Dilogos en Ingls 1 - Supermercados

1) Listen and answer these questions.

1. Which supermarket did Phillip visit in Madrid?

2. What seafood did Phillip buy?
3. How did Isabel feel when she went to an English supermarket? Why?
4. How are British vegetables different to Spanish vegetables?
5. Why was Isabel surprised about British grapes?
6. What do some products have on the packaging?
7. What 3 things do British supermarkets have more of?
8. How do some people buy milk in the UK?
9. What can you buy in British supermarkets that isnt available in Spanish supermarkets?
10. Why was Phillip frustrated in Spanish supermarkets?

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Isabel Carrasco y Phillip Bartlett

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www.amigosingleses.com

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Transcript

Isabel - So the podcast number 1 of Amigos Ingleses is going to

be... What are we going to talk about? Whats the theme?!

Phillip - Were going to talk a little bit about the differences

between English and Spanish supermarkets.!

Isabel - OK. So whats the main difference that you noticed when
you were living in Madrid and you went to buy some food?!

Phillip - Well I can remember the first time I went to a Spanish

supermarket was in Madrid, I think I went to El Corte Ingls and I
went ... it was downstairs I think .... and I can remember when I
saw the fish counter I was just amazed at the fish counter they
had. They had so much variety of seafood available, it was just
incredible, I was in heaven cause I really love seafood and they
had like, shrimps, mussels, lobsters and crabs and octopus and it
was so colourful, I really really loved the fish counter. !

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Isabel - Did you buy any ... for lunch? !
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Phillip - Yeah yeah I bought a few sardines maybe. Nothing

special!
And its quite different compared to the English fish
counters.!

Isabel - Well yes I was amazed, well not amazed, I was shocked,
disappointed, cause I could only see a few salmons, cods and
frozen mussels and not much more, I didnt see any... any shrimps
or crabs, not a lot of marisco here. Its very very narrow, the
fish counter. !

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Phillip - Yes, yep and very... not very colourful. !
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Isabel - No It doesnt look very fresh or very appealing does it? !
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Phillip - Yeah its quite strange because England is an island, or
the United Kingdom is kind of an island surrounded by water, youd
expect them to have more fish. !

Isabel - Yes there should be something in there in the water.

Anyway, what about vegetables in England, how are they like? !

Phillip - What are they like? There...well we have vegetables like

in Spain, but err...I think theyre slightly larger arent they? !

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Isabel - Yeah I think so.!
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Phillip - We have larger vegetables. !

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Transcript
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Isabel - And a bit cheaper as well.!
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Phillip - What? In the UK?!
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Isabel - In Spain. Yeah In the UK most of the fruits ... fruit and
vegetables are imported.!

Phillip - Yeah
expensive. !

yeah

think

thats

why

theyre

bit

more

Isabel - Yeah if they come from Spain they are obviously more
expensive if you buy them in England.!
Phillip - Yeah I think you were quite surprised when you went and
buy some tomatoes, how much are tomatoes here? !

Isabel - Errr... well maybe they are the same price as in Spain,
but they are so small like you can buy a box of tomatoes but they
are very small, you need a few of them for a salad and in Spain
you can buy bigger ones maybe at the same price. But err... what
surprised me was that I found some grapes without seeds inside, so
they had been... !

Phillip - Yeah I think theys been genetically modified perhaps,

maybe we have a few more genetically modified foods available here!

Isabel - Yes we dont usually modify food in general. And I also

found that some products ...the products that are produced in
England they are all labelled or... on the packet it says - This
product is British, buy this product yeah?!

Phillip - Not all of them but yeah some of them have the
British...well the Union flag on them, yep theyre very proud if
they come from the British farmers. Its nice to support the
British farmers cause we import so much fruit and veg. Anyway...!

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Isabel - And what about the snacks? !
!

Phillip - Yeah the snacks I think we have a lot more dont we? In
the UK than in Spain so maybe thats compensation for the fish
counter... !

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Isabel - Yeah you get chocolates instead. !
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Phillip - We have chocolate and crisps and also a lot of prepared

food, ready meals...!

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Transcript

Isabel - Yeah that is very strange for me, yeah you can buy...
what can you buy? Like a ready meal...What kind of things do they
have?!

Phillip - You can buy lasagna, shepherds pie, fish and

chips...and you just take it put it in the microwave and in 3
minutes you can eat it.!

Isabel - Yeah thats not too bad, but I have also seen like Indian
ready meals.!

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Phillip - Ah like Indian, yeah Indian food.!
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Isabel - A big box with everything ready just to put in the

microwave or...!

Phillip - Yes I think its because English people maybe are a bit
lazy or just busy... theyre too busy to cook.!

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Isabel - I dont really like that, thats not my cup of tea.!
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Phillip - Its not natural really is it? We dont eat those. !
!

Isabel - No...we are lazy but not that much. And also Ive noticed
that you like fresh milk very much, its very important that your
milk is fresh and you dont like this long lasting milk as we do
in Spain, thats the common thing.!

