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M: Hello English learners! Welcome back to EnglishPod! My name is Marco.

E: And I’m Erica.

M: And today with Erica we’re bringing you a great lesson about time.

E: We need more of it.

M: We need more time, right?

E: Yeah.

M: So, we’re gonna be teaching you how you can ask for more time.

E: If you’re working on a project at work and you can’t finish it on time, you have to ask

your boss for more time.

M: Right, so, today in our dialogue Casey needs more time to put together a press kit.

E: What’s a press kit?

M: Good question. A press kit is something the marketing department will put together,

basically, pictures, logos, um, all… information about the company.

E: Uhu.

M: So, when a newspaper or a magazine wants to write an article about them, so, they

have something already prepared that they could give the newspaper or magazine.

E: Okay.

M: Okay, so, let’s listen to our dialogue for the first time and as always it’s gonna be at a

normal speed, so, it might be a little bit difficult to understand.

E: We’ll come back in one minute and tell you about some of the key language.

DIALOGUE, FIRST TIME

M: Alright, so, Casey is in trouble, I think.

E: Yeah, I think her boss is pretty upset.

M: Yeah, well, let’s take a look at some of the language that we saw in this dialogue in

“language takeaway”.

Voice: Language takeaway.

M: First word today is deadline.

E: Deadline.

M: Deadline.

E: Deadline.

M: So, Erica, what’s a deadline?

E: It is the last possible date to do something.

M: So, for example, when we were in school…

E: Uhu.

M: Our teacher would send us homework and say it was for Friday.

E: So, the deadline was Friday.

M: Was Friday.

E: Uhu.

M: Right? Or when you’re at work you have projects that you have to finish by a certain

date. That’s your deadline.

E: Exactly.

M: Okay, let’s look at our next word – extension.

E: Extension.

M: Extension.

E: Extension.

M: So, extension and deadline go together, right?

E: Exactly, if you can’t reach your deadline or you can’t make your deadline, you must

ask for an extension. 

M: An extension. So, you ask for more time.

E: Yeah, an extension is moving the deadline in the future.

M: Alright, interesting. Let’s look at our next word – ran into.

E: Ran into.

M: Ran into.

E: Ran into some problems.

M: So, we ran into some problems in this dialogue. Let’s listen to some more examples of

run into, so we can understand the meaning.

Voice: Example one.

A: We’ve ran into a storm on our way home.

Voice: Example two.

B: If you’re not careful now, you’re going to run into a lot of problems later.

Voice: Example three.

C: I ran into some trouble with my computer.

M: Okay, good examples, so, it’s clear now, right?

E: Right, if you run into problems, you meet some problems.

M: Right. Many students say it in that way “I met some problems”.

E: Yeah, but that’s wrong.

M: Right. So, you would say “I ran into some problems”.

E: Right, “I met some problems” is wrong, wrong, wrong.

M: Okay, don’t say “met some problems”.

E: I ran into some problems.

M: I ran into, okay. And our last word for language takeaway – delayed.

E: Delayed.

M: Delayed.

E: Delayed.

M: So, when something is delayed, it’s…

E: Late.

M: Late.

E: And the opposite is…

M: On time.

E: Yeah, so, your flight was delayed.

M: Or your flight was on time.

E: The project was delayed.

M: Or your project was on time.

E: Clear.

M: Alright. So, now let’s go back to the dialogue. Let’s listen to it again.

E: And this time it’ll be a little bit slower, so you can understand some of these phrases we

just talked about.

DIALOGUE, SECOND TIME (slow)

M: Okay, so, there were some really useful phrases that we saw in this dialogue.

E: Yeah, some wonderful phrases that you can use when you want to ask for more time.

M: Okay, so, let’s look at these phrases in “fluency builder”.

Voice: Fluency builder.

M: Alright, what’s our first phrase?

E: I’ve been meaning to talk to you.

M: I’ve been meaning to.

E: I’ve been meaning to.

M: Okay, we have some really great examples of how you can combine I’ve been

meaning to with different verbs.

E: Yeah, let’s listen.

