英语口语对话(中高级) lesson 6: Alex's Haircut

Summary: Denise and Alex are at the hairdresser’s. Alex is going to have a haircut. Alex and Denise are at the hairdresser’s.
Listen to their conversation and answer the question that follows about the main idea.
Dialogue:
Stylist: Hi, how can we help you today?
Alex: Yeah I’d like to get my hair trimmed a little, nothing fancy, just a basic trim, and my friend here…
Denise: Hi yeah, I’d like something less conventional; I was thinking of bangs and…layered?
Stylist: Okay, well if you’d just like to go with Alicia here, she’ll help you out. And you sir, can I interest you in this weeks special?
Alex: Uh na.
Stylist: Well, I’ll shampoo, cut and style your hair for one unbelievable low price of 9.99? Plus I’ll give you a clean shave?
Alex: Er, no.
Stylist: Best service in town? And your friend will be a while.
Alex: Well, okay, I’ll have the complete service today, but as I said before, I just want to get my hair trimmed, a little off the top, and the sides, but that’s all, I mean that’s all.
Stylist: Okay, sit back and relax. Could you take your glasses off? So, what do you do for living?
Alex: I’m a lawyer, I specialize in accidents in the work place, and I’ve got a very important job interview tomorrow.
Stylist: You seem to have a few grey hairs around over the ears, sir, would you like me to use some hair coloring?
Alex: No, no, I kinda like that. My friends say it makes me look distinguished. Stylist: Oops,
Alex: What do you mean oops, hey, can I see a mirror?
Stylist: Nothing to worry about sir, relax, I’m just making some adjustments to the..er…hair trimmer, there we are, okay…Okay now a wash…here’s the shampoo. Alex: Hey you got it in my eyes, I can’t see, where’s the towel?
Stylist: Relax almost finished, now lets dry your hair….put a little styling gel in it, and now I’ll style it with the blow dryer…and brush…and voila! Oh and here’s your friend…
Alex: Oh hi Denise, Wow! You look great.
Denise: Do you really like it? I think it’s a bit over the top!
Alex: No way!!! I love the highlights, they look so natural. And did you also get it layered?
Denise: Yes, what do you think? I’m not convinced.
Alex: Really nice. What about mine?
Denise: Wellllll….. Alex: What?…. What?….WHAT?! Where are my glasses? Oh…my…god. What have you done!
Now answer the following question…
Are Alex and Denise pleased with their haircuts? Not really. Something’s obviously wrong with Alex’s and Denise is not sure about hers.
Now listen again to the dialogue in parts. After each part there will be 3 to 4 questions on some details...
Part 1
Stylist: Hi, how can we help you today?
Alex: Yeah I’d like to get my hair trimmed a little, nothing fancy, just a basic trim, and my friend here…
Denise: Hi yeah, I’d like something less conventional; I was thinking of bangs and…layered?
Stylist: Okay, well if you’d just like to go with Alicia here, she’ll help you out. And you sir, can I interest you in this week’s special?
Alex: Uh na.
Stylist: Well, I’ll shampoo, cut and style your hair for one unbelievable low price of 9.99? Plus I’ll give you a clean shave?
Alex: Er, no.
Stylist: Best service in town? And your friend will be a while.
Alex: Well, okay, I’ll have the complete service today, but as I said before, I just want to get my hair trimmed, a little off the top, and the sides, but that’s all, I mean that’s all.
Stylist: Okay, so sit back and relax. Could you take your glasses off? So, what do you do for living?
Alex: I’m a lawyer, I specialize in accidents in the work place, and I’ve got a very important job interview tomorrow.
Now answer some questions…
1. Alex says, “I’d like to get my hair trimmed.” What does he want? He wants his hair cut short, even and tidy.
2. Denise says, “I’d like something less conventional.” What does she mean? She wants a different haircut, one that is not ordinary.
3. The stylist says, “Your friend will be a while.” What does he mean? He means that his friend’s haircut will take some time, and so he might as well have the full service while he’s waiting.
Now listen to the second part again:
Part 2
Stylist: You seem to have a few grey hairs around over the ears, sir, would you like me to use some hair coloring?
Alex: No, no, I kinda like that. My friends say it makes me look distinguished. Stylist: Oops,
Alex: What do you mean ‘oops’, hey, can I see a mirror?
Stylist: Nothing to worry about sir, relax, I’m just making some adjustments to the...er…hair trimmer, there we are, okay…Okay now a wash…here’s the shampoo. Alex: Hey, you got it in my eyes, I can’t see, where’s the towel?
Stylist: Relax, almost finished, now lets dry your hair….put a little styling gel in it, and now I’ll style it with the blow dryer…and brush…and voila! Oh and here’s your friend…
Alex: Oh hi Denise, Wow! You look great.
Denise: Do you really like it? I think it’s a bit over the top!
Alex: No way!!! I love the highlights, they look so natural. And did you also get it layered?
Denise: Yes, what do you think? I’m not convinced.
Alex: Really nice. What about mine?
Denise: Wellllll…..
Alex: What?…. What?….WHAT?! Where are my glasses? Oh…my…god. What have you done!
Now answer some questions…
1. Alex says, “My friends say it makes me look distinguished.” What does he mean? He means that he thinks the grey hair makes him look more sophisticated and mature.
2. The stylist says, “Put a little styling gel in it.” What does he use it for? Styling gel is a liquid stylists use to shape our hair.
3. The stylist says, “Voila.” What does he mean? He means ‘there you are’. We use French words, such as ‘voila’ when we want to sound more artistic.
4. Alex says, “I love the highlights, they look so natural.” What do we do to our hair if we get highlights? We have a different color added to some of our hair.
GLOSSARY
1. Adjustment (noun) is to make a small change. (e.g. She made a few small adjustments to the focus of her new camcorder.
2.Bangs (noun) are an area of hair hanging over the forehead that is cut shorter than the rest of the hair.
3. Conventional (adjective) is something which is traditional and/or ordinary. (e.g. In the end the Kay’s had a conventional wedding, despite what they had talked about.)
4. Distinguished (adjective) describes a person, especially someone who is older, who looks formal, stylish or wise. (e.g. Those glasses make you look very distinguished)
5.Dye (verb) means to change the color of something. (e.g. She dyed her hair black.)
6. Fancy (adjective) decorative or complicated. (e.g. I wanted a simple black dress, nothing fancy.)
7. Layers (noun) are when you cut your hair into different lengths.
8. Specialize in (verb + preposition) to spend most of your time studying one particular subject or doing one type of business. (e.g. The Ocean View restaurant specializes in seafood)
9. Trim (verb) is to make something tidier or more even by cutting a small amount off it. (e.g. The gardener has to trim the bushes today)
10. Voila (exclamation) used when showing other people that you are pleased with something you have just made or obtained. (e.g. I put a little styling gel into your hair, now I’ll blow dry it, brush it…and voila! You are ready to go.)
Fill in the gaps with the correct form of the words from the glossary.
1. You can take the photo now, I’ve made all the necessary ………………………………to the camera.
2. I’m going to make an appointment at D & K Studio, my hair needs to be ………………………………
3. He's hired a lawyer who …………………………………divorce.
4. I think grey hair makes a man look very…………………………
5. For somebody who has traveled so widely, her beliefs sure are ………………..
6. She didn’t like the color of her skirt, so she ……………………… red.
7. She had her hair ………………………… and ………………………… she was a new person.
8. The decor was rather ………………………… for my tastes.
9. His ………………………… were so long they hung over his eyes!
1) adjustments 2) trimmed 3) specializes in 4) distinguished 5) conventional 6) dyed 7) layered / voila 8) fancy 9) bangs