#0730 – Waiting For Exam Results, - Ang, mater, ESL Podcast McQuillan Jeff mp3+PDF
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English as a Second Language Podcast
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ESL Podcast 730 – Waiting For Exam Results
GLOSSARY
foregone conclusion
– expected result; a result that is certain to happen
* The team from Eden Prairie has won the championship every year for 10 years,
so I feel that this year’s competition is a foregone conclusion.
to
fail
– to be unsuccessful in an exam, test, or interview; to not achieve an
acceptable level; to not receive an acceptable score or rating
* Orlando failed his driver’s license exam for the third time.
bull
– nonsense; something said or written that is stupid or untrue
* What your teacher said about girls not being good at basketball is bull!
to pass –
to receive an acceptable score on an exam or test; to reach an
acceptable level
* If James wants to study biology in college, he has to first pass his science
classes in high school.
on tenterhooks
– being in suspense about what will happen in the future and
feeling nervous and concerned
* Gina’s doctor tested her for cancer so she’s on tenterhooks until she gets the
results.
to psych (oneself) out
– to prepare oneself mentally for a future event, usually
one that one expects to be difficult or unpleasant
* Javier is psyching himself out for a month-long visit from his father-in-law.
to ace (something)
– to excel at something; to pass an exam, test, interview or
other evaluation with an excellent score or result
* When I walked out of the classroom, I felt that I had aced the test, but then I
began to doubt myself.
toss up
– a situation in which all of the possibilities are equally likely to happen;
for all options to be equally appealing
* There are dark clouds in the sky, but it’s a toss up whether it’ll rain today.
to biff (something)
– to receive a very low score or rating on a exam, test,
interview, or other evaluation
* Monique gave a presentation at work and biffed it. She forgot what she was
going to say and looked very nervous the entire time.
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English as a Second Language Podcast
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ESL Podcast 730 – Waiting For Exam Results
to pass with flying colors
– to receive a high score on an exam, test, or other
evaluation
* We all knew that Kara would pass the exam for her electrician’s license with
flying colors.
administration
– opportunity to take a test or exam; the giving of a test or exam
* If you miss next week’s administration of the college entrance test, you’ll need
to wait another six months to take it.
to bomb (something) –
to receive a very low score or rating on a exam, test,
interview, or other evaluation; to clearly fail
* Last time I took this test I bombed, but I’ve studied hard and don’t plan to fail it
again.
to squeak by
by the skin of (one’s) teeth
– to barely pass an exam, test, or
other evaluation; to have a passing score or rating that is not considered good or
high
* Kili squeaked by by the skin of her teeth when she made the school’s swim
team.
to be
game
– to be willing to do or to try something; to be willing to do or try
something that may require some risk or courage
* Are you game to take sky-diving lessons with us next weekend?
there’s no sense
– there is no reason to; it is useless to
* We’ve worked all night to finish this project and it’s already 6:30 a.m. There’s
no sense going home now to return in an hour and a half for a new workday.
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these materials on another website or distributing them in any way is prohibited.
English as a Second Language Podcast
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ESL Podcast 730 – Waiting For Exam Results
COMPREHENSION QUESTIONS
1. Joel believes that Susanne
a) Failed the exam.
b) Should take the exam again.
c) Passed the exam.
2. What is another way to say that someone has failed?
a) He or she is on tenterhooks.
b) He or she bombed it.
c) He or she aced it.
