Tuesday, July 14, 2009

#1090 Harry Potter And The Half-Blood Prince, No Hard Feelings, Job Vacancy For A Witch


Show 1090 Tuesday 14 July
Watch today’s show at YouTube or BlipTV.

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

Today we’re studying a scene from a movie called Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince which is being released tomorrow on the 15th of July 2009 in the United States, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Brazil, the United Kingdom and Ireland.

So there must be millions of Harry Potter fans around the world getting excited about watching the movie tomorrow.

I don’t necessarily recommend studying with Harry Potter books and films because the language and the plots can be quite difficult to follow. Partly because of all the fictional words and concepts. But if you’re a fan, then go for it because if you really enjoy something, then you’ll be more motivated to learn.

The scene we’re studying today is at the try-outs for a game called Quidditch.

A character called Cormac, who is not very nice, tells Ron Weasley that he’s going to be trying out for the same position as him. And he tells him in a pretty arrogant way.

He walks up to him and says:
No hard feelings, Weasley, alright?
And Ron says: Hard feelings?
And Cormac says: Yeah, I'll be going out for keeper as well. It's nothing personal.

No hard feelings is an idiom.
It says here: used to tell sb that you no longer feel any anger towards them.

You can say no hard feelings in a genuine way, but it also can be used in an insincere way, like Cormac is using it here. He’s being pretty competitive and arrogant and aggressive and him saying no hard feelings is clearly insincere. He’s not saying it because he cares about Ron’s feelings and he wants to have a good relationship with him.

You can also use this idiom when you’re talking about someone to say that you’re not angry with them. This is an example from an article that I found online. And American TV show host is talking about his relationship with Tom Cruise after they had a bit of an argument on air.

And he says: I don't feel there are any hard feelings. It was an interview. It was a good moment on television.



STICK NEWS



Kia ora, in Stick News today, a company in England has a job vacancy for a witch. The application must be able to cackle and must not be allergic to cats.

A tourist attraction in England needs a new witch. Reuters reported that the previous incumbent has retired so they’re advertising the job on their website. A spokesperson said they were looking for: “a friendly witch with a devilish element.” The successful candidate has to cackle and perform magic and will live in a cave.

And that was Stick News for Tuesday the 14th of July.
Kia ora.



Word of the Day

Today’s word is strapping.

Strapping is an informal adjective used to describe a person. It means big and strong.

This word is used before a noun.
So you wouldn’t say: He is strapping.
You’d say: He’s a strapping young lad.

In today’s scene, after Cormac says that he’s going to try out for the position of keeper, Ron says: Really? Strapping guy like you. You've got more of a beater's build, don't you think? Keepers need to be quick, agile.



conversations with sarah
#691 Hard feelings?

Step 1: Repeat Ron’s lines.
Step 2: Read Ron’s lines and talk to Cormac.

Cormac No hard feelings, Weasley, alright?

Ron Hard feelings?

Cormac Yeah, I'll be going out for keeper as well.
It's, it's nothing personal.

Ron Really? Strapping guy like you? You've got more of a beater's build, don't you think?
Keepers need to be quick, agile.

Cormac Ah, I like my chances. Say, um, think you could introduce me to your friend Granger. I wouldn't mind, ah, getting on a first name basis. Know what I mean?


music

show start
artist: Kevin MacLeod
track: Future Cha Cha
from: Brooklyn, NY, United States
artist site

cws start
artist: Kevin MacLeod
track: The Jazz Woman
from: Brooklyn, NY, United States
artist site

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

qa bgm
artist: Kevin MacLeod
track: Malt Shop Bop
from: Brooklyn, NY, United States
artist site

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