Voice: Example one.

A: I’m sorry I haven’t called you yet; I’ve been meaning to, but I’ve been busy.

Voice: Example two.

B: I’ve been meaning to tell you, but John quit yesterday.

Voice: Example three.

C: I’ve been meaning to see that film for a while.

M: I’ve been meaning to go to that restaurant, but I haven’t had time.

E: So, you’ve been wanting to for a long time.

M: Right. I’ve been thinking about it.

E: Yeah.

M: I’ve been planning to do it.

E: But you just haven’t done it.

M: I haven’t done it.

E: Yeah.

M: Maybe because I haven’t had time or money.

E: Uhu.

M: Okay. Good phrase.

E: Our next phrase is… beyond my control.

M: Beyond my control.

E: It’s beyond my control.

M: So, it means that I can’t control it.

E: You can’t do anything about it.

M: Can’t do anything about it. The weather is beyond my control.

E: Right. Or relate with this project: because Jane was sick for one month, it was beyond

my control.

M: Okay.

E: Uhu.

M: It wasn’t you fault.

E: No.

M: Okay. And our last phrase for fluency builder – put this off.

E: Put this off.

M: Put this off.

E: Put this off.

M: So, let’s listen to some more examples of put this off before we explain the meaning.

Voice: Example one.

A: I’ve been putting off this project for a week and it’s due tomorrow!

Voice: Example two.

B: Can we put off our meeting to next week; I’m too busy right now.

Voice: Example three.

C: I’ve been putting off my e-mail all day and now I have fifty messages to respond to!

E: So, Marco, when you put something off, you…

M: Leave it for later.

E: Okay.

M: Right? So, maybe I have to write a report today…

E: Uhu.

M: But I’m gonna put it off till tomorrow.

E: So, you’re gonna do it tomorrow.

M: I’ll do it tomorrow. Okay, so we’ve seen some great words and some really good

phrases, so, now let’s listen to our dialogue for the last time and then we’ll come back and

talk some more.

E: Uhu.

DIALOGUE, THIRD TIME

E: Well, Marco, do you think that Casey’s reasons for being late are good?

M: I think so, because it wasn’t really her fault, the whole situation with, uh, photographer

and then one of her coworkers was sick for three weeks.

E: Yeah.

M: It’s not really her fault, right?

E: Right, but maybe the boss thinks that she’s making excuses.

M: Yeah, maybe she’s making excuses. That’s really common like, for example, when we

were kids, you would say “oh, you know, my dog ate my homework”.

E: Right, but… that… really happened to me once.

M: Hehe. Your dog ate your homework?

E: My cat ate my homework.

M: Your cat ate your homework.

E: Yeah.

M: And what did your teacher say?

E: Well, actually I was a really good student, so, my teacher believed me.

M: Hehe. Well, my teacher wouldn’t have believed me.

E: Really?

M: No, no, she would’ve… she would’ve called my parents most likely.

E: Yeah, well, my… my cat really did eat my homework. And… I just left it on the table and

it chewed it at all.

M: That’s weird. Why would your cat do that?

E: I don’t know.

M: A lot weir excuses out there.

E: Yeah.

M: I was abducted by aliens.

E: Aha.

M: My mom accidentally mailed my homework to Africa.

E: Really?

M: Yeah, that was…

E: Was it happen to you?

M: Creative…

E: Aha.

M: Writing.

E: Oh, Okay.

M: Creative excuses.

E: Well, I wanna hear from our listeners. I wanna know what excuses they’ve used for being

late with something.

M: So, send us your excuses, send us your comments and questions. Go to our website at

englishpod.com, where Erica and I are always there to answer you questions.

E: That’s right, Marco, and this is an elementary lesson, right?

M: Exactly.

E: But we also have intermediate and upper-intermediate and advanced lessons for

you more fluent English speakers.

M: Exactly, so, if you’re listening to us on iTunes, be sure to visit our website and come

see what else we have to offer.

E: Well, I think we’re out of time, but until next time… it's… Good bye!

M: Bye!