Text 1

M: Excuse me, is this dictionary available?
W: Hmm, Oxford Learner's Dictionary, the 7th edition? I'm sorry, it's sold out.
M: Oh, that's too bad.
Text 2
W: Did you see my purse, honey?
M: Your purse? No, why the purse? We are not going shopping anyway.
W: I know, but our opera tickets are in it and we have only one hour left.
M: Did you have it when we left the parking lot?
Text 3
M: What do you think of the film, Ellen?
W: Well, the plot is not so good.
M: But the music...
W: The music is just so­so. Anyway, the dialogue is very humorous.
Text 4
M: You look smart in this red jacket.
W: Thank you. A really good bargain I think. You can get one for your sister. It goes on sale today.
M: Yes, but I don't know what size she takes.
Text 5
W: Hi, John, how was your exam?
M: It couldn't be better.
W: Really? But remember this: hope for the best and be prepared for the worst.
Text 6
W: You look tired.
M: Yeah, I'm worn out. I've been surfing the internet.
W: Were you doing school or playing games?
M: Well, I want to get some information about Canada for my project, but I found a really interesting chat room with people from that country and started chatting.
W: Did you get the information you needed?
M: Yes. But then we spent a lot of time chatting about other interests.
Text 7
M: I hear a businessman is building a duck park in our city.
W: Really? What for?
M: Obviously because there is a law against having ducks in the streets.
W: Does it mean that ducks have to stay at home all the time?
M: Sounds pretty cool, right? Maybe a duck park is a good idea.
W: Maybe they should just allow people to walk their dogs in the streets.
M: But then streets will be a mess.
W: Couldn't people just clean up after their ducks?
M: Would they?
Text 8
W: Mr. Parker, when did you arrive home yesterday evening?
M: At about 8 o'clock.
W: What did you do right after you entered your flat?
M: Well, I washed my hands and then watched sports news.
W: When did you have supper?
M: At about 8：45, I guess.
W: Did you stay at home all evening?
M: Yes.
W: But your friend says that he phoned you several times between 8 and 9, but you didn't answer.
M: Well, I think I was in the bath at that time.
W: No, you weren't. You were not even at home last night. You robbed a bank in James Street.
Text 9
M: Hi, mom.
W: There you are. I am getting worried, it's so late.
M: Yes. I ran into Linda and we went to a pub. She told me a funny thing.
W: Oh? What was that?
M: Well, she was driving home after work and she suddenly saw an old lady on her hands and knees in the middle of the road.
W: Really?
M: Yes. Linda was so shocked that she stopped suddenly and the car behind crashed into hers.
W: Was she hurt?
M: No.
W: And what was the old lady doing?
M: I'm just coming to that. So Linda got out of her car and saw the old lady pick up something and walk away.
W: Lucky indeed, Linda didn't run her over.
M: Then a policeman came, but he didn't believe what Linda said.
W: Well.
M: Luckily, there was a witness, a man waiting for a bus. He saw it all. Guess what the old lady was doing?
W: I haven't the slightest idea.M: She was looking for her gold tooth.
W: A gold tooth?
M: Yes. It fell out as she was crossing the road. The witness heard her saying: oh, my gold tooth.
Text 10
In my spoken English class, I asked the students about their impressions of university life. To my surprise, many of them expressed disappointment. After their highly­controlled high school lives, they are having difficulty adjusting to the free time in the university. When I asked them to describe their high school lives, many of them told me they got up at 6 in the morning and studied until 10 at night. Most of this time was spent at school, doing piles of homework to help them prepare for the university entrance exams. Once they entered the university, in my opinion, the students are not expected to devote all their waking hours to studying. They should also take an active part in social activities. Therefore, they should learn to divide their time outside class between sports and clubs. What's more, they should spend some time watching TV and chatting with their roommates. These activities are useful in helping them prepare for their future. But what struck me most was that many of them did seem particularly happy about their new found freedom. As they had so many choices, they felt that no matter what they were doing, they should be doing something else. That's why they were not happy. To those students, my advice was: get used to it and learn to make decisions for yourselves.