2010年ESL之日常生活 11 Being Clear or Confusing

11 Being Clear or Confusing

GLOSSARYconfused – feeling puzzled; not understanding what is happening or what isbeing discussed

* Taku was really confused when he went to the conference room for the bigmeeting and nobody else was there.

to keep (something) straight – to be able to understand something by keepingit well organized; to avoid confusion

* It’s hard to keep all the little kids’ jackets, hats, and gloves straight. Who doesthis jacket belong to?

convoluted 1 – complicated, especially when involving many layers or manydifferent pieces; very difficult to understand or follow

* The book editor told Lee that he would have a hard time finding a publisher forsuch a convoluted novel.

twists and turns – with many unexpected changes in direction or ideas, makingsomething difficult to follow or understand

* The movie is really interesting, with lots of twists and turns that keep theviewers wondering what will happen next.

straightforward 2 – direct; uncomplicated; plain

* We were hoping the tax attorney could give us a straightforward answer, butinstead he said he’d have to research the tax laws.

for once – used to talk about something that happens very rarely or never,although one wishes it would happen more often

* It would be nice for my wife to offer to mow 3 the lawn for once. I have to do itevery week!

complexity 4 – having a lot of complications or being very complicated andcomplex; being difficult to understand because many details are involved orbecause something requires specialized 5 knowledge

* These students are fascinated by the complexity of higher-level math.

to go off on tangents – to begin talking or writing about something that is notdirectly related to the main subject, often changing the subject unintentionally

* It’s impossible to have a short meeting with Ademir, because he’s always goingoff on tangents and talking about things that have nothing to do with our project.

irrelevant 6 – not relevant; not related to what is being discussed; not useful orimportant for one’s intended purpose

* How productive you’ve been in the past is completely irrelevant. What reallymatters to us is how productive you are now.

to contradict – to counter or disagree with what has just been said; to say theopposite of something else

* The advice my mother gave me contradicts with what my teacher told me to do.

intricate – detailed 7 and involved; with many small parts and details that worktogether

* How did you learn to paint such intricate portraits?

crystal clear – very clear; very direct and easy to understand, without any doubtor confusion

* The students appreciate Wataru’s explanations, which are always crystal clear.

detail – a single, small piece of information about something; fact

* It’s hard to make a decision without knowing all the details.

delusions 8 of grandeur 9 – the idea that one is much more important or powerfulthan one actually is, often associated with mental illness

* Ever since Adela earned her graduate degree, she has been suffering fromdelusions of grandeur, acting 10 like she’s the most important person in the world.

to seek professional help – to meet with a doctor, especially a psychologist orpsychiatrist, to become healthier or to find a solution to a problem

* If the fever persists for more than one week, seek professional help.

COMPREHENSION QUESTIONS

1. Which type of story has the most irrelevant information?

a) A convoluted story.

b) A straightforward story.

c) An crystal clear story.

2. Why does Laurent think Bethany should seek professional help?

a) Because she thinks she can talk to Shakespeare.

b) Because she needs to take a writing class.

c) Because she thinks she writes much better than she actually does.

______________

WHAT ELSE DOES IT MEAN?

for once

The phrase “for once,” in this podcast, is used to talk about something thathappens very rarely or never, although one wishes it would happen more often:

“Just for once, it would be really nice to come home to a clean house and havedinner waiting for me.” The similar phrase “at once” means immediately: “Cometo my office at once!” The phrase “once more” or “once again” means again, orhappening another time after something has already happened many times: “Letme explain this to you once again.” Finally, the phrase “all at once” meanssuddenly and unexpectedly: “We were sitting at home, enjoying a quiet dinner,when all at once we heard a loud explosion and then the neighbors’ shouting.”

detail

In this podcast, the word “detail” means a small fact, or a single, small piece ofinformation about something: “When redecorating their home, they paid attentionto all the details, including paint colors, textures 11, fabrics 12, and more.” The phrase“down to the last detail” means completely, without leaving anything out: “Theinstructions were extremely clear, down to the last detail.” The phrase “to havean eye for detail” means having the ability or talent for paying attention to eventhe smallest things: “Her success as an artist is due to her having an eye fordetail.” Finally, in the military or in a police force, a “detail” is a specificassignment or the group that one works with: “How long have you been workingon the security detail?”

