Paying Bills

Read the text below, paying close attention to the words in red.

Sam : Look at all these bills. They just seem to get bigger every month.
Amy : I know. Maybe we should simplify things a little.
Sam : You mean we should get rid of all our credit cards?
Amy : Well, maybe not all of them.
Sam : What a great idea! Why stop there? We could get rid of our credit cards and consolidate all
our loans. We could sell one of our cars, live on a budget and pay off everything!
Amy : Great idea. Let's sell your car. It's the more expensive one.
Sam : What? My car? But I love my car.
Amy : No pain, no gain, my friend.

to get rid of To dispose of something.

on a budget Living on a limited amount of money.

no pain, no gain You can't make progress without experiencing some pain (idiomatic expression).

Quiz

Fill in the blanks.

1. My fitness instructor always says, "___________" right before teaching us something

difficult!
a. It will be painful.
b. No gain, no pain.
c. No pain, no gain.

2. We're trying to save money to buy a house. We're ____________.

a. on a budget
b. in a budget
c. having a budget

First Year

Read the text below, paying close attention to the words in red.

Sue : Hey, Nancy! How was your orientation?

Nancy : It was fun. I met a lot of freshmen and learned how to register for my classes.
Sue : Have you decided on your major yet?
Nancy : No. I want to major in English, but my parents say I should study Business. I need to talk
to my advisor about it.
Sue : He won't help. They just tell you about requirements and stuff like that.
Nancy : Luckily, I'm only a freshmen. I have plenty of time to decide.

Orientation Activity to help new students learn about school.

Freshmen Students in thier first year of college.

Register Sign up for; enroll; take a course.

Major Main subject of study in college.

Advisor Person who gives advice.

Requirements Classes you must take.

Quiz

Fill in the blanks.

1. My ____ said that I should study Business.

2. I felt lost at school until I went to the ________.

CELEBRATE COSTA RICA!

Reading

Read the text.

Anna : Your brother's scuba diving adventure in Sardinia sounded awesome!

Bill : Oh no ... now you're going to want a scuba diving vacation!
Anna : Why not?! I'll try anything once! Well, almost anything!
Bill : Okay. How about Costa Rica? Then I could get some good surfing in, too.
Anna : Wow. Don't even tempt me. Surf, scuba, sun. Sounds perfect to me.
Bill : I'm looking online now for flight information!

Last week we learned about interjections. Can you find the interjection in the
Reading?

ANSWER: wow

Cultural Note #1

Costa Rica, along with other Latin American countries (El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, and
Nicaragua) gained its independence from Spain on September 15th in 1821. Let's celebrate with
these countries on the 15th!

Miscellaneous Facts about Costa Rica:

Capital : San Jose

Language : Spanish, Creole English and Indian dialects
Best time to visit : During the dry season in late-December to mid-April
Cultural Note #2

Go ...

 Hiking in the Parque Nacional Rincón de la Vieja, northeast of Liberia in northwestern Costa
Rica. It's a volcanic wonderland of cones, craters, lagoons, boiling mud pools and sulphur
springs.

 Turtle watching in the Parque Nacional Tortuguero, where you can visit nesting sites and
watch the turtles lay their eggs.

 White-Water rafting on the Río Pacuare. It's very scenic and offers the best white-water
rafting in the country through spectacular canyons clothed in virgin rain forest.

Vocabulary

In the Reading, Bill says that he can "get some good surfing in" if they go to Costa Rica. The idiom to get
something in means to succeed in making or doing something. Let's look at some other phrasal verbs with get.

get across To make understandable or clear.

get down To exhaust, discourage, or depress.

get over To recover from.

Example sentences :

 The teacher tried to get her point across to the class.

 Too much heat during the summer months always gets me down.
 After three years of being divorced, he finally got over it.

QUIZ

Fill in the blanks.

1. Costa Rica _____ excellent surfing, beautiful national parks and a great climate.

a. have
b. has
c. is having

2. You can swim or relax on one of Costa Rica's _____.

a. volcanoes
b. beaches
c. rainforests

Who is it?

