时间:2018-12-26 作者:英语课 分类:2009年ESL之就医和人际交往


英语课

 



11 Marrying a Gold Digger 


GLOSSARY 


boy toy – a young, attractive man whom one dates for fun or for ashort period of 


time, without being very serious about the relationship 


* Melina really likes to date. She must have had at least 10 boy toys in the past 


year! 


to take the cake – to be the biggest, best, worst, most shocking, or most 


important thing in a list or series of things 


* I know you’ve lied before, but telling him you’re single when you’re actually 


married really takes the cake! 


age difference – the gap between two people’s ages; the number of years 


between the age of two people 


* My sister and I have a three-year age difference: I’m 32 and she’s 29. 


to dress for the part – to wear clothes that are appropriate for what one wants 


to do, be, or become 


* If you want to become a vice-president, you should dress for the part. Stop 


wearing jeans to work and start wearing suits instead. 


bling – expensive jewelry and accessories that one wears to get other people’s 


attention and make other people think that one has a lot of money 


* That dress would look a lot better with some bling, like a nice necklace and 


some earrings. 


to set (someone) back – to cost someone a lot of money 


* She bought a new piano that set her back almost $2,800. 


grand – one thousand dollars; $1,000 


* He hopes to make 60 grand next year, even though last year he barely made 


$50,000. 


token of (one’s) affection – a sign or symbol of one’s love and care for another 


person 


* During the wedding ceremony, he said, “Please accept this ring as a token of 


my affection and love” as he put the ring on her finger. 


to hold the purse strings – to decide how money is spent, especially in a family 


or in a business or organization 


* When we were growing up, our mother held the purse strings and never let us 


buy anything fun. 


to prey on (someone) – to try to control or hurt an animal or person who is 


weaker than oneself 


* That preacher preyed on people who were poor and wanted to believe in 


miracles. 


wrapped around (one’s) little finger – in control of a person; able to influence 


what another person does, often because that person is in love with oneself 


* That child has his parents wrapped around his little finger. They do whatever 


he asks them to do! 


for (one’s) sake – for one’s own benefit; to help oneself 


* I really like my daughter’s new boyfriend, but I hopeshe doesn’t marry him for 


my sake. She should marry him only if they really love eachother.


gold digger – a person who marries for money; a person who marries another 


person because he or she is rich 


* It must be hard for a millionaire to date. How would you know who really loved 


you, and who just a gold digger and wanted to get yourmoney? 


true colors – the way a person really is; the way a person really acts when he or 


she isn’t pretending to be different 


* When Lilly first started working here, everyone thoughtshe was wonderful, but 


now we’ve all seen her true colors and we know that she isn’t very nice. 


the altar – the small table that a man and a woman stand in frontof during their 


wedding ceremony 


* Harriet has already been to the altar three times – and she’s only 27! 


cynic – a person who is very negative and always thinks the worst things 


possible about other people; a person who never believes that other people are 


kind or honest 


* After 30 years of working with criminals as a policeman, he’s a cynic who has a 


hard time trusting other people. 


hopeless romantic – a person who wants to fall in love and always believes the


best things possible about other people; a person who still believes in love, even 


if he or she has been hurt many times in the past 


* Amy is a homeless romantic who still believes she’ll find Mr. Right one day. 


COMPREHENSION QUESTIONS 


1. What does Sinobu mean when he says that Jesse “takes the cake”? 


a) Jesse ate too much cake at the party. 


b) Jesse seems very sweet. 


c) Jesse is very young for Liza. 


2. How did Jesse get the expensive watch? 


a) He bought it. 


b) He stole it. 


c) Liza bought it for him. 


______________ 


WHAT ELSE DOES IT MEAN? 


grand 


The word “grand,” in this podcast, means one thousand dollars: “You can’t buy a 


home in this neighborhood for less than 400 grand.” The word “grand” also 


means very big or fancy: “They live in a grand old house onthe hill.” The word 


“grand” can mean ambitious, or with a lot of plans forthe future: “Camilo has 


grand plans to become a medical researcher and find the cure for cancer.” The 


phrase “the grand total” is the final sum of many numbers: “The apples are $1.57, 


the carrots are $1.36, and the potatoes are $3.64, for a grand total of $6.57.” 


