Views #694 | High Intermediate 6

Jewels, Gems, and Stones

Adrienne talks about what jewelry she likes to wear.

Script
Vocab
Quiz


Adrienne	Todd

Todd: So, Adrienne, you are really into jewelry. You fix jewelry. Do you know a lot about gems and stones and things like that?

Adrienne: No, I don't know a lot, but I know what I like.

Todd: So what kind of stuff do you like?

Adrienne: Well, I'm actually not a big fan of precious stones like diamonds, rubies, emeralds. I think they are very beautiful but for everyday wear I prefer, I think they are called semi-precious stones, but I'm not even sure if I'm right about that either.

Todd: So, what are some semi-precious stones?

Adrienne: Well, I think either they fall into the semi-precious stone or the rock category. I'm not sure, but one example is I like Jade very much.

Todd: Jade.

Adrienne: Jade.

Todd: OK, what does Jade look like?

Adrienne: Jade is usually green, although you can find white and yellow and even pink Jade, maybe other colors too, but the most popular and the most common Jade you find is green and various shades of green. You have to be careful though when you buy Jade that that is hasn't been dyed by the jeweler because very often they will do... they still call it Jade but it's actually been injected with a color to make it greener than it would be naturally, and I don't care for that bright green color. I like the natural, natural green color of Jade, so and I just like, it's a little bit translucent. If you hold it up to light, you can see light coming through it. It's a really beautiful stone.

Todd: What other rocks do you like? I don't know if they're rocks.

Adrienne: We don't know. I don't know. I wish I new more about this now that you're asking me. Um, carnelian is another one that I like a lot. Carnelian is a red stone. It's got kind of an orange tint to it, so it's orangish-red color and it makes beautiful beads, so very often you will see necklaces and earrings made from carnelian beads, and it polishes very nicely as well.

Todd: OK, so you like Jade and you like carnelian. Anything else?

Adrienne: Yeah, actually, I like all other kinds of rocks, even quartz, crystals, all of those kinds of things that you can wear, but I don't like the shiny crystals, the ones that are trying to look like diamonds or cubic-zerkonia. Yeah, I don't like it to be shiny. I like very natural looking rock. So it should be matte, and also a little but rough on the edges so you can see that it really was a rock, that was maybe mined or pulled out the ground. I don't know. So those are my favorite kinds but I guess I wouldn't mind getting a diamond or two here and there.

Learn Vocabulary from the lesson

precious stones

I'm actually not a big fan of precious stones like diamonds, rubies, or emeralds.

'Precious stones' are stones that are rare and beautiful, and because of this they are valuable. Notice the following:

Buying lab created precious stones is a lot cheaper.
What kind of precious stone is that?

shades of

The most common Jade you find is green and various shades of green.

The 'shade of' something is the intensity of its color. Maybe some of the Jade is light green and some is dark green. Notice the following:

Most of his clothes are shades of brown.
Her whole house is decorated with shades of yellow.

injected with

They still call it Jade, but it's actually been injected with a color to make it greener.

If you are 'injected with' a liquid, it is forcefully put into your body using a needle. We use injections frequently for preventative medicine. Notice the following:

The meat is injected with juices to make it more moist.
It's become popular for celebrities to get their lips injected with Botox.

translucent

It's a little bit translucent, so if you hold it up to the light, you can see light coming though it.

Something that is 'translucent' is a little cloudy to look through, but you can still see through it a little bit. Gelatin would be considered translucent. Notice the following:

You can tell that the coffee isn't strong, because it is so translucent.
Would you prefer that this wood is painted with a stronger or more translucent color?

tint

Carnelian is a red stone, but it's got kind of an orange tint to it.

Here, 'tint' refers to a color that is noticeable, but is not the dominant color. For example, if you have a lot of a red clothes and you put them next to each other, you will notice that they are not all exactly the same color. The difference between the color is a tint. Notice the following:

She prefers reds with a bluish tint.
The paint is green with a bit of a bluish tint.

Answer these questions about the interview.

Vocabulary Quiz

precious • shades • injected
translucent • tint

The color theme of the party is different of orange.
Your hair kind of has a reddish in it.
She doesn't have any stones on her ring. It's just gold.
The ocean water is more than usual today because of the storms. It is usually very clear.
Most children are with different types of medicine to prevent them from becoming sick.