1116. Idioms

1118. to call someone up – to call

1119. Please call me up if you aren’t busy this weekend. I’ll have my cellphone with me.

1120. a thousand apologies – say one is very, very sorry

1121. Hey, Steve. A thousand apologies for not calling you up earlier. My cellphone battery died.

1123. Answer the questions

1125. 1. What reason does the girl give for needing a cellphone?

1126. a. She can use it to check her email. b. She can call family in case of an emergency. c. She can make cheaper long-distance calls with it.

1127. 2.What is one major feature of the calling plan?

1128. a. 1000 anytime minutes

1129. b. unlimited weekday minutes

1130. c. 1000 free weekday minutes

1131. 3. What is the term of service for this plan?

1132. a. 3 months

1133. b. 6 months

1134. c. 9 months

1135. 4. Why does the girl suggest that her father buy a new car too?

1136. a. Their current car is in bad shape, and it doesn't look good. b. The cellphone's power supply won't work in an older car.

1137. c. Their car isn't big enough to ride in with all her friends.

1138. 5. What do customers receive when they purchase the cellphone mentioned in the conversation?

1139. a. a cellphone adapter for the car b. money back for buying the phone

1140. c. other cellphone accessories

1144. 3. Vocabulary activities

1146. Multiple-choice and short-answer questions

1148. 1. Can I use your cell phone? My car broke down for the third time this week, and I can't get it started. To be honest, it's a real _________, and it's not worth $50.

1149. a. lemon

1150. b. banana

1151. c. strawberry

1152. 2. Often, when you think you're getting a great price and deal on your cell phone service plan, you later realize that there is a _________, and you have to pay more than you thought.

1153. a. catch

1154. b. term

1155. c. rebate

1156. 3. If you don't use all of your cell phone minutes this month, the company will roll _________ your minutes to the next month, so you don't lose them.

1157. a. after

1158. b. over

1159. c. on

1160. 4. This company will _________ you all kinds of fees, so be sure to discuss the actual final cost in advance.

1161. a. roll over

1162. b. term

1163. c. charge

1164. 5. In the short _________, a cheap phone might be best, but you should consider paying more for a better phone.

1165. a. lemon

1166. b. fee

1167. c. term

1169. Matching exercise

1171. roll over, lemon, catch, charge, cancel

1173. I want to ___________ my cell phone contract because I'm not happy with the service.

1174. If you don't use all your minutes this month, this plan will allow you to _________ your minutes to the next month

1175. This cell phone plan is unbelievably cheap. There must be a __________ because no company would offer such a great deal.

1176. The monthly ________ for this service is $39.95 a month.

1177. I hate this car. I just bought it a week ago, and now it won't start. What a _________!

1179. Text completion quiz

1181. Daughter: Dad. You love me, don't you?

1182. Father: Of course, I do. Why do you ask . . . Ah, what's on your ⁽¹⁾ ...?

1183. Daughter: Well, I saw this great ⁽²⁾ … for a free cell phone here in the newspaper, and . . .

1184. Father: Free? Nothing's ever free.

1185. Daughter: Well, the phone is free . . . after a $50 mail-in ⁽³⁾ …

1186. Father: Ah, so that's the ⁽⁴⁾…. And why do you need a cell phone anyway?

1187. Daughter: Dad. All my friends have one, and I can use it to call you in case the car breaks down.

1188. Father: Ah, I don't know. There are always so many ⁽⁵⁾…

1189. Daughter: But the monthly ⁽⁶⁾ … for this service is only $29.99, with 1,000 free weekday minutes nationwide, and unlimited weekend minutes. Plus, unlimited, anytime minutes for anyone using the same service.

1190. Father: I don't know.

1191. Daughter: And you can roll over the extra minutes to the next month instead of just ⁽⁷⁾ … them. What do you think of that?

1192. Father: Yeah, but what is the ⁽⁸⁾ … of the service agreement?

1193. Daughter: It's only for six months.

1194. Father: But what if you ⁽⁹⁾ … early?

1195. Daughter: Um . . . Ah, there's a cancellation fee of $200, but with . . .

1196. Father: Two hundred ⁽¹⁰⁾ ...!

1197. Daughter: Yeah, but you won't have to worry about me while I'm driving the new car.

1198. Father: New car? What new car?

1199. Daughter: The new car you'll need to buy so I can use the cell phone. I mean, what's is gonna look like if I'm using a cell phone in our old lemon.

1200. Father: Teenagers. What'll they think of next?

1202. 4. Post-listening exercises

1204. There is often debate on whether a cell phone is a need or just a want in today's society. What is your opinion on this? At what age is it appropriate for children or teenagers to have a phone and should they be asked to cover part of the cost, particularly for cell phone plans that cover features such as unlimited texting?

5. Online investigations