2009年ESL之日常生活 08 Trying to Get Off the Phone
时间:2018-12-03 作者:英语课 分类:2009年ESL之日常生活
08 Trying to Get Off the Phone
GLOSSARY
intention – a plan to do something
* They’re planning a trip to New York City with the intention of seeing the Statue of Liberty 1 and Times Square.
the nerve 2 – one’s ability or willingness to do something that is inappropriate or disrespectful
* Her parents couldn’t believe she had the nerve to ask them for more money after everything they’d done for her.
to let (someone) go – to end a phone call or conversation, supposedly so that the other person can do the other things that he or she needs to do
* I should let you go now, so that you can get back to work.
bull 3 – something that is not true; a lie
* Nemo said that he was sick in bed all day yesterday, but that’s bull! We saw him at the mall yesterday afternoon.
veterinarian – a doctor who gives medical care to animals
* When their cow went into labor 4, they called the veterinarian.
a call on the other line – another call that one receives while one is already talking to someone on the phone, and that causes a quietbeeping sound to interrupt the conversation
* Can you wait just a minute? I have a call on the other line. Let me find out who it is.
as good as new – as if something were new, especially if something has beenfixed after it was damaged or injured
* After the vase broke, we glued the pieces back togetherand now it looks as good as new.
no thanks to (someone) – an informal phrase used to emphasize 5 that one did not help something to happen, or that one was not responsible for something that happened
* Ebony graduated from business school with honors 6, but itwas no thanks to her roommates, who never studied and always wanted her to watch TV with them.
to gun for (someone or something) – to try to speed up to hit someone or something with one’s car; to aim for and hurt someone or something while driving a car
* Some drivers think it’s fun to gun for small animals on the roads.
to count (oneself) lucky – to think that one is fortunate; to recognize one’s goodluck
* Scott counts himself lucky that he was born into a family with so many relatives.
to get off scot-free – to not be punished, disciplined, or criticized 7 for whatone has done, especially when one has done something wrong
* The criminal had a very good lawyer and got off scot-free, even though most people thought he had stolen the money.
to cut (something) short – to end something before it has finished, often because no time is left
* The people in the audience asked so many good questions at the beginning that we had to cut our presentation short.
to get going – to leave; to go away; to depart 8
* This has been a lot of fun, but unfortunately I have to get going if I want to catch the last bus home tonight.
nature calls – an informal phrase used to mean that one has to go to the bathroom
* He drank several sodas 9 with lunch, and now nature calls.
shocker – something that is very surprising and unexpected 10
* Vic’s parents didn’t tell him that he was adopted until he was 16 years old. It was quite a shocker!
COMPREHENSION QUESTIONS
1. What happened after Joey took Fifi to the veterinarian?
a) The cat got better.
b) The veterinarian said that Joey was very lucky.
c) Joey refused to pay for the treatment.
2. What does Curran mean when he says, “Nature calls”?
a) He wants to leave the office and go outdoors.
b) He has another call from an environmental group.
c) He needs to use the restroom.
______________
WHAT ELSE DOES IT MEAN?
to let (someone) go
The phrase “to let (someone) go,” in this podcast, means to end a phone call or conversation, supposedly so that the other person can do theother things that he or she needs to do: “If you don’t let him go now, he won’t be able to get home before dark.” The phrase “to let go” means to stop holding something or to drop something: “You’re hurting my arm. Let go!” Or, “Don’t let go of the steering 11 wheel while you’re driving.” The phrase “to let it go” means to forget about something or to stop worrying about something: “Yes, shesaid some mean things about you, but that was years ago. It’s time to let it go.” Finally, the phrase “to let (someone) go” means to fire someone, orto take away someone’s job: “The company is letting people go as a way to save money.”
bull
In this podcast, the word “bull” means a lie or something that isn’t true: “That’s bull! I can’t believe he said that. It isn’t true.” The phrase “like a bull in a china shop” is used to describe someone who is accidentally 12 hitting things and knocking them over or dropping things so that they break: “Please keep your son away from the expensive dishes! He’s like a bull in a chinashop!” The phrase “to take the bull by the horns” means to deal with a difficult situation or problem without any delay or excuses: “The project is a mess, but weneed to take the bull by the horns and stop blaming each other.”
CULTURE NOTE
Telephone service has gone through many changes in the past. Long before we had cell phones, all “land lines” (fixed telephones) were connected through a “telephone exchange,” or an electronic system that connects telephone calls. A person known as an “operator 13” would sit in front of alarge board called a “plug board” or “switchboard” with many “sockets” (things that something else can be pushed into to connect electronically). The operator would “manually” (using one’s hands) move “cables” (wires covered in plastic) from one socket 14 to another to connect callers with the people they wanted to speak with.