______________
WHAT ELSE DOES IT MEAN?
toss up
The phrasal verb “toss up,” in this podcast, refers to a situation in which all of the
possibilities are equally likely to happen or for all options to be equally appealing:
“We liked both apartments equally and it’s a toss up right now which one we’ll
choose.” “To toss up” can also mean to throw something into the air: “The
referee tossed the ball up into the air and the players tried to grab it.” Or, “The
clown tossed up into the air a handful of candy and the children ran to pick up as
many pieces as they could find.” “To toss” also means to throw gently: “Toss me
your keys and I’ll move your car for you.” Finally, “to toss” can also mean to mix
together, most often used with food: “Could you please toss that salad with some
salad dressing?
to bomb (something)
In this podcast, “to bomb (something)” means to clearly fail or to receive a very
low score or rating on a exam, test, interview, or other evaluation: “Since I
bombed the last test, I’ll need to study really hard for the next one if I want to
pass this class.” The word “bomb” can be used to describe something that has
clearly failed: “With only 15 of the 100 tickets sold for the play, the organizers
considered it a bomb.” A “bomb” is an explosive device used as a weapon:
“More than 10 people were killed when a bomb exploded in the city’s downtown
area.” A “bombshell” is a big surprise or disappointment: “The news that Liam
was already married came as a bombshell to Sheila.”
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these materials on another website or distributing them in any way is prohibited.
English as a Second Language Podcast
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ESL Podcast 730 – Waiting For Exam Results
CULTURE NOTE
Professions Requiring Continuing Education
For many “professions” (jobs; fields of work), graduating college with a degree is
all that is necessary to begin work. Some professions, however, require the
passing of an exam.
For example, “accountants,” people whose job is to keep and examine financial
information and accounts, must pass an exam to be “certified” (officially
recognized) as an accountant allowed to do certain types of financial tasks.
“Lawyers,” people whose job it is to do legal work, must pass a “bar exam” before
he or she can do certain types of legal work.
Beyond passing an exam, many of these same professionals are required to get
“continuing education.” “Continuing education” is formal study required by the
government or a professional licensing organization after one has already started
working in a profession. These professionals must receive a certain amount
and/or type of continuing education every year or at regular “intervals” (periods of
time that has the same amount of time in between, such as every two years or
every six months).
The idea behind continuing education is to make sure that people in these
professions stay “up to date” (knowledgeable about current events and the latest
improvements) about laws, “regulations” (rules), and “developments” (new
information and improvements) in their field. These requirements “differ” (are
different; are not the same) from state to state, but most require “documentation”
(official papers) “verifying” (officially showing) that someone has completed a
certain number of “credit hours,” or hours of a course or training. Many schools
or organizations providing this training are “private” (not government run), but
that have received permission from a government agency or an official
organization to provide training or education.
______________
Comprehension Questions Correct Answers: 1 – c; 2 – b
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English as a Second Language Podcast
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ESL Podcast 730 – Waiting For Exam Results
COMPLETE TRANSCRIPT
Welcome to English as a Second Language Podcast number 730: Waiting for
Exam Results.
This is English as a Second Language Podcast episode 730. 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. Download this episode’s Learning Guide, an 8-
to 10-page guide we provide for all of our current episodes.
This episode is a dialogue between Joel and Susanne. They’re talking about a
school test, an exam that they took, and waiting for the results of that exam to
see if they passed it or not. Let’s get started.
[start of dialogue]
Joel: Did it come?
Susanne: No, it’s not in today’s mail. Why do I bother, anyway? I know it’s a
foregone conclusion. I’ve failed.
Joel: That’s bull! I know you passed. You’re just on tenterhooks waiting around
for the results to arrive and you’re psyching yourself out.
Susanne: No, I’m not.
Joel: Don’t you remember that when you came home after taking the exam, you
thought you had aced it?
Susanne: I did, but that was before I started thinking about all of the questions I
got wrong. Then, I thought it was a toss up whether I passed or not. Now that
I’ve had even more time to think about it, I’m sure I biffed it.
Joel: See what I mean? You’ve been psyching yourself out for weeks. You
studied really hard and I have no doubt that you passed with flying colors. All
right, you’re not going to hear today, so let’s get your mind off of the exam, okay?
Susanne: All right. How?
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These materials are copyrighted by the Center for Educational Development (2011). Posting of
these materials on another website or distributing them in any way is prohibited.
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