are very opposite in the area of cleaning and messiness. Notice the following:

1. Although we are like yin and yang, we have been best friends for over 10 years.
2. They are business partners, but they are like yin and yang about everything.

blind spot

I don’t see mess. It’s like a blind spot.

A ‘blind spot’ is an area that you can’t see. Here, Julia is saying that she doesn’t see mess. Notice the following:

1. Many women have blind spots in the area of things that need to be fixed on cars.
2. Chores that need to be done around the house are a big blind spot for him.

therapeutic

Cleaning up is sort of a therapeutic thing for him.

In this case, ‘therapeutic’ means something that makes you feel better. Cleaning is like therapy, because it makes you feel more organized. Notice the following:

1. Many people do exercise, because it’s therapeutic in the way it clears your mind.
2. Crying once in a while can be very therapeutic.

uneasy

If there’s a mess going on, he feels uneasy.

When you are ‘uneasy,’ you feel uncomfortable or disturbed. Notice the following:

1. This whole situation makes me feel a little uneasy.
2. What’s wrong? You look very uneasy.

freaked out

If everything is too tidy and neat, I get a bit freaked out

You are ‘freaked out’ when you feel anxious or nervous. Notice the following:

1. My cat gets really freaked out when there are too many people in the house.
2. I don’t want you to get freaked out, but I think that car is following us.

junkie

Are you a video game junkie or a TV junkie?

A ‘junkie’ is a person who is addicted to something, in this case, television or video games. Notice the following:

1. Some people are real Facebook junkies.
2. She is a celebrity magazine junkie. She subscribes to all of them.

fling

I had a brief, intense fling with TechM.

Here, a ‘fling’ is a short period of time when you do something that you want without worrying about holding yourself back. It can also mean a short relationship. Notice the following:

1. During my fling with that band I followed them everywhere.
2. They had a two-week fling after high school, but it was nothing serious.

Quizzes for Lesson Phrases

• blind
• yang
• therapeutic
• uneasy
• freaked
• junkie
• geek
• fling

1. I think traveling alone would make me feel a bit……..  .
2. You sound like such a……….  when you talk about computers.
3. He gets frustrated when other people are messy, but he has a……….  spot for his own mess.
4. Her experience with teaching was more of a……….  . She didn’t do it very long
5. She’s been completely……….  out since her house was robbed.
6. Our personalities are like yin and……..  , but we balance each other well.
7. I am a real coffee……….  .
8. Many people do yoga, because it’s………..  and reduces stress.

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