English in Everyday Life

Caught red-handed. Okay, I have everything I need on this piece of paper. I must make sure I only look at it when Mrs. Tom isn't looking. I can do this and get a decent grade. I need to do well. Okay class, you have one hour to complete this exam. I'm here to watch over you and in case you need anything. Remember, you are not allowed to use the bathroom. You are also not allowed to talk and of course, no cheating. Off you go. Callum Mendez. I sincerely hope my eyes mistake me. Excuse me, Mrs. Tom? Did I or did I not just see you with a slip of paper covered in small but very helpful notes? Um, no. Show me your watch, please. But, but, I'm afraid there was a misunderstanding. Take off your watch, please, Mr. Mendez. Okay. Well, well, well. I am surprised at you. I honestly didn't think you would be capable of cheating. How very disappointing. Please, can I explain? Unfortunately, now is not the time. Especially whilst the rest of the class continues their exam. You can, however, explain to Mr. Boston. The principal? Yes, exactly. Then I'm sure you will also need to explain to your parents. It may not sound fair, but you should have thought about that before you brought notes into the exam to cheat. Off you go now. Yes, Mrs. Tom. The rest of you, put your heads back down and work, please. All come clean. Hey, good to see you again. Why were you off school? Um, I was sick. Not good at all. I could hardly get out of bed. Oh, wow. You must have been really sick. I can't remember the last time I couldn't get out of bed. What were you sick with? Um, I think it was something I ate. I vomited so many times. Ouch, that sounds bad. What do you think you might have eaten? Well, probably mom's chicken dinner. Was your family sick, too? No, they were fine. Well, that was lucky and incredibly unusual. Yep, unlucky. That's me. Oh, hey, Bob. That was an awesome score you got on Cosmic Roller Coaster the other day. Hats off to you. You were so good at that game. Oh, yeah, thanks. No worries. Catch you around. Sure. Okay, let me get this straight. You were too sick to come to school with food poisoning that no one else in your family got, but you could still play Cosmic Roller Coaster? All right, John, you got me. That guy gave me away. I'll come clean and be totally honest here. I just wanted some time off school and I hadn't revised for the test you all had yesterday. That's so bad. You know you'll have to take it anyway. I know. And please don't lie to me again. I want to be able to trust you. Got it. I'm so sorry. Bargaining at the flea market. Excuse me. How much would you like for this brooch? Which one, please? The purple butterfly. Oh, that one is very popular. It's $75. $75? Oh, my goodness. It's beautiful, but I can't afford that. My mother will be disappointed, but never mind. I'll find something at another stall. Thank you very much for your help. How much are you willing to pay? I can't sell myself short. Oh, I couldn't pay a dollar more than $40. Okay, that's too low. I cannot let it go for that. No problem. I understand. How about $60? Unfortunately, that's still too much. I could stretch to $45. $45? No, no, no. $50, that's my final offer. Take it or leave it. That's great. I'll take it. My mother will be delighted. Of course. Pass it here and I'll wrap it up for you. Sure, here you go. Thank you so much. Here is $50. Thank you. Enjoy the rest of your day. You too. Can you water my plants while I'm out of town? Hi, Tom. How's it going? Pretty good, thanks. And you, Betty? I'm excellent, thank you. Listen, I have a favor to ask. Sure thing, Betty. What's up? I'm away over the weekend and I wondered if you could water my plants for me. Of course. I'm not going anywhere. And the weather looks glorious, so the plants will be very thirsty. Oh, thank you so much. Are you going anywhere nice? Yes, I'm off to visit my daughter and her family by the coast. They have a beach house and we always make sure to make lots of lovely memories. Oh, how wonderful. Shall I just show you quickly which ones will need it? Why not? Okay. The flowerbed will need a good drink of water each day. As will my hanging baskets. And these petunias in the window box. They always dry out so quickly. And here is my greenhouse where I have some potatoes, peppers, and cucumbers. They need water every other day. That's a very beautiful greenhouse. You've done an amazing job, Betty. Thanks. It's been a lot of hard work. So that's all. I hope it's not too much of a hassle with my request. Oh, not at all. Don't worry about it. I'll write it all down and tie it with watering mine. Great. And my watering can is just over by the outdoor tab. Wonderful. I'm all set. Have a lovely time. Thank you for helping out. If you ever need me to do the same for you, just ask. Great. I'll