#871 Polish TDES, Irish Accent, Windows 7, Awful

Show 871 Thursday 30 October
Watch today’s show at YouTube or BlipTV.

Hi, I’m Sarah. Welcome to The Daily English Show.

I have some great news today – there is a new site for The Daily English Show script translations – and the latest language is … drum roll please … Polish. That is very exciting. Thank you so much.

Just a quick reminder, tomorrow is the last day of the month, so if you’re a member and you’d like to be in the draw for this month’s giveaways, then send us an email.
And if you’re not a member yet, go and check out this page and find out what it’s all about.

The video I recommend today is from the Oscars channel on YouTube.

This is the video title: "Falling Slowly" winning Best Original Song Oscar®

Falling Slowly is the song we studied last Friday. And I think both of their speeches are great – very moving.

The first thing Glen says is tanks – this is an interesting thing about Irish accents, they say the th sound like t instead of th.

I would say: thanks. And he says something like: "tanks".
Also, instead of three he says "tree".
Instead of thought, "taught".
And instead of thing, "ting".

The Acadia Report

with Lindsay Joseph
Resident Assistant (RA), Dennis House, Acadia University

How long have you lived in Dennis?
It’s my first year in Dennis.

What do you think of it?
It’s good. It’s really good. It’s much nicer than the last residence I was in.

Which one was that?
I was in Cutten House which is now closed for, ah, pipes exploding, so … and mould. So this is much nice, a much nice residence.

What’s so great about it?
Um, I really like the rooms. They’re a lot bigger than the rooms in most other residences. Um, I’m an RA here, so I’ve got the perks of that. And it’s, it’s just … it’s close to everything, right in the centre of campus. And it’s a good place to be.

Why did you decide to be an RA?
Um, I really want to work with kids when I’m older and it’s a good stepping stone to that and, ah, I really like residence and what it has to offer, so … yeah.

What kind of events do you have here?
Oh, we do all sorts of things, we go to corn mazes and have walk-throughs in the local corn mazes. Um, we have sexy girl parties and get, um, people to come in and talk about, you know, girly things. Um, we have movie nights, ah, board game nights, ah, dinners out and dinners in. Lots of fun stuff.

STICK NEWS

Kia Ora in Stick News today Microsoft says the next version of Windows will be less annoying.

Microsoft is a computer technology corporation which was founded in 1975.
Microsoft produces a series of software operating systems and graphical user interfaces called Microsoft Windows.
Windows 1.0 was released on the 20th of November 1985.
Since then, many versions have released – the latest one is called Windows Vista and the next version will be called Windows 7.
The Associated Press reported Windows 7 is due out next year and will be less annoying and nag users much less than Vista.
They say rampant notifications and pop-up windows alerting people to potential security risks have irked many users of Windows Vista.

And that was Stick News for Thursday 30 of October.
Kia Ora.

Word of the Day

Today’s word is awful.
Awful means: very bad or unpleasant.
For example: That is an awful painting.

Awful is also used to emphasize something, especially if there is a large amount or too much of something.

For example, a quote from Tuesday’s show, the scarecrow in the wizard of oz says: some people without brains do an awful lot of talking.

The adverb is: awfully, which means: very.

Brrr …it’s awfully cold today.
I’m awfully sorry about that.

conversations with sarah
#541 How cold is it?

Step 1: Repeat Kris’s lines.
Step 2: Read Kris’s lines and talk to Sarah.

Sarah It snowed for the first time yesterday.

Kris Oh, really? So it’s white everywhere now?

Sarah No. It was only a bit, so it’s all melted now.

Kris How cold is it?

Sarah It’s about 9 degrees inside. My alarm clock has the temperature on it and the last time I looked it was about 9 degrees.

Kris Have you started using the heater yet?

Sarah Yeah, actually I turned it on this morning for the first time.

"Falling Slowly" winning Best Original Song Oscar®

This is amazing. What are we doing here? This is mad. We made this film two years ago, we shot it on two handicams. It took us three weeks to make we made it for a hundred grand. We never thought we’d come into a room like this and be in front of you people. It’s been an amazing thing. And thanks for taking this film seriously, all of you, it means a lot. Thanks to the academy.
Thanks to all the people who have helped us, we don’t need to say them.
This is amazing. Make art. Make art. Thanks.

Hi everyone. I just want to thank you so much. This is such a big deal, not only for us, but for all other independent musicians and artists that spend most of their time struggling, and this, the fact that we’re standing here tonight, the fact that we’re able to hold this, it’s just the proof that no matter how far out your dreams are, it’s possible. And, you know, fair play to those who dare to dream and don’t give up. And this song was written from a perspective of hope, and hope at the end of the day connects us all, no matter how different we are. And so thank you so much, who helped us along way. Thank you.

notes

stepping stone an action that helps one to make progress towards a specified goal

awful - awfully is the adverb, but awful is also used as an adverb - especially in American English

links

today's news
today's STICK NEWS pictures

music

show start
artist: Boom Tschak
album: Indietronic CCBit.
track: More Chocolate, Please
from: Former Yugoslavia
MySpace

The Acadia Report start
artist: DJ iPep's
album: Home Mix 2007
track: Concerto
from: EVREUX, France
album at Jamendo
artist at Jamendo
artist site

WOD start
artist: DJ iPep's
album: Home Mix 2007
track: Game Toy
from: EVREUX, France
album at Jamendo
artist at Jamendo
artist site

cws start
artist: Wolfgang S.
album: Indietronic CCBit.
track: Dynamite
from: Belgrade, Serbia, Former Yugoslavia
artist site
MySpace

qa start
artist: ioeo
album: triptracks
track: triptrack2
from: Saint Raphael, France
album at Jamendo
artist at Jamendo
artist site

qa bgm
artist: Zeropage
album: Ambient Pills Update
track: Is It Real
from: Switzerland
album at Jamendo
artist at Jamendo
artist site

Did you notice a mistake in this script? Please leave us a comment and tell us! We really appreciate people pointing out our mistakes.Thank you.

