Intro
1. Learn Vocabulary - Learn some new vocabulary before you start the lesson.
2. Read and Prepare - Read the introduction and prepare to hear the audio.
Many people enjoy different types of communal living. Sometimes, communal living means sharing everything with the other people in your area. For example, people who live in an intentional community often agree to share almost all of their things. They help each other, and they usually believe in the same ideas. They must trust each other a lot and have strong peer-to-peer relationships.
On the other hand, other types of communal living are more relaxed. Sometimes, people might create a tool library in their area. Then, they can borrow any yard tool, such as lawnmowers, when they need these things. People don’t need to worry about a business transaction at a tool library. They just ask for the things they need, and the tool library lends these things to them.
Gary and Marni are talking about different types of communal living. Find out more in today’s English lesson about the share economy.
Dialog
1. Listen and Read - Listen to the audio and read the dialog at the same time.
2. Study - Read the dialog again to see how the vocab words are used.
Gary: Marni, do you live in a community that shares various things, like lawnmowers, or screwdrivers and hammers, or cars?
Marni: I don’t. I know you’re referring to a share economy. But there is, very close to where I live, an intentional community, where there’re all these places that were built together with the intent on being that kind of living situation where you just share everything.
Gary: Yeah, so you trust everyone to use something and then return it.
Marni: Exactly. They have a big tool library, so any sort of, like you said, yard tool or screwdriver or anything that you would need, you can go to it and borrow it.
Gary: It’s funny, in a way, it’s kind of like a library, where someone lends something out to you and you get to borrow it, and there’s no business transaction, so there’s no money that exchanges hands.
Marni: No, it’s just all based on trust, and it’s all just peer-to-peer. I think it’s a really fascinating idea.
Gary: I haven’t experienced it yet.
Marni: I haven’t either. I’m very curious about it. I love that it was built with the intent on having this real communal feel. I think I need to go check it out some more.
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Discussion
Gary and Marni are talking about the share economy and different types of communal living. Marni gives an example of an intentional community that is near her house. There is a tool library there, and people can borrow any sort of yard tool. They trust each other and share these things.
Neither Gary nor Marni have used a tool library before, but they think that it is a great idea. Gary compares tool libraries to normal libraries, where people borrow books. They are similar because there is never a business transaction. People simply ask for the things they want, and the library lends these things to them.
What is your opinion of the share economy? Do you like to lend things to other people?
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