Welcome to English as a Second Language podcast number 310.
Shopping for Furniture.
This is English as a Second Language podcast episode 310.
I'm your host, Dr. Jeff McQuillan.
Coming to you from the Center for Educational Development...
Transcription by CastingWords This episode is called Shopping for Furniture.
It's a dialogue between two people who just got married or are going to get married and are looking for things for their new house or apartment.
Let's get started.
I really don't understand why we need new furniture.
After we're married, we'll just take the things from each of our two apartments and that should do the trick.
We each have some things we can keep and use, but it would be nice to have pieces that match.
Right now we have six dining chairs, each in a different style, and none of them are in the same style as the dining table your uncle is giving us as a wedding present.
Yeah, that's true.
All we need is a bed.
Yeah, we got lucky when they decided to get new furniture and to give us their old pieces.
That just leaves the living room.
But we already have a couch and a love seat.
That's true, but we still need a coffee table, two side tables and at least two table lamps and a floor lamp.
Do we really need all of that?
All right.
I was just hoping to get home in time for the game this afternoon.
No problem.
We only have six more stores to visit after this one.
Six?
Yes.
Now, come on.
How are you going to get home in time for the game if you don't hurry up?
Our dialogue between Tobias and Renee begins by Tobias saying I really don't understand why we need new furniture.
Furniture is a general term that refers to things in your home or office, usually large things like a desk or a chair, a couch,
Bookshelves.
These are all considered furniture.
Tobias says, after we're married, we'll just take the things from each of our two apartments and that should do the trick.
Tobias is saying that he and Renee both have furniture.
They can combine the furniture after they get married in their new home or apartment.
Tobias says that will do the trick.
The expression to do the trick means to meet one's needs to be fast or good enough to be satisfactory.
Something that is sufficient is to do the trick.
I'm having problems with my computer.
I'm going to reboot it.
I'm going to turn it on and off.
And that should do the trick.
That should solve the problem in this case.
Renee says we each have some things we can keep and use, but it would be nice to have pieces that match.
It would be nice to have pieces of furniture that match.
To match here means to be in the same color and style so that they look good together.
If you have a white couch and a pink chair or a red table, they may not match.
They may not go together, look good together.
To match has a couple of different meanings in English.
Take a look at our learning guide for some additional definitions.
Rene continues, Right now, at this moment, we have six dining chairs, each in a different style.
A dining chair is a chair you put next to a table and sit on when you are eating.
We call that part of your house the dining room.
To dine, D-I-N-E, means to eat.
So the dining chairs are a different style, and therefore they don't match.
None of them, she says, are the same style as the dining table your uncle is giving us as a wedding present or gift.
The dining table, you can guess, is the table on which you eat.
Tobias says, yeah, that's true.
At least we don't have to shop for bedroom furniture.
The expression hand me down H-A-N-D-M-E-D-O-W-N means used, not new.
Usually things that, for example, an older brother would give his younger brother a shirt that is too small for him.
He would hand it down.
To hand something can mean to give something to someone, so a hand-me-down is something that you were given.
It's not new.
When i was growing up, a lot of my clothing was hand-me-downs things that my older brothers no longer needed.
The things that Renee's parents are giving them for the bedroom are a dresser, two nightstands, a headboard and a wardrobe.
A dresser is a piece of furniture that has little boxes that pull in and out.
We call them drawers, D-R-A-W-E-R-S.
And we use them for putting clothing into, to store clothing, to keep your clothes in these little boxes or drawers.
And there are usually two, three, or four of them on top of each other.
That's a dresser.
A nightstand, one word, is a small, short table that you put next to your bed.
I have a nightstand next to my bed with a clock and some Kleenex on it.
That's a nightstand.
A headboard one word is a large piece of usually wood that is next to the wall in the bedroom and is usually attached to the bed.
So it's like the top part of the bed. but it's against the wall.
It's vertical.
Finally, a wardrobe.
W-A-R-D-R-O-B-E is a large piece of furniture that has doors on it so that you can put clothes inside.
You can hang them on what we would call a hanger.
For example, your shirt, you can put it on this triangular hanger.
It's like a little triangle, and then you can hang it on a bar.
And that piece of furniture where you put that into is called a wardrobe.
It has usually two doors on it.
Tobias says, all we need, the only thing we need, is a bed.
The bed, of course, is what you sleep on in the bedroom.
Renee says, yeah, yes, we got lucky.
We were lucky when they, my parents, decided to get new furniture and to give us their old pieces, their old pieces of furniture.
That just leaves the living room, meaning the only thing left we have to worry about now is the living room.
Tobias says C-O-U-C-H is a long soft piece of furniture that is usually in the living room, the main room of the house, where three, four or more people can sit on.
Usually three or four people can sit on a couch.
It's like a big chair for three or four people.
A love seat is two words, is a small couch for two people.
So you have a chair for one person, a loveseat for two people, and a couch for three or more people.
If you have five or more people, you should buy some more furniture.
Renee says that's true.
We do have a couch and a loveseat.
But we still need a coffee table, two side tables, and at least two table lamps, and a floor lamp.
A coffee table is a long, short table usually that is put in front of a couch or a love seat where you can put your paper and your coffee and a book, for example.
That is a coffee table.
A side table is a small round or square table that is at the end, on the side of the couch or the love seat.
Many people don't have side tables.
They just have coffee tables.
A table lamp is a light that you put on a table, usually next to a bed or a couch.
A floor lamp is a light that rests on the floor.
It's put on the floor and usually has a long pole so that the light goes above your head if you are, for example, sitting on the couch or in the loveseat.
Tobias says, do we really need all of that?
And Renee says, if we plan to entertain, we do.
To entertain means to invite other people to your house for a party or a dinner, a meal.
Tobias says, alright, I was just hoping to get home in time for the game this afternoon.
Tobias wants to go home and watch the sports game, the baseball game or the soccer game.
Renee says, no problem.
We only have six more stores to visit after this one.
Tobias is surprised.
Six, he says.
And Renee says, yes.
Now, come on, meaning hurry up.
How are we going to get home in time for the game, before the game starts, if you don't hurry up?
Now let's listen to the dialogue, this time at a normal speed.
We each have some things we can keep and use.
But it would be nice to have pieces that match.
Right now we have six dining chairs, each in a different style, and none of them are in the same style as the dining table your uncle is giving us as a wedding present.
Yeah, that's true.
At least we won't have to shop for bedroom furniture.
We're lucky that your parents are giving us some hand-me-down things, including a dresser, two nightstands, a headboard and a wardrobe.
All we need is a bed.
Yeah, we got lucky when they decided to get new furniture and to give us their old pieces.
That just leaves the living room.
But we already have a couch and a love seat.
That's true, but we still need a coffee table, two side tables and at least two table lamps and a floor lamp.
Do we really need all of that?
If we plan to entertain, we do.
All right.
I was just hoping to get home in time for the game this afternoon.
No problem.
We only have six more stores to visit after this one.
Six?
Yes.
Now come on.
How are you going to get home in time for the game if you don't hurry up?
The script for this episode was written by Dr. Lucy Say.
Thank you, Lucy.
If you have a question or comment about our podcast, you can email us...
Our email address is eslpod at eslpod.com.
From Los Angeles, California, I'm Jeff McQuillan.
Thanks for listening.
We'll see you next time on ESL Podcast.
English as a Second Language podcast is written and produced by Dr Lucy Say, hosted by Dr Jeff McQuillan.
This podcast is copyright 2007.
