ESL Podcast - Previous Episodes

Slow dialog: 1:10 Explanations: 2:53 Fast dialog: 14:35 Shandy: Oh, that player just hit my boyfriend! Did you see that? That was definitely a penalty. Giuseppe: No, I didn’t. I was watching the goalie. The referee isn’t doing anything. Shandy: I can’t believe it. Why isn’t the coach talking to that referee? I’m sure the other player deliberately kicked Fabio with his cleats. Giuseppe: Hey, look! Fabio has the ball and he’s taking it all the way down the field. He shoots, he scores! That’s his second goal of the game. He’s going to win the game for the team. Shandy: What’s he doing now? Why is he on the ground? Is he hurt? Giuseppe: I don’t know. The trainer is helping him off the field. It doesn’t look serious. Shandy: That’s good, but he hates sitting on the bench. He won’t want to watch the rest of the match from the sidelines. Giuseppe: Look at the stands over there! Shandy: What’s happening? Why are they all standing up? Oh, they’re starting a wave. I thought for a minute that the fans were getting into a brawl. Giuseppe: It’s coming this way. Shandy: Okay, here we go! Script by Dr. Lucy Tse

Topics: Yellowstone National Park, summer jobs for teenagers, I’ll be in later versus I’ll be in late, loudly versus aloud versus loud, pronouncing lounge, lunch, and launch Words: geyser faithful hot springs volcano lava pocket money to flip burgers to pump to mow duplicate internship camp counselor loudly aloud loud

Slow dialog: 1:08 Explanations: 3:30 Fast dialog: 15:55 Clerk: Can I help you? Tamika: I’d like to buy some stamps. Clerk: In what denomination? Tamika: I’m not sure. I need them for sending regular letters and for Priority Mail. Clerk: The current rate for sending a first-class letter is 41 cents. With first-class service, your letter will get there in three to seven days for domestic mail. Tamika: For the first-class stamps, how many come in a book or a roll? Clerk: There are 20 in a book and 100 in a roll. To send a Priority Mail envelope, you can get $4.05 stamps, and delivery is usually in two to three days. How many would you like of each? Tamika: I’ll take one book of the stamps and four Priority Mail stamps. Can I buy stamps to send an Express Mail envelope, too? Clerk: You can. Those are $14.40 each. Tamika: Could you add one of those, too? And how much is it to send a postcard? I don’t need any stamps for those today, but I’m just curious. Clerk: It’s 24 cents to send a postcard. Okay, that’s a book of 41-cent stamps, four Priority Mail stamps, and one Express Mail stamp. Anything else? Tamika: Could I pick the design of the first-class stamps? Clerk: Yes. You can choose from these commemorative ones or the standard flag design. Tamika: I’ll take the commemorative ones. Clerk: Your total comes to $38.80. Tamika: Here’s $40. Clerk: Here’s your change and your stamps. Have a nice day. Tamika: Thanks. You, too. Script by Dr. Lucy Tse

Slow dialog: 1:18 Explanations: 3:11 Fast dialog: 15:00 Therese: I can’t believe you told Mom and Dad about me driving the car last Saturday when I wasn’t supposed to. I thought we had a deal. You wouldn’t tell on me and I’d take you and Kathy to the movies this weekend. You’re such a tattletale. Stephen: I swear it wasn’t me! Why would I tell? We do have a deal and I’ve held up my end. Therese: Forget it. The deal is off. There’ll be no movie this weekend. Stephen: Hey, I told you it wasn’t me who spilled the beans. Are you sure it wasn’t Jeffrey? Therese: Don’t try to put the blame on somebody else. I know it was you. Stephen: How? Therese: You’re a terrible liar. Stephen: Well, if I did tell on you, I didn’t mean to do it. Come on, please! I really want to see that movie this weekend. What can I do? Therese: Hmmm...that’s a good question. How about doing my chores for two weeks? Stephen: Two weeks?! No way. How about one week? Therese: You’ve got a deal. I’ll take you if you do all of my chores for a week. But I’m warning you. You’re on notice. If you tell on me one more time, you’ll be dead to me. Stephen: Yeah, yeah. I heard you. Script by Dr. Lucy Tse

Topics: Trouble with my car, Ask an American: Home Schooling, breakthrough versus to break through, to ride shotgun Words to stick something into something ignition to turn over jumper cables to home-school to be better off primary character to mature to find oneself to draw on/upon diverse critic to break through breakthrough to ride shotgun

