ESL Podcast 584 – Calling in Sick to Work

http://www.eslpod.com/website/show_podcast.php?issue_id=8750042

- to be fed up with sth : to be very tired of doing sth 

I was fed up with work and wanted the day off. 

- to call in sick : to call boss / supervisor and tell them you're sick and can't work today

I decided to call in sick.

- to be peppered with questions: to be asked many questions

I wasn't prepared, though, to be peppered with questions.

- to come in : to go to particular place where you're being expected to come (like work)

I won't be coming in today

- to be not feeling well : to be sick

 I'm not feeling well.

- to be up all night : to be awake all night

- to throw up : to vomit

I've been up all night throwing up and I feel terrible

- food poisoning : when you eat bad food that makes you sick

I had food poisoning two weeks ago

- 24-hour bug: a illness that is not serious. It only lasts a day

That was a 24-hour bug.

- in a row : consequentially , without gap

I see. That's one day off from work a week, four weeks in a row.

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http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/learningenglish/language/newsextra/2010/02/100218_nw_information_society.shtml

- information overload: a situation when you get so much information you are not able to think about it all clearly and it makes you tired and or confused

Phew, information overload. There's so much information about allergies it can all be a bit overwhelming.

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Thanks,
Duy Lam

ESL Podcast 580 – Retiring From a Job

http://www.eslpod.com/website/show_podcast.php?issue_id=8690384

- glimpse (n): a quick look at sth

Sure, I want a glimpse of the future.

- golden handshake : ~ incentive - a lot of money company pay for employee to encourage them to retire

It'll be a long time before you get the golden handshake.

- to save up: to save money for a particular thing you want to buy

- nest egg : money saved for retirement

 I've saved up a nice little nest egg over the years. 

- to be in sb's shoes : to be in sb position

- to hem and haw : to hesitater 

If I were in your shoes, I wouldn't hem and haw about it.

- to get worked up : to worry, anxious 

Why are you getting all worked up

- to after sth: to want to have sth

Are you after my job? 

- to trace places: to exchange 

- in a minute : now, without thinking

I'd trade places with you in a minute.

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http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/learningenglish/language/wordsinthenews/2010/07/100728_with_pak_crash_page.shtml

- torrential (a): heavily 

There was torrential rain and heavy mist in the area

- domestically: flies to destinations within the country, not only abroad

The company operates flights domestically as well as to Britain and to the Gulf.

--
Thanks,
Duy Lam

ESL Podcast 579 – Telling People Where You’re From

http://www.eslpod.com/website/show_podcast.php?issue_id=8680441

- to be from around here: to be in that area, to be born in that place

Same here. Are you from around here? 

- to be native swhere: to have been born

 I'm a native Californian

- to move quite a bit: a lot

so we moved quite a bit, but mainly around the Middle East. 

- adopted hometown : second mother land

But I've lived in Los Angeles for over 10 years and consider it my adopted hometown. 

- to have a lot of catching up to do: to need to do / learn many things to become familiar 

I  was only eight years old when my family moved away, so I have a lot of catching up to do. 

============

Tim:	Ladies and gentlemen, if you have any questions, I'd be happy to answer them now.
Carrie:	Yeah, can I just ask, graph number 3, that last one you showed us, can you explain to me where you're intending to find the extra income to increase the designer range in the maternity wear?
Tim:	Yes, a very good question. I've looked at the office wear range and it's quite heavy on materia

- 

Thanks,
Duy Lam

ESL Podcast 574 – Shopping for Produce

http://www.eslpod.com/website/show_podcast.php?issue_id=8600897

- to resolve to do sth: to make a firm decision to do sth
I resolved to eat better, so I could feel better.
- to make a beeline for sth: to go directly a particular place or person without stopping anywhere
- produce department : fresh fruit or vegetable
I made a beeline for the produce department.
- to look picked over: in a fruit box, the picked over fruits are remained after other best one was picked by earlier people
They looked picked over
- organic (a): grown naturally without chemical
I saw some organic tomatoes

