WEBVTT 00:00:00.750 --> 00:00:03.890 Welcome to English as a Second Language Podcast, 00:00:04.450 --> 00:00:16.609 number 16. Hello again and welcome to English 00:00:16.609 --> 00:00:20.589 as a Second Language Podcast. My name is Dr. 00:00:20.769 --> 00:00:24.370 Jeff McQuillan from the Center for Educational 00:00:24.370 --> 00:00:28.980 Development in Los Angeles, California. If this 00:00:28.980 --> 00:00:31.780 is your first time listening to the ESL podcast, 00:00:32.380 --> 00:00:40.740 please go to our website at www .eslpod .com 00:00:40.740 --> 00:00:44.600 to find out more information and to download 00:00:44.600 --> 00:00:48.939 our previous podcasts. Before we get started 00:00:48.939 --> 00:00:53.759 on today's podcast, I wanted to thank all of 00:00:53.759 --> 00:00:57.640 you who have emailed your ideas and suggestions. 00:00:58.600 --> 00:01:04.379 We encourage all of our listeners to email us 00:01:04.379 --> 00:01:12.900 at eslpod at eslpod .com or go to our website 00:01:12.900 --> 00:01:18.099 where you'll find our email address. We had several 00:01:18.099 --> 00:01:23.430 people suggest that we put up the script or the 00:01:23.430 --> 00:01:28.209 text for the first part of our podcasts. And 00:01:28.209 --> 00:01:32.530 I am happy to say that beginning today we will 00:01:32.530 --> 00:01:36.030 be putting up the text of the podcast on our 00:01:36.030 --> 00:01:41.250 website. Go to our website and click on the link 00:01:41.250 --> 00:01:46.689 that says scripts and you will find a list of 00:01:46.689 --> 00:01:50.879 the podcasts that we have scripts for. posted 00:01:50.879 --> 00:01:55.099 on the site. The most recent podcast, the current 00:01:55.099 --> 00:02:00.900 podcast, will be on top. We do not have all of 00:02:00.900 --> 00:02:05.019 the podcast scripts up on our website yet, but 00:02:05.019 --> 00:02:08.479 we are working on it. So, thank you for your 00:02:08.479 --> 00:02:12.460 patience and your suggestions. Now let's get 00:02:12.460 --> 00:02:16.740 started with today's podcast. Today we are going 00:02:16.740 --> 00:02:20.729 to talk about taking a trip and traveling. And 00:02:20.729 --> 00:02:24.770 as usual, after our first section, a monologue 00:02:24.770 --> 00:02:28.789 section, we will come back and talk about vocabulary. 00:02:29.349 --> 00:02:39.550 Now let's get started. I think the best summer 00:02:39.550 --> 00:02:43.590 vacation I've ever taken was when I went out 00:02:43.590 --> 00:02:48.060 east a few years ago. Two of my friends and I 00:02:48.060 --> 00:02:53.759 went on a two -week road trip. At the time, I 00:02:53.759 --> 00:02:58.060 was living in St. Paul, Minnesota, in the Midwest 00:02:58.060 --> 00:03:03.020 of the United States. Anyway, we started off 00:03:03.020 --> 00:03:08.120 camping every night, but that got real old real 00:03:08.120 --> 00:03:13.719 fast. So we started checking into hotels after 00:03:13.719 --> 00:03:18.259 about the third day. We were headed for Washington, 00:03:18.520 --> 00:03:23.500 D .C. first. Checking into the hotel was always 00:03:23.500 --> 00:03:27.919 a bit of a hassle. I wanted to sleep in a double 00:03:27.919 --> 00:03:32.620 bed. My friends wanted to get a king to share. 00:03:34.159 --> 00:03:38.020 Lodging is more expensive at a hotel than in 00:03:38.020 --> 00:03:42.240 a campground, but it is much, much more comfortable. 