ESL Podcast 458 – Going to the Playground

http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/learningenglish/general/sixminute/2010/07/100708_6min_football_stickers.shtml

Tickets were like gold dust [things is very difficult to get because many people wants it] in1974. Promoter Bill Graham claimed he could have sold 12 million tickets, such was the mail-order demand
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Zen concentration will enhance your sense of enjoyment [feeling of happiness] in whatever it is you're doing

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http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/learningenglish/radio/specials/148_phrasalverbs/page3.shtml

Part 2A - Listening

So, I got down to work [ get down to business ] and I'm glad to say I got through [ to arrive at the end of; finish or complete ] all my exams.
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I didn't know what was going on [ take place, happen ]
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Well I went on to [continue] university.

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http://www.eslpod.com/website/show_podcast.php?issue_id=6671955

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My wife was out of town on business and our nanny was sick, so I took the day off from work to take care of our two kids: Livia, who is two, and Augustus, who is three and a half. I thought that going to the playground would be a good thing to do, but it turned out to be an accident waiting to happen.

When we got to the playground, the kids jumped out of the car. Livia got onto the merry-go-round, pushing it as hard as she could. The trouble was, there were a couple of toddlers playing on it and they fell backwards, getting the wind knocked out of them.

Augustus, on the other hand, ran straight for the swing set and almost got decapitated! Then he went over to the see-saw and almost got smashed when he tried to run under it! He ran out of my grasp and onto the jungle gym. He started hanging off the monkey bars. I caught him just in time as he fell!

When I turned around, I saw that Livia had got onto the slide and slid head first into the sandbox! Good thing she wasn't hurt.

By this time, I realized my mistake. Far from a safe place to play, for two lively kids and one father, the playground was a deathtrap!

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- playground : area where children play with a lot of equipments
- accident waiting to happen :it's dangerous situation
- to get smashed : to get hurt
- to run out of grasp  : to run away from sb so that they can't reach to
- to go down head / feet first :the head will hit the ground first
- lively: active , a lot of energy


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Thanks,
Duy Lam