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Spring Cleaning

Date: Apr 09 2010

Grammar: Simple Future Tense

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Intro

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How do you know when spring has arrived? Is it when the birds start chirping and flowers start blooming again? Or is it when you suddenly feel a powerful desire to clean out your closet and scrub your bathroom?

Spring cleaning is one way people choose to mark the changing of the seasons. In the first warm days of the year, they clean their houses from top to bottom. Although spring cleaning may not be the most exciting way to welcome the longer days and nicer weather, sometimes it’s necessary, especially if you’ve fallen behind on your housework during the winter.

Find out if Beren and Devan will be doing their spring cleaning this year.

Dialog

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2. Study - Read the dialog again to see how the vocab words are used.

Beren

Devan

Beren: Do you spring clean?

Devan: I do. I do it every year.

Beren: Really?

Devan: Yeah.

Beren: Like top to bottom cleaning?

Devan: Yep, scrubbing, bleaching, mopping, dusting.

Beren: Woah. Do you throw stuff away? Do you clean out your closet?

Devan: That’s my one problem, is that I like to clean my house really well, but I am secretly a bit of a hoarder.

Beren: What do you hoard?

Devan: Too much stuff. Like I have this closet that’s gonna be my big project I’m gonna tackle this year that’s full to the brim with all these boxes of stuff that’s just like all these things I’ve accumulated throughout my life like, you know, toys and love letters.

Beren: Really? You’re gonna spring clean your love letters?

Devan: It’s time.

Beren: It’s a good time.

Devan: It’s time, you know? It’s just all these little things I’ve been hanging on to for so long. All my old report cards and it’s like, if my parents don’t even want to hang them on the fridge then why am I hanging on to them, you know?

Beren: What is it about the spring that lends itself to cleaning?

Devan: Everything’s fresh and new and like everything that died off is blooming again, you know, it’s like a fresh start.

Beren: You’d think it’d be like New Year’s Eve cleaning then.

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Discussion

Go Super to Listen

Devan spring cleans every year. Her only trouble is with throwing old things away. She likes to hold onto everything from old toys to love letters. This year she plans to clean out her closet full of old stuff.

Many people like to clean in the spring because it is a time of new beginnings. You can start over in the spring with a totally clean house. Beren is surprised that Devan spring cleans. It doesn’t sound like Beren plans to do a spring cleaning this year, but maybe she’ll do a New Year’s Eve cleaning instead.

Do you spring clean? Is there a traditional time to do a top to bottom cleaning in your country?

Comments

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modaher

Iraq

Our spring sweeter than spring anywhere. Greening trees and showed the sun and get out of our homes to picnic in spring times

Marcelolic

Brazil

No…here we don't whorship a special day to do a special cleaning…For instance,here we usually to make clean twice per week ;) here If you are single and if you live in a flat alone you just need to make one heavy cleaning per week ;)

kukuka

Ukraine

I am not sure about my country, but I do top to bottom cleaning sessions each weekend. I can't live in dust and chaos, it makes me feel horrible. So, despite the fact that a nice cleaning takes quite a big amount of time I do it regularly. It's like a way of life. Still, I agree that it sounds a lit bit sick.

dinhgia_mylove

Viet Nam

I'm thien dinh. I'm twenty one years old

dinhgia_mylove

Viet Nam

I want to make friend with you via yahoo address nick " dinhgia_mylove ". I come from viet nam

dinhgia_mylove

Viet Nam

it's necessary that we do spring cleaning.we usually do it a few day before Tet

yassix91

Austria

I dont't really do spring cleaning, because my mother clean the house from to to bottom every month. So I am also used to clean my room and throw my stuff that I don't need any more every month. But I am also a little bit of a hoarder. I also keep my letters and little things like shells or stones that have a special meaning for me.

I don't really know if spring cleaning is traditional in my country…

nuna2300

Thailand

Do you clean your house in spring season??

babuswaibu

Uganda

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s id

Saudi Arabia

i never heard about spring cleaning . in my country people don`t know about it . we have usually cleaning before eid ceremony . because we welcome eid with cleaning every thing and fresh .

bad-lady

Russian Federation

That's funny!I have just cleaned and washed everything in my house and saw this lesson))))In Russia in winter it's rather cold,so when spring finally comes my favourite thing to do is to wash the window glasses to let more light in! Spring is my favourite season by the way:-)

ReEno_94

Jordan

do spring clean every year. It is like throw out years emotional baggage and take a fresh start with more power. :)

ciciG

China

I don't know nothing about spring clean.in our country spring festival is most important festival in all year,so we'll clean the house like top to bottom clianing when the spring festival approach.i just think you can clean the house whenever u want to do it .

ivyxie

China

I do clean whenever i need to do,it depends what the situation of my room.

Maybe spring clean is not a traditional in my country,the new year eve clean is a traditional in my country,we do a top to bottom cleaning at that time.

jejo

United States

I think that we sould clean up our home whenever we need to. it isn't just for spring time. Right?????

zeus2006

Turkey

Yes, Absolutely yes. We have this tradition. It is very old tradition in my country. Also inside to paint wall :)

A good memory from my childhood: I guess I was 8 years old. Spring had just showed its face tu us and I painted a good picture on the garden wall (Colourful) After a few days My grandfather and grandmother told they would have the walls painted. Just I remember I got big shock. What will happen to my painting? I asked. My grandfather '' Don't worry we will save it'' and nearly 5 or 6 years my painting was on the wall :)))

Mimi_Paradin

Japan

we japanese don't do that spring cleaning. we do the New Year's Eve cleaning though. but spring cleaning sounds fun. getting warm, fresh air… sounds like great deal than New Year's Eve one! thank you for the lesson ;)

sveta1209

Taiwan

Spring cleaning! It sounds like a good idea. Spring is an appropriate time for starting. Before starting, you need to prepare some spaces, physical or mental, in order to containt something new.