跟读练习: Talking About Time in English | Easy English Podcast - 通过YouTube学习英语口语
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Hello, everyone, and welcome back to Everyday English Academy,
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Hello, everyone, and welcome back to Everyday English Academy,
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where we make English simple, fun, and super practical.
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I'm Sarah.
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And I'm Mike.
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Hello to all of you amazing listeners out there.
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How's everyone doing today?
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We are so excited to be here with you.
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Mike, I have to tell you something funny that happened to me last week.
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Oh, what happened?
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Okay, so my friend sent me a text message.
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She said, I'm leaving now.
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See you in a bit.
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Okay, sounds normal.
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So I thought, oh great,
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she'll be here soon, right?
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In a bit means soon,
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so I got ready quickly,
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I waited by the door,
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and I waited, and I waited.
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How long did you wait?
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Mike, she arrived two hours later.
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What?
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Two hours is not a bit.
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Exactly.
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I was so confused.
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When she finally arrived, I said,
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you said in a bit,
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and she just laughed and said, yeah, a bit.
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Oh, wow.
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You know what?
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The exact same thing happened to me.
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My colleague told me the meeting will start any minute now.
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Let me guess.
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It didn't start any minute.
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It started 40 minutes later.
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I was sitting there, refreshing my computer,
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thinking, any minute, any minute, nothing.
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This is why we need today's episode.
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We're going to talk about time in English.
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All the expressions, all the phrases,
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all the confusing little words that native speakers use.
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Because honestly, talking about time is something we do every single day.
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What time is it?
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When are you coming?
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How long will it take?
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And if you don't understand these expressions,
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you might end up waiting for two hours like me.
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Exactly.
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So today, we're covering everything from basic clock time to fun idioms about time.
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And before we jump in,
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we have a quick request for you wonderful people.
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Yes, if you're enjoying Everyday English Academy,
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please hit that subscribe button.
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Please subscribe and give us a like.
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It really helps us reach more English learners around the world.
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And share this episode with your friends.
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Learning English together is more fun.
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Thank you so much.
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Now, Mike, let's start with the basics.
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How do we actually tell the time?
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Ah, yes, the clock.
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This is important.
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Let me ask you, Sarah,
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what time is it right now?
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Well, right now it's 3.15,
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or we can say it's quarter past 3.
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Perfect.
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So quarter past means 15 minutes after the hour.
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Yes.
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Think about it.
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A quarter is one-fourth, right?
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One-fourth of 60 minutes is 15 minutes.
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Exactly.
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So if it's 2.15, we say quarter past 2.
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If it's 7.15, we say quarter past 7.
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Easy.
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Now, what about 30 minutes?
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What if it's 3.30?
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Oh, that's half past three.
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Half of 60 minutes is 30 minutes.
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Right.
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We say half past instead of 30 past.
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You could say 3.30, but native speakers love to say half past three.
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It sounds more natural, more conversational.
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I'll meet you at half past six.
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Beautiful.
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Now, Mike, what about when it's 15 minutes before the hour, like 2.45?
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Ah, that's quarter to 3.
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Yes.
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Quarter to means 15 minutes before the next hour.
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So 4.45 is quarter to 5.
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8.45 is quarter to 9.
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This confused me so much when I first learned English,
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because in my head, I thought,
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why are we talking about the next hour?
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It's still 4 o'clock.
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I know, but native speakers think forward.
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We're almost at the next hour,
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so we say quarter to five.
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It makes sense now, but at first, confusing.
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Totally.
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Now here's another useful word, sharp.
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Ooh, yes, sharp.
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This is important.
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If someone says, meet me at three o'clock sharp, what does that mean?
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It means exactly three o'clock,
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not 305, not 302, exactly three o'clock.
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It's like saying, be on time,
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don't be late, I mean it.
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Yes, it's very precise, very strict about the time.
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I use this at work all the time.
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The meeting starts at 9 a.m sharp.
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It tells people this is serious.
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Be there exactly at 9.
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Now, what if you don't want to be so precise?
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Ah, then we use around or about.
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Yes.
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I'll be there around 5 o'clock,
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or I'll arrive about 3.30.
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This means approximately, more or less,
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maybe 5.05, maybe 4.55, somewhere near that time.
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It's more relaxed, more casual.
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Let's meet around lunchtime.
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Perfect.
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So we have sharp for exact time and around or about for approximate time.
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Got it.
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Now, Sarah, let's talk about the past.
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How do we talk about things that happened before?
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Oh, this is where English gets fun.
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We have so many expressions.
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Let's start with one of my favorites, ages ago.
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Ages ago.
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I love this one.
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If I say, I watched that movie ages ago, what do I mean?
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You mean a long time ago.
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A very long time.
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Exactly.
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But here's the thing.
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It's dramatic.
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It might not be that long ago.
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Right.
