Last November, when I was 1___________ to a party by a friend.
I was wearing an 2_________ I’d made myself – in soft black leather and 3___________.
Kelly Johns, the presenter of a big daytime TV show, was there and my little number 4__________________.
She asked whether I could 5______________ something original for her to wear on the show. I 6__________ the opportunity. That was a real 7____________ for me and I was soon able to quit my day job.
I’ve even 8_____________ an assistant to help me.
Speaker 2
People often ask me how I got to be where I am today, with 9__________ concerts, but the truth is, I’m literally an 10____________ sensation! It was just one lucky 11___________, all 12__________ being in the right place at the right time. There I was, an absolute nobody,13_______________ backstage with Arrowhead, when their lead guitarist14____________ a pile of speakers and broke his arm, five minutes before they were 15__________ . They all turned to me and said ‘Kid, 16__________ here …’ and I did. It went OK though, and the rest 17_______________.
Speaker 3
I was in Milan visiting friends, trying to18______________ after a 19_____________ few months – my long-term boyfriend and I had 20______________.
My money was 21_______________
For some reason, I 22_______________ on a slow train going south.
Bologna was where I wanted to be. Everything just 23_______________ – I found a teaching job, took a room in a beautiful flat and 24______________ immediately.
Speaker 4
It’s funny how you can hit 25__________ of bad luck: one moment, things are moving along quite normally in your life and then, 26____________, something comes 27_____________ and knocks you 28___________ and then, 29__________, something else.
I’d been living 30_______________ for a long time and some debts finally 31__________________ me. I arranged to 32______________little by little. But then, the place where I was working 33________________ its workforce, and they 34______________.
I went to London, where my life 35_____________ fast. I 36________________ a bad crowd, and one thing led to another. It’s a miracle my brother ever 37_______________ , but he’s got me 38________________, with a roof over my head and a new job 39______________.
Speaker 5
Almost twenty years ago 40_______________, I was waiting for a bus after another 41________________ awful day at work, no bus 42___________, of course. I was in a 43__________, my job was going nowhere. Anyway, there I was, staring 44_____________ at my reflection in a puddle. Then I saw two things in that puddle, one 45______________ after the other. The first was no surprise, huge splashes of rain, as the 46______________ yet again, but then, this enormous red umbrella, appearing behind my head as if by magic! A gorgeous 47__________ voice to my left said did I mind. Very fortunately, it was another fifteen minutes before the bus finally 48_______________ and hooray, it didn’t stop raining!
KEY
1. dragged along
Drag: to pull somebody/something along with effort and difficulty. E.g. I was dragged along to a party.
2. outfit
Outfit: a set of clothes that you wear together, especially for a particular occasion or purpose. E.g. She was wearing an expensive new outfit. Sp. Conjunto.
3. antique lace
Lace: a delicate material made from threads of cotton, silk, etc. that are twisted into a pattern of holes. Sp. Encaje. E.g. It was an antique lace dress that was worth a million dollars.
4. caught her eye
catch somebody’s eye: to attract somebody’s attention. E.g. Can you catch the waiter's eye?
5. come up with
- Come up with something: [no passive] to find or produce an answer, idea, plan, a sum of money, etc. E.g. She came up with a new idea for increasing sales. How soon can you come up with the money? Is that the best you can come up with?
6. jumped at
Jump at something: to accept an opportunity, offer, etc. with enthusiasm. E.g. Sally jumped at the chance of visiting Rome.
7. turning point
Turning point (in something): the time when an important change takes place, usually with the result that a situation improves. E.g. The promotion marked a turning point in her career. Sp. Momento decisivo.
8. taken on
- Take sb on: to employ somebody. E.g. to take on new staff. She was taken on as a trainee.
9. sell-out
sell-out: a play, concert, etc. for which all the tickets have been sold. E.g. Next week's final looks like being a sell-out. A sell-out tour
10. overnight
overnight: suddenly or quickly. E.g. Don't expect it to improve overnight. She became famous overnight.
11. break
Break: an opportunity to do something, usually to get something that you want or to achieve success. E.g. I got my lucky break when I won a ‘Young Journalist of the Year’ competition. We've had a few bad breaks (= pieces of bad luck) along the way. If you just give me a break, you won't regret it.
(informal) used when somebody wants somebody else to stop doing or saying something that is annoying, or to stop saying something that is not true.give so a break: to stop criticizing or annoying someone, or behaving in an unpleasant way. E.g. Give her a break - she's only a child and she didn't mean any harm.give me a break!
