2010年ESL之商务英语 25 Being Genuine and False

25 Being Genuine and False

GLOSSARY 1

to cozy 2 up to (someone) – to do and say things to try to have a closerelationship with another person, often because one wants something from thatperson; to be very friendly, warm, and open with a person* Hamed always tries to cozy up to his aunts when he needs money.

proposal – a written document that presents a solution to a problem, usuallyasking for money in order to implement 3 that solution* The city has received proposals from five constructions companies that want torepair the bridge.

true intentions – the real reason why someone is doing something; the realpurpose of one’s words and/or actions* When you’re very rich, it’s hard to date, because you never know the otherperson’s true intentions. Does he love you, or does he just love your money?

upfront – direct, straightforward 4, and honest, without trying to hide anything* If you had been upfront about the price from the beginning, we wouldn’t haveneeded to negotiate for so long.

ulterior motive 5 – a hidden, secret reason for doing something, especially if it hasnegative consequences for another person* If a technician offers to fix your computer for free, he may have an ulteriormotive, like wanting to see the personal information stored in your files.

at face value – to understand or accept something as it appears, without thinkingthere is a hidden meaning or explanation* When he said, “I’ll call you,” Shelly took it at face value, and she was verydisappointed when he didn’t actually call her.

reputation – the way one is perceived or thought about by other people, oftenwhen they do not know that person well* Albert has a reputation for being a good student, although he doesn’t study verymuch.

two-faced – insincere and untrustworthy, often saying different things to differentpeople* I can’t believe Jeremiah was so two-faced, dating two women at once withoutletting them know.

false pretenses 6 – dishonestly; with hidden reasons; pretending to do or besomething that isn’t true* Yoland applied 7 for the job under false pretenses, pretending he was interestedin the company, but really wanting to learn about its products so that he couldcopy them for his own company.

to stab (someone) in the back – to betray someone; to unexpectedly dosomething that another person is not expecting in order to hurt him or her, oftenafter one has been very nice to that person* After everything we did for that boy, he stabbed us in the back, stealing moneyfrom Mariah’s purse when she wasn’t looking.

genuine – real; true; authentic 8; sincere* Were you being genuine, or were you just saying that to be nice?

open – willing to share information with another person; not hiding anything* My brother said that if I want to have more friends, I need to try to be moreopen and let people know about my hobbies and interests.

to watch out for (someone) – to do something to protect another person fromdangers or risks* Ever since Helena was a little girl, her older brothers have always watched outfor her.

warning – caution; a written or spoken statement letting someone know about apotential danger or risk* Warning! This coffee is hot.

to beware of – to be cautious or careful because one knows there is a potentialdanger or risk* Beware of eating wild mushrooms. Some of them are poisonous.

COMPREHENSION QUESTIONS

1. What does Javier mean when he says, “I saw Terry cozying up to you thismorning”?

a) He saw Terry trying to develop a close relationship with Floriane.

b) He saw Terry standing 9 very close to Floriane, almost touching 10 her.

c) He saw Terry trying to get Floriane to do his work.

2. Why does Javier say Terry is two-faced?

a) Because he isn’t always honest about his intentions.

b) Because his face value is twice that of other people.

c) Because he thinks Terry has a big nose and chin.

______________WHAT ELSE DOES IT MEAN?

upfront

The word “upfront,” in this podcast, means direct, straightforward, and honest,without trying to hide anything: “If you don’t like something about my writing style,please be upfront and tell me, so that I can try to change it.” When talking aboutbilling or payments, “upfront” means ahead of time, or before goods or servicesare received: “Marty asks his clients to pay 40% of the total cost upfront beforehe begins a project, with the other 60% payable 11 upon completion.” As twowords, “up front” can mean ahead of someone else, or near the front of a room:

“The best students tend to sit up front in the classroom.” Or, “We were sitting upfront, very close to the movie screen.”

open

In this podcast, the word “open” means willing to share information with anotherperson and not hiding anything: “Girls really like it when guys are open abouttheir feelings.” The phrase “open to” means willing to consider something,because one hasn’t made a decision yet: “We’re open to working with yourcompany, but we need to consider your competitors, too.” Someone with an“open mind” is willing to consider other opinions and ideas: “Nikolas has an openmind and is friends with people who have many different religious beliefs.”

Finally, the phrase “to keep (one’s) eyes and ears open” means to be observantso that one will notice important things: “If you keep your eyes and ears open,you can learn a lot about your new neighbors.”

CULTURE NOTE

There are many “counterfeiters” (people who try to make money, documents, andother things look real when they aren’t) who try to “fool” (trick; make someonebelieve something that isn’t true) people into buying things that are not genuine.

When making a “major purchase” (something expensive), it’s important to identifywhether the “item” (thing; product) is genuine or “false” (counterfeit; fake; notreal).

