ESL Podcast - Previous Episodes

Script by Dr. Lucy Tse Audio Index: Slow dialog: 0:42 Explanations: 2:04 Fast dialog: 11:40 Laura: Oh, I didn’t think I’d make it home in time for the game. Jun: What game? Laura: The playoffs! Turn on the TV. I hope it’s still in the first quarter. It is! Who’s winning? What’s the score? Jun: I don’t know. You know I don’t watch sports. Whao! That was a great shot. Did you see that? Laura: No, what happened? Maybe they’ll show it again on instant replay. I wonder who the coach put in for the starting lineup. Jun: Geez. I think there’s a player down on the field. Laura: It looks like he’s walking off the field. He can’t be hurt too badly. Jun: Look! They’re putting your favorite player in. Oh, what a play! Laura: Wait a second. I thought you didn’t watch sports. Jun: I was never a sports fan before I met you. I think you’re a bad influence on me. Laura: Yes, very bad. Now, stop hogging the couch and pass the chips…

Script by Dr. Lucy Tse Audio Index: Slow dialog: 0:40 Explanations: 2:19 Fast dialog: 14:30 Grace: Did you already pay the bills for this month? Will: No, I haven’t gotten around to it yet. Why? Grace: We got a late notice from the credit card company. The notice says that they haven’t received the payment yet and it’s past the due date. We are being charged a late fee plus a finance charge of 15%. Will: Let me see that. That can’t be right. I paid the minimum payment on the last bill. I better call and talk to customer service tomorrow. I’m sure it’s a mix-up. Grace: I really hope so. The last time we were late with the payment, I tried calling them and telling them that the check was in the mail, but they didn’t buy it. Will: That’s different. Don’t worry about it. I’m sure I’ll get it straightened out. Worse comes to worst, we’re only a month late. They won’t send the collection agency after us. Grace: I know I can count on you to take care of it. I just don’t want this late payment to affect our credit rating. Will: Leave it to me. I’ll take care of it on Monday. It’s as good as done.

Topics: Smoking Bans, British and American English II, they and he, wage vs. salary, blue vs. white collar, now vs. right now Words: secondhand smoke boots golashes Wellies trunk bonnet hood pants underwear trousers manual

Script by Dr. Lucy Tse Audio Index: Slow dialog: 0:45 Explanations: 2:38 Fast dialog: 13:42 I’m a news junkie. I like to read two newspapers everyday. I don’t just look at the headlines. I read most of the stories. I like the political news, the business news, the editorials, and the entertainment news. The only things I don’t usually read are the sports pages and the classifieds. I also try to catch the local TV news each day. I like to watch Channel 4 for the news reporting, but I like the weather report on Channel 9 mainly because the reporter is not only good, she’s beautiful! For the national news, I like all three of the network anchors, so it doesn’t matter which one I catch. On top of that, I like to read a newsmagazine each week. I like the longer feature stories that give more in-depth coverage of that week’s top stories. So, when I said I was a news junkie, I wasn’t joking. When I travel to other countries, the first thing I do is look for an English-language newspaper. Then, I can relax!

Topics: St. Patrick's Day, British versus American English, "A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush," Going to vs. will, "Pod" Words: patron AD missionary convert Harvest Festival public school coach = bus Tube, The Underground = subway lorry = truck proverb container pea pod

Script by Dr. Lucy Tse Audio Index: Slow dialog: 0:48 Explanations: 2:50 Fast dialog: 11:31 Our company has been growing very quickly and I was put in charge of reorganizing our office space to accommodate several new employees. I asked my co-worker, Petra, for her advice. Fernando: I was thinking of dividing up two of the larger offices into four smaller offices. What do you think about that? Petra: Well, it seems to me that doing that would only solve part of the problem. Have you considered converting the conference room into offices? Fernando: I’m not sure that will work. We don’t have another meeting space if we do that. What are your thoughts on turning the coffee room into one large office with cubicles? Petra: In my opinion, that’s not going to be a very popular solution. Fernando: The way I see it, there are no easy solutions and that may be the best one. Do you have any other suggestions? Petra: No, none that would really work. In my opinion, the only solution is to divide up the executive offices. But, I know, I know. That’s not going to happen. My suggestion is to ask a few more of the old employees. Maybe they’ll think of something. Fernando: I think you’re right. It’s not going to be an easy decision and I can use all the help I can get.

Script by Meropi Peponides Audio Index: Slow dialog: 0:41 Explanations: 2:32 Fast dialog: 12:27 On my way home from class, I ran into Cara, a schoolmate that I have not seen in a few months. I stopped to say hi to her. Mark: Hey Cara! How’s everything? Long time no see. Cara: Yeah! It’s been a while. I’m doing alright. What about you? Mark: Great! I’m excited about the Big Game this weekend. Are you going? Cara: Uh, no. What Big Game? Mark: Are you kidding? This is the biggest football game of the season! And we’re playing against one of the best teams in the state, so it’s going to be really exciting. Cara: Wow, that sounds like fun! Who are you going with? Mark: A big group of friends… Hey, you know what? One of my friends has to go out of town this weekend and he won’t be able to make it to the game, so I have an extra ticket. You want to join us? Cara: Sure, I would love to go! I’ve never been to one of our school’s football games before. Mark: Awesome! There’s a bus picking students up in front of the dorms at 1pm. Meet us there at 12:30. Cara: Sounds like a plan! Thanks for giving me the extra ticket. I’ll see you Saturday. Mark: Alright, see ya!

