Here is Level 2, Lesson 11: “The Big Snow” adapted from VOA Learning English.
- Listen, read, translate if needed, and practice along with the audio player and dialogue below.
Kelly: Hi, Anna. Why do you have all this weather stuff?
Anna: I love weather.
Kelly: Me too! Weather is so important.
Anna: It is. It affects people’s lives!
Kelly: Have you ever reported on a big weather event?
Anna: I have. I’ve reported on a blizzard.
Kelly: Do mean the one last weekend?
Anna: Yes! I had been waiting for that blizzard for years. When it came, I was ready.
Prof. Bot: Welcome to our most perfect lesson! Why is it perfect? Today we are reviewing the present perfect and past perfect verb tenses. These show that an action is completed.
Kelly uses the present perfect when she says,
Kelly: Have you ever reported on a big weather event?
Anna uses the past perfect when she says,
Anna: I had been waiting for that blizzard for years.
Listen for “have” or “had” and the past participle to find more sentences with the perfect tense. I’ll color those words to help you.
Anna: I have wanted to report on a big weather event my whole life.
Kelly: Who hasn’t? Did you report all weekend … by yourself?
Anna: No, no. I volunteered Pete to help me.
Pete: Why am I here on a Saturday? Why are you carrying things? Why? Why?
Anna: Pete, these are my supplies – food, a blanket; warm clothing. Where are your supplies?
Anna: Pete, Pete, Pete. This could be the “blizzard of the century.”
Pete: It’ll be fine.
Kelly: How else had you prepared?
Anna: Well, I had just bought the latest weather forecasting software. So, I brought it!
Kelly: Do you mean The Weather Genie Pro?
Anna: You know it. Pete thought it was pretty great too.
Pete: Do you have any games on that thing?
Anna: Yes! I have the best weather survival game. Boom!
Pete: Sounds fun.
Anna: It is. But right now, Pete, this computer is a work tool. It will give us the temperature, wind speed, wind direction and amount of snowfall … in real time! Boom, boom!
Pete: I can’t wait.
Anna: Pete, we need a name for this blizzard.
Pete: No, we don’t.
Anna: All the great storms have names.
Pete: No, they don’t.
Anna: I know — “The Big Snow!”
Pete: I am not saying “The Big Snow.”
Pete: Welcome to “The Big Snow.”
Kelly: The Big Snow broke all kinds of records, didn’t it?
Anna: Yes it did. And every time a record was broken, we celebrated!
Anna: So far, in Washington, D.C. 29 inches of snow has fallen. That, my dear listeners, is a record! (Honks horn)
Anna: We just broke the wind speed record! (Honks horn)
Anna: Snow has been falling for 30 hours straight! That’s another record! (Honks horn. Pete comes into room and breaks the horn.)
Kelly: By Saturday night, stores and restaurants had closed. Did you bring enough food?
Anna: I thought I had brought enough food. But I ran out.
Anna: Hey, Pete, where is my bag of popcorn?
Pete: Maybe you ate it already.
Anna: No, I didn’t.
Pete: I haven’t seen it. (Pete has popcorn in his beard. Anna tries to hit him.)
Anna: We had reported together for 48 hours straight!
Kelly: Wow. That must have been a great team-building exercise for you and Pete.
Anna: Yeah. You – you could say that.
Prof. Bot: I hope you found all the sentences with perfect tenses. Learn more on our website!
2. Watch Lesson 11: “The Big Snow” American English video lesson.
3. Take the Lesson 11: “The Big Snow” quiz to check your American English knowledge. Click here to take the quiz.
4. Answer the following question in the comments section below:
Have you been in a big storm or an unusual weather pattern? Where were you when it happened? What did you do?
About the Author
Hello. I’m Danijela.
Very interesting lesson also video with Ana and Pete.
I think weather information is very important. When I had traveled to any country, I always had checked weather forecast for that destination.
Thank you very much Maestro Sersea.
Hello everyone
Have you been in a big storm or unusual weather pattern? Where were you when this happened? What did you do?
I have never been in a really big storm or anything like that, but I was at Spain when a big mudslide happened in my country in 1999. The whole Vargas state, Venezuela, was seriously affected by that event. Many people died and many others disappeared.
In the quiz I got four correct answers from total four questions.
Thank you Maestro
Hello, Hind f eh on Iraq.
My score was 20/20
More weather in Iraq pattern but now we have many dust big storm in summer because of drought and we have not green belt because sand
Lesson 2.11.4 Year 2 -American -English -lesson with Maestro Sersea/
Lesson: 11 ” The big snow ” Quiz.
Unfortunately, I could not do well on the quiz, I got 50%. Next time I will try my best In shah Allah.
Answer the above question.
I remember it was the end of spring and the start of a summer month during evening hours we were traveling back to our hometown. All of us were enjoying driving, the beautiful weather, and the red sunset. suddenly the weather started to windy condition, and a rain shower and thunder with lightning. We got worried a lot, locked our car, and start praying and waiting to finish the bad situation. It took 15 to 20 minutes to finish. We thanked Allah, got off, cleaned our car, and started our journey again.
Greetings Maestro Sersea
My score have been 100%.
Have you been in a big storm or an unusual weather paternn?
Yes, That went several years ago when the huracane Mitch hit my country.
Where were you when it happened?
I was in my house when suddenly a blizzard rose up the roof´s house in that moment I was oppening the door of my room when the wind rose up the roof, and really I was scared.
What did you do?
I couldn´t believe it what I was seeing, so that, we had to wait until the speed wind low to try to reinforce the roof. Really It was awful.
Thank you so much