Messages From Beyond PDF

October 2017
deepenglish
MESSAGES FROM BEYOND

INDEX
03 ACTIVE LISTENING MAIN STORY
10 ACTIVE SPEAKING - PART A ACTIVE

LISTENING
16 ACTIVE SPEAKING - PART B
22 ACTIVE SPEAKING - PART C

ACTIVE
28 ACTIVE SPEAKING - PART D SPEAKING
34 FUTURE
FOUR
37 PRESENT CONTINUOUS TENSES
41 PAST CONTINUOUS
45 PRESENT PERFECT CONVERSATION
LESSON
48 CONVERSATION LESSON
69
02 CONVERSATIONAL VOCABULARY
© Deep English, 2010-2017

www.deepenglish.com
ACTIVE LISTENING MAIN STORY
Harry Houdini was a world famous escape artist. He once escaped from a steel
and glass coffin hung upside down and filled with water. Yet when his mother died
in 1920, the great Houdini couldn’t find a way to escape his own heartbreak and
desperation: a feeling of loss.
hopelessness causing
thoughtless or risky In desperation, the legendary showman turned to spiritualism, a system of belief
behavior based on communicating with the dead.
made his or her name:
became famous Houdini was a hard man to convince there was such a thing as life after death.
Before he made his name as an escape artist, Houdini and his wife Bess often
put bread on the table:
gave fake public séances to put bread on the table.
earn money to live
beyond the grave: after He knew all about the trickery used by mediums. However, Houdini was a
death desperate man and longed to communicate with his mother beyond the grave.
hard and fast: clear;
precise; unambiguous His search for hard and fast proof was all in vain. He said that all the mediums
he met were “human leeches.”
in vain: not successful
dismiss: reject Houdini was good friends with Sherlock Holmes author Arthur Conan Doyle.
However, their friendship ended after Conan Doyle’s wife Jean claimed to have
03 made contact with Houdini’s dead mother through a technique called automatic
writing. Jean swore the 15 pages of grammatically correct English was a real
message from the afterlife. Houdini dismissed it publicly. He said that while his
© Deep English, 2010-2017 mother had mastered five languages, English was not one of them.
www.deepenglish.com
Houdini soon began to expose fraudulent mediums. He
declared war on those who exploited people’s grief to
turn a buck. He hounded the scam artists at every
chance.
His experiences didn’t completely close Houdini’s mind to

the possibility of an afterlife, though.
exploit: take unfair genuine: real or true
advantage of someone Before he died in 1926, he made a pact with his wife Bess
that, if possible, he would make contact with her from the a no-show: a person who is
turn a buck: make money, other side. expected but doesn’t
sometimes dishonestly appear
hound: bother; harass He created a secret code only she would know.
pull the plug: quit or stop
something from continuing
scam artists: people that After Houdini died, Bess offered $ 10,000 to anyone who
trick others for profit could help contact her husband. In 1928, a man named
Arthur Ford claimed he had received a message from
Houdini. Bess announced the message used the secret
code and was genuine.
Bess held the last official ‘Houdini séance’ on Halloween in

1936. It was broadcast via radio across the world. Houdini
was a no-show and Bess agreed it was time to pull the
plug on the séances.
04 As the last séance reached its conclusion a terrible storm

raged. Thunder and lightning filled the skies. Many
© Deep English, 2010-2017 thought it was Houdini’s last act from beyond the grave.
www.deepenglish.com Others thought it was mere coincidence.
Attempts to make contact with the dead have existed
throughout history in most cultures. But it isn’t just about
talking to the dead. We want to know that we will live on
after death or at least be remembered.
One way to be remembered is to donate your organs

after death to someone in need. In addition to giving a track down: search for or
try to find
a new lease on life: a new sick person a new lease on life, some people think an
chance to be happy, organ transplant can also transform the recipient’s hooked: addicted; unable
healthy or successful personality. to stop
transplant: receive an
organ from a donor Take the case of 24-year-old Australian David Walters. He
awoke from a heart transplant to find he had suddenly
insatiable: uncontrollable; developed an insatiable craving for a certain flavor of
impossible to satisfy
chip. When he tracked down the family of his heart
donor, he learned that the 18-year-old donor had enjoyed
eating that flavor daily.
In 2014, British man Kevin Mashford underwent a life-

saving heart transplant. After the operation, he asked
hospital staff for a stationary exercise bike and started to
cycle every day.
05 A couple of months after leaving the hospital Kevin

purchased a road bike for the first time in his life. Before
his transplant, Kevin hadn’t spent hardly any time on two-
© Deep English, 2010-2017 wheels, but now he was hooked on his new hobby.
www.deepenglish.com
Kevin received his heart from a man called John, a keen
cyclist who was killed in a collision. Kevin says he took up
cycling to honor John’s memory. He doesn’t believe he
inherited a part of John’s personality, but some people do
say it’s possible. There have been over 70 cases of
transplant patients supposedly inheriting personality
traits of their donors.
keen: like very much; very death’s door: be very close
interested Sonny Graham’s experience was not as positive as Kevin’s to dying
or as harmless as David’s. The American man was on
Inherit: receive something death’s door when a donor’s heart saved his life. reach out: contact
from someone who died; a
genetic trait
The heart had belonged to a man called Terry Cottle. Terry
supposedly: according to was 33 years old when he died from a self-inflicted
what is believed to be true gunshot to the head.
(often shows the speaker
doubts this belief)
After the operation, Sonny reached out to Terry’s widow
Cheryl to thank her.
Something strange happened when they met. He said, “I

felt like I had known her for years. I couldn't keep my eyes
off her.”
The two fell in love and got married. Twelve years after the
06 operation Sonny’s life ended in similar circumstances to
that of his donor. He shot himself with a shotgun. His
suicide was unexpected. Friends and family could not
© Deep English, 2010-2017 explain it.
www.deepenglish.com
Most people would say it was simply a terrible coincidence, but others believe the
heart beating in Sonny’s chest influenced his actions.
Transplant operations are commonplace, but there have been few studies on
what, if anything, is transmitted alongside human cells.
Oxford University's Head of Transplantation Professor Peter Friend says, "My

gut feeling: a strong personal gut feeling is we have no scientific rationale to support this. But we
emotional feeling about should also be open-minded about things we can’t explain.”
something that can’t be
explained
Humans have always tried to transcend death or at least be remembered. But
open-minded: able to who will remember us when there is no one left to remember?
consider new ideas or
different opinions Between our propensity for war and environmental destruction, some say that
humanity’s days are numbered. And even if we do evolve to a more peace-loving
transcend: go beyond
species, our earth has an expiration date. Somewhere between 1.75 billion and
limits
3.25 billion years from now, the Earth will be so close to the Sun that all the water
propensity: a natural will evaporate. And no water means no life. Perhaps by that time, humanity will
tendency to behave a have left our earthly home, but probably we will be just a cosmic memory.
certain way
The only proof that humans ever existed will be two golden records created in
days are numbered: won’t
exist or continue much 1977.
longer
These two records are messages sent deep into space in hopes of one day
07 reaching alien life. They are flying aboard the Voyager I and Voyager II NASA
spacecraft that left Earth in the summer of 1977. The Voyager spacecraft’s mission
was to record and send back data and images of Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and
© Deep English, 2010-2017 Neptune. They have now long passed these planets.
www.deepenglish.com
The spacecraft and its golden records are traveling at over 60,000 kilometers an
hour. To be more precise, that is 17 kilometers a second. The Voyager I is now 20
billion kilometers away from Earth and has left our solar system. Amazingly, the
onboard 1970s built computers are still in touch with Earth. The plutonium
batteries aboard the Voyager I and II will only last another ten years or so. But
even without power, they will continue their speedy journey across the universe.
The contents of the golden records contain spoken greetings in 55 languages. In

in touch with: in contact
with Arabic, it says, “Greetings to our friends in the stars. May time bring us together.”
In English, it says, “Hello from the children of planet Earth.” And in Amoy it says,
do justice: represent “Friends of space, how are you all? Have you eaten yet? Come visit us if you have
someone or something time.”
accurately
make the cut: qualify; be The records also contain 90 minutes of music. Space was limited on the record, so
chosen the producers of the record couldn’t do justice to the depth of human musical
expression. They did do their best to choose a selection of different styles
stingy: not generous including indigenous music, to classical music to rock and roll. The Beatles agreed
to have the song “Here Comes the Sun” on the record, but it didn’t make the cut.
Apparently, their stingy record company was worried that aliens would get to
listen for free so they refused.
The record also includes sounds of earth from wind to waves to heartbeats, to
whale songs, and even the sound of a kiss. It also has brainwave recordings of a
woman contemplating the history of humanity and falling in love.
08
And finally, there are images expressing our knowledge of the stars, chemistry, and
biology, as well as photos of nature and humans.
www.deepenglish.com
Engraved on the record cover are image-based instructions on how to play the
record and a map showing our position in the universe. Not everyone was on
board with the map though. Some feared that giving away our location to a
possibly hostile alien race might not be the smartest thing to do.
US President Jimmy Carter had a more hopeful view of future aliens receiving our
message. He included the following message on the Voyager spacecraft:
on board: in agreement
about something “This is a present from a small distant world, a token of our sounds, our science,
our images, our music, our thoughts, and our feelings. We are attempting to
hostile: not peaceful survive our time so we may live into yours. We hope someday, having solved the
problems we face, to join a community of galactic civilizations. This record
determination: willpower; represents our hope and our determination, and our good will in a vast and
ability to continue to do
awesome universe.”
something even if it is
difficult
09
www.deepenglish.com
ACTIVE SPEAKING / PART A
Harry Houdini was a world famous escape artist.
Who was a world famous escape artist? Harry Houdini was a world famous
escape artist.
He once escaped from a steel and glass coffin hung upside down and filled with
water.
Did he once escape from a steel and glass coffin hung upside down and filled
with water? Yes, he once escaped from a steel and glass coffin hung upside
down and filled with water.
Yet when his mother died in 1920, the great Houdini couldn’t find a way to escape
his own heartbreak and loss.
When his mother died, could Houdini find a way to escape his own
heartbreak and loss? No, when his mother died, Houdini couldn’t find a way
to escape his own heartbreak and loss.
In desperation, the legendary showman turned to spiritualism, a system of belief

