ESL Podcast - Previous Episodes

Slow dialogue: 1:07 Explanations: 2:52 Fast dialogue: 15:09 I have always wanted to be a news reporter. When I was about 10 years old, I would write my own news stories and publish them in my own newspaper. In reality, the newspaper was just a piece of paper on which I’d written my stories and drew my pictures, but it was my first taste of the power of the press. When I got to college, I worked on the university newspaper and started out as a copy editor, editing stories and writing headlines. Then, I began to cover news events, getting my first bylines. I can’t tell you how excited I was to see my name in print for the first time! Since then, I’ve worked at several newspapers. I started out at the bottom, writing obituaries and news briefs. Then, I got a regular beat and wrote some features and investigative reports. I’ve even written the occasional editorial. What next? You never know in the newspaper business, but I’m shooting for a Pulitzer! Script by Dr. Lucy Tse

Topics: Ask an American: Watching TV on the Internet; to search versus to look for versus to seek; pushing up daisies; do you have any idea? Words: dominant programming to turn to (something) as opposed to to cut across generational lines tech-savvy I can’t say probability indestructible to come on the scene to search to look for to seek to push up daisies Do you have any idea…?

Slow dialogue: 1:36 Explanations: 3:52 Fast dialogue: 16:24 Zoila: I haven’t seen you around lately. What have you been up to? Leo: My business partners and I have been putting the final touches on our new line of energy drinks. Zoila: Really? I didn’t even know that you were in the beverage business. Leo: Yeah, we’ve branched out into a few other areas. We’re going to start promoting the new drinks very soon. We’re working with an advertising agency and we’ll start with sponsoring a couple of sporting events. Zoila: Wow, when am I going to start seeing ads on TV? Leo: I don’t think we’re going to go that route just yet. Zoila: Are you taking the new products to trade shows? Leo: No, no trade shows for us. We’re working on product placement in some music videos and maybe a TV show or two. Zoila: That’s great. What about tie-ins with other products or with a movie? I see those everywhere. Leo: We’re considering it. We’re working on a couple of endorsement deals right now. Once we have some celebrities on board, we’ll do even more. Zoila: It would be great if you could get Jeff McQuillan to endorse your products. Everybody knows he’s the greatest baseball player who ever lived. With him plugging your energy drinks, sales will go through the roof. Leo: Yeah, but I think we’d be shooting too high. We might have to settle for someone a little less famous – like David Beckham or Lance Armstrong. Script by Dr. Lucy Tse Cat: Business Image: Business 12/21/09 Some people will do anything to sell their product. Learn how you can do it, too, in this episode. Slow dialogue: 1:36 Explanations: 3:52 Fast dialogue: 16:24 Zoila: I haven’t seen you around lately. What have you been up to? Leo: My business partners and I have been putting the final touches on our new line of energy drinks. Zoila: Really? I didn’t even know that you were in the beverage business. Leo: Yeah, we’ve branched out into a few other areas. We’re going to start promoting the new drinks very soon. We’re working with an advertising agency and we’ll start with sponsoring a couple of sporting events. Zoila: Wow, when am I going to start seeing ads on TV? Leo: I don’t think we’re going to go that route just yet. Zoila: Are you taking the new products to trade shows? Leo: No, no trade shows for us. We’re working on product placement in some music videos and maybe a TV show or two. Zoila: That’s great. What about tie-ins with other products or with a movie? I see those everywhere. Leo: We’re considering it. We’re working on a couple of endorsement deals right now. Once we have some celebrities on board, we’ll do even more. Zoila: It would be great if you could get Jeff McQuillan to endorse your products. Everybody knows he’s the greatest baseball player who ever lived. With him plugging your energy drinks, sales will go through the roof. Leo: Yeah, but I think we’d be shooting too high. We might have to settle for someone a little less famous – like David Beckham or Lance Armstrong. Script by Dr. Lucy Tse

Slow dialogue: 1:22 Explanations: 2:52 Fast dialogue: 12:53 Claus: Go home. You need to spend more time with your loved ones before they report you missing. Marcia: This is the busy season. Do you think I have time to stop to smell the roses when I have work coming out of my ears? Claus: It’s true we’re busy, but you get too wrapped up in your work. How old are your daughters? Marcia: They’re six and nine. Claus: Right. Before you know it, they’ll be grown and you’ll have missed out on their childhood. Take it from someone who knows. Don’t take your family for granted. Marcia: I know you’re right. I need to spend more quality time with them – just as soon as the busy season is over. Claus: Time slips by while you’re not paying attention. Look at me. I worked my butt off to get where I am now, but at what cost? My wife and I are practically strangers and I barely know my children. You don’t want to end up like me. Marcia: So I should see you as a cautionary tale? Claus: Yup. Consider this a public service announcement. Script by Dr. Lucy Tse

