EC138_Guide.pdf

English as a Second Language Podcast

www.eslpod.com

ENGLISH CAFÉ – 138

TOPICS

Monster truck shows and races; blue jeans and Levi Strauss, to be up against

the wall, liability versus responsibility, pronouncing “either”

_____________

GLOSSARY

monster – a not real and scary animal; an imaginary creature that frightens

people

* Did you think that the monster in the movie looked real when it stepped on

people and buildings?

pickup truck – a vehicle that has a small seating area in front and a large and

an open section in the back for carrying things

* We borrowed Dean’s pickup truck to move our sofa to the new house because

the sofa was too big to fit into our car.

destructive – destroying things; ruining other things

* The storm was more destructive to the homes in our town than to the business

buildings.

to crush – to apply pressure or strength to another object to make it smaller; to

break down a larger thing into smaller pieces

* Gina is making some cold drinks. Could you crush some ice to put into them?

track – a route that something must follow; a road that competitors race on

* The race began with six runners on the track, but one dropped out and there

are only five remaining.

obstacle – a thing that is in one’s way; something that must be moved for one to

continue in a certain direction; something that prevents one from moving ahead

* Freddie wants to become a doctor, but not having enough money to go to

medical school is a major obstacle.

freestyle – an activity without rules, usually where an athlete or artist can do

whatever he or she wants

* After the main part of the performance, the dancers came back on stage and

danced freestyle to entertain the audience.

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ENGLISH CAFÉ – 138

to root – to cheer; to make loud noises in support of something or some person

winning

* My brother always roots for a different basketball team than I do when we

watch games on TV.

blue jeans (or jeans) – casual pants made from heavy cotton fabric; pants that

are made with denim and are very hard to damage

* Do we need to dress up for this party, or can I wear jeans and a T-shirt?

denim – a cotton fabric, usually blue, that is used to make jeans and other

clothing

* It’s going to be very cold tonight so I would suggest wearing your wool coat

rather than your denim jacket.

ranch – a large farm with many horses and cows

* Celia grew up working on her parents’ ranch and she knows a lot about working

with horses.

Gold Rush – a period of time, between 1848-1855, when many men went to

California to try to make a lot of money by finding gold

* Many people from the eastern part of the United States went to California to

find gold, and stayed there for the rest of their lives.

miner – a person whose job is to take gold or other minerals out of the earth

* Miners often work under stressful and dangerous conditions.

durable – longer lasting; difficult to damage; very strong

* This carpet is more expensive, but it is more durable if you have children.

to be up against the wall – to be in a situation where there appears to be no

escape or hope, or failure is likely to occur

* With only an hour left to finish the project, the students were up against the wall

and didn’t know what to do.

responsibility – an obligation; a duty; being required to do something

* Whose responsibility is it to feed the cat? She is very hungry!

liability – an obligation, financial or otherwise, that is required by the law or a

contract

* It’s up to the judge to decide whether it is our company’s or the government’s

liability to fix these roads.

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

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ENGLISH CAFÉ – 138

WHAT INSIDERS KNOW

Standard Types of Jeans

When you walk into an American clothing store to buy jeans, the different types

and the different “fits” (styles) can be confusing. Below are four standard fits for

jeans.

The first pair of jeans is in the “boot cut” style. This type of jeans has a “natural

waist,” which means that the pants begin at the natural place where your “waist”

(the part of the body above the hips) is. The bottom is slightly “flared” (goes out).

The second pair of jeans is called “low-rise,” which means that the pants begin at

the hips, rather than at the waist. Notice that the bottom is also flared. When the

jeans go out this much at the bottom, they are called “flared.”

The third pair of jeans is called a “classic fit.” These jeans have a natural waist,

they are “fitted” (very close to the skin) in the hips and thighs, and they “taper,” or

go in slightly, at the bottom.

The last pair of jeans is called “easy fit.” These jeans have a natural waist, and

they are a little “loose” (not very close to the skin) at the hips and thighs. The

legs are straight and they do not flare or taper.

Knowing a few basic terms for the different types and fits for jeans can make

shopping for them much easier.

