Fun Easy English - new american english standard conversation Voice of America VOA learning English for beginners lesson 51 A Good Habit discourse.

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Home - Conversation - Let's Learn English Lesson 51

Conversation Lesson 51

Lesson 51 - A Good Habit

In this lesson Anna has a new goal - to run in a marathon. Her friend Ashley knows that training a little every day is a good idea. Will Anna be able to meet her goal?

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Lesson Video

Watch the video and then do the activities on this page.

Video Script

Anna: D.C. is a popular city for marathons! A marathon is a long race. Many marathons raise money for charity, you know - good works. A marathon is a good fitness goal too. I want to challenge myself in a marathon and maybe win a medal! Hey, there’s Ashley. Ashley! Wait for me! It’s Anna!
Anna: Ash … ley. Ash … ley.
Ashley: Are you okay, Anna?
Anna: I just ran … from over there.
Ashley: Do you want to sit down, Anna? Do you want some water? (Anna takes the bottle and tries to return it.) No thanks. You keep it.
Anna: Thanks. I didn’t know you like to run.
Ashley: I love running. In fact, this weekend, I will run in my first marathon.
Anna: Me … too.
Ashley: Really? You are running in a marathon?
Anna: Yeah. In a couple of days. Why do you ask … like that?
Ashley: What do you know about running in a marathon?
Anna: I know that there’s a lot of running and sometimes you can win a medal.
Ashley: How long have you been training?
Anna: I started today. I’ve been training for an hour … no, an hour and seven minutes!
Ashley: Anna, training a little every day is a good habit to get into. Not all at once!
Anna: Thanks for the advice, Ashley. But I’m running in a special race.
Ashley: What marathon is it?
Anna: I don’t remember the name. But the website said everyone gets a medal.
Ashley: Okay, well, good luck, Anna!
Anna: Thanks, Ashley. Good luck to you, too.
Ashley: Thank you.
Anna: Bye!
Ashley: Bye, Anna!
Anna: See you!
(At the race: an announcer calls out race information)
Anna: Hello. I am here to enter the race!
Woman: But ma’am you can’t enter the race.
Anna: What? How am I going to meet my goal?
Woman: Ma’am, this race is for children. You can’t run with the children.
Anna: Children? Children. That’s perfect. I just might win!
Woman: No, ma’am. You really can’t run with the children.
Anna: I’m sorry. Of course. I was only thinking of my goal.
Woman: Well, you can help us with our goal, which is to raise money for sick children. Would you like to help us?
Anna: I’ve just found my new goal. And I get to wear a medal. (to child who finished race) Good job!

Listening

Now practice listening to only the audio portion of the conversation.

Speaking

In this video, learn how to say the new words. Then learn about gerunds and infinitives.

Pronunciation

Use this video to learn about how Americans pronounce the reduced form of "to" in sentences with infinitives.

New Words

challenge - v. to test the ability, skill, or strength of (someone or something)
charity - n. a organization that helps people in need
fitness - n. the condition of being physically fit and healthy
goal - n. something that you are trying to do or achieve
habit - n. something that a person does often in a regular and repeated way
marathon - n. a running race that is about 26 miles (42 kilometers) long
medal - n. a piece of metal often in the form of a coin with designs and words in honor of a special event, a person, or an achievement
race - n. a competition between people, animals or vehicles to see which one is fastest
special - adj. different from what is normal or usual
train - v. to try to make yourself stronger, faster, or better at doing something before competing in an event or competition

Activity

In this lesson, Anna helps at a charity event. Have you ever helped with a charity? Tell us about what you did to help. Write about it in the Facebook Comments section below. Then practice using gerunds and infinitives to talk about sports. Click lesson activity to get the printable PDF version. The page opens to a new window.

Source: Voice of America

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