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You might have watched it three months ago,
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but you say ages ago because it feels like a long time.
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Native speakers are very dramatic about time.
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We really are.
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When did you eat?
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Oh, ages ago.
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But maybe it was two hours ago.
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Exactly.
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We also say four ages.
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I haven't seen you for ages.
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Yes, four ages means for a long period of time.
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I've been waiting for ages.
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That could be my complaint about your friend.
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Sarah's been waiting for ages.
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Two hours is ages when you're standing by the door.
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Fair point.
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Now, what about the other day?
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Oh, the other day is useful,
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but also a bit vague.
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Vague means not specific, not clear.
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Right.
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The other day means recently.
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Maybe yesterday, maybe three days ago, maybe last week.
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It's somewhere in the recent past,
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but we're not giving the exact day.
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For example, I saw Tom the other day at the supermarket.
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Perfect.
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You don't remember exactly when, but it was recently.
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We also have back in the day.
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Ah, yes.
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This is nostalgic.
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It means in the past, usually many years ago.
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Back in the day, we didn't have smartphones.
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Back in the day, I used to walk to school.
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It makes you sound old,
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but it's a nice expression.
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It is.
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It's warm.
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It's about memories.
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Back in the day, life was simpler.
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I like it.
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Now, what about the present and near future?
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How do we talk about things happening now or very soon?
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Great question.
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Let's start with right now.
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Right now means at this exact moment.
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I'm busy right now.
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Can I call you later?
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Yes, or what are you doing right now?
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We also say at the moment.
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It's very similar.
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At the moment is maybe slightly more formal,
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but it means the same thing.
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I'm working on a project at the moment.
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Sorry, I can't talk at the moment.
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Perfect.
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Now, here's where it gets tricky.
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In a bit and in a sec.
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The phrases that caused my two-hour wait.
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Exactly.
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So let's clarify.
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In a bit means soon, in a short time.
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But how short?
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That's the question.
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Well, it depends.
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Maybe five minutes, maybe 30 minutes.
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Maybe two hours, if you're my friend.
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True.
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In a sec is supposed to be even shorter.
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Sec is short for second,
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so in a sec should mean in one second.
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Should mean that, but doesn't.
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Right.
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In a sec could mean five minutes.
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The point is, both expressions mean soon, but they're not exact.
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So, if someone says, in a bit,
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don't stand by the door for two hours like me.
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Good advice.
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Now, any minute now is another one.
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Any minute now means very soon.
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We're expecting it to happen.
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The bus should arrive any minute now.
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She'll call any minute now.
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But again, any minute might mean 10 minutes.
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English is so frustrating sometimes.
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It is, but that's why we're here, explaining everything.
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Exactly.
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Now let's talk about urgency,
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when we're in a hurry, when time is important.
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Yes, one of the best expressions is in the nick of time.
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Oh, I love this one.
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In the nick of time means at the last possible moment,
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just before it's too late.
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For example, I arrived at the airport in the nick of time.
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The gate was about to close.
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Perfect.
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Or, the firefighters arrived in the nick of time and saved the building.
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It's dramatic, it's exciting, just in time.
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We also say running out of time.
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Yes, this means time is finishing.
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We don't have much time left.
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Hurry up, we're running out of time.
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I'm running out of time to finish this project.
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It creates pressure, urgency.
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We need to act fast.
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Another useful one is save time.
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Save time means to do something faster or more efficiently.
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If you prepare your clothes the night before,
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you'll save time in the morning.
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Taking the train saves time compared to driving.
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It's about being smart with your time, not wasting it.
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Exactly.
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Now, Sarah, let's get to the fun part, idioms.
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Yes, time idioms are everywhere in English.
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First one, time flies.
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Time flies means time passes very quickly.
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Wow, it's already December.
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Time flies.
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We often say, time flies when you're having fun.
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That's so true.
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When you enjoy something, time goes fast.
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But when you're bored, time goes so slowly.
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Exactly.
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Which brings us to kill time.
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Kill time means to do something while you wait, to pass the time.
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I arrived early, so I killed time by reading a book.
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We killed time at the cafe before the movie started.
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It's about filling empty time with an activity.
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Right.
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And finally, about time.
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Oh, this one's interesting.
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About time means finally, at last.
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We use it when something should have happened earlier, but it's happening now.
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For example, you're finally here.
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It's about time.
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Or they fixed the road.
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About time.
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It's a bit sarcastic, a bit frustrated, but also relieved.
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Like, this should have happened a long time ago.
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Exactly.
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Now, let's practice all of these in a natural conversation.
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Great idea.
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Okay, Mike, imagine we're making plans.
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I'll start.
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Hey, Mike, what time should we meet tomorrow?
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How about half past two?
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Half past two?
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That's perfect.
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Where should we meet?
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Let's meet at the cafe on Main Street.
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But please be there at 2.30 sharp.