00:03:43.919 --> 00:03:47.199 We went to the major tourist attractions in Washington, 00:03:47.400 --> 00:03:52.460 D .C. The Capitol, Lincoln's Memorial, the White 00:03:52.460 --> 00:03:56.919 House. We then headed north, passing through 00:03:56.919 --> 00:04:02.539 Boston and headed towards Canada, to Quebec City. 00:04:03.780 --> 00:04:07.340 When we arrived at the Canadian border, we had 00:04:07.340 --> 00:04:11.699 to pass through customs and immigration. Customs 00:04:11.699 --> 00:04:16.379 was easy. We had nothing to declare. Immigration 00:04:16.379 --> 00:04:20.819 was more of a pain. We were asked the standard 00:04:20.819 --> 00:04:24.680 questions. How long will you be staying in Canada? 00:04:25.100 --> 00:04:29.939 What is the nature of your visit? Finally, we 00:04:29.939 --> 00:04:33.300 were permitted to enter, and we drove on to our 00:04:33.300 --> 00:04:40.079 destination. Quebec City is beautiful. Unlike 00:04:40.079 --> 00:04:44.100 many cities, There are no tourist traps to sidetrack 00:04:44.100 --> 00:04:49.160 you. We spent two days there, then drove on to 00:04:49.160 --> 00:04:54.300 Montreal. Of course, we had to pass through customs 00:04:54.300 --> 00:04:57.220 and immigration again when we re -entered the 00:04:57.220 --> 00:05:01.540 United States. Our bags were searched in customs, 00:05:01.680 --> 00:05:05.959 but other than that, we got through fairly easily. 00:05:07.319 --> 00:05:10.360 A few days later, we were back in Minnesota. 00:05:11.240 --> 00:05:22.759 Home sweet home. Our topic today was taking a 00:05:22.759 --> 00:05:27.600 summer vacation. I talked about a vacation that 00:05:27.600 --> 00:05:33.079 I took a few years ago. I said that I and my 00:05:33.079 --> 00:05:37.779 friends went out east. In the United States, 00:05:37.879 --> 00:05:42.240 to go out east... usually means to go to the 00:05:42.240 --> 00:05:47.040 eastern coast of the United States. If you say, 00:05:47.180 --> 00:05:52.540 I'm going out west, that is more general, referring 00:05:52.540 --> 00:05:57.139 to any part of the western United States, from 00:05:57.139 --> 00:06:02.720 the Mississippi River to the Pacific Ocean. I 00:06:02.720 --> 00:06:06.879 said that we went on a road trip. A road trip 00:06:06.879 --> 00:06:11.259 is, as you might have guessed, a trip where you 00:06:11.259 --> 00:06:16.759 drive somewhere. We sometimes use this term informally. 00:06:17.259 --> 00:06:21.759 Let's take a road trip means let's drive somewhere 00:06:21.759 --> 00:06:25.920 more or less on the spur of the moment. On the 00:06:25.920 --> 00:06:29.079 spur of the moment means without a lot of planning. 00:06:30.220 --> 00:06:35.459 I mentioned that camping got real old real fast. 00:06:36.079 --> 00:06:40.620 That's an informal expression you hear. To get 00:06:40.620 --> 00:06:46.399 old means to get tiresome, to be boring, to be 00:06:46.399 --> 00:06:51.100 not very interesting anymore. For example, going 00:06:51.100 --> 00:06:57.660 to the movies every Friday gets old means going 00:06:57.660 --> 00:07:00.660 to the movies every Friday is boring if you do 00:07:00.660 --> 00:07:08.839 it all the time. Talking to my friend Bob gets 00:07:08.839 --> 00:07:12.660 old after a while, meaning it gets boring after 00:07:12.660 --> 00:07:19.420 a while. The expression gets old real fast is 00:07:19.420 --> 00:07:24.120 a pretty common one. We'll say, for example, 00:07:24.379 --> 00:07:28.879 that gets old real fast, meaning very quickly. 