Interminable speeches

Interminable speeches

When China's retired basketball superstar Yao Ming attended a Communist Party advisory meeting last month, a press photograph of him showed several other delegates (people attending the meeting) sleeping peacefully to either side

According to Chinese state media, the mayor of Guangzhou has now had enough of (didn't want any more) interminable (very long) speeches in stuffy [not enough air] rooms - and has said so in a fifty-eight-minute address [speech].

Wan Qingliang told a local Party session that speeches should be capped [stopped, limited at] at an hour for key meetings, and half an hour for less important gatherings [meeting]

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That might be a wake-up call [an event that alerts people a problem] for China's National People's Congress, where speeches can drag on [continue for too long] for two hours

ESL Podcast 630 – Making a Medical Diagnosis

http://www.eslpod.com/website/show_podcast.php?issue_id=9465938

- to put sb through sth : to make sb do sth that may be unpleasing or require a lot of work but sb has to do

- battery (n) : series / group of things

My doctor is putting me through another battery of tests. 

 - to make a diagnosis ~ to diagnose : to identify what the illness is

She still hasn't been able to zero in on the cause of your pain and make a diagnosis? 

- intermittent (adj) : not happening continuously or regularly

Part of the problem is that my symptoms are intermittent

- to flare up : to get worse

they seem to flare up only when I'm not under observation.

- chronic (adj): continue for a long time

The mild pain in my legs seems to be chronic,

- to be up for sth : to have energy / ready for sth

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Thanks,
Duy Lam

ESL Podcast 628 – Introducing a New Product

http://www.eslpod.com/website/show_podcast.php?issue_id=9436109

- to give sb the heads up : to let sb know info/event which is going to happen in future

Today's the day. I'm giving you the heads up.

- to roll out sth: to launch , to begin sth different

Our company is rolling out its new line of cell phones.

- state of the art : modern, advanced, newest, best

- never-before-seen: no one has ever seen, completely new

This line of phones has state-of- the-art technology and never-before-seen features. 

- in development : being working on, not finished yet

It's been in development for over a year a

- to keep sth under wraps : to keep sth secret

it's been really hard keeping it under wraps

- to put a clamp on sth: to stop sth from happening or be continuing

Those were just rumors, and the company put a clamp on those pretty quickly. 

- to come out : to be released / introduced

Wasn't the new line supposed to come out next month?

- to steal the thunder : to get buzz against of competitors

- to scramble : to do sth very quickly / faster

- ahead of schedule : before the deadline

Yes, and steal their thunder. We had to scramble to get the phones ready ahead of schedule

- to make a splash : to attract a lot of attention from people

They're really going to make a splash. 

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Thanks,
Duy Lam

ESL Podcast 626 – Wiring Money to Another Country

http://www.eslpod.com/website/show_podcast.php?issue_id=9406280

- by tomorrow : before the end of tomorrow

He needs $300 by tomorrow

- to wire sth: to send sth (money) electronically 

You can wire him the money from here

- blank : empty

- to fill out a form: to enter data to form

Here is a blank form. I can help you fill it out if you want me to. 

- recipient ~ sender

 Fill out the receiver or recipient information here and the sender information there

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Thanks,
Duy Lam

ESL Podcast 620 – Making Quick and Slow Decisions

http://eslpod.com/website/show_podcast.php?issue_id=9316793

- to go with : to choose a service or an option 

Which of these vendors do you think we should go with?

- to ponder : to consider, to think about very carefully

we've pondered the options a little longer.

- to sit on sb: to think about sb very carefully before making decision

We've sat on this for long enough, don't you think

- to be of two minds : to be undecided, to know the adv + disadv of things

I know you're of two minds about whether we should be switching vendors in the middle of the year

- sound (adj): logical, right

We had sound reasons for doing this, remember? 

- split-second (adj): rash

yes, I know that it wasn't a split-second decision

- debatable (a): indefinite, not sure , to be discussed more

 whether it'll really save us money is debatable. 

- ifs, ands or buts about it (expression) : there is no execute for it, no reason for it

I don't think there are any ifs, ands, or buts about it.

- to be set in stone : to be final, to be clearly decided, to be unable to be changed

Okay, I'm willing to make a tentative decision to go with GreatDeal Corp. as our new vendor, as long as that decision isn't set in stone. 

- to revisit : to think about again

- to work out : to be successful, to solve the problem

We'll revisit this decision in six months to see if they're working out. 

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Thanks,
Duy Lam

ESL Podcast 616 – Having a Business Mentor

http://www.eslpod.com/website/show_podcast.php?issue_id=9257135

-  to hash sth out: to discuss sth in great detail, to spend along time discussing

I simply go to her with my ideas and she helps me hash them out.

- out of the blue : unexpectedly , without planing

I contacted her out of the blue

- to click : to have good relationship in short time (a month)

We really clicked and now we meet once a month. 

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http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/learningenglish/radio/specials/1210_how_to_converse/page7.shtml

- to after : to want to have sth

A: Hi, you look great today. B: What do you after ?

Standard responses

Thank you, that's very kind!

Thank you, that's very kind of you (to say so).

nice

sweet

Showing surprise

You can show surprise at a compliment by explaining why it is unexpected. So, if someone compliments you on an item of clothing, you might say:

Oh, I've had this for ages.

Really? It was only cheap!

Sharing responsibility

If you receive a compliment for a piece of work which was a joint effort, it's important to make this clear.

Thanks! Ramesh worked on it too.

It wasn't all my work. Ramesh gave me a lot help.

That's very kind. I'll tell Ramesh - he helped me loads.

Returning the compliment

You can often respond to a compliment by returning the compliment - by giving a compliment back.

Oh, thanks very much! You look very nice too - I like your coat.

Humorous responses

In the UK, it is very common to respond to unexpected compliments by suggesting that the person paying you the compliment wants to ask a favour. This is a joke and probably won't cause offence to native English speakers.

What are you after?

What do you want?

Flattery will get you nowhere.*

* Flattery is the giving of praise and compliments that you don't really mean. This phrase means that it doesn't matter how many compliments you receive - you won't give any favours in return!

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Thanks,
Duy Lam

ESL Podcast 613 – Being a First-Time Parent

http://www.eslpod.com/website/show_podcast.php?issue_id=9217363

- the birth of new baby : baby comes out of mom

I wanted to call and congratulate you on the birth of your new baby.

- first-time parent: first time being parent

That's great! How does it feel to be a first-time parent? 

- overwhelming (a): too strong, too powerful

- newborn (n): a baby was born just within two months ago

It's really overwhelming taking care of a newborn

- from scratch (n): very beginning, without any preparation 

I'm learning everything from scratch

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Thanks,
Duy Lam