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Learn how to talk about your paycheck and the money taken out of it. Bill opens his first paycheck and Carol explains the deductions.

Dialogue/Story

Bill: It's about time! I've been waiting for my first paycheck and now it's finally here. I'm ready to party this weekend! Whoa!

Carol: What's the matter?

Bill: What happened to all my money? The amount of this check is a lot less than I expected it to be.

Carol: Yeah, my first paycheck was an eye-opener for me, too. Look at the pay stub and you'll see all of the deductions. After federal income taxes, state income taxes, and FICA, you're not left with a lot of money.

Bill: You're right, but what's FICA?

Carol: Those are taxes for Social Security and Medicare. Did you sign up for a retirement plan? If you did, those retirement contributions are deducted, too.

Bill: Thank God, I didn't. But you know what? That still doesn't account for all of the deductions.

Carol: Let me take a look. Oh, it looks like your wages are being garnished.

Bill: They're garnishing my wages? What for?

Carol: Uh, do you have to pay child support or something like that?

Bill: Oh, yeah, I guess I do. I'd forgotten about that. I guess I'd better change my weekend plans.

Carol: I guess so.

Learn how to talk about watching a soccer game in English. Shandy and Giuseppe watch from the stands as Shandy's boyfriend Fabio scores a goal and then gets hurt.

Dialogue/Story

Shandy: Oh, that player just hit my boyfriend! Did you see that? That was definitely a penalty.

Giuseppe: No, I didn't. I was watching the goalie. The referee isn't doing anything.

Shandy: I can't believe it. Why isn't the coach talking to that referee? I'm sure the other player deliberately kicked Fabio with his cleats.

Giuseppe: Hey, look! Fabio has the ball and he's taking it all the way down the field. He shoots, he scores! That's his second goal of the game. He's going to win the game for the team.

Shandy: What's he doing now? Why is he on the ground? Is he hurt?

Giuseppe: I don't know. The trainer is helping him off the field. It doesn't look serious.

Shandy: That's good, but he hates sitting on the bench. He won't want to watch the rest of the match from the sidelines.

Giuseppe: Look at the stands over there!

Shandy: What's happening? Why are they all standing up? Oh, they're starting a wave. I thought for a minute that the fans were getting into a brawl.

Giuseppe: It's coming this way.

Shandy: Okay, here we go!

Topics

American Movies: The Godfather · Elvis Presley and Graceland · Questions and Answers

Key Terms

godparent
mafia
bribery
corruption
brutal
to legitimize
stillborn
sideburns
the rest is history
mansion
recording studio
artifact
to hinder
to hamper
to impede
the hunt is on
quick and dirty tips

In this free lesson, you will learn how to talk about seeing old friends again. Lucy tells a short story about a busy month of meeting people from her past. You will learn natural English expressions for making plans and staying in touch, like "swing by," "make time," "keep in touch," and "catch up."

Dialogue/Story

This has been a month for seeing old friends. I got an email a couple of weeks ago from an old friend from college. She and her family are visiting L.A. for a week. They plan to see family and to visit old friends. Since she moved away, I hadn't seen her in ages. I'm looking forward to meeting her new kids and seeing her again.

Another old friend called this week. She and I were buddies when we were young. She plans to swing by L.A. on her way to San Francisco. We've made plans to have lunch. She works in Washington D.C. and is normally very busy. I'm glad she could make time for us to get together.

When we say good-bye to our friends, we always hope to keep in touch. But, what with this and that, it's sometimes hard to do. With friends that I've fallen out of touch with, it's sometimes hard to meet again and pick up where we left off. We've both moved on to a different phase in our lives. Some of my old friends have become very successful, and are living lives in the fast lane. Other friends are having a more difficult time and are just making ends meet. But, no matter how they're doing, it's always nice to touch base again.

I'm really looking forward to seeing these old pals and catching up after all this time. We just won’t mention how much we’ve aged.

Topics: American Presidents – Barack Obama; Famous Songs – “Anchors Aweigh”; diffidence versus timidity versus shyness; receipt versus reception; no problem versus not at all versus no big deal

Words:

community organizer

healthcare

candidate

rising star

biracial

campaign slogan

grassroots

polarized

affordable

anchor

ashore

foam

diffidence

timidity

shyness

receipt

reception

no problem

not at all

no big deal