based on communicating with the dead.
10
What did the legendary showman turn to? The legendary showman turned
© Deep English, 2010-2017 to spiritualism. Is it a system of belief based on communicating with the
www.deepenglish.com dead? Yes, it is a system of belief based on communicating with the dead.
Houdini was a hard man to convince there was such a thing as life after death.
Was Houdini an easy man or a hard man to convince there was such a thing
as life after death? Houdini was a hard man to convince there was such a
thing as life after death.
Before he made his name as an escape artist, Houdini and his wife Bess often
gave fake public séances to put bread on the table.
Why did Houdini and his wife Bess often give fake public séances? Houdini
and his wife Bess often gave fake public séances to put bread on the table.
He knew all about the trickery used by mediums.
What did he know all about? He knew all about the trickery used by
mediums.
However, Houdini was a desperate man and longed to communicate with his
mother beyond the grave.
Was Houdini a desperate man? Yes, Houdini was a desperate man. Who did
he long to communicate with beyond the grave? He longed to communicate
11 with his mother beyond the grave.

His search for hard and fast proof was all in vain. He said that all the mediums he
www.deepenglish.com
met were “human leeches.”
Was his search for hard and fast proof successful or all in vain? His search
for hard and fast proof was all in vain. What did he say about all the
mediums he met? He said that all the mediums he met were “human
leeches.”
Houdini was good friends with Sherlock Holmes author Arthur Conan Doyle.
What author was Houdini good friends with? Houdini was good friends with
Sherlock Holmes author Arthur Conan Doyle.
However, their friendship ended after Conan Doyle’s wife Jean claimed to have
made contact with Houdini’s dead mother through a technique called automatic
writing.
Did she claim to use a technique to contact Houdini’s mother? Yes, she
claimed to use a technique to contact Houdini’s mother. What was the
technique called? The technique was called automatic writing. What
happened to their friendship? Their friendship ended.
Jean swore the 15 pages of grammatically correct English was a real message from
the afterlife.
12
Did Jean swear the 15 pages of grammatically correct English was a fake
© Deep English, 2010-2017 message or a real message from the afterlife? Jean swore the 15 pages of
www.deepenglish.com grammatically correct English was a real message from the afterlife.
Houdini dismissed it publicly. He said that while his mother had mastered five
languages, English was not one of them.
Did Houdini dismiss it publicly? Yes, Houdini dismissed it publicly. Was

English one of the five languages his mother had mastered? No, English
wasn’t one of the five languages his mother had mastered.
Houdini soon began to expose fraudulent mediums.
What kind of mediums did Houdini begin to expose? Houdini began to

expose fraudulent mediums.
He declared war on those who exploited people’s grief to turn a buck.
What did he declare war on? He declared war on those who exploited
people’s grief to turn a buck.
He hounded the scam artists at every chance.
Who did he hound at every chance? He hounded the scam artists at every
13 chance.

His experiences didn’t completely close Houdini’s mind to the possibility of an
www.deepenglish.com
afterlife, though.
Did his experiences completely close Houdini’s mind to the possibility of an

afterlife? No, his experiences didn’t completely close Houdini’s mind to the
possibility of an afterlife.
Before he died in 1926, he made a pact with his wife Bess that, if possible, he
would make contact with her from the other side.
What did he make with his wife Bess? He made a pact with his wife Bess. Did
he say if possible, he would make contact from the other side? Yes, he said,
if possible, he would make contact with her from the other side.
He created a secret code only she would know.
What did he create that only she would know? He created a secret code only
she would know.
After Houdini died, Bess offered $10,000 to anyone who could help contact her
husband.
How much money did Bess offer? Bess offered $10,000. What did she offer
$10,000 for? She offered $10,000 to anyone who could help contact her
14 husband.
© Deep English, 2010-2017 In 1928, a man named Arthur Ford claimed he had received a message from
www.deepenglish.com Houdini.
Who claimed that he had received a message from Houdini? Arthur Ford
claimed he had received a message from Houdini. When did Arthur Ford
claim he had received a message from Houdini? Arthur Ford claimed he had
received a message from Houdini in 1928.
Bess announced the message used the secret code and was genuine.
Who announced the message used the secret code? Bess announced the
message used the secret code. Did she say it was genuine or fake? She said
it was genuine.
Bess held the last official ‘Houdini séance’ on Halloween in 1936. It was broadcast
via radio across the world.
When did Bess hold the last official ‘Houdini séance’? Bess held the last
official ‘Houdini séance’ on Halloween in 1936. How was it broadcast across
the world? It was broadcast via radio across the world.
Houdini was a no-show and Bess agreed it was time to pull the plug on the
séances.
15
Was Houdini a no-show? Yes, Houdini was a no-show. What did Bess agree it
© Deep English, 2010-2017 was time to pull the plug on? Bess agreed it was time to pull the plug on the
www.deepenglish.com séances.
ACTIVE SPEAKING / PART B
As the last séance reached its conclusion a terrible storm raged. Thunder and
lightning filled the skies.
What raged as the last séance reached its conclusion? A terrible storm raged
as the last séance reached its conclusion. What filled the skies? Thunder and
lightning filled the skies.
Many thought it was Houdini’s last act from beyond the grave. Others thought it
was mere coincidence.
Did many think it was Houdini’s last act from beyond the grave? Yes, many
thought it was Houdini’s last act from beyond the grave. What did others
think it was? Others thought it was mere coincidence.
Attempts to make contact with the dead have existed throughout history in most
cultures.
What attempts have existed throughout history in most cultures? Attempts

to make contact with the dead have existed throughout history in most
16 cultures.
But it isn’t just about talking to the dead. We want to know that we will live on
© Deep English, 2010-2017 after death or at least be remembered.
www.deepenglish.com
Is it just about talking to the dead? No, it isn’t just about talking to the dead.
Do we want to know that we will live on after death or at least be
remembered? Yes, we want to know that we will live on after death or at
least be remembered.
One way to be remembered is to donate your organs after death to someone in

need.
What is one way to be remembered? One way to be remembered is to

donate your organs after death to someone in need.
In addition to giving a sick person a new lease on life, some people think an organ
transplant can also transform the recipient’s personality.
What does an organ transplant give a sick person? An organ transplant gives
a sick person a new lease on life. Do some people think it can also transform
the recipient’s personality? Yes, some people think it can also transform the
recipient’s personality.
Take the case of 24-year-old Australian David Walters. He awoke from a heart
transplant to find he had suddenly developed an insatiable craving for a certain
flavor of chip.
17 Who awoke from a heart transplant? David Walters awoke from a heart
transplant. What did he find he had suddenly developed an insatiable
© Deep English, 2010-2017 craving for? He found he had suddenly developed an insatiable craving for a
www.deepenglish.com certain flavor of chip.
When he tracked down the family of his heart donor, he learned that the 18-year-
old donor had enjoyed eating that flavor daily.
Who did he track down? He tracked down the family of his heart donor.
What did he learn about the 18-year-old donor? He learned that the 18-year-
old donor had enjoyed eating that flavor daily.
In 2014, British man Kevin Mashford underwent a life-saving heart transplant.
What kind of transplant did Kevin Mashford undergo in 2014? Kevin

Mashford underwent a life-saving heart transplant in 2014.
After the operation, he asked hospital staff for a stationary exercise bike and
started to cycle every day.
What did he ask the hospital staff for? He asked the hospital staff for a
stationary exercise bike. What did he start to do every day? He started to
cycle every day.
A couple of months after leaving the hospital Kevin purchased a road bike for the
first time in his life.
18
What did Kevin purchase for the first time in his life? Kevin purchased a
© Deep English, 2010-2017 road bike for the first time in his life. When did he purchase a road bike? He
www.deepenglish.com purchased a road bike a couple of months after leaving the hospital.
Before his transplant, Kevin hadn’t spent hardly any time on two-wheels, but now
he was hooked on his new hobby.
Had Kevin spent a lot of time on two-wheels before his transplant? No,
Kevin hadn’t spent hardly any time on two-wheels before his transplant.
What was he now hooked on? He was now hooked on his new hobby.
Kevin received his heart from a man called John, a keen cyclist who was killed in a
collision.
Did Kevin receive his heart from a man called John? Yes, Kevin received his
heart from a man called John. How was John killed? John was killed in a
collision. Was he a keen cyclist? Yes, he was a keen cyclist.
Kevin says he took up cycling to honor John’s memory.
Why does Kevin say he took up cycling? Kevin says he took up cycling to
honor John’s memory.
He doesn’t believe he inherited a part of John’s personality, but some people do

say it’s possible.
19
What do some people say? Some people say it’s possible. Does he believe he
© Deep English, 2010-2017 inherited a part of John’s personality? No, he doesn’t believe he inherited a
www.deepenglish.com part of John’s personality.
There have been over 70 cases of transplant patients supposedly inheriting

personality traits of their donors.
How many cases have there been of transplant patients supposedly

inheriting personality traits of their donors? There have been over 70 cases
of transplant patients supposedly inheriting personality traits of their
donors.
Sonny Graham’s experience was not as positive as Kevin’s or as harmless as

