These audios were created during Duolingo Events and transcribed with the attendees.
Take me out to eat
S1: So what about you Olga do you prefer eating at home or eating outside?
S2: To be honest I like both, sometimes I cook at home I mean well actually most of the time I cook at home and I like to go to the restaurant and enjoy the atmosphere enjoy the nice food some exquisite maybe dishes.
S1: How about when eating out, do you like worry about the food and the type of food you eating?
S2: It’s interesting that you asked because yes I am worried a little bit about the type and the quality of the food because I am gluten and lactose intolerant and it’s very important for me that all the food should be very clean that is why I am always talking to the waiters and I ask them to tell the Cook to the chef that all the food should be gluten and lactose-free and there should be no cross-contamination.
Comments
Speaker 2: most of the time = mostly.
exquisite maybe dishes = maybe some exquisite dishes.
Speaker 1: eating at home or eating outside = eating at home or out
do you like worry = do you worry
What is ‘clean food’
S1 – Guys and ladies let’s talk about McDonald’s – what do you think?
S2 – I think that I don’t like McDonald’s at all. I’ve been there only once in my life and I have ordered the milkshake and it was totally terrible total disaster I threw away half of it. So, Mobina, what is your thoughts about McDonald’s?
S3 – It has a very good reputation but unfortunately we don’t have McDonald’s here in Iran so I never tried it before.
S1 – You should try not only milkshake but something other dishes.
S2 – do you have any recommendations?
S1 – Fries!
S2 – ok I’ll try them once in a while. Mobina, what nice places can you recommend in Iran to eat?
S3 – In Iran you have to try to our traditional foods and each city in Iran has their own traditional food that’s all of them are amazing and I can recommend you only one thing.
S2 – And do you have any specific dishes in McDonald’s that you’d like to try if you would have such opportunity to visit McDonald’s?
S3 – I like burgers so maybe I would try cheeseburger.
S1 – I would try Coca-Cola. Yes, obviously Coca-Cola.
Comments
S1: Take me out to eat in Greece means the family can go to a traditional Greek restaurant and the main dishes are the steaks made in the barbecue grill or the Blackie alongside with a Greek salad with the main ingredients are tomatoes cucumber olives onions vinegar olive oil and oregano. and the main drinks are wine or beer.
S2: I really like to eat as well as to cook perhaps that’s why my wife hasn’t divorced with me yet. I eat a lot in winter because it needs for my trainings that’s why in winter my weight is 100kg but in summer I don’t want to eat that’s why I eat a lot of vegetables I eat a lot of fruits training boxing that’s why in summer my weight is something about 90 kg.
Comments
The risks we take
S1: I think that living is already a risk.
S2: I think taking some risks makes life more interesting and more surprising and it’s better to have a an interesting life than instead of a boring life.
S3: I think there is no life that without risky. what are you to do with your life when you got the risk in thing and something you want to do it from your heart.
S1: Lewis Carroll said life is important but not very.
Comments on the use of English
For speaker 2 there should be “Than” or “Instead”. “a” is extra. Speaker 3: “That” is extra. risky should be “risk”. “what are you to do” should be “what are you going to do”. “IT” is extra.
S1 – What is your estimation of risks?
S2 – when I want to take risks I always think about it and I estimate it’s worth to accept that risk or not.
S3 – Before taking any actions I’d like to know about all the pros and cons. I think sometimes I can over think about something but for me it’s better to be sure before doing something.
S4 – To me like a usual person I tried to avoid any kind of risk or maybe avoid again that a good word, but if I had no choice and I should do some risks and make some risky decision so here I try to do it as risky as possible just because usually I tried to avoid this one so this my way and should compensate my previous life.
S5 – there are three types of risks I take in my life the first one is at work because I work the construction site and accidents can happen any time so that’s 1 best I take everyday the other one is by the risks we take by travelling the risks are low but that can always happen and accident and the third one is the decisions in our lives for example if you have to do anything for you have to take an account to capabilities how to do help your job how to make yourself valuable valuable got going for don’t worry it
Comments on the use of English
Comments on the use of English
S3 – In my case I would like to go with cyber theft and via technology, you know there are a lot and plenty of scheme that you can cheat people into giving their money to you.
Comments on the use of English
Speaker 2 could say ‘actions’ instead of ‘reactions’. They should say ‘break into’ someone’s house. Maybe ‘makes’ would be better than ‘made’ and instead of ‘very fast’ you could say ‘very quick’.
Extreme sports
S1 – Do you guys wish to do any extreme sports in the future? Is it something you are planning to do? ( know?)
S2 – I don’t think so. I’m a very safe person and I don’t enjoy any extreme activities. I want to be safe in every moment as possible.
S3- I used to go to rock climbing gyms before the covid-19 and all that stuff. I don’t think I’d like to do that on actual rock the thing about gyms. Is it’s really safe everything’s padded you have access to climbing ropes and also they won’t you climb when it’s an actual cliff or something it’s more dangerous and you just get one shot.
S2 – what I mean about being a safe person I would like to tell about seatbelts so in Ukraine is not very common to use a seatbelt and many people are proud of themselves because they are not using it I use it every time I’m driving and I bought two car seats for my son and so they could be safe as me I think it’s my duty to keep my body safe and the bodies of my children safe because they are dependent on the for me
S1 – I wouldn’t consider myself as someone who’s welcome to like him have to himself into danger and really safe person I’m not that brave and things might change of course I might I love and you know some extreme sports and I just usually watch them in terms of practice and doing these things I don’t think I have the courage but who knows
Comments on the use of English
S1 – I don’t really do any extreme sport. I only go to school every morning by walking. It’s 40 minutes distance long. Some parts of this activities little dangerous because I’m forced to walk near the passing cars because there’s no sidewalk.
