Welcome to Lesson 6. Any questions or comments? Please write us at: support@realenglishnow.com

Please watch the video below. Remember: Don’t write anything. Just watch and listen. By the end of the lesson you will understand everything!

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Mark: Well that’s…I think that’s where some famous pyramid is in Egypt. It’s definitely a city in Egypt. Luxor is an important city in Egypt.

Greg: Right. And so you have the Luxor, and then you have The Excalibur. The theme of the Excalibur is magic and wizard…wizardry, and all of that kind of thing. Is that based on any particular thing, or…?

Mark: Yeah, the story of Excalibur is…It’s a story. I don’t know…I’m embarrassed by not knowing who wrote Excalibur, but…The kid who pulls the magic sword from the stone. If you know that. And that sword is called Excalibur.

Greg: Yeah, but that’s right. And so in the Excalibur there are magic shops, and a lot fun games and things like that. And so Excalibur was pretty cool. Then, if you look past Excalibur, it’s not really facing us, so it’s hard to tell, but you have the New York Skyline. A little imitation of the New York skyline. And that would be New York, New York. And, outside of that hotel is a roller-coaster. I’ve never ridden that. Have you gone on that? Did you guys go on that?

Mark: No. While you’re talking I will be, you know…When I make the movie itself, I’ll be showing pictures of us outside the New York so they can…they’ll be seeing the roller-coaster that you’re talking about. No, we did not ride that. What was funny, though, since you mention that roller-coaster…We…We popped in…We went into every, every single casino. That’s how we got our “Vegas legs.” And we were having a bite to eat on the food court of the New York, New York. And we’re sitting there eating. Dude (slang: has the feeling of “Greg it was amazing.”), that roller-coaster goes inside the hotel!

Greg: Oh yeah, right. Right.

Mark: It’s not something you expect, is to see a roller-coaster go, you know, inside. So that really threw me off.

Greg: Right.

Mark: And then across the street from New York you have MGM. I believe that’s the biggest hotel — I’m willing to say in the world — but at least…at least in Vegas, probably in America.

Greg: Yeah, it’s enormous, actually. I’ve never stayed there. I’ve been in. I’ve walked inside. It’s… So, I don’t know…I don’t have much to say about it. The theme is the MGM Movie Studios and they have…

Mark: Do you know why it’s green?

Greg: It think it’s Wizard of Oz, Emerald City, probably. My guess.

Mark: Yeah. Yeah, their most famous movie.

Greg: Right, yeah. Because I remember seeing a mockup of the Wizard of Oz characters and that kind of thing. And so just…I didn’t…I didn’t know why it was green until you asked the question. I just (was) guessing: Probably Emerald City, Wizard of Oz.

Mark: And then they have that amazing lion. They have a lion theme, as well. So, the entrance is this huge, huge lion and once you go inside in the lobby there’s another incredible lion sculpture. We…The only thing we did at MGM was we saw this Cirque du Soleil show called Ka. It…It was incredible. The stage moves, like, three hundred and sixty degrees any particular way. And the actors and stuntmen were sort of playing off of that.

Greg: Wow, sounds cool. I’ve heard…heard of Cirque du Soleil. I’ve never actually seen any of their versions of shows, though.

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it’s hard to tell = I can’t be certain

Remember, in these four groups of sentences below, a native speaker will usually use the 2nd version. So, “it’s hard to tell” is the advanced phrase we want to learn.

I think that might be a bald eagle, but I can’t be certain from here without my binoculars.
I think that might be a bald eagle, but it’s hard to tell from here without my binoculars.

I can’t be certain, but I think that pretty girl is looking at me.
It’s hard to tell, but I think that pretty girl is looking at me.

I think that’s an old Toyota, but I can’t be certain.
I think that’s an old Toyota, but it’s hard to tell.

It’s not really facing us so I can’t be certain, but I think that’s the New York Skyline.
It’s not really facing us so it’s hard to tell, but I think that’s the New York Skyline.

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to go on (an amusement park ride) = to ride

Remember, the 2nd version (the sentences with “to go on”) is what a native speaker would say.

Have you ever ridden the Space Mountain roller coaster at Disney World?
Have you ever gone on the Space Mountain roller coaster at Disney World?

When we get to the amusement park, I want to ride the highest roller coaster there.
When we get to the amusement park, I want to go on the highest roller coaster there.

