English Globe understanding the world

Open menu
 

Unit 41. Could You Say That Again?

here.png
Understanding Conversation

Unit 41; Part A

Listen to this conversation. What is the cause of the misunderstanding?

A: I've just got this one bag.
B: Wow! Do you always travel so light?
A: Yeah. Can't stand the wait, you know,
    at the airport...
B: Yeah, I know. My bag's really heavy.
    But it's got wheels, so I don't have to carry it.
A: No, I mean the waiting, you know, waiting
    for your cases to come out on the belt.
41.1.jpg

The speakers pronounce all the words clearly but there is a misunderstanding because the words weight and wait have the same pronunciation. When Speaker B says heavy, Speaker A knows he understood weight, not wait, so she corrects the misunderstandig.

In conversation, we need to know when communication is going wrong, and then correct it.

Unit 41; Part B

 
idea.jpgImportant for listening!
When we don't understand what someone says in a foreignlanguage, we often think it is because we don't know the language well.But often it is not our fault. Listen to this man from London. Do you understand what he is saying?

It leaves at free forty-five this afternoon.
    
There are many different accents in English. In this accent, three sounds like free. In this example, you can probably guess from the context that he is saying three forty-five. The context often helps us understand what people are saying.
 
 

Unit 41; Part C

We can't always guess from the соntext. Sometimes we need to askquestions in order to understand. Remember these ways of asking.
41.2.jpg

 



Exercises

flag.jpgIn each of the sentences below, one of the words is written wrongly.It is written wrongly because that's what it sounds like in the accentof the speaker. All the accents are different from standard, BritishEnglish. Listen and guess from the context which word is writtenwrongly and correct it.
Key.1. noose news
2. art heart
3. den then
4. tank thank
5. robin robbing
6. look luck
7. old hold

Example:   She's а rider of romantic novels.    writer   
1    Read about it in the noose papers. __________
2    She went to hospital 'cause she had art problems. __________
3    We warched TV and den we went to bed. __________
4    I want to tank you for your help. __________
5    They were jailed for robin a bank. __________
6    With a bit of look, we'll win this game. __________
7    Can you old the umbrella while I get my keys out? __________

flag.jpgListen to these dialogues and fill in the missing words. Then listen again and say B's lines.
Key.1A: Can I help you?
 B: Yes, I'd like to see ... I'm sorry, how do you pronounce this name?
 A: O'Shaughnessy. Doctor O'Shaughnessy.
 B: Yes, I'd iike to see Doctor O'Shaughnessy, please.
2A: My name's Mark.
 B: Sorry, Mike, you say?
 A: No, Mark. M-A-R-K.
 B: Oh, I see. You don't pronounce the R?
 A: No, not in my accent.
3A: My surname's Vaugn,
 B: Sorry, could you repeat that, please?
 A: Vaugn.
 B: Vaugn? How do you spell that?
 A: V-A-U-G-N.
 B: Oh yes, I've seen that name before!


41.3.jpg1  A: Can I help you?
   B: Yes, I'd like to see... I'm sorry, ___________ do you pronounce this name?
   A: O'Shaughnessy. Doctor O'Shaughnessy.
   B: Yes, I'd ___________ to see Doctor O'Shaughnessy, please.

2 A: My name's Mark.
   B: ___________, Mike, you say?
   A: No, Mark. M-A-R-K.
   B: Oh, I see. You don't ___________the R?
   A: No, not in my accent.

3 A: My surname's Vaugn.
   B: Sorry, could you ___________ that, please?
   A: Vaugn.
   B: Vaugn? How do you ___________ that?
   A: V-A-U-G-N.
   B: Oh yes, I've seen that name before!
flag.jpgListen. Reply to each sentence you hear using one of the expressions below. Number the expressions in the order you use them.
Key.3
2
1
4


__________ Sorry, could you repeat that, please?
__________ Sorry, I don't understand.
       1          How do you pronounce that?
__________ Can you speak more slowly, please?
back.jpg
Unit 40      Unit 41     Unit 42 forward.jpg