WEBVTT 00:00:00.430 --> 00:00:04.809 Welcome to English as a Second Language Podcast 00:00:04.809 --> 00:00:17.489 number 22. Hello and welcome to English as a 00:00:17.489 --> 00:00:22.370 Second Language Podcast number 22. This podcast 00:00:22.370 --> 00:00:25.649 is for those who are trying to improve their 00:00:25.649 --> 00:00:30.100 listening comprehension and speaking. My name 00:00:30.100 --> 00:00:34.359 is Dr. Jeff McQuillen, coming to you from Los 00:00:34.359 --> 00:00:38.859 Angeles, California. We are having some problems 00:00:38.859 --> 00:00:43.479 with our website and we apologize. Some of you 00:00:43.479 --> 00:00:46.899 may not be able to get to our website, but we 00:00:46.899 --> 00:00:50.280 are working to fix it and it should be fixed 00:00:50.280 --> 00:00:58.740 shortly. Our web address is www .eslpod .com. 00:00:59.149 --> 00:01:02.429 We hope to have that fixed in the next couple 00:01:02.429 --> 00:01:07.969 of days. Now let's start our podcast today by 00:01:07.969 --> 00:01:12.569 talking about seeing old friends. Lucy is going 00:01:12.569 --> 00:01:16.269 to tell us about some old friends that she saw 00:01:16.269 --> 00:01:19.750 recently, and then we'll come back and talk about 00:01:19.750 --> 00:01:22.730 the expressions and some of the difficult vocabulary. 00:01:23.370 --> 00:01:31.390 Now let's get started. This is turning out to 00:01:31.390 --> 00:01:37.049 be a month for seeing old friends. I got an email 00:01:37.049 --> 00:01:41.969 a couple of weeks ago from an old friend from 00:01:41.969 --> 00:01:47.129 graduate school. She and her family are visiting 00:01:47.129 --> 00:01:54.650 LA for a week. They plan to see family and to 00:01:54.650 --> 00:01:59.590 visit friends. Since she moved out of the country, 00:02:00.349 --> 00:02:06.109 I haven't seen her in ages I'm looking forward 00:02:06.109 --> 00:02:11.569 to meeting her new kids and seeing her again 00:02:11.569 --> 00:02:17.530 Another old friend called this week. She and 00:02:17.530 --> 00:02:23.259 I were buddies in our undergraduate days She 00:02:23.259 --> 00:02:28.819 plans to swing by LA on her way to San Francisco. 00:02:30.620 --> 00:02:35.639 We've made plans to have lunch. She works in 00:02:35.639 --> 00:02:41.960 Washington DC as a political advisor and is usually 00:02:41.960 --> 00:02:47.599 very busy. I'm glad she could make time for us 00:02:47.599 --> 00:02:53.889 to get together. When we say goodbye to our friends 00:02:53.889 --> 00:02:59.909 we always hope to keep in touch But what with 00:02:59.909 --> 00:03:05.370 this and that it's sometimes hard to do With 00:03:05.370 --> 00:03:09.729 friends that I've fallen out of touch with it's 00:03:09.729 --> 00:03:14.129 sometimes hard to meet up again and Pick up where 00:03:14.129 --> 00:03:19.800 we left off we've both moved on to a different 00:03:19.800 --> 00:03:25.560 phase in our lives. Some of my old friends have 00:03:25.560 --> 00:03:30.319 become very successful and are living lives in 00:03:30.319 --> 00:03:35.960 the fast lane. Other friends are struggling along 00:03:35.960 --> 00:03:42.120 and are just making ends meet. But no matter 00:03:42.120 --> 00:03:45.669 how they're doing, It's always nice to touch 00:03:45.669 --> 00:03:51.110 bass again. I'm really looking forward to seeing 00:03:51.110 --> 00:03:55.270 these old pals of mine and catching up after 00:03:55.270 --> 00:04:07.169 all this time. Lucy talked about some old friends 00:04:07.169 --> 00:04:12.710 that she has seen recently. By old