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Mark ran into a Japanese guy at a travel agent in Rishikesh.
Mark ran into a Japanese guy at a travel agent in Rishikesh.
The Japanese Guy: Do you think I ought to take a local bus all the way?
The Travel Agent: No no no. It is open at five o’clock. Four o’clock. From this time. (There is a direct bus at four or five o’clock)
The Japanese Guy: Today?
The Travel Agent: Yeah, every day.
The Japanese Guy: Every day.
Mark: Where are you going?
The Japanese Guy: Dharamasala.
Mark: Dharamasala.
The Japanese Guy: You been there before?
Mark: No, I want to go.
The Japanese Guy: Too hot right now..here.
Mark: Yeah.
The Japanese Guy: It is no time for yoga now.
Mark: Yeah.
The Guy: I was taking a yoga class.
Mark: Where are you from?
The Japanese Guy: Japan.
Mark: Which part?
The Japanese Guy: Tokyo.
Mark: Right.
Another Customer: Do you how much I can get a…?
The Travel Agent: Seven hundred.
The Other Customer: Seven hundred?
The Travel Agent: Yeah.
The Japanese Guy: (to travel agent) So that is it? Thanks.
Mark: (to the travel agent) Do you have a ticket to…an air ticket from Delhi to Calcutta and also from Delhi to Bangkok?
The Travel Agent: Yes.
Mark: How much?
The Travel Agent: From Delhi to Calcutta and from Delhi to Bangkok. I will check.
Mark: Ok.
Answer This
1. What was the Japanese guy doing in Rishikesh?
2. Where is he going next?
3. What part of Japan is he from?
4. What tickets does Mark want?
5. What is the travel agent going to do?
6. What part of India is Bangkok in?
Answers
1. He was doing a Yoga course.
2. He is going to Dharamasala.
3. He is from Tokyo.
4. He wants to know the price of a ticket from Delhi to Calcutta and also the price of a ticket from Delhi to Bangkok.
5. He is going to check the prices of the tickets.
6. Bangkok is not in India. Bangkok is in Thailand.
Talking about South Africa
M: Ok so…Hello everybody I am sitting here with Lerato from South Africa. What part of South Africa do you come from, Lerato?
L: I come from Johannesburg.
M: Right, so you were born in Johannesburg?
L: I was born in Durban, educated in Cape Town, and lived and worked in Johannesburg.
M: Sorry.
L: It’s the last place that I lived before coming to Japan.
M: Right, and what’s Johannesburg like? What kind of a place is it?
L: It’s the biggest city in South Africa. It’s mainly the business capital. It’s quite a dense city, almost what New York is to the United States.
M: I don’t know a lot about South Africa, but in high school I learned during the apartheid time, there were three groups, the black people, the white people and the colored people.
L: Uh-huh.
M: Do people still classify other people in the same way in South Africa now?
L: Um, yeah, yeah, they still do that, but um…yeah, they do.
M: So in Johannesburg, how many black people, how many white people, how many colored people?
L: (laughs)
M: Do you know roughly?
L: No, I don’t but basically it’s about maybe eighty percent black people generally and then the other ten is divided among white and coloreds, but the coloreds have the smallest population.
M: And the coloreds, they are mixed people? Indian, Asian, black, white, mixes of all races or…
L: No, no. It’s a mixture between…traditionally it’s a mixture between black and white. Um, yeah, a mixture between black and white.
M: Do you know, there are two words: mulatto and mestizo. I am not sure of the right pronunciation.
L: Yes, I have heard those.
M: They are South American words.
L: Yes, they are South American words. I think they refer to people who are of mixed race.
M: Mixed race, right, OK. So you’re in Japan now and you’re studying your masters in architecture.
L: Yes.
M: Are you specializing in any particular area?
L: Architectural symbolism.
M: Symbolism, wow!…wow.
L: Don’t ask me to expand. (laughs)
M: Architecture and symbolism are both really interesting.
L: Mmm.
M: Ok well I can’t ask you any more questions about architecture…but ah, ok…well thanks for talking to me.
L: Ok. It was nice talking to you also.
M: Thanks a lot.
L: Bye.
The Japanese Guy: Do you think I ought to take a local bus all the way?
The Travel Agent: No no no. It is open at five o’clock. Four o’clock. From this time. (There is a direct bus at four or five o’clock)The Japanese Guy: Today?
The Travel Agent: Yeah, every day.
The Japanese Guy: Every day.
Mark: Where are you going?
The Japanese Guy: Dharamasala.
Mark: Dharamasala.
The Japanese Guy: You been there before?
Mark: No, I want to go.
The Japanese Guy: Too hot right now..here.
Mark: Yeah.
The Japanese Guy: It is no time for yoga now.
Mark: Yeah.
The Guy: I was taking a yoga class.
Mark: Where are you from?
The Japanese Guy: Japan.
Mark: Which part?
The Japanese Guy: Tokyo.
Mark: Right.
Another Customer: Do you how much I can get a…?
The Travel Agent: Seven hundred.
The Other Customer: Seven hundred?
The Travel Agent: Yeah.
The Japanese Guy: (to travel agent) So that is it? Thanks.
Mark: (to the travel agent) Do you have a ticket to…an air ticket from Delhi to Calcutta and also from Delhi to Bangkok?
The Travel Agent: Yes.
Mark: How much?
The Travel Agent: From Delhi to Calcutta and from Delhi to Bangkok. I will check.
Mark: Ok.
Answer This
1. What was the Japanese guy doing in Rishikesh?
2. Where is he going next?
3. What part of Japan is he from?
4. What tickets does Mark want?
5. What is the travel agent going to do?
6. What part of India is Bangkok in?
2. Where is he going next?
3. What part of Japan is he from?
4. What tickets does Mark want?
5. What is the travel agent going to do?
6. What part of India is Bangkok in?
Answers
1. He was doing a Yoga course.
2. He is going to Dharamasala.
3. He is from Tokyo.
4. He wants to know the price of a ticket from Delhi to Calcutta and also the price of a ticket from Delhi to Bangkok.
5. He is going to check the prices of the tickets.
6. Bangkok is not in India. Bangkok is in Thailand.
1. He was doing a Yoga course.
2. He is going to Dharamasala.
3. He is from Tokyo.
4. He wants to know the price of a ticket from Delhi to Calcutta and also the price of a ticket from Delhi to Bangkok.
5. He is going to check the prices of the tickets.
6. Bangkok is not in India. Bangkok is in Thailand.
Talking about South Africa
M: Ok so…Hello everybody I am sitting here with Lerato from South Africa. What part of South Africa do you come from, Lerato?
L: I come from Johannesburg.
M: Right, so you were born in Johannesburg?
L: I was born in Durban, educated in Cape Town, and lived and worked in Johannesburg.
M: Sorry.
L: It’s the last place that I lived before coming to Japan.
M: Right, and what’s Johannesburg like? What kind of a place is it?
L: It’s the biggest city in South Africa. It’s mainly the business capital. It’s quite a dense city, almost what New York is to the United States.
M: I don’t know a lot about South Africa, but in high school I learned during the apartheid time, there were three groups, the black people, the white people and the colored people.
L: Uh-huh.
M: Do people still classify other people in the same way in South Africa now?
L: Um, yeah, yeah, they still do that, but um…yeah, they do.
M: So in Johannesburg, how many black people, how many white people, how many colored people?
L: (laughs)
M: Do you know roughly?
L: No, I don’t but basically it’s about maybe eighty percent black people generally and then the other ten is divided among white and coloreds, but the coloreds have the smallest population.
M: And the coloreds, they are mixed people? Indian, Asian, black, white, mixes of all races or…
L: No, no. It’s a mixture between…traditionally it’s a mixture between black and white. Um, yeah, a mixture between black and white.
M: Do you know, there are two words: mulatto and mestizo. I am not sure of the right pronunciation.
