Long conversation 1 W: Hey, Bob, Im taking care of my cousin this weekend. Can you think of any fun things for us to do?M: You guys should to see the new Harry Potter movie!W: Thats a great idea! J.K. Rowling is such an inspiration. I just watched an interview with her on BBC news. Did you know her first book was rejected by 12 different publishers? Everyone told her to get a different job, and that she wouldnt be able to make any money by writing childrens books. M: Yeah, its hard to believe that once she was really poor but now shes so wealthy. She came up with the idea for Harry Potter at a Caf in London no, wait, I think it was a bookstore in Manchester right?W: Haha, almost! It was actually on a train between London and Manchester. But she did write in cafes a lot. She could only write when her baby daughter was sleeping, so she took her on long walks around the neighborhood to get her to fall asleep. She would usually end up in a caf and write as much as possible before her baby woke up again. M: Did J.K. Rowling say what shes going to write next in her interview? I cant wait to see what she will write after her Harry Potter books!W: No. She keeps her future plans a secret. Personally, I hope she writes more magic stories, with flying horses and lots of animals!M: Not me. I hope she works on more serious material. Id love to read stories with historical settings and big battle scenes!Long conversation 2 M: After such a tiring week, I cant wait to have a rest and relax a little this weekend.W: Me too, Mr. Simpson. So what are you doing this weekend? Looks like itll be nice weather for sailing.M: Yes, Mary, I hope it stays this sunny. Im going out to the beach and spending all weekend surfing.W: You, sir? Surfing?M: Haha, I bet you think Im too old for surfing! Ive been surfing since I was 11, and its still my favorite activity. The cool blue waves, the smell of the sea, just take me back to when I was teenager free from care. I forget all my troubles. By Sunday night, I fall into a deep sleep, sore and tired, without a care in the world. W: Thats really nice. Im going to the beach, too. I love relaxing in the warm sun, watching my niece and nephew play in the sand and jump in the waves. Theyll tire themselves out building sand castles, collecting seashells, and trying to bury each other in the sand. M: Oh, I remember building sand castles with my brothers such great fun. How old are little Timmy and Monica now?W: Tims five and Monicas three.M: Wow, kids grow up so fast! Long conversation 3 W: Guess what Dad! I won the school spelling competition today! Im the best speller out of all 450 students at my middle school! I won by spelling the word “excellence” correctly after Jimmy messed up on the word “vehicle”. He added an extra “k” after “c”.M: Wow, thats great, sweetheart! Im so proud of you. I still remember when I was 13 and I won my schools big spelling competition. I competed all the way to the state competition in Sacramento, California!W: You went all the way to the state capital for a spelling competition? Our competition was just in the school cafeteria.M: Yes! Our state competition was in a big theater in Sacramento. We drove two hours from our home to get there. I wore my new blue suit! I even wore my dads favorite green tie for good luck!W: Did you win?M: Almost! I came in second. I was so sad after I misspelled “knowledgeable”. But my mom gave me a big hug afterwards, and then we went out for ice cream. Um vanilla ice cream.W: Wow Dad! Second place in the state competition! In my next competition, Im going to wear my favorite new yellow dress for good luck! And we can go out and have vanilla ice cream, too!Long conversation 4M: Did you hear? The new high-speed train around the capital is almost finished. It will travel at 180 miles per hour!W: I know! I saw it on Channel 6 this morning on TV. I cant wait! It will change my work travel time from 2 hours each way to just 45 minutes each way.M: Wow! Rachel! Thats way too long to spend traveling to work.W: Well, John, I leave home in the morning at 6 and arrive ate work at 8. Leave work at 5 and arrive back home at 7. During my 2-hour travel time on the subway, I do catch up on emails and try to read and rest a little. M: So, the new high-speed train will be a big help for you then, Rachel!W: Yes! Now my travel time to work is so long that any extra time- like for shopping can be really tough. The new high-speed train will connect our office in the old part of the city with all the new shopping areas. So, I will be able to do my shopping on the way home from work!M: Oh, thats great. And the new high-speed train will make a circle around the entire city. It will connect my neighborhood with the airport. I will be able to ride it from my neighborhood to the airport in 20 minutes and save money on parking my car!Long conve