Disneyland; government property seizures and auctions; state; on the prowl; pronouncing the vowel “i” and the vowel combinations “ee” and “ea”; time after time Words: theme park ride fantasy frontier to seize property tied to to make way for auction bid surplus goods proceeds state to be on the prowl time after time

Slow dialogue: 1:07 Explanations: 2:40 Fast dialogue: 12:00 Fae: Help! I still need to buy a gift for my mother and I can’t seem to think of the perfect present, something that’ll really knock her socks off. Pablo: Why don’t you just get her a gift certificate or a gift card? That way, she can pick out her own gift. Fae: Oh, she would hate that. She would think that I didn’t put any thought into buying her a present at all, while I’ve been racking my brain to think of something she’ll like. Maybe I should buy her a car! Pablo: Now, don’t get carried away. You get like this every year. I know you want to please your mother, but remember, it’s the thought that counts. Fae: I wish that were true. If I get her the wrong gift, I’m afraid she’ll be disappointed, or worse, she’ll hold it against me for the rest of my life. Pablo: It boggles my mind how you can work yourself up like this every year. Fae: How can I not? You know my mother. Pablo: Yes, I do, and I have one piece of advice for you: Buy her a gift she can return. Script by Dr. Lucy Tse

Slow dialogue: 1:24 Explanations: 3:30 Fast dialogue: 17:56 Luiz: Where are you going? Iona: I’m going to the bank to open an account. Luiz: What kind of account: a savings account, a checking account, or a CD? Iona: Um, I’m not sure, but I’m sure someone at the bank can help me decide. Luiz: You’ll also need to decide if you want an interest-earning account or not, and don’t forget to ask for free checking. Pick a bank that doesn’t have monthly service charges. Iona: Okay, thanks… Luiz: And make sure you know if there’s a minimum balance required, because if the account dips below that minimum, you’ll be charged a fee. Iona: Yes, right, I’ll be sure to do that. Well, I’d better get going… Luiz: You probably want to open a checking and a savings account, so make sure you link those accounts. That should give you overdraft protection, in case you ever bounce a check. Iona: Okay, I’ll definitely keep all of that in mind. I’d better go. Samil is waiting for me. Luiz: Are you thinking of opening a joint account with your boyfriend? Iona: We’re considering it… Luiz: Pool your money and open a CD. That way, you’ll lock in a good interest rate and neither of you can touch the money until the CD matures. Iona: We’ll think about it. Thanks. Luiz: Oh, and… Iona: Would you like to come with us to the bank and help us open our accounts? Luiz: Really? But I don’t want to interfere. Iona: You, interfere? I can’t imagine you ever trying to interfere. Script by Dr. Lucy Tse

Topics: The medical marijuana controversy; Famous Americans: Woody Allen; sky versus skies; meltdown and crack down; less is more/more is less; pronunciations of live Words: medical properties chemotherapy nausea appetite to prescribe dispensary cannabis club screenwriter one-liner stand-up comedian caption dark sky skies meltdown crack down more is less less is more

Slow dialogue: 1:32 Explanations: 3:17 Fast dialogue: 15:16 Leslie: This keyboard is so hard to use. I can’t find where anything is! Dave: It’s a standard QWERTY keyboard. The layout may be a little different, with the function keys on the right-hand side instead of on the top, but you’ll get used to it in no time. Leslie: That’s what you think. I don’t need an ergonomic wireless keyboard. I liked my old one. Dave: Everybody in the office is getting one, so you weren’t singled out. Okay, let me give you a quick orientation. This keyboard has a built-in number pad, and all you need to do is press the “num lock” key to use it. The escape (“esc”) key is over here, and the “control,” “alt,” and “shift” keys are on the bottom. Leslie: Where’s the “caps lock”? Dave: It’s on your left. Leslie: But my old keyboard had a bunch of hotkeys. What am I supposed to do without them? Dave: You can program your function keys to act as hotkeys. Do you want me to show you how to do that? Leslie: I guess so. Since I’m stuck with this keyboard, I guess I have to live with it. Dave: That’s the spirit! Script by Dr. Lucy Tse

