ESL Podcast - Previous Episodes

English Cafe #39 Topics: Country music, July 4th celebrations, clever vs. smart, you formal vs. informal, college vs. high school, to ride vs. to drive, “Tell me about it!”, to throw in the towel Words: rural banjo cowboy stereotype crop declaration fireworks display stripe outdoors corn on the cob “Tell me about it!” sarcastic to throw in the towel to stay with something

Slow dialog: 1:08 Explanations: 2:38 Fast dialog: 21:03 My buddy from college, Jack, was getting married and our friend Rob was planning a bachelor party for him in Vegas. It was going to be the last weekend of the month and I wanted to go. The trouble was, I was scheduled to work that weekend. I needed to get the time off from work or I was going to miss out on all the fun. I have some vacation leave, but company policy requires that my boss sign off on any leave we take. I’ve heard of companies doing that for longer periods of leave—like maternity leave or a leave of absence—but our company does that even for vacation leave. I thought about just calling in sick that weekend—I do have a lot of accumulated sick leave—but I didn’t think my boss would appreciate me leaving him hanging. In the end, I just asked him straight out and, to my surprise, he said, “okay.” Now, I just need to get ready for a wild weekend with the guys. I can’t wait! Script by Dr. Lucy Tse

Script by Dr. Lucy Tse Slow dialog: 1:03 Explanations: 3:05 Fast dialog: 22:22 Finding a new place to live isn’t always easy. I have been living in the same apartment for nine years and I thought it was time for a change. I have always wanted to buy a condo or a townhouse, but I didn’t have the money for a down payment. But now, I have a little money saved up and I want to buy a place of my own. I didn’t want to go through a real estate agent yet so I started looking around the city on my own. I wasn’t sure if I wanted a townhouse or a single-family home. I didn’t want to live in a multi-story building anymore, not even if I had a penthouse unit. It was too noisy and I wanted a backyard for my dog, Shiloh. I looked at a duplex as well as some traditional houses. One of the last houses I saw was a two-bedroom, one-bath bungalow. It was small enough for one person, but big enough for me and my dog. When Shiloh saw the backyard, I think it was love at first sight. I’d like to say that I picked the house, but really, it was Shiloh’s choice. I don’t think he would ever forgive me if I didn’t buy that house.

Topics: Newsmagazines, AMBER Alert, reading a map, “Get out of here!”, followed by, “Excuse me” vs. “I’m sorry,” to have something on someone, to teeter on the brink Words in-depth worldwide to kidnap ransom foldout legend town city stream pond interstate toll road to have something on someone to teeter on the brink

Script by Dr. Lucy Tse Slow dialog: 1:13 Explanations: 2:35 Fast dialog: 17:41 Mike: Thanks a lot for agreeing to help me plan the block party. Susan: Oh, I’m happy to help. I’m surprised you didn’t ask Bree. She’s so good at planning parties. Mike: I thought about it, but I was afraid she would turn it into a cocktail party or something. Susan: Yeah, I see what you mean. Well, I made a guest list to see how many people may be attending. We can put the invitations in their mailboxes this weekend. It will be a potluck so I’m asking people to RSVP and to let me know what they plan to bring. Mike: What kind of things do we need? Susan: Well, I’m asking people to bring a main dish, chips and dip, or dessert. It won’t be a BYOB like last year, so Lynette and Edie are bringing some soda. I can supply the paper plates and cups, and the plastic utensils. Mike: That’s great. It sounds like you have everything under control. Susan: I really can’t believe it. There’s a first time for everything!

Script by Dr. Lucy Tse Audio Index Slow dialog: 1:13 Explanations: 3:08 Fast dialog: 21:12 I was vacationing in Miami, Florida, and I went into a souvenir store to get some gifts for friends back home. Lydia: Could you show me where the T-shirts are? Clerk: Sure, they’re on the left, along the wall. Can I help you find something? Lydia: I’d like to get a T-shirt, but I’m not sure about the size. It’s for a friend who is about your size. Clerk: Well, in that case, you’ll need a large. I only have these in medium or small, but I have these two in size large. Lydia: Do you have anything in another color or another style? Clerk: How about this one? Lydia: That’s great. Could you also recommend a gift for a young woman? Clerk: We have a lot of locally-made items. I don’t think you want a mug, a key chain, or a snow globe. But, how about some jewelry? Lydia: Oh, this bracelet is nice. How much is it? Clerk: It’s on sale for $36. Lydia: Okay. I’ll take the T-shirt and the necklace. Do you have a box for the necklace? Clerk: Sure, no problem. That will be $59.60 with tax. Lydia: There you go. Clerk: Here’s your change. Thanks for coming in!

