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Barking Up the Wrong Tree
Barking Up the Wrong Tree English, baby! Video Lesson

Learn English with this poor choices English lesson

Date: May 06 2014

Themes: Romance, Soap Opera

Grammar: First Conditional

Intro

1. Learn Vocabulary - Learn some new vocabulary before you start the lesson.

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2. Read and Prepare - Read the introduction and prepare to hear the audio.

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You’re at the park, sitting on a blanket, and in the middle of reading a great book. It’s peaceful and quiet. All of a sudden, a dog comes running past you, barking and acting crazy. She chases a squirrel up into a tree, and stands at the bottom, jumping up and down and making a lot of noise. But when you look closer, you see that the squirrel ran down the back of the tree and climbed up another one. The dog is barking up the wrong tree!

Like dogs, when people try to be successful at something that isn’t right for them or doesn’t make sense, we say that they’re barking up the wrong tree. For example, if a guy tries asking out a girl who’s about to get married, he’s barking up the wrong tree. Or if a dad is angry with his son for getting paint all over the floor when it was actually the family cat, the dad is barking up the wrong tree. You can spend a lot of time barking up the wrong tree if you’re not paying attention.

There’s someone new at the office, and he’s telling Lily that he thinks he’s barking up the wrong tree. What is he talking about? Find out in today’s English lesson and meet our new character!

3. Watch - Watch the video without reading the dialog.

Dialog

1. Listen and Read - Listen to the audio and read the dialog at the same time.

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

Brian

Brian

Marni

Marni

Lily

Lily

Brian:  Who’s in charge here?

Marni:  I’m in the middle of a conference call, but I’m sure that Lily here can help you.

Lily:  I’m Lily. What can I help you with today?

Brian:  Well, I’ve had a profile on AmericanDreamD8.com for two months now, and I’m beginning to think I’m barking up the wrong tree.

Lily:  Why do you say that?

Brian:  I’m not getting any dates.

Lily:  Well, have you been reaching out to people?

Brian:  Yes! But no one ever replies.

Lily:  OK. Do you mind if I look at your profile?

Brian:  I guess not. Sure.

Lily:  OK. What’s your profile name?

Brian:  “Lovemonkey.”

Lily:  OK. Here it is. Where are your photos?

Brian:  I don’t have any.

Lily:  OK. And you’ve only answered a couple of our questions.

Brian:  I know. I’m really busy. I’m starting a new business.

Lily:  Look, Brian. If you add a half a dozen photos, and answer all of our questions, and maybe change your username, I guarantee you, you are going to get a lot more dates.

Brian:  Really? Change my username?

Lily:  Yeah. It’s just my personal opinion, but “lovemonkey” is a little cheesy.

Brian:  You’re the expert.

Lily:  You know?

Brian:  Say, you wouldn’t happen to want to go on a date with me, would you?

Lily:  Sorry, I actually can’t. I’m not allowed to date site members.

Brian:  Right. I had to try. Does anyone work back there?

Marni:  The conference room? No, not really. Why do you ask?

Brian:  My friend and I are looking for some office space to rent. Could I call you about it?

Marni:  I don’t see why not. Sure!

Brian:  All right, then. Thank you. And, Lily, it was a pleasure meeting you.

Lily:  Nice to meet you, too.

Brian:  Guess I’ll…

Marni:  Talk about barking up the wrong tree. That guy is totally not your type. Right?

Lily:  I don’t know.

 

Grammar Point

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Quizzes

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Lesson MP3

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Discussion

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A man comes into the office, and he’s clearly upset. He asks to speak to the person in charge, but since Marni’s on the phone, he talks with Lily instead. The man’s name is Brian, and he’s unhappy with the results of his dating profile on AmericanDreamD8.com. He’s not meeting any women or going on any dates.

Lily asks to look at Brian’s profile with him. She suggests that he add some photos, answer the questions the site asks, and change his username from “lovemonkey” to something else. Lily believes that Brian will start meeting women right away if he does these three things.

Brian listens to Lily’s advice, but he also asks her out on a date! She says no because she’s not allowed to go on dates with the people who use her company’s website. Brian also asks Marni if he can call her later about renting space in their office, and she agrees.

When can you tell that you’re barking up the wrong tree? Does your heart tell you, or do friends need to point it out to you?

 

Comments

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sam14719

sam14719

Iran, Islamic Republic Of

i think(when you decide to do any thing by wrong way and whitout information,


havent any good result for you)and says barking up the wrong tree


whats your idea?

05:52 PM May 08 2014 |

1 person likes this

S&W

S&W

China

OH,my god ,this man drives me crazy…

05:46 PM May 06 2014 |

AryelLanes

AryelLanes

Brazil

Lovemonkey… Seriously? .

01:00 PM May 06 2014 |

praedos

praedos

Germany

I understand why this guy hasn’t uploaded photos.

12:10 PM May 06 2014 |

ola33

ola33

Japan

Lovemonkey what a nice nickname! I like it, but I think I’m barking up the wrong tree :)

09:46 AM May 06 2014 |

suprianto

suprianto

Indonesia

well, I hope I wouldn’t have that embarrasing experince….


04:53 AM May 06 2014 |

Eric_

Eric_

China

OMG. I m sick of that guy…!!!..

03:01 AM May 06 2014 |

handwriter

handwriter

Norway

I know that I have been barking up the wrong tree when I get to the top and find no one there—and having seen no one coming down.

03:35 PM May 05 2014 |

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