Speakers: Daniel Francis and Sarah Davison (British accent) 

Dad:

OK, so let’s decorate the Christmas tree!

Son:

Yay! Can I do the baubles?

Dad:

Not yet. First, we have to put on the lights. Can you get them for me?

Son:

Oh, they've got all knotted up!

Dad:

I’ll help you unravel them. There! We’ll start at the top and work our way down.

Son:

OK, done! What's next?

Dad:

You can put the star on top. Here, I’ll give you a boost and I’ll pass it to you.

Son:

Oh, it looks so pretty already. Now can we do the baubles?

Dad:

No, the tinsel is next. Hand it over, will you?

Son:

Here you go. I'll do the bottom half.

Dad:

There, done. Now we can hang the baubles. Put the little ones on top and the big ones at the bottom.

Son:

At last! Can we switch on the lights?

Dad:

Sure, plug them in. There! Now doesn’t that look just lovely! Merry Christmas!

NOW LET’S REVIEW THE VOCABULARY!

Yay! is a colloquial exclamation used when you are happy about something.

The ball-shaped Christmas decorations that are hung on the tree are called baubles.

‘Get something for me’, ‘pass something to me’ and ‘hand something over to me’ – these are all ways of asking somebody to give something to you.

Knotted up means ‘tangled’ or ‘tied in knots’.

Unravel means ‘untangle’ or ‘separate’.

Putting the lights in methodically, one by one, they work their way down from the top to the bottom.

What’s next? is a short way of asking what is the next item on the list.

In Britain, a star or an angel is traditionally placed on top of the Christmas tree.

When you lift someone up, you give them a boost.

The shiny garlands that are wrapped around the tree are called tinsel.

Here you go or ‘here you are’ are idioms to say, ‘Here is the thing you asked for’.

Lights are switched on and off, or turned on and off.

Just can be used with an adjective to add emphasis, meaning ‘simply’ or ‘absolutely’.