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.

English as a Second Language Podcast

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ENGLISH CAFÉ – 138

COMPLETE TRANSCRIPT

You’re listening to ESL Podcast’s English Café number 138.

This is English as a Second Language Podcast’s English Café episode 138. 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. While you’re there, you can download this

episode’s Learning Guide that will help you improve your English even faster.

You can also take a look at our ESL Podcast Store, with additional courses in

English, as well as our ESL Podcast Blog, where we give you even more help on

English during the week.

On this Café, we’re going to talk about monster truck shows and races, which are

very popular in the United States. Then we’ll talk a little bit about a traditional

piece of American clothing, blue jeans, and Levi Strauss, which was one of the,

and is one of the major makers of blue jeans. And as always, we’ll answer a few

of your questions. Let’s get started.

Our first topic is monster trucks. A “monster” is normally an imaginary, or not

real, scary animal. If you saw the movie Shrek, Shrek is a monster, something

you would read usually in a story for children. However, monster can also mean

very large. You could say, for example, that you have a monster headache,

meaning a very big and painful headache. So, a monster truck is a very large

truck.

Actually, most monster trucks begin as normal pickup trucks. A “pickup truck” is

a vehicle that has a relatively small seating area, the place where the passengers

sit, and a large, open section in the back. Pickup trucks are often used by people

who work on farms or who need to move a lot of equipment. A pickup truck is

converted, or changed, into a monster truck by replacing the normal wheels on

the car with these extremely large wheels that are almost as tall as a person,

sometimes taller than a person. The truck also has what we would call a very

high “suspension,” meaning that there is a large distance between the truck and

the wheels. So, these are huge trucks with very large wheels.

Regular pickup trucks are very practical and are used by many people, but

monster trucks are used mostly just for entertainment, for shows and races. A

monster truck show involves one or more drivers showing the audience what the

monster truck can do. A monster truck race, on the other hand, involves multiple

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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ENGLISH CAFÉ – 138

drivers competing against each other to show which truck is fastest, or which

monster truck can do certain things the best.

Monster truck shows are very “destructive,” which means that they tend to

destroy or ruin things. Most monster truck shows are held at a “stadium,” a large

building where normally you watch sporting events. You can go to a monster

truck show and you will see ramps that parked in front of the monster trucks that

are full of cars. A “ramp” is a surface that you place on the ground at an angle,

usually to help a vehicle or another object with wheels move up. For example,

there are often ramps for wheelchairs in front of public buildings in the United

States, since, clearly, wheelchairs can’t go up stairs. In a monster truck show,

however, the ramp helps the monster truck move up to the level of the other cars,

and often to jump over the cars. Often what happens is the monster truck will go

up onto the ramp, over some normal cars, and then fall down on top and

basically crush the other cars. To “crush” means that you make something

smaller by applying a very heavy pressure. The monster trucks crush the smaller

tracks; some people like watching that and it is popular with a certain group of

people.

The monster trucks also race around tracks. A “track” is the route that you have

to follow, for example in a car race, or if you are running in the Olympics, you run

around a track for the track and field events like the 100 meter dash or the 1,500

meter race and so forth. At a monster truck race, the drivers go around a track

and go through or by many “obstacles,” or things that are in the way that they

have to move around.

If you go to a monster truck show or race, usually they will end with what we

would call a “freestyle event.” “Freestyle” (one word) means without rules, where

you can do whatever you want. Most people, for example, enjoy watching

freestyle ice skating, where the skaters can do many spins and flips, whatever

they want. Similarly, in a freestyle monster truck event, the drivers can do

whatever they want. Some drivers try to get their truck to move in very small,

fast circles. Other drivers make their cars “roll over,” meaning the car goes

upside down and then back right side up again.

Obviously this can be dangerous, both for the drivers and for the people

watching, but many Americans, at least some Americans, think that monster

truck shows and races are very entertaining. Sometime these events are on

television; you can watch them. Many people root for their favorite cars. To

“root” (root) for something or someone means to cheer and to make loud noises

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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