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Let’s Learn English - Level 1 - Lesson 1: Welcome!

PRACTICE PRACTICE LESSON 1 CONVERSATION DIALOGUE Pete: Hi! Are you Anna? Anna: Yes! Hi there! Are you Pete? Pete: I am Pete. Anna: Nice to meet you. Anna: Let's try that again. I'm Anna. Nice to meet you. Pete: I'm Pete. "Anna" Is that A-N-A? Anna: No. A-N-N-A Pete: Well, Anna with two "n's" ... Welcome to ... 1400 Irving Street! Anna: My new apartment! Yes! SONG QUIZ Listening Quiz https://learningenglish.voanews.com/a/lets-learn-english-lesson-one/3111026.html Quiz - Lesson 1: Welcome Quiz - Lesson 1: Welcome Start the Quiz to find out Start Quiz

LABOR DAY- IN THE US

Labor Day is a national holiday to celebrate workers in the United States. The holiday, on the first Monday of September, is on September 2 this year.

For Americans, the holiday also informally marks the end of summer. The hot days of summer turn to cooler days ahead. Students are returning to school. Many celebrate the holiday with an outdoor barbecue or one more weekend at the beach.

Origin of Labor Day

But Labor Day started with a struggle.

On May 1, 1889, workers demonstrated on the streets of Paris, France. The demonstration led to International Labor Day. Most countries in the world, except the United States and Canada, celebrate Labor Day on the first of May.

The first American Labor Day celebration was held on September 5, 1882, in New York City. About 10,000 workers marched through the streets to show the strength of labor organizations.

For many years after that, American workers used the first Monday in September to demand better working conditions and pay. Several U.S. cities and states began to recognize the day as Labor Day. In 1894, President Grover Cleveland signed a bill into law making it a national holiday.

Music was a part of many Labor Day marches.

One American labor song is called Bread and Roses. It is based on a 1911 poem by James Oppenheim. The poem speaks about the women’s labor movement. At that time, conditions in factories, where many women worked, were horrible. A fire at a clothing factory in New York killed 146 people. Most of the victims were immigrant women.

Labor Day activities

For the three-day Labor Day weekend, many Americans head to airports and highways for end-of-summer escapes. They visit beaches, mountains or lakes. Some prepare outdoor cookouts for family and friends.

The American Automobile Association (AAA) said, “Americans see the extended Labor Day weekend as an opportunity to say farewell to summer with one final trip.” The group said Labor Day weekend travel in the U.S. went up nine percent compared to last year.

Robert F. Moss is a barbecue expert and historian. He wrote the book Barbecue: The History of an American Institution. Moss said barbecue was already an American tradition when the labor movements developed in the late 19th century. He noted that it was a natural way to celebrate as large groups gathered.

“It still has a lot of that same communal sense, gathering around the grill, eating together,” he told the Associated Press.

Not wearing white after Labor Day

Americans also have a saying that one should not wear white after Labor Day.

That may sound strange, but it is true. Many Americans put away their white clothes on Labor Day and do not wear them again until the following May, after Memorial Day.

One reason for the clothing custom relates to the season. In the U.S., the months between June and September are summer. The weather is usually hot and people wear light-colored clothing to keep cool.

Clothing experts say it likely goes back to the Gilded Age — the same period in the late 1800s that started Labor Day. Wealthy New Yorkers in places such as Newport, Rhode Island, would put away their cool, white clothing at the end of the summer. And they returned to the city with darker, heavier clothes for dirt-packed streets.

After the pandemic, many businesses and people have turned to more relaxed clothing. So the saying, or rule, might not be true anymore.

But you may want to be careful about wearing white to an American-style Labor Day barbecue. The trouble is not fashion – it is ketchup. If it spills, the popular red tomato sauce can ruin that nice set of white clothes.

I'm Andrew Smith. And I'm Caty Weaver.

Hai Do, Mario Ritter Jr., Kelly Jean Kelly, Jerilyn Watson and Nancy Steinbach contributed to this report. Additional information came from The Associated Press and the AAA.

LEARNING ENGLISH- PRONOUN: CASH AND CREDIT CARD

WORDS IN TELEPHON CONVERSATION

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And now, Words and Their Stories, from VOA Learning English.

https://www.reverso.net/traducci%C3%B3n-texto

On today’s show we talk about some expressions that deal with an important device in our lives – our phones. 

 With a smartphone, we can connect to the world. In fact, we can say smartphones give us the world at our fingertips. 

 Needless to say, we use phones to stay in contact with the people in our lives. We use them to reach out to our friends, family, neighbors, and co-workers. 

 So, when we tell someone that we are just a phone call away, what we are really telling them is that we are available. We are there for them. We often use this expression to offer help to someone who is in a difficult situation or just in need of a friendly voice. 

For example, let’s say my friend is having a hard time with an advanced English course. The assignments are difficult, the material is hard to understand, and his teacher has not been answering his emails. I can say to him, “Look, if you ever need help, I’m just a phone call away. Call anytime!”

It’s good to be available to some people some of the time.

But maybe not all the time.

We all have someone in our lives who contacts us too much. They may blow up our phones with a flood of calls and text messages. When your phone blows up, someone is trying to contact you repeatedly.

Here's an example. Let’s say your neighbor, Jana, is having trouble with another neighbor, Jake. And you are in the middle of it. They are both blowing up your phone with calls and texts about their disagreement. You can tell them, “Hold the phone! Just stop! Talk to each other and work out your problems because I’ve had enough.”

The expression hold the phone is a way to say “wait” or “stop.” We use it when we hear something surprising or when we have had enough of a situation.

And it doesn’t have to be about phone calls or texts. For example, let’s say a friend tells me that my favorite singer is coming to town. I can’t believe it! So, I can say, “Hold the phone! Are you serious?” It's like saying, "Hold on a minute!"

Now, let’s go back to your arguing neighbors, Jana and Jake. Let’s say they take your advice. They are willing to work out their problems. They try to call each other but the keep missing each other’s calls. First Jana calls Jake, but he isn’t available. Then Jake calls her back, but now Jana isn’t available. They play phone tag like this for days until they finally speak to each other.

Tag is a child’s game. One person is “it” and must chase and tag, or touch, the other children. So, phone tag is when two people try to contact each other but their calls go unanswered.

At least Jake and Jana are trying to work out their problems. When it comes to keeping relationships happy in the neighborhood, they are not phoning it in.

When we phone it in, we don’t try our best at something. We don’t give our best efforts. For example, some people who lose interest in their jobs might start phoning it in. They stop trying and do not do their best work.

That's not the case with us here at VOA Learning English. we are not phoning it in. We work hard every day to bring you new learning English content.

And that’s all the time we have for this Words and Their Stories.

Until next time, I’m Anna Matteo.

Anna Matteo wrote this lesson for VOA Learning English.

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