Topics: Mother’s Day and Father’s Day, Seattle, TV show 24, should be going vs. should go, spur of the moment, slam dunk, relatively vs. extremely vs. tremendously, angry vs. mad vs. upset, off-the-shelf Words: gloom greeting card pacifist suburbs motherhood fictitious uncover spur of the moment slam dunk extremely relatively upset off-the-shelf

Script by Dr. Lucy Tse Audio Index: Slow dialog: 1:02 Explanations: 2:28 Fast dialog: 20:08 I was reading the newspaper this morning and saw a story about a university student arrested and charged with burglary and assault. Last Monday, this student hit a security guard over the head to make him unconscious, broke into his professor’s office, and stole the professor’s laptop computer. Apparently, he was in danger of failing and thought that he could steal the final exam. When he was arraigned in court, the prosecutor said that the charges were very serious felonies and not simple misdemeanors. He also said that because the student was a flight risk, the bail should be set at $2 million. The judge agreed and the student was to be held in jail until he posted bail. If the student was found guilty and convicted of all of the charges, he could be sentenced to up to 15 years in jail. When I read this story, I thought, wouldn’t it have been easier for him to just study?

Script by Dr. Lucy Tse Audio Index: Slow dialog: 0:45 Explanations: 2:34 Fast dialog: 17:19 Samantha: Hello. Terry: Hey, Samantha. It’s Terry. Samantha: Oh, hi Terry. How it’s going? Terry: Not bad. Hey, the reason I’m calling is that I heard from Veronica that you’re looking for a used car. Samantha: Yeah, I’m hoping to find something reliable, but cheap. Terry: Well, I have just the thing for you. My brother has a 2001 Ford he’s trying to sell. It has low miles, it’s in good condition, and he’s in a hurry to sell it. Samantha: Your brother, huh? That’s not the same brother who tried to sell me a stereo system that fell off the back of a truck, is it? Terry: No, no, no. That’s a different brother. Listen, this is a really nice car. It has a leather interior, power windows and doors, gets great gas mileage, and the tires are practically new. And, it’s a steal at $7,000. Samantha: How do I know it’s not a lemon? I don’t want to end up with a piece of junk. Terry: Come on. Would I steer you wrong? Samantha: Well, it won’t hurt to go see it and to give it a test drive. Terry: Trust me. You won’t be sorry. Samantha: We’ll see about that.

Topics: Popular words in the US media, People Magazine's Sexiest Man Alive, to make a spectacle of yourself, to go berserk, basically, "I'm whooped," doozy, fault vs. defect vs. error, David versus Goliath Words: global warming avian flu aight = all right mad = very (slang) Brill! = brilliant! (Brit.) ‘s’up = what’s up? VoIP = Voice over Internet Protocol (Internet telephone) emoticon to make a spectacle of yourself to go berserk basically to be whooped doozy fault defect error

Script by Dr. Lucy Tse Audio Index Slow dialog: 1:24 Explanations: 3:17 Fast dialog: 19:32 Our company hired an outside firm to set up a computer system to help us keep track of the progress on major projects. The company gave us a presentation on how the new system worked. Afterwards, the employees got a chance to ask questions. Cecelia: So, in a nutshell, those are the features of the new system. Any questions? Yuri: Yes, I have a question. From your description, it sounds like the new system may be difficult to use. Can you speak to that? Cecelia: I understand your concern, but actually, the system is very simple to use. I mentioned a lot of features that the system has, but the typical employee won’t be using more than two or three on a daily basis. Yes, you had a question? Alessandro: Yeah, my biggest concern is that all of the employees in the company will have access to the system. How does this affect my projects that have sensitive information? Cecelia: That’s a good question. One of the key features of the program is that it allows the project manager to limit access for any of his or her projects. Now, if there are no other questions, thank you all for coming and we look forward to working with you in the future.