Have you translated this script - or part of it - into your language for English practice and published it on your blog? Please leave a comment and a link so other people can read your translation. Thank you.

#870 How Do You Do?, Forvo, Prince Charles, Wall

Show 870 Wednesday 29 October
Watch today’s show at YouTube or BlipTV.

Hi, I’m Sarah. Welcome to The Daily English Show.

The mistake I’d like to talk about today is the use of the phrase: How do you do?

As I understand it, how do you do, is a phrase used when meeting somebody, like: Nice to meet you. So it doesn’t mean How are you? or How do you do something?

So some people might get those two things mixed up – How do you do? and How are you?
But I also think just using the phrase How do you do? when you meet someone can be a mistake.

But perhaps it depends on the country. As for me – I’m from New Zealand in case you didn’t know – in my life I’ve met thousands of people and no one has ever said how do you do.
So I don’t think it’s very common in New Zealand, if anyone uses it at all. Most people say: Nice to meet you, or a variation on that.

It’s a pleasure to meet you.
Lovely to meet you.
Fabulous to meet you, darling.
It’s so great to finally meet you!
Hey, bro.

When I think of How do you do? I think of the Queen in England, or very posh people in the UK.

I had a look online to see what people were saying about this and I found a post by Jonathan an English teacher from England who teaches in France. He says: Stop saying "How do you do" ! … virtually nobody says it anymore.

But someone replied in a comment: I just want to mention that when you enter the world of academia and business in the UK - you go to a conference in London - every third person you meet says "How do you do?"

But then Jonathon replies: You must be posh! - on the estate where I grew up in Redditch you'd get beaten up for saying "how do you do?"

I don’t think you’d get beaten up in New Zealand, but people might look at you funny or laugh.

So, tell me, do you use How do you do? when you meet someone. Is in common in your part of the world? Is it only posh people in the UK and characters in Japanese textbooks or do people actually use it in other parts of the world?

click here

Today I recommend a site called Forvo – which I think is brilliant.

It’s a site where you can listen to words being pronounced. I found it last week when I was talking about Stanley Kubrick and I realized I didn’t know how to pronounce his name. I was looking over my notes before filming and I was thinking is it “coo-brick” or “q-brick” and so I checked online and that’s when I found Forvo – and my problem was solved, just like that.

This kind of site is really useful for me, because I don’t work in an office full of people I can’t just turn to the person at the next desk to check. And also because I live in Japan, I’m not surrounded by English so I often forget how to pronounce things.

And I think you’ll find this site is useful for language study too.

Word of the Day

Today’s word is: estate.

This word has many meanings. One of them is this: a large area of land, usually in the country, that is owned by one person or family.

In New Zealand I think people use this word to sound posh or classy. And a lot of wineries use it in their name: like Villa Maria Estate. And also, luxury accommodation, like: Stoneridge Estate.

So, at first I thought Jonathon’s comment sounded very strange. Because he’s accusing someone of being posh and then he’s saying he grew up on an estate … which makes him sound posh.

But then I looked it up and in British English estate also means housing estate or council estate – which is a kind of public housing system in the UK.

In New Zealand this is called state housing – the government, or the state, owns some houses and they rent them to people who don’t have much money.

STICK NEWS

Kia Ora in Stick News today for the first time in almost two decades, Prince Charles is visiting Japan.

Charles Philip Arthur George is a 59-year-old English prince.
He’s the eldest son of the Queen of England.
Charles and his wife Camilla arrived in Japan on Monday night. They are in Japan for five days to celebrate the 150th anniversary of diplomatic relations between Japan and Britain.

And that was Stick News for Wednesday the 29th of October.
Kia Ora.

conversations with sarah
#540 I’m sure you made a great wall

Step 1: Repeat Dave’s lines.
Step 2: Read Dave’s lines and talk to Sarah.

Dave Did you really play the part of a wall?

Sarah Yeah.

Dave And the wall speaks?

Sarah Yeah. It’s a play within a play. Have you seen A Midsummer Night’s Dream?

Dave Maybe … ages go. But I can’t remember the story.

Sarah In the play some characters put on a play … so the part of the wall is actually a character playing the part of a wall in a play.

Dave Oh, OK. How many shows did you put on?

Sarah Oh, it wasn’t a proper show. Actually it was just in class.

Dave Oh, so it wasn’t a performance, you just read the lines?

Sarah No, it was a performance. And we rehearsed a few times and had to remember lines and stuff. It was in a lecture theatre actually - it was for a second year Shakespeare paper I think. The professor asked if anyone was interested in doing it and then a group of us got together and did the performance … just in the lecture … and that was it.

Dave How many lines did the wall have?

Sarah A couple. And a gesture too … which was crucial to the play.

Dave I’m sure you made a great wall.

Sarah Don’t knock it. Walls are very useful things.

links

today's news
today's STICK NEWS pictures

music

show start
artist: Boom Tschak
album: Indietronic CCBit.
track: More Chocolate, Please
from: Former Yugoslavia
MySpace

click here start
artist: #NarNaoud#
album: Green Vision
track: Oriental Standing
from: Gironde, France
artist at Jamendo
album at Jamendo
artist site

cws start
artist: Wolfgang S.
album: Indietronic CCBit.
track: Dynamite
from: Belgrade, Serbia, Former Yugoslavia
artist site
MySpace

qa start
artist: ioeo
album: triptracks
track: triptrack2
from: Saint Raphael, France
album at Jamendo
artist at Jamendo
artist site

qa bgm
artist: Zeropage
album: Ambient Pills Update
track: Is It Real
from: Switzerland
album at Jamendo
artist at Jamendo
artist site

Did you notice a mistake in this script? Please leave us a comment and tell us! We really appreciate people pointing out our mistakes.Thank you.