Slow dialog: 1:15 Explanations: 3:20 Fast dialog: 14:50 Ruby: I’m snowed under with work! I can’t seem to keep up with everything I have to do. You’re always so organized and efficient. How do you do it? Ian: I’m not always organized and efficient, but I’ve gotten better since I read a book about time management. I use a few tools that the book recommends, which help me to plan and to keep track of deadlines. Ruby: Do you think it would help me? Ian: Definitely. This is what I do. I keep a to-do list of all of the things I need to do. Then, I decide which tasks are high-priority and which have low-priority. I write down the deadline I’m given for the task or I assign a deadline of my own, and I make a note of the most urgent tasks. Ruby: That seems pretty simple, but how do I keep track of the progress I make on a task? Sometimes things just slip through the cracks for me. Ian: I do a couple of things. First, I keep my list updated. I check off or cross off those that I’ve done. I also put reminders for myself on my computer to help me with scheduling. It helps me to remember my appointments and to allocate my time better. Ruby: That sounds like a great system. All I need now is some extra time so I can start doing some time management! Script by Dr. Lucy Tse

Slow dialog: 1:35 Explanations: 3:02 Fast dialog: 13:47 I went to bank this morning. Instead of standing in line to talk to a bank teller, I decided to use an ATM, but it wasn’t working. Robin: Excuse me. Could you help me? I’m trying to use this ATM machine, but it stopped working after I put in my PIN and it won’t give me back my ATM card. Bank clerk: It looks like the machine is jammed. Step over to this teller window and I can help you. What transactions are you trying to make? Robin: I want to make a deposit, transfer some money between my checking and savings accounts, and make a cash withdrawal. Bank clerk: I can make those transactions for you. Robin: Okay. Let me take this check out of the deposit envelop. And what about my card? Bank clerk: I’ll call the technician and she should be able to retrieve it for you. Robin: Thanks a lot. I guess that the machine just doesn’t like me. Bank clerk: It’s not you. Those machines just act up sometimes. Robin: In that case, I won’t take it personally. Script by Dr. Lucy Tse

Topics: Famous Americans: Frank Gehry, Memorial Day, odd one out, as good as it gets. film versus movie Words architect iconic blueprints model to observe to commemorate military service cemetery grave picnic race track lap odd one out as good as it gets film movie

Slow dialog: 1:15 Explanations: 3:10 Fast dialog: 15:45 I was walking through the airport to Gate 11 to catch my flight when I heard this announcement: “Attention passengers on English Air flight 232 to Boise. The departure gate has been changed. The flight will now be leaving from Gate 26.” That was my flight! I looked at the flight information monitors, turned around, and walked in the opposite direction. As I was approaching Gate 26, there was another announcement: “This is an announcement for passengers on flight 232 to Boise. The flight has been delayed due to bad weather conditions. The flight crew has arrived at the gate, but the ground crew is still de-icing the wings of the aircraft. Our new departure time is 10:50 AM.” I thought the gate agent was done, but she had another announcement to make: “I’m afraid that flight 232 is overbooked. We’re looking for passengers who are willing to take a later flight in exchange for a travel voucher worth $300. Any passenger who is interested should see an agent at Gate 26.” Oh, no, I thought. I hope I don’t get bumped from this flight. Fortunately, a few minutes later, I heard this. It was music to my ears. “We are now ready for boarding.” Script by Dr. Lucy Tse

Slow dialog: 1:26 Explanations: 4:12 Fast dialog: 17:24 At my company, I have a choice of health insurance plans. We can pick between HMOs and PPOs, and I have been with the same managed health plan for the past few years. It’s the plan that has the lowest co-pays and the best coverage, and the network of doctors is fairly large. The drug coverage is good and the affiliated hospital is close to my house. Unfortunately, I’m discovering that it’s also the plan with the largest bureaucracy and patients can easily get lost in the shuffle. I have a primary care physician, but like other plans, if I want to see a specialist, I must be referred by my primary care physician. I have been trying to see an eye specialist for a few weeks. I called my doctor’s office for a referral, but the nurse told me that I needed to first make an office visit. I tried to get an appointment, but there weren’t any openings for five weeks! I tried to leave a phone message for my doctor to talk to her about my situation, but she never returned my call. I tried several more times, and still received no response. I finally decided to file a grievance. I know that I have patient rights, and that if I didn’t feel I was being treated fairly, I could file a complaint. I just hope that filing the grievance will get me a resolution to this problem. I’d like to see an eye specialist before I go blind! Script by Dr. Lucy Tse