Finally, the phrase “the grand old age of (number)” is used to talk about very old 


people: “We had a big party when our great-grandfather reached the grand old 


age of 98.” 


token 


In this podcast, the word “token” means a sign or symbol of something, 


especially of the way someone feels: “Please accept this book as a token of our 


appreciation for you coming here and speaking tonight.” Or, “I think we should 


buy her some flowers as a token of our gratitude.” A “token” is also a small, 


round piece of metal like a coin that is used to make a machine work: “Where 


can I buy a token for the metro?” Or, “Do the public phones accept coins or 


tokens?” Finally, the phrase “by the same token” means in the same way or for 


the same reason: “He doesn’t like cake, but by the same token he doesn’t really 


like any desserts.” 


CULTURE NOTE 


When people get married, they usually “promise” (say thatthey will do 


something) to love and honor another person “till death do us part” (until one of 


us dies). However, some American “celebrities” (famous people, especially 


actors or musicians) have been married many times. 


For example, Elizabeth Taylor is an American actress who is well known for her 


acting in many movies. However, she is even more famous forher marriages. 


She has been married eight times! Her first marriage, in 1950, lasted less than 


nine months. Her third marriage ended when her husband “passed away” (died), 


but all the other marriages have ended in divorce. She married one man, 


Richard Burton, another very famous actor, twice: once in1964; they were 


divorced in 1974, and once in 1975; they divorced againin 1976. Currently she 


is 77 years old and divorced. It will be interesting to see if she decides to get 


married again. 


Mickey Rooney is another American actor who has been married eight times. 


His first marriage “took place” (happened) in 1942, butthey were divorced the 


following year. He “went through” (experienced) many marriages and divorces, 


and his current marriage took place in 1978. Today, 31 years later, he is still 


married to that woman, making his eighth marriage longer than all seven of his 


earlier marriages “combined” (added together). 


Many “Hollywood marriages” (marriages among actors and other people involved 


in making American movies) don’t last very long. Hollywoodmarriages and 


divorces are often “fodder” (something used for a specific purpose) for “tabloids” 


(newspapers that gossip about celebrities, saying bad things about them that 


aren’t always true). 


______________ 


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


COMPLETE TRANSCRIPT 


Welcome to English as a Second Language Podcast number 499: Marrying a 


Gold Digger. 


This is English as a Second Language Podcast episode 499.  I’m your host, Dr. 


Jeff McQuillan, coming to you from the Center for Educational Development in 


beautiful Los Angeles, California. 


Our website is eslpod.com. Go there today to download aLearning Guide for 


this episode, an 8- to 10-page guide that will help you improve your English even 


faster by giving you vocabulary, definitions, sample sentences, additional 


definitions, comprehension questions, cultural notes, and a complete transcript of 


this episode. 


This episode is a dialogue between Liza and Sinobu about the topic of people 


dating other people not because they love them or areromantically interested, 


but because they want to get their money. No one would ever do that, of course! 


Let’s get started. 


[start of dialogue] 


Liza: Isn’t Jesse wonderful? I’m so glad you got to meethim last night. 


Sinobu: Uh, he’s a little young for you, don’t you think? I know you’ve had boy 


toys in the past, but he takes the cake. 


Liza: He’s no boy toy! It’s true that there’s a 30-year age difference, but who 


cares about age when you’re talking about love? 


Sinobu: Well, he’s certainly dressed for the part, withall of that bling. That 


watch must have set him back a couple of grand, at least. 


Liza: Oh, that was a little token of my affection for our one-month anniversary. I 


just wanted him to know how much I cared about him. 


Sinobu: Well, he certainly knows now who holds the purse strings, if he didn’t 


before. I only hope he’s not preying on you. 


Liza: How can you say that? I’ve never met anyone more honest or sincere. 


Sinobu: He has you wrapped around his little finger,that’s for sure. I hope, for 


your sake, he’s not a gold digger, or that you see his true colors before you make 


it to the altar – again. 


Liza: Oh, I knew it was a mistake talking to you about Jesse. You’re such a 


cynic! 


Sinobu: And you’re a hopeless romantic! 


[end of dialogue] 


Liza says to Sinobu, “Isn’t Jesse wonderful?” Jesse is a man’s name. “I’m so 


glad you got to meet him last night.” Sinobu says, “Uh, he’s a little young for you, 


don’t you think? I know you’ve had boy toys in the past, but he takes the cake.” 


