2008年ESL之人际交往 08 A Scandal

08 A Scandal

GLOSSARY 1

to step down –  to resign an important position; to quit a high-level job orposition * The candidate knew he would lose the election and decided 2 to leave the race.

resignation – a formal statement or letter stating that one is leaving or quittingone’s job; a formal announcement that one will no longer be in a position or job* He hated his job as a garbage man so he gave his boss his letter of resignation.

allegation – statements that someone has done something wrong or illegal,possibly not true; an accusation* Newspapers have made allegations that she stole money from her company.

However, so far there is no evidence to support these allegations.

affair – a short sexual relationship, usually a secret* The secretary is having an affair with the company’s executive.

pregnant – when a woman has a child grow inside her womb (stomach); when awoman is carrying a baby* My friend just told me he is going to be a father.  His wife is three monthspregnant!

to go public – to tell something private to a lot of people; to confess somethingthat one has done* Thousands of newspapers where sold when the president went public abouther plans to fix the healthcare system.

to deny – to state that something is not true; to tell others that what has beensaid about oneself is untrue* He denied breaking the window, but I am sure he did it.

made up – a created or invented story that is not true; an imagined or false story or idea* Never believe anything he says.  He always makes things up.

to cover up – to hide the truth; to try to prevent others from knowing the truth* Some people believe that the government covers up the existence of aliens, butthey do exist.

a lot to lose – when one has many things to lose, for example, one’s job orreputation* She is rich, respected, and successful.  She should be careful because she has a lot to lose.

to lose (one’s) head – to not have good judgment 3 because of emotions such aslove or anger; to do something that one would not normally do because of strongemotions or not having enough time to think* My brother deleted my assignment from the computer.  I was so angry that Ilost my head and threw a glass of water at him!

public eye – having the attention of many ordinary people; being known by thegeneral public* She is a famous actress so she gets no privacy.  She’s always in the public eye.

to play with fire – to be involved in a dangerous or serious situation; to dosomething that may cause a serous or bad result* He didn’t know that insulting the border guards was playing with fire.

embarrassment 4 – feeling shame; feeling uncomfortable because of somethingnegative about oneself or about something that one has done* She went red with embarrassment when her mother showed her new boyfriendsome old photographs.

extenuating 5 circumstances – reasons why a crime or something wrong thatone has done seem less serious; reasons or circumstances for getting lesspunishment than one would normally get for doing something wrong* The man was accused of robbery, but because of extenuating circumstances,he didn’t go to prison.

serves (someone) right – a phrase used when one believes that another persondeserves the punishment he or she receives * My friend just got a divorce and lost his house.  It serves him right because hewas unfaithful to his wife.

COMPREHENSION QUESTIONS:

1. Which of these is an example of losing one’s head?

a) Being pregnant.

b) Being the president of a university.

c) Saying angry things to the president of the university without a good reason.

2. Why does the professor want to cover up his affair?

a) Because it serves him right.

b) Because he has a lot to lose.

c) Because he likes wearing make up.

WHAT ELSE DOES IT MEAN?

resignationThe word “resignation,” in this podcast, refers a letter you write or a statementyou make which states that you are quitting your job or position: “I have to quitmy job for personal reasons so I gave my boss my resignation today.”  It relates to the verb “to resign” which means to quit or leave your job by telling your boss:

“She resigned today because she was offered a better job with a differentcompany.”  The word “resignation” can also mean that you accept somethingeven if you don’t like it because it can’t be changed easily: “They accepted theinsurance company’s decision not to rebuild their house after the storm withresignation.”  Or, “He accepted his fate with resignation.”  One’s look, expressionor tone can be described as “resigned”: “The woman said in a resigned tone thatshe had been waiting for three hours and will continue to wait.”

to cover upIn this podcast the expression “to cover up” means to hide or conceal 6 the truthfrom people or to keep something a secret: “The man was actually going to Italy to sell his company’s secrets and used the conference to cover up his truepurpose.”  In the U.S., “cover-up” is also a name for a type of make-up orcosmetic used by women to hide flaws on their faces: “When she woke up shehad an ugly blemish 7 on her nose and she had to hide it with cover-up so no onewould see it.”  A cover-up is also a piece of clothing that women wear, usually over their bathing suit: “She came out of the swimming pool, dried herself with atowel, and put on her cover-up so she wouldn’t get cold.”

CULTURAL NOTESIn the U.S., a company or organization’s “image” (how the public sees andunderstands the company) is very important.  While a good image can help thecompany “achieve its aims” (be successful), a bad image can mean the“collapse” (failure) of that organization.  There are several ways that companies in the U.S. help “promote” (encourage the popularity or sale of something) agood image.

