Hi, Estelle.
Will you go to the prom with me?
I wouldn't go to the prom with you if you were Elliot Gould.
Oh, shut down again.
Hey, don't worry, Barney.
It's a big school.
There's got to be a girl nobody else wants to take to the prom.
Excuse me.
Is this room 106?
Hey, who's that?
I don't know.
Ah yeah, let's learn English with The Simpsons.
We'll go back in time to Marge and Homer's high school days to see how they first met.
You will not only learn advanced English vocabulary and pronunciation, but you'll laugh a lot too.
And if your goal is to not just learn English, but to be able to speak it confidently and naturally, then I recommend you watch this lesson on the RealLife app.
In just three simple steps, your English will become more fluent every day.
First, watch this lesson with The Simpsons.
Second, practice smart flashcards to remember the new expressions forever.
And third, speak in a real conversation about this exact lesson and improve your pronunciation with shadowing exercises.
And all you need is 10 to 15 minutes per day.
So try it for free with the link in the description and start getting a bit more fluent every day.
All right, now get ready to see Homer and Marge's second meeting.
Hello.
Hello.
Oh, you may not remember me.
I'm Homer Simpson.
So you want to go out with me?
Well, I don't think you're my type.
Look, I'm not asking you to like me.
I'm not asking you to put yourself in a position where I can touch your goodies.
I'm just asking you to be fair.
Well, what's the good word?
I'm sorry.
What?
Well, you seem like a nice enough guy, but I really don't have the time.
And I tutor part-time.
You tutor?
Yes.
And anyone can be tutored?
Just those who need help with French.
French?
What a coincidence.
Just the subject I'm having trouble with.
The very first thing we saw was Homer's friend, Barney, trying to ask a girl named Estelle to prom.
And it did not go well.
Hi, Estelle, will you go to the prom with me?
I wouldn't go to the prom with you if you were Elliot Gould.
Oh, shut down again.
To get shot down means to be rejected, especially in a romantic situation.
The image here is like a plane being hit mid-flight and crashing.
Poor Barney, he's been shot down again,
Which is a regular occurrence in this episode.
Estelle mentioned Elliot Gould.
I wouldn't go to the prom with you if you were Elliot Gould.
He was a big Hollywood star in the late 1960s and 70s, when Homer and Marge would have been in high school.
He was in famous movies like MASH and The Long Goodbye.
But you might recognize him as Monica and Ross's dad in Friends.
By the way, if you're not familiar with American high school culture, prom is a formal dance held at the end of the school year, usually for older students.
It's a huge deal in the US.
People rent fancy clothes and limousines.
Being asked to prom or not being asked is treated as a major social event.
So Homer and Barney are in detention.
This is a punishment for students who misbehave.
In fact, the intro of every episode shows Bart in detention.
Usually you have to stay in school longer studying or completing other tasks.
And when Marge walks in, it's love at first sight for Homer.
He uses this classic line as an excuse to talk to her.
So what are you in for?
I'm a political prisoner.
What do you think Homer means when he asks, What are you in for?
What subject are you studying in school?
What do you want to do?
Why were you sent to detention?
Exactly.
This phrase comes straight from prison.
It's what you'd ask a fellow prisoner to find out what landed them there.
Homer is treating detention like a mini jail.
It's a funny way to break the ice with someone new.
Listen to these.
Hello there, cowboy.
What are you in for?
Murder.
To take a stand means to firmly defend a belief or position, even when it's difficult or risky.
Earlier in the episode, we saw Marge took a stand for feminism by burning her bra.
Think of Malala Yousafzai, who took a stand for girls education in Pakistan at just 15 years old, even in the face of serious danger.
Here's another example.
We have to take a stand.
We did stand, and yet here we are.
Next up, Homer explains why he ended up in detention.
There are two great expressions for you to learn.
First, to show up simply means to arrive somewhere, to be present.
But there's a subtle layer to it.
It often suggests doing so consistently or even when it takes some effort.
For example, he always shows up for his friends means more than just being physically there.
It means being reliably present.