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http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/learningenglish/general/sixminute/2010/08/100826_6min_women_train_page.shtml

- on purpose : deliberately
- cramped (a): crowd
Sometimes there are men who bump and push into us on purpose, and they take advantage of the cramped conditions



--
Thanks,
Duy Lam

ESL Podcast 571 – Assigning Blame in a Car Accident

http://www.eslpod.com/website/show_podcast.php?issue_id=8561125


- to be shaken up : to be shock, scared, a little confused after sth dramatic
Tarik: Are you okay? Stacey: Yeah, I think so. I'm just a little shaken up, but look at my car!
- to total a car : to destroy it completely by accident
Good thing, though, it wasn't totaled.
- to crash into sb/sth: to hit sb while moving at high speed
-  to rear ended sb : your car hits back of sb car
You crashed into me! You rear ended me!
- to swerve : to turn (a car) shortly, quickly, certainly
- to slam on your brake : to stop car very quickly
That's only because you swerved in front of me and slammed on your brakes!
- to jibe : to match
That's your account of what happened, and it doesn't jibe with mine
- to battle it out :  to argue or fight
I say we each call our respective insurance companies and let them battle it out.

============

http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/learningenglish/radio/specials/1210_how_to_converse/page5.shtml

To be honest , I don't really like it => softer
To be honest , I really don't like it => stronger

Language for expressing likes
Subject	Adverb	Verb	Noun
I	(really)	don't like can't stand	it them ice cream Chinese food playing football watching TV
About the adverb 'really'. This adverb as we have seen is very useful in making what you say stronger. When talking about things you don't like though it can have a different meaning depending on where you put it in the sentence. For example: "I really don't like it!" This means you have a strong dislike of something. BUT "I don't really like it." This is not very strong. It means that you do not like something, but it is not a very strong dislike.

--
Thanks,
Duy Lam

Duchess - or Princess

http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/learningenglish/newsenglish/britain/080916_duchess.shtml

- to parallel sth : to be similar to sth, to remind of sth
The British actress Keira Knightley has rejected claims that her latest film The Duchess, a historical drama set in the 18th Century, parallels the life of Princess Diana
- a fascinating insight : a very interesting, engaging and profound look
The Duchess provides a fascinating insight into personal relationships in a society where divorce was taboo.



--
Thanks,
Duy Lam

ESL Podcast 568 – Describing Brisk and Slow Business

http://www.eslpod.com/website/show_podcast.php?issue_id=8511410

- to have a banner month : to be very good (for company)
My company has had a banner month.
- foot traffic : the number of people who coming to the store/business
Foot traffic is down and business is slow – really slow.
- brisk (a): very fast , a lot of energy / excitement
I thought that Yao's company was doing brisk business.
- to be all the rage : to be very popular
he was selling a line of cell phones that was all the rage,
- to beat down sb's door : to do anything to get the product
customers were beating down his door to get one.
- inventory (n) : thing that a company owns to sell
- to unload : to sell or to give sth away (nobody wants it)
he has inventory he can't unload




--
Thanks,
Duy Lam

ESL Podcast 563 – Reducing Household Expenses

http://www.eslpod.com/website/show_podcast.php?issue_id=8441809

- to live with: to follow, to agree
it shouldn't be too hard to come up with a budget that we can both live with
- discretionary (a) : optional, unnecessary
- nonessential : discretionary
If you look at our discretionary spending on this spreadsheet I created, you'll be surprised at how much money we spend on nonessentials.
- to cut back on sth: to spend less on sth
I can cut back on nonessentials.





