This is an English lesson designed to help you practice and improve your English listening and pronunciation skills. The listening lesson is a short story about something that happened in my life in Canada. There is also a short pronunciation explanation about a word or sound I used in the story.

Story: What happened when I went to see Sex and the City 2!

Pronunciation lesson: 7 French words in English!

Listen to the podcast:
*Try to listen at least once without looking at the words!

If you have trouble with your listening skills, here’s something that may help:
How to practice listening

Listening Comprehension

1. What day did I go to the movie?

2. Why did I have an hour to kill at the theatre?

3. How much does a small bag of popcorn cost?

4. What did I think of the movie?

Transcript

(*Click on the links to learn more about the grammar, vocabulary and expressions used in the story!)

I admit it – I shed a few tears during the first Sex and the City movie! Who wouldn’t? It’s every woman’s worst nightmare that her fiancé will stand her up at the altar. I love the Sex and the City TV show because I love New York City and I love all the clothes the girls wear.

So, I was really excited to see Sex and the City 2! Before we left my house last Monday, we quickly checked the newspaper to see what time the movie was playing. We decided to go to the 6:15 movie. We drove to the theatre and got in line to buy our tickets. We got there early to make sure we had time to get some treats before the movie. When we got to the cashier, I said “Two tickets for Sex & the City 2 at 6:15 please.”

There was no 6:15 show! When we checked the times in the paper, we were looking at the weekend paper – not the Monday paper. There was only a 6:15 show on the weekend, not on Monday! The next show wasn’t until at 7:00pm, so we had an hour to kill.

No problem! This theatre was so huge we could eat dinner there. We went to the concession stand, bought some slices of pizza and some drinks and sat down to read the free magazines.

Going to the movies in Canada is not cheap! Tickets are cheaper during the week, so the admission was $12 (including taxes) on Monday. That’s OK, but then they charge you even more money for food and drinks! Whenever I go to the movies, I love to eat popcorn with butter. Do you know how much a small bag of popcorn costs? Six dollars and twenty-six cents! For a small bag! That’s highway robbery! I should have made the popcorn at home and brought it with me.

Not many people go to the movies on a Monday, so we practically had the auditorium to ourselves! We had the best seats in the house right in the middle, with the best view of the screen. I think there were only 10 other people in the auditorium.

As for the movie, I thought it was terrible! The language they used and the jokes were so crude. At times it seemed like a bunch of frat boys wrote the script. It was not what I expected from Sex and the City! There was really no story, and there were so many product placements that the movie seemed like one big infomercial. I don’t think there will be a Sex and the City 3!

Discussion Questions:

Have you seen ‘Sex and the City 2’? What did you think of it?

Is it expensive to go to the movies in your country?

Let me know in the comments below!

Pronunciation: 7 French words used in English

In English, we use a lot of French words. The words are the same, but sometimes the pronunciation is different. Here are 7 French words that we use in English:

fiancé
chic
genre
encore
matinée
potpourri
protégé

More: Pronunciation – 30 French Words Used in English (video)

Vocabulary:

to stand [someone] up
It’s every woman’s worst nightmare that her fiancé will stand her up at the altar.
= when someone intentionally does not show up to a meeting or appointment– in this case, a wedding!

the altar
It’s every woman’s worst nightmare that her fiancé will stand her up at the altar.
= most North American weddings take place in a church; at the front of the church there is usually a platform or table.
If you ‘stand someone up at the altar’, you don’t show up to your own wedding!

to have time to kill
The next show wasn’t until at 7:00pm, so we had an hour to kill!
= to have nothing to do for a period of time

a concession stand
We went to the concession stand, bought some slices of pizza & some drinks …
= a place in a sports stadium, movie theatre or any public place where food and drinks are sold

the house
We had the best seats in the house!
= in any type of theatre, the ‘house’ is the people watching the show and the area where they are sitting.

frat boys
At times it seemed like a bunch of frat boys wrote the script.
= A fraternity is a male social organization common at American universities [the female equivalent is a ‘sorority’]
= frat boys are sometimes known for childish behaviour

crude
The language they used & the jokes were so crude.
= rude, offensive & makes people uncomfortable, particularly when talking about sex.

infomercial
…there were so many product placements that the movie seemed like one big infomercial
= a TV show / movie that is actually a very long commercial!