Have you translated this script - or part of it - into your language for English practice and published it on your blog? Please leave a comment and a link so other people can read your translation. Thank you.

#869 The Wizard Of Oz - I Haven't Got A Brain, Wedding Fire, Tedious

Show 869 Tuesday 28 October
Watch today’s show at YouTube or BlipTV.

Hi, I’m Sarah. Welcome to The Daily English Show.

Today we’re going to study a scene from a movie called The Wizard of Oz.
This film is an American musical-fantasy film, it came out in 1939 and it was based on a book.
It’s pretty famous, so you’ve probably heard of it.

Wikipedia says: The Wizard of Oz is believed to be the most-watched film in history.
And it says: traditionally, the film is aired on Thanksgiving Day in the US.

In case you’ve forgotten the plot, or you’re not familiar with the story ... it’s about a girl called Dorothy who lives in Kansas in the US. And her house gets caught up in a twister and gets taken to a place called Oz – which is a pretty cool place – but Dorothy misses her family so she wants to go back to Kansas. So she goes to visit a wizard who supposedly can help her get home and on her way to see the wizard she makes three friends, a scarecrow, a tin man and a lion. And they all have problems too that the wizard might be able to help them with, so they all decide to join Dorothy on her mission.

The first person Dorothy meets is the scarecrow. And his problem is, he doesn’t have a brain.

Dorothy is walking down the yellow brick road to go and see the Wizard of Oz and she comes to a fork in the road and she’s not sure which way to go.

And then a scarecrow starts talking and pointing down the different roads. He says: That way is a very nice way. And: It's pleasant down that way, too.

And then when she asks him if he said something, he shakes his head, no and then nods his head, yes.

And she says: Are you doing that on purpose? Or can't you make up your mind?

On purpose is an idiom – and it’s a very useful one too. So if you’ve never heard it before, go and write it down. It means not by accident or deliberately.

Make up your mind is also a common idiom. It means: to decide something.

STICK NEWS

Kia Ora in Stick News today a Japanese man set fire to a hotel to avoid getting married.

A 39-year-old man and his fiancé were planning to get married at a hotel in Yamanashi in front of 80 guests. According to news reports, the man was already married to another woman, but he planned to marry his fiancé on Sunday. Then, for some reason, he changed his mind, so in the early hours of Sunday morning he set fire to the hotel. The man was arrested after suddenly cancelling the event and behaving suspiciously. The hotel guests were evacuated and no one was injured.

And that was Stick News for Tuesday the 28th of October.
Kia Ora.

Word of the Day

Today’s word is: tedious.

Tedious means boring.

adj. too long, slow, or dull.

The scarecrow says to Dorothy: It’s very tedious being stuck up here all day long with a pole up your back.

conversations with sarah
#539 I haven't got a brain

Step 1: Repeat the scarecrow’s lines.
Step 2: Read the scarecrow’s lines and talk to Dorothy.

On the DVD I have this scene is: chapter 2 (0:34:19)

Dorothy Are you doing that on purpose? Or can't you make up your mind?

Scarecrow That's the trouble - I can't make up my mind. I haven't got a brain, only straw.

Dorothy How can you talk if you haven't got a brain?

Scarecrow I don't know, but some people without brains do an awful lot of talking, don't they?

Dorothy Yes, I guess you're right. Well, we haven't really met properly, have we?

Scarecrow Why, no.

Dorothy How do you do?

Scarecrow How do you do?

Dorothy Very well, thank you.

Scarecrow Oh, I'm not feeling at all well. You see it's very tedious being stuck up here all day long with a pole up your back.

Dorothy Oh dear, that must be terribly uncomfortable. Can't you get down?

Scarecrow Down? No, you see, I'm, well I'm ...

Dorothy Oh, well, here, let me help you.

Scarecrow Oh, that's very kind of you. Very kind.

link

today's news
today's STICK NEWS pictures

music

show start
artist: Boom Tschak
album: Indietronic CCBit.
track: More Chocolate, Please
from: Former Yugoslavia
MySpace

WOD start
artist: DJ iPep's
album: Home Mix 2007
track: Game Toy
from: EVREUX, France
album at Jamendo
artist at Jamendo
artist site

cws start
artist: Wolfgang S.
album: Indietronic CCBit.
track: Dynamite
from: Belgrade, Serbia, Former Yugoslavia
artist site
MySpace

qa start
artist: ioeo
album: triptracks
track: triptrack2
from: Saint Raphael, France
album at Jamendo
artist at Jamendo
artist site

qa bgm
artist: Zeropage
album: Ambient Pills Update
track: Is It Real
from: Switzerland
album at Jamendo
artist at Jamendo
artist site

Did you notice a mistake in this script? Please leave us a comment and tell us! We really appreciate people pointing out our mistakes.Thank you.

Have you translated this script - or part of it - into your language for English practice and published it on your blog? Please leave a comment and a link so other people can read your translation. Thank you.

#868 John From New Zealand, Massive Obama, Presentation Pet Peeves

Show 868 Monday 27 October
Watch today’s show at YouTube or BlipTV.

Hi, I’m Sarah. Welcome to The Daily English Show.