L: Yes, I have heard those.
M: They are South American words.
L: Yes, they are South American words. I think they refer to people who are of mixed race.
M: Mixed race, right, OK. So you’re in Japan now and you’re studying your masters in architecture.
L: Yes.
M: Are you specializing in any particular area?
L: Architectural symbolism.
M: Symbolism, wow!…wow.
L: Don’t ask me to expand. (laughs)
M: Architecture and symbolism are both really interesting.
L: Mmm.
M: Ok well I can’t ask you any more questions about architecture…but ah, ok…well thanks for talking to me.
L: Ok. It was nice talking to you also.
M: Thanks a lot.
L: Bye.
M: Right, so you were born in Johannesburg?
L: I was born in Durban, educated in Cape Town, and lived and worked in Johannesburg.
M: Sorry.
L: It’s the last place that I lived before coming to Japan.
M: Right, and what’s Johannesburg like? What kind of a place is it?
L: It’s the biggest city in South Africa. It’s mainly the business capital. It’s quite a dense city, almost what New York is to the United States.
M: I don’t know a lot about South Africa, but in high school I learned during the apartheid time, there were three groups, the black people, the white people and the colored people.
L: Uh-huh.
M: Do people still classify other people in the same way in South Africa now?
L: Um, yeah, yeah, they still do that, but um…yeah, they do.
M: So in Johannesburg, how many black people, how many white people, how many colored people?
L: (laughs)
M: Do you know roughly?
L: No, I don’t but basically it’s about maybe eighty percent black people generally and then the other ten is divided among white and coloreds, but the coloreds have the smallest population.
M: And the coloreds, they are mixed people? Indian, Asian, black, white, mixes of all races or…
L: No, no. It’s a mixture between…traditionally it’s a mixture between black and white. Um, yeah, a mixture between black and white.
M: Do you know, there are two words: mulatto and mestizo. I am not sure of the right pronunciation.
L: Yes, I have heard those.
M: They are South American words.
L: Yes, they are South American words. I think they refer to people who are of mixed race.
M: Mixed race, right, OK. So you’re in Japan now and you’re studying your masters in architecture.
L: Yes.
M: Are you specializing in any particular area?
L: Architectural symbolism.
M: Symbolism, wow!…wow.
L: Don’t ask me to expand. (laughs)
M: Architecture and symbolism are both really interesting.
L: Mmm.
M: Ok well I can’t ask you any more questions about architecture…but ah, ok…well thanks for talking to me.
L: Ok. It was nice talking to you also.
M: Thanks a lot.
L: Bye.
Mark: I am just sitting here at a cafe in the Pahar Ganj area of New Delhi with Michael. Michael, you are not feeling very good?
Michael: No, I am certainly not.
Mark: What is the problem?
Michael: Well. I got diagnosed with amoebic dysentery about eight nine weeks ago when I was up in the mountains and I got treated for it then by a very good doctor with antibiotics but I fear that it has not yet gone away as I have had recurring problems.
Mark: You vomited this morning?
Michael: That is right. I got some new pills, that somebody at this very cafe recommended, that I take.
Mark: Ayurvedic?
Michael: No, no. Not those ones. These were some other pills. I forget what they were called. This man said that his sister was a nurse and these were the pills to take and I found them at a chemist, took a couple and I was violently sick this morning not long after taking one of these pills on the street, which was quite interesting.
Mark: Mm. That is terrible. How are you feeling now? Are you feeling a little better?
Michael: Not really I am feeling very weak I have to take some of these… you know… what do you call them…re-hydration salts.
Mark: And you are going to eat some banana and papaya as well?
Michael:Well I have got a papaya juice coming and yeah perhaps I will have some banana. I have heard that that is good for you.
Mark:I hope you feel better soon.
Michael: Thank you very much.
Mark: This man wants to clean your shoes.
Michael:Yes, I…
Michael: No, I am certainly not.
Mark: What is the problem?
Michael: Well. I got diagnosed with amoebic dysentery about eight nine weeks ago when I was up in the mountains and I got treated for it then by a very good doctor with antibiotics but I fear that it has not yet gone away as I have had recurring problems.
Mark: You vomited this morning?
Michael: That is right. I got some new pills, that somebody at this very cafe recommended, that I take.
Mark: Ayurvedic?
Michael: No, no. Not those ones. These were some other pills. I forget what they were called. This man said that his sister was a nurse and these were the pills to take and I found them at a chemist, took a couple and I was violently sick this morning not long after taking one of these pills on the street, which was quite interesting.
Mark: Mm. That is terrible. How are you feeling now? Are you feeling a little better?
Michael: Not really I am feeling very weak I have to take some of these… you know… what do you call them…re-hydration salts.
Mark: And you are going to eat some banana and papaya as well?
Michael:Well I have got a papaya juice coming and yeah perhaps I will have some banana. I have heard that that is good for you.
Mark:I hope you feel better soon.
Michael: Thank you very much.
Mark: This man wants to clean your shoes.
Michael:Yes, I…
Have you been to Cuba?
Download audio file (cuba1.mp3)
First English Bloke: Have you been to Cuba?
Australian Guy: No, I would like to go. I really likeCastro.
First English Bloke: It is an incredible country. It is just aah.. Everything is run by… because tourism is a such a massive part of Cuba now.. you know.. and it has become kind of like a cheap Caribbean Island to get to… as I say … all the resorts are owned by Castro.
Australian Guy: Right.
First English Bloke: And they are all very contained so you don’t really get to see a lot of Cubans as such..
Australian Guy: Mm.
Second English Bloke: Well that is purposeful isn’t it? The way they have actually tried to segment “decadent western tourists” away from “honest Cubans”…
First English Bloke: It is. It is. I mean it is amazing. I found the attitude towards Castro amazing. The attitude towards Castro is amazing. How they aar…
Australian Guy: They love him.
First English Bloke: Yeah.
Englishwoman: Yeah.
First English Bloke: They talk about him like their own grandfather;
Australian Bloke: Yeah Yeah Yeah.
First English Bloke: They literally talk about him like he is a family member and they won’t have a bad word said against him.
Australian Guy: Is it true that everyone uses their first name? … Like when a six year old child talks to Castro he calls him “comrade Fidel”. He doesn’t…
First English Bloke: Fidel. Fidel.
Australian Bloke: He does not call him “Mr Castro” or “Senor Castro”.
First: English Bloke: No, I would say they talk about him…They talk about him as “Fidel”. Yeah. If they were talking to you they would talk about him like that.
Australian Bloke: Cuba has the highest literacy in the Americas?
English Woman: Yeah… Female illiteracy…
First English Bloke: It has the lowest female illiteracy rate anywhere in the world apparently. Including like any western country.
Second English Bloke: And it also has got one of the highest …highest kind of longevity rates as well.
Australian Guy: Medical as well. Medical systems. Best in the world
Englishwoman: Compared to its neighbours too. Mexico and places like that…
First English Bloke: They have so much which is really good and so much that …communism; it makes you think it is actually almost working in Cuba.
Second English Bloke: Well it never ..it did in a way… did it?
First English Bloke: …but there is so much which isn’t working as well because there is so much poverty.
Second English Bloke: As soon as Russia collapsed I mean they were buying all the sugar. They were buying all kinds of exports and the rest… At beautiful rates.
Australian Guy: Mm.
Second English Bloke: And as soon as Russia collapsed they were plunged into poverty.
First English Guy: When Russia collapsed …Everything was imported because they were the last communist country so they had chickens and stuff from Bulgaria. Everything.
Second English Bloke: Yeah.
First English Bloke: Everything was imported. Once communism collapsed and they carried on, they had nothing. No-one was giving them food. They lived on bananas for a year. Pretty bad. Bananas were all they could get.
English Woman: (?)
First English Bloke: And it was terrible. America gave them free passes and that’s when thousands died trying to get over to Miami on like home-made rafts and stuff
Second English Guy: Yeah.
