Intermediate 5 | Lesson 08 | That Clause

Talent Wish

Two college students talk about talents they wish they had.

Gyri: What are some talents you wish you had?

Viyasan: I would say this talent spreads a long time back and it's always something I'm very envious about. I don't have the best memory and so I really wish that my talent was to remember a lot easier or even have photographic memory. I think that would be very useful, especially as a student during exams where we're able to read quite a bit and remember all of it. I think that talent would be interesting to have because I wouldn't always be forgetting daily things, like my keys to my apartment.

Gyri: Right.

Viyasan: Or for example, my water bottle every single time I leave for class. I think memory is very important and it's very good to remember certain conversations with people. For example, sometimes I might have a conversation with someone and completely forget that I talked about that topic and then just be reminded of it when I talk to that person the next time.

Gyri: Yeah.

Viyasan: I think having a better memory or photographic memory would be great for those situations.

Gyri: Yeah, definitely.

Viyasan: And yourself? What are some talents that you wish you had?

Gyri: I wish that I could dance. I have no rhythm at all.

Viyasan: Yeah.

Gyri: I feel so stupid when like if we go out or we listen to music, I just look really goofy when I try to dance, but I feel like dancing so I still try, but it just looks horrible. Yeah, I wish I had more rhythm and the ability to learn dance moves, I guess.

Viyasan: Yeah, I would say that dancing is definitely a talent that some people have. Likewise, I do not have any rhythm so I'll join you on that same dance floor.

Gyri: Yeah.

Viyasan: Even though I like to dance, I don't dance very well.

Gyri: Yeah. Yeah, I wish that I was better at sports as well. I really like downhill skiing, for example, but I never skied a lot, like my dad, he skied professionally when he was young, and I'm kind of bitter that he didn't take me up to the hills more than he did because if I had started at a young age I could be really good right now, but I didn't, so I'm a casual skier but I really wish that I could be like better than average in something, especially a sport.

Viyasan: Got it, got it.

Gyri: Do you play any sports besides basketball?

Viyasan: Basketball is my main sport. I used to play a little bit of volleyball when I was in high school and so I played the position of setter and so that was very fun. It took a lot of accuracy. I think if I had to be a little bit more talented, it would be at jumping because if I was able to jump a lot more, I would be able to fake my sets and just hit the ball down on the opponent's side. That would be a cool talent to have if I was able to jump maybe five to ten more inches higher than I usually did. I still remember that my vertical was 26 inches when I was in grade nine or grade ten and so maybe if I added a couple more inches onto that I would've been able to perform in more creative ways.

Gyri: Yeah.

Viyasan: Yeah.

Gyri: Can you dunk a basketball?

Viyasan: That depends on how high the rim is. If it's five feet or six feet, definitely, but on a standard regulation net, which is probably nine or 9.5 feet, I cannot.

Gyri: Okay.

Viyasan: But maybe if I had the talent of jumping extremely high, I would be able to dunk a basketball but no.

Gyri: Can you dribble with your left hand?

Viyasan: Of course. I can dribble with my let hand, I can dribble with my right hand, I can dribble between my legs. I've done a lot of different types of basketball drills when I was on the high school team and so yeah, I'm pretty good at handling the basketball. Shooting, driving to the net, and passing it a lot quite a bit, so yeah, pretty efficient with the basketball.

Gyri: Yeah, that's impressive.

Viyasan: I just can't dunk.

Gyri: Okay, yeah. Can you shoot with your left hand?

Viyasan: Mm, no, I cannot. I can't shoot with my left hand. I can do a lay up with my left hand, but I can't shoot the ball naturally like a free throw or three point shot with my left hand.

Gyri: Okay. What exactly is a lay up?

Viyasan: A lay up is when you drive towards the net, you're allowed to take two steps while holding the basketball and so that's usually how people when they're very close to the net, they do a lay up or they're also able to convert a lay up into a dunk so they're able to take two steps and dunk towards the basketball net.

Gyri: Okay.

Viyasan: Yeah, that's a little bit of basketball knowledge for you.

Gyri: Yeah, got it.

Projected Speech

Point 1: There are many verbs in English that often have a noun clause as the object.
  1. I believe what you are saying.
  2. I know what you mean.
  3. We assume that he is coming to the party.
  4. They denied that they did anything wrong.
Point 2: Many of these noun clauses start with the word that, which is often omitted in spoken English.
  1. I think that he is not coming to work today.
  2. I hope that you are right.
  3. She said that it was a mistake.
  4. He revealed that he was quitting.
Point 3: Many of the verbs in projected speech refer to thoughts and use verbs associated with thinking.
  1. We concluded that it was a mistake.
  2. He realized that he was wrong.
  3. I imagine that you must be tired.
  4. I think that we should start over.
Point 4: Many of the verbs in projected speech refer to speech and use verbs associated with speaking.
  1. She said that she was sorry.
  2. He mentioned that you have a new job.
  3. He complained that the computers are slow.
  4. She claimed that he was lying.
Point 5: Many of the verbs in projected speech refer to feelings and use verbs associated with opinions.
  1. She regrets that she said that.
  2. I feel that she is making a mistake.
  3. I like that you are always honest.
  4. We hate what he is all about.
  5. I disagree with what you saying.
Answer the following questions about the interview.

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