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 Lesson
7 - Happiness
Dialogs for everyday use. Short situational dialogs for
students of English as a Foreign (EFL) or Second (ESL)
Language. |
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Happiness
Linda: You look happy today!
Frank: I am happy.
I just heard I passed my physics exam.
Linda: Congratulations!
I’m glad somebody’s happy.
Frank: Why? What’s the matter?
Linda: Oh, I’m just worried,
I guess I have to take a
history
exam next week. |
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Conversation Notes |
- I am happy
- Note the intonation of I am happy. This intonation, with
the strongest stress on am, is the emphatic, confirmatory form normally used
in reply position (as here). It is similar, in meaning and intonation, to
the short answer form, I am—which might, in fact, be used here, with the weakstressed
happy simply dropping off.
- I just heard I passed
- Note that the that is
omitted in this bit of reported speech.
- physics exam
- Meaning is examination. Physics exam, a
compound noun, has the principal stress on the first word.
- I’m glad somebody’s happy
- Note the omission of that in reported speech, and the
strong contrastive stress on SOMEbody (implying that the speaker herself is
not happy).
- What’s the matter
- A common idiom meaning What is troubling you? What is
wrong?
- I’m just worried
- Here just means merely, only. In line b (I just heard
... ) it is used in its meaning of very recently.
- I guess
- Meaning is I think (that).
- have to
- Meaning is must. Notice the /f/ in the pronunciation of
this idiom: /haefte/.
- history exam
- See note on physics
exam above.
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Source: U.S. State Department |
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Additional
Conversation Lessons |
 Conversation
This is a collection of 36 situational conversations
which focus on spoken American English in a relatively
natural way....these
lessons are for intermediate students. |
 Conversation
This is a collection of 30 situational conversations. Each conversation is
accompanied by language notes....these
lessons are for advanced students. |
 Conversation
English conversation lessons. 52
lessons covering pronunciation, speaking,
writing, and grammar topics....these
lessons are for beginning students. |
 Conversation
English conversation lessons. 30
lessons focusing mostly on communication and
grammar topics....these
lessons are for intermediate students. |
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