Fred's Gifts
Fred: Well, Anja, personally I prefer to receive gifts. That's always funner. Yeah, well, of course, we give gifts and we receive gifts.
Anja: Oh, yeah. So the gifts, how are they? Are they really expensive or...?
Fred: Good question. Well, I don't know. It depends on who you're giving the gift to, and it also depends on, you know, how many gifts you have to buy.
Anja: Oh, so, who exactly are you buying gifts for? Only the really.... people that are really close to you?
Fred: Well, yes, I would say that in my case I have a large family.
Anja: How many are you?
Fred: We are six siblings: six brothers and sisters and plus my parents and both my grandparents are still alive, and aunts and cousins and so a very big family, and so what we do is we exchange gifts. So we buy a small gift, 45 dollars, and then we play a small game where we exchange that gift amongst each other, so we don't have to buy gifts to everybody.
Anja: Oh, that's quite nice, so it won't get too expensive, right?
Fred: It won't but, personally, I like to buy gifts for my mother or my father and especially my grandmother and grandfather. It's very important, and so I enjoy doing the shopping for it.
Anja: Oh, you do like shopping?
Fred: For Christmas it's something different.
Anja: It's really difficult on Christmas, right? Usually, the shops are really packed and there's so many people. It's really stressful, isn't it?
Fred: Yeah, but I like that stress.
Anja: Oh, you do?
Fred: Yeah, I love it.
Anja: Oh, wow. I think you are the only one.
people close (to you)
![image](../../Assets/notes/N0801/842-A1-people-close-to-you-99.jpg)
Do you buy gifts only for people who are close to you?
'People close to you' are friends and family or people that you care about. Notice the following:
- Always take care of the people close to you.
- I buy Christmas gifts for people close to me.
large family
![image](../../Assets/notes/N0801/842-A2-large-family-99.jpg)
In my case, I have a large family.
The meaning of a large family changes within different cultures, but these days, a 'large family' would include about five or more children. Notice the following:
- I come from a large family.
- In my country, large families are rare.
exchange gifts
![image](../../Assets/notes/N0801/842-A3-exchange-gifts-99.jpg)
We buy a small present, and we exchange gifts.
When we 'exchange gifts,' we give someone a gift and they give us one in return. Notice the following:
- Each year the office staff exchange gifts.
- Our family usually exchange gifts on Christmas Eve.
packed
![image](../../Assets/notes/N0801/842-A4-packed-99.jpg)
During Christmas, the shops are really packed.
'Packed' means very crowded. Notice the following:
- The place was packed.
- The band played to a packed house.
stress
![image](../../Assets/notes/N0801/842-A5-stress-99.jpg)
I actually like that kind of stress.
We usually feel 'stress' when we are very worried about something or when we feel a lot of pressure. Notice the following:
- The stress of my job is killing me.
- I always feel a lot of stress before an exam.
Vocabulary Quiz
packed • stress