Slow dialogue: 1:33 Explanations: 3:06 Fast dialogue: 14:16 Chiu: Come on, slowpoke, hurry up! We’ll never get to the top of the hill if you don’t get a move on. Sarah: There’s no way you’re going to get me to move at breakneck speed. I’ve gone up at least 500 steps already, and my legs are about to fall off. Tell me again why we’re trudging up this hill? Chiu: It’s the only way to the ruins and the view from there will really be worth your while. Trust me. Pick up the pace or we won’t get there before sunset! Sarah: It’s not like I’m dawdling here. I may be moving at a snail’s pace, but this is as fast as I can manage without keeling over. If you’re in such a hurry, you can sprint up there by yourself. Go ahead. Impress me with your blinding speed. Chiu: I’m not about to leave you here all by yourself. Sarah: Why? Do you feel sorry for me? Chiu: Yes, I always feel sorry for the physically challenged. Sarah: Oh, yeah? Better physically challenged than mentally challenged! Script by Dr. Lucy Tse

Topics: Explaining TV show names; Mount McKinley and mountaineering; highest versus tallest; CEO versus CFO versus CIO Words: sitcom scrubs on the fringe widow weed trek mountaineering to climb peak route summit to stretch highest tallest CEO CFO CIO

Slow dialogue: 1:16 Explanations: 2:45 Fast dialogue: 15:33 Bobbie: I’ve always pegged you as the non-violent type. What’s with your fascination with guns and that sort of thing? Emmanuel: I come from a long line of military officers and I grew up with all of it. Believe it or not, I learned how to fire pistols and rifles before I was 10 years old, and by the time I was 14, I was a pretty good shot. Bobbie: I hope you fired at targets and not at people. Emmanuel: No, not people. We did do some hunting when I was young, but I mainly honed my skills with target practice. Bobbie: I’d like to try target practice – with a machine gun or a grenade launcher! I’m sure I’d at least hit something. Emmanuel: Yeah, right. What really interests me are the big weapons, like missiles – you know, like antiballistic missiles and torpedoes. Bobbie: You can have all of the missiles you want. I’ll be hiding in the tank! Script by Dr. Lucy Tse

Slow dialogue: 1:24 Explanations: 3:02 Fast dialogue: 15:44 Reiko: When I die, I want a big funeral. The more mourners the better! Lucas: Not me. I’m just the opposite. I don’t want any kind of funeral or wake. I just want to be cremated and have my ashes scattered. Reiko: What? You don’t want to be buried in a beautiful casket with a big headstone? Better yet, how about being interred in a mausoleum? Lucas: You’ve got to be kidding me! Why would I all want all of that hoopla? I’m dead. What difference would it make to me? Reiko: It’s not for you. It’s for the mourners. Having a ceremony and a burial will help them grieve. Lucas: Not my friends and family. The less fuss the better for them. Most of my family is buried in simple gravesites in non-denominational cemeteries. Reiko: What’s the fun in that? Lucas: I think you’re forgetting one thing: we’re talking about death. It’s not supposed to be fun and games! Script by Dr. Lucy Tse

Topics: Ask an American: sleep and weight gain; to slip through (one's) fingers; drink versus beverage; individually versus separately versus independently Words: pretty much anecdotally largely half-eaten buffet to shift to graze shift worker disruption metabolic change to slip through (one's) fingers drink beverage individually separately independently

Slow dialogue: 1:29 Explanations: 3:35 Fast dialogue: 15:58 Luigi: What do you think of this new email program? Selma: I don’t know yet. I just started using it. The interface is pretty intuitive, but I haven’t figured out how to sort my inbox by date. Luigi: That’s easy. Let me show you. All you have to do is hit one of these buttons and it’ll sort automatically. Selma: Oh, I see. Let me try to compose a message. I’ll cc: myself and I’ll bcc: you to make sure it goes through. It looks like if I don’t want to send it right away, I can save the message as a draft. If I do send it, does it save a copy? Luigi: Yes, it should. Refresh the page and it should show up in “sent mail.” Selma: Oh, yeah, there it is. Let’s see, I can also archive messages or mark them as junk or send them straight to trash. How do I add contacts? Luigi: You can put contacts into your address book by dragging an email address into your “contacts” folder, like this. Selma: Okay, one more thing: I want to set up spam filters and some other filters to block unwanted emails. Luigi: You can do that in this window, see? Whose emails are you blocking? Selma: Yours, if don’t stop forwarding all of those stupid jokes every day. Luigi: And deprive you of the fun? Never! Script by Dr. Lucy Tse