00:07:30.720 --> 00:07:34.910 I said that we were headed. for washington dc 00:07:34.910 --> 00:07:39.449 i use that expression several times we were headed 00:07:39.449 --> 00:07:44.449 or we headed to head somewhere means to go somewhere 00:07:44.449 --> 00:07:49.389 to go in the direction of somewhere someone may 00:07:49.389 --> 00:07:54.629 say to you where are you headed and you say i'm 00:07:54.629 --> 00:07:59.129 headed to the dining room i'm hungry or i'm headed 00:07:59.129 --> 00:08:03.379 to chicago to see my sister You can use it both 00:08:03.379 --> 00:08:09.259 for long distances and for short distances. I 00:08:09.259 --> 00:08:12.500 said that checking into the hotel was a bit of 00:08:12.500 --> 00:08:17.500 a hassle. A hassle is when you have a problem 00:08:17.500 --> 00:08:22.500 with something. So we say, for example, it's 00:08:22.500 --> 00:08:27.000 a real hassle to go through immigration. Meaning, 00:08:27.120 --> 00:08:32.340 it's a real bother. It always causes some problems. 00:08:33.779 --> 00:08:38.059 Hassle is also a verb, meaning to cause someone 00:08:38.059 --> 00:08:43.100 problems. Don't hassle me means don't cause me 00:08:43.100 --> 00:08:49.620 any problems. The term double bed and king refer 00:08:49.620 --> 00:08:54.679 to the type of bed that you sleep in. A king 00:08:54.679 --> 00:08:59.480 size bed is the largest, one of the largest beds 00:08:59.480 --> 00:09:03.039 you can get. It sleeps two people very comfortably. 00:09:03.440 --> 00:09:08.759 A California king is even bigger than a regular 00:09:08.759 --> 00:09:12.379 king. So technically the biggest bed you can 00:09:12.379 --> 00:09:15.340 get in a hotel, in the United States anyway, 00:09:15.539 --> 00:09:22.720 is a California king. A double bed is a smaller 00:09:22.720 --> 00:09:27.379 bed. Two people can fit if they're very good 00:09:27.379 --> 00:09:33.409 friends. comfortable sleeping close together. 00:09:34.710 --> 00:09:39.610 I said that lodging was more expensive in a hotel 00:09:39.610 --> 00:09:43.809 than in a campground. Lodging is a general term 00:09:43.809 --> 00:09:48.570 we use to cover any place where you are sleeping 00:09:48.570 --> 00:09:53.450 or staying overnight or in some temporary situation. 00:09:54.190 --> 00:09:59.429 So typically lodging includes campgrounds It 00:09:59.429 --> 00:10:02.350 includes a trailer park where you might have 00:10:02.350 --> 00:10:08.529 a trailer where you sleep. It includes a hotel. 00:10:08.750 --> 00:10:13.389 It includes a bed and breakfast. All of these 00:10:13.389 --> 00:10:19.269 would be considered lodging. I said that we went 00:10:19.269 --> 00:10:23.649 to Washington DC and saw the major tourist attractions. 00:10:24.029 --> 00:10:28.789 A tourist attraction is anything that Someone 00:10:28.789 --> 00:10:33.669 visiting that place would want to see a museum, 00:10:33.889 --> 00:10:39.830 a memorial, a historical site. All of these are 00:10:39.830 --> 00:10:43.250 tourist attractions. Here in Southern California, 00:10:43.490 --> 00:10:49.049 in Los Angeles, people go to see Hollywood, the 00:10:49.049 --> 00:10:53.950 Hollywood Boulevard, Disneyland, Santa Monica 00:10:53.950 --> 00:10:57.309 Beach. All of these are tourist attractions. 00:10:58.330 --> 00:11:02.350 I live about two miles from Santa Monica Beach 00:11:02.350 --> 00:11:05.110 and there are always a lot of tourists there. 