The caller would lift the “headset” (the piece of a phone that one puts next to one’s ear and mouth) and the operator would say, “Number, please?” Then the caller would state the number that he or she wanted tocall. The operator would move the cable 15 to the right socket to make that call. If it were a “long-distance” (not local) call, the operator might have to connect thecable to a socket that would connect to another operator, who would then haveto do the same thing, creating a long “chain” (connection) before the long-distance call could be placed. This took much longer than just “dialing the number” (typing numbers on a phone) like we do today.
In the past, when more than two people wanted to speak over the phone, they had to use “party lines,” or shared “lines” (telephoneconnections) where more than two “parties” (people) could participate. These party lines didn’t allow the callers to have any privacy 16, and may people could “eavesdrop” (listen to something that one is not supposed to hear) on the conversations.
______________
Comprehension Questions Correct Answers: 1 – a; 2 – c
COMPLETE TRANSCRIPT 17
Welcome to English as a Second Language Podcast number 471: Trying to Get Off the Phone.
This is English as a Second Language Podcast number 471. I’m your host, Dr. Jeff McQuillan, coming to you from the Center for Educational Development in beautiful Los Angeles, California.
This episode 18 has a Learning 19 Guide, you can find it on our website at eslpod.com. The Learning Guide will help you improve your English even faster by giving you some additional 20 definitions 21, cultural notes, sample sentences, and a complete transcript of this episode.
This episode is a telephone conversation between Erin and Curran. It’s all about trying to get off the phone – trying to end a telephone conversation. Let’s get started.
[start of dialogue]
Erin: So I told Joey that I had no intention of letting him use my car again. Can you believe the nerve of that guy, after what he did?
Curran: That’s terrible, but I’m going to have to let you go. I have an appointment…
Erin: But I didn’t tell you what else he said. He said that running over my cat was just an accident. That’s bull. He said I should be thankful that he took Fifi to a veterinarian!
Curran: Yeah, I can see why you’re mad. I think I havea call on the other line…
Erin: Well, I’m glad you agree with me. I said tohim that Fifi may be as good as new now, but that is no thanks to him! He’s never likedFifi and I wouldn’t be surprised if he was gunning for her when he ran her over. He should count himself lucky he’s getting off scot-free for trying to kill my cat. I said…
Curran: Sorry to have to cut this short, but I really have to get going.
Erin: Oh, sure, but just let me tell you what I plan to do if he asks me again.
Curran: I really want to hear all about it, but…but…nature calls!
Erin: Oh, okay, call me back. I haven’t even told you what Sam told me about Ben yesterday. It’s a real shocker!
Curran: Uh…right. I can’t wait to hear all about it.
[end of dialogue]
We’re in the middle of a conversation between Erin andCurran; Erin says, “So I told Joey that I had no intention of letting him use my car again.” “Intention” is a plan to do something, what you plan on doing. Erin said she had “no intention,” meaning she wasn’t going to let Joey use her car again.She says, “Can you believe the nerve of that guy, after what he did?” The expression “the nerve,” especially “can you believe the nerve” or “that guy has a lot of nerve,” means your willingness or ability to do something that is inappropriate, disrespectful, something that will make someone else angry, something that is not right. “That guy has a lot of nerve,” meaning he is doing something wrong and he knows it, and it is bothering me. Erin says, “Can you believe the nerve of that guy (of Joey)?” meaning he’s doing something that he shouldn’t be doing by asking her to use her car again.
Curran says, “That’s terrible, but I’m going to have tolet you go.” “To let someone go” means, in this case, to end a phone call or apersonal conversation. The idea is that you are going to let theother person continue with what they were doing or what they need to do, although the real intention – the real reason is so that you can go back and do what you want to do. So when someone says, “I’ll let you go,” often they mean “I need to go,” but it’s a polite way of saying I don’t want to take up any more of your time. There’s a couple of different meanings of this expression, so take a look at the Learning Guide for some more explanations.
Curran says, “I have an appointment.” Erin, however, doesn’t want to stop talking. She says, “But I didn’t tell you what else he said. He (Joey) said that running over my cat was just an accident.” “To run over” means that your car goes over something; if you run over a cat, you’re probably going to kill it – unless it’s a very strong cat! Erin says, “That’s bull,” speaking of what Joey said. “Bull,” here, means something that is not true, something that is a lie. It’s actually a short form for another expression, which is vulgar 22 – a bad expression that begins with the letter “S” and ends with the letter “T”. Well, this is an informal expression; you wouldn’t want to use this in your work environment. When you say “that’s bull” or “bull,” that’s an informal way to express that you know that this is wrong. Erin says, “Joey said I should be thankful that he took Fifi to a veterinarian!” Fifi is Erin’s cat. A “veterinarian” is a doctor who takes care of animals such as dogs and cats.