David’s.
Was Sonny Graham’s experience as positive as Kevin’s or as harmless as

David’s? No, Sonny Graham’s experience was not as positive as Kevin’s or as
harmless as David’s.
The American man was at death’s door when a donor’s heart saved his life.
Was the American man at death’s window or at death’s door when a donor’s
heart saved his life? The American man was at death’s door when a donor’s
heart saved his life.
20 The heart had belonged to a man called Terry Cottle.
© Deep English, 2010-2017 Who had the heart belonged to? The heart had belonged to a man called
www.deepenglish.com Terry Cottle.
Terry was 33 years old when he died from a self-inflicted gunshot to the head.
How old was Terry when he died from a self-inflicted gunshot to the head?
Terry was 33 years old when he died from a self-inflicted gunshot to the
head.
After the operation, Sonny reached out to Terry’s widow Cheryl to thank her.
After the operation, why did Sonny reach out to Terry’s widow Cheryl? After
the operation, Sonny reached out to Terry’s widow Cheryl to thank her.
Something strange happened when they met.
What happened when they met? Something strange happened when they
met.
He said, “I felt like I had known her for years. I couldn't keep my eyes off her."
Did he feel like he had known her for years? Yes, he felt like he had known
her for years. Could he keep his eyes off her? No, he couldn't keep his eyes
21 off her.

www.deepenglish.com
ACTIVE SPEAKING / PART C
The two fell in love and got married. Twelve years after the operation Sonny’s life
ended in similar circumstances to that of his donor.
Did the two fall in love and get married? Yes, the two fell in love and got
married. Did Sonny’s life end in similar circumstances to that of his donor?
Yes, Sonny’s life ended in similar circumstances to that of his donor.
He shot himself with a shotgun. His suicide was unexpected. Friends and family
could not explain it.
What did he shoot himself with? He shot himself with a shotgun. What was
unexpected? His suicide was unexpected. Could friends and family explain
it? No, friends and family could not explain it.
Most people would say it was simply a terrible coincidence, but others believe the
heart beating in Sonny’s chest influenced his actions.
What would most people say about it? Most people would say it was simply
a terrible coincidence. Do others believe the heart beating in Sonny’s chest
influenced his actions? Yes, others believe the heart beating in Sonny’s
22 chest influenced his actions.

Transplant operations are commonplace, but there have been few studies on
www.deepenglish.com what, if anything, is transmitted alongside human cells.
What kind of operations are commonplace? Transplant operations are

commonplace. Have there been many studies or few studies on what is
transmitted alongside human cells? There have been few studies on what is
transmitted alongside human cells.
Oxford University's Head of Transplantation Professor Peter Friend says, "My

personal gut feeling is we have no scientific rationale to support this.”
Does Professor Friend say that his personal gut feeling is we have no
scientific rationale to support this? Yes, Professor Friend says that his
personal gut feeling is we have no scientific rationale to support this.
“But we should also be open-minded about things we can’t explain.”
Should we be closed-minded or open-minded about things we can’t explain?

We should be open-minded about things we can’t explain.
Humans have always tried to transcend death or at least be remembered.
What have humans always tried to do? Humans have always tried to
23 transcend death or at least be remembered.

Between our propensity for war and environmental destruction, some say that
www.deepenglish.com humanity’s days are numbered.
Do we have a propensity for war and environmental destruction? Yes, we

have a propensity for war and environmental destruction. What do some
say are numbered? Some say that humanity’s days are numbered.
And even if we do evolve to a more peace-loving species, our Earth has an

expiration date.
What has an expiration date? Our Earth has an expiration date.
Somewhere between 1.75 billion and 3.25 billion years from now, the Earth will be
so close to the Sun that all the water will evaporate.
What will the Earth be close to somewhere between 1.75 billion and 3.25
billion years from now? The Earth will be close to the Sun somewhere
between 1.75 billion and 3.25 billion years from now. What will happen to
the water? The water will evaporate.
And no water means no life.
What does no water mean? No water means no life.
Perhaps by that time, humanity will have left our earthly home, but probably we
24 will be just a cosmic memory.
By that time, will humanity have left our earthly home? Yes, perhaps by
© Deep English, 2010-2017 that time humanity will have left our earthly home. Will we probably be just
www.deepenglish.com a cosmic memory? Yes, we will probably be just a cosmic memory.
The only proof that humans ever existed will be two golden records created in
1977.
What will be the only proof that humans ever existed? The only proof that
humans ever existed will be two golden records created in 1977.
These two records are messages sent deep into space in hopes of one day
reaching alien life.
Where were they sent? They were sent deep into space. Why were they sent
deep into space? They were sent deep into space in hopes of one day
reaching alien life.
They are flying aboard the Voyager I and Voyager II NASA spacecraft that left Earth
in the summer of 1977.
Are they are flying aboard the Voyager I and Voyager II NASA spacecraft?
Yes, they are flying aboard the Voyager I and Voyager II NASA spacecraft.
When did they leave Earth? They left Earth in the summer of 1977.
The Voyager spacecraft’s mission was to record and send back data and images of
Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune.
25 Was it the Voyager spacecraft’s mission to record and send back data and
images? Yes, it was the Voyager spacecraft’s mission to record and send
© Deep English, 2010-2017 back data and images. What planets were they recording? They were
www.deepenglish.com recording Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune.
They have now long passed these planets.
What have they now long passed? They have now long passed these planets.
The spacecraft and its golden records are traveling at over 60,000 kilometers an
hour.
How many kilometers an hour are the spacecraft and its golden records
traveling? The spacecraft and its golden records are traveling at over 60,000
kilometers an hour.
To be more precise, that is 17 kilometers a second.
How many kilometers a second is that? That is 17 kilometers a second.
The Voyager I is now 20 billion kilometers away from Earth and has left our solar
system.
How many billion kilometers away from Earth is the Voyager I now? The
26 Voyager I is now 20 billion kilometers away from Earth. Is it still in our solar
system? No, it isn’t still in our solar system. It has left our solar system.
www.deepenglish.com Amazingly, the onboard 1970s built computers are still in touch with Earth.
What is still in touch with Earth? The onboard computers are still in touch
with Earth. When were they built? They were built in the 1970s.
The plutonium batteries aboard the Voyager I and II will only last another ten
years or so.
How long will the plutonium batteries aboard the Voyager I and II last? The
plutonium batteries aboard the Voyager I and II will only last another ten
years or so.
27
www.deepenglish.com
ACTIVE SPEAKING / PART D
But even without power, they will continue their speedy journey across the
universe.
Will they continue their speedy journey across the universe without power?
Yes, they will continue their speedy journey across the universe without
power.
The contents of the golden records contain spoken greetings in 55 languages.
What do the golden records contain? The golden records contain spoken
greetings in 55 languages.
In Arabic, it says, “Greetings to our friends in the stars. May time bring us
together.”
What does it say in Arabic? In Arabic it says, “Greetings to our friends in the
stars. May time bring us together.”
In English, it says, “Hello from the children of planet Earth.”
What does it say in English? It says in English, “Hello from the children of
28 planet Earth.”
© Deep English, 2010-2017 And in Amoy it says, “Friends of space, how are you all? Have you eaten yet? Come
www.deepenglish.com visit us if you have time.”
Does it say, “Have you eaten yet?” in Amoy? Yes, it says, "Have you eaten
yet?" in Amoy.
The records also contain 90 minutes of music.
How many minutes of music do the records contain? The records contain 90
minutes of music.
Space was limited on the record, so the producers of the record couldn’t do
justice to the depth of human musical expression.
What was limited on the record? Space was limited on the record. Could the
producers of the record do justice to the depth of human musical
expression? No, the producers of the record couldn’t do justice to the depth
of human musical expression.
They did do their best to choose a selection of different styles including

indigenous music, classical music and rock and roll.
Did they do their best to choose a selection of different styles of music? Yes,
they did their best to choose a selection of different styles of music. What
kind of music did they include? They included a selection of indigenous
29 music, classical music and rock and roll.
© Deep English, 2010-2017 The Beatles agreed to have the song “Here Comes the Sun” on the record, but it
www.deepenglish.com didn’t make the cut.
What band agreed to have the song “Here Comes the Sun” on the record?
The Beatles agreed to have the song “Here Comes the Sun” on the record.
Did it make the cut? No, it didn’t make the cut.
Apparently, their stingy record company was worried that aliens would get to
listen for free so they refused.
Did their stingy record company refuse? Yes, their stingy record company
refused. Why did they refuse? They refused because they were worried that
aliens would get to listen for free.
The record also includes sounds of Earth from wind to waves to heartbeats, to
whale songs, and even the sound of a kiss.
Does the record also include sounds of Earth from wind to waves? Yes, the
record also includes sounds of earth from wind to waves. Does it also
include heartbeats, whale songs and even a kiss? Yes, it also includes
heartbeats, whale songs and even a kiss.
It also has brainwave recordings of a woman contemplating the history of