00:11:06.549 --> 00:11:11.370 I said as we went through customs that it was 00:11:11.370 --> 00:11:17.590 easy because we had nothing to declare. To declare 00:11:17.590 --> 00:11:22.149 something when you go through customs means that 00:11:22.149 --> 00:11:27.759 you have something you are bringing in that requires 00:11:27.759 --> 00:11:32.000 usually that you get permission or that you pay 00:11:32.000 --> 00:11:36.639 a tax. So if you are coming to the United States 00:11:36.639 --> 00:11:42.720 and you are bringing $10 ,000 worth of jewelry, 00:11:43.059 --> 00:11:49.559 you should visit me. Well, I'm kidding. If you're 00:11:49.559 --> 00:11:53.509 bringing in a large amount of... merchandise 00:11:53.509 --> 00:11:57.730 of something that is valuable you often have 00:11:57.730 --> 00:12:01.950 to pay a tax on that when you go to another country 00:12:01.950 --> 00:12:05.809 and that is called making a declaration when 00:12:05.809 --> 00:12:09.669 you declare something you put down on your customs 00:12:09.669 --> 00:12:13.570 form and tell the customs officer that's the 00:12:13.570 --> 00:12:17.269 person working at the customs booth you tell 00:12:17.269 --> 00:12:19.889 the customs officer you have something to declare 00:12:21.929 --> 00:12:26.490 I said also that immigration was more of a pain. 00:12:27.210 --> 00:12:31.570 This is an expression, a colloquial and informal 00:12:31.570 --> 00:12:37.309 expression, meaning it's similar to hassle. To 00:12:37.309 --> 00:12:40.990 say something is a pain means that it bothers 00:12:40.990 --> 00:12:47.049 you, it causes you problems. It's actually an 00:12:47.049 --> 00:12:53.879 expression, a polite expression. that comes from 00:12:53.879 --> 00:13:00.159 the expression a pain in the neck or a pain in 00:13:00.159 --> 00:13:04.320 the butt. These are terms that we use a lot. 00:13:04.879 --> 00:13:09.480 Nowadays, more informally, we simply say it's 00:13:09.480 --> 00:13:13.379 a pain. And people understand you mean it's a 00:13:13.379 --> 00:13:17.759 pain in the neck. It's a problem. When we went 00:13:17.759 --> 00:13:21.450 through immigration, I said we were asked the 00:13:21.450 --> 00:13:25.730 standard questions. This expression, the standard 00:13:25.730 --> 00:13:29.269 something, the standard questions, the standard 00:13:29.269 --> 00:13:35.809 menu, the standard routine, means the normal, 00:13:35.929 --> 00:13:39.269 the regular, what you would normally expect. 00:13:39.990 --> 00:13:43.350 One of the standard questions you are asked at 00:13:43.350 --> 00:13:47.730 immigration is how long will you be staying in 00:13:47.730 --> 00:13:52.320 this country? You are also typically asked what 00:13:52.320 --> 00:13:57.000 the nature of your visit is. The nature here 00:13:57.000 --> 00:14:01.980 means the reason. Why are you here? Is it for 00:14:01.980 --> 00:14:06.159 business or is it for pleasure, for relaxing? 00:14:07.759 --> 00:14:14.279 The nature of something means also the most important 00:14:14.279 --> 00:14:18.899 quality of something. We may say, for example, 00:14:19.639 --> 00:14:23.320 The nature of jogging is that you get tired, 00:14:23.519 --> 00:14:27.379 meaning an essential part of jogging is after 00:14:27.379 --> 00:14:33.139 a while you get tired. I mentioned that there 00:14:33.139 --> 00:14:37.659 were no tourist traps to sidetrack us in Quebec 00:14:37.659 --> 00:14:43.299 City. A tourist trap is a type of tourist attraction 00:14:43.299 --> 00:14:51.220 that is designed mostly to Take your money, but 00:14:51.220 --> 00:14:55.379 not necessarily be very entertaining. A tourist 00:14:55.379 --> 00:15:01.659 trap would be any place that someone goes that 00:15:01.659 --> 00:15:05.399 isn't very enjoyable, but that costs a lot of 00:15:05.399 --> 00:15:11.340 money. To sidetrack means literally to get off 00:15:11.340 --> 00:15:16.440 the track. Track means the path, the road that 00:15:16.440 --> 00:15:20.809 you're on. So to be sidetracked means to be pushed 00:15:20.809 --> 00:15:26.210 off or directed away from where you were going. 