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762 TV Remote Wars
Mark and Todd talk about old TVs and the good and bad of remote controls.
- Transcript
- Vocabulary
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Mark
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Todd
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Audio Quiz
Mark: I'm 31.
Todd: 31. OK, and so you probably don't remember but like... I'm 37 and I remember watching television with no remote control. Like just the big square box you have to go up and turn.
Mark: Yeah, I remember that.
Todd: Was it the same when you were a kid?
Mark: That's right. I think I actually had a TV like that up until about ten years ago when I was at a university student.
Todd: Really.
Mark: Yeah, you just pressed on the button.
Todd: You know actually, the remote control is so much more convenient but I actually miss having to turn the knob because you don't have so many choices. You know. Like, you pick a channel and you stick with it and then you watch it, but with the remote control you just want to flick, flick, flick.
Mark: Yeah, I call it flick-a-vision. Yeah. I quite like flick-a-vision.
Todd: So what's flick-a-vision?
Mark: Well, just when you watch each channel for maybe a minute or two and then change, change, change, change. Yeah, I often do that. Like you say you don't focus on the whole program.
Todd: Right. And it's terrible when you're sitting with somebody else and they have the remote control and they keep flicking away.
Mark: Right, that causes a lot of family fights in my house. Yeah.
Todd: Well, actually, you are a newly married man, so do you have any remote control wars with your wife?
Mark: Recently no. Not at the moment because I am living in a very small house with a small room. It's quite easy to get up and turn over the TV without using the remote. But we're not fighting at the moment but I can see in the future we will be so the key there is probably to have two rooms with two TVs.
watch it live
So you think it's better to watch sport on TV or to watch it live?
When you 'watch a sport live,' it means that you are there to witness it as it happens.
Notice the following:
- I always prefer to watch sports live as I like the atmosphere.
- She said that we can watch it live over at her house.
I don't know
Todd says, "I don't know".
Used like this, 'I don't know' means more that Todd doesn't
agree with what Mark is saying.
Notice the following:
- I don't know what time the movie is supposed to start.
- I don't know if I like the color of the drapes anymore.
I'm kind of the other way
When it comes to watching live baseball Todd says, "I'm kind of the other way".
When you are 'kind of the other way,' it means that you have an opposite way of thinking to someone else.
Notice the following:
- I'm kind of the other way to you, I prefer to go shopping with other people.
- I'm kind of the other way, I eat a lot more fruit than candy.
the thrill of the crowd
You have the thrill of the crowd and all that, especially with American football.
The 'thrill of the crowd' is the excitement and atmosphere that being in a large group of people brings.
Notice the following:
- I love the thrill of the crowd when I go to concerts.
- The thrill of the crowd is what makes it really exciting.
you are better off
You are better off being home and watching a commercial I think.
When 'you are better off' being home, it means that it is preferred to be home. Whatever you are better off doing is the preferred option.
Notice the following:
- You are better off saving your money.
- You will be better off if you walk to work, rather than get the train.
