Songs
Do you like singing? Did you enjoy singing when you were younger? How important is singing in your culture?
Vocabulary
  • Pumped (adj.) - excited about something.
  • Vocal range (noun)- the range of pitches that can be made by a human voice.
  • Flights of fantasy (idiom) - an imaginative but unrealistic idea.
  • Key element - most important point or piece of something. Examples The key element in a White Russian is vodka.
  • To hum (verb) - to sing without opening your mouth.
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Questions and answers
Maria: Rory, can you sing?

Rory: Um, well, I think everyone can sing, really, though, in my case, I just can't do it very well. I think it's like someone is trying to murder a cat in the room or something. At least that's how it sounds. Then again, maybe it's just the acoustic sound very good. Of course, that's exactly what someone who isn't very good at singing would say.

Maria: Do you like singing?

Rory: I like trying out where no one can hear me, or at least no one I know. I often do it when I'm on my way home after the gym and I'm feeling a bit pumped and more confident, although God knows what people walking past me must think, I don't know. I don't think I've really got a good vocal range so I can only sing like really common songs or popular ones.

Maria: Do you want to be a singer?

Rory: I used to and I realized it wasn't much good at it. And when I realized that I kind of let that particular dream die, I think that's OK, though, if you let go of things like that. Although when I do have my occasional flights of fantasy, I do imagine that I could be a singer one day.

Maria: Did you enjoy singing when you were younger?

Rory: Well, we always used to sing hymns at school assembly and that was always good fun because you could join in with the others and usually it would harmonize, at least to a certain extent. And then we had choir songs sometimes when we went to church. And that was also quite good fun.

Maria: How often do you sing now?

Rory: Well, like I said, every time I come back from the gym and sometimes when I'm alone in the office, I'll hum something to help me concentrate or deal with stress or, well, I already said it helps me with my focus. So I guess those are the two main reasons.

Maria: Do you have a favorite song you like listening to?

Rory: Uh, well, yes, I actually have this habit of listening to things until they get so boring that I can't listen to them anymore. So right now, I quite like Ellie Golding. It's almost like a spoken word version of Elton John's "Your song". The use of instrumentals and vocals and autotuning is quite relaxing and good to listen to. So like I say, currently, I'm listening to that song to death before I move on to the next one.

Maria: How important is singing in your culture?
Rory: Um, it's a good question and it's probably important for people who are into that. Um, if you're well, for example, if you're in a church choir, it could be considered a key element of the religious experience at church, for example. Uh, we also have lots of voice coaching places and singing skills. So I think it's quite important for people in my country. It's not the most important thing for me, but for a lot of people, they seem to quite like it.
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