★★☆Mortgage and Other ‘Death’ Words (Special Dialogue)
2015年08月12日 ★★☆, VOA, Words and Their Stories.
Read and understand the story. If you may have any difficult words to pronounce and words you cannot understand, always ask your teacher.
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Vocabulary
*Read the words carefully.
- thriller/ˈθrɪlɚ/(n)
- double-date /ˈdʌbəl ˈdeɪt/ (v.)
- because you just can’t make this stuff up (expression/joke)
a novel, play, or movie with an exciting plot, often involving crime or spies
a social event in which two people interested in each other go out with another couple; v. to take part in a double date
a common expression when the truth is stranger and more interesting than make-believe
Article
Mortgage and Other ‘Death’ Words
Special Dialogue!
Now let’s hear how these “death” words are actually used. Here’s the set-up: two friends meet at an outdoor cafe to talk about their plans for the evening. But one friend just can’t stop talking about death!
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A: I have big news.
B: Joe asked you to marry him?
A: No! And don’t joke like that in front of him when we go out tonight. He would be mortified!
B: Oh, nobody has ever died from embarrassment. Ha … mortified … that’s kind of funny you used that word.
A: Why?
B: Well, his father is a mortician. You know — a person who takes care of dead bodies.
A: I know what a mortician does. I just don’t want to talk about it over coffee.
B: What if his father wants him to go into the family business? You’ll have to talk about death and bodies and mortality all the time.
A: You say the worst things.
B: You know, being married to a mortician won’t be that bad. Morticians make good money. You two won’t have any trouble paying your “death pledge.”
A: Our what?
B: Death pledge. You know…a mortgage on a house.
A: Alright, that’s it. I’m changing the subject. What movie do you want to see tonight?
B: Hmm … let’s go see that new thriller, Mortuary. It’s about a family who moves into an old funeral home. The building is supposed to be haunted with evil spirits.
A: That’s it! I’m choosing the movie. Oh, and by the way, I didn’t tell you earlier because I was afraid you’d say “no,” but…
B: But what?
A: Well, tonight is a double-date. I invited Joe’s brother to be your date.
B: Is he nice?
A: Oh, yeah! He’s nice and tall. You two have a lot in common. He likes to make jokes, too.
B: What’s his name?
A: Morty.
B: Because you just can’t make this stuff up. As they say, “truth is sometimes stranger than fiction.”
Discussion
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