One way is to give money to “charity” (a system of giving money, food, or help tothose who need it).  Many big companies give millions of dollars a year tocharities such as The Red Cross and The Salvation 8 Army.  Others create theirown charitable organizations, build hospitals or found universities.  For example,Bill Gates, the founder 9 of Microsoft, also established the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation in 1997 and “donated” (to give something to someone, usually money) 350 million dollars in 2005 alone.

Companies also “sponsor” (finance; to support a person or organization, usually by giving money) famous events such as the Olympic Games to promote apositive corporate 10 image.  Coca-cola, Samsung, Visa and Kodak are a few of thetop sponsors for the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games.  The Olympic Games areseen as an event that “unites” (joins together) the different cultures of the world ina peaceful way.  As sponsors, companies can share this image.

A less “honorable” (respectable; honest and fair) way that companies changetheir negative image into a positive one is to fire an employee and use them as a“scapegoat” (a person who is made to take the blame for something someoneelse did).  The fired person therefore takes much of the negative association withthem and the company is no longer blamed for the illegal or dishonest acts.

Comprehension Questions Correct Answers: 1 – c; 2 – b

COMPLETE TRANSCRIPTWelcome to English as a Second Language Podcast number 371: A Scandal.

This is English as a Second Language Podcast episode 371.  I’m your host, Dr.

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

Go to our website at eslpod.com and download a Learning Guide for this episodeto help you to improve your English even faster.  You can also take look at ourESL Podcast Store, which has additional courses in business and daily Englishwe think you’ll enjoy.

This episode is a dialogue between Caridad and Nate; it’s called “A Scandal.”  A“scandal” is when someone does something wrong, and everyone is very angry –very upset about it.  Usually, it’s something that happens to a very public person,like a president or a governor.  This is a scandal about the president of auniversity.  Let’s listen.

[start of dialogue]

Caridad:  Look at this!  The president of McQuillan University is stepping down. He submitted his resignation this morning after an undergraduate student madeallegations that they had an affair and that she’s pregnant with his baby. Nate:  That’s terrible.  Maybe they were in love. Caridad:  In love?  He’s married and has four kids, and when she first went public about the affair, he denied it and said that she had made up the whole story. Would someone in love try to cover up something like this?

Nate:  Who knows?  The president of a major university is a person with a lot tolose.  I’m not making excuses for him, but maybe he lost his head.

Caridad:  Of course he had a lot to lose.  Anyone who is in the public eye like heis shouldn’t be playing with fire.  He’s an embarrassment to his family and to his university.

Nate:  I still think there could be extenuating circumstances.  All you know you’velearned from one newspaper article.

Caridad:  That much is true, but I know one thing: Whatever happens to him, itserves him right!

[end of dialogue]

Our dialogue begins when Caridad (or Caridad, in Spanish) says to Nate, “Look at this!  The president of McQuillan University is stepping down.”  “To step down”

is a phrasal verb meaning to quit, usually a very important job – to resign from animportant position.  The president is stepping down; he’s leaving, he’s resigning. “He submitted his resignation this morning after an undergraduate student madeallegations.”  Your “resignation” is your formal letter saying that you are leaving aparticular job.  The word “resignation” has a couple of different meanings; take alook at our Learning Guide for some additional explanations of that.

Well, the reason that the president is stepping down is that an undergraduatestudent has made allegations that they had an affair and that she is pregnantwith his baby.  Well, this is getting interesting!  An “undergraduate student” is astudent usually between the ages of 18 and 22 who is studying to get abachelor’s degree at the university.  An “allegation” is a statement that someoneelse has done something wrong or illegal.  It might be true, it might not be true;we don’t know. The woman here is making an allegation that she and the president had an“affair,” a short, secret usually, sexual relationship, often between one personwho is married and another person who might be married, might not.  The affairresulted in a “pregnancy,” the woman is pregnant.  “To be pregnant” is when awoman has a child that is beginning to develop inside of her – to grow inside ofher.  We sometimes say the woman is “carrying a baby,” she’s pregnant; she’s going to have a baby.

Nate says, “That’s terrible.  Maybe they were in love” – maybe the president andthis young student were in love.  Ah, love!  Caridad says, “In love?  He’s marriedand has four kids.”  She’s not very happy with Nate’s explanation; she says he’s married and has four children, and when the student first went public about theiraffair, he denied it.  “To go public” means to tell something that would normally be very private or secret to many other people.  This is what has happened; thewoman has told everyone else.