Read these clues. Then read the short description.

 People called him the King of Rock music.

 He died in 1977.
 His home for 20 years was Graceland in Memphis, USA.

He had 18 number one hits in the USA. He starred in 33 movies. He won the Time Magazine poll
awards of Artist of the Century and Person of the Century. Although he died 24 years ago, he is
still so popular that there are 480 active fan clubs.

When he was 20, he recorded his first song, "My Happiness," and gave it to his mother. The
United States Junior Chamber of Commerce named him "One of the Ten Outstanding Young Men
of the Nation for 1970." Throughout his life, he helped poor and sick people by paying their
hospital bills, debts, and more.

hits Popular songs.

starred Tall and narrow structure.

fan Person who is interested in an entertainer.

recorded Save sound so that others can listen to it later.

Who Am I?

Read these clues. Then read the short description.

 I am a Canadian hero.
 I died when I was 22.
 I had an artificial leg.
In April of 1980, I dipped my leg in the Atlantic Ocean at the beginning of a very long run. I decided to run across
Canada to raise money for cancer research. I stopped in many towns and cities to speak to people about cancer
research. By September 1, 1980, I had run 5,373 km and I was over half way across Canada. By then, I had
tremendous support from Canadians. But I couldn't continue. My cancer had returned.

Every September 16th, Canadians honor me. People in every city, town, school and office can run or walk 10 km
to raise money for cancer research. Millions of dollars are raised every year for my cause.

artificial Made by a machine.

dipped Put in quickly.

tremendous A great amount.

cause A reason or motive.

What am I?

Read these clues. Then read the short description.

 I am a famous university in the U.S.

 I am located in Connecticut.
 Many university presidents have graduated from me.

This famous university is a coeducational, private school in New Haven, Connecticut. It is the third oldest college
in the United States. Only Harvard University and the College of William and Mary are older.

This school was founded in 1701, when 10 Connecticut clergymen met in the village of Branford and made a gift
of books to start a college. From 1702 to 1707, classes met in the home of the Rector. The school moved to New
Haven in 1716. It had very little money until Elihu Yale, a retired merchant in London, gave money to the school in
1718. The presidents of about 90 U.S. universities and colleges have graduated from this university.

Coeducational Allowing women and men to study together.

Founded Started.

Clergymen Men who work for a church.

Rector Leader of a university.

Retired No longer working.

Merchant Businessman.

INTERVIEWING

GRAMMAR

Complete these sentences.

Use the correct verb tense: interview, interviewed, interviews

How many _____ do you have this week?

There are certain questions that you need to ask when you give an _____.

I was _____ three times before this company made me an offer.

Answers: interviews, interview, interviewed

READING

Read the text.

There are several parts to conducting an interview. First, you should establish rapport with the
applicant. Greet him or her with a nice smile and a firm handshake. The second thing to do is
gather information. Be sure to use open-ended questions. Don't use questions that can be
answered with just a "yes" or "no". Also, you need to ask performance-based questions. For
example, you may want to know about an applicant's organizational skills. You can say, "How did
you organize your work at your last job?" A third step is to give information about the company.
Let the applicant answer your questions first. Then describe what makes your company much
better than all the rest. You can even tell this applicant what kind of person you want to hire.
When you are finished with the interview, thank the candidate for his or her interest in your
company. Describe what the next step is in the hiring process and tell them by what date you
will make a decision.

What can you do to establish rapport with a candidate?

Answer:
Greet him or her with a nice smile and a firm handshake.

IDIOMS

Read the text below, paying close attention to the words in red.

Sendy : Do you have trouble establishing rapport with a candidate?

Ben : No, I don't. But I still have some difficulty with open-ended questions.
Sendy : You're kidding! I love asking questions like that.
Ben : Well, I'm not very good at asking performance-based questions either. I just need more
practice with all kinds of questions.

USEFUL VOCABULARY

rapport A feeling of trust and unity between two people.

open-ended The kind of question that cannot be answered with just a "yes" or "no".
 performance-based This kind of question makes a candidate tell about how well he or she did the job.

