Here is Level 2, Lesson 27: “Fish out of Water” adapted from VOA Learning English.
- Listen, read, translate if needed, and practice along with the audio player and dialogue below.
ANNA: Hello, Ms. Weaver!
MS. WEAVER: Oh, Anna. I’ve invited some people to dinner Saturday. We’re going to that new seafood restaurant — Fish on a Dish.
MS. WEAVER: Why don’t you join us? My treat.
ANNA: Thanks, Ms. Weaver. But I already have plans. My friend has invited me to her houseboat.
MS. WEAVER: Houseboat, really? That’s unique.
ANNA: Yes, it is. In fact, I’m thinking of living on a houseboat.
MS. WEAVER: Aren’t you too tall and klutzy to live on a houseboat?
ANNA: I am not too tall!
(She knocks over a display board.)
PROF. BOT VO: Is Anna really ready for a houseboat?
PROF. BOT: Ms. Weaver invited Anna to dinner. When we make friendly, informal invitations, we use phrases like “Why don’t…?”
PROF. BOT: For example, Ms. Weaver said, “Why don’t you join us? My treat!” That’s: Why don’t plus the subject plus the simple form of the verb.
PROF. BOT: Anna responded to the invitation by saying, “Thanks, but I already have plans.” Keep watching for more examples of informal invitations!
FANNY: Anna, I’m so glad you could come!
ANNA: Hi, Fanny!
FANNY: Hi, this is my son, Phoenix.
ANNA: Hi, Phoenix.
FANNY: How about you give Anna a tour and I will make some lunch?
PHOENIX: Aye, aye, captain!
FANNY: Great!
ANNA: Do you really call her “captain”?
PHOENIX: I kind of have to.
ANNA: So, Phoenix, I think I’d like to live on a houseboat. Do you like living here?
PHOENIX: I love it! It’s much different than living in a house.
ANNA: Oh, I bet. I bet you had to get rid of a lot of stuff, didn’t you?
PHOENIX: No way! We moved from a 3-story house to a boat! So, we really had to downsize!
ANNA: I’d have to get rid of a lot of stuff. I have a rock collection and I have some really big rocks.
ANNA: Can you stop this boat from rocking for a minute?
PHOENIX: No. We’re floating on water. I can’t do that.
ANNA: Well, since you live on the water, aren’t you afraid of great white sharks?
PHOENIX: No, not really. They don’t live in these waters.
ANNA: … that you know of. What about killer whales?
PHOENIX: No.
ANNA: Electric eels?
PHOENIX: No.
ANNA: Barracudas?
PHOENIX: No.
ANNA: Piranhas?
PHOENIX: Uh-uh.
FANNY: You know, Anna, if you’re afraid of sea life, maybe you shouldn’t live on a houseboat. Do you have any boating experience?
ANNA: Oh, oh yeah, Fanny. I have battled the great waters before — once on a swan boat and once in a duck boat … bus. It was a boat that turned into a bus.
FANNY: Yeah, I don’t think that counts.
ANNA: Fanny, does this rocking ever bother you?
FANNY: No, I love it. It goes up and down and side to side and up and down. Anna, I love it!
(Because of the rocking, Anna begins to feel seasick.)
FANNY: Anna, are you feeling okay?
ANNA: Yeah, yeah. You know, I just need some fresh air.
FANNY: Let me open a window for you.
ANNA: No, I need some fresh land air. I mean, I need to breathe air on land. Oh, is that the time? I should really be going.
ANNA: Thanks for lunch, Fanny, and a tour of your houseboat. It’s given me a great idea!
FANNY: You’re going to live on a houseboat?
ANNA: Sort of. Thanks again!
ANNA: Hi! How would you like to hang out on my boat? Great! See you then!
(Ms. Weaver and Anna sit in a boat on land.)
ANNA: …and this is my shark net.
MS. WEAVER: Thank you for the invitation, Anna.
ANNA: Of course, would you like more orange juice?
MS. WEAVER: Uh..
ANNA: (to young man) Ahoy!
2. Watch the Lesson 27: “Fish out of Water” American English video lesson.
3. Take the Lesson 27: “Fish out of Water” quiz to check your American English knowledge. Click here to take the quiz.
4. Answer the following question in the comments section below:
Invite someone to a real or imagined event or activity. Use the language you learned in this lesson. Give details about the time, date and place of the event and what the guest should wear.
About the Author
Hello. I’m Danijela.
Very interesting lesson also video with Ana.
In the quiz my score was 5/5.
Thank you very much Maestro Sersea.
Hello , hind from Iraq.
My quiz was 4/5
Thank you very much
Hello , hind from Iraq.
My quiz was 4/5
I invite my colleagues to peace day ( Abi Nawas garden), fifth in the afternoon since five o’clock at Saturday , so I were going to invite them and the guest must wear official clothes , but one of them apologize of this event because he already have plane .
greetings to all
Invite someone to a real or imagined event or activity. Use the language you learned in this lesson. Give details about the time, date and place of the event and what the guest should
Hi Jack, why don’t we go to the beach tomorrow morning? We can have seafood lunch there. How about?
In the quiz I got 5/5
Thank you Maestro
Hello everyone,
In the quiz – Lesson 27: “Fish out of Water”, my score was 80%. I had the wrong answer to question 3/5.
Thank you Maestro.
Lesson 2.27.4 Year 2
Level 2, Lesson: 27, ” Fish on the Water”
In the quiz, I got 60% which means 3 out of 5.
Informal Invitation.
This is a What’s App Invitation.
” Join me for the tea on Monday 10th October at 5 pm in the Polo club. Sorry for the short notice. It’s
just an old friend’s get-together. Looking to seeing you all”.
Greetings Maestro Sersea
I did my quiz and I have answered 5 questions correct of 5 questions answered. It meangs that I got 100%
Thank you so much.
Hello every body i got 5/5 on the quiz, thanks maestro for the lesson