12. down to
Be down to somebody/something: to be caused by a particular person or thing. E.g. She claimed her problems were down to the media.
13. hanging around
Hang around: to wait or stay near a place, not doing very much. E.g. You hang around here in case he comes, and I'll go on ahead.
14. tripped over
Trip: to catch your foot on something and fall or almost fall. E.g. She tripped and fell. Someone will trip over that cable.
15. due on
Due: arranged or expected. E.g. When's the baby due? The next train is due in five minutes.
16. help us out
help out/ help somebody out to help somebody, especially in a difficult situation. E.g. He's always willing to help out. When I bought the house, my sister helped me out with a loan.
17. is history
the rest is history: used when you are telling a story to say that you do not need to tell the end of it, because everyone knows it already. E.g. He took her to see his publisher, and the rest is history.
18. cheer myself up
19. dismal
Dismal: causing or showing sadness. Miserable. Sp. Deprimente. E.g. dismal conditions/surroundings/weather. Christmas will be dismal without the children.
20. broken up
21 running out
22 ended up
end up: to find yourself in a place or situation that you did not intend or expect to be in. E.g. end up doing something I ended up doing all the work myself. + adv./prep. If you go on like this you'll end up in prison. + adj. If he carries on driving like that, he'll end up dead.
23 fell into place
fall into place: 1. if something complicated or difficult to understand falls into place, it becomes organized or clear in your mind. E.g. Then I found his diary and it all began to fall into place. 2. if things fall into place, events happen in a way that is satisfactory for you. E.g. When you are playing well, everything falls into place.
24 settled in
Settle in/ settle into something: to move into a new home, job, etc. and start to feel comfortable there. E.g. How are the kids settling into their new school? It's not always easy for a new player to settle in. Sp. Instalarse, adaptarse.
25 a run
run: a period of something good or bad happening; a series of successes or failures. Spell. E.g. a run of good/bad luck. Liverpool lost to Leeds, ending an unbeaten run of 18 games.
26 bam
Bam: (exclamation) used to show that something happens very suddenly. E.g. I saw him yesterday and—bam!—I realized I was still in love with him.
27 out of the blue
out of the blue: unexpectedly; without warning. E.g. The decision came out of the blue.
28 sideways
Knock somebody sideways: (informal) to surprise or shock somebody so much that they are unable to react immediately. E.g. The news about his mother's accident really knocked him sideways.
29 wham
Wham: /wæm/ (exclamation) used to show that something that is unexpected has suddenly happened. E.g. I saw him yesterday and—wham!—I realized I was still in love with him.
30 beyond my means
31 caught up with
Catch up with somebody: to finally start to cause problems for somebody after they have managed to avoid this for some time. Sp. Alcanzar, pasar factura. E.g. She was terrified that one day her past problems would catch up with her.
32 pay them off
Pay sb off: to finish paying money owed for something. E.g. We paid off our mortgage after fifteen years.
33 cut back on
Cut back (on something): to reduce something. E.g. If we don't sell more we'll have to cut back production. To cut back on spending.
34 let me go
let somebody go: to make somebody have to leave their job. E.g. They're having to let 100 employees go because of falling profits.
35 went downhill
go downhill: to get worse in quality, health, etc. Deteriorate. E.g. Their marriage went downhill after the first child was born. He’s been going slowly downhill since he came out of hospital.
36 got in with
Get in with somebody: (informal) to become friendly with somebody, especially in order to gain an advantage. E.g. I got in with the bad crowd and one thing led to another.
37 tracked me down
Track sb/sth down: to find somebody/something after searching in several different places. Trace. Sp. Localizar. E.g. The police have so far failed to track down the attacker. I finally tracked the reference down in a book of quotations.
38 back and sorted
sorted: completed, solved or organized. E.g. Don't worry. We'll soon have this sorted. It's our problem. We'll get it sorted. It's all sorted. It's time you got yourself sorted. ‘Hussain, have you finished that job yet?’ ‘Sorted!’
39 on the cards
on the cards: likely to happen. E.g. The merger has been on the cards for some time now.
40 to the day
to the day: exactly. E.g. It's been three years to the day since we met.
41 mind-numbingly
Mind-numbingly: /ˈnʌmɪŋli/ very boring. E.g. The lecture was mind-numbingly tedious.
