Picture postcard: a place that is extremely attractive or beautiful.
Red tape: official rules and processes that seem unnecessary and cause delays.
To travel light: to take very little luggage with you when you travel
Air rage: sudden angry and violent behavior by a passenger on an aircraft during a flight.
To catch some rays: to sunbathe.
And now, play this game to check you progress:
In today´s video lesson we are going to study a classic song from The Marvelettes released in 1968 called Destination: Anywhere. It´s a heartbreak song about someone who wants to run away from an ex, starting a journey without any destination in mind.
Even though it wasn´t a success like their number one single Please, Mr Postman with the time it became a classic song, especially after a cover was recorded by The Commitments for their homonymous film in 1991.
In fact, for this
lesson I propose listening to this stunning cover, following the usual steps:
1- Download the lyrics sheet, and go to page 1 where you will find the song´s lyrics with some missing words (gaps).
2- Click this video and listen to the song while you try to fill the gaps with the words that you hear. I recommend listening at least twice to the song.
3- Check your results going to page 2 where you will find the whole lyrics of the song.
4- Take a look at the vocabulary below to understand every word of the song.
5- Listen again to the song,
without reading the lyrics and try to understand most of it.
Destination: the place where someone is going. Sometimes it is confused by Spanish students with destiny (the things that will happen in the future), as both words have the same translation to Spanish: Destino.
Railroad
station: a place with one or more buildings and platforms
where trains stop for people to get on or off. Also known as railway
station.
Wanna:
short informal form of want to or want a. Very common in
spoken American English but considered incorrect in written English.
Miss:
a title used before the family name or full name of a single woman who has no
other title. When used without a name it´s a polite way to address a woman.
Ain´t:
short informal form of am not, is not, is not, has not or have
not.
Back door:
a door in the back of a building. Figuratively is used to refer to an indirect way
of achieving something like in this song.
A funny face:
a surprising face that shows amazement.
Anyplace:
synonym of anywhere.
´Cause:
short informal form of because. Sometimes it´s also written
as cos
or cuz.
Tenderly:
in a gentle, loving, or kind way.
Conductor:
someone whose job is to sell tickets on a bus, train or other public vehicle. Also
a railway official who travels on and is responsible for a train. This word is a
false friend for Spanish student as it
sounds like Conductor which means driver
in Spanish.
Do you know what idioms are?
If you are a Spanish student you might think that idiom means Idioma, as it sounds really similar but that, my friend is a mistake. The English word for Idioma is language as you surely know.
Thus, what´s an idiom? An idiom is a group of words in a fixed order that have a particular meaning that is different from the meanings of each word on its own. In other words, they are expressions used by English native speakers, usually in informal conversations.
They are, literally, hundreds of English idioms and they are quite difficult to learn or understand for non-native English speakers. But they are really important if you want to have fluent conversations in English or if you just want to understand what people are talking about. For example, most of the TV series, movies and English songs use countless idioms; hence the need to learn them in order to understand most of the jokes and plot twists.
That´s why I´m going to devote at least a couple of posts to teach you some of the most common idioms related with the travel business.
Let´s start right now!
Globetrotter: someone who travels to a lot of different countries.
e.g. You have visited Vietnam, Myanmar, Japan and Brazil in the last year! You surely are a globetrotter!
To thumb a lift/ a ride: to stand near the edge of a road and hold your hand with the thumb raised as a signal for a vehicle to stop and take you somewhere.
e.g. When I was young I didn´t have much money to travel so I use to thumb a lift.
Fleapit: a dirty,
uncomfortable and usually cheap accommodation. Also an old cinema or theatre.
e.g. I stayed at the cheapest hotel in Bangkok and it was a real fleapit
In the middle of nowhere: isolated from
any towns, villages, etc.
e.g. Next summer I will go to cabin at the mountains, far away from any village. It´s in the middle of nowhere.
Rip-off: (noun) something that is not worth what you pay for it. e.g. In Venice we paid 12€ for a cup of coffee, what a rip off!
