Desperate Housewives

Those of you who have come to my listening class will remember the lesson on Desperate Housewives. I really recommend this T.V. show because it's funny, dramatic, adult, and really quite easy to follow the language. You can learn a lot of really useful, everyday, English from watching it. You can get the whole series on DVD. Here is Episode 23 from season 7.

Here is a bit of background. The series is about four friends who live on Wisteria Lane, a typical American suburb. Susan has moved back to Wisteria Lane after an absence of a few years. She is now married. In this scene she is desperate to see her friends immediately.

Start watching at 00.49 and watch in sections. I've put some vocabulary you will hear below. Try to hear this vocabulary as you listen. Don't worry about stuff you can't understand, or you can ask me in a comment.

Part 1: 00.49 - 1.59
Susan and her new husband Mike are unpacking in their new home in Wisteria Lane.
Vocabulary

• mailman = someone who delivers your letters
• X are done/X is done = this task is finished
• hang with the girls = spend time with my friends
• be home by dinner = make sure you come home at around 6.00 or 7.00 pm.

Part 2: 1.59 - 3.47
Susan goes to see her friend Bree first. But Bree is busy with her new friend.
Vocabulary

• be in great shape = be fit and healthy because you do lots of exercise
• did it ever occur to you that...? = did you ever have the thought that...?
• outrace someone = run faster than someone in a race
• I'm done waiting = I don't want to wait any more
• wrap it up in no time = get something finished as quickly as possible

Part 3: 3.48 - 5.44
Next, Susan goes to see her second friend, Lynette. But Lynette is having a very serious conversation with her husband Tom about whether they are going to break up or not. They've just come back from a trip.
Vocabulary

• never mind =  it's ok, let's not talk about it
• time apart = some time not living together
• do us good = be a good thing for us
• we both know what that means = we both understand the real truth
• I'm right in the middle of something = I'm really busy right now

Part 4: 5.45 - 6.27
Then Susan goes to her third friend, Gabriel. Gabriel is in a desperate situation of her own.
Vocabulary

• get out of something = avoid having to do something you don't want to do
• raincheck = let's take a raincheck. This is an idiom and it means: 'let's meet another time'

Part 5: 6.28 - 6.43
So, fed up, Susan goes back home to Mike.
Vocabulary
fed up = angry and annoyed