Curran says, “Yeah, I can see why you’re mad (I understandwhy you are angry). I think I have a call on the other line.” “To have acall on the other line” means you have another call – another phone call that you receive while you are talking to someone else. You may have two phones or you may have phones with the service that allows another person to call and to let you know by a small beep that you hear when you’re talking to someone else. Curran, of course, is looking for an excuse to end the conversation, that’s why he says “I think I have a call on the other line.” Of course, we know that’s probably bull!
Erin says, “Well, I’m glad you agree with me,” and of course, she continues talking. She says, “I said to Joey that Fifi may be as good as new now, but that is no thanks to him!” The expression “to be as good as new” means that something has been damaged or injured but now it is just like it were new, just as if nothing had happened to it. So Fifi, apparently,is alive. I thought for sure she would die when the car ran over her, but she’s a strongcat! Erin says, though, that Fifi is okay, no thanks to Joey. “No thanks to (someone)” is an informal expression used to emphasize that that person didn’t do anything to help, that it is not because of what the other person did, that person was not responsible for what happened.
Erin says, “He’s never liked Fifi and I wouldn’t be surprised if he was gunning for her when he ran her over.” “To gun for (someone or something),” especially if you’re in a car, means to go faster, to increase your speed so that you can hit someone. This, of course, is very dangerous; you don’t wantto do this with a human being, you could hurt them or even kill them. Joey, however, I guess doesn’t like Fifi – I can understand why – and he is gunning for her, tries to kill her with the car. Or at least, that’s what Erin thinks.She says, “He should count himself lucky he’s getting off scot-free for trying to kill my cat.” The expression “to count yourself lucky” means to realize or recognize thatyou have had very good luck, that you are fortunate. This often is used when something almost bad happens to someone, or someone does something wrong and they’re not being punished for it – they should count themselves lucky. Joey should count himself lucky that he’s getting off scot-free. This expression, “to get off scot-free,” means not to be punished for something that you have done wrong, not to be criticized for something that you have done wrong. We usually use this expression when it is clear or obvious that the person is guilty but, for whatever reason, does not get punished, for example does not go to jail 23 if they commita crime (do something against the law).
Curran does not want to continue talking to Erin, so finally he says, “Sorry to have to cut this short, but I really have to get going.” Curran is trying to be very polite at the beginning, but as time passes he is more and more direct with Erin. He’s still being polite, but he’s trying to be more insistent 24 – more forceful. He says, “Sorry to have to cut this short.” “To cut (something) short” means to end something before it has finished, usually because you don’thave any more time. Curran is saying he has to cut this telephone conversationshort, he has to end it, he really has to get going. When you say, “I have to getgoing,” you mean I have to leave, I have to go away, I have to depart.
Erin says, “Oh, sure, but just let me tell you what I plan to do if he asks me again.” Erin will still not stop talking. Curran then uses another excuse; he says, “I really want to hear all about it, but nature calls!” The expression “nature calls” is an informal one used to mean that you have to go to the bathroom, so that you cannot stay any longer – you cannot talk any longer, “nature calls.” Erin says, “Oh, okay, call me back. I haven’t even told you what Sam told me about Ben yesterday. It’s a real shocker!” A “shocker” is something that is very surprising, very unexpected. Curran says, “Uh…right. I can’t wait to hear all about it.” Of course, he doesn’t want to hear all about it, but he’s being polite.
Now let’s listen to the dialogue, this time at a normal speed.
[start of dialogue]
Erin: So I told Joey that I had no intention of letting him use my car again. Can you believe the nerve of that guy, after what he did?
Curran: That’s terrible, but I’m going to have to let you go. I have an appointment…
Erin: But I didn’t tell you what else he said. He said that running over my cat was just an accident. That’s bull. He said I should be thankful that he took Fifi to a veterinarian!
Curran: Yeah, I can see why you’re mad. I think I havea call on the other line…
Erin: Well, I’m glad you agree with me. I said tohim that Fifi may be as good as new now, but that is no thanks to him! He’s never likedFifi and I wouldn’t be surprised if he was gunning for her when he ran her over. He should count himself lucky he’s getting off scot-free for trying to kill my cat. I said…
Curran: Sorry to have to cut this short, but I really have to get going.
