#0338 – Refusing an Invitation, - Ang, mater, ESL Podcast McQuillan Jeff mp3+PDF
[ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]
English as a Second Language Podcast
www.eslpod.com
ESL Podcast 338 – Refusing an Invitation
GLOSSARY
invitation –
a written or spoken request for one to attend an event or do
something with another person
* Holly and Daniel sent more than 750 wedding invitations to their family and
friends!
to send (one’s) regrets –
to politely say that one cannot do something that one
has been invited to do
* Clark invited me to his graduation party, but I had to send my regrets because I
needed to go to my cousin’s graduation party instead.
excuse –
a reason for not doing something
* The child’s excuse for not giving the teacher his homework was that his dog
had eaten it.
to attend –
to go to an event; to participate in an event
* Did you attend the conference last year?
to take offense –
to be offended; to become angry and upset because of what
another person has done or said
* Magdalena took offense when her husband said that her fried chicken wasn’t as
good as his mother’s.
to have another engagement –
to have an obligation to do something else; to
need to go somewhere or do something during the time that another person has
asked one to do something
* Unfortunately I can’t meet with you on Tuesday afternoon because I have
another engagement that I can’t reschedule.
white lie –
a small, unimportant lie; something that is not truthful, but is not very
important; something that is only a little bit dishonest
* When Hilda gave me an orange and green sweater for my birthday, I told a
white lie and said, “Oh, I love it!” even though I really thought it was ugly.
to turn down –
to decline; to say no to an invitation or to a person’s offer to do
something
* Bernard turned down the job offer because he decided he didn’t want to live in
New York.
relative –
family member; a person to whom one is related by blood or marriage
* All of my relatives are going to Aunt Patty’s house for Thanksgiving dinner.
1
These materials are copyrighted by the Center for Educational Development (2007). Posting of
these materials on another website or distributing them in any way is prohibited.
English as a Second Language Podcast
www.eslpod.com
ESL Podcast 338 – Refusing an Invitation
to look after (someone) –
to care for someone or something; to take care of
someone or something
* Who’s going to look after your kids while you go to the concert?
assignment –
task; project; something that needs to be done in a specific period
of time
* The chemistry professor gave us an assignment to answer questions 1-15 in
chapter 7.
far-fetched –
difficult to believe; exaggerated; too big or strange to be believed
* One hundred years ago, people thought that the idea of walking on the moon
was far-fetched.
You’ve got a point there –
a phrase used to show that one believes that
another person has a good idea, or that what another person has said is correct
* When Matt began talking about how expensive a European vacation can be, his
brother said, “You’ve got a point there,” and they started talking about taking a
vacation closer to home instead.
to decline –
to turn down; to say no
* Freddy offered to drive me to the airport, but I declined, saying that I was going
to take the bus instead.
to extend an apology –
to say that one is sorry for or about something
* I need to extend an apology to Carol Ann for having forgotten her birthday.
acronym –
a word where each letter is the first letter of a word in a longer phrase
* Many people use the acronym “ASAP” to mean “as soon as possible.”
2
These materials are copyrighted by the Center for Educational Development (2007). Posting of
these materials on another website or distributing them in any way is prohibited.
English as a Second Language Podcast
www.eslpod.com
ESL Podcast 338 – Refusing an Invitation
COMPREHENSION QUESTIONS
1. What does it mean “to have another engagement”?
a) One is engaged to be married to another person.
b) One has to do something else at the specified time.
c) One must be engaged in a work-related project.
2. Why is Roberto’s idea about a special assignment too far-fetched?
a) Because a dog would have to fetch too far.
b) Because June’s job is too far away for fetching.
c) Because store clerks usually don’t get special assignments.