Today’s guest is John from New Zealand. I met John in Sapporo. He gave a presentation at the JALT conference.
It was the last presentation I saw actually and it was about giving presentations. He was introducing these new books, because he works for this publisher, Cambridge University Press, who also happen to publish one of my favourite books – which I’ve talked about many times before – English Grammar In Use.

Anyway, I’d watched many presentations that weekend and several of them I was somewhat unimpressed with – for various reasons – so I really enjoyed John’s presentation because we talked about what makes a good and bad presentation and it was really interesting. And these books look like they’d be useful if you’re going to teach giving presentations in your class - which is definitely a useful thing to learn I think.

There are some interesting topics in here, like, how to fold a T-shirt - you’ve probably seen videos on YouTube like this. And John impressed everyone with his T-shirt folding presentation.

The first thing I asked John was: How long have you been in Japan?

I’ve been in Japan for three and a half years. Um, ah, I came over in, ah, March 2005 with my wife, who’s Japanese and our two daughters. Ah, they were both born in New Zealand.

STICK NEWS

Kia Ora in Stick News today an artist is planning to create a massive portrait of Barack Obama in Spain.

The artist is a 42-year-old man who was born in Cuba, grew up in the US and now lives in Spain. He plans to create the gigantic portrait from gravel and sand. Obama’s face will be almost 140 by 83 meters. The artist said the size of the work was intrinsic to its value. "Obama's personality - his youth, personal history and message of a new politics - has fused with the historical moment to create someone larger than life," he says. The huge size also alludes "to the global impact of this election." The artist will use 500 tons of material and plans to finish the work by the 3rd of November.

And that was Stick News for Monday the 27th of October.
Kia Ora.

conversations with sarah
#538 What was your speech about?

Step 1: Repeat Sarah’s lines.
Step 2: Read Sarah’s lines and talk to John.

Sarah Why did you come to this conference?

John I work for Cambridge University Press and I’m an ELT sales representative - English language teaching materials sales representative - and I’ve come to, ah, have a display, to show teachers our materials. And also to give a presentation on our new course, called Present Yourself.

Sarah How did the presentation go?

John I think it went quite well. The, um … I had a couple of mini presentations, ah, within the presentation that, ah, ah, were … seemed to be, ah, getting good interest from, from, ah, my audience and, ah, it seemed to go quite well.

Sarah Being a bit of a presentation expert, do you watch other presentations critically?

John Yes, I am quite critical of presentations, the presentations that I go to watch. I don’t mean to be I’m there to, obviously to get information like everybody else. But if there are, um, some things that you might consider bad presentation practice or bad presenting skills, I do notice it.

Sarah What’s your pet peeve with presentations?

John Probably in the age of PowerPoint it is far too much text, ah, in a slide, so, and having … and the presenter is actually reading a slide. Perhaps reading quotes, um, from academics or, or from a book. And jumping through slides – oh we don’t need that one, oh jump over this one, we’ll skip over that - it’s very distracting if people have taken the time to come and listen to what you’ve got to say and it seems as though you’re just, it’s just an ad hoc thing, that you’ve ah, you haven’t catered to this particular, ah, audience with.

Sarah Did you used to be a teacher?

John No, I don’t come from a teaching background. Ah, ah, I used to work for a, ah, trade promotion agency, a government trade promotion agency. And, ah, so I don’t come from a teaching background but I started learning Japanese when I was at high school and I’ve always had a very strong interest in language acquisition. And, ah, I think being now a salesman for English textbooks, um, my experience as a Japanese language learner and all of the things that I did to learn Japanese, ah, put me in good stead to be able to relate to teachers and relate to the issues their students have.

Sarah I read in the program you won a speech contest …

John Yes, yes, that’s quite a few years ago now. Ahh, 1988 Auckland regional speech competition. Ah, I, I won that one.

Sarah What was your speech about?

John The speech was about interesting dialects in Japanese, um, and how I found it difficult to understand, um, some peculiar dialects in Japanese. Yeah.

Sarah What advice do you have for people who are studying English?

John One of the key things is to get as much exposure to the language as you possibly can. And of course that’s very difficult, um, when you’re learning the language, um, from your own culture. So it’s the situation of all the Japanese students learning English. Their only real expose, um, that they have may be in their class with their teacher, um, and during the activities that they’re doing in class. But if they’re really serious about wanting to learn the language they need to try and make friends with native speakers, to travel as much as possible and expose themselves to the language as much as possible. There’s no shortcuts in learning language and, ah, it’s a lifelong process, I think.

notes

ad hoc adj. adv. arranged or happening when necessary and not planned in advance

stand someone in good stead idiom be advantageous to someone over time or in the future

links

today's news
today's STICK NEWS pictures

blog posts about presentation pet peeves:
Presentation pet peeves
Presentation Pet Peeves
And Now, a Powerpoint Presentation

music

show start
artist: Boom Tschak
album: Indietronic CCBit.
track: More Chocolate, Please
from: Former Yugoslavia
MySpace

cws start
artist: Wolfgang S.
album: Indietronic CCBit.
track: Dynamite
from: Belgrade, Serbia, Former Yugoslavia
artist site
MySpace

qa start
artist: ioeo
album: triptracks
track: triptrack2
from: Saint Raphael, France
album at Jamendo
artist at Jamendo
artist site

qa bgm
artist: Zeropage
album: Ambient Pills Update
track: Is It Real
from: Switzerland
album at Jamendo
artist at Jamendo
artist site

Did you notice a mistake in this script? Please leave us a comment and tell us! We really appreciate people pointing out our mistakes.Thank you.

Have you translated this script - or part of it - into your language for English practice and published it on your blog? Please leave a comment and a link so other people can read your translation. Thank you.

#867 WATS Salad

Show 853 Sunday 12 October 2008
Watch today's show at YouTube or BlipTV.