First English Bloke: But it was awful. America said we open our gates but you get your own way here.
Australian Bloke: Yeah. Yeah. But I mean… Look at things like… Israel. When Israel was a new country, there were a lot of like Russian Jews, like Russian intellectuals who moved down to Israel and they started the kibbutzim…..
First English Bloke: Yeah.
Australian Bloke: A kibbutz was basically a kolkhoz, like a collective..
First English Bloke: Yeah.
Australian Bloke: You know? The same as the Soviet thing; that was a really good thing and it worked for thirty or forty years when they were building a nation…
First English Bloke: Mmm.
Australian Bloke: And now that Israel is a rich country and everyone is selfish and wants to do their own thing and go the disco and all that; now they don’t work any more.
Second English Bloke: The kibbutzim still exist though, don’t they?
Australian Bloke: They have stopped. I think the last one… They are nearly all gone now.
Second English Chap: Really? I didn’t know that.
First English Bloke: The reason why it has worked so well in Cuba is because of Castro though.
Second English Bloke: Well Castro’s brother now has taken over…
First English Bloke: There is a real feeling is that if the country gets richer, we get richer.
Australian Bloke: Mm.
First English Bloke: And Castro still at his age now will stand in a square for four hours and give like four hour speeches to people. They have huge water trucks to keep everybody hydrated and once they finish the speech they all turn into free rum trucks and everybody has free rum. (laughter) And they love him.
(Laughter.)
Indian Languages
Download audio file (indianlanguages.mp3)On the sandy bank of the Ganges near Rishikesh, Mark ran into a man who lived in the nearby ashram. They stood on the beach and talked for a few minutes.
Mark: Which Indian languages can you speak?
Guy on the Beach: Which language?
Mark: Which Indian languages? Yeah.
Guy: Aah maybe Hindi and this ah Telugu, Kerala, and Rajastani, and this ah Punjabi, Tamil, Malayalam, Assami and Bengali.
Mark: Everything? You understand everything?
Guy: Yeah yeah yeah.
Mark: Bhutani and Nepali?
Guy: Bhutani and Nepali same-same.
Mark: Wow!
Guy: Bhutani Nepali Timputi. Same. Same.
Mark: Same ok ok but when you were … when you stay with your mother and father…?
Guy: My mother and father is (are from) Nepal.
Mark: So at home you spoke Nepali?
Guy: Yes. Sometimes my parents lived in Bhutan. Then I spoke it no problem. My mother tongue is Nepal(i). But for a very long time I stayed in Rajastan. Then I was speaking (Rajistani).
Mark: How old were you when you left Nepal?
Guy: Me?
Mark: Yeah.
Guy: My parents?
Mark: You.
Guy: Me. Maybe fifteen years. My mum. Just my age now. Thirty-five years. (When my mum was just my age now.)
Mark: And you lived in many places in India?
Guy: Yeah. Yeah. Yeah.
Mark: Study?
Guy: Study, no. Sometimes business and sometimes as a tourist. Only for tourism
before I am a doctor.
Mark: Doctor?
Guy: Medical doctor…chemist.
Mark: And now you stay in an ashram?
Guy: Yeah. I like it. Meditation.
Mark: Six years? Oh good. Thank you.
Guy on the Beach: Which language?
Mark: Which Indian languages? Yeah.
Guy: Aah maybe Hindi and this ah Telugu, Kerala, and Rajastani, and this ah Punjabi, Tamil, Malayalam, Assami and Bengali.
Mark: Everything? You understand everything?
Guy: Yeah yeah yeah.
Mark: Bhutani and Nepali?
Guy: Bhutani and Nepali same-same.
Mark: Wow!
Guy: Bhutani Nepali Timputi. Same. Same.
Mark: Same ok ok but when you were … when you stay with your mother and father…?
Guy: My mother and father is (are from) Nepal.
Mark: So at home you spoke Nepali?
Guy: Yes. Sometimes my parents lived in Bhutan. Then I spoke it no problem. My mother tongue is Nepal(i). But for a very long time I stayed in Rajastan. Then I was speaking (Rajistani).
Mark: How old were you when you left Nepal?
Guy: Me?
Mark: Yeah.
Guy: My parents?
Mark: You.
Guy: Me. Maybe fifteen years. My mum. Just my age now. Thirty-five years. (When my mum was just my age now.)
Mark: And you lived in many places in India?
Guy: Yeah. Yeah. Yeah.
Mark: Study?
Guy: Study, no. Sometimes business and sometimes as a tourist. Only for tourism
before I am a doctor.
Mark: Doctor?
Guy: Medical doctor…chemist.
Mark: And now you stay in an ashram?
Guy: Yeah. I like it. Meditation.
Mark: Six years? Oh good. Thank you.
Making a Cup of Tea
Download audio file (tee1.mp3)
Australian Fellow: When you make a cup of tea, like, do you, like, put the milk in first or put the sugar in first or put the tea in first? Is there some, like, special way you do it?
Irish Fellow: Put the sugar and the tea-bag in together then pour in the water and leave it sit. Yeah. Never squeeze the tea bag
Australian Fellow: Never squeeze the tea bag?
Irish Fellow: Never squeeze the tea bag.
Australian Fellow: What about the milk? You put the milk in last?
Irish Fellow: Put the milk in last. Give it five or ten minutes to let the tea bag diffuse then dump in the milk.
Australian Fellow: That is if you are using a tea bag but if you make a pot of tea a lot of people say you should put the milk in first and then put the tea in second because if you put the milk in second, it leaches the flavor out of the tea. Have you ever heard that?
Irish Fellow: I have heard that putting the milk in first is better because … otherwise the tea gets burned.. from the boiling water.
Australian Fellow: Mm.
Irish Fellow: I am not too sure on that.
Australian Fellow: There is nothing like a good cup of tea.
Irish Fellow: No, there is not.
Australian Fellow: Never squeeze the tea bag?
Irish Fellow: Never squeeze the tea bag.
Australian Fellow: What about the milk? You put the milk in last?
Irish Fellow: Put the milk in last. Give it five or ten minutes to let the tea bag diffuse then dump in the milk.
Australian Fellow: That is if you are using a tea bag but if you make a pot of tea a lot of people say you should put the milk in first and then put the tea in second because if you put the milk in second, it leaches the flavor out of the tea. Have you ever heard that?
Irish Fellow: I have heard that putting the milk in first is better because … otherwise the tea gets burned.. from the boiling water.
Australian Fellow: Mm.
Irish Fellow: I am not too sure on that.
Australian Fellow: There is nothing like a good cup of tea.
Irish Fellow: No, there is not.
Real English Conversations: Perfectionism and procrastination
Introduction
Hi! Lori here, welcoming you to another episode of Real English Conversations from BetterAtEnglish.com. In today’s conversation, my friend Yvette returns to help me finish our earlier conversation about perfectionism and procrastination. This time we focus on the strategies that we’ve found helpful in our own battles with this debilitating problem. As always, you can find the vocabulary notes and full transcript of this podcast on our website, www.BetterAtEnglish.com.
Hi! Lori here, welcoming you to another episode of Real English Conversations from BetterAtEnglish.com. In today’s conversation, my friend Yvette returns to help me finish our earlier conversation about perfectionism and procrastination. This time we focus on the strategies that we’ve found helpful in our own battles with this debilitating problem. As always, you can find the vocabulary notes and full transcript of this podcast on our website, www.BetterAtEnglish.com.
OK, here we go!
Conversation Transcript
Lori: Actually, there was one thing that I think in our last conversation about perfectionism and procrastination that we didn’t really cover…
Yvette: OK
Lori: …and that’s what you do to get out of the procrastination habit once you’ve identified that you have a problem with it. Like if you have any methods that you’ve used to help you over the fear of starting or working on whatever it is you’re supposed to be working on.