Well, no matter what, you have to show up for your kids.
Then Homer said, To slap someone in a place means to put them there quickly, often without much thought or care.
Like if your boss hands you a huge project last minute, you might say, they just slapped another assignment on my desk.
By the way, it's pretty frustrating when natives speak fast and you can't understand us, right?
Usually it's not actually about speed, rather about connected speech.
That's how we cut, reduce, and link our words when speaking fluently.
Listen to Marge's first question again.
Did you catch that?
Instead of a full excuse me, she said, excuse me, excuse me.
Marge dropped the first syllable and said all the sounds together as if it were one word.
Natives do this all the time.
Your speaking will only improve with lots of practice.
So listen to Marge again and try to say that just like her.
Excuse me, is this room 106?
Excuse me, is this room 106?
Alright, some time passes and Homer looks for Marge because he's smitten or has a crush.
He asks her, So, um, you want to go out with me?
To go out with someone means to date them or be in a romantic relationship with them.
Depending on context, it can also refer to a single date.
We went out last Friday.
But she responds,
Well, I don't think you're my type.
Your type is the kind of person you're naturally attracted to based on looks, personality, lifestyle, or whatever matters to you.
Some people's type is charming and adventurous.
Others go for quiet and intellectual.
We all have one, even if we can't always define it.
But Homer doesn't give up.
Look, I'm not asking you to like me.
I'm not asking you to put yourself in a position where I can touch your goodies.
To put yourself in a position means to place yourself in a situation that's uncomfortable, risky, or compromising.
Homer is reassuring Marge he's not asking for anything that would make her feel unsafe.
Here's a couple other ways natives use it.
You should never put yourself in a position to apologize.
So he's put himself in a position where he's gotta lose.
I'm not asking you to put yourself in a position where I can touch your goodies.
Now, goodies.
This is informal slang for intimate parts of the body.
It's playful and a little silly, totally Homer style.
So Homer asked Marge to talk to some other people about him, to get some references, like you would if you were applying for a job.
Then he follows up with her in the cafeteria.
Well, what's the good word?
This is casual friendly greeting like, so what's the news?
Or any good updates?
You'd use it when you're about to hear back on something and you're hoping for a positive answer.
Imagine a friend who just had a job interview.
You call them and say, hey, what's the good word?
Unfortunately, Marge is too busy for a boyfriend right now.
Part-time means working or doing something for fewer hours than a full schedule, the opposite of full-time.
Full-time is typically around 40 hours a week.
Part-time might be 10, 15, or 20.
In the USA, it's actually common for high school students to take a part-time job.
Marge is a French tutor, so Homer takes advantage of this information to tell a little lie.
You're a tutor?
Yes.
And anyone can be tutored?
Just those who need help with French.
French?
What a coincidence!
Just the subject I'm having trouble with.
To have trouble with something means you find it difficult or frustrating.
Listen to these examples.
Are you having trouble with the play?
By the way, can I ask you a quick favor?
Sometimes we have trouble knowing what lessons you'll most enjoy.
So can you take just a moment to pause the lesson and comment one series, movie, or celebrity that you would love for us to make a lesson with?
The RealLife team and me read every single comment.
Thanks a lot.
And one quick grammar note before we move on.
When Marge says she tutors, Homer immediately asks, You tutor?
Yes.
And anyone can be tutored?
You might be thinking, shouldn't that be, and can anyone be tutored?
With the subject and verb switched around, like a normal question.
Well here's the thing, both are grammatically valid questions, however they do slightly different things.
Can anyone be tutored?
Is a neutral, open question.
And anyone can be tutored?
With a rising intonation is a declarative question.
You use it when you just had a realization and you want to confirm it, almost like thinking out loud.
Homer isn't really asking, he's having a realization and forming a plan in his head.
All right, so Marge agrees to tutor Homer in French and Homer sees this as the perfect opening for him to seduce her.
Let's see how it goes.
Hello.
Why is there make-out music on?
It helps me study.
Well, not me.
Shut it off and let's get down to business.
Crayon.