humanity and falling in love.
30 Does it also have brainwave recordings of a man? No, it doesn’t also have
brainwave recordings of a man. It also has brainwave recordings of a
© Deep English, 2010-2017 woman. Is she contemplating the history of humanity and falling in love?
www.deepenglish.com Yes, she is contemplating the history of humanity and falling in love.
And finally, there are images expressing our knowledge of the stars, chemistry,
and biology, as well as photos of nature and humans.
Are there images expressing our knowledge of the stars, chemistry, and
biology? Yes, there are images expressing our knowledge of the stars,
chemistry, and biology. What other kinds of photos are there? There are
photos of nature and humans as well.
Engraved on the record cover are image-based instructions on how to play the
record and a map showing our position in the universe.
What kind of instructions are there? There are image-based instructions on

how to play the record. Are they engraved on the record cover? Yes, they are
engraved on the record cover. What kind of map is there? There is a map
showing our position in the universe.
Not everyone was on board with the map though.
Was everyone on board with the map? No, not everyone was on board with
31 the map.
Some feared that giving away our location to a possibly hostile alien race might
not be the smartest thing to do.
www.deepenglish.com
Were some afraid of giving away our location? Yes, some were afraid of
giving away our location. Who were they afraid of? They were afraid of a
possibly hostile alien race.
US President Jimmy Carter had a more hopeful view of future aliens receiving our
message.
What US President had a more hopeful view of future aliens receiving our
message? US President Jimmy Carter had a more hopeful view of future
aliens receiving our message.
He included the following message on the Voyager spacecraft:
Where did he include the following message? He included the following

message on the Voyager spacecraft.
“This is a present from a small distant world, a token of our sounds, our science,
our images, our music, our thoughts, and our feelings.”
Is this a present from a large distant world? No, this isn’t a present from a
large distant world. This is a present from a small distant world. Is it a token
32 of our sounds, our science and our music? Yes, it is a token of our sounds,
our science and our music. Is it also a token of alien thoughts, and feelings?
© Deep English, 2010-2017 No, it isn’t a token of alien thoughts and feelings. It is also a token of our
www.deepenglish.com thoughts, and our feelings.
“We are attempting to survive our time so we may live into yours.”
What are we attempting to survive? We are attempting to survive our time.

Why are we attempting to survive our time? We are attempting to survive
our time so we may live into yours.
“We hope someday, having solved the problems we face, to join a community of
galactic civilizations.”
What do we hope to join? We hope to join a community of galactic

civilizations.
“This record represents our hope and our determination, and our good will in a
vast and awesome universe.”
Does this record represent our hope and our determination? Yes, this record
represents our hope and our determination. What else does it represent? It
also represents our good will in a vast and awesome universe.
33
www.deepenglish.com
FUTURE
Harry Houdini will be a world famous escape artist.
Who will be a world famous escape artist? Harry Houdini will be a world
famous escape artist.
He is going to escape from a steel and glass coffin hung upside down and filled
with water.
What is he going to escape from? He is going to escape from a steel and

glass coffin hung upside down and filled with water.
When his mother dies, the great Houdini won’t be able to find a way to escape his
own heartbreak and loss.
Will he be able to find a way to escape his own heartbreak and loss? No, he
won’t be able to find a way to escape his own heartbreak and loss.
In desperation, the legendary showman is going to turn to spiritualism, a system

of belief based on communicating with the dead.
What is the legendary showman going to turn to? The legendary showman
34 is going to turn to spiritualism.
Houdini will be a hard man to convince that there is such a thing as life after
death.
www.deepenglish.com
FUTURE
Will Houdini be a hard man to convince or an easy man to convince?

Houdini will be a hard man to convince.
Before he makes his name as an escape artist, Houdini and his wife Bess will
often give fake public séances to put bread on the table.
Will they give public séances to eat bread on the table? No, they won’t give
public séances to eat bread on the table. They will give public séances to
put bread on the table. Will they give real public séances or fake public
séances? They will give fake public séances.
He will know all about the trickery used by mediums.
What will he know all about? He will know all about the trickery used by
mediums.
However, Houdini will be a desperate man and will long to communicate with his
mother beyond the grave.
What kind of man will he be? He will be a desperate man. Who will he long
to communicate with? He will long to communicate with his mother beyond
the grave.
35
His search for hard and fast proof will be all in vain.
What will be all in vain? His search for hard and fast proof will be all in vain.
www.deepenglish.com
FUTURE
He is going to say that all the mediums he met are “human leeches.”
Is he going to say that all the mediums are human heroes? No, he isn’t
going to say that all the mediums are human heroes. He is going to say that
all the mediums are human leeches.
Houdini will be good friends with Sherlock Holmes author Arthur Conan Doyle.
Who will be good friends with Arthur Conan Doyle? Houdini will be good
friends with Arthur Conan Doyle.
However, their friendship is going to end after Conan Doyle’s wife Jean claims to
have made contact with Houdini’s dead mother.
When is their friendship going to end? Their friendship is going to end after
Conan Doyle’s wife Jean claims to have made contact with Houdini’s dead
mother.
36
www.deepenglish.com
PRESENT CONTINUOUS
Jean is swearing the 15 pages of grammatically correct English was a real

message from Houdini’s mother.
Is Jean swearing it was a real message from her mother? No, Jean isn’t
swearing it was a real message from her mother. She is swearing it was a
real message from Houdini’s mother.
Houdini is exposing the fraudulent mediums.
Who is he exposing? He is exposing the fraudulent mediums.
He is declaring war on those who exploit people’s grief to turn a buck.
Is he declaring war on those who exploit people’s grief? Yes, he is declaring

war on those who exploit people’s grief. Are they exploiting people’s grief
for fun? No, they aren’t exploiting people’s grief for fun. They are exploiting
people’s grief to turn a buck.
He is hounding the scam artists at every chance.
Who is he hounding at every chance? He is hounding the scam artists at

37 every chance.
His experiences aren’t completely closing Houdini’s mind to the possibility of an

afterlife, though.
www.deepenglish.com
PRESENT CONTINUOUS
Are his experiences closing Houdini’s mind to the possibility of the afterlife?
No, his experiences aren’t completely closing Houdini’s mind to the
possibility of an afterlife.
Before he dies, he is making a pact with his wife Bess that, if possible, he will
make contact with her from the other side.
Who is he making a pact with? He is making a pact with his wife Bess. What
kind of pact is he making with his wife Bess? He is making a pact that if
possible, he will make contact with her from the other side.
He is creating a secret code only she would know.
What is he creating? He is creating a secret code only she would know.
After Houdini died, Bess is offering $10,000 to anyone who can help contact her
husband.
How much money is Bess offering? Bess is offering $10,000. What is she
38 offering $10,000 for? She is offering $10,000 to anyone who can help contact
her husband.
© Deep English, 2010-2017 In 1928, a man named Arthur Ford is claiming to receive a message from Houdini.
www.deepenglish.com
PRESENT CONTINUOUS
Who is claiming to receive a message from Houdini? Arthur Ford is claiming

to receive a message from Houdini. When is he claiming to receive a
message from Houdini? He is claiming to receive a message from Houdini in
1928.
Bess is announcing that the message is genuine.
What is Bess announcing? Bess is announcing that the message is genuine.
Bess is holding the last official ‘Houdini séance’ on Halloween in 1936.
Is she holding the last official Houdini séance or the first official Houdini
séance? She is holding the last official Houdini séance. When is she holding
it? She is holding it on Halloween in 1936.
It is being broadcast via radio across the world.
Is it being broadcast across the country? No, it isn’t being broadcast across
the country. It’s being broadcast across the world.
Houdini is not appearing. Bess is agreeing it is time to pull the plug on the
séances.
39
Who is not appearing? Houdini is not appearing. Is Bess agreeing it is time
to pull the plug on the séances? Yes, Bess is agreeing it is time to pull the
plug on the séances.
www.deepenglish.com
PRESENT CONTINUOUS
As the last séance reached its conclusion a terrible storm is raging.
What is raging? A terrible storm is raging.
Thunder and lightning are filling the skies.
What is filling the skies? Thunder and lightning are filling the skies.
Many people are thinking it is Houdini’s last act from beyond the grave. Others
are thinking it is mere coincidence.
What are many people thinking? Many people are thinking it is Houdini’s
last act from beyond the grave. Are others thinking it is mere coincidence?
Yes, others are thinking it is mere coincidence.
40
www.deepenglish.com
PAST CONTINUOUS
24-year-old Australian David Walters was waking from a heart transplant.
Who was waking from a heart transplant? 24-year-old Australian David

Walters was waking from a heart transplant.
He was suddenly developing an insatiable craving for a certain flavor of chip.
What kind of craving was he developing? He was developing an insatiable

craving for a certain flavor of chip.
After tracking down the family of his heart donor, he was learning that the 18-
year-old donor had enjoyed eating that flavor daily.
What was he learning about his 18-year-old donor? He was learning that the
18-year-old donor had enjoyed eating that flavor daily.
In 2014, British man Kevin Mashford was undergoing a life-saving heart

transplant.
When was he undergoing a transplant? He was undergoing a transplant in