friends, of 00:04:12.710 --> 00:04:17.689 course, She means friends that have been her 00:04:17.689 --> 00:04:22.029 friends for many years, not necessarily someone 00:04:22.029 --> 00:04:26.209 who's old in age, but somebody who you have known 00:04:26.209 --> 00:04:30.329 a long time. She mentioned that it was turning 00:04:30.329 --> 00:04:35.449 out to be a month of foreseen old friends. To 00:04:35.449 --> 00:04:41.360 turn out means to result in, to become. This 00:04:41.360 --> 00:04:46.000 is turning out to be a very difficult assignment 00:04:46.000 --> 00:04:51.379 means this is becoming a very difficult assignment 00:04:51.379 --> 00:04:55.459 or You can say this is turning out to be a beautiful 00:04:55.459 --> 00:04:59.980 day Meaning it is now becoming a beautiful day 00:04:59.980 --> 00:05:04.540 or resulting in a beautiful day One of Lucy's 00:05:04.540 --> 00:05:08.420 friends was a friend of hers from graduate school 00:05:08.779 --> 00:05:13.819 And as you probably know, graduate school refers 00:05:13.819 --> 00:05:18.600 to anything that you study after your bachelor's 00:05:18.600 --> 00:05:22.500 degree, what we call your undergraduate degree. 00:05:23.199 --> 00:05:26.300 So you study for four years to get a bachelor's 00:05:26.300 --> 00:05:30.680 degree. Then you can study two, three, four, 00:05:31.180 --> 00:05:35.420 maybe up to six years to get a graduate degree. 00:05:36.539 --> 00:05:42.240 Lawyers, doctors, some accountants, many teachers, 00:05:42.720 --> 00:05:46.360 all of these study graduate degrees. Of course, 00:05:47.199 --> 00:05:50.740 the graduate degrees most common are a master's 00:05:50.740 --> 00:05:57.120 degree and a doctorate or PhD, or medical doctor, 00:05:57.560 --> 00:06:03.779 what we call MD. Lucy said she had not seen her 00:06:03.779 --> 00:06:08.800 friends in ages. That expression in ages simply 00:06:08.800 --> 00:06:15.480 means for a very very long time She said that 00:06:15.480 --> 00:06:20.639 she and her friend were buddies in their undergraduate 00:06:20.639 --> 00:06:25.600 days To be a buddy means to be a very close friend 00:06:25.600 --> 00:06:30.839 It's somewhat of an informal expression and it's 00:06:30.839 --> 00:06:35.139 often used by sometimes by children. He's my 00:06:35.139 --> 00:06:40.819 buddy, she's my buddy. Sometimes it is used ironically, 00:06:41.500 --> 00:06:46.360 meaning it isn't really the case. So someone 00:06:46.360 --> 00:06:49.360 that you don't like, someone your friend may 00:06:49.360 --> 00:06:54.240 say, oh have you seen your buddy Jack? When he 00:06:54.240 --> 00:06:57.639 knows that you don't like Jack very much. But 00:06:57.639 --> 00:07:01.079 the most straightforward common meaning means 00:07:01.079 --> 00:07:06.540 a friend. Undergraduate is of course something 00:07:06.540 --> 00:07:11.939 we've already talked about Her friend Lucy's 00:07:11.939 --> 00:07:16.100 friend said that she plans to swing by LA on 00:07:16.100 --> 00:07:20.879 her way to San Francisco To swing by means to 00:07:20.879 --> 00:07:26.860 visit but not to stay too long Or to go somewhere 00:07:26.860 --> 00:07:31.480 just for a short time I'm going to swing by the 00:07:31.480 --> 00:07:37.050 post office my way to Going to the grocery store. 00:07:37.110 --> 00:07:40.209 I'm going to stop at the post office go to the 00:07:40.209 --> 00:07:44.629 post office Pick my mail up and then go on. I'm 00:07:44.629 --> 00:07:49.389 not going to stay there very long To make time 00:07:49.389 --> 00:07:52.209 when Lucy said that she was glad her friend could 00:07:52.209 --> 00:07:57.430 make time for us means to set aside time to schedule 00:07:57.430 --> 00:08:04.750 time to put some time aside for that person. 