World Resident
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Carla | Todd |
Todd: Hello, can you introduce yourself please.
Carla: Hi, my name is Carla Edes. And where I'm from is a little difficult, because I grew up in Canada. But then I moved to Africa. Then I moved to England, and now I've been living in Japan for fourteen years.
Todd: Wow. That's amazing you've been on four continents.
Carla: Yes, four continents.
Todd: Why did you grow up in Canada?
Carla: In Canada, I grew up in Vancouver.
Todd: Oh cool West Coast.
Carla: West Coast. Very nice place.
Todd: See that's why I like you, cuz I'm from San Francisco. I'm also a West Coast person.
Carla: Ah, that's why our accents are similar.
Todd: Very similar, yes.
Carla: Ya
Todd: Ya very interesting. So what's it like growing up in Vancouver?
Carla: Wonderful. It's got mountains for skiing and hiking. And I went to UBC, so I had, I was right there, could do all those lovely things. Leave school on Friday night, ski all weekend, get back to school seven o'clock Monday morning.
Todd: Wow, sounds fun. Now, UBC is University of British Columbia?
Carla: Right.
Todd: OK, is that the major university in British Columbia?
Carla: Yes.
Todd: OK. What did you study at university?
Carla: Biology
Todd: Biology? Did you ever want to become a biologist?
Carla: I actually wanted to become a doctor.
Todd: OK.
Carla: And then I got foiled in that. So then I studied, I did research in the biology department there. Then I went to England where I met my husband. Then he went out to Africa. So he wrote me a letter saying “come to Africa”. So I wrote him a letter back saying “OK , get me a job”. So he did.
Todd: What was your job in Africa?
Carla: Teaching, that's when I started teaching.
Todd: Wow. Sounds romantic.
Carla: Ya quite romantic. But the really romantic thing was, we got married. When we got married, we got married in Ghana. And we put all our worldly possessions on the back of our motorbike which was sauce pans and a bed roll and a few pieces of clothes. And we motorbiked across Togo and across what was then Dohomi, but is now Benin into Nigeria.
Todd: Wow
Carla: That's romantic, don't you think?
Todd: Yes, very much so.
accent
That's why our accents are similar.
Your "accent" is the sound of your voice when you speak. People can speak the same language and have different accents. If you are speaking a second language, you probably have accent from your native language. Notice the following:
- His accent was very think and difficult to understand.
- Where are you from? I really like your accent.
want to become
Did you ever want to become a biologist?
If you "want to become" a doctor, that means you want to be a doctor. You want to study hard, go to medical school and find a job as a doctor. We usually use this phrase to talk about professions. Notice the following:
- When I was younger, I wanted to become a biologist, but I'm not very good at science.
- She wanted to become the best dancer, so she practiced seven hours every day.
foil
And then I got foiled in that.
When you "foil" someone's plans, you prevent them from having success, you stop them. Notice the following:
- It's obvious that she doesn't like me. She tries to foil all of my plans.
- The surprise party was foiled when my husband found the list of guests.
romantic
Wow. Sounds romantic.
Something that has to do with romance or love is "romantic." We also use this word to describe things that are not practical or not possible. Notice the following:
- He brought me flowers because I was sad. He's always very romantic.
- Like all romantic movies, the couple is together and happy at the end.
worldly
We put all our worldly possessions on the back of our motorbike.
"Worldly" is something that exists in this world. In this case, "worldly possessions" are everything that you have or own. Notice the following:
- She has very exciting ideas, but they aren't very possible or worldly.
- The sun was almost pink. It didn't look worldly.
Vocabulary Quiz
romantic • worldly
