世博英语

Speaking

Pronunciation

Conversation

Anna: Have a nice day at work Marsha!
Marsha: You too, Anna. Oh, wait. Do you have pen and paper I can borrow?
Anna: Of course.
Marsha: We are meeting at this restaurant tonight.
Anna: What is happening tonight?
Marsha: Today is my birthday. We are celebrating at 7pm tonight. Did you forget?
Anna: Sorry, Marsha! I gotta go! See you later!
Marsha: Don’t forget! Tonight … 7pm!
Anna: I forgot Marsha’s birthday! And I don’t get my paycheck until next week. I know. I’ll make her a gift. I’ll just have to borrow a couple of things.
Anna: Amelia, may I borrow your stapler?
Amelia: Sure. I can lend you my stapler, Anna. But please return it. It’s my favorite stapler.
Anna: You can trust me. I understand. One time, I loaned my stapler to the wrong person.
Anna: Thanks, Amelia.
Amelia: Don’t mention it. Bye, stapler!
Anna: Jonathan! Can I borrow your scissors?
Jonathan: Oh! Hi, Anna! What’re you doing?
Anna: Can I borrow your scissors? Sorry to bother you.
Jonathan: Yes, I can lend them to you, but you must return them. These scissors — they are the sharpest scissors in the office. Watch.
Anna: Wow, those are sharp. I will be very careful.
Jonathan: Okay.
Anna: And I’ll bring them back tomorrow.
Jonathan: Good.
Anna: Thank you.
Jonathan: You’re welcome.
Anna: Happy Birthday, Marsha! (gives Marsha a gift)
Marsha: Thanks, Anna! I love birthday gifts! Anna, it is … interesting. What is it?
Anna: Well, I know you love hats. And you need office supplies. So, this is your own office supply hat!
Marsha: Wow! That is a lot of office supplies!
Anna: Many people loaned or shared their supplies with me. Some people really love their office supplies. It has paper, pens, tape, erasers, rubber bands, binder clips, paper clips, and a light!
Marsha: What is the balloon for?
Anna: The balloon will help your friends find you. Let’s try it! You get a seat in the restaurant – I will find you!
Anna: Sometimes all the money in the world can’t buy the perfect gift. Until next time!

Speaking

Pronunciation

Conversation

Anna: You know I love Washington, D.C. But I want to see more of the United States. My roommate Marsha and I will be on vacation at the same time. So, we are going on a road trip together!
Hi, Marsha!
Marsha: Hi!
Anna: I packed my bags and I am ready to go!
Marsha: Did you make a list of all the places you want to see?
Anna: I did. I want to see New York City and the Statue of Liberty!
Marsha: And I want to see Mount Rushmore!
Anna: (Anna writes) Mount Rushmore.
Marsha: And don’t forget the Grand Canyon!
Anna: (Anna writes) Let’s not forget California’s redwood forest! There are so many places to see!
Marsha: We will be driving for a long time. So, we might get bored.
Anna: Bored? No way! We can talk.
Marsha: Or not talk.
Anna: We can play word games. We can sing! You know, our trip is like that famous American song. (sings) “This land is your land, This land is my land …”*
Marsha: (sings) “…from California to the New York island …”
BOTH: “… to the redwood forest to the Gulf stream waters … this land was made for you and me!”
Marsha: Will we be stopping soon?
Anna: We won’t be stopping soon.
Marsha: I’m hungry.
Anna: Marsha, we just left D.C.! We’ll be eating lunch in about 2 hours. Can you wait?
Marsha: I guess.
Anna: Here, have an apple. It’s organic!
(Anna throws the apple. It goes out the window.)
Marsha: Thanks.
Marsha: Okay, we will be arriving in New York City very soon!
Anna: I can’t wait to see The Big Apple! Marsha, look! There she is!
Marsha: The Statue of Liberty!
Anna: She is awesome!
Anna: Marsha, in ten minutes, guess what we’ll be seeing?
Marsha: What?
Anna: The largest rocking chair in the world!
Marsha: No, we won’t be seeing that.
Anna: Marsha, it’s on my other list — Best Roadside Sights.
(Marsha grabs the paper and throws it out the window.)
Anna: Oh no! We littered! And my list is gone. Don’t worry. I brought the book. (lifts up large book, starts reading)
(Later)
Anna: … and that is why I am so afraid of sheep.
Marsha: (snores a little)
Anna: Wow, I feel better. Marsha, you are a great listener.
Marsha: (waking up) Where are we?
Anna: We will be entering North Dakota any minute now!
Marsha: North Dakota! We are going in the wrong direction! We want to go to South Dakota!
Anna: No problem. I will just exit the highway. We will be going south … in just a minute. There. Done! We’re going south! Okay, we will be stopping for gas and a bathroom break in about an hour.
Marsha: Then we will be very near to Mount Rushmore!
Anna: Yay! Dead presidents’ heads on the side of a mountain!
Anna: We did it, Marsha! We made it to California! It’s beautiful!
Marsha: And we saw everything on the list!
Anna: Well, we saw everything on page 1 of the list.
Marsha: What do you mean “page 1?”
Anna: Oh. Here are pages 2, 3 and 4! We’ll be very busy driving back to Washington, D.C. Until next time … !

• This Land is Your Land was written by American folk singer Woody Guthrie. See below for the lyrics and videos of Woody Guthrie and Pete Seeger and Bruce Springsteen performing the song.