1.5. Unit Five. Conversation “ Tom? Do you think…”

Phase A. Conversation

Tom and Susan are on holiday. It’s a ski-ing holiday. They’re having lunch in the hotel at the moment. Listen.

(Noises of people eating in large room)

Susan: Tom? Do you think I ski badly?

Tom: Well... I’m afraid you do.

Susan: Really? Do you really think so?

Tom: Well, let’s say I ski better than you do... and I ski very badly.

Susan: I know you go faster than I do, but that doesn’t mean you ski better.

Tom: Well, at least I manage to keep my balance.

Susan: I mean, I don’t think I ski as badly as some beginners do.

Tom: No, that’s true. You don’t. Take that lady over there... at the table by the door... in comparison with her, you ski very well.

Susan: Better than she does? Really?

Tom: Yes, that’s right. You ski better than she does. But... of course, she broke her leg a few days ago, didn’t she?

Phase B. Pronunciation Practice

Do you remember this? Tom said it.

Tom: Well, let’s say I ski better than you do.

Listen again to how he pronounces the word «than».

Tom: th’n. th’n.

Now repeat.

Tom: th’n // th’n you do // ski better th’n you do // I ski better th’n you do // Well, let’s say I ski better th’n you do //

Now let’s practise pronouncing «th’n» in some more sentences. Do this. Listen.

Tom: I ski better than you do.

I ski better than you do.

Tom: drive

I drive better than you do.

Now you do it. Are you ready?

Tom: I ski better than you do.

Tom: drive

I drive better than you do.

Tom: teach

I ski better than you do.

Tom: sing

I sing better than you do.

Now, do you also remember how Susan pronounced the word «as»? We have the same pronunciation in the last unit. Listen and repeat.

Susan: ‘s // ‘s badly // ‘s badly ‘s beginners do // I don’t think I ski ‘s badly ‘s some beginners do. //

Now let’s practise that pronunciation in some other sentences, just as we did before. Are you ready?

Susan: I don’t think I ski ‘s badly ‘s some beginners do.

Susan: drive

I don’t think I drive ‘s badly ‘s some beginners do.

Susan: some women drivers

I don’t think I drive ‘s badly ‘s some women drivers do.

Susan: dangerously

I don’t think I drive ‘s dangerously ‘s some women drivers do.

Phase C. Repetition

Now repeat Tom’s part; only Tom’s part.

Susan: Tom? Do you think I ski badly?

Tom: Well // I’m afraid you do. //

Susan: Really? Do you really think so?

Tom: Well, let’s say I ski better than you do, //and I ski very badly //

Susan: I know you go faster than I do, but that doesn’t mean you ski better.

Tom: Well, at least I manage to keep my balance. //

Susan: I mean, I don’t think I ski as badly as some beginners do.

Tom: No, that’s true. // You don’t. // Take that lady over there // at the table by the door. // In comparison with her // you ski very well. //

Susan: Better than she does? Really?

Tom: Yes, that’s right. // You ski better than she does. // But... of course // she broke her leg a few days ago, // didn’t she? //

Phase D. Fluency practice

DRILL 1

Do you remember this? Listen to what Susan says.

Tom: Take that lady over there. In comparison with her you ski very well.

Susan: Really? Better than she does?

Now Tom is going to say some things to you. Make the same answer that Susan did, like this

Tom: In comparison with Susan you ski very fast.

Really? Better than she does?

Now you do it. Are you ready? Use the same intonation.

One.

Tom: In comparison with Fred you work very hard.

Really? Harder than he does?

Two.

Tom: In comparison with those students over there, you speak very clearly.

Really? More clearly than they do?

Three.

Tom: In comparison with Fred, you drive very carefully.

Really? More carefully than he does?

Four.

Tom: And in comparison with me, you speak very well.

Really? Better than you do?

Five.

Tom: In comparison with Fred, you drive very badly.

Really? Worse than he does?

Six.

Tom: Fred took his driving test last year; in comparison with him, you did very badly.

Really? Worse than he did?

Seven.

Tom: In comparison with me, you drive very dangerously!

Really? More dangerously than you do?

DRILL 2

Do you remember this? Tom said it to Susan. Listen to what we do with it.

Tom: You ski better than she does.

work harder

You work harder than she does.

than they

You ski harder than they do.

Now you do that. Begin each sentence with the word “you” and then make changes. Are you ready?

Tom: You ski better than she does.

You ski better than she does.

cook

You cook better than she does.

than I

You cook better than I do.

drive

You drive better than I do.

faster

You drive faster than I do.

than they

You drive faster than they do.

than Mary

You drive faster than Mary does.

work

You work faster than Mary does.

DRILL 3

This is a very hard exercise. Listen carefully and notice how we do it! Just listen!

Tom: You ski better than she does.

well

You ski as well as she does.

speak German

You speak German as well as she does.

better

You speak German better than she does.

Now you do it. Are you ready?

Tom: You ski better than she does.

You ski better than she does.

well

You ski as well as she does.

speak German

You speak German as well as she does.

better

You speak German better than she does.

cook more carefully

You cook more carefully than she does.

drive

You drive more carefully than she does.

fast

You drive as fast as she does.

work

You work as fast as she does.

harder

You work harder than she does.

hard

You work as hard as she does.

DRILL 4

Do you remember what Tom said when Susan said this?

Susan: I don’t think I ski as badly as some beginners do.

Tom’s answer was:

Tom: No, that’s true. You don’t.

Repeat Tom’s answer. Make your voice go up and down, just like this.

Susan: I don’t think I ski as badly as some beginners do.

Tom: No, that’s true. // You don’t. //

Now Susan is going to say some more things and you must give the same sort of answer with the same sort of information... and remember that you have to change “don’t” to “doesn’t” and “aren’t” and so on sometimes. Are you ready?

One.

Susan: I don’t think I’m as bad skier as some people are.

Tom: No, that’s true. You aren’t.

Two.

Susan: I don’t think that woman over there skis as well as I do

Tom: No, that’s true. She doesn’t.

Three.

Susan: I don’t think this hotel here is as good as the other one in the village.

Tom: No, that’s true. It isn’t.

Four.

Susan: I don’t think the rooms are as nice.

Tom: No, that’s true. They aren’t.

Five.

Susan: Of course... It’s more expensive at the other hotel and we can’t spend any more money.

Tom: No, that’s true. We can’t.

That’s the end of this unit. Thank you.