41 2014. What kind of transplant was he undergoing? He was undergoing a life-
saving heart transplant.
© Deep English, 2010-2017 After the operation, he was asking hospital staff for a stationary exercise bike and
www.deepenglish.com starting to cycle every day.
PAST CONTINUOUS
What was he asking hospital staff for? He was asking hospital staff for a
stationary exercise bike. What was he starting to do every day? He was
starting to cycle every day.
A couple of months after leaving the hospital, Kevin was purchasing a road bike
for the first time in his life.
What was he purchasing for the first time in his life? He was purchasing a
road bike for the first time in his life. When was he purchasing a road bike?
He was purchasing a road bike a couple of months after leaving the
hospital.
Before his transplant, Kevin wasn’t spending hardly any time on two-wheels, but
now he was feeling hooked on his new hobby.
What was he feeling hooked on? He was feeling hooked on his new hobby.
Kevin says he was cycling to honor John’s memory.
What did he say he was cycling for? He said he was cycling to honor John’s
42 memory.
He wasn’t saying he inherited a part of John’s personality, but some people were
saying it’s possible.
www.deepenglish.com
PAST CONTINUOUS
Was he saying he inherited a part of John’s personality? No, he wasn’t

saying he inherited a part of John’s personality. Were some people saying
it’s possible? Yes, some people were saying it’s possible.
Seventy transplant patients were supposedly inheriting personality traits of their

donors.
What were they supposedly doing? They were supposedly inheriting

personality traits of their donors. How many patients were supposedly
inheriting personality traits of their donors? Seventy patients were
supposedly inheriting personality traits of their donors.
Sonny Graham was nearing death’s door when a donor’s heart saved his life.
What was he nearing? He was nearing death’s door.
He was receiving a heart from a man called Terry Cottle.
Who was he receiving a heart from? He was receiving a heart from a man
called Terry Cottle.
After the operation, Sonny was contacting Terry’s widow Cheryl to thank her.
43
Who was contacting Terry’s widow? Sonny was contacting Terry’s widow.
© Deep English, 2010-2017 Why was he contacting Terry’s widow? He was contacting Terry’s widow to
www.deepenglish.com thank her.
PAST CONTINUOUS
Something strange was happening when they met.
Was something normal happening or something strange happening?

Something strange was happening. When was something strange
happening? Something strange was happening when they met.
He was feeling like he had known her for years. The two were falling in love.
Was he feeling like he was meeting her for the first time? No, he wasn’t
feeling like he was meeting her for the first time. He was feeling like he had
known her for years. Were they falling in love or falling out of love? They
were falling in love.
44
www.deepenglish.com
PRESENT PERFECT
Humans have always tried to transcend death or at least be remembered.
What have humans always tried to transcend? Humans have always tried
to transcend death.
Between our propensity for war and environmental destruction, some have said
that humanity’s days are numbered.
Have some said we will live forever? No, some haven’t said we will live
forever. Some have said that humanity’s days are numbered.
Two golden records have been created in 1977.
What has been created in 1977? Two golden records have been created in
1977.
These two records have been sent deep into space in hopes of one day reaching
alien life.
Where have they been sent? They have been sent deep into space. Have
they been sent deep into space in hopes of one day reaching alien life? Yes,
45 they have been sent deep into space in hopes of one day reaching alien life.
What has been sent deep into space in hopes of one day reaching alien life?
Two records have been sent deep into space in hopes of one day reaching
alien life.
www.deepenglish.com
PRESENT PERFECT
They have been flying aboard the Voyager I and Voyager II NASA spacecraft that
left Earth in the summer of 1977.
Have they been flying aboard NASA spacecraft? Yes, they have been flying
aboard NASA spacecraft.
The Voyager spacecraft’s mission has been to record and send back data and
images of Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune.
Has the mission been to record and send back data and images? Yes, the
mission has been to record and send back data and images.
They have now long passed these planets.
What have they long passed? They have long passed these planets.
The spacecraft and its golden records have been traveling at over 60,000
kilometers an hour, which is 17 kilometers a second.
How many kilometers an hour have they been traveling at? They have been
46 traveling at 60,000 kilometers an hour.
The Voyager I has now traveled 20 billion kilometers away from Earth and has left
our solar system.
www.deepenglish.com
PRESENT PERFECT
What has left our solar system? The Voyager I has left our solar system.
Amazingly, the onboard 1970s built computers have still kept in touch with Earth.
What have they still kept in touch with? They have still kept in touch with
Earth.
The record creators have engraved image-based instructions on how to play the
record and a map showing our position in the universe.
Have they engraved sound based instructions? No, they haven’t engraved
sound based instructions. They have engraved image-based instructions.
What kind of map have they included? They have included a map that
shows our position in the universe.
Not everyone has been on board with the map though.
Has everyone been on board with the map? No, not everyone has been on
board with the map.
Some have feared that giving away our location to a possibly hostile alien race
47 might not be the smartest thing to do.
What have some feared? Some have feared that giving away our location to
a possibly hostile alien race might not be the smartest thing to do.
www.deepenglish.com
CONVERSATION LESSON
Dan: A-rone!
Aaron: What's going down man?
Dan: Talking about Houdini today.
Aaron: Houdini, huh?
Dan: Houdini.
Aaron: The magician?
Dan: You know how Houdini died?
Aaron: I heard he was punched in the stomach.
Dan: Yeah.
Aaron: Have you ever been punched in the stomach?
Dan: Oh yeah.
48
Aaron: By whom?
www.deepenglish.com Dan: I've never asked to be punched in the stomach.
CONVERSATION LESSON
Aaron: Well, most people don't ask to be punched in the stomach.
Dan: I think Houdini did.
Aaron: Yeah that's right.
Dan: Somebody….he said, "Punch me in the stomach."
Aaron: But I think he got punched when he wasn't ready for it.
Dan: Right, the guy was trying to take him out.
Aaron: Yeah. And he did.
Dan: Is that is a sucker punch? I guess that is a sucker punch.
Aaron: That is a sucker punch if the intention was to do damage.
Dan: Right. You sound very certain of that.
Aaron: I do. I do sound certain.

49
Dan: Sounds like you've done some sucker punch reffing.
www.deepenglish.com Aaron: Sucker punch. Have you ever been sucker punched?
CONVERSATION LESSON
Dan: Yeah, sure. You've never been punched?
Aaron: No, I've been sucker punched. I got punched once by a kid, when I was a
kid.
Dan: Once?
Aaron: Yeah. It was kind of crazy 'cause I had a big stick in my hand. I didn't hit
him. I didn't hit him.
Dan: Good for you.
Aaron: Yeah, I had some restraint, even as a youngster.
Dan: Even at that age.
Aaron: Even as a youngster.
Dan: Your Bodhisattva ways.
Aaron: I had a very large stick in my hand.
50 Dan: You got sucker punched. You had a large stick in hand. And then what'd you
do? You hit your self in the head with it?
© Deep English, 2010-2017 Aaron: No. I went to swing and hit him and then I just heard this voice in my
www.deepenglish.com head that says, "Don't do that." And I stopped. I mean, and then I just-
CONVERSATION LESSON
Dan: Did you turn around and your mother was there?
Aaron: No. But I got in trouble anyway. I didn't know why I got in trouble.
Dan: You got in trouble?
Aaron: I got in trouble, yeah.
Dan: That's bogus.
Aaron: Yeah, it's ridiculous. Anyway.
Dan: How old were you?
Aaron: I was probably fourth grade so that put me at 10 years old maybe. Yeah,
18.
Dan: A little slow.
Aaron: 18
Dan: Just a big kid.