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Last time you said in a bit and I waited for ages.
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Okay, okay.
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I promise I'll be on time.
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I'll probably arrive around 2.25.
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Perfect.
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Oh, by the way, did you watch that new show I recommended?
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The one you told me about the other day?
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Not yet.
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I've been running out of time this week.
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No worries.
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We can talk about it when we meet.
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Time flies, doesn't it?
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I feel like we just hung out yesterday,
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but it was actually two weeks ago.
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I know.
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Time really does fly.
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Okay, I'll see you tomorrow at half past two sharp.
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See you then.
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Perfect.
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See how naturally these expressions fit into conversation?
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They're everywhere once you start noticing them.
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Absolutely.
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So, Mike, before we finish today,
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do you have any tips for our listeners?
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I do.
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My first tip is to listen carefully when native speakers talk about time.
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Yes.
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Pay attention to the phrases they use,
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not just the literal time.
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Exactly.
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When someone says, in a bit,
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notice how long they actually mean.
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Learn from my mistake.
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Right.
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My second tip is to practice these expressions out loud.
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Don't just read them, say them.
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Yes.
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Say, I'll be there in a sec.
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Or, time flies.
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Practice makes perfect.
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My tip is to use these in your daily life,
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even if you're talking to yourself.
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Talking to yourself is great practice.
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It is.
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Look at the clock and say, it's quarter past three.
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Or, I need to leave in a bit.
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Perfect.
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The more you use them,
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the more natural they become.
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Well, everyone, we've reached the end of today's episode.
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Time really does fly.
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It does.
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We could talk about time for ages,
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but we're running out of time.
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Look at us using all the expressions.
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Before we go, we have a question for all of you listening.
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Yes, here's today's question.
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What's your favorite time expression that we talked about today?
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Is it time flies?
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In the nick of time?
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Ages ago?
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Tell us in the comments.
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Write one or two sentences using your favorite expression.
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For example, my favorite is time flies because it's so true.
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Time flies when I'm learning English.
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We read every single comment and we love hearing from you.
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And if you enjoyed this episode,
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please subscribe to Everyday English Academy.
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Hit that subscribe button so you don't miss our future conversations.
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Give this episode a like and share it with your friends who are learning English.
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Thank you so much for being here with us today.
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You're doing an amazing job with your English.
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Keep going, keep practicing.
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Now you can talk about time like a native speaker.
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Take care of yourselves, everyone.
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We'll see you very soon.
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Until next time, happy learning!
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Goodbye everyone!
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Bye!
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背景与上下文
在这段视频中，主持人Sarah和Mike讨论了日常生活中关于时间的表达方式。他们分享了一些幽默的经历，突显了人们在使用“in a bit”和“any minute”这类模糊时间描述时可能产生的误解。这些对话让我们意识到，掌握这些常用时间短语在日常交流中至关重要，特别是在英语学习的过程中。学习如何使用这些表达可以帮助你更有效地与他人沟通，也能够避免在生活中遭遇不必要的等待。
日常交流中的五大短语
- In a bit - 意思是很快，但实际上可能会超出预期的时间。
- Any minute now - 表示事情即将发生，但响应可能会延迟。
- See you in a bit - 这是一个常见的告别方式，暗示对方很快就会再见面。
- How long will it take? - 一个常用于询问时间的短语。
- What time is it? - 用于确认当前时间的基本问句。
逐步影子练习指南
要真正掌握这些时间表达，以下是一些有效的练习步骤，结合shadow speech方法，你将能更轻松地提升你的英语口语能力：
- 首先，看YouTube学英语，找到这段视频，先听一遍，尽量理解他们讨论的内容。
- 接着，影子练习（shadowspeak）开始。选择一小段对话，反复听，同时尝试跟随其发音和语调。没有理解的地方，可以暂停和重听，直到你能流利地复述。
- 然后，练习使用所学的短语，比如在与朋友的对话中故意加入这些表达，增强记忆。
- 最后，利用雅思口语练习的技巧，将这些短语应用于日常场景，或者与语言伙伴进行交流，进一步巩固你的学习成效。
通过这些方法，你将能够更自信地在日常生活中使用英语时间表达，从而提升你的英语口语练习效果。在英语学习的路上，记得多运用这些短语哦！
什么是跟读法？
跟读法 (Shadowing) 是一种有科学依据的语言学习技巧，最初开发用于专业口译员的培训，并由多语言者Alexander Arguelles博士普及。这个方法简单而强大：您在听英语母语原声的同时立即大声重复——就像是一个延迟1-2秒紧跟说话者的影子。与被动听力或语法练习不同，跟读法强迫您的大脑和口腔肌肉同时处理并模仿真实的讲话模式。研究表明它能显着提高发音准确性，语调，节奏，连读，听力理解和口语流利度——使其成为雅思口语备考和真实英语交流最有效的方法之一。