Phillip - Yeah thats right yeah, we have a whole aisle in the

supermarket for our milk and its all refrigerated.!

Isabel - But what do you do because this milk doesnt last...it

lasts maybe for a couple of days, so What do you do? You go every
two days to the supermarket?!

Phillip - I think it last a bit longer than two days, but yeah...
sometimes...some people dont even go to the supermarket, they
have a milkman.!

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Isabel - Oh I thought the had cows in the garden! A milkman?!
!

Phillip - No, well some people Im sure they do. But yeah in
England its not so common nowadays but yeah we have milkmen that
deliver milk to your doorstep!!

Isabel - Yeah, Ive seen that I was quite amazed by that, cause
when I go out of my house I see some there are like some old
women... maybe theyre on their own... they live alone in the !
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Transcript

house and I can see little bottles of milk outside in the morning
and thats quite surprising... yeah Ive just seen empty ones but
i suppose... I dont know if the milkman knocks on the door and
gives you... Yeah Ive just seen empty ones.!

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Phillip - He comes around and collects the empty bottles.!
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Isabel - Yeah and then he knocks on the door and gives you the...!
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Phillip - Yes, he drives and electric kind of vehicle. Its quite

strange...!

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Isabel - Thats quite old-fashioned, but its nice! !
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Phillip - And erm....anyway... what else is different in English

supermarkets?!

Isabel - Yeah I was also surprised that you can... you have like a
small pharmacy in the supermarkets or even in petrol stations,
because in my country you can only get some medicines in a
pharmacy, you can not go to a supermarket.!

Phillip - Yeah yeah you can buy yeah things like paracetamol,
ibuprofen, cough medicine, those kind of things. !

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Isabel - Its basically everything without prescription.!
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Phillip - Yeah yeah i think so.!
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Isabel - But in Spain even if you want some paracetamol you need
to go to a pharmacy. !

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Phillip - Yeah thats really inconvenient I think...!
!

Isabel - Yeah because sometimes they are closed and you have to
drive to the other side of the neighbourhood.!

Phillip - Yeah yeah its not very good I think, especially if you
have a headache and you need some paracetamol. And erm... any
other differences that you noticed? Erm... for example....!

Isabel - Yeah erm about... well when... If you want to buy some
alcohol...!

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Phillip - Here in the UK?!
!

Isabel - Yeah in the UK, well in Spain and in the Uk you need to
be over 18 years old, its the same, but here they say if you look !
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Transcript

under 25 be ready to show your ID, so everyone that could look

under 25 will be asked for their IDs. !

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Phillip - Yeah yeah and they asked you, didnt they? !
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Isabel - Yes but I dont look under 25, I wish I looked. They
asked me and they didnt let me take the bottle of wine, it was
just one bottle of wine and I showed my Spanish ID and the lady
said that she couldnt understand that type of document, she
wasnt used to that type of document which I think was a bit
ridiculous.!

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Phillip - A bit strange yeah.!
!

Isabel - Anyway so you know if you want to come to England and you
look very young and you want to go to a party bring you passports,
IDs, as they are very strict.!

Phillip - Yes they are very strict about buying alcohol here
erm ...and erm...the other thing we were going to talk about was
the self checkouts, here in the UK we have a lot of self checkouts
in Sainsburys, or in Asda, in Tesco... Its quite useful,
cause ... I didnt notice it in Spain actually.!

Isabel - Yeah well they are starting to have them now, but I think
in very big supermarkets or shopping centres, I havent seen
them...they are not very common, they are not everywhere but here
even if its a small shop you have them.!

Phillip - So for those that dont know what a self checkout is,
what is a self checkout?!

Isabel - It means that you can pay for your shopping yourself so
you dont need a cashier or a person assisting you, so you just
have this machine where you put the items with the codes, !

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Phillip - Yeah you scan the items.!
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Isabel - Yeah you scan yeah... you scan... so you do the cashiers
job yourself and then!

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Phillip - You put the money in.!
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Isabel - Yeah the machine will give you the total amount to pay
and then you can select the payment method and then just insert
your card or cash.!

Phillip - And it talks to you doesnt it.!

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Transcript

Isabel - Yeah and you can not lie to it, if you try to put
something in the bag that you havent registered it erm... it
knows.!

Phillip - It notices, it weighs it yes, but we havent tried that,

have we? !

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Isabel - I think once, but just by mistake.!
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Phillip - By accident yeah. But it does say unidentified item in

baggage !

Isabel - If you are putting some bread in there it is already

registered how much a packet of bread
weighs or a banana or
whatever, it knows the weight that it needs to be, so if you put
something a bit heavier, it says no no!!

Phillip - Yes and sometimes they can be a bit of a pain, because

they dont work properly, but generally they work quite well and
they can make the queues much err... move much faster and you can
get out of the supermarket much quicker. But in Spanish
supermarkets thats one thing that really frustrated me was the
queues, because there were huge queues in some of the supermarkets
and one checkout lady. !

