EC169_Guide.pdf

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ENGLISH CAFÉ – 169

TOPICS

Alternative energy; Monticello; criticize versus chastise versus chasten; please

inform versus please be informed; to denominate

_____________

GLOSSARY

alternative – a choice that we can make to use or do something else; something

that we can use instead of what is usually used

* If a person has a bad tooth, he has two alternatives: he can either fix the tooth,

or he can pull it out.

nonrenewable resources – useful things that we cannot make more of; things

that cannot be replaced once they are used

* We should be careful to protect the Earth for our children and not waste

nonrenewable resources such as oil and gas.

environmentally friendly – not hurting nature; not polluting (putting dangerous

things into) the natural world

* Nowadays, car companies are trying to make more environmentally friendly

cars that use less gas and cause less pollution.

documentary – a television show or movie that teaches people about a certain

topic; an educational or informative show about real people and real events

* Watching the documentary on Australian animals made me realize that there

are so many different and strange animals in the world.

political spectrum – the different ideas that people have about the government

and its laws; the range of ideas that people have about how country should be

ruled

* No matter where people are on the political spectrum and no matter how they

disagree on different laws, everyone wants to live in a peaceful and safe country.

to advocate for – to promote an idea; to encourage people to think that

something is a good idea

* Martin Luther King, Junior strongly advocated for equal rights for blacks, and he

made powerful speeches to help people understand that all people should be

treated equally.

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ENGLISH CAFÉ – 169

estate – a large home or piece of land owned by someone

* Whenever the New York millionaire wanted to take a break, he would fly to his

large estate in France where he could enjoy some quiet rest.

on display – to put something where people can see it or learn from it; to put

something in public so that everyone can see or enjoy it

* This month, the art museum is going to put on display a special collection of art

from ancient China.

to waste – to not use something well; to use something without purpose

* People who go to all-you-can-eat restaurants sometimes waste a lot of food

because they often take more food than they can eat.

plantation – a large piece of land or farm that is often used to grow a certain

kind of crop or plant

* The plantation owner hired more than two hundred workers to help with his rice

plantation.

slaves – people who are owned by other people and forced to work without

getting paid

* The Civil War in the United States started because people in the north believed

that slavery was wrong, and they wanted the south to stop using slaves.

to inherit – to receive money, land, or possessions from someone who has died;

to get a gift from someone, usually a relative, who has died

* Johannas was surprised to receive a letter one day telling him that he had

inherited $10,000 from his rich uncle who had just passed away.

to criticize – to find fault with someone or something; to say that is something is

wrong with someone or something

* The girl broke up with her boyfriend because he was always criticizing her for

being too fat.

to chastise – to punish or judge something very harshly; to find fault with

someone and to strongly punish them

* When Trang’s father found out that Trang had stolen money, Trang’s father

chastised him by spanking him and making him return the money.

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ENGLISH CAFÉ – 169

to chasten – to correct someone for bad behavior; to let someone know that

what they did was wrong

* Ling was chastened by her teacher for not finishing her work on time.

please inform – to tell someone something; to give news to someone

* Please inform all the workers that there is a meeting at 4:00 this afternoon.

please be informed – to receive news about something; to be told about

something by someone

* Please be informed that starting this month, everyone riding a motorcycle must

wear a helmet.

denomination – the value of money or stamps; the different sections in a

religious group

* Although Jim and Lan are both Christians, they are from different

denominations, and their churches have slightly different beliefs and practices.

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these materials on another website or distributing them in any way is prohibited.

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ENGLISH CAFÉ – 169

WHAT INSIDERS KNOW

President Thomas Jefferson and Sally Hemings

For more than 200 years, people have been trying to solve a “mystery”

(something that does not have a clear answer and is not easy to understand):

Did President Thomas Jefferson have a secret relationship with one of his black

slaves, Sally Hemings? And did they have children together?

When Jefferson became U. S. President in 1801, there were already some

people who were saying that Jefferson was having a relationship with a slave –

something that was not acceptable at that time. Many people have done

“research” (careful study) to find out if Jefferson really did have children with

Sally Hemings, but to this day, no one is completely sure of the truth.

One group of people believes that Jefferson and Hemings had children together.

They believe this because of several reasons. First, Hemings’ children were all

light-skinned and some of them look like Jefferson. Second, DNA tests that were

done in 1998 showed that Hemings’ last child was related to the Jefferson family,

though it could be any member of the family. Third, Jefferson freed all of

Hemings’ children so that they were no longer slaves. This is something that

Jefferson did not do for any other slave family.

“In contrast” (taking an opposite view), another group of people do not believe

that Jefferson and Hemings had children together. These people do not believe

this story because Jefferson never showed any special interest toward Hemings,

and he treated her like all the other slaves. Also, Jefferson’s daughter and her

children all say that it was morally impossible for Jefferson to have a sexual

relationship with a slave, since he was not that kind of man. And even though

Hemings’ children were light-skinned, it did not mean that Jefferson was the

father, since Hemings herself was “fair” (had light-colored skin).

Even after all the research, nobody knows the truth about Jefferson and

Hemings. Maybe this is a question that will always remain a mystery.

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these materials on another website or distributing them in any way is prohibited.

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ENGLISH CAFÉ – 169

COMPLETE TRANSCRIPT

You’re listening to ESL Podcast’s English Café number 169.

This is English as a Second Language Podcast’s English Café episode 169. I’m

your host, Dr. Jeff McQuillan, coming to you from the Center for Educational

Development in beautiful Los Angeles, California.

Visit our website at eslpod.com. Download this episode’s Learning Guide, an 8

to 10 page guide we provide for all of our current episodes that gives you some

additional help in improving your English. You can also take a look at our ESL

Podcast Store, which has additional courses in business, daily, and children’s

English.

On this Café, we’re going to talk about alternative energy, or energy that is better

for the natural environment because it doesn’t come from oil and other what we

call “nonrenewable resources.” We’ll talk about what that term means. Then

we’ll talk about Monticello, a place that most Americans know about. It was the

home, or estate, of Thomas Jefferson, the third president of the United States.

And as always, we’ll answer a few of your questions. Let’s get started.

These days, there is a lot of interest in alternative energy, not only in the United

States, but also in almost every other country. If something is “alternative” it

means it is an option, it is something that we can use or choose to do. Listening

to our English Café is one alternative you have for learning English. Other

alternatives would be to talk to a native speaker or perhaps to read a book.

Alternative energy is an alternative to energy that is “derived,” or made from,

nonrenewable resources. “Nonrenewable resources” are things that you cannot

make more of – that we cannot make more of. Oil, natural gas, and coal are

examples of nonrenewable resources. There is, in other words, a “finite” (finite)

or limited amount of these resources. There is a finite amount of oil on this

planet. If we use all of the oil to make gasoline for our cars, someday there won’t

be any oil left. Since we can’t make oil, this is a nonrenewable resource.

Well, alternative energy is made by using what are called “renewable resources,”

or things that we can always get more of. Common types of alternative energy

include wind power; “solar” power, or energy from the sun; “hydroelectric” power,

or energy made by having the water in a river push through a certain machine;

“geothermal” power is energy made by using hot temperatures underneath the

These materials are copyrighted by the Center for Educational Development (2008). Posting of

these materials on another website or distributing them in any way is prohibited.

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