00:15:27.370 --> 00:15:32.129 To sidetrack someone means to get them talking 00:15:32.129 --> 00:15:36.590 about or interested in a different topic than 00:15:36.590 --> 00:15:39.549 the one they were interested in before. It's 00:15:39.549 --> 00:15:44.350 usually used as something of a negative thing. 00:15:44.629 --> 00:15:49.110 I don't want to get sidetracked. means I want 00:15:49.110 --> 00:15:52.850 to focus on the most important thing and not 00:15:52.850 --> 00:15:57.370 things that are less important. So sidetrack, 00:15:57.370 --> 00:16:04.529 by definition, is always a negative thing. I 00:16:04.529 --> 00:16:06.669 said that when we went through customs returning 00:16:06.669 --> 00:16:10.649 to the United States, that our bags were searched. 00:16:11.210 --> 00:16:15.090 To search, of course, means to look in. And that's 00:16:15.090 --> 00:16:17.830 the expression we use particularly when you go 00:16:17.830 --> 00:16:21.809 through customs or if you are stopped by the 00:16:21.809 --> 00:16:25.629 police, they search your car or they can search 00:16:25.629 --> 00:16:31.629 your bags, they can search your house. Finally, 00:16:31.629 --> 00:16:36.009 I said that when we returned to Minnesota, I 00:16:36.009 --> 00:16:40.009 used the expression, home sweet home. This is 00:16:40.009 --> 00:16:43.070 a very old... but common expression in the United 00:16:43.070 --> 00:16:47.629 States, referring to the place where you live, 00:16:47.809 --> 00:16:54.309 your home, physical home, but also the home city, 00:16:54.509 --> 00:16:59.029 your home state. Home sweet home is an expression 00:16:59.029 --> 00:17:04.089 that you will sometimes see on little plaques, 00:17:04.150 --> 00:17:08.809 little signs in someone's house. It's just a 00:17:08.809 --> 00:17:12.769 nice expression that means, I'm glad to be home. 00:17:12.950 --> 00:17:18.609 It's nice to be here. Sweet, home, sweet. We 00:17:18.609 --> 00:17:22.430 normally think of sweet as like candy, but sweet 00:17:22.430 --> 00:17:26.089 can also mean very nice. She's a sweet girl. 00:17:26.549 --> 00:17:30.609 She's a sweet, or he's a sweet person, means 00:17:30.609 --> 00:17:35.200 they're very nice. They're very polite. And that's 00:17:35.200 --> 00:17:38.420 more the expression here. Home sweet home means 00:17:38.420 --> 00:17:42.880 it's very nice to be here. That's going to do 00:17:42.880 --> 00:17:46.599 it for today's ESL podcast. As usual, we encourage 00:17:46.599 --> 00:17:50.740 you to email us your ideas and suggestions. Remember 00:17:50.740 --> 00:17:54.400 that our scripts are now available online beginning 00:17:54.400 --> 00:17:58.980 with this podcast, podcast number 16. We'll also 00:17:58.980 --> 00:18:02.819 get the other scripts up as the week and the 00:18:02.819 --> 00:18:05.920 month progresses. Thank you again for listening. 00:18:06.039 --> 00:18:16.119 We'll see you next time on ESL Podcast. ESL Podcast 00:18:16.119 --> 00:18:19.019 is produced by the Center for Educational Development 00:18:19.019 --> 00:18:22.640 in Los Angeles, California.