Erin: Oh, sure, but just let me tell you what I plan to do if he asks me again.
Curran: I really want to hear all about it, but…but…nature calls!
Erin: Oh, okay, call me back. I haven’t even told you what Sam told me about Ben yesterday. It’s a real shocker!
Curran: Uh…right. I can’t wait to hear all about it.
[end of dialogue]
We count ourselves lucky to have Lucy Tse as our scriptwriter forthis episode.
From Los Angeles, California, I’m Jeff McQuillan. Thank you for listening. Come back 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 25 2009 by the Centerfor Educational Development.
- He stood for the cause of liberty and justice.他为自由和正义的事业而奋斗。
- You are at liberty to do as you please.你可以随意行事。
- Did he have the nerve to say that?他竟有脸说这话吗?
- He never got up enough nerve to meet me.他从没有足够的胆量来见我。
- It's only a hair off a bull's back to them.这对他们来说,不过九牛一毛。
- Many dogs closed around the bull.很多狗渐渐地把那只牛围了起来。
- We are never late in satisfying him for his labor.我们从不延误付给他劳动报酬。
- He was completely spent after two weeks of hard labor.艰苦劳动两周后,他已经疲惫不堪了。
- I must emphasize the fact that she is only a little girl. 我必须强调这样一个事实,这就是她只不过是个小女孩。
- I must emphasize the fact that they are only children. 我必须强调这一事实,即他们只不过是孩子。
- He aims at honors. 他力求名誉。 来自《简明英汉词典》
- We did the last honors to his remains. 我们向他的遗体告别。 来自《简明英汉词典》
- The decision was criticized by environmental groups. 这个决定受到了环保团体的批评。
- The movie has been criticized for apparently legitimizing violence. 这部电影因明显地美化暴力而受到了指责。
- The train will depart at 7:30 a.m.早七点半发车。
- Before you depart,let me give you a word of advice.在你走之前,我给你一句忠告。
- There are plenty of sodas in the refrigerator. 冰箱里有很多碳酸饮料。 来自辞典例句
- Two whisky and sodas, please. 请来两杯威士忌苏打。 来自辞典例句
- I always keep some good wine in for unexpected guests.我总保存些好酒,用来招待不速之客。
- His promotion was unexpected.他的升迁出人意料。
- He beat his hands on the steering wheel in frustration. 他沮丧地用手打了几下方向盘。
- Steering according to the wind, he also framed his words more amicably. 他真会看风使舵,口吻也马上变得温和了。
- Mary accidentally let out that her mother had telephoned.玛丽无意中说出她的母亲来过电话。
- As I turned around,I accidentally hit him in the face.我转身时不经意撞了他的脸。
- He is a computer operator.他是个电脑操作员。
- The telephone operator connected us.话务员给我们接通了电话。
- He put the electric plug into the socket.他把电插头插入插座。
- The battery charger plugs into any mains socket.这个电池充电器可以插入任何类型的电源插座。
- Don't forget to cable us as soon as you arrive.别忘了一到就给我发个电报。
- The worker attached a cable.工人连接电缆。
- In such matters,privacy is impossible.在这类事情中,保密是不可能的。
- She wept in the privacy of her own room.她在自己房内暗暗落泪。
- A transcript of the tapes was presented as evidence in court.一份录音带的文字本作为证据被呈交法庭。
- They wouldn't let me have a transcript of the interview.他们拒绝给我一份采访的文字整理稿。
- The episode was a huge embarrassment for all concerned.这段小插曲令所有有关人员都感到非常尴尬。
- This episode remains sharply engraved on my mind.这段经历至今仍深深地铭刻在我的心中。
- When you are learning to ride a bicycle,you often fall off.初学骑自行车时,常会从车上掉下来。
- Learning languages isn't just a matter of remembering words.学习语言不仅仅是记些单词的事。
- It is necessary to set down these additional rules.有必要制定这些补充规则。
- I think we can fit in an additional room.我想我们可以再加建一间房子。
- Write clear definitions in order to avoid ambiguity. 释义要写清楚以免产生歧义。
- Definitions in this dictionary are printed in roman type. 这本词典里的释义是用罗马体印刷的。
- His language is a bit vulgar at times.他说话有时有点粗俗。
- His vulgar manners shocked everyone.他粗俗的举止使大家大为吃惊。
- The castle had been used as a jail.这城堡曾用作监狱。
- If she carries on shoplifting,she'll end up in jail.她如果还在店铺里偷东西,最终会被抓进监狱的。