keep that in mind. At the boutique. Hi there. Can I help you at all? Oh, hi. Thank you for asking. Yes, I'm looking to buy a bag. However, I can't decide. I'd be very grateful if you could show me some models and their features to help me make up my mind. Of course. You've asked the perfect person. I love bags. Me too. Okay. What kind of bag are you looking for? I need something for work, but I also want it to be stylish. Absolutely. So it must be big enough to put my laptop in and a few other bits for the office. I also love pockets, so something with lots of extra storage would be great. No problem at all. I guess you'll be carrying a lot, so it needs to be durable. Yes, definitely. Any preference for the color? Not so much. Just nothing bland and neutral. I want it to be vibrant and bursting with color. Great. I'd say the best option is this one. It has lots of pockets for your bits and pieces. It's also waterproof, an excellent feature for transporting your laptop. Oh, wow. I didn't notice that one before. I love it. It's exactly what I need. Great. Are you sure you don't need to look at any others? Nope. I've fallen in love with this one. Wonderful. Let me take it to the till for you. Asking for a day off. Excuse me, Mr. Yi. Oh, hi there, Finn. Come on in. Thank you, sir. Please, have a seat. What can I do for you today? I need to ask for tomorrow off. You know the rules, Finn. Employees cannot take days off outside the agreed holiday. I know, sir. And I'm sure you've taken off all the days you can this year. I'm sorry, but it's a no. We're also mid-project and already behind. If you don't come in tomorrow, we'll have some explaining to do to our client. That's something nobody wants to get involved in. I understand all of this. However, I really need to take the day off work. Could you enlighten me as to why? It's my wife, sir. She's been having some medical problems. We had a phone call this morning and there's been a cancellation and the doctor can see her tomorrow. She can't get there herself and I'm so worried about her health. Oh, I see. What time is the appointment? It's at 9 a.m. Okay, you can have time off. But if you can come in after the appointment or make up the missed work, we as a team would really appreciate it. Thank you so much, sir. And of course, I will do my absolute best to make sure the project doesn't fall behind. I wish your wife well in her appointment. Thank you. That means a lot. What seems to be the problem? Hi there. Hi, thank you for coming over. Okay, so what seems to be the problem? We're having problems with dampness in this apartment. My wife and I have to wipe the mold off the walls and ceiling every day. I see. Where is this happening? It's all over the house. Although the children's bedroom is the worst. They constantly cough now and I'm worried about the situation. I think it's affecting their health. I see. Is there another room they could sleep in? They could, although every room is affected. I also think that as a landlord, you need to find a solution to this problem and not try to cover it. Yes, I understand. Although it could become very costly. I pay rent to you every month to put a roof over my family's head. I feel disappointed that you don't seem to think the problem is enough to warrant action. I don't want to move. However, unless you tackle this problem soon, I will look to take my family elsewhere. I do understand your worry. I will look into this problem and let you know the course of action within the week. In the meantime, I will send around a cleaning team. Thank you. I appreciate your cooperation. I'll be in touch. Hi, Mrs. Diaz. Thank you for coming in at such short notice. Of course. I was concerned when I received your telephone call. I hope Chrissy is okay and behaving. Well, yes. There is nothing wrong with her behavior as far as I can see. However, her grades have recently dipped considerably and she has failed the last two tests. This is very out of character for Chrissy. Oh, goodness. This surprises me. Yes, that's how I feel. I wanted to speak to you. Firstly, to let you know. But also to ask whether you may see a reason why this has happened. Well, no. We don't have anything unsettling happening at home and her behavior hasn't changed. It's very unusual for such dramatic change. It's almost like she has stopped caring about school. Has anything changed at all for Chrissy? I can only think that she's spending time with a different group. She's made new friends. Ah, okay. This has the potential to change her attitude towards school and her studies. Okay. How do we move forward? I think it best if I chat with her in school first. Then if things don't improve, we'll plan a meeting to discuss the issue further. Okay. Thank you so much, Mrs. Miller. You're welcome. Thank you for coming in.