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Views #1295 | Intermediate (B1)

Love of Reading

Sarah and Peter talk about some books they like and their love of reading.

Sarah: So Peter, I hear that you love to read. What types of books do you like to read?

Peter: I like to, I especially like to read fantasy and science fiction books. I love all kinds of reading but I guess one of my favorite books come from that genre so I really, yeah, I really love that kind of book.

Sarah: So, what's your favorite fantasy genre book?

Peter: I think if I had to choose it would be The Lord of the Ring series. I read it, I think I read it back in high school and it was one of the most gripping, interesting, fascinating stories I've ever read. And I know it's fiction and it's an imagined world but I think at that time that book was really meaningful to me because it gave me kind of an escape and I could be busy with this book for weeks and weeks on end and I actually ended up re-reading the book twice or three times I think because I just fell in love with the characters and stories of adventure and fun and making friends and going through hardships together. And so it was a really meaningful book for me at the time and then when the movies came out, of course I went to see them but somehow it never, although it came close, it kind of never matched up to what I had going in my imagination and I think because the book was so imaginative, I've kind of fallen in love with reading science fiction and books about possibilities of how life could be or imaginative lives of people. Yeah, that's ... I think that's why I really love that book.

Sarah: Oh, it's very interesting.

Peter: Yeah. How about you, do you read fiction or science fiction or anything fiction related?

Sarah: Not really, I tend to like non-fiction books.

Peter: Oh, okay. Do you have any favorites from the non-fiction range of books?

Sarah: One that I've read recently, well I like reading non-fiction because I like to read things that I can learn something from so I love to read books on culture and religion and different things.

Peter: Okay.

Sarah: And one of the books I read recently that I really liked was called Spirit of the Rainforest and it's about a tribe out in the Amazon and it was told from their perspective and as like foreigners came in, different anthropologists and their opinion and their views of them and their culture.

Peter: Right.

Sarah: It's really interesting.

Peter: Wow, it sounds fascinating.

Sarah: Yeah.

Peter: I've heard that there are tribes that still remain undiscovered in the Amazon and, well, people know about them but they don't disturb them. Was this one of those examples or do you think it's something...

Sarah: I think so, yeah. There were a few examples of people, you know, that had come in to sort of study them but they always seemed to leave, nobody seemed to stick around.

Peter: Right. What was the most interesting part from it for you?

Sarah: Oh, that would be really difficult to say. I can't think of anything specific at the moment.

Peter: Okay.

Sarah: Yeah.

Peter: Sounds great.

Answer these questions about the interview.
Audio Lessons about Phrases and Vocabulary

gripping

notesit was one of the most gripping stories.

Gripping is very interesting. Notice the following:

  1. The movie was gripping, I couldn't stop watching it.
  2. It was the most gripping book I have ever read.

on end

notesfor weeks and weeks on end

On end means continuing without stopping. Notice the following:

  1. I worked on the project for days on end.
  2. For years on end, she practiced volleyball every day.

non-fiction

notesI tend to like non-fiction books.

Non-fiction is true information, not an imagined story. Notice the following:

  1. I like love-stories, but I love to read non-fiction.
  2. You can learn a lot by reading non-fiction books.

tribe

notesIt's about a tribe out in the Amazon.

A tribe is a small group of people, or society. Usually this refers to native local people. Notice the following:

  1. There were many wars between the different tribes.
  2. The leader of the tribe is a wise man.

stick around

notesNobody seemed to stick around.

To stick around is to stay in one place. Notice the following:

  1. If you stick around until 3pm, I'll take you home.
  2. He didn't stick around, so he missed the best part of the meal.

Vocabulary Quiz

gripping • on end • non-fiction
tribe • stick around

  1. The party was boring so people didn't .
  2. It was a movie. I really loved it.
  3. The protests has gone on for month .
  4. I only read such as history or biographies.
  5. The news reported a new in the Amazon.

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Hello, and welcome to elllo. My name is Todd Beuckens. I've been an ESL teacher for 25 years. I created elllo to provide teachers and students free audio lessons and learning materials not usually found in commercial textbooks.
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