Yvette: [Laughs] You’re asking me?
Lori: Yeah, yeah we didn’t talk about that.
Yvette: How you actually get out of it? Wow…
Lori: If there’s anything you do…
Yvette: OK
Lori: …and that’s what you do to get out of the procrastination habit once you’ve identified that you have a problem with it. Like if you have any methods that you’ve used to help you over the fear of starting or working on whatever it is you’re supposed to be working on.
Yvette: [Laughs] You’re asking me?
Lori: Yeah, yeah we didn’t talk about that.
Yvette: How you actually get out of it? Wow…
Lori: If there’s anything you do…
Yvette: If you find out, let me know. I mean, that’s kind of tricky. Wow, that’s something to think about. Well, usually I start with a plan. You break it down and smaller bits…so… the way that I can do it sometimes is to just say, “There is…I need to do a task and let me just first open the file folder.” That’s my first step. Once I’ve got that opened up and I’ve got the file maybe even opened in my browser — whatever I needed to be in — then I can start working on it. But it really is just kicking my butt…giving myself a good kick and going, “Come on, you can do it today.” But I tend to just find 15 other things to do first, which is clear my desk…oh yeah, I need lunch…oh, I need to do to the — let me do the groceries right now instead of later, so I don’t get interrupted by that. Um, so I tried to get rid of things, but I don’t know, I try to plan it better, but that usually doesn’t work — for me anyway.
Lori: Uh huh. Well, it sounds to me, when you mention that, for example, if it’s a writing project, that you start by just opening the file….
Yvette: Yeah.
Lori: …to me that sounds like you’re breaking it down to something you know you can do that really doesn’t require any performance. I mean it’s not difficult to just open the file and look at it, but then at least you make that first step.
Yvette: Yeah, it’s…I do find though, that is the hardest step, that very first one. Once I’ve got that one, it pretty much moves on from there. Once I’ve got the file and I know what I’m looking at — and maybe part of that is that it’s a bit chaotic, especially as a writer I may have 15 drafts of a similar text, and I’m not even sure what the first one or the last one was that I used and which one I was in, and I try to make notes of this in a notebook that I keep specifically for that purpose, umm, but to know what part, what I should be working on, just that, identifying that helps. And then I can open that file in my word processor and start working, umm, and then it’s okay. And then it’s just a matter of not getting interrupted by anything or anybody.
Lori: Yeah, that’s really hard.
Yvette: Because once that interruption comes, then it’s very hard to go back to it.
Lori: Yeah, it takes you a while to get back into the flow once you’ve been interrupted.
Yvette: But it’s also kind of overcoming a sort of fear of not being able to do it. Umm, you know, when you want to start a task and you think, “Ah, I don’t know, it’s a big task; I’m not sure I can do it.” You know, to just get started and throw out the idea that it needs to be perfect, and that you know, any effort right now would be good. But by that time though, I’ve already procrastinated to a point of it almost not being possible anymore, or at least being way too late. You know what I mean? It’s like you’ve already kind of passed five deadlines at this point.
Lori: Yeah, mmm. I guess were coming round again to that idea that just getting started is often the hardest part, and by that I don’t mean like actually “started at the beginning of a project,” but maybe even when you’re working on it, like, getting started with your work period for the day, or whatever, that’s really hard.
Yvette: Yeah.
Lori: And I found, for me, there was actually a site on the Internet that had what they called a “procrastination hack“…
Yvette: Okay!
Lori: ..that I’ve actually used it from time to time, and, it, I find that it’s been quite helpful in just getting me…when it…especially for jobs that are just a matter of like, sitting your butt in the chair for a certain amount of time and just focusing on it, you know, to get it done…umm, and what they call it is the Procrastination (10+2)x5 hack.
Yvette: Okay…
Timer Lori uses for the procrastination hack
Yvette: I see..
Lori: And it’s not too long, I mean, 10 minutes is only 10 minutes. And I’ve found — I don’t actually use it anymore — but I have used it in the past, and I found that it was actually, kind of a way to make the task seem less daunting. You know, you’re putting a limit on it, and you’re giving yourself a chance to screw around, and…umm, yeah, I found it really useful.
Yvette: I see. I would find 15 ways around that.
[Laughter]
Lori: Really?
Yvette: I would probably spend most of the time figuring out how I could make that work in a different way!
Lori: Uh huh!
Yvette: Now, what I do do, especially when I’m writing and I know…I mean, it’s to tell myself I need to write for four hours today.
Lori: Umm hmm.
Yvette: And then I have a stopwatch, and every time I stop writing I just hit the stopwatch. And I go, “Well, that’s it…you’re not working right now.” And umm, at the end of the day I just have to have four hours’ worth of work, and I don’t care how I get there, but I just do it that way. And the advantage of it is that…I discovered, that, the amazing amount of work you can do in four hours. You know, you’re not thinking about, it. It’s so much work, and, yet you don’t feel like you’ve worked all that much ’cause it’s only four hours in a day, big deal. But, that helps.
Lori: Yeah, to me that sounds like a similar idea, except that you’ve…you’re a lot more flexible in the time… that you’ve set the limit to four hours, and…
Yvette: ‘Cause I would hate to get interrupted by anything. You know, if I got 10 minutes of writing done I’m in it, and now I don’t want to stop writing, I just want to keep going.
Lori: Yeah, well that’s kind of the idea, is that, you know, once you then get in the flow you wouldn’t need to do it.
Yvette: Okay, that’s the idea.
Lori: It’s really more for when you’ve got this huge resistance to just even getting started and even…are completely blocked and just can’t get going at all ’cause you’ve built up to be this huge thing, but then kind of telling yourself, “Well, I only need to do 10 minutes.” To me that was like a huge help.
Yvette: It’s a very big mental exercise, isn’t it?
Lori: Mmm.
Yvette: It’s not about the physical or the time … “you don’t have the time.” You do have the time, it’s just that there is a mental block.
Lori: Yeah.
Yvette: And you’re not sure what to do next. Well, you can think of a lot of other things to do, and it’s just because for some reason you just don’t feel comfortable, or you feel that the time needs to be right, or the atmosphere, or that it’s too warm or it’s too cold ,or you know, 15 other things running through your mind: “What else can I do?” Instead of the thing you should do.
Lori: Yeah, umm… a lot of those things you mention, like finding all these other things that you want to do instead of the thing you should be doing…I think those are all kind of avoidance strategies to protect you from, you know, the thing that you’re afraid of in…to begin with is that, “Oh, it won’t be good enough” or “It’s going to be hard” or “People aren’t going to like it.” You know, those are all the things going in the back of your mind that have you…
Yvette: “What’s the point of this?”
Lori: Yeah, Exactly. Exactly. So it’s all just avoidance.
Yvette: That’s what it is. If…umm…when I’m…as a writer, I often come across things that I’m not sure in the end to anyone would even care about or like, and I have to do it all because I like it, and then it’s harder. But on the other hand, I do have to say that once I make it enjoyable for myself, I give myself, say, a treat at the end of it. Like, I give myself some reward. Then I can actually get it going. You cannot…you know, there’s one thing I really want to do, a movie I really want to see, or a TV show I don’t want to miss, then I’m telling myself, “You can’t watch it until you finish the task at hand.”
Lori: Okay, yeah that’s a good strategy.
Yvette: So not punishment but reward.
Final Words
This concludes our conversation on procrastination and perfectionism, at least for the time being. Now if I can only find the perfect topic for the perfect podcast, we’ll be back soon with another episode. Until then, you can find the archive of all our old episodes as well as the full transcripts and vocabulary lists on our website, BetterAtEnglish.com. Thanks for listening, and bye for now!