Many people just rely on the “brand name,” or the name that a company gives toa product. For example, Nike is a brand name. “Theoretically” (in theory; as anidea, but not necessarily in reality) only products produced and sold by the Nikecompany should have the Nike brand name, but many counterfeiters “copy”

(make something similar to) Nike products and put the Nike brand name onthem. In this situation, it’s important to examine the product “features”

(characteristics) to “differentiate” (tell the difference between) genuine and falsegoods.

When purchasing a “replacement 12 part” (a new piece used when an old piece canno longer be used) for an automobile 13, machine, or equipment, “OEM” (originalequipment manufacturer) “indicates” (shows; demonstrates) that the replacementpart is made by the same company that made the original part, and that there isno difference between the replacement part and the parts that are used whenmaking new products.

When buying gold jewelry 14, buyers need to know how “pure” (made of only onething) the gold is. The “carat” is a measurement of the purity of gold. A 24-caratgold ring is 99.9% gold, but an 18-carat ring is only 75% gold. If getting agenuine 24-carat gold ring is important to you, have a “reputable” (reliable andtrustworthy; with a good reputation) “jeweler” (a person who makes or sellsjewelry) examine the piece for you.

______________Comprehension Questions Correct Answers: 1 – a; 2 – a

COMPLETE TRANSCRIPT 15

Welcome to English as a Second Language Podcast number 640: BeingGenuine and False.

This is English as a Second Language Podcast episode 640. I’m your host, Dr.

Jeff McQuillan, coming to you from the Center for Educational Development inbeautiful Los Angeles, California.

Visit our website at eslpod.com. Why? Well, because if you do, you candownload a Learning Guide for this episode that will help you improve yourEnglish even faster. Even faster than what, you ask? Even faster than justlistening to the episode, you see!

On this episode we’re going to listen to a dialogue between Javier and Floriane.

It’s going to be about people who are genuine – people who mean what they say,and people who are false – who say one thing but mean something else. Let’sget started.

[start of dialogue]

Javier: I saw Terry cozying up to you this morning. What was that about?

Floriane: He was just offering me some advice on my first proposal.

Javier: Sure, he was. What were his true intentions?

Floriane: I think he was being upfront about wanting to help a new employee. Idon’t think he had an ulterior motive.

Javier: I wouldn’t take Terry at face value. He has a reputation around the officeof being two-faced. He’ll try to get to know you under false pretenses and thenstab you in the back.

Floriane: I don’t get that feeling from Terry. He seemed genuine and open. Bythe way, was there something you needed?

Javier: Me? No. I was just trying to watch out for you.

Floriane: In that case, I’d better get back to work, and I’ll keep your warning inmind. I’ll beware of anyone giving me advice who may have an ulterior motive.

[end of dialogue]

Javier says to Floriane, “I saw Terry cozying up to you this morning. What wasthat about?” “To cozy (cozy) up to (someone)” means to do and to say things totry to have a close relationship with the other person, usually because you wantsomething from that person. So, the woman sitting in your office wants to getinformation from you about your clients – who you are working with. So shecomes up to your desk, and she’s very friendly: she brings you a doughnut, shelaughs at all of your jokes – you get the idea – she’s cozying up to you. It couldbe a man with a woman; it could be two women or two men. It’s not a romanticthing, although it could lead to something romantic I suppose. The word “cozy”

can also mean comfortable. “To be cozy” means to be comfortable, for examplesitting on a comfortable chair.

Well here, someone – Terry – is cozying up to Floriane. Floriane says, “He wasjust offering me some advice on my first proposal.” A “proposal” is a writtendocument that presents some solution to a problem. Often, it is asking for moneyin order to carry out – in order to do that solution. You may write a proposal, forexample, to get money for a new product, and you give that to your boss or yourboss’s boss and someone says yes or no to your proposal. If you are acharitable organization and you want to get money from some rich person, likeBill Gates for example, you would write a proposal and send it to him. I’m notsure if he’ll say yes! That’s what a proposal is, at least in the business sense. Inthe personal sense, a proposal is when typically a man asks a woman to marryhim, but in the business sense it’s something different.

Javier says, “Sure, he was.” Remember Floriane said that Terry was just givingher some advice on her proposal; he wasn’t trying to cozy up to her she says.

But Javier doesn’t believe her; he says, “Sure, he was.” Notice he seems to beagreeing with Floriane, but in fact he means the opposite; it depends on the wayyou say it. If a husband comes home late from work and says that he wasworking late on a project, if his wife doesn’t believe him she might say, “Sure, youwere.” It’s the tone – it’s the intonation 16 that determines what the meaning ishere, and here Javier is doubting what Floriane is saying. He says, “What werehis true intentions?” “His true intentions” are the real reasons why he was doingsomething.

Floriane says, “I think he was being upfront about wanting to help a newemployee.” He was just trying to help her – he was being upfront. “Upfront”

(upfront – one word) means direct, honest, without trying to hide anything.