CULTURE NOTE

In the United States, there are many “storytelling” (the art of sharing storiesorally, without using written information) “festivals” (fairs; celebrations andcompetitions). Some storytelling festivals are only for professional storytellers,while others are for “amateurs” (people who do something for fun and don’tcharge money to do it).

Some festivals last only a few hours, but others last several days. During thefestivals, each storyteller has a certain amount of time to tell a story to theaudience. At many festivals, the storytellers are “judged” (evaluated) on how wellthey told the story and how well they “captured” (caught) the audience’s attentionand “imagination” (ability to believe something that isn’t really true).

Many of the storytelling festivals are geographically 13 based, meaning that all thestorytellers live in a particular state or “region” (large area). Other storytellingfestivals are based on a particular theme, such as Native American stories, fairytales, historical events, or stories about nature.

The National Storytelling Network is a membership organization that tries toimprove storytelling throughout the country, promoting it as a “performing art”

(related to acting, singing, dancing, etc.), a “literacy tool” (something that helpspeople learn to read), and an important “cultural element” (part of culture). Theorganization publishes Storytelling Magazine and organizes a nationalconference where storytellers can meet to “network” (make professionalconnections and build relationships with other people) and share ideas and“techniques” (ways of doing things) with other storytellers. At the conference,storytellers can attend many classes and workshops to improve their storytellingabilities.

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

COMPLETE TRANSCRIPT 14

Welcome to English as a Second Language Podcast number 585: Being Clear orConfusing.

This is English as a Second Language Podcast number 585. 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. TheLearning Guide will help you improve your English even faster than just listeningto this podcast. It will also make you healthy, wealthy, and wise!

This episode is called “Being Clear or Confusing.” It’s a dialogue betweenBethany and Laurent about explaining things, especially to someone else, thatmay be difficult for them to understand. Let’s get started.

[start of dialogue]

Laurent: So I’m confused. Who’s David again?

Bethany: David is my roommate’s friend’s brother. Haven’t you been listening?

Laurent: I have, but how am I supposed to keep all of these people straight?

Your stories are always so convoluted, with too many twists and turns. Whydon’t you try telling a straightforward story for once?

Bethany: My stories are only confusing for people who don’t pay attention orwho can’t deal with complexity.

Laurent: Complexity? Is that what you call going off on tangents and includingcompletely irrelevant information? Half the time the end of the story contradictsthe beginning!

Bethany: You just don’t appreciate intricate plots. My stories are crystal clear toanyone who pays attention. Good stories have lots of detail. Just askShakespeare.

Laurent: Talk about delusions of grandeur! When you start comparing yourselfto Shakespeare, it’s time for you to seek professional help!

[end of dialogue]

Our dialogue begins with Laurent saying, “So I’m confused.” “To be confused”

means not to understand what is happening or what is being discussed. Wemight also say to feel puzzled. Laurent says, “Who’s David again?” Obviously,we’ve come in in the middle of a story in this dialogue, and Laurent is trying toget Bethany to explain it better to him.

Bethany says, “David is my roommate’s friend’s brother.” Notice in English thatyou can have a possessive of in front of a possessive in front of a possessive.

Here, we have “my roommate’s friend’s brother.” This is the brother of myroommate’s friend. Bethany says, “Haven’t you been listening?” Laurent says, “Ihave, but how am I supposed to keep all of these people straight?” “To keep(something) straight” (straight) means to be able to understand something bykeeping it well organized in your mind. If you’re reading a very complicated novelwith lots of different people in it – lots of different characters, like one of theRussian novels from the 19th and 20th centuries, they’re very difficult perhaps tounderstand – to keep everyone straight, to understand who is who.

Laurent says that he cannot keep all of these people in Bethany’s story straight.

“Your stories are always so convoluted,” he says, “with too many twists andturns.” “To be convoluted” (convoluted) means to be very complicated, verydifficult to understand or to follow. “Twists (twists) and turns” is an expressionthat means there are many unexpected changes, making the story difficult tounderstand. Sometimes you will go to see a movie and there’ll be many differenttwists and turns, there’ll be many different changes in the story that make itdifficult to understand. Laurent says, “Why don’t you try telling a straightforwardstory for once?” “Straightforward” (one word) means uncomplicated, not difficultto understand, simple, direct. “For once” is an expression we use to mean that itdoesn’t happen very often, that something is very rare; you want it to happenmore often. In this case, Laurent wants Bethany to tell a simple, easy tounderstand story more often. That’s why he says, “Why don’t you try telling astraightforward story for once?” The “for once” implies Bethany doesn’t do it veryoften, but that she should. For example, it would be nice if my neighbor stoppedyelling into his cell phone outside of my window for once, implying that he does itall the time – and he does!

