Erica: Hello English learners! And welcome to EnglishPod! My name's Erica and I'm here with... Marco? Marco, hurry up!
Marco: I'm coming!
Erica: Hurry up, Marco, we've got a lesson!
Marco: Uh, okay, I'm here. I'm here. What did I miss?
Erica: Uh, the lesson.
Marco: Alright, sorry about that. Um, we have a great lesson for you today. We have an elementary lesson.
Erica: That's right, an elementary lesson about being in a rush and about giving directions when you're in a car.
Marco: Exactly.
Erica: We're going to listen to two friends who are getting in a car and they're getting ready to go somewhere and they're in a big hurry. So, let's hurry up and listen to the dialogue.
A: Hurry up, get in.
B: I'm in. Let's go!
A: Okay, make a left here. No, wait! I meant make a right. Come on, speed up!
B:Jeez! What's the rush?
A: Don't worry about it, just drive. Oh, no, the light isabout to change,step on it!
B: Are you nuts?! I'm not going to run a red light!
A: Whatever,just turn right here. The freeway willbe packed at this hour. Let's take a side street.Go on! Get out of our way! Move! Move!
B: What's your problem?Jeez! Having a fit is notgoing to help!
A: Here, I know a short cut, just go down here, andwe'll cut through Ashburn Heights. Let's go! Let'sgo! Watch out for that lady!
B: I'm going as fast as I can!
A: Yes! We made it. 5:58, just before the librarycloses.
B: You're such a geek!
Marco: So, they were in a hurry and it was all just to get to the library.
Erica: Well, maybe he was late returning a book or something.
Marco: That's a bit dramatic just for returning a book.
Erica: Yeah.
Marco: Alright, why don't we look at our 'language takeaway' for today?
Language takeaway
Marco: Okay, on today's language takeaway we have five words for you today, five really important and useful words that we found in our dialogue. So, let's take a look at the first one – step on it.
Erica: Step on it.
Marco: Step on it.
Erica: Step on it.
Marco: So, what does it mean when I tell you to step on it?
Erica: Drive faster.
Marco: Drive faster, right?
Erica: Um-hmm.
Marco: Step on it.
Erica: Exactly, you might also say "Speed up."
Marco: Speed up, yes.
Erica: Speed up.
Marco: That's exactly it! Our second word – speed up.
Erica: Also means "go faster".
Marco: Go faster. And what about the opposite?
Erica: You might say "Slow down."
Marco: Slow down.
Erica: Yeah.
Marco: Okay, so, speed up and slow down.
Erica: So, our third word for today is 'having a fit'.
Marco: Having a fit.
Erica: Having a fit.
Marco: Having a fit.
Erica: Well, this a funny phrase and I think listening to a few examples of this phrase might help us understand its meaning a little bit better.
Example one
C: Jeez! You don't need to have a fit. Nothing is going to happen if we're five minutes late.
Example two
D: My boss is going to have a fit if I don't finish this on time.
Example three
E: Oh, I almost had a fit when my boss told me I had to work this weekend.
Marco: Okay, great examples. So, Erica, why don't you tell me what does it mean when you have a fit?
Erica: It means you get really angry and you can't control your emotions. So, maybe you start screaming and maybe some steam comes out of your ears.
Marco: Okay, that's having a fit.
Erica: Exactly.
Marco: Excellent. Okay, let's take a look at our next word now – cut through.
Erica: Cut through.
Marco: Cut through.
Erica: Cut through.
Marco: When you cut through something, it means you just...
Erica: Go through.
Marco: Go through.
Erica: Yeah, quite simple. It...it gives you the idea that you go through something quickly.
Marco: Quickly, so, I can say "Let's cut through the park."
Erica: Yep, or "Let's cut through the backyard."
Marco: Okay, go through.
Erica: Um-hmm.
Marco: And this takes us to our last word for today – short cut.
Erica: Short cut.
Marco: Short cut.
Erica: Short cut.
Marco: This is a really common word and not many people know about it.
Erica: Yeah, you're right. It's two simple words that when you fit them together, the meaning changes. It's...it's a great example of this real English we talk about.
Marco: And it means to take a shorter way somewhere.
Erica: Exactly, so, if I take a short cut, I go the short way.
Marco: Okay, so, going back just a little bit to 'cut through'. If I cut through the park, that's basically a short cut.
Erica: Exactly!
Marco: Alright.
Erica: Okay.
Marco: Now it's clear.
Erica: Okay.
Marco: Now it's time to listen to our dialogue again, but this time it's gonna be slower, so then we can understand all these words that we just talked about.
A: Hurry up, get in.
B: I'm in.Let's go!
A: Okay, make a left here.No, wait! I meant make aright. Come on, speed up!
B:Jeez! What's the rush?
A: Don't worry about it, just drive. Oh, no, the light isabout to change,step on it!
B: Are you nuts?! I'm not going to run a red light!