00:08:06.970 --> 00:08:10.329 She mentioned that she and her friends always 00:08:10.329 --> 00:08:15.170 promise to keep in touch. To keep in touch means 00:08:15.170 --> 00:08:21.670 simply to stay in contact, to keep communicating 00:08:21.670 --> 00:08:26.410 with each other by phone, email, letter, and 00:08:26.410 --> 00:08:30.959 so forth. Keep in touch means the same as stay 00:08:30.959 --> 00:08:35.940 in touch Lucy also used the expression What with 00:08:35.940 --> 00:08:41.019 this and that? When she said but what with this 00:08:41.019 --> 00:08:46.100 and that it's sometimes hard to do This is a 00:08:46.100 --> 00:08:49.679 somewhat of an old expression which means for 00:08:49.679 --> 00:08:54.179 a variety of reasons I was going to go to the 00:08:54.179 --> 00:08:59.450 gym today, but what with this and that I didn't 00:08:59.450 --> 00:09:04.590 have time Lucy mentioned that her friends had 00:09:04.590 --> 00:09:09.870 fallen out of touch to fall out of touch is the 00:09:09.870 --> 00:09:14.230 opposite of to keep in touch means that you no 00:09:14.230 --> 00:09:20.269 longer have contact with that person she mentioned 00:09:20.269 --> 00:09:24.450 that they were going to meet up again and pick 00:09:24.450 --> 00:09:29.379 up where they left off there are two expressions 00:09:29.379 --> 00:09:34.019 here very common to pick up something can mean 00:09:34.019 --> 00:09:37.779 physically to take something in your hands and 00:09:37.779 --> 00:09:43.740 pick it up but here to pick up means to start 00:09:43.740 --> 00:09:48.139 again it's usually used in connection with the 00:09:48.139 --> 00:09:54.519 phrase leave off or left off I left off in my 00:09:54.519 --> 00:10:00.679 book on page 29 means I stopped in my book stopped 00:10:00.679 --> 00:10:05.720 reading my book on page 29 I'm going to pick 00:10:05.720 --> 00:10:10.100 up where I left off tomorrow which means I would 00:10:10.100 --> 00:10:13.960 start on page 29 we can use these this expression 00:10:13.960 --> 00:10:19.639 for anything that starts and stops usually when 00:10:19.639 --> 00:10:23.519 we talk about to pick up where you left off usually 00:10:23.519 --> 00:10:26.480 means that you were interrupted for some reason, 00:10:26.600 --> 00:10:31.340 but not always. Another expression Lucy used 00:10:31.340 --> 00:10:35.519 was that she and her friends had moved on to 00:10:35.519 --> 00:10:39.700 a different phase in their lives. Phase here 00:10:39.700 --> 00:10:44.980 simply means part of your life or time of your 00:10:44.980 --> 00:10:49.769 life. We have our our study phase when we're 00:10:49.769 --> 00:10:52.210 in school and then we may have our work phase 00:10:52.210 --> 00:10:58.090 where we go out and find a job. Lucy said that 00:10:58.090 --> 00:11:01.769 some of her friends were very successful living 00:11:01.769 --> 00:11:07.029 their life in the fast lane. The fast lane literally 00:11:07.029 --> 00:11:12.580 is a lane on the freeway or highway Most freeways 00:11:12.580 --> 00:11:16.100 and highways have two or three lanes where cars 00:11:16.100 --> 00:11:20.299 can drive. The fast lane, of course, is the lane 00:11:20.299 --> 00:11:23.480 where people drive the fastest. In the United 00:11:23.480 --> 00:11:27.559 States, that's usually the lane that is on the 00:11:27.559 --> 