Topics: US Census, Driving While Texting, as well as versus as long as, change versus alter versus modify versus transform Words census household questionnaire gender privacy Driving While Texting (DWT) Driving While Intoxicated (DWI) drunk crackdown to multitask as well as as long as to change to alter to modify to transform

Slow dialog: 1:21 Explanations: 3:23 Fast dialog: 17:56 Bill: What are you watching? Susan: I’m watching a really interesting TV program. It’s about how to make a lot of money quickly and easily. Bill: Are you watching an infomercial? Those things are scams! You should know better than to fall for some get-rich-quick scheme. Susan: This isn’t a scam. This program is about how make money with no capital. All I have to do is to get other people to sell these products and I’ll get a cut of the profits. Bill: That sounds like a pyramid scheme. Only a few people at the top make money, while all of the other people lose their shirts. Susan: It doesn’t seem like a fraud to me. Sit down and watch for a minute and you’ll see all of the testimonials from people who have used this system and who have struck it rich. It may really work. Bill: There’s a sucker born every minute. How much do you have to pay to learn the secrets to this system? Susan: It’s only $179.95, and I can pay in monthly installments. The program comes with a step-by-step book and video on how to get started. Bill: I think you’re wasting your time. I can think of a lot of things I’d rather spend $179.95 on. Susan: That’s your prerogative. Don’t come to me later when I’m a millionaire and you want my business advice. Bill: Don’t worry. That will never happen. Script by Dr. Lucy Tse

Slow dialog: 1:13 Explanations: 2:50 Fast dialog: 15:56 I was driving down the street when I saw a police car behind me. Suddenly, it turned on its siren. I realized that I was being pulled over. Officer: Can I see your driver’s license, registration, and proof of insurance? Ray: Sure. Here you are, officer. Officer: Did you know that you were speeding? You were going 70 in a 55 mile an hour zone. Ray: I was? No, I didn’t know. Officer: You also ran a red light and your brake light is out. I see that your tags have also expired. I’m going to have to cite you for all of that. Ray: I’m sure I didn’t run a red light, and I didn’t know my brake light wasn’t working. I just renewed my registration and I’m still waiting for my new tags to arrive in the mail. Is there any way I can get away with just a warning? Officer: I’m afraid not. Ray: What’s the fine for all of those violations? Officer: That information is on the back of the citation. Here you are. Have a nice day. Ray: Thanks. Thanks a lot! Script by Dr. Lucy Tse

Topics: Homelessness in the US; prenups and postnups; “Smith’s the name, oil’s the game”; to weep versus to cry, to see someone smile Words: homeless shelter substance abuse mental illness prenup postnup nuptials divorce division of property spousal support on the rocks tears to weep to cry to shed tears to want to see someone (do something)

Slow dialog: 1:11 Explanations: 3:22 Fast dialog: 19:30 A.J.: What was going on with you and Tiago in his office earlier today? You two were pretty cozy in there. Gloria: What? Oh, I was a little upset about messing up my presentation in the morning meeting, and Tiago was trying to reassure me about it. A.J.: It looked like he was doing more than comforting you. He was sitting really close to you and he had his hand on your shoulder. If you ask me, he was making a move on you. Gloria: Don’t be ridiculous! Tiago and I are just friends. A.J.: Would you notice if he was? Remember Paul? He hit on you for two weeks before you noticed. Gloria: That was completely different. He wasn’t hitting on me. He was bothering me, and I actually had to file a sexual harassment complaint against him before he’d stop. You’re comparing apples and oranges. A.J.: I’m just saying that you’re not the most observant person when it comes to these kinds of things. Mark my words. Tiago is interested in you. Gloria: If he is, I’m flattered. He’s a very attractive guy. A.J.: That’s what all the women say. Some guys have all the luck. To add insult to injury, he doesn’t even know that women find him attractive. Even the other men in the office think he’s a nice guy. Gloria: What can I say? Tell me the truth. Do you really think he’s interested in me? Script by Dr. Lucy Tse