Real Life English Conversation

A new classmate. Hi there. Are you the new girl? Yes. Hello. I'm May. I'm Josh. And Ms. Burger said to show you around. So, where are you from? I'm from Brighton, England. I thought I heard an accent. Is this your first time going to an American school? Yes. My family just moved here last month for my mom's job. Well, welcome. Thank you. So, what was your old school like? Is this place any different? Very. I can't believe you don't have to wear school uniforms. It was so hard for me to pick out what to wear today. Oh, man. You had to wear uniforms over there? Even in public high school? We have to wear uniforms in all schools and in all grades. Well, except for college. Well, yeah. I figured not college. You're an adult by then. Actually, we don't even call it high school. We just have primary school and then secondary school. English kids go to college at 16, so I don't know if I'd call them adults. Oh, wow. That is totally different from an American school. We have elementary school for grades 1 through 6, then middle school for 2 years, and then high school for 4. We can't go to college until we're 18 here. How strange. Well, even though I wouldn't want to wear the uniform, I'd rather go to an English school just so I could get out of there sooner. I don't know. I think I like American schools better. You have so much time off in the summer. What do you mean? In England, we'd have five terms a year, so our summer holiday was only a few weeks in August. For real? I would hate that. Never mind. I wouldn't want to give up summer break. Yeah, I don't blame you. An embarrassing situation. How was the office party last night, Amber? Don't mention it. It was embarrassing, to say the least. I messed up big time. How's that? First of all, I couldn't find the venue, so I showed up an hour and a half late. I think I made a terrible impression because of that. I'm new to the company, so I felt pretty awkward and lonely. I'd been at the company for only a few days. I see. But didn't you try to approach your colleagues to get to know them? Well, I started talking to someone whom I found really arrogant and annoying. So I escaped quickly and started talking to Nancy, who I sit next to at work. I was complaining about the man I'd been talking to and noticed she had gone very quiet. Then she suddenly said, Oh, he's my husband. My jaw dropped open when I heard that. I just made a fool of myself. Oh, no. How embarrassing. That's right. It was really embarrassing. I made such a blunder. The last straw was when I found out that he was also a director of the company. Good grief. Well, how were you supposed to know? Maybe she'll turn a blind eye on it, since you're new to the company and didn't know anyone. Fat chance. She barely spoke to me today. Well, let's not make a mountain out of a molehill. Don't be too hard on yourself. You messed up, but she will finally forget about it. You can't change the past, but you can try to do better in the future. Time solves everything. You look so tired, Paul. That's because I get up at 5.30 a.m. every morning to take the bus. My boss is giving me too much work. She is never pleased with how much I work. Have you talked to her about this? I tried to, but she wouldn't understand. It's probably because she has problems at home. But that doesn't give her the right to take it all out on me, does it? Of course not. I've been in this profession for six years now. I always found it boring, but it paid well. I don't see myself being in this career for longer than another six months. I am already training for a new career, but it will mean a drastic pay cut. I guess you can't have your cake and eat it too, right? That's right. I prefer to have less money, but more time for myself. How is everything with your new roommate? Do you get along with him? Not exactly. It seems he doesn't have a clue about how to keep the house clean. He doesn't lift a finger to help me. Last night, I spent two hours cleaning the kitchen while he pigged out on pizza and watched TV. I'm sick and tired of his behavior. But that's not the worst. As if that weren't enough, Laura dumped me because she's tired of our long-distance relationship. Never thought my four years relationship would go down the drain like this. I just feel like I'm losing it. Chill out. Everything is going to be alright. Be patient. Time solves everything. Breaking up with Laura is actually a good thing because she has never really appreciated you. You'll be better off without her. You deserve to be loved and respected. Thanks, sis. You know, I already