2011年ESL之日常生活 11 Being Late for an Event

11 Being Late for an Event

GLOSSARY 1

to get a move on – to hurry; to rush; to do something very quickly

* Get a move on! We have to finish wrapping all of these packages by noon!

to hold (one’s) horses – to wait; to be patient; to stop rushing or hurryinganother person

* Why are you in such a hurry? Hold your horses and wait for me to finishcleaning up the house before we leave.

on the verge 2 of – almost; about to happen; very soon; imminently 3

* The president is on the verge of announcing a major policy decision.

Rome wasn’t built in a day – a phrase meaning that doing important things welltakes time and cannot be rushed

* The author has been working on his next book for almost four years, but whenhis editor asks him about it, he just reminds her that Rome wasn’t built in a day.

to settle for – to accept something that is not what one really wanted, but issatisfactory; to compromise

* I’d really like a glass of ice tea, but if you don’t have that, I’ll settle for a glass ofwater.

to be running late – to be behind schedule; to be doing something too slowly, sothat one will not be able to finish it on time or when it is due or expected

* Harry 4 called to say he overslept and he’s running late, but he should be at theoffice within another half hour.

to march to the beat of a different drummer – to do things differently thanother people, or to have different beliefs and interests than other people do; to bevery independent and non-conformist

* Kyoko dies her hair pink to show the world that she marches to the beat of adifferent drummer.

to watch the clock – to be very aware of what time it is and to make an effort toarrive places on time and do things when others expect one to do them

* Vicky’s boss is always watching the clock, noting exactly when she takes herlunch break and when she returns.

to live in the moment – to fully 5 experience what is happening right now, withoutworrying about the past or the future

* Why are you always so worried about saving money? You need to learn to livein the moment and enjoy life.

very – a world used for emphasis; exact or precise

* I still remember the first time I saw the Taj Mahal. That was the very momentwhen I realized I wanted to become an architect.

to give (someone) a couple of minutes – to give someone a little more time todo something; to stop rushing someone; to stop asking or demanding thatsomeone do something more quickly

* If you can give me a couple of minutes, I think I can fix your spreadsheet.

punctual – arriving places on time, when other people are expecting one toarrive

* We’ll meet here tomorrow morning at 8:15. Please be punctual. If you’re late,we might leave without you.

to know better – to have enough experience or knowledge to know howsomething will actually be, which is different than how it should be or how one istold it will be

* Mark said he’d help me move, but I should have known better than to believehim. Now I’ll need to find someone else.

all set – ready to do something; prepared

* Our bags are packed and there’s gas in the car, so I think we’re all set for ourroad trip. Let’s go!

COMPREHENSION QUESTIONS

1. Why does Carmen say, “Hold your horses?”

a) Because she thinks Eric is being impatient.

b) Because she thinks Eric is being rude.

c) Because she thinks Eric is a good horse rider.

2. What does Carmen mean when she says she marches to the beat of adifferent drummer?

a) She likes to listen to music while she’s getting ready.

b) She does things differently than other people do.

c) She can’t do things as quickly as other people do.

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WHAT ELSE DOES IT MEAN?

to settle for

The phrase “to settle for,” in this podcast, means to accept something that is notwhat one really wanted, but is satisfactory: “They asked for 18,000 for their usedcar. Do you think they’ll settle for $16,000?” The phrase “to settle down” meansto become calmer and more quiet: “Hey, settle down in there! You guys aremaking way too much noise, and I need to study!” The phrase “to settle in”

means to begin to feel comfortable and content in a new environment: “How longdid it take you to settle into your new job?” Finally, the phrase “to settle up”

means to pay the money one owes: “While traveling together, they agreed to putall the expenses on one credit card and then settle up at the end of the trip.”

very

In this podcast, the word “very” is used for emphasis: “She showed up to thewedding wearing the very dress that I had planned to wear! Thank goodness Ichanged my mind at the last minute.” Or, “This manufacturer claims to use onlythe very best ingredients for its dog food.” The phrase “the very thought” or “thevery idea of (something)” means that even thinking of something, even thoughone wasn’t actually doing or having it, was enough for something else to happen:

“When she was pregnant 6, even the thought of raw meat made her want to throwup.” Finally, the phrase “very much so” is used to show strong agreement withsomeone or something: A: “Do you really believe that?” B: “Yes, very much so.”