42 in sight
43 rut
Rut: a boring way of life that does not change. E.g. I gave up my job because I felt I was stuck in a rut. If you don't go out and meet new people, it's easy to get into a rut. Sp.Estancarse.
44 gloomily
gloomily: in a way that is sad and without hope. E.g. He stared gloomily at the phone. Iris lay gloomily on her bed contemplating the future.
45 imperceptibly
imperceptibly /ˌɪmpəˈseptəbli/ in a very small way that cannot be seen or felt. E.g. The daylight faded almost imperceptibly into night.
46 heavens opened
the heavens opened: it began to rain heavily
47 gravelly
Gravelly: /ˈɡrævəli/ (of a voice) deep and with a rough sound. E.g. His gravelly voice is perfect for radio.
48 turned up
Recording script
Speaker 1
I’ve had a really fantastic year. It all started last November, when I was dragged along to a party by a friend. I was in a terrible mood, I remember, and nearly didn’t go. Anyway, I was wearing an outfit I’d made myself – in soft black leather and antique lace, quite an unusual combination! Kelly Johns, the presenter of a big daytime TV show, was there and my little number caught her eye. We got chatting and she asked whether I could come up with something original for her to wear on the show. I jumped at the opportunity. That was a real turning point for me and I was soon able to quit my day job and concentrate on the clothes side full time. Through Kelly’s show, I’ve had lots of orders. I’ve just finished an exclusive range for a top designer and I’ve even taken on an assistant to help me. Just think if I’d stayed at home that night!
Speaker 2
People often ask me how I got to be where I am today, with sell-out concerts in big stadiums around the world, thinking that I’ve spent years playing in local clubs, but the truth is, I’m literally an overnight sensation! I don’t mean that arrogantly. It was just one lucky break, all down to being in the right place at the right time. There I was, an absolute nobody, hanging around backstage with Arrowhead, when their lead guitarist tripped over a pile of speakers and broke his arm, five minutes before they were due on. I’d been telling them about my awesome guitar style, so naturally, they all turned to me and said ‘Kid, help us out here …’ and I did. The place was packed and I can still feel my hands shaking as I played that very first solo. It went OK though, and the rest is … history.
Speaker 3
I was in Milan visiting friends, trying to cheer myself up after a dismal few months – my long-term boyfriend and I had broken up, plus I’d left a job without another to go to. My money was running out and I was planning to leave a few days later. Anyway, my friends suggested that I should take a look at Verona before going back home and told me what time train I could get from Milan. Well, for some reason, I ended up on a slow train going south, without realising my mistake – both trains had
left at the same time. I fell asleep in the compartment and woke just as the train arrived in Bologna! I had a wander round and fell in love with the place, and knew it was where I wanted to be. Everything just fell into place – I found a teaching job, took a room in a beautiful flat and settled in immediately. I lived there for six years and I go back regularly.
Speaker 4
It’s funny how you can hit a run of bad luck: one moment, things are moving along quite normally in your life and then, bam, something comes out of the blue and knocks you sideways and then, wham, something else. I’m OK now, but I’ve had a difficult couple of years. My problem was quite simply that I’d been living beyond my means for a long time and some debts finally caught up with me. Even then, I thought I’d be OK; I arranged to pay them off little by little from my salary, monthly, you know. But then, the place where I was working cut back on its workforce, and they let me go. Well, that was it, I suppose I panicked, I wasn’t thinking straight, you know. So I just packed a
bag, got on a coach and left town for London, where my life went downhill fast. I got in with a bad crowd, and one thing led to another. It’s a miracle my brother ever tracked me down, but he’s got me back and sorted, with a roof over my head and a new job on the cards.
Speaker 5
It could be a story in True Romance, but it really happened just like this. Almost twenty years ago to
the day, I was waiting for a bus after another mind-numbingly awful day at work, no bus in sight, of course. I was in a rut, my job was going nowhere. Anyway, there I was, staring gloomily at my reflection in a puddle, feeling utterly sorry for myself and thinking: is this really all there is to life? Then I saw two things in that puddle, one imperceptibly after the other. The first was no surprise, huge splashes of rain, as the heavens opened yet again, but then, this enormous red umbrella, appearing behind my head as if by magic! A gorgeous gravelly voice to my left said did I mind, it was big enough for two and he didn’t want my hair to get wet. Very fortunately, it was another fifteen minutes before the bus finally turned up and hooray, it didn’t stop raining! His name was Terence, though he’s been Terry to me ever since – and Dad to our three wonderful children.
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