Sunday Kitchen #112 WATS Salad


walnuts
spinach
tomato
avocado

avocado
tomato
pepper
walnuts
olive oil
balsamic vinegar

mix

spinach

mix

serve

music

show start
artist: Boom Tschak
album: Indietronic CCBit.
track: More Chocolate, Please
from: Former Yugoslavia
MySpace

bgm
artist: Antony Raijekov
album: See U
track: Be Brave (feat. Norine Braun)
from: Sofia, Bulgaria
album at Jamendo
artist at Jamendo
artist site

Did you notice a mistake in this script? Please leave us a comment and tell us! We really appreciate people pointing out our mistakes.Thank you.

Have you translated this script - or part of it - into your language for English practice and published it on your blog? Please leave a comment and a link so other people can read your translation. Thank you.

#866 Island By Jamison Young

Show 866 Saturday 25 October
Watch today’s show at YouTube or BlipTV.

Island
by Jamison Young

Come to the island, swim through the sea
Over the waves of the past into the rain with me
We'll have a good time, nothing's gonna be the same
All our friends drift into space
Just you and me, hey come to the island

Through the sea, over the waves
Just you and me
To the island, through the sea
Just you and me

9 7:05 4:24, the time the trains leave to go up north
There's the blue sky we're circling so high
The air is so cold, there are diamonds on the ground
Four suns falling to the green grass below
It could be the end, hey just explode to the island

Through the sea, over the waves
Just you and me
To the island, through the sea
Just you and me
To the island, through the sea
Just you and me

Memories of silence, light of colour
Beneath it, the grail fountains of heavens
Into the stars, we could explode
You turn your head and you say to the island

Through the sea, over the waves
Just you and me
To the island, through the sea

Thousands of islands to travel between
Oceans of worlds, oceans of worlds
Colour the space, walls are no more
Oceans of worlds, oceans of worlds
Swim to the moon, run through the fields
Oceans of worlds, oceans of worlds
Fall to the breasts of creation
Oceans of worlds, oceans of worlds
Swim to the moon, run through the fields
Oceans of worlds, oceans of worlds

To the island, through the sea
Just you and me
To the island, through the sea
Just you and me
To the island, through the sea
Just you and me
To the island, through the sea
Just you and me

thanks to

SAS - Scott Adventure Sports, Niseko, Japan

music

show start
artist: Boom Tschak
album: Indietronic CCBit.
track: More Chocolate, Please
from: Former Yugoslavia
MySpace

end
artist: Jamison Young
album: Shifting Sands of a Blue Car
track: Island
from: Australia
artist at Jamendo
album at Jamendo
artist site
YouTube channel
Last FM
MySpace

Did you notice a mistake in this script? Please leave us a comment and tell us! We really appreciate people pointing out our mistakes.Thank you.

Have you translated this script - or part of it - into your language for English practice and published it on your blog? Please leave a comment and a link so other people can read your translation. Thank you.

#865 Falling Slowly, Virtual Murder, Light Bulb Joke, Play

Show 865 Friday 24 October
Watch today’s show at YouTube or BlipTV.

Hi, I’m Sarah. Welcome to The Daily English Show.

Today we’re going to study a song called Falling Slowly.

This song is from an Irish movie called Once which came out last year.
I like the movie. I like the chemistry and the romance … but I wasn’t too keen on the ending.

I’m a bit confused about what the song actually means. I had a look online and there are lots of sites like songmeanings.net where people talk about what songs mean. And I read people saying completely different things about what the song means. And I saw a video of Glen Hansard - the guy that co-wrote it – saying it meant something different again. But I think he was actually joking.

Anyway … I think the song is about love that doesn’t work out. Like the theme of the movie.
One review said the song was about: empty love and the machinations of the heart, full of mentions of failed words, wicked games and sinking seacrafts.

The song starts like this:

I don't know you But I want you All the more for that

Which means: I don’t know much about you, but that makes you seem even more desirable. It makes me want you even more.

Later on in the song:

Falling slowly, Eyes that know me And I can't go back

I think this means that he’s falling in love slowly and when she looks at him it feels like she knows him really well. And I can’t go back – he can’t stop himself falling in love.

But falling slowly also sounds like it could mean that the possibility of their relationship is slowly falling apart as it becomes evident that it won’t work out.

Later on the song goes like this:

Take this sinking boat And point it home We've still got time

Raise your hopeful voice You had a choice You've made it now

I think the sinking boat is a metaphor for the relationship that didn’t work out. He fell in love, but they couldn’t be together. So he’s telling himself he has to give up.
We’ve still got time. I think that means that he has to carry on with his life and there’s still a chance that he might find love somewhere else.

So, what do you think the song means?

STICK NEWS

Kia Ora in Stick News today a woman in Japan has been arrested for killing her virtual husband.

Maple Story is an online role-playing game developed by a South Korean company. The Japanese version was released in December 2003. According to Wikipedia, in the game, players can travel around Maple World, defeating monsters and developing their character's skills and abilities. Players can interact with others in many ways, such as chatting, trading, playing games, and even getting married. A 33-year-old man from Sapporo played the game and got married to a 43-year-old woman from Miyazaki. But the marriage didn’t go so well and they ended up getting divorced. Then the woman murdered her virtual husband. She told police: "I was suddenly divorced, without a word of warning. That made me so angry." Apparently, the woman used login information she got from the man when they were happily married and killed his character. When the man discovered his character was dead, he called the cops. CNN reported the woman has now been jailed on suspicion of illegally accessing a computer and manipulating electronic data.

And that was Stick News for Friday the 24th of October.
Kia Ora.

Word of the Day

Today’s word is play.