feel much better. You really know how to cheer me up. I care about you. After all, you are my brother. I know I can count on you two for good advice from time to time. You're grounded. Hello? Hey, Dad. What's up? I called you yesterday. Where were you? I was at home. No. I called the house phone, too, and you didn't answer. You know your mother and I are trusting you to stay home alone while we are on vacation. I know, I know. I promise. I was home all day. Then why didn't you answer your phone? Um, well, in the morning I cleaned the pool. Maybe you called me while I was outside. Nice try. I cleaned it the day before we left. It was dirty again, and I wanted it to look nice for when you come home. Uh-huh. What did you do after that? I listened to some music. Maybe that's when you called. And I just didn't hear the phone ringing. I called your cell phone first. You always have it with you. No. Yesterday morning I dropped it in the pool while I was cleaning it. Oh. Okay. What did you have for dinner? Tommy brought over some pizzas for everyone, and, um, I mean... Hang on. Who's everyone? Um... Wait a minute. You said you were in the pool playing music and eating pizzas. You had a party, didn't you? Um... That's it. We're coming home. You're grounded. Mother's Birthday It's your mother's birthday on Sunday. Is it? Yes. The 27th. And it's her 50th birthday. That's a big one. We have to make it special. What should we get for her? I have no idea. She is so hard to buy for. Oh, I know. Remember last Christmas? Of course I do. She said she wants a sweater, so we get her a sweater. But it wasn't the right size, color, or brand. Yeah. We're never getting her clothes as a gift again. What about getting her something we know she needs? No way. Remember when she said she needed new knives? So we got her a new knife set for Mother's Day last year. Oh, yeah. She complained and complained about that. Like we were implying she needed to cook more. Or what about last year's birthday gift? A gift card to her favorite restaurant. Yup. She said it wasn't personal enough. We only have four days to find the right gift. This is a nightmare. No. Shopping for your mother's birthday is a nightmare. This is just a disaster. You're right about that. Your mom is hard to shop for, but my mom is impossible. My life is over. Hey, honey. Ugh. What's wrong? Leave me alone. I don't want to talk about it. What happened? Something at school? Yes. You have no idea. Talk to me. I've had a bad day before. Not like this. This was the worst. Seriously. My life is over. Come on. Tell me what happened. It's only the first week. Fine. But there's nothing you can do to fix it. Try me. It's Tanya. She dropped biology. Okay. Can't you see what a disaster this is? Um. No. If she doesn't take biology, then we're not in lab together. Oh. Um. Okay. Ugh. I knew you wouldn't understand. Don't you have other friends in lab? No. None of the other girls are in the class. If Tanya isn't in lab either, then I don't have a partner. I'm sorry, sweetheart. I'll have to do all the lab experiments and the term project alone. Is there no other classmate for you to be partners with? No. There's an even number in the class. I'll be the odd one out. I see. And Tanya always gave me a ride to practice school. But if we're not in last period together anymore, I don't think she will. Well. Maybe. I know. I'll switch biology for a study hall and just take it next year. Thanks for your help, Mom. You're the best. Oh. Um. Okay. You're welcome. Talking about favorite and least favorite teachers. Hey, John. Did you schedule your classes for next year? Yeah. I just got back from the counselor's office. You? I did mine yesterday. So. Are you going to continue taking Spanish? Of course. I love Mr. Cruz's class. He's the best. He's so funny, you know. I wish his class was offered all year. Me too. Yeah. So I have to take art in the spring. No way. Not with Mrs. Schmidt. Yeah. I'm dreading it. So why are you taking it? It was the only class that fit in my schedule. Well. It was that. Or history with Mr. Bones. Ugh. He's even worse than Schmidt. He's so boring. Exactly. Which did you choose to take? Neither. I'll be taking creative writing. I thought that class isn't available anymore since Ms. Wilson is leaving this year. She's not leaving until December. So it is offered in the fall. Really? She's my favorite. So. You're taking Ms. Wilson's class in the fall and then Spanish with Mr. Cruz in the spring? That's right. The two best teachers in the school. Hold on. I'm going back to the counselor. I need to make some changes.