2011年ESL之日常生活 14 Looking Back on One’s Life

14 Looking Back on One’s Life

GLOSSARY 1

what do I have to show for it? – a rhetorical question (a question one asksoneself, not expecting to receive an answer) one asks when one is disappointedthat one cannot observe the results of one’s actions and feels one’s efforts werewasted

* I spent all day in the kitchen, and what do I have to show for it? Burnt bread, anundercooked chicken, and mushy green beans.

to accomplish – to achieve; to do something, especially if it is difficult oradmirable

* Nobody expected Grace to accomplish so much in her first three months on thejob.

expectation – standard of performance; what one anticipates will happen in thefuture; what one believes should happen

* Mariah believes the secret to raising smart children is to have high expectationsfor them and never accept anything less than their best effort.

unattainable – desirable but impossible; not able to be reached becausesomething is too difficult; impossible

* That kind of lifestyle is unattainable on our income unless we decide to have alot of credit card debt.

planned out – with a clear, detailed 3 idea of how and why something shouldhappen

* The conference is this weekend! We should have had everything planned outmonths ago, but we’re still trying to make arrangements for speakers and food.

to turn out – to become; to end in a particular way

* They were disappointed their offer on the home wasn’t accepted, but as itturned out, they found an even better home the next week.

to peg 4 (someone) – to identify or categorize someone in a particular way; tobelieve that a person has certain characteristics

* Most people peg Charles as a nerd because he wears glasses and talks aboutphysics all the time, but he’s also a member of a rock band and a world-classsnowboarder.

regret – a feeling of sadness that something has happened; a wish or desire thatone had done something differently in the past, because one is disappointed withthe results of that action or decision

* One of Jan’s biggest regrets is that he never earned a college degree.

to settle down – to get married and live a calm life, usually in a home, no longertraveling, changing jobs, or partying

* He’ll probably settle down when he meets the right girl, but until then, he wantsto have as many adventures as possible.

to pan out – to be successful; to happen as one expected something to happen;to meet one’s expectations

* We thought we’d be able to make $100,000 by selling our home, but that didn’tpan out once the housing market crashed.

content – happy, calm, and satisfied; not extremely joyful 5, but not sad or madeither

* Xavier is a very simple man. All he needs to feel content is a good meal and asoft bed.

upcoming – scheduled to happen soon

* Will I see you at the upcoming meeting?

to brood 6 – to think about something too much, becoming worried, sad, anddepressed

* My father always said that it doesn’t do any good to brood over things you can’tcontrol.

premature 8 aging – the physical changes that make one appear to be older thanone actually is

* Spending too much time in the sun can dry out your skin and create wrinkles,leading to premature aging.

COMPREHENSION QUESTIONS

1. Why is Nick disappointed?

a) Because he didn’t marry a millionaire.

b) Because he had too many children.

c) Because his life isn’t what he expected it to be.

2. According to Danielle, what’s wrong with brooding 9?

a) It could make Nick die sooner.

b) It could make Nick seem older than he is.

c) It could make Nick’s friends feel depressed 7.

______________

WHAT ELSE DOES IT MEAN?

to plan out

The phrase “to plan out,” in this podcast, means to create a clear, detailed idea ofhow and why something should happen: “The committee has done a great jobplanning out the company’s emergency response for natural disasters.” Thephrase “to plan ahead” means to make a plan for the future: “Even before theirkids were born, they were planning ahead and saving money to pay for thechildren’s college education.” A “game plan” is used to talk about how oneintends to win in sports or business: “The marketing 10 director described his gameplan for increasing sales before the end of the year.” Finally, a “master plan” is avery detailed plan for how one will control something that is complex: “Do youthink God has a master plan for our lives, or are all these events just random 11?”

content

In this podcast, the word “content” (pronounced “conTENT”) means happy, calm,and satisfied: “At first we wanted to hire the best person in the field, but at thispoint, we’d be content with anyone who knows how to use a computer.” As anoun, “contents” (pronounced “CONtent”) refers to whatever is inside a box orcontainer: “The writing on the box said, ‘Do not drop – fragile 12 contents.’” Theword “content” can also be used to describe how much of something there is in afood or beverage 13: “What has a higher alcohol content: beer or wine?” The word“content” can also refer to the meaning and significance of written text: “They’vecreated a beautiful website, but the content is terrible.” Finally, a “table ofcontents” is a list at the beginning of a long document or book, indicating onwhich page each chapter or section begins.”

CULTURE NOTE

The Autobiography 14 of Benjamin FranklinBenjamin Franklin was one of the “Founding Fathers” (one of the men who madean important contribution to the country’s creation) of the United States. Hemade many important contributions to history, politics, science, and more. Hemade important “discoveries” (something learned for the first time) aboutelectricity, invented “bifocals” (glasses where the top part helps people see faraway and the bottom part helps people read), created the country’s first publiclibrary, and more.