Today's topics: Bob Dylan, More interjections, in vs. into, indeed, "mail-in rebate," on time vs. in time, administer vs. manage vs. administrate Words: Oh-oh! Ouch! Whew! Brr! D'oh!

Script by Dr. Lucy Tse Audio Index: Slow dialog: 0:43 Explanations: 2:34 Fast dialog: 13:03 David: Hey, Sally. Can I run something by you? Sally: Sure, what’s up? David: Well, a friend of a friend wanted some help with her taxes and we agreed that we would talk about it over dinner. At the end of the night, when the check came, she expected me to pay! It was really awkward. It wasn’t a date and I was doing her a favor! Am I crazy or was she taking advantage of me? Sally: It definitely sounds like she took advantage of your generosity. If she was asking a favor, she should have paid. No question. David: The thing is, I thought she was really pretty and I wanted to ask her out after I met her. But, now I’m not sure. Sally: Well, I think that unless you asked her out, you shouldn’t have to pay for her. And, these days, a lot of people go Dutch even if one person asks out the other. Based on what happened the other night, I’d stay away from this woman. That is, unless you don’t mind being her sugar daddy. David: Yeah, right. I’m too broke to be anybody’s sugar daddy, even if I wanted to. I think you’re right. That will be the last I see of her.

Today's topics: Minnesota, Interjections, Would rather, rather than, and rather prefer, "smoking gun" Words: Fargo curling Geez! Man! Whoa! Oops! Ugh! Boo! Aha! Duh!

Script by Dr. Lucy Tse Audio Index: Slow dialog: 0:45 Explanations: 2:28 Fast dialog: 14:01 Mindy: Hey, where are you going? Eric: I’m going to traffic court. I got a parking ticket and I’m going to fight it. Mindy: How much was the fine? Eric: It was only $40. But it’s not the money, it’s the principle of the thing. Mindy: Why? Weren’t you parked illegally? Eric: No, I wasn’t. The street I live on has metered parking from 9:00 AM to 6:00 PM. After 6, you can park there with a permit. Well, I parked my car at 7:30 PM and I have a permit. But, I still got a ticket. Mindy: Did you display the permit clearly? It isn’t expired is it? Eric: Yeah, it’s clearly displayed and it’s good until June 2007. Mindy: Well, it sounds like you have a good case. Are you representing yourself or did you hire a lawyer? Eric: I’m going there by myself. Wish me luck. Mindy: Good luck. If the judge locks you away, I promise to visit you in jail. Eric: Thanks a lot. I’ll remember that.

Script by Dr. Lucy Tse Special thanks to Dr. Marlene Rodriguez Audio Index: Slow dialog: 0:43 Explanations: 2:16 Fast dialog: 13:19 My friend Sabrina and I decided to go out dancing last weekend. We went to a club called the Fine Line and when we got there, there was long line outside. That’s one thing I hate about L.A. clubs. The hottest ones have long lines and it’s hard to get in unless you’re on the VIP list. Sometimes, the bouncer will pick cute girls out of line and let them in. Sabrina always gets attention when we go out together and the bouncer noticed her right away. We paid the cover charge and got our wristbands. The first thing we did was to head over to the bar. Andrea: The music is pretty good. Hey, is that Jeff on the dance floor over there? He’s so hot. Sabrina: Where? Over there by the stage? Let’s go see. … Jeff: Hey, did you guys just get here? Sabrina: Yeah. Who are you here with? Jeff: The DJ is a friend of mine. I came with him and some of his friends. We have a private room in the back. Do you guys want to come check it out? Andrea: Sure. Sabrina: Definitely.

Today's topics: Feeling under the weather, Common abbreviations, Using initials, Now vs. right now Words: To catch a cold e.g. = for example i.e. = that is etc. = et cetera RSVP = please respond/reply FYI = for your information ASAP = as soon as possible LOL = laugh out loud IMHO = in my humble opinion

Script by Dr. Lucy Tse Special thanks to Dr. Marlene Rodriguez Audio Index: Slow dialog: 0:41 Explanations: 2:10 Fast dialog: 14:07 Judy: I’ve called this meeting so we can brainstorm some fundraising ideas. As you know, we’re in danger of closing. Any thoughts? Stan: I thought that Juan was working on getting donors. Judy: He is, but we can’t count on that coming through. Dominique: How much do we need to raise? What’s a ballpark figure? Judy: We need at least $50,000 for next year. Dominique: That’s a lot of money, but I think we’ll come up with something. How about a benefit performance? Stan: That sounds promising. Who can we get to perform? Judy: It would be great to get someone like Barry Manilow. Dominique: I think we’re shooting too high. I was thinking more like a local band or comedy group. Stan: I’ve got it. My brother works for The Improv. He knows a lot of comedians from this area. Maybe we can get a few of them to perform. Dominique: That would be great. Judy: I like how this is shaping up. We’re out of time, but let’s meet again on Friday to hammer out the details. Thanks everybody.

Today's topics: The Oscars, Pimps, "Down to the wire," "And so forth," and I or It? Words: To come down with a cold Academy Awards To give out awards "It's hard out here for a pimp" To be nominated Pimp my ride To sell out Smog inspection/check Headlights Tailpipe Emissions Negotiations