Bien.
Fenêtre.
Bien.
Très bien.
Homer, you're amazing.
Before, you couldn't say bonjour.
But now you can conjugate all the regular verbs, two irregular verbs, and sing the first verse of Alouette.
I can't believe it.
It's sticking.
You're telling me new stuff, and minutes later, it's still there.
And it's all thanks to you.
Marge, when I see you forming the vowels and consonants... Consonants.
Consonants with your beautiful mouths and your beautiful breath pushing them past your beautiful teeth.
You'll see, I guess.
Marge, would you go to the prom with me?
We?
Oh!
So Marge comes to Homer's apartment for the tutoring session.
Beforehand, he made himself as handsome as he could and set the mood a little with music.
Hello.
So, to make out means to kiss passionately, usually for an extended period of time.
It's very common in casual American English, and you'll hear it constantly on TV and in real life.
Makes perfect sense for high schoolers like Marge and Homer, right?
Marge made make out into an adjective to describe the music that's playing as the type that people would listen to while kissing.
To shut something off means to turn it off.
You can shut off any appliance, device, engine, or music.
Shut off the TV.
Can you shut off the alarm?
And listen again to how Marge said that.
It's connected speech again.
This always happens with phrasal verbs like this.
So when a T is between two vowel sounds, it becomes a soft D. We call this an American T. We have two of them here.
Instead of shut it off.
Listen to her again and repeat shut it off and let's get down to business.
Shut it off and let's get down to business.
And listen again to the last thing Marge said.
Shut it off and let's get down to business.
What do you think it means to get down to business?
To focus on what needs to be done?
To study a subject deliberately?
To go to a work meeting?
Spot on.
When you get down to business, you drop the distractions, small talk, flirting, and focus on the task at hand.
It's a phrase you'll hear in business and classrooms, like in this example.
All right, let's get down to business, huh?
Homer has never been a good student, but with Marge, things seem to stick.
I can't believe it.
It's sticking.
When new information sticks, it means it's actually staying in your memory.
Obviously, this is huge for language learners like you and me.
It's so frustrating when you've heard or read a word 50 times, but when it comes time to use it in conversation, it doesn't come out.
It hasn't stuck.
On the Ray Life app, we make it so all of these new expressions you're learning with the Simpsons stick forever.
You use smart flashcards, which use a scientific method for new words to stay in your long-term memory.
And you speak them right away with shadowing exercises and low pressure conversation with your AI coach.
Give it a try for free with the link in the description and become a more confident, natural speaker today.
And we had a great bit of connected speech we can break down in Homer's next question.
Marge, would you go to the prom with me?
So when we have a word ending with d followed by u, it usually morphs to a ju sound.
Would you becomes would you.
Would you.
To reduces to ta, connects with go, and becomes an American T. Go-da.
Go-da.
Let's put it all together.
Would you go to the prom with me?
Would you go to the prom with me?
Listen to Homer again and try to say that just like him.
Marge, would you go to the prom with me?
But you gotta promise me.
Now this next part is super sweet.
You know, Homer, you're like no one I've ever met before.
You're dear and honest and open without a trace of pretension.
Alright, this might have been a bit tricky to understand.
First, dear, when used to describe a person, not as a greeting, means they're sweet, kind, warm and lovable.
It's the kind of word your grandmother might use to describe someone.
You might also hear it as, he's very dear to me, meaning someone holds a special place in your heart.
And March says Homer is... Based on the context, what does she most likely mean?
Homer has just a little bit of pretension.
Homer has absolutely no pretension at all.
Homer is pretending to be humble.
Exactly right.
Without a trace of something means with absolutely zero of it, not even the tiniest amount.
Listen to this example.
But suddenly an angel has smiled at me.
If someone vanishes without a trace, there's no evidence they were ever there.
Something is stalking our city, wreaking destruction and then disappearing without a trace.
And what is pretension anyway?
To be pretentious means to act like you're more sophisticated, educated, or important than you really are.
You know that person at a party who only talks about how great they are or all the famous people they know?