--
Thanks,
Duy Lam

ESL Podcast 562 – Buying Fake Products

http://www.eslpod.com/website/show_podcast.php?issue_id=8421923

- steal : bargain, low price
Look at this designer bag I bought. It was such a steal!
- imitation : copy, fake
Let me see that. You do know that this is an imitation, not the real thing, right?
- genuine (n):  real, not fake
there was a guy on the street selling all of these genuine designer bags.
- straight from sth/sb : directly
- markdown : discount
He said he got them straight from the factory, and that's why he could sell them at such a markdown.
- dirt cheap : very inexpensive / cheap
- knockoff : copy, imitation
The reason he could sell it dirt cheap is because this is a knockoff.
- to be sucker for sth: to like sth too much and easily to be cheated
- to fell for sth: to be tricked for sth
I know you're a sucker for a bargain, but I can't believe you fell for his line.
- to get ripped off: to get cheated
I still think this is real, and I'm sure I didn't get ripped off.


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http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/learningenglish/business/talkingbusiness/unit3presentations/2body.shtml

Clip 1
"If you have a look at this first graph, you can see that our sales topped 50 million the year before last... However, this year sales have continued to drop to an all time low of 30 million. Now let's look at our market share. As you can see, we have 25% of the market share, 10% down on last year."

Clip 2
"A good example of how important internal communications are is shown by some findings from research that we have recently undertaken. Good communications is a very key factor in staff motivation. If you look at this slide, you will see how important it is to get the basics in place.... A good illustration of the communication process is when all those basics fall into place naturally."

--
Thanks,
Duy Lam

ESL Podcast 562 – Buying Fake Products

http://www.eslpod.com/website/show_podcast.php?issue_id=8421923

- steal : bargain, low price
Look at this designer bag I bought. It was such a steal!
- imitation : copy, fake
Let me see that. You do know that this is an imitation, not the real thing, right?
- genuine (n):  real, not fake
there was a guy on the street selling all of these genuine designer bags.
- straight from sth/sb : directly
- markdown : discount
He said he got them straight from the factory, and that's why he could sell them at such a markdown.
- dirt cheap : very inexpensive / cheap
- knockoff : copy, imitation
The reason he could sell it dirt cheap is because this is a knockoff.
- to be sucker for sth: to like sth too much and easily to be cheated
- to fell for sth: to be tricked for sth
I know you're a sucker for a bargain, but I can't believe you fell for his line.
- to get ripped off: to get cheated
I still think this is real, and I'm sure I didn't get ripped off.


=============

http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/learningenglish/business/talkingbusiness/unit3presentations/2body.shtml

Clip 1
"If you have a look at this first graph, you can see that our sales topped 50 million the year before last... However, this year sales have continued to drop to an all time low of 30 million. Now let's look at our market share. As you can see, we have 25% of the market share, 10% down on last year."

Clip 2
"A good example of how important internal communications are is shown by some findings from research that we have recently undertaken. Good communications is a very key factor in staff motivation. If you look at this slide, you will see how important it is to get the basics in place.... A good illustration of the communication process is when all those basics fall into place naturally."

--
Thanks,
Duy Lam

BBC - 6m English

http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/learningenglish/general/sixminute/2010/08/100819_6min_boomerang_page.shtml

- leave home : to move out of your parents' house and live somewhere else
Now, Rob we're talking about something that most people have to do at some point in their lives – leave home…
- booming : growing or increasing rapidly
The boomerang generation is booming!
- adulthood : when a person is fully grown, legally responsible and becomes an adult
Professor Gill Jones says they have to defer adulthood


--
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Duy Lam

ESL Podcast 556 – Scheduling an Appointment

http://www.eslpod.com/website/show_podcast.php?issue_id=8332436

- to tided up : to be busy
No, she's tied up all Tuesday afternoon
- to shuffle around : to move / change things, to reorganize things
but I could shuffle around some of her commitments to free her up on Tuesday morning, if that helps.
- to be out: not an option, not possible
Unfortunately, Tuesday morning is out.
- better yet: how about
Better yet, I may be able to finagle something
-  to push back sth: to move it to later time, to delay
maybe push back that appointment until she gets back to the office.
- to pencil sb in: to write sb's name on calendar but an appointment haven't been made yet
Why don't you pencil her in for now?
- a heads up : a warning or an information in advanced
Sure, I'll give you a heads up no later than noon on Monday if I can't push back her other appointment.



--
Thanks,
Duy Lam