Many historians 15 have written biographies 16 of Benjamin Franklin, but he wrote hisown four-part “autobiography” (a book written about one’s own life) between1771 and 1790. The first part is “addressed to” (written for; intended for) his sonand is about his childhood and early life. The second part talks about his plansto create a library and lists the “virtues” (desirable behaviors, like honesty andcleanliness) that he wants to “perfect” (to make as good as possible) in his ownlife. The third part talks about his views on religion, his study of languages, someof his inventions, “theories” (ideas about how something works), and his“thoughts” (opinions) on current events. The fourth part describes his “role”

(what he did) in U.S./British relations, but it ends “abruptly” (quickly),“presumably” (one assumes) because he “passed away” (died) before he couldfinish it.

Many different versions of The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin have beenpublished over time. Most people admire it for its importance in “recording”

(documenting) events in early American history and for being an important pieceof American “literature” (written books, novels, and poems). Readers admireBenjamin Franklin for being so “humble” (modest) and “down-to-earth,” willing toadmit his own mistakes and “shortcomings” (things one does not do well),“despite” (even though he had) his fame.

______________

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

COMPLETE TRANSCRIPT 17

Welcome to English as a Second Language Podcast number 707: Looking Backon One’s Life.

This is English as a Second Language Podcast episode 18 707. I’m your host, Dr.

Jeff McQuillan, coming to you from the Center for Educational Development inbeautiful 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 about looking back or thinking about one’s life. Let’s get started.

[start of dialogue]

Nick: I’m turning 40 this year and what do I have to show for it?

Danielle: Actually, you’ve accomplished 19 a lot. Do you know what your problemis? Your expectations are too high and your goals are unattainable for mostpeople.

Nick: Not for me. They shouldn’t have been. I had my life all planned out andnothing is turning out the way it should.

Danielle: I would never have pegged 20 you for someone with regrets about howhis life has turned out.

Nick: But I was supposed to make my first million dollars by the time I was 30.

By 35, I should have met someone and settled down, maybe had a child or two.

None of that has panned out.

Danielle: You have lots of friends and a full life. Maybe things didn’t turn out theway you had imagined, but wouldn’t you say you were generally content?

Nick: I was before I started thinking about my upcoming birthday.

Danielle: Then stop thinking about it. Too much brooding could definitely lead toregrets – not to mention premature aging!

[end of dialogue]

Nick begins by saying to Danielle, “I’m turning 40 this year.” “To turn 40” meansto reach the age of 40. He says, “what do I have to show for it?” The expression“What do I have to show for it?” is not an actual question, he is not expectingDanielle to answer; it’s really a question that says that you are disappointed orunhappy with the results of your actions, that you have done a lot of work but notmuch has happened.

Danielle says, “Actually, you’ve accomplished a lot.” “To accomplish”

(accomplish) means to achieve something, to do something, often something thatis difficult. Danielle says, “Do you know what your problem is? Yourexpectations are too high.” “Expectations” comes from the verb “to expect.” “Toexpect” is what you hope for, what you think will happen. Your “expectations” arewhat you think will happen in the future, what you believe should happen. So ifyou have high expectations you are expecting a lot of success, for example. Wetalk about “high expectations” and “low expectations.” Danielle says that Nick’sexpectations are too high, higher than they should be, and that his goals areunattainable for most people. “To attain 2” (attain) means to reach or toaccomplish something. “Attainable” would be something that is able to beaccomplished, something you can attain. “Unattainable” is something you cannotattain; it doesn’t matter how hard you try, it’s impossible or it’s too difficult.

Nick says, “Not for me,” meaning his expectations, I guess, are not too high. Hesays, “They shouldn’t have been.” I think he’s referring to his goals as beingunattainable. He said, “I had my life all planned out and nothing is turning out theway it should.” “To plan (something) out” is a phrasal verb meaning to have aclear, detailed idea about what you are going to do. So, Nick said that he had hislife all planned out; he knew exactly what he was going to do and the order inwhich he was going to do it, but nothing is turning out the way it should. “To turnout” is another phrasal verb meaning to become, to have a certain result, or toend in a particular way. You may say, “How did the game turn out?” That is,who won the game? What was the final result? In Nick’s case, he’s talkingabout all of the things that he planned, but they didn’t turn out the way theyshould, the way he wanted them; they did not have the result that he wantedthem to have.

Danielle is trying to be encouraging to Nick, who’s clearly a little depressed.

Maybe he needs a vacation. I think I need a vacation! Anyway, Danielle says, “Iwould never have pegged you for someone with regrets about how his life hasturned out.” “To peg (peg) (someone)” is to categorize someone or identifysomeone, to believe that someone has a certain characteristic or certaincharacteristics. So you might say, “I pegged you for a football player,” meaningyou look big; I looked at you and I thought, “Hmm, that person is a football player,” that’s one of his characteristics. In this case, Danielle is saying that shedid not peg Nick – she did not think about Nick as someone with regrets.