Sinobu is saying that Liza’s new boyfriend is too young forher. He talks about 


boy toys. A “boy toy” is a young, attractive man whom one may date for a short 


period of time. If you are older – if you’re older woman, or if you’re much older 


than the man, you date this person, but you may not be very seriously interested 


in them for a relationship. 


Sinobu says, “I know you’ve had boy toys in the past, but Jesse takes the cake.” 


The expression “to take the cake” means to be the biggest,the best, even the 


worst, the most shocking, the most important, the most something in a series or a 


list of things. Usually it’s something bad that the person has done, or you’re 


saying negative about this case – this circumstance. In this case, Sinobu is 


saying that Jesse takes the cake, meaning he’s the youngest orthe most obvious 


example of a boy toy, not someone that Liza should be dating. 


Liza says, “He’s no boy toy!” (he’s not a boy toy). It’s true,” she says, “that 


there’s a 30-year age difference, but who cares about age when you’re talking 


about love?” An “age difference” is the difference between two people’s ages. 


My father married my mother, who was four years younger than he; the age 


difference was four years. Sometimes the age differencecan be very large; if 


you’re the, I don’t know, prime minister of a country, you might be dating 


someone much, much younger than you – although some people probably 


wouldn’t like that! Anyway, Liza says there’s a 30-year age difference, so Jesse 


is 30 years younger than she is. Here in Hollywood, this is not uncommon, 


especially for the man to be older and the woman to beyounger, but this is the 


opposite case. 


Sinobu says, “Well, he’s certainly dressed for the part, with all of that bling.” “To 


dress for the part” means to wear clothes that are appropriate for what you want 


to do. Someone may say to you, when you’re starting a new job, “Be sure to 


dress the part,” or “dress for the part,” meaning wear the clothes that are 


appropriate for this office, for this job. “Bling” (bling) is an informal expression, 


fairly new in the last probably 10-15 years; it means expensive jewelry, things 


that you wear such as a watch, or a if you’re a woman, earrings, a necklace for 


either a man or a woman. Often, these are expensive pieces of jewelry, things 


with diamonds in them for example, that’s called “bling.” It’s a very informal term; 


it’s common among the younger generation, I would say.  But here, Sinobu is 


saying that this Jesse has a lot of bling. “That watch,” he says, “must have set 


him back a couple of grand, at least.” Sinobu is referring to Jesse’s watch, 


saying that it must have set him back a lot of money. “To set (someone) back” 


means to cost you a lot of money. “I bought a new car and it set me back 15,000 


dollars,” for example. That means the car cost 15,000 dollars, that’s what I had 


to pay for it. 


Sinobu says that that watch must have set him back a couple of grand. “A 


grand” means, in the U.S., 1,000 dollars. It’s an informal word, just like “buck,” 


which is one dollar: “How much is that?” “It’s ten bucks.”“It’s a thousand bucks.” 


A thousand bucks could also be called simply “a grand.” Itcost him a grand or 


two grand or three grand. Notice that we don’t say “three grands” or “two 


grands.” Even if it’s plural, it just remains “grand.” In this case, he’s saying that 


the watch cost a couple of grand, meaning two or three thousand dollars. 


Liza says, “Oh, that was a little token of my affection for our one-month 


anniversary.” “A token of your affection” is a sign or a symbol that you love 


someone or that you care for someone; it’s a gift – something that you give that 


person. A man may give his wife a necklace as a token of his affection – 


affection or love. And if he forgets to give a token ofhis affection, for example on 


their wedding anniversary, well, he will probably be sleeping on the couch. Not 


that I’ve ever done that, of course! 


Sinobu is, of course, not too impressed – doesn’t really like Jesse, and Liza tries 


to defend him by saying, “Oh, that watch is something is something I gave him.” 


Sinobu then says, “Well, he certainly knows now who holds the purse strings, if 


he didn’t before.” “To hold the purse strings” means to be the person who 


decides how much money is spent. A “purse” is a bag that holds money. 


