Advance Listening Series 5 Lesson 11- Dialogue about Beach Vacations in English
In this lesson, you listen to an English conversation between two people’s dialogue about going to beach.
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Lesson Script
Two people talk about time in the surf and sand.
Tony: We are in the full swing of spring.
Steph: Right.
Tony: Or summer.
Steph: No. Well it’s summer weather, but yeah, not technically.
Tony: Well, today feels like summer. It’s 29 degrees feeling like 30. By the way, are you a beach girl or a pool girl?
Steph: I prefer the beach, to be honest. I like it. I like the sea breeze. I like the trees. I like the sand, waves, everything. I’m so good with that.
Tony: Okay. So are you beach girl, Caribbean, or beach girl by the lake in the North American country?
Steph: I guess the lakes can count as a beach because anything with sand, but that’s not what I think of when I think of beach. You know, I think of, yeah, I think of the ocean or I think of the Caribbean Sea or something. A sea, not even Caribbean, the sea.
Tony: How good a swimmer are you?
Steph: On a scale of…?
Tony: One to ten?
Steph: Two, or one. I don’t know. Yeah. I don’t think I could swim to save my life. I took lessons when I was a little girl, like around maybe five, six, seven years old, I would take lessons. And so I learned a few things. I think at that time I had more confidence and I could swim. But now as an adult, oh, I can’t remember one thing. I mean, I don’t even know if I could keep myself up afloat anymore.
Tony: Yeah. I’m definitely a pool guy, and it sounds weird. I’m originally from the tropics, but geez. I can’t take the sand. Sometime the small little seaweed stuff in the sea, it’s just annoying.
Steph: Oh my gosh. Wow. Who are you? The beach is amazing.
Tony: I know it’s good for you.
Steph: It’s great for you.
Tony: It’s good for your skin. It’s good for.
Steph: Absolutely. It’s like the sand is exfoliating. The salt water, no matter what the contact, whether it be just a little bit or a whole lot, it’s good for your skin, good for your hair – all of that type of stuff. It kind of rebalances you. You can treat the beach as a spa day, in fact.
Tony: Yeah, I think so. But yeah, pool is just a clean affair for me. Just like the river. You dive in, you come out, you dry off, you go. No need to be going, washing off, washing off the sand out your underwear.
Steph: Oh my gosh. You are missing out. I don’t know what you mean. I get it. I get what you’re saying with regards to being clean, but I think you’re missing out. There’s so many benefits to the beach.
Tony: So, if you don’t swim, you don’t dive into the water and go under sea exploration, that sort of thing, what do you do when you go to the beach? Do you just recline on the sand and soak up the sun, and?
Steph: Yeah, that’s part of it. I like to do that, but also, I pose a lot. This is the age of Instagram. You can just, oh, take pretty pictures and things like that. I also do a lot of splashing, going into the water and splashing and getting the water on me. But I swim assisted as well. So I’ve done stork snorkeling, I’ve done scuba diving, and I really actually like the underwater life, the fish and the animals.
Tony: So you don’t fear the deep?
Steph: Not really, not really, as long as I am assisted with a life jacket, with oxygen. I’ve jumped off a cliff before.
Tony: How high was the cliff?
Steph: Oh my, I don’t know. I would say.
Tony: Was it like Grand Canyon high?
Steph: Of course not. That’s crazy. No, but yeah, it was pretty high. It was a cliff. And I jumped off assisted by my lovely life jacket. I feel I can do anything. I’m all good. I really think that my lack of swimming is a confidence issue, or just wanting to be in control, like having my feet on the ground. I feel strange about completely surrendering to the elements, like the air, when you’re diving off or the water, because to float, you would have to do that, right? To give yourself up to the water. And I don’t know how I feel about that.
Tony: But there is some amount of control when you’re paddling under the surface. And the up thrust helps to keep you up. So it is just a matter of relaxing and just, it’s like dancing.
Steph: Is it now? I think that once you have the skill set, then you’ll know how to work along with the water and work along with the air, if you’re diving for instance. But without those skills, I would like to keep my feet firmly planted on the floor, thank you very much, on the ground, thank you very much.
English Listening Lesson Quizzes
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English Grammar Tips
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English Listening Lesson Phrases
full swing
We are in the full swing of spring.
The phrase ‘full swing’ means at its highest level. Notice the following:
- The party was in full swing.
- The band was in the full swing of their performance.
to be honest
I prefer the beach, to be honest.
The phrase ‘to be honest’ is used when telling someone what you genuinely think. Notice the following:
- To be honest, the meal was not that tasty.
- I don’t enjoy exercise, to be honest.
count as
I guess the lakes can count as a beach.
The phrase ‘count as’ is used to say that one thing is thought to be the same as another particular thing. Notice the following:
- This ice cream cone does not count as dinner.
- This day off of work counts as vacation time.
to save my life
I don’t think I could swim to save my life.
The phrase ‘to save my life’ means it is impossible for you to do something. Notice the following:
- I couldn’t speak French to save my life.
- I can’t cook to save my life.
keep myself afloat
I don’t even know if I could keep myself up afloat anymore.
The phrase ‘keep myself afloat’ means you can stay above the water. Notice the following:
- In my swimming lesson, I learned to keep myself afloat.
- She won’t swim because she doesn’t know how to keep herself afloat.
I’m good with that.
I like the sand, waves, everything. I’m so good with that.
The phrase ‘I’m good with that’ is used to say you are happy with what is happening. Notice the following:
- We can order pizza tonight. I’m good with that.
- My class was canceled today. I’m so good with that.
Quizzes for Lesson Phrases
- full swing
- to be honest
- good with that
- count as
- save my life
- afloat
- I did not get the job, but I’m……….. .
- Does walking………… exercise?
- I saw the movie, but…….. it was boring.
- I could not sing to………. .
- In the ocean, it is easy to keep myself………. .
- In July, summer is in………. .
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