Big Bang Theory

Learn English through movie scenes.

Big Bang Theory

Leonard and Sheldon are roommates who live in an apartment building.

Sheldon loves routines and hates change.

One day, Leonard tells everyone that the quiet neighbors upstairs are moving out. Sheldon becomes very stressed because he worries the new neighbors might be noisy.

Meanwhile, Howard flirts with Penny as usual, and Penny jokes that she might move into the upstairs apartment herself. Sheldon thinks that idea is even worse and dramatically calls it “the horror.”

Sheldon

Leonard

Penny

Howard

Raj

Penny: Okay, it’s done. Look, guys, for the future, I don’t mind killing the big spiders, but you have to at least try with the little ones.

Sheldon: We’re facing a far more serious problem than stray arachnids.

Leonard: It’s not that bad.

Penny: Not bad? It’s horrible. You hear stories about this sort of thing, but you never think it’ll happen to you.

Leonard: So they steamed your dumplings. Get over it.

Howard: New topic, please. Alright, Penny, let me take this opportunity to point out that you’re looking particularly ravishing today.

Penny: Not with a thousand condoms, Howard.

Raj: So, there is a number.

Leonard: Okay, new topic, please. Hey, did you hear the people upstairs in 5A are moving out?

Sheldon: Why?

Leonard: The people upstairs are moving out.

Sheldon: No. The horror.

Penny: Why would you just say something like that?

Leonard: How else was I supposed to say it?

Sheldon: Slowly. Like putting a new fish in a tank. You don’t just drop it in. Let the bag sit in the water awhile.

Leonard: Sheldon, I’m sure it’s going to be fine.

Sheldon: No, it’s not going to be fine. Change is never fine. People say it is, but it’s not.

Penny: Okay, honey. Did you even know the people who are moving out?

Sheldon: I never met them. That’s what made them perfect. There were no awkward hellos in the hall. No clickety-clacking of high heels on hardwood floors. They may as well have been a family of cats jumping from drape to drape, minus the annoying ammonia urine smell.

Leonard: I’m sure the new people will be just as quiet.

Sheldon: You can’t know that. How can you possibly know that? Anyone could rent that apartment now. An opera singer. The cast of Stomp.

Howard: Yeah, a tap-dancing pirate with a wooden leg.

Sheldon: Why are you making it worse?

Howard: I tried making it better. He wouldn’t go for it.

Penny: You’re right. That’s a great idea.

Leonard: What?

Penny: I’ll take the apartment upstairs. I can finally get away from my mother, and we can all spend some more time together... if you catch my drift.

Sheldon: The horror.

Listen to the clip below and fill in the missing vocabulary gaps:

Penny: "Look, guys, for the future, I don’t mind killing the big , but you have to at least try..."

Howard: "Alright, Penny, let me take this opportunity to point out that you’re looking particularly today."

Sheldon: "No clickety-clacking of high heels on floors."

Arachnids : Spiders and similar animals

Stray : Random, unwanted, or not where it should be

Dumplings : Small pieces of dough with filling, often Asian food

Ravishing : Extremely attractive or beautiful

Awkward : Uncomfortable or embarrassing socially

Clickety-clacking : Repetitive hard tapping sounds

Tap-dancing : A dance style where shoes make rhythmic sounds.

Useful Phrases

Get over it : Stop being upset about something

The horror : A dramatic way to say something is terrible
Example: No Wi-Fi for a whole day? The horror.

Catch my drift? : Do you understand what I mean?
Example: “We should leave before it gets crowded, catch my drift?”

You can't know that : You cannot be certain

Sheldon was happy that the upstairs neighbors were moving out.

Who said: “I don’t mind killing the big spiders, but you have to at least try with the little ones.”

Do you like quiet neighbors or noisy neighbors? Why?

How do you usually react to change?

What makes someone a good roommate?

Have you ever lived near annoying neighbors? What happened?