Quiz

INTERVIEWING

Which is correct?

1. It's important to understand how to _____.

a) interview
b) interviewed
c) interviews

2. My boss already _____ someone for the job.

a) interview
b) interviewed
c) interviews

The interview

Read the text below, paying close attention to the words in red.

Ms Li : Do you have experience as a computer programmer?

Don : Yes, I worked as a programmer for Anderson Software Company.
Ms Li : How long did you work there?
Don : I started 3 years ago. I am still working there.
Ms Li : Why do you want to leave Anderson?
Don : Your company offers a higher salary and more chances for promotion.

experience Knowledge or skill received by doing something.

programmer Person who writes instructions that operate a computer.

ago Time in the past.

still Continuing until now.

salary Amount of money you receive for your job.

promotion Higher position.

Quiz
Choose the best answer.

1. Bill has a lot of flying _____. He's a pilot.

a. salary
b. still
c. experience

2. I am excited. I got a _____.

a. ago
b. promotion
c. programmer

What a Lovely Bouquet!

Read the text below, paying close attention to the words in red.

Tiana : What's wrong? Don't you like your food?

Joe : I thought this was supposed to be a five-star restaurant. Could you signal the waiter next
time he walks by?
Tiana : Sure. What's wrong?
Joe : My soup was cold and now look at this meat. I don't think it's cooked at all! What? Why
are you laughing?
Tiana : You ordered vichyssoise and steak tartare! They're supposed to be cold!
Joe : I should have asked for a hamburger.

five-star Excellent. A five-star rating is usually the best (then 4-star, 3-star, etc.)

to order To ask for something from a restaurant kitchen.

vichyssoise A thick creamy soup made of leeks and potatoes. Served cold.

steak tartare Raw chopped steak mixed wth raw egg, onion, and spices.

Quiz

Fill in the blanks.

1. I'd like to _______ my main dish now. Please signal the waiter.
a. order
b. ask for
c. ask

2. This is a great movie. In the newspaper, it had a _______ rating.

a. two-star
b. five-star
c. three-star

Chinese carryout over the phone

Read the text below, paying close attention to the words in red.

Waiter : Hello. China Inn Restaurant.

Laura : I'd like a carryout order.
Waiter : What would you like?
Laura : I'd like the combination meal and two eggrolls.
Waiter : It will be ready for pickup in 15 minutes.
Laura : OK. Thanks.

carryout Take food out of a restaurant.

combination Two or more things joined together.

ready Available; able to be used.

Quiz

Choose the best answer.

1. I don't have time to stay and eat at the restaurant, so I'm going to get _____.
a. order
b. carryout
c. meal

2. I like several foods from the menu. I will have the _____.
a. pickup
b. ready
c. Combination

Paying Bills

Challenge Answer

Here are the clues from this week's challenge. Do you remember the clues? What's your guess?

 I am a Canadian hero.
 I died when I was 22.
 I had an artificial leg.

I am Terry Fox!!

Read the text below, paying close attention to the words in red.

Sam : Look at all these bills. They just seem to get bigger every month.
Amy : I know. Maybe we should simplify things a little.
Sam : You mean we should get rid of all our credit cards?
Amy : Well, maybe not all of them.
Sam : What a great idea! Why stop there? We could get rid of our credit cards and consolidate
all our loans. We could sell one of our cars, live on a budget and pay off everything!
Amy : Great idea. Let's sell your car. It's the more expensive one.
Sam : What? My car? But I love my car.
Amy : No pain, no gain, my friend.

credit cards To dispose of something.

to consolidate loans To join loans together and pay just one monthly amount.

to pay off To pay a debt completely.

Friday Quiz

Choose the best answer.

1. My fitness instructor always says, "___________" right before teaching us something difficult!

It will be painful.
No gain, no pain.
No pain, no gain.

2. We're trying to save money to buy a house. We're ____________.

on a budget
in a budget
having a budget