Real English Conversations: Telling time in English
Introduction
Hi, Lori here welcoming you to another episode of Real English Conversations from BetterAtEnglish.com. Today’s conversation is about some of the differences between American and British English usage when it comes to telling time. This conversation also marks the first appearance of my very own mom here on B@E. She give us her perspective on American usage, while my English friend Michael (whom you know from earlier podcasts) returns this episode to cover the British point of view. This episode follows directly from the previous episode, number 44, so if this is your first time listening to our podcasts you shouldlisten to episode 44 first.
Hi, Lori here welcoming you to another episode of Real English Conversations from BetterAtEnglish.com. Today’s conversation is about some of the differences between American and British English usage when it comes to telling time. This conversation also marks the first appearance of my very own mom here on B@E. She give us her perspective on American usage, while my English friend Michael (whom you know from earlier podcasts) returns this episode to cover the British point of view. This episode follows directly from the previous episode, number 44, so if this is your first time listening to our podcasts you shouldlisten to episode 44 first.
The pdf that goes with this episode contains the full transcript, the vocabulary list, the image of clocks that I used to elicit time expressions from my mom and Michael, and some usage notes about time expressions in British and American English. You can download it directly in iTunes, or visit betteratenglish.com and download from there. I think that’s enough introduction for today — let’s get on with the conversation!
Conversation Transcript
[Lori:In this informal language experiment, I showed my mom a picture of four clock faces and asked her to read me the times. This was to see what prepositions she would use, particularly if she would avoid the preposition past as Yvette's former teachers claimed Americans do.]
Mom: OK, well starting on the top left I have ten m minutes after nine, and then the next one to the right is twenty-five after seven, and then on the bottom left is five past six and the last one on the bottom right is a quarter past twelve.
Lori: OK! Perfect! You scored 100%
Mom: Wow, I got 100%! I do know how to tell time on a regularanalog clock!
Lori: OK…now this is very interesting because you are a native American speaker, and you haven’t had…I doubt you’ve had much exposure to British English and definitely not ever had to teach English using British English materials or anything like that.
Mom: No, for sure.
Lori: Yeah, the problem is..is that sometimes when non-native speakers are learning English, teachers will tell them misguided rules that they maybe read in some outdated book somewhere saying things like, “In American English you have to use after when you talk about time; you can’t use past.”
Mom: Yeah, I think one time I said past..I think I said five past six. In fact I purposely said past because I was trying to give you some variety of the difference…we can tell time…because Americans will say past.
Lori: Yeah! That’s what I think as well, that I…maybe naturally I’d be more likely to say after but I wouldn’t think it was weird or strange if someone said past.
Mom: No…no, that’s exactly…’cause…I think the first couple of times I said after and then I thought, “Oh I’m going to give her a little variety,” so I’ll say five past six because we do say that, but it’s…I mean we wouldn’t think it’s odd.
Lori: OK, that’s great, and that’s really just the point I wanted to make… that often…
Mom: In fact I think we especially do it with with…on the half hour, we say half past twelve.
Lori: Right, right, half past twelve, definitely. Yeah, you wouldn’t say half after twelve.
Mom: Nuh-uh, we always say past for then. See, we use both.
Lori: And the interesting thing is I used analog clocks on purpose because I was worried that if I just wrote the times in digital time you would have said, for example, seven twenty-five.
Mom: Exactly, ’cause that’s what you see on a digital clock.
Lori: So anyway, that was my little experiment!
Mom: OK!
Lori: OK! Perfect! You scored 100%
Mom: Wow, I got 100%! I do know how to tell time on a regularanalog clock!
Lori: OK…now this is very interesting because you are a native American speaker, and you haven’t had…I doubt you’ve had much exposure to British English and definitely not ever had to teach English using British English materials or anything like that.
Mom: No, for sure.
Lori: Yeah, the problem is..is that sometimes when non-native speakers are learning English, teachers will tell them misguided rules that they maybe read in some outdated book somewhere saying things like, “In American English you have to use after when you talk about time; you can’t use past.”
Mom: Yeah, I think one time I said past..I think I said five past six. In fact I purposely said past because I was trying to give you some variety of the difference…we can tell time…because Americans will say past.
Lori: Yeah! That’s what I think as well, that I…maybe naturally I’d be more likely to say after but I wouldn’t think it was weird or strange if someone said past.
Mom: No…no, that’s exactly…’cause…I think the first couple of times I said after and then I thought, “Oh I’m going to give her a little variety,” so I’ll say five past six because we do say that, but it’s…I mean we wouldn’t think it’s odd.
Lori: OK, that’s great, and that’s really just the point I wanted to make… that often…
Mom: In fact I think we especially do it with with…on the half hour, we say half past twelve.
Lori: Right, right, half past twelve, definitely. Yeah, you wouldn’t say half after twelve.
Mom: Nuh-uh, we always say past for then. See, we use both.
Lori: And the interesting thing is I used analog clocks on purpose because I was worried that if I just wrote the times in digital time you would have said, for example, seven twenty-five.
Mom: Exactly, ’cause that’s what you see on a digital clock.
Lori: So anyway, that was my little experiment!
Mom: OK!
[laughter]
[Lori: After doing the experiment with my mom, I went on and did the same experiment with Michael to get the British perspective.]
Lori: …and read the times that you see on the clocks.
Michael: Yeah, it’s ten past nine… that’s from the top left. The top right is twenty-five past seven. The bottom left..err..five past six, and the bottom right one is quarter past twelve.
Lori: OK, cool! You’ve also scored 100%. You can tell time on an analog clock!
Michael: [laughs] Yay!
Lori: And the reason that I asked you to do this is…I had a discussion with Yvette the other day and she remembered learning when she was studying English, umm — she’s had both…been exposed to people, you know, trying to teach her British English and American English — and she somehow was told that if you’re going to speak British English you have to say past just like you just did, like, it’s ten past…
Michael: It’s true as well, it’s..in fact, I can tell you that…I mean she’s absolutely right. I mean,never mind the experimenting, that is how we are taught. And I’ve never heard anybody say ten after, you know, three or something like that until I met an American person.
Lori: OK! OK, but did you still understand it the first time you heard…did it cause any problems?
Michael: Oh it didn’t cause any any confusion… you say 10, you know five past, ten past quarter past, twenty past, twenty-five past.
Lori: Uh-huh.
Michael: And when it’s around it’s around, it’s twenty-five to, twenty to, quarter to, ten to, five to…
Lori: Right.
Michael: But I’ve heard some American people say ten till..
Lori: Oh yeah, ten till six, yeah quarter till, um-hmm.
Michael: You never ever ever ever ever say that in British English, it’s always past and it’s to and it’s drummed into you.
Lori: OK, that’s quite interesting.
Michael: There’s no variation whatsoever, but people can understand obviously, I mean you’d have to be a bit of a [bleep] jerk to…
Lori: Um-hmm.
Michael: Being deliberately obtuse if you’re going, “Huh? I don’t get it.” You know, because it’s obvious to anyone with half a brain, you know, what it means. But it is…it stands out as being unusual ’cause this is… yet we have this little clocks with the, you know, the movable hands.
Lori: Yeah, analog clocks.
Micheal: Yeah!
Lori: In fact, I was quite cunning when I made the picture to send to you. I made…I used analog clocks on purpose just to elicit the preposition past, ’cause if I had just written the times, like in digital format, you probably would have said things like…
Michael: Nine ten…yeah. But I don’t…I don’t say times like that anyway. I always do it the old-fashioned way. even after the advent of digital things because my dad would belt me if I said it, err, you know, the digital way, I’d… seriously, I’d get in trouble when my parents would yell at me.
Lori: Oh, that’s funny why, why…Did they ever say why they didn’t like it?
Michael: Yes, they felt it was dumbing things down, err, and it meant that you know you wouldn’t be learning you wouldn’t know how to tell the time properly. Err, because if you just read it out like that…err…and…I mean I think they had a very good point, because if you, you know, if you only knew how to tell the time like that and then you were at, oh I don’t know, some big train station somewhere where they had an analog clock and you’re going, “Oh, umm, let me work out bla bla bla,” you know, it’s…it’s not so good.