S2 – So yeah, I really like the ocean to walk on the beach but not like do-wind surfing none of like that. I just like to stay on the sand and then drink coconut water and relax. Yeah I haven’t tried like any extreme sport but for me it’s only the rollerblading it’s the most different for me. Sometimes I just take my rollerblades and go walk on the streets.
S3 – 0ay I don’t know how extreme is it but I think it is very unusual and maybe exotic kind of sport – Steel bending. It is one of my favorite sports along with grip strength arm strength and kettlebells workout and there is excitement in it.
Comments on the use of English
We thought S1 might be better to say ‘I walk to school every morning. ‘ and ‘It’s a 40 minutes walk.’
S1: What kind of extreme sports do you like.
S2: I used to want to try extreme sports, but the older I become the more I am afraid of danger. So now I don’t like extreme sports.
S3: ?????Bungee jumping, sky diving, sky skiing. It is interesting to see people flying, skiing honest guys just on a boat. ???????
S1: As for me I like extreme sport, in my case it sounds like three “S”: skateboarding, snowboarding and surfing. Do you know any kind of famous extremists?)) I don’t know ….some kind of Tony Hawk or maybe Travis Pastrama?..
S2: ??? that’s what short videos past the data really into a lot of time to watch any videos that are longer than 5-minutes?????
S1: Do you like Scottie Pippen? Scottie Pippen is a famous basketball player!
S2: I am not fan of Scottie Pippen
S1: Scottie Pippen is a fan of you!
S2: No!!! I don’t think so)
Comments on the use of English
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My first day …
S1 – Could you describe your first day? Any first day? What do you think of your first day, definition of first day, this is firstly about some positive stuff or some negative stuff?
In my opinion, I guess, any kind of first days based on first of all on hope. First day of … and we want to hope that in future (it) will be much more better
Comments
‘definition of first day’ needs to have articles, maybe ‘the definition of a first day’
S1: I want to talk about my first day experience as a teacher.
S2: Great, so what was it like?
S1: Actually it was fearful, very fearful.
S3: So, what was your expectation?
S1: I was supposed to be a teacher. My expectation was to be a good teacher and at the same time I wish my students will be gentle and modest that was my expectation.
S2: Was your expectation met?
S1: Actually, what I experienced was more than my expectations students and …. actually they’re so good and so friendly they made my job very easy.
Comments
Instead of ‘I wish my students will be gentle’ could say ‘I hoped my students would be gentle and modest’ or ‘I hoped that my students would be gentle and modest’
‘Fearful’ describes a person’s feelings, not a situation, instead of ‘it was fearful’ you could say ‘it was scary’.
S1: I remember my first day in boxing match.
S2: Was it a match that you watched or you played in?
S1: That was the first match that I have fights in it.
S2: So, when did you start doing boxing?
S1: I started boxing in 2016 and my first match was 1 month after I started my trainings.
S2: Why it was difficult for you?
S3: It was difficult because I didn’t have a lot of people who I can ask. And back then like doing online work was a new thing for, I guess, virtually everyone.
Comments
With boxing we don’t ‘play it’, we ‘fight’.
The plurals ‘fights’, ‘months and ‘trainings’ all need to be replaced with singular terms eg ‘my first was 1 month after I started my training’.
In the question ‘Why it was difficult for you?’ needs to be the other way round, ‘Why was it difficult…?’.
S1 – when I went for the first time to the university I was really feeling nervous, it was like hard day for me, but when the day was over I was feeling happy and I was thinking that it was the best day ever in my life.
S2 – the first day I taught at the school was a nightmare. The students were shouting and getting up from their seats and I could not calm them down. The principal came into the classroom and calmed the students, fortunately the situation improved in the following days,
Comments
There are too many continous tenses in the first part ‘was really feeling’, ‘was feeling happy’ and ‘was thinking’. Simple past is better here – ‘I felt happy’.
The audio sounds a bit as if the students got up from their ‘sheets’.
Favourite movies
S1: I am watching a series TV is Gavin and Stacey is an old BBC.
S2: My favorite movies are most comedies and all the movies that the protagonist is Marcelo Mastroianni, all the Italian films that Marcelo Mastroianni is starring.
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Comments
S1: ‘I am watching’ is OK because it is ongoing, even if it isn’t happening now.
Should say ‘a TV series’.
Should say a TV series called Gavin and Stacey.
S2: Instead of ‘is starring’ we need to add something. I could be ‘films in which he stars’ or ‘films that MM stars in’
S1: Whats your favorite movie?
S2: FightClub. I guess Fight Club one of my favorite movie. As well I like “Point Break” about surfing or in “God’s hands”. Awesome movie.
S1: I don’t have a favorite movie. I don’t remember many movies. I remember the last movie I’ve watched, which is “Between the lines” is an old movie from 1977. And it’s a story of a group of people who work for a newspaper in Boston. The Back Bay mainline it’s an alternative newspaper.
Why is it your favorite movie, Baran?
S3: This movie because there is a true event in this movie, and it’s kind of a biographical movie. And on the other hand, I like the main actor of this movie. I like generally Mel Gibson movies. I’ve watched this movie. I feel like I find the people feed them.
S1: John, what was the last movie you saw?
…
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Comments
Instead of ‘I like generally Mel Gibson movies.’ say ‘I generally like Mel Gibson movies.’
Comments
Saying ‘I don’t quite really like ..’ isn’t necessary, just ‘I don’t really like …’ is enough.
‘I really like classic movies’ is good. A classic movie is one which is highly regarded and popular over time. When we say ‘classical music’ we mean music written in a formal, usually serious, manner. ‘Classical’ also means things which are from ancient Greek or Latin literature, art, or culture. You’d never say a ‘classical film’.