Views #895 | Mid Intermediate 5

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Johnathan talks about how his luggage has changed over the years.
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Jeff: So, Jonathan, you are the... maybe the most prolific traveler I have ever met, and your home is a suitcase, so how do you live out of a suitcase like that?

Jonathan: I wouldn't really say my home is a suitcase, but I think that people really hold onto their possessions a little bit too much, and people think that they need to have their favorite books nearby when they probably will never even read it again. I really don't think it's necessary to have all of those things there, so I don't need to have a lot of nice clothes with me all the time. I don't need to carry around all of these souvenirs of days gone by. I'm perfectly comfortable having just a minimal amount of things with me. I have changes of clothes so it's not like I'm in any way suffering from a lack of personal hygiene and such things.

Jeff: So, but... so what do you do? How do you clean your clothes? What do you do when you want to buy something new?

Jonathan: Well, I find that in fact I don't often buy some many things when I travel. I buy the necessities, but I try to keep everything small in size so for example I have one small little pack that has shampoo, conditioner and body soap, and I can in fact, fill it up from a lot of hotels which offer those things to their guests. I can have a little bar of soap. I have a small towel to travel with. I can take my clothes to a coin laundry. At worst, I put on a pair of shorts while I'm washing my two pairs of jeans. If it's a cold weather country perhaps people look at me a little bit funny, but being Canadian and descended from cold weather countries, I don't have a difficulty with it.

Learn Vocabulary from the Lesson

prolific traveler

Jonathan, you are the most prolific traveler I have ever met.

A 'prolific traveler' spends most of his time traveling around the world.  Notice the following:

  1. After college, he became a prolific traveler.
  2. Wow, that old suitcase must belong to a prolific traveler.

live out of a suitcase

How do you live out of a suitcase?

When we 'live out of a suitcase,' that means we carry everything we own.  Notice the following:

  1. My trip was fun, but I hated living out of a suitcase.
  2. They lived out of a suitcase for a month in Europe last summer.

days gone by

I don't need to carry souvenirs of days gone by.

We use the phrase 'days gone by' to talk about the past.  Notice the following:

  1. In days gone by, people communicated by post.
  2. My grandfather often speaks of days gone by.

personal hygiene

A lack of personal hygiene.

'Personal hygiene' means the way we keep ourselves and things around us clean.  Notice the following:

  1. In many jobs, personal hygiene is a safety issue.
  2. Poor personal hygiene got him kicked out of the dorm.

necessities

I buy the necessities.

'Necessities' are daily things we need in order to live.  Notice the following:

  1. They only have enough money to buy the necessities.
  2. I shop for necessities once a month.

Vocabulary Quiz

prolific • lived out of • days gone by
hygiene • necessities
  1. Seeing him again made me think about .
  2. I want you to only bring the with you. We don't have a lot of space in the car
  3. He went from being a very lazy person to a athlete.
  4. She her car for a while before she got a record contract.
  5. He has really poor personal .
Answer the following questions about the interview.

 

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