I liked the Ferris Wheel so much, I rode it 5 times.
I liked the Ferris Wheel so much, I went on it 5 times.

Have you ridden that? Did you guys ride that?
Have you gone on that? Did you guys go on that?

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itself = the actual thing

The actual wedding was good. The wedding reception was horrible.
The wedding itself was good. The wedding reception was horrible.

The tour was pretty good, but the actual tour bus was too small.
The tour was pretty good, but the tour bus itself was too small.

The party before the concert was fun, but the actual concert was pretty bad.
The party before the concert was fun, but concert itself was pretty bad.

When I make the actual movie, I will add some photos.
When I make the movie itself, I will add some photos.

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to pop in to = to go for a short time inside

On my way to work, I went for a short time inside the store and bought some yogurt for breakfast.
On my way to work, I popped in to the store and bought some yogurt for breakfast.

Jim went for a short time inside the house to retrieve his coat on the way to the movie.
Jim popped in the house to retrieve his coat on the way to the movie.

I went for a short time inside to visit my friends.
I popped in to visit my friends.

We went for a short time inside every single casino on the Strip.
We popped in to every single casino on the Strip.

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to have a bite to eat = to eat a small meal

“Are you hungry? Want a sandwich?” — “No, thanks. I ate a small meal before I left the house.”
“Are you hungry? Want a sandwich?” — “No, thanks. I had a bite to eat before I left the house.”

I’m going to eat a small meal before we get on the airplane.
I’m going to have a bite to eat before we get on the airplane.

I stopped to eat a small meal, because I was too hungry to wait for lunch.
I stopped to have a bite to eat, because I was too hungry to wait for lunch.

We were eating a small meal on the food court of the New York, New York hotel.
We were having a bite to eat on the food court of the New York, New York hotel.

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to throw someone off = to confuse and surprise

Bill said he wasn’t good at tennis, so it confused and surprised me, when he won the first two games we played.
Bill said he wasn’t good at tennis, so it threw me off when he won the first two games we played.

It really confused and surprised me to see them together, because I thought they didn’t like each other.
It really threw me off to see them together, because I thought they didn’t like each other.

The end of the movie surprised and confused me. It really didn’t end the way I thought it would.
The end of the movie threw me off. It really didn’t end the way I thought it would.

When I saw the roller coaster, that really confused and surprised me. Suddenly, I wasn’t sure if we were inside or outside.
When I saw the roller coaster, that really threw me off. Suddenly, I wasn’t sure if we were inside or outside.

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to play off of something = to react to something

In his earliest recordings, Jimi Hendrix was reacting to the blues music of Muddy Waters.
In his earliest recordings, Jimi Hendrix was playing off of the blues music of Muddy Waters.

He told the joke, but he didn’t expect us to react to it the way we did.
He told the joke, but he didn’t expect us to play off of it the way we did.

Whenever we play basketball together, we always win. We are good at reacting to our other teammates to find open shots.
Whenever we play basketball together, we always win. We are good at playing off of our other teammates to find open shots.

In the show KA, the stage moves, and the actors and stuntmen were sort of reacting to that.
In the show KA, the stage moves, and the actors and stuntmen were sort of playing off that.

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Easy: I think that might be a bald eagle, but I can’t be certain from here without my binoculars.

Advanced: I think that might be a bald eagle, but __ ____ __ ___from here without my binoculars.

Easy: I liked the Ferris Wheel so much, I rode it 5 times.

Advanced: I liked the Ferris Wheel so much, I ___ __ __ it 5 times.

Easy: The tour was pretty good, but the actual tour bus, was too small.

Advanced: The tour was pretty good, but the tour bus _____, was too small.

Easy: On my way to work, I went for a short time inside the store and bought some yogurt for breakfast.

Advanced: On my way to work, I _____ __ __ the store and bought some yogurt for breakfast.

Easy: I stopped to eat a small meal, because I was too hungry to wait for lunch.

Advanced: I stopped to ____ __ ____ __ ___, because I was too hungry to wait for lunch.

Easy: It really confused and surprised me to see them together, because I thought they didn’t like each other.

Advanced: It really ____ __ ___ to see them together, because I thought they didn’t like each other.

Easy: In his earliest recordings, Jimi Hendrix was reacting to the blues music of Muddy Waters.

Advanced: In his earliest recordings, Jimi Hendrix was ______ _____ ____ the blues music of Muddy Waters.