Lori: Yeah, it’s definitely, I think, everyone needs to know how to tell time on an analog clock but I wouldn’t go so far as to force people to use that every time they were talking about time because I think the digital system is so established now and it really makes perfect sense.
Michael: Yeah, and my, I mean, I can hear you hang on my parents are total [bleeping] Naziswhen it comes to…
Lori: [laughs in disbelief]
Michael: But anyway… I love them but they’re…you know…misguided in the extreme.
Lori: You know I’m going to have to bleep you out now.
Michael: [laughs]
Lori: We’re not recording for Uncensored English!
Lori: …and read the times that you see on the clocks.
Michael: Yeah, it’s ten past nine… that’s from the top left. The top right is twenty-five past seven. The bottom left..err..five past six, and the bottom right one is quarter past twelve.
Lori: OK, cool! You’ve also scored 100%. You can tell time on an analog clock!
Michael: [laughs] Yay!
Lori: And the reason that I asked you to do this is…I had a discussion with Yvette the other day and she remembered learning when she was studying English, umm — she’s had both…been exposed to people, you know, trying to teach her British English and American English — and she somehow was told that if you’re going to speak British English you have to say past just like you just did, like, it’s ten past…
Michael: It’s true as well, it’s..in fact, I can tell you that…I mean she’s absolutely right. I mean,never mind the experimenting, that is how we are taught. And I’ve never heard anybody say ten after, you know, three or something like that until I met an American person.
Lori: OK! OK, but did you still understand it the first time you heard…did it cause any problems?
Michael: Oh it didn’t cause any any confusion… you say 10, you know five past, ten past quarter past, twenty past, twenty-five past.
Lori: Uh-huh.
Michael: And when it’s around it’s around, it’s twenty-five to, twenty to, quarter to, ten to, five to…
Lori: Right.
Michael: But I’ve heard some American people say ten till..
Lori: Oh yeah, ten till six, yeah quarter till, um-hmm.
Michael: You never ever ever ever ever say that in British English, it’s always past and it’s to and it’s drummed into you.
Lori: OK, that’s quite interesting.
Michael: There’s no variation whatsoever, but people can understand obviously, I mean you’d have to be a bit of a [bleep] jerk to…
Lori: Um-hmm.
Michael: Being deliberately obtuse if you’re going, “Huh? I don’t get it.” You know, because it’s obvious to anyone with half a brain, you know, what it means. But it is…it stands out as being unusual ’cause this is… yet we have this little clocks with the, you know, the movable hands.
Lori: Yeah, analog clocks.
Micheal: Yeah!
Lori: In fact, I was quite cunning when I made the picture to send to you. I made…I used analog clocks on purpose just to elicit the preposition past, ’cause if I had just written the times, like in digital format, you probably would have said things like…
Michael: Nine ten…yeah. But I don’t…I don’t say times like that anyway. I always do it the old-fashioned way. even after the advent of digital things because my dad would belt me if I said it, err, you know, the digital way, I’d… seriously, I’d get in trouble when my parents would yell at me.
Lori: Oh, that’s funny why, why…Did they ever say why they didn’t like it?
Michael: Yes, they felt it was dumbing things down, err, and it meant that you know you wouldn’t be learning you wouldn’t know how to tell the time properly. Err, because if you just read it out like that…err…and…I mean I think they had a very good point, because if you, you know, if you only knew how to tell the time like that and then you were at, oh I don’t know, some big train station somewhere where they had an analog clock and you’re going, “Oh, umm, let me work out bla bla bla,” you know, it’s…it’s not so good.
Lori: Yeah, it’s definitely, I think, everyone needs to know how to tell time on an analog clock but I wouldn’t go so far as to force people to use that every time they were talking about time because I think the digital system is so established now and it really makes perfect sense.
Michael: Yeah, and my, I mean, I can hear you hang on my parents are total [bleeping] Naziswhen it comes to…
Lori: [laughs in disbelief]
Michael: But anyway… I love them but they’re…you know…misguided in the extreme.
Lori: You know I’m going to have to bleep you out now.
Michael: [laughs]
Lori: We’re not recording for Uncensored English!
Final Words
That’s all for this time. Of course, in these spontaneous conversations we can’t cover all of the usage issues that apply, and sometimes the examples we come up with on the spot might not be the best from a teaching perspective. So to make up for that I’ve added some extra usage notes to the pdf file for this episode. I hope you find them useful. Thanks for listening, and bye for now!
Real English Conversation: junk food
Hello, Lori here welcoming you to another episode of Real English Conversations from Better at English.com. In today’s episode, Michael and I continue our discussion about the English government’s decision to ban junk food ads on television before 9 pm, when children are likely to be watching. This is the second of a three-part series, so if you missed the first part you might want to listen to that first. In this episode we inadvertently end up discussing some differences in British and American English vocabulary. As always, you’ll find the full transcript and vocabulary notes on the website, www.betteratenglish.com.
Here we go!
Conversation transcript
L: …do you know what their rationale was, why children, and not just ban them across the board?
M: I don’t know the exact reason, but I assumed it was because of this, umm…this…the difficulty that that parents have in, you know, the kids going, “Mum, Mum! I…” You know? I don’t know the exact reason.
L: OK, because I…I would think that, I mean, that that’s one reason, but another reason could be that when you’re a child, that your basic eating habits and your relationship to food, that a lot of that is formed by the habits you form as a child.
M: OK.
L: And so that’s all the more reason to not be making it any harder on kids than it already is…
M: That’s inter- yeah…
L: …to develop good, healthy eating habits and…
M: Right.
L: Umm…
M: Well, do you remember when, I mean, back when you were at school,
L: Uh huh?
M: Uhh…did, I mean you…I assume that you ate your lunches at school? Did you have school dinners?
L: Yeah we had school “lunches” we would call them.
M: Oh, OK, OK.
L: Yeah, school lunches, yeah.
M: Umm, but I mean, what was the food like then? I mean was it healthful, healthy food or?
L: It’s…it’s hard to say I think it could have probably been healthier. I know in high school they always had salads and things, but there was so much junk food, just fried food.
M: And what did the kids eat? Which did they choose? Do I need to ask?
L: It would depend. You know, the health conscious ones would try to be healthy but there was a lot of, there’s a lot of umm…denial and sort of strange rationalization going on when it comes to food. For example, I know that I had girlfriends who would buy for their snack, they would buy this big bag of trail mix, thinking that “oh yeah, it’s healthy because it’s natural.” But the thing is, is that you know, eating this huge bag of nuts and dried fruit, you know all that concentrated energy — and there were little bits of chocolate and things as well — that that really, unless you’re out climbing mountains all day long, which is when you need something like trail mix…
M: That’s why they call it trail mix!
L: That if you just, yeah, you know you don’t need this huge gigantic pouch of trail mix just to get you through your biology lesson.
M: Sure, that’s right, right.
L: But you know, still…
M: No, totally.
L: …rationalizing it saying that, “Oh, oh I got this because it’s healthy.”
M: Yeah.
L: Umm…”because it’s natural.”
M: Well I thought, yeah, the…the school meals thing, let’s call them school meals — you call them err…school lunches and I call them school dinners, umm, but with the school meals, err…it’s something that when you’re…you’re a kid…err…at school, I can remember back at school and there would be chips or what, err you, err “French fries.”
L: Yeah, “fries.”
M: Yeah, err for you, they’re always on the menu, always and no matter what myself or my friends would eat, we would always have chips, and loads! As many as possible, they were the yummiest thing going! Umm but there was something…are you familiar, you know who Jamie Oliver is?
L: Oh yeah, sure, the Naked Chef!
M: TV naked chef!
L: Yeah.