That's pretentious.
Homer, on the other hand, is unapologetically himself.
No filter, no performance, no attempt to impress.
And ironically, that's exactly what impresses March.
All right, you've done great so far, but now let's get down to business with the most important part of the lesson.
You'll test everything that you've learned by watching the clips again without subtitles and answering some quiz questions.
Let's go.
Hi, Estelle.
Will you go to the prom with me?
I wouldn't go to the prom with you if you were Elliot Gould.
What do you call it if someone asks their boss for a raise and gets completely rejected?
They got slapped in, got shot down, took a stand.
Oh, shut down again.
Hey, don't worry, Barney.
It's a big school.
There's got to be a girl nobody else wants to take to the prom.
Excuse me.
Is this room 106?
Hey, who's that?
I...
I don't know.
So, uh, what are you in for?
I'm a political prisoner.
Last time I ever took a stand.
Well, I'm here for being me.
Every day I show up, act like me, and they slap me in here.
Simpson, be quiet.
Hello.
Hello.
Oh, you may not remember me.
I'm Homer Simpson.
So, um, you want to go out with me?
Well, I don't think you're my type.
Look, I'm not asking you to like me.
I'm not asking you to put yourself in a position where I can touch your goodies.
I'm just asking you to be fair.
Well, what's the good word?
I'm sorry.
What?
Well, you seem like a nice enough guy, but I really don't have the time.
And I tutor part-time.
You tutor?
Yes.
And anyone can be tutored?
Just those who need help with French.
French?
What a coincidence.
Which sentence uses have trouble with correctly?
I'm having trouble with to understand fast speakers.
I've always had trouble with listening comprehension.
She had trouble with that she couldn't find the words.
Which sentence uses get down to business correctly?
After a lot of small talk, the manager said let's get down to business.
I get down to business every morning before work.
She got down to business when she heard the bad news.
Uh-huh.
Crayon!
Bien!
Eh, fenêtre?
Bien!
Well, I should probably be going.
Wait, wait, wait.
Don't go.
Don't go.
Wait.
Wait.
Why don't we take a little study break?
Homer, you're amazing.
Before, you couldn't say bonjour.
But now you can conjugate all the regular verbs, two irregular verbs, and sing the first verse of Alouette.
I can't believe it.
It's sticking.
You're telling me new stuff, and minutes later, it's still there.
And it's all thanks to you.
Marge, when I see you forming the vowels and consonants... Consonants.
Consonants with your beautiful mouths and your beautiful breath pushing them past your beautiful teeth.
You'll see, I guess.
Marge, would you go to the prom with me?
You know, Homer, you're like no one I've ever met before.
You're dear and honest and open without a trace of pretension.
Without a trace of kindness means a person is only slightly kind, pretending to be kind, completely unkind.
You're dear and honest and open without a trace of pretension.
Which of the following best describes a pretentious person?
Someone who is shy but secretly very confident.
Someone who acts more cultured or important than they really are.
Someone who is very direct.
I'll take that as a compliment, so will you go out with me?
Please say oui.
Oui!
Ah yeah,
I hope you had a lot of fun, you laughed a lot, and if you want to be able to understand fast-speaking natives without getting lost, without missing the jokes, and without subtitles, just like we've done today with The Simpsons,
Then you should join over 11 million learners who are doing exactly that every week with two new lessons by hitting that subscribe button and bell down below so you don't miss a single new one.
And if you're tired of being stuck at intermediate level, you're ready to really raise the bar and become a confident,
Natural English speaker, then the best way to do that is by enjoying these lessons on the RealLife app and you can get started 100% for free with a link in the description.
But if you are sticking here on YouTube, you might want to check out this lesson next.
Oh, no, no.
See, I don't do visions anymore.
But you could.
But I won't.
You can't say the weight of the world is on your shoulders.
The end.
If our fate's up to me, me says have another vision.
Maybe it'll show me what to do.
Look, even if I wanted to, which I don't, you wrecked my vision cave, which is a problem because I need a big open space.
We'll find one.
Where?