51
Aaron: But yeah, Houdini died of a-
www.deepenglish.com Dan: Ruptured spleen. Was that it? Or did you just make that up?
CONVERSATION LESSON
Aaron: Something like that. No.
Dan: You made it up.
Aaron: I could have made it up yeah. Ruptured spleen. Why not?
Dan: Houdini. Yeah I don't really like escape artists.
Aaron: You don't like them huh?
Dan: No, I feel like they're just showoffs.
Aaron: What's the famous one today? That guy that ... What's the guy? The
famous new magician? David Blaine that's the one.
Dan: No, but who's the guy who, Chris Angel.
Aaron: That's another one yeah. There's two of them yeah.
Dan: Right. Yeah I guess David Blaine's like that too. He's done underwater...
Aaron: A lot of stunts like that. But anyway, yeah Houdini tried to ... Well he did a
52 lot of things with the dead, I guess. While he was alive and then he tried to
contact his wife I guess, when he was dead.
www.deepenglish.com Dan: And apparently he used to be a scammer himself.
CONVERSATION LESSON
Aaron: Well, I'm sure there's a bit of scammery to some of the performances
that place with magicians. You're trying to create illusions in people's minds. I
guess there's….
Dan: Right, but at the same time you're not really claiming to do supernatural
magic. But apparently he did. He did fake seances in his earlier life.
Aaron: Now for those who do not know what a seance is, how would you
describe a seance?
Dan: Sit down, communication with the dead.
Aaron: Have you ever taken part in a seance?
Dan: I don't really know.
Aaron: You've done something. Otherwise you would have said no.
Dan: Yeah, I guess I have. I guess quite a, yeah. Alright, I got a story for you.
Aaron: Okay.
53 Dan: In my youth, I had a girlfriend in Brazil. Her place was robbed. In the
morning, my wallet was 50% lighter, which is very odd. You'd think if it was a
© Deep English, 2010-2017 robber they would have taken the whole thing. But somebody took, I don't
www.deepenglish.com remember if it was 50, some percentage of it. A substantial amount of money.
CONVERSATION LESSON
Aaron: It all wasn't there.
Dan: My girlfriend at the time took us to this psychic. And the psychic said that I
stole the money.
Aaron: From yourself?
Dan: Yes. Luckily I didn't pay for the psychic. And my girlfriend didn't buy it either.
But that seemed a little unlikely.
Aaron: A little fishy.
Dan: So unlikely that I would have robbed myself.
Aaron: Yeah that doesn't add up, does it? No.
Dan: But yeah, that was one seance that I've sat in on. Which, I didn't really
believe. Actually I've been to a couple seances. None of them really left me
convinced.
Aaron: Oh that there was contact with the dead? Actual contact.
54 Dan: Yeah. I believe it's possible.
Aaron: I'm open to the fact that that is possible, sure. I mean there's maybe no
© Deep English, 2010-2017 scientific evidence for it. But as one of those sayings in the lesson. You should be
www.deepenglish.com open to possibilities.
CONVERSATION LESSON
Dan: Right.
Aaron: Even if science doesn't prove it.
Dan: You ever been in a seance?
Aaron: No. But I think I fooled around a little bit when I was a teenager with the
Ouija board and some of my friends. Those are just for fun and kicks and grins
or whatever. Didn't contact any dead people.
Dan: Did anybody try to pretend like-
Aaron: Oh sure. What else you gonna do? Otherwise you'll sit there all night just
with your hands.
Dan: Holding hands on it.
Aaron: You gotta move it a little bit right? Just to have some fun.
Dan: No, but did any of you pretend like you were the ghost and try to fool your
friends into-
55
Aaron: Yeah, I think that's the whole point of it.
www.deepenglish.com Dan: Is that the whole point? I don't know. I've never done it.
CONVERSATION LESSON
Aaron: But anyway, no nothing serious about that. Have you seen a ghost? Have
you ever seen or interacted with ghosts or spirits?
Dan: No, no, no. What about you?
Aaron: No, no.
Dan: I believe it's possible.
Aaron: It could very well be.
Dan: That should be the title to this month's story. Could Very Well Be.
Aaron: Could Very Well Be. But it ain't.
Dan: Well the Houdini story, that was the real deal. It was all about fakers. The
transplant story, that's a little bit more out there.
Aaron: Yeah, no that one is very curious. If it were just one instance. Let's say a
guy gets a heart transplant and he falls in love with the woman that was in love
56 with the guy who he got the heart from. That's just one instance of it. It could just
be coincidence. But you have 70 recorded instances.
© Deep English, 2010-2017 Dan: 70 supposed instances.

www.deepenglish.com
CONVERSATION LESSON
Aaron: Instances of this. Yeah, that seems like a high number. There might be
something to it.
Dan: Yeah. Now they're finding out that the bacteria in our body, in our guts, can
affect our mental states. Something that people would have thought was crazy
decades ago.
Aaron: Yeah, sure.
Dan: So who knows. Maybe there is some way that an organ can transfer
something.
Aaron: Do you ingest lots of bacteria every day?
Dan: We all do.
Aaron: Yeah, well I'm asking you specifically. Do you, Daniel K. Douglass…
Dan: You roll around in mud a lot.
Aaron: …Do you eat lots of bacteria?

57
Dan: You dirty… What do you really want to say Aaron? Rude. How dare you!
www.deepenglish.com Aaron: I think you're full of bacteria, that's what I think.
CONVERSATION LESSON
Dan: Did your mother ever make you wash your mouth out with soap?
Aaron: Once. Yes, when I was four years old.
Dan: Uh-huh, you were swearing at four.
Aaron: I said some very bad words and she put a bar of soap on my tongue. And
that was the last time I did it around her.
Dan: It was just a dab though. She didn't scrub away?
Aaron: No, she didn't scrub away. She just made me put the soap on my tongue.
Dan: For how long?
Aaron: I don't know, five minutes maybe. Something like that.
Dan: I thought you were going to say a second.
Aaron: It was a horrible experience. But it worked. I never swore around her after
that.
58 Dan: You ever do that with your kids?
Aaron: No, no, no. I don't need to.

www.deepenglish.com Dan: Too busy swearing at them?
CONVERSATION LESSON
Aaron: Yeah, that's right. I'm the one swearing. I would be quite the hypocrite if I
were to do that.
Dan: Transplants. You ever know anybody who's gotten a new organ?
Aaron: No, not personally, no. How about you?
Dan: No. But one day, I hope.
Aaron: You hope?
Dan: That by the time we're in need of organs we'll be able to clone.
Aaron: Yeah, well that's the thing. We wouldn't have to actually receive a
transplant from another person, we can actually grow a new kidney, a new heart.
Whatever we need.
Dan: We can grow our own. And maybe that will bring something weird to our
consciousness. A cloned organ.
Aaron: Yeah, it could be like double Dan or double Aaron. It's like an extra dose
of yourself. That could be quite dangerous, actually.
59
Dan: Is that what you stay up at night worrying about?
www.deepenglish.com Aaron: I worry about that. I worry if I get a heart transplant from my own heart it-
CONVERSATION LESSON
Dan: That's a sign that somebody's life is good that you can worry about that.
Aaron: Life is pretty good. It's pretty good.
Dan: Life is good. And we have time to research and tell these crazy stories.
Aaron: That's right.
Dan: Part of me felt like, well that's kind of silly.
Aaron: What?
Dan: Are these people really inheriting something from their donor? The organ
transplant people.
Aaron: Right.
Dan: But you know, it's possible.
Aaron: Well you have to remember that everything is interconnected with our
bodies and minds. And if you introduce a new energy, a new form of life that
comes from a different form, who's to say that that doesn't on some very subtle
level influence the way your energy is flowing in your body and the way your
60 brain comes up with different desires and fears and thoughts, who knows.
© Deep English, 2010-2017 Dan: What if you needed a new heart and the only available donor was Charles
www.deepenglish.com Manson?
CONVERSATION LESSON
Aaron: Okay, some mass murderer?
Dan: Yeah, some serial killer evil, evil person. And he just died and the doctor
said, "We got a heart. But it's Charles Manson, the notorious serial killer."?
Aaron: Yeah, but isn't he like 80 years old or something? I don't know if I'd want
an 80-year-old heart.
Dan: He's really healthy. He's been working out the whole time. Would you take
that? Or they said there's probably another one coming in a couple weeks.
Aaron: But I might die before I get it.
Dan: Yeah.
Aaron: I don't know Dan. That's a tough call.
Dan: Now you got a new thing to worry about.
Aaron: Actually, had I not researched this story and knew about the connection, I
might take it. And then you can look at is as, okay, I'll take his heart and now I'm
going to do something good with that heart.
61
Dan: What about the house?
www.deepenglish.com Aaron: The house? What do you mean?
CONVERSATION LESSON
Dan: Yeah, Charles Manson's house? Or a house where something horrible had
happened.
Aaron: Oh like living in the house with something?
Dan: Yeah, would you feel something is left behind? Or would you feel like, wow,
this is a really good deal? I can get this house cheap.
Aaron: Very cheap. I wouldn't want to live in someone's house where something
terrible happened.
Dan: Even if it was 50% off?
Aaron: Yeah. Come on, there's a million houses in the world. I don't need to live
in that house.
Dan: Even if it was a dollar. It was like a mansion overlooking the ocean for a
dollar. But there was a cult where everyone was wiped out.
Aaron: Yeah. I don't think I'd want to do that, no.
Dan: A dollar.
62
Aaron: How about you? Would you take it?
www.deepenglish.com Dan: Oh yeah.
CONVERSATION LESSON
Aaron: Oh really?
Dan: Ocean view, for sure. The ocean, that cancels out any bad juju.
Aaron: Alright, I'll come visit you in the daytime, but not the night.
Dan: That definitely cancels out bad juju.
Aaron: I don't know.
Dan: And the voyager, The Voyager Golden Records, that was a great story.
Aaron: Yeah, that was pretty cool. I wonder who the group of people was that
actually got to make those selections and choose the-
Dan: Carl Sagan, was-
Aaron: Only one person?
Dan: Well he was the head of a team.
Aaron: Oh, he was the head of a team. Okay.

