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.
Tropical fruits are colorful, healthy fruits grown in warm areas of the world. In the United States, we can import these fruits from places like Mexico and South America. People can buy fruits like papaya, guava, and dragon fruit in their local grocery stores.
Sometimes, it’s hard to know how to eat these exotic fruits. For example, many people in the US think dragon fruit is unusual. Have you ever seen a dragon fruit? It is red with green scales. These scales look like the scales you would see on a dragon. The dragon fruit is very sweet. You can add dragon fruit to smoothies. The dragon fruit will add nutrients to your smoothie. It will also make it taste very sweet and not so bland.
Romeo loves traveling to warm countries and eating these exotic fruits. He also loves smoothies! Listen as he tells Marni about his search for tropical fruits.
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.
Romeo: Did you know that we can’t bring papaya in from another country?
Marni: Really?
Romeo: You ever travel to Mexico and…
Marni: Right! Yeah, they don’t want you bringing in their fruits and vegetables that they got, but…
Romeo: But they import them.
Marni: Right. But that’s all done through legal channels.
Romeo: Oh.
Marni: Right?
Romeo: OK, well. I don’t know. I mean, politics!
Marni: Yeah, well, are you in the market for some tropical fruits?
Romeo: I would love some papaya, maybe some guava, some dragon fruit…
Marni: Ooh, dragon fruit!
Romeo: I mean, I’ve had some really good drinks that were made with…
Marni: Yes!
Romeo: …some very exotic fruits. And, you know, you’re out of the states, and you try something really good, like a nice, juicy smoothie. You know what I’m saying?
Marni: Oh yeah, that sounds great!
Romeo: That’s like, right there. Authentic! Straight from the lands that you’re in. It’s a totally different story than having that here in the United States.
Marni: That’s true. You don’t usually go to the local grocery store and find dragon fruit. But I think you can do a lot with all kinds of fruits. You should mix it up! Maybe, buy some fancier fruits. Get an orange! You can eat the peel. You don’t have to peel it. You can eat it.
Romeo: That’s where the vitamin C’s at.
Marni: That’s where, yeah, all the nutrients are.
Romeo: OK, yeah!
Marni: We’ll mix it up.
Romeo: I think I will be more open to that. I would hate to get arrested and deported or something for trying to bring in an illegal fruit, you know.
Marni: Smuggling, yeah.
Romeo: Smuggling a fruit! Like, out of all the things you could smuggle in, right?
Marni: Fruit! Don’t do it.
Romeo: Yup. Well, I’ll just wait for the season to come, and I’ll buy it here and enjoy a bland smoothie in America.
Marni: Haha!
Grammar Point
Go Super to learn "Count and Noncount Nouns" from this lesson
Quizzes
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Discussion
Romeo is trying to buy some tropical fruits. He says he would like to get papaya, guava, and dragon fruit. He thinks smoothies made from exotic fruits from other countries are juicy and delicious. Smoothies from the US are bland.
Marni says he needs to try other fruits. She says oranges are very good in smoothies. You don’t even have to peel them. The orange peel is where all the nutrients are. Romeo thinks this is a much better idea than smuggling fruit into the United States. He doesn’t want to get arrested and deported. Romeo will try to enjoy the bland smoothies from the United States.
Do you ever eat tropical fruits? What types of fruits do you like in your smoothies?