There are many idioms and phrasal verbs using the word play.

Like:

play around play along play something back play something down play something up play with yourself a play on words

And there’s a phrasal verb in today’s song: play something out.

When an event is played out, it happens.
For example: Their love affair was played out against the backdrop of war.

Here are the lines in the song:

And games that never amount To more than they're meant Will play themselves out

I think he’s talking about the fact that as they’re falling for each other they’ll play games, like flirting or whatever.

friday joke

How many mice does it take to screw in a light bulb?
Two, if they're small enough.

conversations with sarah
#536 I don’t get the joke.

Step 1: Repeat Yokin’s lines.
Step 2: Read Yokin’s lines and talk to Sarah.

Yokin I don’t get the joke.

Sarah Oh, well, do you know what screw in a light bulb means?

Yokin Yeah, it means put it in the socket.

Sarah Yeah, like this.

Yokin So why is it funny?

Sarah Well, light bulb jokes are a kind of theme or series of jokes. Like blond jokes or knock knock jokes or cross the road jokes.

Yokin Cross the road jokes?

Sarah Yeah. Why did the chicken cross the road?

Yokin I don’t know. Why?

Sarah To get to the other side.

Yokin Why is that funny?

Sarah Um, well, it’s funny because … the answer’s not what you’re expecting. Like you’re expecting there to be some special reason, but instead it’s the obvious reason, like of course it was to get to the other side of the road, that’s why everyone crosses the road.

Yokin I still don’t think it’s funny.

Sarah Well, it’s not really. And part of the reason why it’s funny is because it’s not funny. Anyway, it’s a classic joke and there are lots of variations on it, like: Why didn't the skeleton cross the road? Because he didn't have the guts. And there are thousands and thousands of variations like that. And because everyone knows the classic joke and the pattern, sometimes the variations are funny. Usually not, but … sometimes the reason why they’re funny is partly because you’re expecting them not to be funny. Anyway people are making up new jokes like that all the time, like, why did Barack Obama cross the road?

Yokin Why?

Sarah I don’t know … but you could make up a joke like that.

Yokin So what about the mice and the light bulb?

Sarah Oh, yeah, the mice, sorry I got completely sidetracked. Again this is a classic joke and the answer is usually something like, ten, one to hold the light bulb and nine to spin the house around or something. But this one is a play on the word screw, which also means to have sex.

Falling Slowly

I don't know you
But I want you
All the more for that

Words fall through me
And always fool me
And I can't react

And games that never amount
To more than they're meant
Will play themselves out

Take this sinking boat
And point it home
We've still got time

Raise your hopeful voice
You have a choice
You make it now

Falling slowly
Eyes that know me
And I can't go back

Moods that take me
And erase me
And I'm painted black

You have suffered enough
And warred with yourself
It's time that you won

Take this sinking boat
And point it home
We've still got time

Raise your hopeful voice
You have a choice
You've made it now

Take this sinking boat
And point it home
We've still got time

Raise your hopeful voice
You have a choice
You've made it now

Falling slowly
Sing your melody
I'll sing along

I played my cards too late
And now you're gone

Obama cross the road/light bulb jokes

* found here

Why did Obama cross the road?

He didn’t. He already had both sides.
To help the other side.

How many members of the Obama household does it take to screw in a light bulb?

The light bulb I see today is not the light bulb that I knew and that has lit my living room for so many years. I am disappointed.

How many Obamas does it take to change a light bulb?

One. He holds the bulb up to the socket and the world revolves around him.

It is not Barack Obama who will change the light bulb. We are the change our light bulb has been waiting for.

None. The light bulb has to hope for the change.

Who needs light bulbs? His halo provides all the light he needs.

None, CNN does it for him.

Light bulbs? What are you, some kind of racist?

It takes an entire community to change a light bulb. Obama merely organizes them.

Zero. Barack Obama will require you to change the light bulb. He is going to demand that you shed your cynicism about changing light bulbs. That you put down your divisions about what type of light bulb to use. That you come out of your isolation, that you move out of your room with only one light bulb. That you push yourselves to be better light bulb changers. And that you engage your socket. Barack will never allow you to go back to your lives as usual, uninvolved, uninformed, and unlit.

links

today's news
today's STICK NEWS pictures

Falling Slowly
Video
Wikipedia
thread on songmeanings.net
interpretation of song on Yahoo answers

The Swell Season
MySpace
site
Wikipedia

music

show start
artist: Boom Tschak
album: Indietronic CCBit.
track: More Chocolate, Please
from: Former Yugoslavia
MySpace

WOD start
artist: DJ iPep's
album: Home Mix 2007
track: Game Toy
from: EVREUX, France
album at Jamendo
artist at Jamendo
artist site

friday joke start
artist: AdHoc
album: Toutes directions
track: Sumbala
from: Annecy, France
album at Jamendo
artist at Jamendo
artist site

cws start
artist: Wolfgang S.
album: Indietronic CCBit.
track: Dynamite
from: Belgrade, Serbia, Former Yugoslavia
artist site
MySpace

qa start
artist: ioeo
album: triptracks
track: triptrack2
from: Saint Raphael, France
album at Jamendo
artist at Jamendo
artist site

qa bgm
artist: Antony Raijekov
album: See U
track: Be Brave (feat. Norine Braun)
from: Sofia, Bulgaria
album at Jamendo
artist at Jamendo
artist site

Did you notice a mistake in this script? Please leave us a comment and tell us! We really appreciate people pointing out our mistakes.Thank you.

Have you translated this script - or part of it - into your language for English practice and published it on your blog? Please leave a comment and a link so other people can read your translation. Thank you.