63
Dan: Yeah and the voice of his son appears on it saying, "Nice to meet you.
© Deep English, 2010-2017 Greetings from children of the earth." In English. That's the only greeting in
www.deepenglish.com English.
CONVERSATION LESSON
Aaron: Oh that's it huh?
Dan: And that's his son. He really monopolizes his family. He had his son on
there. And then he got to choose, coordinate the whole thing. And he had the
brainwaves of his soon-to-be wife contemplating the human experience.
Aaron: Wow.
Dan: And he probably got to choose a lot of the music.
Aaron: How about that.
Dan: That would have been a hard decision to make. How do you include? How
do you choose?
Aaron: And then how do you decide what's-
Dan: And where do the Beatles record company get off worrying about aliens
listening to music for free?
Aaron: I don't know. That sounds insane to me.
64 Dan: Yeah.
© Deep English, 2010-2017 Aaron: They don't want aliens listening for free. Now we have to charge aliens,
www.deepenglish.com we have to charge them in the universal currency.
CONVERSATION LESSON
Dan: Yeah, a billion years from now, there might be-
Aaron: A billion years from now. Copyright violations. Aliens, that's their first
experience with human life. They get criminalized.
Dan: But the way they really thought about how to communicate with a species
that ... Obviously they're not going to understand our language.
Aaron: Well we don't know anything. We have no idea what it is or what it could
be.
Dan: Like even how to play a record. So they have this record. This made out of
gold that's supposed to last in space where there's not any friction or anything
wearing it down. Even I think, it's just interstellar radiation, which would take
billions of years to do anything to it. It's going to exist. But how are they going to
know what to do with it? So they engrave these images on the record showing a
circular record with a needle next to it. It also comes with some kind of stylus
made with some kind of super durable material. And then a side-view of the
record and the stylus on it. The next hurdle is how do you teach the aliens what
speed that it's supposed to revolve around?
65 Aaron: But doesn't that seem like a little bit condescending in the sense that
they're assuming that the aliens won't know how to do that? Maybe the aliens are
so far intelligent, so much more intelligent than we can possible imagine, they'll
www.deepenglish.com
look at that and be like, "A record? Jeez, okay let's play this, come on."
CONVERSATION LESSON
Dan: Maybe it would be so rudimentary that they wouldn't be able to ... There's
stuff from the ancient Egyptians that we look at that we don't know.
Aaron: Yeah, I suppose.
Dan: That maybe had some important use.
Aaron: But we're humans. We may be pretty dumb compared to other forms of
life.
Dan: Yeah. But listen to how they did the timing. Apparently hydrogen is the most
common element in the universe.
Aaron: Yeah.
Dan: So they thought that, that ... So they had a picture of hydrogen in two
different states. And apparently it's a universal constant. The amount of time it
takes between shifting from one state to the other state. Something like some
billionth of a second. So they used that as a time marker to say this many
intervals of transitioning from this form of hydrogen to the other form of
hydrogen is the speed at which it revolves.
66
Aaron: Oh, at which this needs to turn in order to hear the sound.
www.deepenglish.com Dan: Yeah, and this is all done in a symbol-like way.
CONVERSATION LESSON
Aaron: Wow. A lot of thought went into that, huh?
Dan: Yeah. Which also could, I mean this could be like fish people telepathic fish
people with no eyeballs. No eyeballs, no ears.
Aaron: Or it could be some form of alien that eats gold. And they're just like,
"Wow what a feast." And they just eat it.
Dan: Yeah, it's like the rarest delicacy. They'd be like, "Whoa, it's a whole plate of
it."
Aaron: It's just food.
Dan: But they figure the sound was something that is going to exist all over the
universe and that aliens will evolve differently. But it may be something that
would benefit creatures evolving in different states to be able to react to sound.
Aaron: Yeah, it's pretty far out man. I wonder how long it's going to be before
someone actually finds that or some species actually finds it.
Dan: Yeah, or never. It's just a message to ourself.

67
Aaron: It could just float in space, like forever. Wow. I assume there are no Deep
English lessons on that gold... I guess that's the question. Maybe if that had been
www.deepenglish.com
created, let's say last year. Would they have put Deep English lessons on it?
CONVERSATION LESSON
Dan: Yeah well, we should send our own.
Aaron: We should make our own.
Dan: We should make a little Kickstarter.
Aaron: Deep English space probe.
Dan: Teach English.
Aaron: Spreading English.
Dan: Across the galaxy.
Aaron: Across the galaxy.
Dan: Alright, we should get started on that plan right now.
Aaron: Yeah, let's do it.
Dan: Alright, my friend.
Aaron: Okay, well I guess we'll be talking soon.

68
Dan: Fare thee well.
www.deepenglish.com Aaron: Alright, take care.
CONVERSATIONAL VOCABULARY
Hello, everyone. In this recording, I'm going to talk about some of the words and
phrases that Dan and I used in our conversation this month.
1. What's going down?

The first one is what I say to Dan at the very beginning of the conversation,
"What's goin' down, man?" What's goin' down, man? That's a way to say hello to
someone in a very colloquial, casual way. Both men and women can say it. You
hear men say it a little bit more than women, this particular collocation, "What's
goin' down, man?" It's also another way of saying what's going on or how's it
going or what's happening. These are just very casual colloquial ways of greeting
someone.
2. That's bogus
The next one is "that's bogus." We're talking about the time when I got sucker
punched in the head. I was holding a big stick at the time, and I decided not to hit
the person that punched me, and I still got in trouble, and Dan says, "What? You
still got in trouble?" I said, "Yeah, I got in trouble," and Dan says, "That's bogus."
That was his reaction to it.
69
www.deepenglish.com
Now, the term bogus, if you look it up in the dictionary, it means not true. It's
something fake. It's not genuine. It's bogus. It's a bogus Rolex watch. It's not
genuine. It's a fake. You can buy those on the streets. But in this instance, the
expression, that's bogus, in response to me getting in trouble for not doing
something that I would have done otherwise, which was actually a good thing,
Dan says, "That's bogus," and what he means is that's ridiculous, that's not right,
that shouldn't be like this. Sometimes people will use this phrase, that's bogus, to
mean that's ridiculous, that's bogus, that's, in common slang, would be that's
bullshit. That's bogus. That's what it means.
3. showoff
Moving along, the next is "showoff." What's a showoff? We're talking about
escape artist like Houdini, and Dan says, "I don't really like escape artists," and I
say, "You don't like them?" He says, "No, I feel they're just showoffs." What's a
showoff? Well, a show off is someone who likes to be the center of attention, and
they like to draw attention to themselves by showing something that they
consider to be, and others perhaps, attractive.
For example, some people buy really expensive sports cars, and they drive them
through very crowded areas of the downtown to show them off. That's actually a
nice phrasal verb to show something off. They show off their cars. They show off
their jewelry, their clothes. They are showoffs. Someone with a muscular body
70 who works out every day is certainly not going to keep that muscular body
underneath many layers of clothing. They're going to show it off to others, so
© Deep English, 2010-2017 they'll go to the beach or they'll go to the park, they'll take off their shirt, and
www.deepenglish.com they'll show off their muscles.
You can also show off your skills if you're a musician or an actor or an athlete or
something like that. To just do something in a very public way that draws
attention is a show off. Dan's using this in a negative way. He doesn't like
showoffs, he doesn't like people who show off. That's what it means. Perhaps you
know some showoffs in your neighborhood or maybe at work, or maybe you
knew some showoffs at your school when you were much younger.
4. scammer
The next is a "scammer." What's a scammer? We're talking about Houdini, still,
and Dan says, "Apparently, he used to be a scammer." Then I respond by saying,
"Yeah, well, I'm sure there's a bit of scammery to some of the performances that
take place with magicians." To scam, the verb, to scam means to trick or deceive a
person, usually for money, and it's a very dishonest thing to do. You're tricking
someone into giving you their money. It's a scam. To scam is to trick. A scam is
something that tricks you into giving you the money, and of course, the person
who does this is the scammer.
Now, I sort of turn scam into a different noun, scammery, which basically
describes the act of scamming, so I'm sure there's a bit of scammery, some
scammy things happening in these performances. Of course, in the magician
performance, we're not talking about the deception for money. We're talking
71 about the deception of the eyes, optical illusions to make it look like it's actually
something magical, when in fact, they're probably or almost certainly are reasons
© Deep English, 2010-2017 for why these magic tricks do what they do. We just don't know what those
www.deepenglish.com reasons are, and our eyes get fooled and tricked and scammed, like this.
5. kicks and grins

