Listening

Warm Up

Helpful Words and Phrases

Listen and repeat.

  1. get together
    • ex. My best friend and I are going to get together next weekend.
  2. an order
    • ex. We will help people in the order that they arrived.
  3. stay in touch
    • ex. I still stay in touch with my old boss. We have lunch together sometimes.
  4. work
    • ex. Mark’s plan was good, but unfortunately, it didn’t work.
  5. thankfully
    • ex. It’s raining? Well, thankfully, I have an umbrella.

Article

Read the article below and answer your tutor's questions.

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A group of friends are continuing a photo tradition that they started in 1982. Every five years, John Wardlaw, Mark Rumer-Cleary, Dallas Burney, John Molony, and John Dickson get together at a cabin on Copco Lake in California to take the same photo. The group took their ninth photo earlier this year, exactly 40 years after their first.

For every photo, the five friends sit in the same order as the original 1982 photo. They make the same facial expressions and hold the same objects too: Rumer-Cleary puts a hat on his knee, and Molony holds a jar in his right hand. As part of the tradition, the group also eats tacos the night before the photo.

The friends created the photo tradition as a way to stay in touch, and it’s worked. Despite living in different parts of the country, they still get together at the lake every five years. When Burney discovered that he had cancer in 2019, they were worried that the 2022 photo might only show four of them, but thankfully, he’s okay now and was able to join his friends for the photo.

Discussion

Choose a topic and discuss the questions with your tutor.

Photos

  • Every five years, the friends get together at a cabin to take the same photo. Imagine that you will start a similar photo tradition. Where and with whom do you want to take your photo? Why? Discuss.
  • Do you prefer to take photos with your phone or with a camera? Why? Discuss.
  • How do you feel about selfies (photos that you take of yourself)? Why? Discuss.

Staying in Touch

  • The friends created the photo tradition as a way to stay in touch. What are some other good ways to stay in touch with people (ex. being friends on social media, talking on the phone)? Why? Discuss.
  • In your opinion, is it important to stay in touch with your old friends and coworkers? Why or why not? Discuss.
  • Think of all the people that you have NOT stayed in touch with. Would you like to contact any of them now? Why or why not? Discuss.