#864 South Pacific, Old Man, Inappropriate Comment

Show 864 Thursday 23 October
Watch today’s show at YouTube or BlipTV.

Hi, I’m Sarah. Welcome to The Daily English Show.

Today we’re studying a video clip from a musical called South Pacific.

South Pacific was first performed in 1949 and it was based on an American book called Tales of the South Pacific.

I’ve never seen the musical or read the book, but I’ve heard of it before and I think it’s pretty famous.

In fact in Wikipedia it says this: South Pacific is generally considered to be one of the greatest musicals in history. I don’t know if that’s true. But anyway, I think it’s pretty well known.

Watching this clip made me really miss living in a city actually – I used to really love going to the theatre. And if you’re studying English and you get a chance to go and see a play or a show - then I definitely recommend it. Even if you can’t understand all of the language or follow the story completely … I’m sure you’ll find it’s an interesting experience and you might even really enjoy it.

Actually being in a play is a really good way to study too. When I was studying French at university I joined the French club and I decided to act in one of the plays … partly just because it was fun and also as a way to study, because you have to memorize the lines so I found it a very a good way to study.

Anyway, I thought I’d talk about some of the language in this scene.

Something has happened – I don’t know what because I’ve never seen the play – but something has happened and one guy is asking another guy about it. And he says: this little stunt cost the navy six hundred thousand dollars!

And then the other guy starts laughing and he says: I was just thinking about my uncle. Remember my uncle I was telling you about. He used to tell my old man I'd never be worth a dime. Ha ha ha! Imagine me: six hundred thousand dollars.

Old man is an informal word for father. This is another random anecdote, but I still remember the first time I ever head that term. I was a kid and our neighbour came over and he was looking for my dad and he said something like: “Where’s your old man?” And I was really shocked and I said “What are you talking about? He’s not old”. And he just looked at me like “Okaaaaay”. And then later someone explained to me that it was just an expression and he wasn’t actually insulting my dad.

Back to the scene, one of the guys says: Why did you do this? What in the world would make a man do a thing like this?

In the world is part of an idiom: how in the world, why in the world, what in the world etc.

(informal) used to emphasize something and to show that you are surprised or annoyed

It’s the same as the hell or heck or on earth.

Then the guy gives his explanation and at the end of his explanation he says: if you get the picture.

Get the picture is another idiom.

(spoken) to understand a situation, especially one that somebody is describing to you.

If you get the picture is the same as saying if you know what I mean.

The Acadia Report
Acadia University, Wolfville, Nova Scotia, Canada

with Keri McCullum, Senior RA, Dennis House

What’s so great about Denis?

Um, everything, no I’m just kidding. Ah, it’s really close to meal hall and the sub and academic buildings and everything. It just takes two seconds to get everywhere. And the spirit’s really good and the community … everyone’s doors are open and you can just go talk to anyone anytime. It’s good.

What does your job as Senior RA involve?

Um, making programs for everyone and just making sure like the house is safe and that people are following the rules and everything. Yeah.

How long have you lived in Denis?

Ah, this is my second year. Yeah I was an RA here last year and so, yeah.

STICK NEWS

Kia Ora in Stick News today a New Zealand golfer is in trouble for making an inappropriate comment at Auckland International Airport.

Danny Lee is an 18-year-old golfer. Yesterday he left New Zealand to fly to a golf championship.
Apparently, at the airport he made an inappropriate comment about the contents of his bag.
The chief executive of New Zealand Golf confirmed the incident had taken place and said it was still being dealt with. He said “it was a throwaway comment, but it was said in the wrong place.”

And that was Stick News for Thursday the 23rd of October.
Kia Ora.

Word of the Day

Today’s word is throwaway.

Throwaway is an adjective which is used to describe a line, remark or comment.

something you say quickly without careful thought, sometimes in order to be funny

conversations with sarah
#536 Why did you do this?

* Watch this scene here.
* I've never seen this play and I don't know where this scene is from ... or what they are talking about ...

Step 1: Repeat x’s lines.
Step 2: Read x’s lines and talk to Luther Billis.

x Harbison here tells me this little stunt cost the navy six hundred thousand dollars!

Luther Billis Six hundred thousand dollars. Ha ha ha.

x Billis, what are you so happy about?

Luther Billis Well sir, I was just thinking about my uncle. Remember my uncle I was telling you about. He used to tell my old man I'd never be worth a dime. Ha ha ha! Imagine me: six hundred thousand dollars.

x Billis! Why did you do this? What in the world would make a man do a thing like this?

Luther Billis Well sir, a fella gets to feeling held down. He's got to take a little trip to pick up a few souvenirs. You just got to kind'a horn in on the situation. If you get the picture.

notes

dime (N. Amer) a ten-cent coin / (informal) a small amount of money

fella noun (spoken) an informal way of referring to a man

hold sb down phrasal verb to prevent somebody from having their freedom or rights

horn in on

horn in (on someone/something)
to interrupt or try to become involved when you are not welcome.
George worried that his brother would try to horn in on the company's success.

horn in on
Intrude, join without being invited.
For example, She has a rude way of horning in on our conversations.
This expression alludes to an ox or bull pushing in with its horns. [c. 1900]

links

today's news
today's STICK NEWS pictures

Acadia University, Wolfville, Nova Scotia, Canada
Study English at Acadia University
Residence Halls at Acadia University

music

show start
artist: Boom Tschak
album: Indietronic CCBit.
track: More Chocolate, Please
from: Former Yugoslavia
MySpace

The Acadia Report start
artist: DJ iPep's
album: Home Mix 2007
track: Concerto
from: EVREUX, France
album at Jamendo
artist at Jamendo
artist site

WOD start
artist: DJ iPep's
album: Home Mix 2007
track: Game Toy
from: EVREUX, France
album at Jamendo
artist at Jamendo
artist site

cws start
artist: Wolfgang S.
album: Indietronic CCBit.
track: Dynamite
from: Belgrade, Serbia, Former Yugoslavia
artist site
MySpace

qa start
artist: ioeo
album: triptracks
track: triptrack2
from: Saint Raphael, France
album at Jamendo
artist at Jamendo
artist site

qa bgm
artist: Antony Raijekov
album: See U
track: Be Brave (feat. Norine Braun)
from: Sofia, Bulgaria
album at Jamendo
artist at Jamendo
artist site

Did you notice a mistake in this script? Please leave us a comment and tell us! We really appreciate people pointing out our mistakes.Thank you.

