Long Listening · Section 6

Complaining

This might seem like a strange topic, but I think it's very relevant

Level: A2 · 69 sentences

Transcript

1. This might seem like a strange topic,
2. but I think it's very relevant
3. because most people complain about many things in their lives.
4. The first complaint that I'm going to talk about is the weather.
5. Depending on where you live, this might be a common complaint.
6. In the US, when people make small talk,
7. they tend to talk about the weather.
8. They might comment on how nice the weather is that day
9. or they might talk about how terrible the weather is.
10. It's very easy to connect with another person
11. when complaining about the weather
12. because it's an easy topic to talk about.
13. I think this is a big
14. reason why people like to complain about this topic.
15. It helps you start conversations.
16. I sometimes complain when it's raining, especially on the weekend.
17. I love going outside and enjoying the outdoors,
18. so it's disappointing for me when I can't do this.
19. I know I shouldn't complain about things I can't control,
20. but I do this sometimes.
21. Another thing that people love to complain about is traffic.
22. This is one of the worst
23. parts about living in a big city.
24. Nowadays, many people work from home,
25. but if you work in an office,
26. you probably have to commute to work five days a week.
27. The verb to commute means to travel
28. to and from some place regularly.
29. If you commute to work in the morning
30. and commute back home in the evening,
31. you probably do this during rush hour.
32. This is the time during the day
33. when there are more cars on the road.
34. If you live in a crowded city,
35. you'll definitely hear people complain about the traffic during rush hour.
36. I know some people that spend two hours in the morning
37. and two hours in the evening in traffic.
38. It's hard not to complain in this situation.
39. I hate being stuck in traffic
40. and I definitely complain about this sometimes.
41. Alright, another thing that people complain about is rising prices.
42. It seems like every year, life gets more and more expensive.
43. For example, in the past, houses
44. and apartments were much cheaper than they are now.
45. For many young adults, buying a house seems impossible nowadays.
46. I hear people complain about this all the time.
47. It also seems like gas prices keep getting higher and higher.
48. It's funny because Americans complain about this a lot,
49. but actually gas is much more expensive in other countries.
50. Still, we Americans like to complain about this.
51. Okay, I saved the worst one for last.
52. In my opinion, the thing I complain
53. about the most is the government.
54. Of course, everyone complains about corrupt politicians and terrible presidents,
55. but what annoys me the most
56. is the horrible experience you have when you use government services.
57. I can't tell you how many
58. times I've been disappointed with government services.
59. Just in the last month, I've had at least
60. three bad experiences with the government. Unfortunately, this is completely normal.
61. Almost every time I use a government service,
62. there are errors with their website, their workers are rude,
63. and it takes them a long time to do their job.
64. And of course, the quality of their work
65. and their institutions is terrible.
66. For example, almost all of the students I talk to tell
67. me that the government hospitals in their countries are not good.
68. Overall, governments don't offer high-quality services.
69. I'm sure many of you complain about government services too.