**Want to improve your English even more? Get the Podcast Guide for this show! Go to our website at http://www.eslpod.com to sign up.** Script by Dr. Lucy Tse Audio Index Slow dialog: 0:50 Explanations: 2:33 Fast dialog: 18:44 Gilles: Hey, what are you looking at? Nora: Oh, these? They’re pictures from my trip back home last month. Gilles: Let’s have a look. So, who’s this? Nora: That’s my sister and that’s my cousin Keira. Gilles: Your sister looks nothing like you. You’re fair and she has dark hair and dark eyes. Now, you look much more like your cousin. Nora: Yeah, that’s true. Keira and I both have heart-shaped faces, thin lips, fat cheeks, and bushy eyebrows. Gorgeous! Gilles: You don’t give yourself enough credit. Why do you think every one of your guy friends is interested in you? Hey, who’s the little girl? Nora: Oh, that’s my cousin Adriano’s daughter. She’s seven. She’s very pretty as you can see and has the most beautiful wavy hair. That’s her baby brother who was just born in April. Gilles: Oh, man, he’s so cute. That pudgy face, curly hair, and big eyes! He’s adorable. Nora: Yeah, I think he looks just like me. Gilles: Hmmm…I think I’d better stop complimenting you. It’s going straight to your head.

Topics: The Da Vinci Code, how Americans pay for retirement, “I could use one,” to hang out, care for vs. care about, tag vs. label, allow vs. permit vs. let, to take the Fifth Words: hoax semi-retire IRA/401K to draw a pension fixed income to hang out spy to care for to care about tag label to incriminate to take the Fifth

**Get the new Podcast Guide for this show, including the *complete* transcript of this podcast, by signing up on our website at http://www.eslpod.com** Script by Dr. Lucy Tse Audio Index Slow dialog: 2:00 Explanations: 4:00 Fast dialog: 19:10 When you own a house, there is always something that needs work. I have been putting off repainting the garage and I decided that I would do it this weekend. I went to the home improvement store early in the morning to get the supplies I’d need. I walked into the huge store and began looking for the paint department. I walked through the garden center and the lumber department but couldn’t find the paint supplies. I tried to find a store employee to ask about it, but there was no one in sight. I walked down the plumbing aisles and finally found the paint department. I looked at the paint swatches and found the color I wanted. I took a number to have my paint mixed. When my number was called, I gave the employee the swatch of the color I wanted and he told me he would call me again when it was ready. In the meantime, I got some brushes and rags. After about 20 minutes, the employee called my number and I picked up my paint. I took the paint and the other supplies and got into a checkout line. After all of that, I was exhausted. And I hadn’t even started painting yet! Maybe I’ll do that next weekend.

Script by Dr. Lucy Tse Audio Index Slow dialog: 0:47 Explanations: 2:39 Fast dialog: 13:30 I had been stressing out about it for a couple of weeks. How do I ask my girlfriend to marry me? We were getting some dinner at a fast food restaurant before going to the movies. Fiona: Tell me the truth. What’s up with you lately? Doug: Me? Nothing. Why do you ask? Fiona: You haven’t been yourself. You’ve been quiet and distant. Are you seeing someone else? Doug: No! Of course I’m not. I would never cheat on you. Fiona: Then, do you want to break up with me? Doug: No way! That’s the last thing I want to do. You’ve got it all wrong. Fiona: Then, tell me what’s on your mind. Doug: I…well…it’s just that…oh, I can’t stand it anymore! I’ve been carrying around this ring in my pocket for two weeks trying to get up the nerve to ask you. Fiona, will you marry me? Fiona: Ah! I can believe it. Are you serious? Doug: I’ve never been more serious. This wasn’t the way I wanted to ask you, but will you? Fiona: Yes, I’ll marry you. And, I thought you wanted to break up. Doug: No, I don’t, silly. I want us to be together for the rest of our lives. Don’t you know that?