NEW WORDS

deliberately adv.

Definition

on purpose; intentionally

Example

I can't believe you deliberately threw away my favorite shirt!

informed adj.

Definition

aware of what is happening; knowledgeable or up-to-date

Example

Jessica is very informed, but her sister pays no attention to current events.

24/7 expr.

Definition

24 hours per day, 7 days per week

Example

If it was up to me I would be on vacation 24/7.

at your fingertips expr.

Definition

right in front of you; very available

Example

In Manhattan, everything you could want is at your fingertips.

local adj.

Definition

from the area; from close by

Example

Are these peaches local or are they from Mexico?

fluffy adj.

Definition

light, silly, not serious

Example

I feel like watching a fluffy romantic comedy tonight, not a serious drama.

can't stand it v.

Definition

not like something; hate something

Example

I really hate milk. I can't stand it .


Dialogue

Jason: Do you follow the news?

Amy: You know, I don’t follow it very deliberately, but I like to listen to the news on the radio when I’m driving, and so I keep up with it pretty well.

Jason: That’s good. I think radio news is usually fairly condensed. It’s not like…like my parents watch the 11 o’clock news, you know?

Amy: I can’t stand that.

Jason: And there’s always these fluff pieces that are just so annoying.

Amy: Yeah, I hate the fluff. And I’m not really that interested in local news, and the news that’s on the TV is more often just about what’s happening in your city, and to me that’s not as interesting or important as what’s happening in the country or the world.

Jason: I mean, in some ways it’s more important, though, right? Because it’s right at your fingertips, you could go interact with it if you wanted to.

Amy: But more often it’s that’s kind of news that just seems it’s either all about, you know, violent crimes or something, or it’s fluffy stories that seem really insignificant. I want to know what’s happening in politics and that kind of thing.

Jason: More and more I’ve been getting my news from really just sort of social sources like, you know, if my friends post an article on Facebook, I’ll see it. Otherwise I’m probably not going to go look at that newspaper’s website.

Amy: Well, especially now that some news websites are trying to get you to pay, like the New York Times, you can only view a certain number of stories for free now.

Jason: That’s true. And so usually I just view the one or two that my friends posted that day!

Discussion

Jason asks Amy if she keeps up with the news. Amy says she isn’t very deliberate about it, but she does keep up with it pretty well by listening to the news on the radio while she’s driving.

Amy prefers to get her news from the radio rather than the TV. She doesn’t like watching the nightly news because she thinks it’s mostly local news and fluffy stories that aren’t very important.

Jason doesn’t like to hear about fluffy stories, either. But he thinks local news is important, because it happens close to you and you might even be able to affect it. Jason usually gets his news from his friends, like when they post news stories on their Facebook accounts.

Where do you get your news? Do you try to keep up with the news? Are you more interested in local, national, or world news?

Grammar Point

First Conditional

Jason says, “If my friends post an article on Facebook, I’ll see it.” This is an example of the first conditional.

We form the first conditional with two clauses, one with if + simple present verb and the other with a simple future verb. For instance, “If there is an interesting story in the paper, I will read it.”

You can use the first conditional to talk about things that will probably happen in the future as the result of something else that happens first.

Which is correct, “If you send me an article, I will read it” or “If you send me an article, I am reading it”?

Quiz

  1. Where does Amy get her news?

  2. Where does Jason get his news?

  3. Amy thinks __ news isn’t very important.

  4. Jason thinks __ stories are annoying.

  5. Jason says that if his friends __ an article, he will read it.