Let's move on to "kicks and grins." Dan says, "Have you ever been in a seance,
Aaron?" and I say, "No, but when I was a teenager, I fooled around with a Ouija
Board with some of my friends. It was just for fun and kicks and grins or
whatever. We didn't actually contact any dead people."
There's a couple of things going on here. First of all, the term for kicks, to do
something for kicks means to do it for fun. One of my friends goes to horse races
on Sundays for kicks. Another woman I know goes to the shopping center every
weekend for kicks. When I was young, my cousin used to ride his motorcycle off
road for kicks. They do it for fun, for kicks. What do you do for kicks?
Another way you might hear this is, how do you get your kicks? My cousin got his
kicks from riding a motorcycle. The guy I know gets his kicks from going to horse
races, and the woman I know gets her kicks from visiting the shopping center
every weekend. She doesn't buy anything, but she just has fun looking at things
and being around lots of people and lights and things like that.
72
www.deepenglish.com
Actually, there's a famous song from the 1940s called Route 66, and one of the
main lyrics was, "Get your kicks on Route 66." That means when you're driving
across the historic Route 66 in the United States, you're having lots of fun. You're
getting your kicks on Route 66. We can add "and grins" to this, kicks and grins,
and grins would refer to laughs because when you grin, you are smiling, and it
refers to happiness and laughter. We just say the Ouija Board is just for kicks and
grins. It's just for kicks and grins, fun and laughs.
You might hear a more vulgar instance of this, shits and grins. Some people
might say that. It's a little bit more vulgar. Be careful when you use it. For
example, when I was a teenager, my friends and I would skip rocks across the
pond for kicks and grins, or we would shoot a BB gun for shits and grins, like this.
It just means having fun.
6. ain't
Moving on. The next one is "ain't." Dan says, "The title to this month's story could
be, could very well be," and I said, "Could very well be, but it ain't," so I'm having
fun with that. Ain't is another way of saying is not or are not, and it's very
colloquial. It's also very Southern-style English, most common in the South of the
US. It just means is not. It's just another way of saying is not, but I wouldn't use it
if I were you. You should just be aware of it. I use it in a playful context, which I
73 suppose you could as well, but typically speaking, it just doesn't sound very nice.
You should use it isn't or they aren't or something like this.
www.deepenglish.com
7. something to it
Moving on, the next one is "something to it." We're talking about transplants,
organ transplants and how there have been over 70 recorded instances of people
receiving transplants, taking on some kind of personality change that was
connected to the person who donated the organ. Wow, there's over 70 recorded
instances to this, and I say, "That seems like a high number. There might be
something to it." When you use this phrase, something to it, it means there is
some kind of substance to this situation, there's some kind of potential credibility,
some kind of casual relationship. It's not purely coincidental. It's not a
coincidence. There's something to it. There's some kind of substance there, some
kind of reasoning that's happening.
For example, let's imagine that in the month of July, there were 10 accidents in a
certain region on the highway, and none of those accidents were caused by tires
exploding, but in the next month, there are suddenly dozens of accidents caused
by exploding tires. It turns out that when they looked at what kind of tires they
were, they were brand new tires from a company that just released them at the
end of the previous month, and so suddenly, there was a defect, obviously. If you
didn't know that, you might think, "Hmm, there's something to this. It's not just a
coincidence that, suddenly, there's all these accidents with exploding tires. There
has to be a reason. There must be something to it," like this. That's what that
74 means, and that's how you use it.

www.deepenglish.com
8. juju
The next is "juju." Dan's talking about buying a mansion overlooking the ocean
for a dollar, but it was where many people were murdered. Would you take this?
Of course, joking around, and I say, "No way. I wouldn't want to live in a house
where people got murdered," but Dan says, "Hey, with the ocean view, that
cancels out any bad juju." What does this mean, juju?
Well, actually, it originally comes from French, joujou, meaning plaything, literally,
plaything, but actually, this is, juju is basically a West African traditional spiritual
belief system incorporating objects and spells and kind of like witch craft, in a
way, but commonly, commonly in English language, if you hear someone say juju,
it's kind of referring to an energy or a feeling.
For example, in this case, this house where many people were murdered may
have bad juju. It may have a bad feeling about it, or you may get a bad feeling
when you go there, or some kind of bad energy might be there. Juju's kind of like
another way of saying energy or feeling, and it's related to something unseen. It's
kind of spiritual or ghost-like, something like that. Juju, bad juju. Usually people
say bad juju. I suppose you could say good juju, but most people use the
collocation bad juju. Maybe you know of some places in your region of the world
that have bad juju, like this.
75
www.deepenglish.com
9. Kickstarter
Moving on, "Kickstarter." Dan says, "We should make a little Kickstarter." He and I
were joking about sending some deep English lessons into space on some gold
records, and we were saying, "Wow, wouldn't that be interesting, sending English
lessons to aliens," and Dan says, "We should make a little Kickstarter." Some
people might be wondering, "What does that mean?"
Well, Kickstarter actually is a website. It's a website where creative people can go
to find money and support to make their ideas a reality. The way it work is most
people make a video, they show what they're trying to do, they ask for money,
and they accept donations. If they get enough money, they can actually make
their idea into reality. If you have really good ideas on, let's say starting a
business or creating some kind of product or service and you don't have the
money for it, you can make a video. You can put that video on Kickstarter, and
many people all over the world will watch it, and if they like your idea, they'll
donate money. That's a way or raising money, Kickstarter. Check it out. It's
probably kickstarter.com. You'll have to check. Just Google it, Kickstarter.
10. Fare thee well

Finally, at the very end of our conversation, Dan says goodbye to me by saying,
"Fare thee well. Fare thee well." What does that mean? That's actually very, very
76 old English. Farewell, you've probably heard of that one before, farewell. It just
means goodbye. Farewell meaning, "I hope things go well for you in the near
© Deep English, 2010-2017 future. Please farewell," but when we use thee, fare thee well, thee is basically
www.deepenglish.com just a pronoun. It's the equivalent of you as in "fare you well," or "you, farewell."
This is very, very old, old English. Nobody talks this way these days except maybe
Shakespeare actors in a play, so don't talk like this. People will either not
understand you or they'll think you've lost your mind or something like that,
you're a little crazy for speaking that way because it's just very, very outdated
English. Thee, fare thee well.
Ladies and gentlemen, fare thee well. I will say goodbye now. If you have any
questions or you want to hear further examples or see further examples of these
words and phrases in use, please ask us in the forum, and we'll be happy to
provide you with more explanation. All right, fare thee well, and we'll talk to you
again.
77
www.deepenglish.com
PHOTO CREDITS AND ARTICLE SOURCES
Photo Credits:
Photo #1 (cover): Image courtesy of www.nasa.gov
Photo #2 (Page #9): Image courtesy of www.nasa.gov
Article Sources:
https://voyager.jpl.nasa.gov/golden-record/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harry_Houdini
https://www.thegreatharryhoudini.com/occult.html
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Contents_of_the_Voyager_Golden_Record
https://www.vox.com/2015/11/11/9702090/voyager-golden-record-pictures
https://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/what-is-on-voyagers-golden-record-73063839/
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/1584248/Heart-transplant-man-dies-like-suicide-donor.html
https://www.theverge.com/2017/10/1/16380804/nasa-golden-record-voyager-probes-aliens-planet-earth-
kickstarter
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/health/news/11393771/The-life-saving-operations-that-change-
personalities.html
http://www.popularmechanics.com/space/deep-space/a8029/how-much-longer-will-we-talk-to-the-voyagers-
11479518/
78
www.deepenglish.com

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October 2017

MESSAGES FROM BEYOND

03 ACTIVE LISTENING MAIN STORY

10 ACTIVE SPEAKING - PART A ACTIVE

22 ACTIVE SPEAKING - PART C

© Deep English, 2010-2017

His experiences didn’t completely close Houdini’s mind to

Bess held the last official ‘Houdini séance’ on Halloween in

04 As the last séance reached its conclusion a terrible storm

One way to be remembered is to donate your organs

In 2014, British man Kevin Mashford underwent a life-

05 A couple of months after leaving the hospital Kevin

Something strange happened when they met. He said, “I

Oxford University's Head of Transplantation Professor Peter Friend says, "My

The contents of the golden records contain spoken greetings in 55 languages. In

Harry Houdini was a world famous escape artist.

In desperation, the legendary showman turned to spiritualism, a system of belief

He knew all about the trickery used by mediums.

© Deep English, 2010-2017

Did Houdini dismiss it publicly? Yes, Houdini dismissed it publicly. Was

Houdini soon began to expose fraudulent mediums.

What kind of mediums did Houdini begin to expose? Houdini began to

He declared war on those who exploited people’s grief to turn a buck.

He hounded the scam artists at every chance.

© Deep English, 2010-2017

Did his experiences completely close Houdini’s mind to the possibility of an

He created a secret code only she would know.

What attempts have existed throughout history in most cultures? Attempts

One way to be remembered is to donate your organs after death to someone in

What is one way to be remembered? One way to be remembered is to

In 2014, British man Kevin Mashford underwent a life-saving heart transplant.

What kind of transplant did Kevin Mashford undergo in 2014? Kevin

Kevin says he took up cycling to honor John’s memory.

He doesn’t believe he inherited a part of John’s personality, but some people do

There have been over 70 cases of transplant patients supposedly inheriting

How many cases have there been of transplant patients supposedly

Sonny Graham’s experience was not as positive as Kevin’s or as harmless as

Was Sonny Graham’s experience as positive as Kevin’s or as harmless as

20 The heart had belonged to a man called Terry Cottle.

Something strange happened when they met.

© Deep English, 2010-2017

© Deep English, 2010-2017

What kind of operations are commonplace? Transplant operations are

Oxford University's Head of Transplantation Professor Peter Friend says, "My

“But we should also be open-minded about things we can’t explain.”

Should we be closed-minded or open-minded about things we can’t explain?

Humans have always tried to transcend death or at least be remembered.

© Deep English, 2010-2017

Do we have a propensity for war and environmental destruction? Yes, we

And even if we do evolve to a more peace-loving species, our Earth has an

What has an expiration date? Our Earth has an expiration date.

And no water means no life.

What does no water mean? No water means no life.

They have now long passed these planets.

To be more precise, that is 17 kilometers a second.

How many kilometers a second is that? That is 17 kilometers a second.

The contents of the golden records contain spoken greetings in 55 languages.

In English, it says, “Hello from the children of planet Earth.”

The records also contain 90 minutes of music.

They did do their best to choose a selection of different styles including

It also has brainwave recordings of a woman contemplating the history of

What kind of instructions are there? There are image-based instructions on

Not everyone was on board with the map though.