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High School Gossip Adv
High School Gossip Adv text -
mp3
High School Gossip Adv
Listening:
Sally passed me a note in history saying Toby dumped Monica.
Everyone has been gossiping about their breakup!
I heard a rumor he already started dating someone else.
Did you hear that Kate and Emily got in a huge cat-fight on Saturday?
Kate found out from Ashley that Emily was talking trash about her.
I can't believe anyone would bad-mouth their own best friend like that.
I would never talk behind my friend's back like that.
Did you hear that Tom asked Rachel to prom?
I heard there's going to be an after-party at the hotel.
If we have enough people we're gonna rent a limo.
I don't have a prom date yet, but I'm going dress-shopping this weekend.
No way! Did he seriously break up with her?
No way! She would never talk behind my back.
Shut up! You actually overheard her say that to him?
Shut up! You don't even know what you're talking about.
Come on. Let's go dress-shopping this weekend.
Come on! I really doubt she would bad-mouth someone like that.
I heard a rumor today that Molly and Kyle broke up.
Oh, that sucks.
I was nominated for prom queen!
Cool!
Did you hear we're all going to a Star Wars convention this weekend?
Oh, that's cool.
Background Information:
High school promThe high school prom, a dance which takes place in the spring of the third and fourth year of high school, is one of the most-loved American traditions. This celebration is a rite of passage for teenagers across the country. For girls especially, it is important to get every detail perfect -- from the dress, to the hairstyle, to the date. Starting months in advance, prom dates are eagerly sought after and arranged. When dates have been chosen, the girls begin looking for ballgowns. The week before prom, high school classes cast ballots for the "prom queen" and "prom king," who are typically the most "popular" pair in the grade (stereotypically, the head cheerleader and the quarterback). On the night of the event, groups of friends gather for pictures, and then collectively rent a limo to escort them to the dance. Afterwards, many attend an "after-party" at a house or hotel.
No way!
Phrases like "no way!" can have several meanings. Americans look for clues in intonation, body language, and the context of the conversation to interpret them.
Silence fillers
In American culture, silence is seen as awkward or uncomfortable, and is thus avoided at all costs. To keep the conversation going, speakers often use one of several catch-phrases as default responses when they don't know what else to say. "That sucks" is a phrase frequently used to respond to something negative. One of the most important words in conversational American English is "cool" (often also used in the phrase "that's cool"). Sometimes it means "great," but more often it is used as a polite response to fill an awkward silence. Said in that context, it doesn't mean "great" at all, rather "that's not interesting to me, but I don't want to hurt your feelings."