Bethany says, “My stories are only confusing for people who don’t pay attention,who can’t deal with complexity.” “To pay attention” means to listen, to try tounderstand, to follow something. “Complexity” means very complicated, veryconvoluted, very difficult to understand because there are many different parts of the story. Bethany says that her stories are only confusing to people who can’t“deal with” complexity; that is, they can’t handle – they don’t know how to behaveor think in a certain situation.

Laurent says, “Complexity? Is that what you call going off on tangents andincluding completely irrelevant information?” “To go off on a tangent” (tangent)means to begin talking or writing about something that is not directly related tothe topic. I do this all the time here on ESL Podcast and English Café. I go offon a tangent; I start talking about something that isn’t directly related to thisepisode. Some people really hate that; they don’t like it, they can’t follow thestory. Laurent says that Bethany is including in her story completely irrelevantinformation. “Irrelevant” means not related to what is being discussed, notconnected to your main topic. Laurent says, “Half the time (meaning most of thetime, or at least 50 percent of the time) the end of the story contradicts thebeginning!” “To contradict” means to disagree with what has been already said,to say something opposite of what is said. You should never contradict yourwife, for example.

Bethany says, “You just don’t appreciate intricate plots.” Something that is“intricate” (intricate) is something that is very detailed, we might say veryinvolved; there are many different parts that work together. You can havesomething physical that is intricate: a watch, for example, or a piece of jewelry 15.

In this case, Bethany is talking about the plots of her stories. A “plot” is whathappens first, then what happens next, and so forth 16 – the actual events of thestory. She says her plots are intricate. “My stories,” she says, “are crystal clearto anyone who pays attention.” The expression “crystal clear” means very direct,very easy to understand. Very clear – no confusion. She says, “Good storieshave a lot of detail.” A “detail” is a single, small piece of information aboutsomething, a single fact. “Detail,” however, has other meanings in English, andthose can be found in the Learning Guide. Bethany says, “Just askShakespeare.” Shakespeare, of course, was the great playwright 17 who wrote verycomplicated, interesting plays. “Just ask” is an expression we use when we aretrying to compare ourselves perhaps to someone else, or to make reference tosomeone else. You’re using that someone else as an example of something.

For example: “The study of geometry is easy, just ask Euclid.”

Laurent says, “Talk about delusions of grandeur.” “Delusions” are things that youimagine that are not true. “Grandeur” is something very powerful, somethingvery important. “To have delusions of grandeur,” however, means that you thinkthat your ideas or that you are very important, very powerful, more important thanyou actually are. It’s often something we would associate with someone who perhaps has some sort of mental illness – someone who’s crazy. So Laurentsays, “Talk about delusions of grandeur.” “Talk about” means this is a goodexample of. “When you start comparing yourself to Shakespeare, it’s time foryou to seek professional help!” meaning when you get to the point that you arecomparing yourself to Shakespeare, it’s time for you “to seek,” to look for, to getprofessional help. Usually, “professional help” refers to a doctor, especially apsychiatrist or perhaps a psychologist that will help you find a problem. Usuallywhat you are saying is that the other person is crazy.

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

[start of dialogue]

Laurent: So I’m confused. Who’s David again?

Bethany: David is my roommate’s friend’s brother. Haven’t you been listening?

Laurent: I have, but how am I supposed to keep all of these people straight?

Your stories are always so convoluted, with too many twists and turns. Whydon’t you try telling a straightforward story for once?

Bethany: My stories are only confusing for people who don’t pay attention orwho can’t deal with complexity.

Laurent: Complexity? Is that what you call going off on tangents and includingcompletely irrelevant information? Half the time the end of the story contradictsthe beginning!

Bethany: You just don’t appreciate intricate plots. My stories are crystal clear toanyone who pays attention. Good stories have lots of detail. Just askShakespeare.

Laurent: Talk about delusions of grandeur! When you start comparing yourselfto Shakespeare, it’s time for you to seek professional help!

[end of dialogue]

The scripts for ESL Podcast are never confused or convoluted; they don’t go offon tangents. They’re crystal clear, and yet intricate. Thank you, Dr. Lucy Tse,who writes them.

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.