CULTURE NOTE

Etiquette 7 for Arriving Late to a PerformanceIn the United States, “punctuality” (one’s ability to arrive to places on time asexpected) is very important in most situations. “Arriving late” (coming later thanexpected) is generally considered to be “rude” (impolite) and disrespectful ofothers. There are some “exceptions” (instances when a rule does not apply), butit is usually best to arrive at the time stated on an invitation or announcement.

When arriving late to an event or an artistic 8 performance, certain “etiquette”

(expected behavior) should be followed. For a concert or play, it is important towait outside the main theater area and enter only during “applause 9” (whenpeople are clapping) and/or “intermission” (the break between scenes or smallperformances, when people move around and can drink, eat, or smoke). Oftenan “usher” (a person whose job is to help people find their seats) will “guard”

(watch over) the door and not let “latecomers” (people who arrive late) enter thetheater until intermission. Sometimes there is a “viewing area” where latecomerscan watch the performance “live” (in real time) on television until they are allowedto enter the theater.

If latecomers are allowed to enter during applause, they should do so veryquietly, without “calling attention to themselves” (doing things that make otherpeople look). This means entering very quietly, without “disturbing” (bothering;interrupting) other people. If their seats are in the middle of a row “(a group ofseats placed next to each other), they may want to stand in the back of thetheater until there is a break on stage, because moving to those seats wouldrequire making other people stand up and would “block the view” (make it sosomeone cannot see) of the people behind.

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

COMPLETE TRANSCRIPT 10

Welcome to English as a Second Language Podcast number 695: Being Late foran Event.

This is English as a Second Language Podcast episode 11 695. I’m your host, Dr.

Jeff McQuillan, coming to you from the Center for Educational Development in –where else – Los Angeles, beautiful Los Angeles, California.

Our website is eslpod.com. Go there to download a Learning Guide for thisepisode to help you improve your English even faster.

This episode is called “Being Late for an Event.” Let’s get started.

[start of dialogue]

Eric: Let’s get a move on or we’ll be late – again!

Carmen: Hold your horses. I’m on the verge of being ready. Rome wasn’t builtin a day, you know.

Eric: A day? I’d settle for a week. Why is it that every time we have someplaceto be you’re always running late?

Carmen: That’s because I march to the beat of a different drummer. Life isn’tabout watching the clock; it’s about living in the moment.

Eric: Okay, at this very moment, we’re late.

Carmen: Just give me a couple of minutes more and I’ll be ready. After all, noneof our friends expect us to be punctual anymore. They all know better.

Eric: Yeah, and I should, too. From now on, I’ll start getting ready when you sayyou’re all set. Then I’ll just have minutes to wait – not hours!

[end of dialogue]

Eric starts off, or begins our dialogue by saying to Carmen, “Let’s get a move onor we’ll be late – again!” “To get a move on” means to hurry, to rush, to dosomething quickly. “We better get a move on or we will be late for dinner withour friends.” Eric says to Carmen hurry up, basically.

Carmen says, “Hold your horses.” “To hold your horses” is an old expressionmeaning to wait, to be patient, to stop rushing or hurrying another person,probably because horses, when they are scared especially, sometimes go veryfast, you have to control them. Well, Carmen is telling Eric to hold his horses,meaning stop rushing her, stop trying to make her go faster than she is. Shesays, “I’m on the verge of being ready.” “To be on the verge (verge) of(something)” means almost, very soon, it’s just about to happen. Because “of” isa preposition the word that comes after it, if it’s a verb, has to be changed intowhat’s called a gerund, making it the object of the preposition as a noun. So, younotice Carmen says, “I’m on the verge of being (being) ready,” “being” is agerund. You could say, “I’m on the verge of going to the store.” “I’m on theverge of winning this poker 12 game,” or whatever. “Rome wasn’t built in a day, youknow,” Carmen says. This is also an old expression: “Rome wasn’t built in aday.” It means that if you are doing something important it takes time; it can takea long time, you can’t try to do it quickly. The great City of Rome, with all of itswonderful buildings and architecture, wasn’t built in a day, meaning it took manyyears – hundreds of years to make it what it is. Well, that’s the expression, andthat’s what Carmen is saying to Eric. She’s doing something great by preparingherself, I guess.

