ESL Podcast 629 – Being Hungry and Full

Steve: I’m finally home and I’m hungry. What’s for dinner?

Brandy: I’m making a new dish. I think you’re really going to like it.

Steve: Oh, good. Bring it on.

Brandy: Well, I miscalculated the cooking time a little and it’s going to take longer than I originally planned. I know you’re famished. Here’s a snack for you to munch on while you wait.

Steve: I’m half-starved. I skipped lunch and had to work late.

Brandy: I know, but I also know you’re dying for something really good. I promise that it’ll be worth the wait.

Steve: Okay, but I could eat a horse right now. Bring me something else to snack on.

Brandy: Don’t be too greedy and eat too much. I don’t want you to spoil your appetite. I know that what I’m cooking is something you’ve been craving for a long time, and you want to save your appetite for it.

Steve: All right. I’ll wait. How much longer will it be?

Brandy: Oh, maybe another hour or a little longer…

Steve: Another hour?! I’ll be dead and buried by then!


Script by Dr. Lucy Tse

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dish 一道菜；菜肴

famished => very hungry

munch 大聲咀嚼，用力咀嚼（脆的食物）

half-starved => very hungry

dying for 渴望；極想

I could eat a horse 我餓極了

spoil 破壞；搞壞；糟蹋；毀掉

appetite 食慾；胃口

crave 渴望；熱望(food)

ESL Podcast 628 – Introducing a New Product

Augie: Today’s the day. I’m giving you the heads up. Our company is rolling out its new line of cell phones.

Lillian: I can see you’re excited about it. What’s so special about the new products?

Augie: This line of phones has state-of- the-art technology and never- before-seen features. It’s been in development for over a year and it’s been really hard keeping it under wraps.

Lillian: I thought information was leaked weeks ago.

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

Lillian: Wasn’t the new line supposed to come out next month?

Augie: That was the original plan, but since McQ Corp. is coming out with its own line of phones soon, we wanted to get a jump on them.

Lillian: And steal their thunder.

Augie: Yes, and steal their thunder. We had to scramble to get the phones ready ahead of schedule, but I think it was worth it. They’re really going to make a splash.

Lillian: I hope so. I hope all of this hype has been justified.

Augie: Oh, it will be. I’ll know soon enough.

Lillian: How?

Augie: You’ll be begging me to get you one.


Script by Dr. Lucy Tse

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rolling out 正式推出（新產品）

in development 開發階段

keeping it under wraps => to keep something secret

rumor 謠言,謠傳;傳聞,傳說

clamp 夾具；夾子；夾鉗

come out 被獲知；為人所知

thunder 雷；雷聲

scramble 艱難地（或倉促地）完成

to make a splash【口】引起轟動

hype（電視、廣播等中言過其實的）促銷廣告，促銷討論

justified 證明…正確（或正當、有理）

ESL Podcast 627 – Being Spontaneous or Well-Planned

Mariela: Wow, it looks like you’re working on a big project. What are all these pages and pages of notes for?

Will: I’m preparing for my date with Christine. I want everything to be well-planned and to go without a hitch.

Mariela: Okay, but I still don’t understand why you’re making such detailed plans.

Will: I want to be ready for every contingency. For instance, I planned a picnic, but if it rains, I’ll take her to lunch at the Garden Cafe instead.

Mariela: Don’t you think you’re taking the spontaneity out of your date? Why don’t you play it by ear? I know you don’t like to fly by the seat of your pants, but maybe she’ll have some ideas about what she’d like to do.

Will: Oh, I’ve taken her preferences into account. If she wants to do something active, we can go bowling or take a long walk. If she prefers something more passive, we’ll go to a movie.

Mariela: Well, it sounds like you’ve mapped out every possible alternative. Hey, what’s this?

Will: Give me that!

Mariela: I see you’ve mapped out more than just your date. You mapped out the entire trajectory of your life together: Get married in two years, have your first child two years after that...

Will: That is not meant for you. And plus, it’s just a tentative plan...

Mariela: You mean Christine will have some say in it?

Will: I may let her pick our children’s names. Now, get out of here, will ya?!

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well-planned 精心策劃

hitch 暫時的困難（或問題）；故障；障礙

contingency 可能發生的事；偶發（或不測、意外）事件

picnic 野餐

spontaneity 自發性；自然

play it by ear 見機行事；隨機應變；根據情況需要行動

to fly by the seat of your pants 臨時憑感覺碰運氣；憑經驗瞎碰

take into account 考慮到;體諒

passive 消極的；被動的

map out 安排;制定出

trajectory（射體在空中的）軌道，彈道，軌跡，流軌

tentative 不確定的；不肯定的；暫定的

will ya 好不好

ESL Podcast 626 – Wiring Money to Another Country

Mahmoud: My brother emailed about an emergency situation. He needs $300 by tomorrow, but how can I get cash to him within 24 hours if I’m here in Mexico City and he’s in New York?

Sharon: That’s easy. You can wire him the money from here and he can pick it up immediately there.

Mahmoud: You mean wire him money through the bank? I already checked with my bank and it’ll take at least five days for them to process the wire.

Sharon: You can just use a private wire service like Western Union and the money will be available to him immediately. I wire money all the time using Western Union. Here is a blank form. I can help you fill it out if you want me to.

Mahmoud: That would be great. Hey, this form is for a money transfer. Is that the same thing as a wire?

Sharon: Yes, it’s the same thing. Fill out the receiver or recipient information here and the sender information there.

Mahmoud: Can I pay in local currency? I don’t have that much cash in U.S. dollars.

Sharon: Sure. When you go to the Western Union office, they’ll calculate how much you’ll have to pay according to the current exchange rate.

Mahmoud: Is there a fee?

