Part 1
Philip: Hey there Dave. You look tired. What’s wrong?
Dave: Oh, nothing’s wrong. I’ve just been jogging.
Philip: Jogging? You? I don’t believe it.
Dave: Oh, hush. I’ve decided I want to get healthy. I’m tired of being fat.
Philip: Well, good for you. So, how often do you go jogging?
Dave: Only twice a week, but I do other things too: I go swimming three times a week, and boxing once a week.
Philip: That’s very good. Have you lost weight?
Dave: Not yet, but I only started last week.
Philip: Well, good luck.
2. tired of = I don’t want to do this any longer
Part 2
Anna: I tell you, the TV schedule is getting worse and worse.
Chloe: Why do you say that?
Anna: Have you seen it recently? Channel 5 has Big Brother on every night, and there is football three times a week. The BBC has Eastenders 5 nights a week, and ITV has Love Island 4 nights a week. There’s too much stupid TV.
Chloe: I quite like Big Brother! Well, if you feel like that, maybe you shouldn’t watch TV.
Anna: What should i do?
Chloe: How about taking a class? My friend Jane does a class two nights a week. Or how about going to the gym? I go two or three times a week. It’s better than watching TV.
Anna: Well, maybe. Maybe I’ll do that next week; right now I’m off to the video store. Want anything?
Chloe: Titanic!
2. The main terrestrial TV channels (available to all) before Digital TV: BBC1, BBC2, ITV, Channel 4, Channel 5
Big Brother is a show in which people are put in a house and cameras watch them all day. Each week a person is voted out, and the last person in the house wins a prize.
Eastenders is a soap opera based in London. It is one of the UK’s most popular shows.
Love Island was a show in which famous people (well, not very famous people) were put on an island with the hope they would sleep with each other. It is often called one of the worst TV shows ever made, and was cancelled after 2 seasons.
3. off to = going to (casual English)
4. video store: although DVDs have replaced videos, a place to rent a movie is still called a video store.
Part 3
Philip has wanted to be a lot of different things in his life. For example, when he was 5 he wanted to be a train driver; every day he would run around the garden pretending to be a train. Then, when he was 10, he wanted to be a football player, and he went to football practice twice a week. After that, when he was 15, he wanted to be James Bond so all the girls would like him. He spied on his friends every weekend, and every night he tried to learn words in different languages. When he went to university, he wanted to be a DJ. He went to the student radio station three times a week.
Now Philip is older, and a little tired. He only wants to be happy.
2. DJ: disc jockey, a person who plays music on the radio or at nightclubs
3. student radio: a lot of universities have their own radio station (usually only for a few weeks every year)
Part 4
Sometimes it is a headache trying to find out how often to do things. There are lots of different answers. Here are some found on the internet:
How often should I eat?
‘Nutrition Diva’ says that you should leave at least 3 hours between meals, because that is the usual amount of time to digest food. After 3 hours, you can go as long as 21 hours without eating again. Generally, eating 3 or 4 times a day is fine.
How often should I go to the dentist?
The NHS says children should go to the dentist at least once a year. An adult may be OK going once every 2 years.
How often should I go to the gym?
General opinion is three or four times a week is enough. More than that is too many.
How often should I wash my hair?
Washing dirt out of your hair with water should be done daily. However, using shampoo too often is not recommended. 100 years ago people used to use shampoo once a month. 50 years ago, it was once a week. A lot of people now use it every day. It is a personal choice.
How often should I feed my cat?
Adult cats (over six months old) need food once or twice a day. The important thing is to feed them the same amount of times.
How often should I get my car serviced?
A full service should be done every year. A shorter service (changing filters and oil) should be done every 6 months.
How often should I practice English?
English schools on the internet all say you should practice as much as possible. This is not surprising.
Notes2. NHS: The National Health Service, Britain’s health service (famous for ‘free’ care, because it is paid by tax money)
3. a personal choice = up to you (your life, so your decision)