Views #382 | Intermediate 4

The Table

Mary talks about making a table.
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Adrienne: Wow, Mary, that's a great dining room table. Where did you get it?

Mary: Oh, thanks. That is something, a project that Dave and I worked on over a couple of weekends. We really enjoy doing woodworking and he actually has a very elaborate woodshop at his house and it's something I really enjoy working on too, so we thought of a project, which was the table and kind of designed what it would look like and bought some lumber and used his tools to figure out exactly how to put it all together and the process was a lot of fun, um, making the plan and actually using four or five different kinds of tools to assemble it and get it all put together. I have to say that I wasn't quite sure what it was going to end up looking like cause in the rough form it wasn't impressing me too much but once everything was sanded and stained and done it really impressed me so it's a lot of fun to do.

Adrienne: So you made the table from scratch?

Mary: Yep, Yep we did. Just bought some lumber, certain sizes of lumber and ended up cutting it to the different kind of things we needed so it was like making a pattern and then using all these raw materials to put together to create the final product.

Adrienne: Wow, that's really impressive cause it's a nice table.

Mary: I really like it. It was a lot of fun to do.

Adrienne: Um, any other projects you've done that you have in the house?

Mary: Um, well, not quite like the table, but just some general finishing things, for instance if something is broken, like I'm not sure if you noticed, but my front door has no doorknob at the moment so I do have a doorknob and I will be fixing that at some point, so

Adrienne: That falls, I'm sorry, does that fall into the category of woodworking?

Mary: It can cause it's gonna involve some tools.

Adrienne: I see. Very cool. Thanks.

Learn vocabulary from the lesson!

woodworking

We really enjoy doing woodworking.

'Woodworking' is an activity that involves making furniture and other objects out of wood.

Notice the following:

  1. My best subject at school was always woodworking.
  2. It seems that not many girls take up woodworking.

lumber

We thought of a project, which was the table and kind of designed what it would look like and bought some lumber.

'Lumber' is the name for wood that has been cut from a tree and made into long flat pieces which will be used to build things.

Notice the following:

  1. I worked at a lumber yard in my spare time.
  2. My dad always has some lumber lying around.

assemble

The process was a lot of fun, making the plan and actually using four or five different kinds of tools to assemble it.

When you 'assemble' something it means that you build it or you put all the pieces together.

Notice the following:

  1. You buy them flat packed and then you take them home and assemble it yourself.
  2. I think I will help to assemble the table.

stain

Once everything was sanded and stained and done it really impressed me.

In this case, 'stain' refers to a special type of liquid, similar to clear paint, that you put on wood to protect it and to give it a different color. 'Stained wood' has been covered with this wood.

Notice the following:

  1. I need to stain the fence.
  2. We are going to redo the floor in our kitchen and want to find a good stain.

doorknob

My front door has no doorknob at the moment.

A 'doorknob' is the handle that you use to push or pull a door open or shut.

Notice the following:

  1. I would like to buy a fancy doorknob for my front door.
  2. This doorknob only locks from the inside.

Vocabulary Quiz

woodworking • lumber • assemble
stain • doorknob
  1. The bed comes in many parts and you have to it at your house.
  2. You have to this wood before the rainy season or you will have problems.
  3. He made that table in his class when he was in high school.
  4. You have to push the in and to the right to lock it.
  5. I think we are going to need more to finish building these stairs.
Answer the following questions about the interview.

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