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 #17 (permalink) Tue Aug 21, 2007 14:12 pm A good question? |
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Hi LS
I think you're supposed to figure out what the heck A and B are talking about -- so, yes, it seems you're supposed to figure out the cause of delay and what sort of delay it is.
For me, at least, it was mainly the word line that helped. But even now, I'm still not 100% sure. 
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Yankee
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| #18 (permalink) Tue Aug 21, 2007 14:17 pm A good question? |
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Hi, Amy
I think they are talking about a train (and the line is wire)
What's your guess ? |
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Lost_Soul
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| #19 (permalink) Tue Aug 21, 2007 14:20 pm A good question? |
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I pictured bumper to bumper traffic. But your guess might be better.
Interesting puzzle, Ralf.
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Yankee
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| #20 (permalink) Tue Aug 21, 2007 14:31 pm A good question? |
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| Could be trams, and damp leaves are falling and sticking onto the overhead electrical lines. |
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Jamie (K)
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| #21 (permalink) Tue Aug 21, 2007 14:37 pm A good question? |
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| lost_soul wrote: |
Hi, Ralf
So, what's the point? What am I supposed to name? the cause of the delay or what? |
Hi lost soul,
This dialogue transcript is taken from a pre-intermediate (B1) learner’s CD. I'm sure that since you are participating on this forum, this dialogue does not impose great difficulties on you. You mentioned the word delay, so you got the point. Still, I can understand why this conversation may be difficult to understand. Both of the interlocutors do not produce utterances which are intertwined nor do they follow the usual "subject-predicate-object" approach of most school books. There are half-sentences (partial sentences) used here which are perfectly normal bits of speech acts, and you are likely to find these in most everyday conversations. Everything that remains unsaid can be associated. But "can be associated" does not necessarily imply that any native speaker will get what is said/unsaid between the lines straight away.
The questions asked in a corresponding student's book could be:
- Where does the situation take place?
- Is there a problem? If so, why?
- Do you think A and B know each other?
- Have you encountered a similar situation? How did you cope with it?
There are many different approaches to teaching vocab. I was curious whether other teachers had an idea for this exercise!
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 Ralf
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| #23 (permalink) Tue Aug 21, 2007 14:40 pm A good question? |
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Hi,
In order to fully appreciate this conversation and also to commiserate with the two 'passengers' you have to live in the UK. It's a standard joke or shame that whenever there's the slightest change in our variable climate, the country's transport system on the railways grinds to a halt. In the winter time there are freezing points or there is snow on the lines (always the wrong type of snow and come the autumn, there will be leaves on the lines - all disabling the system and making the trains slip and slide. The strangest thing of all is it always comes as a huge surprise to the companies that run the railway system that this happens every year.
Alan
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| #24 (permalink) Tue Aug 21, 2007 14:45 pm A good question? |
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| Alan wrote: |
| In order to fully appreciate this conversation and also to commiserate with the two 'passengers' you have to live in the UK. It's a standard joke or shame that whenever there's the slightest change in our vaiable climate, the country's transport system on the railways grinds to a halt. In the winter time there are freezing points or there is snow on the lines (always the wrong type of snow0 and come the autumn, there will be leaves on the lines - all disabling the sytem and making the trains slip and slide. The strangest thing of all is it always comes as a huge surprise to the companies that run the railway system that this happens every year. |
The whole transportation system sounds as sensitive as Jaguar and Triumph automobiles used to be. They were famous in America for not starting if the humidity suddenly changed or there was some other minor variation in the weather. (But, believe it or not, their reputation was better than that of FIAT.) |
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Jamie (K)
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| #25 (permalink) Tue Aug 21, 2007 14:56 pm A good question? |
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| Ralf wrote: |
| Jamie (K) wrote: |
| Could be trams, and damp leaves are falling and sticking onto the overhead electrical lines. |
As always, Jamie (K) is right. |
I just threw out a wild guess, but I think Alex's guess was probably the correct one and that the leaves were probably on the tracks.
This is one of those culturally, or more accurately, geographically biased exercises that won't work if the book is used in a country where conditions differ. My students wouldn't be able to figure it out, because the transportation systems and sometimes the vegetation in their home countries and in their new home are too different from that in the UK.
This can even happen within the same country. One test question that comes with the textbook series we use at a college where I teach is New York centric, and my students always get the wrong answer. The American publishing industry is based in New York, where life is quite different from in the rest of the country.
The question states that a man's boss is angry at him for coming late to work. It then asks the students to choose the most appropriate response. My students always get this wrong. The "right" answer is, "He shouldn't have driven to work when it was snowing." This assumes New York conditions, in which a person can choose to take the train or subway if the weather is bad. In my state, however, this answer makes no sense, because for most people, the only way to get to work is driving. So saying, "He shouldn't have driven to work when it was snowing," is the same as saying he shouldn't have gone to work at all. |
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Jamie (K)
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| #26 (permalink) Tue Aug 21, 2007 17:44 pm A good question? |
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| Jamie (K) wrote: |
| I just threw out a wild guess, but I think Alex's guess was probably the correct one and that the leaves were probably on the tracks. |
Who's Alex? Was it so hard to say Alan was probably right? In case Alan was meant, I find it curious that (in your previous comment) you touched upon a topic pretty close to the British heart after he (Alan) had admitted to deficiencies of British public transport.
I apologise in case I was jumping to conclusions, or if I should have insulted a fair-minded slip. I really think we should keep personality elated cavalries out of this forum.
Btw, there's nothging wrong with bashing the Brits. After all it was them who exported the cookie and who should in all fairness be held responsible for many a bloated waist.
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| #27 (permalink) Tue Aug 21, 2007 19:10 pm A good question? |
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And here I'd only had the very fleeting thought that it was either simply a typo or that Jamie knew LS's real name...
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Yankee
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| #28 (permalink) Tue Aug 21, 2007 19:40 pm A good question? |
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By the way, the sweetest desert (by far!) I've ever eaten was some sort of concoction prepared by a British colleague of mine. It was some sort of warm, sweet scone-type thing, saturated in a pool of what must have been 1 part whiskey, 8 parts melted butter and 10 parts sugar. I can't remember what she called it (other than "desert" ). Do you happen to know the name of this sort of desert?
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Yankee
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| #29 (permalink) Tue Aug 21, 2007 19:54 pm A good question? |
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| Yankee wrote: |
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And here I'd only had the very fleeting thought that it was either simply a typo or that Jamie knew LS's real name...
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Yeah, Jamie knows me by my real name. My real name is Alex 
Alex |
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Lost_Soul
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| #30 (permalink) Tue Aug 21, 2007 20:52 pm A good question? |
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Hi everyone, hi Jamie,
I do apologise for my comment. Damn, thought I had ya there and then!
Yankee's scone recipe sounds pretty enticing. I'm one of the biggest fans of scone's, and you can be sure I will be pestering you in case I can't bring them to life! Unfortunately, I have no idea what they are called, probably 'Dentist's Delight', 'You Need A Bigger Coffin Fast' or 'Best Son-In Law's Excuse For Boozing' 
Anyway, I'm glad the little dialogue got your imagination into gear. In the original audio dialogue you can hear two old geezers talking in a English-Midland accent, so that helped to place it.
Btw, how do you pronounce scone? In Ireland people say "skoun", whereas in England i've heard people say "skon".
Talk soon!
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