A: Whatever,just turn right here. The freeway willbe packed at this hour. Let's take a side street.Go on! Get out of our way! Move! Move!
B: What's your problem?Jeez! Having a fit is notgoing to help!
A: Here, I know a short cut, just go down here, andwe'll cut through Ashburn Heights. Let's go! Let'sgo! Watch out for that lady!
B: I'm going as fast as I can!
A: Yes! We made it. 5:58, just before the librarycloses.
B: You're such a geek!
Erica: Okay, well, I think that was a lot more clear this time. You know, there was some great language in that dialogue and I would like to look at how we can put it together.
Putting it together
Marco: Okay, so, today on 'putting it together' we have three phrases for you.
Erica: And we're gonna show you how you can use these phrases like a native speaker.
Marco: Okay, so, all of these phrases we heard in the dialogue. Why don't we start with the first one? Make a...
Erica: Make a...
Marco: So, in the dialogue they say "Make a left here."
Erica: Yeah, and we can extend this phrase to say "Make a right."
Marco: Um-hmm. That would be the equivalent of saying "Turn left."
Erica: Or "Turn right."
Marco: Turn right. And there's one more – make a U-turn.
Erica: Exactly, that means turn the car a hundred and eighty degrees, all the way around.
Marco: Make a U-turn.
Erica: So, make a left, make a right, make a U-turn.
Marco: Um-hmm. If you're ever in a taxi and you're telling the taxi driver where to go, this is the perfect way: make a left here, make a right there.
Erica: Okay, so, let's move to our second phrase and it is "Are you nuts?"
Marco: Are you nuts?
Erica: Are you nuts? So, this is a great way of saying...
Marco: Are you crazy?
Erica: Are you insane?
Marco: Are you mad?
Erica: So, when would we use a phrase like this?
Marco: If somebody has a bad idea that you don't wanna agree with, you would say "Are you crazy?" or "Are you nuts?"
Erica: So, Marco, let's stop this podcast right now!
Marco: Are you nuts?
Erica: Okay, I think that's a good example of how we can use this phrase.
Marco: Yes.
Erica: So, are you nuts? Are you insane? Are you mad?
Marco: So, let's listen to some examples of "Are you nuts?"
Example one
F: You wanna get married now?Are you nuts? You only met her three weeks ago.
Example two
G:Are you nuts? I'm not going to cheat on the exam. What if I get caught?
Erica: So, I think that's clear. And now we can move to our third phrase which is "Let's take a side street."
Marco: Let's take a side street.
Erica: Let's take a side street.
Marco: Again, so, if you're in a taxi, this is a great way to suggest a route.
Erica: Or suggest a direction.
Marco: Right.
Erica: So, we can take this phrase and extend it out with a few more words. We might say "Let's take Wilson Avenue."
Marco: Right, or "Let's take the highway."
Erica: So, let's take a side street, let's take Wilson Avenue, let's take the freeway.
Marco: Okay, so, now let's take a listen to this dialogue a third time at its normal speed and now you can understand everything that's in this dialogue.
A: Hurry up, get in.
B: I'm in.Let's go!
A: Okay, make a left here.No, wait! I meant make aright. Come on, speed up!
B:Jeez! What's the rush?
A: Don't worry about it, just drive. Oh, no, the light isabout to change,step on it!
B: Are you nuts?! I'm not going to run a red light!
A: Whatever,just turn right here. The freeway willbe packed at this hour. Let's take a side street.Go on! Get out of our way! Move! Move!
B: What's your problem?Jeez! Having a fit is notgoing to help!
A: Here, I know a short cut, just go down here, andwe'll cut through Ashburn Heights. Let's go! Let'sgo! Watch out for that lady!
B: I'm going as fast as I can!
A: Yes! We made it. 5:58, just before the librarycloses.
B: You're such a geek!
Erica: Well, this dialogue is all about driving, right?
Marco: Yes.
Erica: And in North America where both of us are from...
Marco: Um-hmm.
Erica: Uh, driving is everything.
Marco: Everybody has a car.
Erica: When did you get a car?
Marco: I... Well, my car I got when I was like...maybe...19.
Erica: Really?
Marco: But I learned how to drive and I was driving already by the age of 16.
Erica: Yeah, that's the thing, in many countries you have to wait till I think you're 18 to drive, but, uh, in North America everyone has a driver's license by the time they're 16 years old.
Marco: Yeah, yeah, I guess everything is so far away that you need a car.
Erica: Yeah, it's a lot less likely to have, uh, subways or trains to travel by in North America.
Marco: Alright, so, now you have all the tools necessary to give directions the next time you're in a car or in a taxi.
Erica: Well, everyone, I really hope you enjoyed this lesson. Now, I want to remind you all to come to our EnglishPod website at englishpod.com and here you'll find a lot of tools to help you understand our podcasts better. So, with that, until next time... This is good-bye!
Marco: Bye!
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