Nowadays, many women have purses; it’s not that common for a man. But the 


strings of a purse are the pieces of material that that you would use, in an old 


purse, to make it tight. You have to loosen the strings in order to open the little 


bag, which is the purse. Nowadays, modern purses don’t have strings; they have 


zippers or buttons. But the idea here is that the person that holds the purse 


strings is the person who decides how money is going to be spent. In this case, 


Sinobu is saying that Jesse has control of the money; he holds the purse strings 


even though it’s not his money. 


Sinobu says, “I hope he’s not preying on you.” “To prey (prey) on (someone)” 


means to try to control or hurt an animal or a person who is weaker than you are. 


There’s another word, “pray” (pray), that is related to saying something to God or 


to some divine being. But here we’re not talking about religion, we’re talking 


about someone who’s trying to control or hurt another person. Usually, that 


person is weaker than you are. 


Liza is upset, she says, “How can you say that? I’ve never metanyone more 


honest or sincere.” Sinobu says, “He has you wrapped around his little finger, 


that’s for sure.” The expression “to have (someone) wrapped around your finger” 


or “wrapped around your little finger” means that that person controls you; that 


person is able to influence you, often because that personis in love with you. 


Really, it’s because you are in love with them that they are able to control you. 


You may think they are in love with you, they may not be, but that person 


controls you because you love them. 


So, Sinobu is saying that Jesse has Liza wrapped around his little finger. He 


says, “I hope, for your sake, he’s not a gold digger, or that you see his true colors 


before you make it to the altar – again.” Couple of different expressions there: 


first, “for your sake” means for your own benefit, to help you. “I hope, for your 


sake,” meaning for your good, “that Jesse’s not a gold digger.” “Gold,” here, just 


represents money. “To dig for gold” means to try to find gold, for example, in the 


earth or in a rock in the mountains. Here, however, a “gold digger” is a person 


who marries for money, someone who marries or dates someone so that they 


can get that person’s money because they are rich, or richer than the person who 


is the gold digger. It’s an insulting term; usually we think of gold diggers being 


women marrying rich men, especially younger women marryingolder rich men. 


But here, the gold digger is a man. 


Sinobu says he hopes that Liza will see Jesse’s true colors before she makes it 


to the altar. “To se (someone’s) true colors” means to see how someone really 


is, to see the truth about someone. The “altar” here refers to getting married. In 


a church, in the front of the church there’s often an altar, especially in a Christian 


church. The “altar” is where something is sacrificed, at least traditionally – in 


traditional religious ceremonies. Here, however, it just refers to going to a church 


to get married, since, once again, traditionally most people went to a church or a 


religious house of some sort to get married. Obviously, Liza has been married 


before. 


Liza says, “Oh, I knew it was a mistake talking to you aboutJesse. You’re such 


a cynic!” A “cynic” (cynic) is a person who is very negative, who always thinks 


the worst about something or someone. Sinobu responds by saying, “And you’re 


a hopeless romantic!” A “hopeless romantic” is a person who wants to fall in 


love, who always believes the best about other people because they want to be 


loved by those people. It’s also someone who may have been hurt many times 


in the past because they don’t consider the true colors of the person that they are 


falling in love with sometimes. 


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


[start of dialogue] 


Liza: Isn’t Jesse wonderful? I’m so glad you got to meethim last night. 


Sinobu: Uh, he’s a little young for you, don’t you think? I know you’ve had boy 


toys in the past, but he takes the cake. 


Liza: He’s no boy toy! It’s true that there’s a 30-year age difference, but who 


cares about age when you’re talking about love? 


Sinobu: Well, he’s certainly dressed for the part, withall of that bling. That 


watch must have set him back a couple of grand, at least. 


Liza: Oh, that was a little token of my affection for our one-month anniversary. I 


just wanted him to know how much I cared about him. 


Sinobu: Well, he certainly knows now who holds the purse strings, if he didn’t 


before. I only hope he’s not preying on you. 


Liza: How can you say that? I’ve never met anyone more honest or sincere. 


Sinobu: He has you wrapped around his little finger,that’s for sure. I hope, for 


your sake, he’s not a gold digger, or that you see his true colors before you make 


it to the altar – again. 


Liza: Oh, I knew it was a mistake talking to you about Jesse. You’re such a 


cynic! 


Sinobu: And you’re a hopeless romantic! 


[end of dialogue] 


Our script was written by someone who’s never a cynic, Dr. Lucy Tse. 


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 2009 by the Centerfor Educational 


Development. 




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