Floriane says, “I don’t think he (Terry) had an ulterior motive.” An “ulteriormotive” means a secret, hidden reason for doing something, especially if it has negative consequences for someone else. If someone says, “Oh, I will help youfor free,” they might have an ulterior motive; they might have some other reasonwhy they are helping 17 you, not just because they are nice.

Well, Floriane does not think that Terry has an ulterior motive. Javier says, “Iwouldn’t take Terry at face value.” “To take (someone) at face value” means tounderstand or to accept something as it appears, without thinking there is ahidden meaning or hidden explanation. If someone says, “I’m busy, I’m sorry Ican’t help you,” you will probably take their word at face value, meaning okay,they’re busy; I believe that. But, Javier says that you should not take Terry atface value. He says that Terry has a reputation around the office for being twofaced.

A “reputation” is what other people think about you, it’s other people’sopinions about you. “To be two-faced” means that you are dishonest; you arenot trustworthy. You say things to one person, and then you’ll talk to someoneelse about the same subject and you’ll say something different. You tell oneperson that you like your boss, you tell another person that you hate your boss;that’s being two-faced. Javier says that Terry will try to get to know you underfalse pretenses and then stab you in the back. Wow, this Terry’s a pretty evilperson! The expression “false pretenses” (pretenses) means dishonestly, nothonestly, someone pretending to do or to be something that isn’t real – isn’t true.

Javier says that Terry will try to get to know Floriane under false pretenses.

Notice we use the word “under” with this phrase – so under false pretenses. Andthen, after he knows her, he will stab her in the back. The expression “to stab(stab) (someone) in the back” means to suddenly do something that will hurt theother person. You’ve been very nice to someone, but then when you see anopportunity perhaps to get something you want you will stab that person in theback. You will do something mean – something bad to them in order for you toget what you want. The verb we would use here is “to betray” (betray); “to betray(someone),” to do something that the other person is not expecting in order tohurt them after you have been nice to them. Literally 18, “to stab someone in theback” would be to take a knife and put it into the back of the person, obviouslytrying to kill them.

Floriane says, “I don’t get that feeling from Terry.” She doesn’t agree with Javier.

She says, “He seemed genuine and open.” “To be genuine” means to be real, tobe true. Here, really it means to be sincere; someone who is “sincere” is tellingthe truth, means what they say. “Open” here means willing to share informationwith another person, not hiding anything. The word “open” has a couple ofdifferent meanings, as does the word “upfront,” which we talked about earlier.

Those can be found in our Learning Guide.

Floriane says, “By the way, was there something you needed (Javier)?” Javiersays, “Me? No. I was just trying to watch out for you.” “To watch out for(someone)” means to do something to protect the other person, to keep themsafe. Floriane says, “In that case, I’d better get back to work (since you don’twant anything else), and I’ll keep your warning in mind.” A “warning” is whensomeone tells you about something that could go wrong, some potential problem.

She says, “I’ll beware of anyone giving me advice who may have an ulteriormotive.” “To beware of (someone)” is a phrasal verb meaning to be careful or tobe cautious because you know there is a possible danger in this situation.

What we, of course, think here is that Javier is romantically interested in Floriane,and he doesn’t like another man in the office trying to get close to her. Florianerealizes this, and at the end of the dialogue says, “I’ll beware of anyone givingme advice who may have an ulterior motive,” meaning, of course, that Javier hasan ulterior motive. He isn’t just trying to protect Floriane; he’s trying to get her tobe romantically interested in him. I think he will probably succeed, and one daythey’ll get married!

Now let’s listen to the dialogue, this time at a normal speed.

[start of dialogue]

Javier: I saw Terry cozying up to you this morning. What was that about?

Floriane: He was just offering me some advice on my first proposal.

Javier: Sure, he was. What were his true intentions?

Floriane: I think he was being upfront about wanting to help a new employee. Idon’t think he had an ulterior motive.

Javier: I wouldn’t take Terry at face value. He has a reputation around the officeof being two-faced. He’ll try to get to know you under false pretenses and thenstab you in the back.

Floriane: I don’t get that feeling from Terry. He seemed genuine and open. Bythe way, was there something you needed?

Javier: Me? No. I was just trying to watch out for you.

Floriane: In that case, I’d better get back to work, and I’ll keep your warning inmind. I’ll beware of anyone giving me advice who may have an ulterior motive.

[end of dialogue]

The script for this episode was written by our genuinely nice scriptwriter, Dr. LucyTse.

From Los Angeles, California, I’m Jeff McQuillan. Thank you for listening. Comeback and listen to us next time on ESL Podcast.

English as a Second Language Podcast is written and produced by Dr. Lucy Tse,hosted by Dr. Jeff McQuillan, copyright 2010 by the Center for EducationalDevelopment.