Have you translated this script - or part of it - into your language for English practice and published it on your blog? Please leave a comment and a link so other people can read your translation. Thank you.

#863 Jobs, Open Education, Virtual Strip Search, Vast, Black Bath

Show 863 Wednesday 22 October
Watch today’s show at YouTube or BlipTV.

Hi, I’m Sarah. Welcome to The Daily English Show.

I was just watching a video and, in the video, an English teacher mentioned a common mistake that students make in Japan.

When you ask people: What did you do yesterday?
They sometimes answer: I went to my part-time job.

As the teacher was saying, it’s more natural to say: I worked.

In Japanese, people often use a different word if it’s a full-time job or a part-time job – but when you’re speaking English, it’s usually just a job or work. You don’t have to specify your particular employment contract unless it’s relevant to the conversation.

So, for example, if you’re both full-time university students, speaking English in class, then you definitely don’t need to say part-time job because it’s pretty obvious that it’s a part-time job because you’re both students.

Here are some examples using work or job – these all could be about part-time jobs.

Yesterday, I was on my way to work when I realized I’d forgotten my phone. Are you coming tonight? No, I can’t. I have to work. I’m so broke. I really need to find a job.

click here

The site I recommend today is called: www.capetowndeclaration.org.

This is a declaration about open education that was written in September 2007. I think it’s quite long and not especially well written – but I agree with the sentiment, which is to try and encourage people to create and use open educational resources.
The Daily English Show is an open educational resource, or an OER, which I had no idea until I went to iSummit, because I’d never heard of that term, but anyway that’s been our philosophy from the start and of course The Daily English Show is created thanks to other open resources – not just educational, but music, photography, software. So I decided to sign the declaration and it might be something you’re interested in checking out.

STICK NEWS

Kia Ora in Stick News today the European Union plans to authorize a virtual strip search in airports in Europe.

Some airports already use body scanners which allow airport staff to see an outline of passengers’ bodies beneath their clothes. The machines were introduced at an airport in Amsterdam last year and officials there said they had few complaints from passengers. The EU is now planning to authorize the machine. But CNN reported some people have concerns about passengers’ privacy. One member of the EU assembly said many travelers will consider the scanners an enormous intrusion on their personal privacy. "There may be some benefit in having body scanners in our airports, but they should be a last resort and a substitution for a strip search, not a random sample of innocent holiday-makers," he said.

And that was Stick News for Wednesday 22nd of October.
Kia Ora.

Word of the Day

Today’s word is vast.

extremely large in area, size, amount etc.
syn: huge.

This is the second sentence of the Cape Town Open Education Declaration.

Educators worldwide are developing a vast pool of educational resources on the Internet, open and free for all to use.

And here’s an example for the word vast that I found online.

I found an article called:
Why The Vast Majority Of Investment Professionals Are Not Trustworthy

conversations with sarah
#535 That was so nice

Step 1: Repeat Nuko’s lines.
Step 2: Read Nuko’s lines and talk to Sarah.

Sarah Ahh, that was so nice.

Nuko Yeah, it was great. Did you go in all the baths?

Sarah All of them except the black one.

Nuko The black one?

Sarah The one with black water. Wasn’t there one with black water on the men’s side?

Nuko Oh yeah, that’s right, there was. Why didn’t you go in that one?

Sarah It looked scary, like there might be snakes swimming in the bottom.

Nuko What are you talking about? Like there’d be snakes in the bath …

Sarah Yeah, I know but still … it looked scary. The one with bubbles was awesome. And those little private tubs outside, they were cool. And I love the hole in the roof – it’s so nice lying in a hot bath and looking at the sky.

note:

Today's conversation is about an onsen that I went to in Sapporo last weekend. It was really nice - I recommend it if you're in Sapporo and feel like a bath. If you look at the photos on this page you can see the little tubs and the hole in the roof that I mentioned.

links

today's news
today's STICK NEWS pictures

music

show start
artist: Boom Tschak
album: Indietronic CCBit.
track: More Chocolate, Please
from: Former Yugoslavia
MySpace

click here start
artist: #NarNaoud#
album: Green Vision
track: Oriental Standing
from: Gironde, France
artist at Jamendo
album at Jamendo
artist site

cws start
artist: Wolfgang S.
album: Indietronic CCBit.
track: Dynamite
from: Belgrade, Serbia, Former Yugoslavia
artist site
MySpace

qa start
artist: ioeo
album: triptracks
track: triptrack2
from: Saint Raphael, France
album at Jamendo
artist at Jamendo
artist site

qa bgm
artist: Antony Raijekov
album: See U
track: Be Brave (feat. Norine Braun)
from: Sofia, Bulgaria
album at Jamendo
artist at Jamendo
artist site

Did you notice a mistake in this script? Please leave us a comment and tell us! We really appreciate people pointing out our mistakes.Thank you.

Have you translated this script - or part of it - into your language for English practice and published it on your blog? Please leave a comment and a link so other people can read your translation. Thank you.