Sharon: Yeah, there is, and it’s a little higher if you want the money to be available immediately. If you had more time, you could save a little by using the slower service that makes the money available in three business days. All done?

Mahmoud: Yeah, I think so. Now what?

Sharon: Now you take this to the nearest Western Union office. They’ll give you a copy of this form with a control number. Your brother can use that control number to pick up the money from any Western Union office in New York.

Mahmoud: Sharon, you’re a lifesaver.

Sharon: So, what’s the emergency?

Mahmoud: Tickets go on sale tomorrow for my favorite baseball team. My brother and I have to get tickets.

Sharon: That’s the emergency?!

Mahmoud: For us, it’s a matter of life and death.


Script by Dr. Lucy Tse

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wire 給（某人）電匯

Western Union 西聯匯款公司

currency 通貨；貨幣;通用；流行；流傳

local currency 當地貨幣

exchange rate 外匯率

control number 檢驗號

lifesaver 救助物；救命物

a matter of life and death 生死攸關的事；成敗的關鍵

ESL Podcast 625 – Being Famous and Anonymous

Erik: Why are you wearing that getup?

Juliana: I’m trying to stay under the radar. I don’t want to create a mob by going outside without a disguise. People are going to recognize me.

Erik: So? Are you trying to tell me that you think you’re famous after being in one play?

Juliana: Of course! I’ve had my name in lights and I have to expect people to know who I am. Losing my privacy is the price of fame. Everybody knows that.

Erik: I think you may be overestimating the size of your adoring public. How many people went to see your play?

Juliana: Enough. By tomorrow, the newspapers will have my picture plastered across their pages and I will have to say good-bye to my anonymity.

Erik: If the papers don’t come out until tomorrow, why are you going around incognito?

Juliana: I’m just getting ready to meet my fans.

Erik: Depending on whether the reviews are good or bad, you may be famous – or infamous.


Script by Dr. Lucy Tse

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getup 衣服;穿戴(常指離譜者)

radar 雷達

mob 群；（尤指）暴民

disguise 假扮；裝扮；偽裝

adoring 熱愛的；愛慕的；敬慕的；崇拜的

adoring public 公眾崇拜

plaster 貼滿，遍貼（畫片或招貼畫）

anonymity 匿名；不知姓名；名字不公開

incognito 偽裝；隱姓埋名

review 批評,評論 ; 評論雜誌(文章)

infamous 臭名遠揚的；聲名狼藉的

notorious 聲名狼藉的；臭名昭著的

ESL Podcast 624 – Advantages and Disadvantages in Life

Andy: Doesn’t it make you sick? We bust our butts around here and the boss brings in his nephew to be the new manager.

Nia: You never know. He may be a good boss.

Andy: I doubt it. He’s getting this opportunity just because he was born with a silver spoon in his mouth. He didn’t have to pull himself up by his bootstraps like the rest of us.

Nia: I’m going to wait and see how he is as a manager. I’m hoping to be pleasantly surprised.

Andy: If you’re a blue blood like he is, born into privilege and old money, you can do no wrong.

Nia: That’s not true. He’ll be held accountable for how this department performs.

Andy: But when does somebody like me get a break? Okay, I was born on the wrong side of the tracks. I grew up in a white trash neighborhood. So what? I’ve worked hard to get where I am now. That guy hasn’t paid his dues like I have.

Nia: You can complain all you want, but it doesn’t change the situation. He’s the new boss and we work for him. Get used to it.

Andy: Get used to it?! Not on your life!


Script by Dr. Lucy Tse

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bootstraps 白手起家

pleasantly surprised 意外的驚喜

pleasantly 令人愉快的；可喜的；宜人的；吸引人的

blue blood 貴族血統;貴族階級;貴族

privilege 特殊利益；優惠待遇

accountable（對自己的決定、行為）負有責任，有說明義務

white trash 窮苦白人

Get used to 習慣於

Not on your life（斷然拒絕）決不會

ESL Podcast 623 – A Hit-and-Run Accident

Flora: What happened to my car?!

Saul: I saw it happen. A car came around the corner and hit the back of your car.

Flora: Didn’t the driver stop?

Saul: No, it was hit-and-run. The driver just took off. He was driving like a bat out of hell. It looks like he caused some damage.

Flora: Some damage?! My car is totaled. I hope whoever it was gets his license revoked. Better yet, I hope the judge throws the book at him and he does jail time. But how are the police going to catch someone who leaves the scene of the crime like this? That guy must be a real jerk!

Saul: Take it easy. Maybe he just panicked. It’s probably his first offense. Maybe he’s young and just learning how to drive.

Flora: Maybe...Hey, why are you defending the driver?

Saul: Well...

Flora: You know the person driving the car, don’t you? You’re not an innocent bystander. You’re trying to talk me out of calling the police!

Saul: Well, I have this nephew who sometimes borrows my car, and he drives too fast. He did hit your car, but it’s a simple fender bender.

Flora: Fender bender?! My car is totaled.

Saul: I’m sure it’s not as bad as it looks. If you don’t call the police, I’ll make sure it’s repaired. It’ll be as good as new.

Flora: Are you trying to pull a fast one on me?

Saul: No, not at all. I’ll get your car fixed, right after I wring my nephew’s neck!


Script by Dr. Lucy Tse

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hit-and-run 駕駛人肇事後逃逸

a bat out of hell 不顧一切的；以飛快的速度

totaled 徹底毀壞（汽車）

revoke 撤回,撤銷;廢除,取消

scene of the crime 犯罪現場

bystander 旁觀者

bend (使)彎曲

fender bender 不嚴重的撞車事故；輕微車禍

to pull a fast one on 對某人耍詭計

wring somebody's neck （表示憤怒或氣惱）擰斷…的脖子，非掐死…不可