(verb) act of
cheating someone by charging too much or not giving anything of value for money
spent. e.g. Don´t eat at the main square,
it´s a rip-off.
Have you seen the movie Forgetting Sarah Marshall? Isn´t it hilarious, at the least?
For today´s lesson we are going to watch a short clip from the movie where we are going to learn some vocabulary related with hotels, mainly with the front desk.
So, follow these instructions in order to make the most of this lesson:
1- Watch the clip with English subtitles.
2- Take a look to the
vocabulary below to learn new English words and expressions.
3- Watch again the
clip, without subtitles to check your understanding.
4- Answer a few questions about the clip in this worksheet and then check the answers in the last page of the worksheet.
WORKSHEET Forgettin Sarah Marshall work sheet
VOCABULARY
Sir: a
formal and polite way of speaking to a man, especially one who you are providing
a service. Important note: it is never followed by the man´s name (e.g. Sir Smith); in case you know his
name you use the word Mr (e.g. Mr Smith)
Yup: informal
way to say yes
Fair enough: expression used to say that something is
reasonable.
To button: to fasten something, usually a piece of clothing, using buttons.
To unbutton: to unfasten the buttons on something such as a shirt.
Tough time: times of trouble,
struggle, or unhappiness
L.A.: short
form of Los Angeles.
Missus: a spoken form of Mrs, used when speaking to a woman.
Mate: (UK
informal): a friend. It is very common in British English but rarely used in American
English.
Sin: the
offence of breaking a religious or moral law.
Suite: a set of connected rooms in a hotel.
Enjoy your trip: expression used to wish someone a good travel. Similar
expressions are used to wish a good stay in an accommodation (enjoy
your stay), a good flight (enjoy your flight) or a good meal in
a restaurant (enjoy your meal).
Have a good trip: other expression used to wish someone a good travel.
Both are very used when talking about travels and holidays, and in the Tourism business.
Hi there!
Let´s star this week with a card game to learn technical vocabulary used in airplanes.
This game was originally designed for a Flight Attendants ‘English course, therefore it covers quite specific words used in their daily work on an airplane. So, don´t worry if you haven´t heard of some of the words. Just play the game, enjoy it, and learn them effortlessly.
I hope you like
it!
VOCABULARY
To spit:
to force out the contents of the mouth, especially saliva. In this song it is used
figuratively as the cars spit diesel fumes
by their tailpipe.
Mean:
frightening and likely to become violent. It can be used as to describe a person
or, in this case, an animal.
To be stuck:
to be unable to move, or set in a particular position, place or way of thinking.
To stare:
to look for a long time with the eyes wide open, especially when surprised, frightened
or thinking.
To disembark:
to leave a ship, aircraft, etc. after a journey.
To run smooth
(To run smoothly): to work well.
To drown:
to cover or be covered, especially with liquid. Here it´s used figuratively to explain
how officials were seduced by the travelers´ sweet talk.
Sweet talk:
a way of talking to someone in a pleasing or funny way in order to persuade them
to do or believe something.
To bribe:
to try to make someone do something for you by giving them money, presents, or something
else that they want.
Booze:
an informal way to refer to alcohol.
First class: relating to the most expensive and highest quality service on a plane.
Coach: the cheapest seats on a plane, also known as Economy class or Tourist class.
BA: acronym of British Airways, the national British airline.
A downer: an event or experience that makes you unhappy.
Brace position: security position on airplanes where you secure yourself putting your head down and placing your hands on the back of your neck in order to protect your head from falling objects and to minimize the risk of broken fingers.
Life jacket: a piece of equipment, like a jacket without sleeves, that is filled with air or light material and is designed to help you float if you fall into water.
Whistle: an object that you hold your lips and blow through in order to make a loud, high sound.
Bobbing around: to move up and
down with no specific path, especially in the water.
Have you ever board a flight? Have you noticed that year after year the boarding order is getting more and more complicated? Have you ever ...