00:11:33.080 left, the very far left. Here it is a general 00:11:33.080 --> 00:11:38.799 expression that means living and spending a lot 00:11:38.799 --> 00:11:43.620 of money. I'm living in the fast lane means that 00:11:43.620 --> 00:11:46.879 I'm out doing many things and I'm spending a 00:11:46.879 --> 00:11:51.440 lot of money. I don't live in the fast lane. 00:11:53.240 --> 00:11:57.379 Now, a couple of more expressions. Lucy mentioned 00:11:57.379 --> 00:12:01.500 that her friends, some of her friends were struggling, 00:12:01.759 --> 00:12:05.899 meaning they weren't making very much money and 00:12:05.899 --> 00:12:11.299 were just making ends meet. To make ends meet 00:12:11.299 --> 00:12:15.539 means to be able to pay your bills, your phone, 00:12:15.740 --> 00:12:19.460 your gas, your electricity, and so forth, but 00:12:19.460 --> 00:12:23.899 not much more. So I have enough to pay for my 00:12:23.899 --> 00:12:26.940 necessities, the things I need in life, but not 00:12:26.940 --> 00:12:30.399 a lot more. This is called making ends meet. 00:12:30.820 --> 00:12:34.679 It means you're not very rich. She mentioned 00:12:34.679 --> 00:12:38.179 that it was nice to touch base with her friends. 00:12:38.759 --> 00:12:43.539 To touch base means again to stay in touch to 00:12:43.539 --> 00:12:47.620 keep in contact Sometimes we'll use this expression 00:12:47.620 --> 00:12:52.820 Let's touch base tomorrow about where we're going 00:12:52.820 --> 00:12:56.639 to go bowling on Friday meaning we'll contact 00:12:56.639 --> 00:13:02.820 each other tomorrow about our plans Lucy used 00:13:02.820 --> 00:13:07.679 the expression old pals Pals means the same as 00:13:07.679 --> 00:13:13.139 buddies little older expression, but still common 00:13:13.139 --> 00:13:16.820 Finally she said that her friends were going 00:13:16.820 --> 00:13:22.519 to do a lot of catching up Here to catch up means 00:13:22.519 --> 00:13:26.320 to talk about what has happened since the last 00:13:26.320 --> 00:13:31.779 time they saw each other Catch to catch up is 00:13:31.779 --> 00:13:35.639 a general expression that can mean Getting up 00:13:35.639 --> 00:13:39.480 to the same point where other people are if you 00:13:39.480 --> 00:13:44.059 miss two weeks of school You have a lot of catching 00:13:44.059 --> 00:13:48.059 up to do meaning you have a lot of work To find 00:13:48.059 --> 00:13:51.700 out what happened in those two weeks You can 00:13:51.700 --> 00:13:56.039 say for example. I haven't been reading my magazines 00:13:56.039 --> 00:14:00.879 recently I need to catch up Means I need to go 00:14:00.879 --> 00:14:04.220 back and do that so that I can be current so 00:14:04.220 --> 00:14:08.799 that I can be up -to -date That's going to do 00:14:08.799 --> 00:14:12.320 it for today's ESL podcast My name is dr. Jeff 00:14:12.320 --> 00:14:15.659 McQuillan coming to you from the Center for Educational 00:14:15.659 --> 00:14:19.320 Development in Los Angeles We'd like to hear 00:14:19.320 --> 00:14:22.519 from you. Please email us and tell us where you 00:14:22.519 --> 00:14:34.019 live our email address is ESL pod at eslpod .com 00:14:34.019 --> 00:14:41.480 eslpod at eslpod .com Thank you again for listening. 00:14:41.879 --> 00:14:45.220 We'll see you next time on English as a Second 00:14:45.220 --> 00:14:53.539 Language podcast ESL podcast is produced by the 00:14:53.539 --> 00:14:56.019 Center for Educational Development in Los Angeles, 00:14:56.019 --> 00:15:00.220 California This podcast is copyright 2005.