______________
WHAT ELSE DOES IT MEAN?
relative
The word “relative,” in this podcast, means a family member, or a person to
whom one is related by blood or marriage: “Do you have more relatives on your
mom’s side of the family, or on your dad’s side?” A “relative” is also an animal
that is genetically similar to another animal: “The llama is a distant relative of the
camel.” The word “relative” can be used to talk about two things that are being
compared: “The relative strength of Plan A is that it is inexpensive, but Plan B
seems more effective.” Finally, the word “relatively” can be used to talk about
something that is true only if it is compared with something else: “They have a
relatively nice house now, considering what a horrible apartment they used to live
in.”
to look after
In this podcast, the phrase “to look after” means to take care of someone or
something: “They asked their neighbors to look after their house while they were
traveling.” The phrase “to look back on (something)” means to think about
something that happened in the past: “What is your happiest memory when you
look back on your childhood?” The phrase “to look forward to (something)”
means to think happily about something that will happen in the future: “We’re all
looking forward to the day when his first book is published.” The phrase “to look
in on (someone)” means to visit someone for a short period of time, often when
that person is sick: “We looked in on Grandma, because she wasn’t feeling well.”
Finally, the phrase “to look into (something)” means to examine or research
something: “The economists are looking into the causes of the falling housing
prices.”
3
These materials are copyrighted by the Center for Educational Development (2007). Posting of
these materials on another website or distributing them in any way is prohibited.
English as a Second Language Podcast
www.eslpod.com
ESL Podcast 338 – Refusing an Invitation
CULTURE NOTE
Americans have many “terms” (words with special meanings) to talk about “party-
goers” (people who go to parties). A “guest of honor” is the person whom a party
is “held” (organized and hosted) for. For example, at a birthday party, the person
who is celebrating a birthday is the guest of honor. At a graduation party, the
person who is finishing school is the guest of honor. Often there are “VIPs” (an
acronym for “very important people”) at a party. If your “boss” (supervisor, or the
person one works for) comes to a party, then he or she would be a VIP even if he
or she isn’t the guest of honor.
Sometimes people come to a party without an invitation. These people are
called “party crashers,” especially if they “crash” (ruin and destroy) a party. In
American movies, you may see parties on college “campuses” (areas with many
university buildings) which are ruined by party crashers who drink too much
alcohol and damage the home where the party is being held.
A “party-pooper” is a person who isn’t very much fun at a party. A party-pooper
is someone who is sad or depressed and makes it difficult or impossible for other
people to have fun. Often a “party-pooper” is a person who doesn’t want to do
what everyone else wants to do. In contrast, a “party animal” is a person who
really enjoys going to parties and has a lot of fun.
Finally, some people who go to parties are known as “wallflowers.” A “wallflower”
is a very quiet and shy person who doesn’t enjoy talking to other people and sits
quietly next to the wall. This is especially true at dances, where wallflowers sit
and watch everyone else dance, but are too “timid” (shy) to dance.
______________
Comprehension Questions Correct Answers: 1 – b; 2 – c
4
These materials are copyrighted by the Center for Educational Development (2007). Posting of
these materials on another website or distributing them in any way is prohibited.
English as a Second Language Podcast
www.eslpod.com
ESL Podcast 338 – Refusing an Invitation
COMPLETE TRANSCRIPT
Welcome to English as a Second Language Podcast number 338: Refusing an
Invitation.
This is English as a Second Language Podcast episode 338. I’m your host, Dr.
Jeff McQuillan, coming to you from the Center for Educational Development in
beautiful Los Angeles, California.
Visit our website at eslpod.com. Take a look at our ESL Podcast Store, which
contains business and daily English courses we think you’ll be interested in.
In this episode, we’re going to hear a dialogue between June and Roberto about
an invitation that they have received from someone, and how they are going to
say no to that invitation. Some good vocabulary here on refusing a request or
refusing an invitation. Let’s get started.
[start of dialogue]
June: Did you get an invitation to Kelly’s party?
Roberto: Yes, I did. I’m going to send my regrets. How about you?
June: I’m trying to find an excuse not to attend, without Kelly taking offense.
Roberto: Couldn’t you just tell her that you have another engagement that night?
June: I used that little white lie last time I turned down one of her invitations. I
have to think of something else.
Roberto: How about telling her that you have to take care of a sick relative?
That one always works for me.
June: I’ve used that one, too. I told her that I was looking after my mother the
last time she invited me to dinner.
Roberto: How about if you tell her you’re on a special assignment at work and
you have to work night and day to get it done?
June: That’s a little far-fetched, don’t you think? I work as a store clerk.
Roberto: You’ve got a point there.
5
These materials are copyrighted by the Center for Educational Development (2007). Posting of
these materials on another website or distributing them in any way is prohibited.
[ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]