Do the Preparation task first. Then listen to the audio. Next go to each Task and do the activity. If you need help, you can read the Transcript at any time.
Preparation
Before you listen
We suggest you do the vocabulary activity below before you listen. Then listen to the episode and do the first task to check your understanding. Finally, practise some vocabulary and grammar.
Transcript
Audio script
Fadi: Hello Tony! How are you?
Tony: Alright, I suppose.
Fadi: Good to hear you sounding so happy! Hey, where is everyone?
Tony: Everyone who?
Fadi: You know, the regulars – Olivia, Sarah, Harry, Magda...
Tony: Don’t know. They’ll probably come in sooner or later. They’re always here.
Fadi: Hello!
Bindyu: Oh. Er, hello.
Fadi: I haven’t seen you in here before.
Bindyu: No. I haven’t been in here before.
Fadi: That’s probably why then!
Bindyu: Er, I don’t understand...
Fadi: Er, OK, well, never mind then. Listen, can I get you a drink? Would you like a coffee or something?
Bindyu: Erm, well, that’s very kind of you, but no thanks.
Fadi: Go on! Have something! My treat! You can’t sit here not eating or drinking anything.
Bindyu: Actually, I’m waiting for my boyfriend.
Fadi: Oh. Late, is he?
Bindyu: Well, only a little bit...
Fadi: You can talk to me if he doesn’t show up!
Harry: Hello there!
Fadi/Bindyu: Hi!
Harry: I see you two have already met each other...
Bindyu: Oh no, not really...
Fadi: No, I was just being polite, y’know...
Harry: Sure! Fadi, let me introduce Bindyu.
Fadi: Nice to meet you.
Bindyu: Nice to meet you.
Harry: Bindyu’s my girlfriend.
Fadi: Oh, er. Great! How long have you been together?
Bindyu: Oh, not long, only a couple of weeks.
Fadi: You didn’t tell me you had a new girlfriend, Harry!
Harry: Well, I haven’t seen you for a few weeks.
Fadi: No, of course. I was visiting my family... so, what’s happening here?
Harry: The big news is that they’re trying to close the café!
Fadi: No!
Harry: Yes, and Olivia’s shop too.
Fadi: That’s terrible! Why?
Harry: A big building company are building new flats behind here. They want to knock down the café and Olivia’s shop to make more space.
Fadi: Oh no... what can we do to stop them?
Harry: Well, we’ve got a few ideas. There’s a guy who comes in here sometimes called Carlos – he works for the builders. He might help us. And Sarah and Olivia said they had some ideas...
Fadi: We should start a campaign!
Bindyu: Good idea! I’m a journalist. I could write something in the local newspaper.
Harry: Erm, I thought you wrote for interior design magazines...
Bindyu: Well, yes, I do, that’s true. But I know somebody who works for the local newspaper. And I want to do more serious journalism...
Fadi: Sounds like a great idea! Good luck! I think we should put a banner in the window of the café...
Harry: A banner?
Fadi: Yeah, you know – a big sign that says “Save Our Café!” or something like that...
Olivia: Hello all!
Fadi: Hey! Good to see you again!
Olivia: Yeah... you too! How’s it going?
Fadi: Great – I’m going to put a banner in the café window – “Save Our Café!”
Olivia: Good idea... can you save my shop too?
Fadi: Let’s hope so! Bindyu’s going to write an article in the local newspaper...
Olivia: Bindyu?
Bindyu: Hello! I’m Bindyu... I’m Harry’s girlfriend... I’m a journalist.
Olivia: OK, great, nice to meet you!
Carlos: Hi!
Olivia: Here’s Carlos! He’s going to help us too!
Carlos: Well, I don’t know, I’d like to help, but I’m not sure what I can do...
Harry: You make food for the builders, don’t you?
Carlos: Yes, I do.
Olivia: You could put poison in it!
Carlos: Erm, well, no, I really don’t think...
Olivia: Only joking!
Carlos: I was looking for Sarah – is she here?
Olivia: No, I think she’s coming in with Magda later...why?
Carlos: Oh, no reason...I just wanted to see her...
Olivia: I see...oh look, here they are now!
Magda/Sarah: Hello everyone!
All: Hi!
Sarah: Hi Carlos! Good to see you again!
Carlos: Hi!
Sarah: Listen everybody, Magda’s got some good news!
Magda: Yes – I got my master’s degree with a distinction!
All: Wow! Well done!
Harry: So you get a well-paid, full-time job with the architects!
Magda: Yes I do!
Sarah: Which means we can afford to stay in our expensive flat...
Magda: There’s only one problem, though...
Olivia: Oh? What’s that?
Magda: I’m not really sure how to tell you this...
Olivia: Go on!
Magda: Well, the architects I work for...
Harry: Yeah? Go on!
Magda: They have a big new project...
Fadi: Sounds interesting...
Magda: And they want me to work on it...
Harry: Even better...
Magda: Well, not really – you see, the project they want me to work on...
Olivia: Yes?
Magda: It’s the new luxury flats... the building here... the people who want to close the café and your shop!
Good morning from this part of the world.
In task 3 excercise 6 says: IN the café window, Shouldn´t be ON?
Thanks in advance.
Hi jpkeiros,
Good evening from over here 😁 Actually, "in the window" is fine. This is the usual preposition when something is enclosed within the frame of the window (e.g. I can see my reflection in the window / There's a poster in the window).
Jonathan
LearnEnglish team
Thank you very much, Jonathan, but I´m confussed, It suppose to be using the preposition on when is refered to surfaces, can you give some examples with in and on related to this example, please?
Hi jpkeiros,
Different prepositions can be used for the same noun.
It's true that we can think of a window as a surface. For example, imagine there is a fly, and it lands on the window. In this case, I say "on" the window because the meaning is that the fly is now standing on the surface. The contact with the surface is the most relevant aspect of meaning.
But we can also think of a window as an enclosed area of space. For example, imagine that I want to put a banner, poster, photo or something else in the window so that other people can see it. In this case, I say "in" because the meaning is that the banner (etc.) is visible within the frame of the window, inside that area of space. Obviously, it is touching the surface of the window too. But that's not the most relevant aspect of meaning this time.
The same goes for other nouns. For example, we can say "in the station" or "at the station". The first one makes us imagine the station as a three-dimensional space which contains things (e.g. There is a restaurant in the station). The second one makes us think of London as a point in a journey (e.g. A: Where are you now? B: I'm at the station). Although the station still obviously contains people, shops and other things, that aspect is not the most relevant one in this context.
Does that make sense?
Jonathan
LearnEnglish team
Quick question please, what does the word " distinction" mean. And can you give me some examples for different uses for it ? Thanks!
Hello Jøé,
In the context of university studies, 'with distinction' is a sort of mark given to students who have done excellent work. You can see another example under definition 4 in this dictionary entry. Magda must have done very good work!
All the best,
Kirk
The LearnEnglish Team
Hello PhuongHoang,
A treat is a small gift, so when we say My treat! we mean that we are paying for something as a present or gift to the other person.
Peter
The LearnEnglish Team