“Regrets” (regrets) are feelings of sadness that something has happened, or awish that you could do something over again differently. Something that is in thepast – that has already happened, you wish you could go back in time andchange it; that’s what “regrets” are. Danielle says that she didn’t think Nick wassomeone who would have regrets about how his life has turned out – what hashappened, what has resulted.

Nick says, “But I was supposed to make my first million by the time I was 30 (myfirst million dollars).” He’s saying that he thought he would make his first milliondollars before he was 30 years old. “By 35,” he says, “I should have metsomeone and settled down.” “To settle down” is a two-word phrasal verbmeaning usually to get married, to buy a house, or to live a calmer life, perhapsto have children. We talk about young men and young women “settling down,”

eventually getting married, no longer going out as much because they have mettheir husband or wife. Nick thought he would have met someone and havesettled down by the time he was 35. He says, “None of that has panned out.”

“To pan (pan) out” is similar to the verb “to turn out.” It’s a phrasal verb meaningto be successful. “To pan out” is, however, always something that is successful;“turn out?” could be successful, could be not successful. But if you say, “Did itpan out?” you mean was it successful, was it what you were expecting tohappen. Unfortunately for Nick, his life did not pan out as he thought it would.

Danielle says, “You have lots of friends and a full (or complete) life. Maybethings didn’t turn out the way you had imagined, but wouldn’t you say you weregenerally content?” “To be content” (content) means to be happy, to be calm, tobe satisfied. You’re not sad, you’re not disappointed; you are relatively 21 happy,basically happy. There are other meanings of that word; take a look at ourLearning Guide for some additional explanations.

Nick says, “I was (meaning I was content) before I started thinking about myupcoming birthday.” “Upcoming” (one word) means scheduled to happen soon,something that is going to happen very soon. Nick says that he was content untilhe started thinking about his 40th birthday, his upcoming birthday, which meanshe’s not yet 40; it hasn’t happened yet.

Danielle says, “Then stop thinking about it (stop thinking about your birthday).

Too much brooding could definitely lead to regrets.” “To brood” (brood) means tothink about something too much; you’re thinking about it so much that youbecome worried or sad or depressed, so it’s always a negative thing. It’s a niceword: “to brood,” to have too much thought about something, especially something that is negative. Danielle says, “Too much brooding could definitelylead to (or cause) regrets,” so if you brood you’ll start thinking, “Oh, I wish I haddone this,” or “I wish it were different,” that sort of thing.

Danielle says, “not to mention premature aging!” The phrase “not to mention” isused when you want to add an additional thing to your sentence – an additionalitem. Let me give you a few examples: “If you go out into the sun your skin mightbecome red, not to mention you will be very thirsty.” “Not to mention” introducesthe additional idea. Or you could say, “If you study hard at school you will get agood job when you are finished, not to mention the satisfaction of knowing thatyou studied and succeeded.” “Not to mention” introduces the additional elementof the satisfaction. In this sentence, Danielle says, “Too much brooding coulddefinitely lead to regrets” – that’s one thing, “not to mention” – another thing,which is “premature aging.” “Aging” is the physical changes that take place whenyou get older. “Premature” means before the time that you would expect. If ababy is born before the expected date we may say that baby was “premature.”

Even before he was ready, he came out of his mother’s womb. The “womb” iswhere the baby is before it’s born. Well, “premature aging” would be gettingolder before you should be getting older, or you look older than you should. Ithink that’s happening to me, personally. I think I am aging prematurely 22. Peoplethink I’m in my late 40s because of the way I look. Wait a minute…no, actually Iam in my late 40s, so maybe I’m not premature aging. Maybe I’m just gettingold!

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

[start of dialogue]

Nick: I’m turning 40 this year and what do I have to show for it?

Danielle: Actually, you’ve accomplished a lot. Do you know what your problemis? Your expectations are too high and your goals are unattainable for mostpeople.

Nick: Not for me. They shouldn’t have been. I had my life all planned out andnothing is turning out the way it should.

Danielle: I would never have pegged you for someone with regrets about howhis life has turned out.

Nick: But I was supposed to make my first million dollars by the time I was 30.

By 35, I should have met someone and settled down, maybe had a child or two.

None of that has panned out.

Danielle: You have lots of friends and a full life. Maybe things didn’t turn out theway you had imagined, but wouldn’t you say you were generally content?

Nick: I was before I started thinking about my upcoming birthday.

Danielle: Then stop thinking about it. Too much brooding could definitely lead toregrets – not to mention premature aging!

[end of dialogue]

We have no regrets about this episode; that’s because we think it turned outpretty well, thanks to the wonderful script by our own 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.