Unit 26: What's the date?
1. What's the date today?
| Francis | Hello. What's the date today? It's Friday, the 5th of April. |
| Jane | My birthday is in April. Shall I write it in your diary? |
| Francis | Yes, of course. |
| Jane | Sunday, the 15th of April, Jane's birthday. |
| Francis | How old will you be? |
| Jane | I'll be 23, 23 years old on the 15th of April. The date today is the 5th of April. My birthday is on the 15th of April. |
* * *
At a burglar's house
| Burglar's Wife | What's the date today, dear? |
| Burglar | The 5th of April. |
| Burglar's Wife | April the 5th, and ... |
| Burglar | It's Friday. |
| Burglar's Wife | And ... |
| Burglar | Tomorrow will be Saturday the 6th. |
| Burglar's Wife | No, dear. Today is my birthday. |
| Burglar | Happy birthday! A present ... I want to get a birthday present for you. I'm going out. |
| Burglar's Wife | Be careful, dear. Be careful! |
2. How long does it last?
| Francis | When shall I go on holiday? |
| Jane | When do you want to go? You can go in spring, summer, autumn or winter. |
| Francis | Winter? |
| Jane | Yes. You can go to Switzerland or Austria or ... South America in December or January. |
| Francis | No. I'd like to go away in spring. In May to Italy. |
| Jane | How long will you be away? |
| Francis | For three weeks. |
| Jane | Look! Here's a good holiday in Italy. Near Naples. In May, from the 10th of May. |
| Francis | How long does it last? |
| Jane | It lasts for three weeks. From the 10th of May to the 1st of June. |
| Francis | How long does it take to get there? |
| Jane | It takes about two hours. Two hours by plane. And a day and a half by train. |
| Francis | I'll go by plane. On the 10th of May. A holiday in spring. |
3. How long will he be here?
| Burglar's Wife | How long will you be here? |
| Burglar | Five months. |
| Burglar's Wife | From Thursday, the 2nd of May to ... |
| Burglar | Wednesday the 2nd of October. I'll be back home in October. What will you do without me for five months? |
| Burglar's Wife | I think I' 11 go on holiday. Goodbye. |
| Cell-mate | I came in here five years ago. And I was here in 1965, and again from 1968 to 1971. |
| Burglar | I came in here yesterday. This is my second day here. |
| Stanley | When are you leaving? |
| Burglar | In five months. In October. Cell-mate: I'm leaving in three weeks. |
| Burglar | What's it like in here? |
| Cell-mate | Oh, it's very nice. I'm very happy here. It's like a holiday. |
* * *
| Mr. Stanley | We arrived here last night. |
| Mrs. Stanley | It's nice here, but we prefer Florence. |
| Mr. Stanley | That's to the north. |
| Francis | Yes, I know. |
| Mrs. Stanley | We went to Florence last year. For three weeks. In the spring. |
| Mr. Stanley | Yes. We arrived in Florence on the 21st of April and left on the 12th of May. |
| Mrs. Stanley | In the morning. |
| Mr. Stanley | And we got to Rome in the afternoon. It took five hours by train. |
| Mrs. Stanley | Yes, the train was late. |
| Mr. Stanley | Then we stayed in Rome for a week. |
| Francis | And ... when are you leaving here? |
| Mrs. Stanley | On Wednesday. We're going to Sicily. |
| Mr. Stanley | For a week. From the 3rd of June to the 10th. It takes half an hour to get to Naples by plane. |
| Mrs. Stanley | Be careful, Stanley. Not too much sugar. You don't like your coffee too sweet. Oh, Mr. Matthews, would you like some coffee? |
| Francis | No, thanks. |
| Mrs. Stanley | Or a soft drink—orange or lemon like this? |
| Francis | No, thank you. I have to go. |
| Mr. Stanley | Stay here and have a drink, like ... what's that over there? Fiasco! |