An English Conversation
Leslie: I'm tired of this breakfast.
Chen: What's that breakfast? American breakfast?
Leslie: Well. I guess so. All I eat is cereal with skim milk and fruits.
Chen: Is that all you, Americans, eat for breakfast?
Leslie: Not really. Some people still have traditional American breakfast.
Chen: What'd you mean by "traditional American breakfast"?
Leslie: I mean they eat egg, hash brown, toast, English muffin, bacon, ham or sausage.
Chen: Sometimes I eat sunny-side-up egg with bacon at McDonald.
Leslie: That's right. Sunny-side-up-egg is also an American breakfast dish. I don't eat that stuff.
Chen: Why not? Egg is good for you. Once in a while, it's okay to eat strong breakfast, I guess.
Leslie. Do you think so? What'd you eat for breakfast.
Chen: I'm from the Canton province. I have rice porridge and tea for breakfast.
Leslie: Here's the deal: I'll buy you an American breakfast. You'll buy me a Cantonese breakfast.
Chen: Great! We have a deal.
Well: an exclamation. It is used in conversation to respond to a question, often to show surprise, doubt.
cereal: noun. A grass such as wheat, oats, or corn, the starchy grains used as food after they are processed. The grain of such a grass
I guess: "This is what I think." It often suggests some uncertainty of what you have to say.
A: "Larry will work until 9 o'clock tonight. He said, "Don't wait for me for dinner."
B: "Are you going to cook for yourself only?"
A: "No, I'll eat out I guess."
traditional American breakfast: compound noun. It includes the food items given in the conversation above, mostly speaking.
What'd you mean by: This is a question for "Explain what you just said. It is not clear to me what you said. Explain what you mean."
hash brown: compound noun. Deep-fried potato paddies, one of the dishes the American traditional breakfast includes.
toast: noun. Toasted bread usually served with butter spread over it in the traditional American breakfast.
English muffin: compound noun. Round white or wheat flour paddies generally eaten for breakfast
sunny-side-up egg: compound noun. Cooked egg in shallow pan with the yolk of the egg on top and white lying at the bottom
McDonald: proper noun. The name of a popular American fast-food chain store
Once in a while: adverb. Seldom, not often
Canton: A region in the south of China
rice porridge: compound noun. A starchy breakfast dish Cantonese include in their diet for breakfast.
Cantonese: The Chinese who live in the Canton province
Idioms:
Here's a deal: It means "I offer this"; used in informal spoken English
I'll buy you a breakfast: "I will treat you to breakfast." You buy somebody a breakfast, lunch or dinner
We have a deal: It means "We both agree to taking this offer." Leslie and Chen agree to buying a breakfast one another, which is the deal in this conversation.
I'm tired of this breakfast: "I don't want to eat this breakfast any more. I have had the same breakfast for a long a time." I am tried of + noun, pronoun or (verb + ing + object). For example: "I am tried of hearing your lies." This sentence suggests "You are lying to me all the time. I don't want to hear your lies any more."
"you, Americans, ..." The noun "Americans" is an appositive, giving more information on the subject "you" in this sentence. See Appositives.
Not really: In spoken English, informal way of saying "It is not really the case."
still: time adverb. It indicates the continuation of an event into the present from the past. The use of the adverb "still" often carries considerable word stress. Use "still" before or immediately after the subject.
"She is still talking to her daughter."
"Movie ticket prices have gone up this winter in the US. Still, people go to the movies in New York."
why not: "Why do you think that egg is not good for you?" in this conversation.
I'm: The pronunciation form of "I am" in spoken English
I'll: I will. The form of "I will" in spoken English. The sound "w" is omitted from pronunciation so "I will" sound like "Il". See the video lesson for the pronunciation of Letter L
What's: The pronunciation form of "what is" in spoken English
that's: The spoken form of "that is". The sound "i" is omitted from pronunciation so "that is" sound like "thats" in spoken English.
it's: It is. The spoken form of "it is". The sound "i" is omitted from pronunciation so "it is" sound like "its" in spoken English.
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