M: Umm…but he was being very outspoken just recently about how really, really bad the choice of food…is in school, umm and he was trying to bring this to people’s attention, using his celebrity status, and I don’t…I don’t think…this wasn’t a money-making thing or anything like that, he was just using his…his position to make people aware of it and pointing out all these…all these things. So in the light of that, because this is a…this was a very recent thing too, in the light of that, this is very interesting that the government has taken this step.
L: Yeah, I think…I think it’s a move in the right direction. I would…I would support …a total ban on advertisement, because that’s just one reason, you know, one more reason that you might watch TV — to get at the good things that TV has to offer — is that you know you won’t be subjected to all of these, these advertisements that you don’t want to see.
M: Right, well I mean, there are, I mean.
L: You know, advertising things that are bad for you, that hurt you but that are…
M: Of course.
M: Of course.
L: …still so compelling that maybe in your life you’re doing everything you can to cut out the junk food and then you’re sitting there, maybe even on a diet, if you’re someone who’s trying to lose weight…
M: Oh yeah.
L: …so you’re watching TV at night and the Haagen Dazs ad comes on.
M: [laughs]
L: With this…beautiful images of these gorgeous ice cream creations in front of you and…
M: Oh.
L: I mean it…it is really hard; that just puts the idea of food into your head and…
M: That’s torture, that’s torture.
L: Yeah, horrible torture…
Final words
That’s all for this time, thanks for listening! We love to hear from you, so if you’ve got questions, comments or suggestions, feel free to e-mail us at info [AT] betteratenglish [dot] com. Your continued donations make Better at English possible, so if you are a regular listener who enjoys the show, please consider making a donation. See you next time!
Real English Conversations: Don’t step in the dog doo.
Introduction
Hi! Lori here, welcoming you to another episode of Real English Conversations from betteratenglish.com.
Hi! Lori here, welcoming you to another episode of Real English Conversations from betteratenglish.com.
In today’s conversation, which is part four of four, my British friend Michael and I wrap up our lengthy conversation about the pros and cons of dogs, dog ownership, and dog owners. Warning: some of the vocabulary we deal with in this episode is a bit vulgar, so if you are sensitive or easily offended I suggest you stop listening now.
As always, you can find the vocabulary notes and full transcript of this podcast on our website, www.betteratenglish.com.
OK, here we go!
Conversation Transcript
Lori: And some people… I swear, you know, dogs I think are great. It’s dog owners that can be just really lame sometimes.
Michael: Mmm. Mmm..
L: There’s a forest outside where I live here, where I like to go running and walking and…people, it’s a great place. I don’t see many people, but there are a lot of dog walkers who like to go there as well.
M: Yes.
L: And they don’t want to keep their dogs on a leash a lot of times. They let their dogs kind of run wild, and a lot of them don’t really have control over their dogs.
M: Right, right.
L: And the dogs can be quite aggressive sometimes. But then, dog owners are really weird. Sometimes they are so protective of their dogs and they think their dogs can do no harm.
M: Oh dear.
L: So they actually get angry at you, walking along telling you that, “Oh, it’s because you’re afraid, that’s why he [the dog] is acting like that.” And it’s like…
M: “Of course I’m afraid. He’s a giant dog with slavering fangs.” Yeah.
L: Running up barking at me, not looking friendly. Of course I’m going to be afraid, you know? And I don’t think it’s my responsibility as, you know, a person wanting to use the jogging trail — that it’s my responsibility to tailor my behavior to the comfort of dog owners, because it actually is their responsibility to keep their dogs on a leash, unless they have, you know, total control.
M: I completely agree. I was going to say, do your remember the time I was over in Sweden, and we were having a picnic in the park. And there were the young teenagers that were there, and they had a dog with them. And the dog was running loose, and the dog was coming over and sticking its nose in our picnic bag. And you had to tell these folks, “Excuse me…your dog…?” They where oblivious to the whole thing.
L: The dog was just doing what dogs do.
M: He was looking for food.
L: Yeah, of course, he is going to be interested in food. So it is up to owners to make sure they keep their dogs under control when they’re, you know, in the public space.
M: Exactly.
L: It is not up to, you know, the other people there to deal with the dog. I think.
M: You know, we shooed the dog away, more then once.
L: But he kept coming back.
M: Well we had some good chow!
L: Oh we did. Oh man, those pies that Sabina had made! Oh, my god! That is really annoying when dog owners are inconsiderate and don’t understand that it’s really their responsibility to make sure their dog is under control.
M: Right, yeah, it is part of the responsibility of being a dog owner, I think.
L: Exactly. And I’m sure…most are fine. Most people do a good job, but it’s the few people who are idiots who kind of spoil it for everybody else.
M: Sure. It gives the dog a bad name as well. I mean, if you have a few bad encounters with a dog that’s having trouble it can put you off.
L: Exactly. And that can also…if, you know…there’s some people who are deathly afraid of dogs, who don’t, you know, who have a hard time with obviously friendly dogs.
M: Oh goodness! I was terrified of dogs when I was a little boy. Absolutely terrified. And that was just through a couple of dogs that lived locally. There was a house that I had to walk past on the way to school, and there were these two dogs that would, they would bark and they would run at you. They weren’t tied up either.
L: Yeah. I think every kid has a house like that, or memory of a house like that, from when they were walking to school. I know I do.
M: Right! It’s something that sticks with you for a long time.
L: Yeah, because when you’re little, you know, I was walking to school on my own…I think from the time I was in first grade. So I would have only been five or six years old! Because it wasn’t far, it was only a few blocks and it was quiet, residential streets, so I walked to school by myself or with the little neighbor kids. But when you’re that little, a big dog is really big and really scary. And you haven’t…you’re not aware enough to tell the difference between a dog that’s just running up to inspect you and check you out and a dog that is really, actually aggressive.
M: Right.
L: So it’s really scary.
M: Oh yeah. Oh yeah. And I think it can stay with you for a long time as well.
L: Yeah.
M: And I guess some people never… in fact, my sister is still very, very scared of dogs, you know? And she’s nearly 40. She was like that when she was a child and she just never got over it.
L: I have to say I’m wary of dogs. Little dogs, it’s no problem because even if they were horribly aggressive you could always just kick them like a football. And you’d be OK.
[laughter]
L: But it’s the big dogs, you know, dogs that weigh as much as I do. Those, those can be quite scary.
M: That would be hard to tackle, a dog like that.
L: Yeah. And just…its going to be much more serious being attacked by a dog like that than by some little yappy terrier trying to bite your heels, you know?
Michael: Mmm. Mmm..
L: There’s a forest outside where I live here, where I like to go running and walking and…people, it’s a great place. I don’t see many people, but there are a lot of dog walkers who like to go there as well.
M: Yes.
L: And they don’t want to keep their dogs on a leash a lot of times. They let their dogs kind of run wild, and a lot of them don’t really have control over their dogs.
M: Right, right.
L: And the dogs can be quite aggressive sometimes. But then, dog owners are really weird. Sometimes they are so protective of their dogs and they think their dogs can do no harm.
M: Oh dear.
L: So they actually get angry at you, walking along telling you that, “Oh, it’s because you’re afraid, that’s why he [the dog] is acting like that.” And it’s like…
M: “Of course I’m afraid. He’s a giant dog with slavering fangs.” Yeah.
L: Running up barking at me, not looking friendly. Of course I’m going to be afraid, you know? And I don’t think it’s my responsibility as, you know, a person wanting to use the jogging trail — that it’s my responsibility to tailor my behavior to the comfort of dog owners, because it actually is their responsibility to keep their dogs on a leash, unless they have, you know, total control.
M: I completely agree. I was going to say, do your remember the time I was over in Sweden, and we were having a picnic in the park. And there were the young teenagers that were there, and they had a dog with them. And the dog was running loose, and the dog was coming over and sticking its nose in our picnic bag. And you had to tell these folks, “Excuse me…your dog…?” They where oblivious to the whole thing.
