Part 1
Dave: Hey there. Had a good week?
Emili: Same as always: just a lot of work. Next week is going to be interesting, however.
Dave: Really? What do you have planned?
Emili: Well, on Monday I’m going to go to Edinburgh for a meeting, and then on Tuesday I’m going to Rome for 3 days.
Dave: Sounds fun. Are you going for business, or a holiday?
Emili: Business for the first two days. I’m going sight-seeing on the third day. How about you? What are you going to do next week?
Dave: Nothing. Absolutely nothing.
Part 2
Anna: I hate work! I want to retire!
Philip: Why?
Anna: My boss is a moron.
Philip: I’d like to retire too. Do you have any plans for then?
Anna: Ah, I have loads of plans. First, I’m going to travel around the world. Then I’m going to buy a house by the sea.
Philip: Sounds nice.
Anna: Yes. And every morning I’m going to wake up and go for a walk along the beach, and in the afternoon I’m going to write. I want to write a book.
Philip: Really? What’s it going to be about?
Anna: It’s going to be about a man and his dog.
Philip: Can I read it?
Anna: Of course. I’ll send you a copy when I am finished.
Philip: When will that be?
Anna: In about 30 years.
Part 3
Anna thinks that tomorrow will be a boring day. She thinks she is going to stay at home, and nothing interesting will happen. Anna is wrong.
Philip is going to surprise Anna. In the morning he is going to pick her up from her house. Then he is going to drive her to the beach, and they are going to walk along the beach. At lunchtime, they are going to eat in a restaurant on the shore. In the afternoon he is going to take her to a writing workshop, and in the evening he is going to take her to dinner at a posh French restaurant. After dinner, they can go for a walk in the park, before Philip takes her home.
Part 4
People are always making appointments. There are doctor’s appointments, dentist’s appointments, and even hairdresser’s appointments*. Some appointments aren’t even called appointments: meetings, job interviews, school timetables and even dates are all types of appointments. With all these appointments it is important to know where you are supposed to be, and when.
Some people keep a diary, or planner. This is a small book into which they can write their appointments. Other people keep a calendar (often on the wall, or the desk) onto which they can write their appointments. Some people use their phones or computers to remember appointments: they enter the appointment into a programme, and the phone or computer will tell them their schedule. And, of course, some people don’t write down their appointments, but try to remember everything.
Knowing one set of appointments can be difficult, but there are people who have to remember appointments for two, three, four, or more people. PAs (Personal Assistants) need to know their schedule, and that of their bosses. Parents of young children need to know their schedule, their husband/wife’s schedule, and the schedules for all of the children. People who do this often keep a ‘family calendar’: it is one calendar, but with spaces for more than one person.
* Big question: doctor’s appointment, doctors appointment, or doctor appointment? ‘Doctor appointment’ seems right, but most people say ‘doctor’s appointment’.