English Daily: An Awkward Amount of Time

Engramme: Your Daily English Programme #57: An Awkward Amount of Time (Listening B1-B2)

Think Before You Listen

It happens to all of us: we get off work or school earlier than usual, we need to be somewhere else or meet someone, but we have a few hours left and do not know what to do with it. We can't go home because it is too far away or the time is just not enough to stay home for a while and rest. In other words, as College Humor puts it, we have "an awkward amount of time"!

What do you usually do when you have "an awkward amount of time"? What is the best thing to do?

Watch and Listen

Watch the Video: How do they solve the problem of having an awkward amount of time? Is this a good solution? Why (not)?

Let's Practice

We have had e-mail requests from our readers for a lesson that would focus on "street language": informal words or expressions that people use in casual conversation. You can find a few of these in the following transcript of the video.

Listen Again to the Conversations: Fill in the blanks with informal words/expressions that you hear (if you move your mouse over them, you can see a note about their meaning/use too;)

Man: No, you don't ____ it! If I go home, I'll just have to turn right back around when I get there. I just…I don't have enough time to do anything. Woman: ______  ____ someone has an awkward amount of time? Man: Whoa! Honey, I’ll _____ you back. Woman: Get in here! We understand that in the real world time is a commodity, and you don't always have enough of it. That's why we offer everything you could ever need when you just have, like, an awkward amount of time ___ your hands. Man: Do you have phone …? …chargers? Yeah, we got iPhone, iPad, Android, MacBook; we got you _______. Man: Whoa! Woman: We also know you may not wanna eat a whole meal but you probably wanna eat like a little something. We have light snacks like chips or cookies, all the way up to heavier snacks like _______. But again, no full meals, none here. But there's no pressure to order anything. I mean we’re not a café; we're the Awkward Amount of Time Station. Man: Hey, I am just a little hungry. Do you have…? Woman: …______  ____ bathrooms with stalls that reach all the way to the floor so that you can sh*t in peace? Yeah! Man: Nice! What more could I ask for? Woman: How about a movie theater that only plays 45-minute long movies? _____ ____ everyone. Don't do anything I wouldn’t do! Need to take a phone call with your headphones on while pacing in a small area? We got you covered. [Would you] ______ just sit in your car? That's fine too. We have a designated parking lot: you'll never have to explain that you're not actually leaving your parking spot, and that you're definitely not a ______! It's just understood here. Man: [I] Think I'm gonna like it here for another 30 or 45 minutes. Woman: Awkward Amount of Time Station: because what else are you gonna do? 2nd Man: Hey, is it possible for me to ____ a room for the night? Woman: Okay! Get the f*** out! 2nd Man: I'm sorry! Man: They don't do that.

(compare your answers with the ones in the first comment below)

Over to You

Have you ever heard of "power nap stations"? Or "capsule hotels"? Do you think these are good ideas to help people use the time they may otherwise waste between tasks? (let us know in the comments below)

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