L: The dog was just doing what dogs do.
M: He was looking for food.
L: Yeah, of course, he is going to be interested in food. So it is up to owners to make sure they keep their dogs under control when they’re, you know, in the public space.
M: Exactly.
L: It is not up to, you know, the other people there to deal with the dog. I think.
M: You know, we shooed the dog away, more then once.
L: But he kept coming back.
M: Well we had some good chow!
L: Oh we did. Oh man, those pies that Sabina had made! Oh, my god! That is really annoying when dog owners are inconsiderate and don’t understand that it’s really their responsibility to make sure their dog is under control.
M: Right, yeah, it is part of the responsibility of being a dog owner, I think.
L: Exactly. And I’m sure…most are fine. Most people do a good job, but it’s the few people who are idiots who kind of spoil it for everybody else.
M: Sure. It gives the dog a bad name as well. I mean, if you have a few bad encounters with a dog that’s having trouble it can put you off.
L: Exactly. And that can also…if, you know…there’s some people who are deathly afraid of dogs, who don’t, you know, who have a hard time with obviously friendly dogs.
M: Oh goodness! I was terrified of dogs when I was a little boy. Absolutely terrified. And that was just through a couple of dogs that lived locally. There was a house that I had to walk past on the way to school, and there were these two dogs that would, they would bark and they would run at you. They weren’t tied up either.
L: Yeah. I think every kid has a house like that, or memory of a house like that, from when they were walking to school. I know I do.
M: Right! It’s something that sticks with you for a long time.
L: Yeah, because when you’re little, you know, I was walking to school on my own…I think from the time I was in first grade. So I would have only been five or six years old! Because it wasn’t far, it was only a few blocks and it was quiet, residential streets, so I walked to school by myself or with the little neighbor kids. But when you’re that little, a big dog is really big and really scary. And you haven’t…you’re not aware enough to tell the difference between a dog that’s just running up to inspect you and check you out and a dog that is really, actually aggressive.
M: Right.
L: So it’s really scary.
M: Oh yeah. Oh yeah. And I think it can stay with you for a long time as well.
L: Yeah.
M: And I guess some people never… in fact, my sister is still very, very scared of dogs, you know? And she’s nearly 40. She was like that when she was a child and she just never got over it.
L: I have to say I’m wary of dogs. Little dogs, it’s no problem because even if they were horribly aggressive you could always just kick them like a football. And you’d be OK.
[laughter]
L: But it’s the big dogs, you know, dogs that weigh as much as I do. Those, those can be quite scary.
M: That would be hard to tackle, a dog like that.
L: Yeah. And just…its going to be much more serious being attacked by a dog like that than by some little yappy terrier trying to bite your heels, you know?
M: Ankle biters. [laughs]
L: [laughs] Yeah, ankle biters. Isn’t that a slang word for kids? Ankle biters…
M: I don’t know. I guess, maybe.
L: Or like an informal colloquial word, for… Like the word “rug rats“, we have the word rug rats in American English for kids, which I think is a horrible word. But yeah, ankle biters, I think I’ve heard that before as sort of a disparaging term for little children.
M: Well, maybe that’s not something you should use for a little dog then, I don’t think.
L: No, it’s very descriptive though, little ankle biters! Ankle nippers!
M: Well you could go further, “crotch sniffers.”
[laughter]
L: Crotch sniffing dogs are the worst! Oh my God, oh I hate crotch sniffing dogs!
[laughter]
M: There is some film I remember seeing with some kid complaining about some dog. His parents say, “What’s wrong with the dog?” This poor little kid balefully cries out, “He is a crotch sniffer!”
[laughter]
L: I know. I have seen the same film, but I don’t remember which one it is. But it’s funny…Crotch sniffers are…it’s so embarrassing. I know it is just what dogs do. They sniff each other’s, you know, nether regions.
M: They clean each other’s nether regions.
L: Oh no, let’s not go there! I want to keep this one clean!
M: OK.
L: That is just what dogs do. That and the ones that hump your leg. That is so embarrassing especially when you’re over at someone’s house.
M: Especially when they won’t let go.
[laughter]
L: They latch on and won’t let go.
M: Shaking, shaking your leg. And then… [laughter]
L: Yeah and oh, that’s so embarrassing because you know everyone is thinking about sex at that point. I mean you can’t have a dog humping your leg without people at least momentarily, you know, everyone is thinking about doing it. That just makes it so embarrassing.
M: Right.
L: It’s such a delicate situation.
[laughter]
M: Oh dear. Right. Yeah. Yes. It’s difficult to remain cool.
L: When a dog is humping your leg!
M: Trying to look cool and dangerous when there’s a dog humping away at your leg. Yeah.
[laughter]
L: Yeah. Oh my god, that’s such an embarrassing situation… Anyway I think we’ve reached the point where, again, it can only go downhill from here.
M: OK. Let’s quit where we are!
L: [laughs] Yeah, ankle biters. Isn’t that a slang word for kids? Ankle biters…
M: I don’t know. I guess, maybe.
L: Or like an informal colloquial word, for… Like the word “rug rats“, we have the word rug rats in American English for kids, which I think is a horrible word. But yeah, ankle biters, I think I’ve heard that before as sort of a disparaging term for little children.
M: Well, maybe that’s not something you should use for a little dog then, I don’t think.
L: No, it’s very descriptive though, little ankle biters! Ankle nippers!
M: Well you could go further, “crotch sniffers.”
[laughter]
L: Crotch sniffing dogs are the worst! Oh my God, oh I hate crotch sniffing dogs!
[laughter]
M: There is some film I remember seeing with some kid complaining about some dog. His parents say, “What’s wrong with the dog?” This poor little kid balefully cries out, “He is a crotch sniffer!”
[laughter]
L: I know. I have seen the same film, but I don’t remember which one it is. But it’s funny…Crotch sniffers are…it’s so embarrassing. I know it is just what dogs do. They sniff each other’s, you know, nether regions.
M: They clean each other’s nether regions.
L: Oh no, let’s not go there! I want to keep this one clean!
M: OK.
L: That is just what dogs do. That and the ones that hump your leg. That is so embarrassing especially when you’re over at someone’s house.
M: Especially when they won’t let go.
[laughter]
L: They latch on and won’t let go.
M: Shaking, shaking your leg. And then… [laughter]
L: Yeah and oh, that’s so embarrassing because you know everyone is thinking about sex at that point. I mean you can’t have a dog humping your leg without people at least momentarily, you know, everyone is thinking about doing it. That just makes it so embarrassing.
M: Right.
L: It’s such a delicate situation.
[laughter]
M: Oh dear. Right. Yeah. Yes. It’s difficult to remain cool.
L: When a dog is humping your leg!
M: Trying to look cool and dangerous when there’s a dog humping away at your leg. Yeah.
[laughter]
L: Yeah. Oh my god, that’s such an embarrassing situation… Anyway I think we’ve reached the point where, again, it can only go downhill from here.
M: OK. Let’s quit where we are!
Final Words
Thanks for listening. This concludes our four-part series on the good, the bad and the ugly of dogs, dog ownership, and dog owners. We’ll be back again with a new episode as soon as we’ve had time to record some juicy new topics. We welcome requests from our listeners, so if you’d like to request a topic just visit our website, www.betteratenglish.com, where you’ll find everything you need to get in touch with us. This is Lori from BetterAtEnglish signing off until next time. Bye for now!
Thanks for listening. This concludes our four-part series on the good, the bad and the ugly of dogs, dog ownership, and dog owners. We’ll be back again with a new episode as soon as we’ve had time to record some juicy new topics. We welcome requests from our listeners, so if you’d like to request a topic just visit our website, www.betteratenglish.com, where you’ll find everything you need to get in touch with us. This is Lori from BetterAtEnglish signing off until next time. Bye for now!
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