Eric says, “A day? I’d settle for a week.” “To settle for” is an expression thatmeans to accept something that isn’t exactly what you wanted, but is goodenough “I settled for living in this apartment.” It isn’t my favorite place, but it’sgood enough for me. It will be satisfactory; not great, not terrible. Eric is makinga joke, saying that, in effect, he doesn’t want to build Rome in a day, he wouldtake a week, that would be okay. Eric says, “Why is it that every time we havesomeplace to be you’re always running late?” “To run late” means to be behindschedule, to do things too slowly so that you can’t complete them when you areexpected to complete them.

Carmen says, “That’s because I march to the beat of a different drummer.” Thisis another old expression: “To march to the beat (beat) of a different drummer.”

A “drummer” is someone who plays a drum, usually they have two sticks andthey hit the drum. The “beat” is the repeating stress that appears – that you hearin the music. It’s what you will often hear in a rock band, for example, thedrummer playing. The drummer will be playing the same thing over and overagain, repeating it. That is often the beat for the song. Carmen says, “I march (Iwalk) to the beat of a different drummer.” What she’s saying is that I do thingsdifferently than other people, I don’t follow what everyone else does. Drummersare often used especially in the military – or used to be used – to keep everyonegoing forward at the same speed. Carmen says, “Life isn’t about watching theclock; it’s about living in the moment.” “To watch the clock” means that you are always aware of what time it is and you try to be places on time, on schedule,you’re not late. You’re making sure that you arrive or other people arrive on time.

But that’s not what Carmen says life is about, that’s not the purpose of life. Lifeis about living in the moment. “To live in the moment” means that you’re notthinking about or worrying about the past, you’re not worried about the future,you’re only thinking about what’s happening right now. You want to experiencethe present completely and fully. That’s to live in the moment, not to worry aboutthe future or the past, but just about what you are experiencing right now.

Eric says, “Okay, at this very moment, we’re late.” “Very” has many uses inEnglish. Here, it is used for emphasis to mean exactly or precisely 13. “I fell in lovewith my now-wife the very moment I saw her the first time.” At that exactmoment, I fell in love. Doesn’t every woman want to hear that? Eric says that atthis very moment, right now, we’re late.

Carmen says, “Just give me a couple of minutes more and I’ll be ready.” “Togive (someone) a couple of minutes” means to give them a little more time, not totry to rush them, not to try to make them go faster, not to continue asking them togo faster. Carmen says, “After all, none of our friends expect us to be punctualanymore. They all know better.” She’s saying if you think about it, I mean interms of what’s most important; that’s the meaning of the expression “after all.”

“After all, none of our friends expect us to be punctual anymore.” “To bepunctual” (punctual) means to be on time, to arrive when people are expectingyou to arrive. She says that their friends all know better. The expression “toknow better” means that you have enough experience of something orknowledge of something to know how it will actually be, which is different thanhow it should be or how someone tells you it will be. So you might say, forexample, “My sister-in-law said she would be here at 5:30, but I know better.

She won’t be here until six.” “I know better,” I have experience; I haveknowledge about when she normally arrives, and it’s normally late. I know better.

Eric says, “Yeah, and I should, too,” meaning I should know better as well.

“From now on, I’ll start getting ready when you say you’re all set.” “To be all set”

means to be completely prepared, to be completely ready, you don’t need anymore time. Eric says that when Carmen says that she’s all set, then he’ll startgetting ready. “Then,” he says, “I’ll just have minutes to wait – not hours!” Inother words, Eric is going to wait, in the future, until Carmen says she’s ready,and then he’ll get ready. That way – in that manner, he won’t have to wait hoursfor her to get ready, it will only be minutes.

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

[start of dialogue]

Eric: Let’s get a move on or we’ll be late – again!

Carmen: Hold your horses. I’m on the verge of being ready. Rome wasn’t builtin a day, you know.

Eric: A day? I’d settle for a week. Why is it that every time we have someplaceto be you’re always running late?

Carmen: That’s because I march to the beat of a different drummer. Life isn’tabout watching the clock; it’s about living in the moment.

Eric: Okay, at this very moment, we’re late.

Carmen: Just give me a couple of minutes more and I’ll be ready. After all, noneof our friends expect us to be punctual anymore. They all know better.

Eric: Yeah, and I should, too. From now on, I’ll start getting ready when you sayyou’re all set. Then I’ll just have minutes to wait – not hours!

[end of dialogue]

She’s always punctual; she never runs late. That’s our wonderful scriptwriter, Dr.

Lucy Tse.

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

English as a Second Language Podcast is written and produced by Dr. Lucy Tse,hosted by Dr. Jeff McQuillan, copyright 2011 by the Center for EducationalDevelopment.