Isabel - And you can have someone with a trolley full of things
and you just have a bottle of milk and you are there waiting for
half an hour. !

Phillip strange.!

Yep

and

they

dont

open

any

more

checkouts.

Quite

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Isabel - We are very relaxed.!
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Phillip - Very relaxed yes in Spain! And err... I think that was
everything no? So...!

Isabel - I think so...maybe if you have anything else that you

could suggest or that you have found when youve come to England
to visit.!

!Phillip

- Any other differences that youve noticed or anything

that you want to talk to us about you can send an email at
amigosingleses@gmail.com!

!Isabel

- Or you can also write on the blog on our website

www.amigosingleses.com and well be happy to answer all your
questions yeah it would be great to get some feedback from anyone
who listens because yeah this is our first podcast and we want to
try to make a few more and if we can help you in any way please
let us know. And well be happy to make more podcasts for you. OK
so...!
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Cool English

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Its not my cup of tea - Significa que no es lo que te gusta

hacer o algo en lo que ests interesado. !

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No me gusta bailar.!
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Dancing is not my cup of tea.!

A bit of a pain - Significa que es un rollo. !

Its a bit of a pain to have to ride your bike when its

raining.!

Es un rollo tener que ir en bici cuando llueve.!

Tambin es muy comn: !

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What a pain! Qu rollo!!
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Its raining again, what a pain!!
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Est lloviendo otra vez, que rollo!
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Isabel Carrasco y Phillip Bartlett

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2) Match the words with their definitions.

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1. A small, round fruit used to make wine. !!

a. prescription

!!

b. prawns

2. A machine you can use to pay for your shopping.!!!

3. A kind of seafood that grows on rocks.

!!

c. ready meal

4. A person who works in the supermarket and scans your items.!!

d. grape

5. Something you buy if you are too lazy or busy to cook.!!!

e. fish counter

6. The place where you buy fish.!!!!!

f. mussels

7. A kind of pink shellfish!.!

g. cashier

8. A piece of paper you need to get some medicines.!!

h. self checkout

9. A space for walking in a supermarket with shelves on both sides!.!

i. seeds/pips

10. Small round things you find inside fruits.!!!

j. queue

11. A creature you find in the sea with eight legs.!!!

k. aisle

12. What you do with your items when using the self checkout.!!

l. cod

13. A kind of fish. !!!

m. scan

14. A group of people waiting in a line.!

n. farmers

15. People who grow food and sell it to supermarket.

o. octopus

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Isabel Carrasco y Phillip Bartlett

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1) F ill in the gaps with the words in the box below.

You may need to change the word to the correct form.

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under

ready prepared

colourful

crisps

genetically modified

lobster

old fashioned

proud

cup of tea

self check out

strict

appealing

overpriced

1. Theres a long queue at the normal checkouts, lets use the ....................

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2. These grapes dont have seeds! They must be ...................................
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3. Your diet is very unhealthy, you just eat .................................. meals.
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4. I love seafood, especially ......................
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5. That food doesnt look very .............................. It looks horrible!
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6. Would you like packet of cheese and onion flavour .........................
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7. I think that even though they are imported, tomatoes and courgettes
are very expensive, I think theyre a little ..............................

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8. She likes wearing clothes from the 50s, shes very .......................
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9. The English countryside is so ............................ in spring.
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10. If you look ........................ 25 years old you have to show your ID.
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11. English farmers are very ......................... of their produce.
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12. I dont really like football, its not my .............................
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13. English supermarkets are very ......................... about selling alcohol.

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octopus - pulpo.

fish counter - pescadera.

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colourful - colorido.
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appealing - apetecible.
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ready meals - comida preparada.
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seafood - marisco.
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mussels - mejillones.
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shrimps - gambas.
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lobster - langosta.
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crab - cangrejo.
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old fashioned - antigo, pasado de

moda.

self checkout - cajas de auto pago.

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Answers

1)
1) El Corte Ingls
2) Sardines
3) Shocked and disappointed
4) They are bigger
5) Because they dont contain seeds.
6) The British flag
7) snacks (chocolate, crisps etc.), ready meals and milk
8) They have a milkman who delivers their milk to their door.
9) medicine
10) Because the queues were very long and they had very few cashiers.

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2) 1.d, 2. h, 3. f, 4. g, 5. c, 6. e, 7. b, 8. a. 9. k, 10.i, 11.o, 12. m,13. l, 14. j,15. n
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3) 1. self checkout, 2. genetically modified, 3. ready prepared, 4. lobster,
5. appealing, 6.crisps, 7.overpriced, 8.old fashioned, 9. colourful, 10.
under, 11. proud, 12.cup of tea. 13.strict

How many correct answers did you get?

35 - 40: Absolutely brilliant!
30 -35: Very well done!
25 - 30: Good job, keep it up!
20 -25: Listen to the podcast again and you will get there!
0 -20: Put a little bit more effort and you will get it.

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Keep on learning with Amigos Ingleses

Isabel Carrasco y Phillip Bartlett

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