He denied the affair.  “To deny” means to say it wasn’t true, that didn’t happen. He also said that the women made up the whole story.  “To make something up”

means to create or invent a story that isn’t true.  In this case, it would be to tell alie; to say this is something that happened that didn’t actually happen.  That’s to make up something.  If someone says to you, “Oh, you just made that up,” they mean you invented that; that’s not actually true, that’s false.  Not a nice thing tosay, unless, of course, it’s true!

Caridad says, “Would someone in love try to cover up something like this?”  “Tocover up” is another phrasal verb meaning to hide the truth, to prevent others from trying to find out the truth.  This happens often with government officials when they do something wrong, and what they did wrong may not be illegal, butbecause they’re embarrassed and they don’t want other people to know, they try to cover it up.  They try to prevent other people from learning about it, and this is often what gets them into real trouble, because they lie to the police or lie tosome other person, and it’s the lie that gets them in trouble.  It’s the lie that is often illegal or against the law.  So, if you do something wrong, don’t try to coverit up.  I never do; if I did, my wife would discover the truth anyway!

Caridad is saying that the president and this student are not in love because ifthey were, he would not try to cover it up.  Nate says, “Who knows?”  He’s notsure.  “The president of a major (or important) university is a person with a lot tolose.”  If you say someone has “a lot to lose,” you mean they have many things that they could lose if something bad happens, their job for example.  He goes onto say, “I’m not making excuses for him, but maybe he lost his head.”  “To loseyour head” means not to have very good judgment, not to make a good decisionbecause of some emotion such as love or anger.  You do something that youwould not normally do; this is to lose your head.  Women have this effect onmany men!

Caridad says, “Of course he had a lot to lose.  Anyone who is in the public eyelike he is shouldn’t be playing with fire.”  “To be in the public eye” means thateveryone is watching you, that you are a popular or famous person.  I am not inthe public eye, except, of course, on ESL Podcast, when I’m in the public ear – Iguess!  We don’t say that; we only use the expression “public eye,” we wouldnever say the “public ear” – I just made that up! Caridad says that he should not be playing with fire.  “To play with fire” means tobe involved in a dangerous situation, to do something that could hurt you, justlike playing with fire could burn you – could hurt you.  The president, Caridadsays, “is an embarrassment to his family and to his university.”  “Embarrassment”

means to feel shame, to feel uncomfortable because of something negative thatyou have done or someone else has done to you.  The president is “anembarrassment to his family,” meaning his family is embarrassed by him; they feel shame because of him.

Nate says, “I still think there could be extenuating circumstances.”  “I still think,”

meaning I don’t agree with you – I think it is still possible that there could beextenuating circumstances.  The “circumstance” is the situation; “extenuating”

means there are reasons – excuses – that could explain it that would make theperson less guilty, less liable for doing something wrong.  So, “extenuatingcircumstances” are reasons why someone has done something wrong that makeit seem less serious.

Nate says, “All you know you’ve learned from one newspaper article.”  Caridadsays, “That much is true, but I know one thing: Whatever happens to (thepresident of McQuillan University), it serves him right!”  The expression “to servesomeone right” means the person deserves the punishment.  It’s a phrase weuse when you think another person should be punished, something bad shouldhappen to them because of what they did.  Of course, there’s no such thing as McQuillan University, and there’s no president of McQuillan University – justwanted to remind you of that!

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

[start of dialogue]

Caridad:  Look at this!  The president of McQuillan University is stepping down. He submitted his resignation this morning after an undergraduate student madeallegations that they had an affair and that she’s pregnant with his baby. Nate:  That’s terrible.  Maybe they were in love. Caridad:  In love?  He’s married and has four kids, and when she first went public about their affair, he denied it and said that she had made up the whole story. Would someone in love try to cover up something like this?

Nate:  Who knows?  The president of a major university is a person with a lot tolose.  I’m not making excuses for him, but maybe he lost his head.

Caridad:  Of course he had a lot to lose.  Anyone who is in the public eye like heis shouldn’t be playing with fire.  He’s an embarrassment to his family and to his university.

Nate:  I still think there could be extenuating circumstances.  All you know you’velearned from one newspaper article.

Caridad:  That much is true, but I know one thing: Whatever happens to him, itserves him right!

[end of dialogue]

The script for this episode was written by someone who is never anembarrassment, Dr. Lucy Tse. From Los Angeles, California, I’m Jeff McQuillan.  Thanks for listening.  We’ll seeyou next time on ESL Podcast.

English as a Second Language Podcast is written and produced by Dr. Lucy Tse,hosted by Dr. Jeff McQuillan.  This podcast is copyright 2008.