Welcome to English as a Second Language podcast number 327, Getting Caught in the Rain.
This is English as a Second Language podcast episode 327.
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 www.eslpod.com.
Actually, there are just three W's.
You can download a learning guide from our website.
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This episode is called Getting Caught in the Rain.
Let's get started.
Oh, jeez, you're drenched.
It wasn't supposed to rain today.
I know.
I looked at the weather report last night, and it was supposed to be a nice day.
That's the last time I trust those weather casters.
I hate getting caught in the rain.
I'm soaking wet.
When I felt a raindrop on my head this morning, I should have known that we were in for a big rainstorm.
Right then I should have gone back into my house to get an umbrella, but as usual, I was running late.
I can't believe I have to go out on sales calls today.
I'm not looking forward to getting back in my car when it's raining cats and dogs out there.
Somebody in this office must have an umbrella you can borrow for the day.
I'll go see.
Thanks.
It looks like it's only drizzling now.
Maybe it's letting up.
Don't count on it.
It'll be pouring again in a minute.
Let me see if I can round up an umbrella and maybe even a raincoat.
Thanks.
I'll be in the bathroom wringing out my clothes.
What a miserable day.
Our dialogue between Margot and Ali... begins by Margot saying, Oh, jeez, you're drenched.
When you say, Oh, jeez, you mean, Oh, dear.
It's an expression usually that something bad has happened.
To say someone is drenched means that they are very, very wet.
You might also say they're soaked.
S-O-A-K-E-D.
To be drenched or to be soaked means to be very wet.
Margot says, it wasn't supposed to rain today.
Ali says, I know.
I looked at the weather report last night and it was supposed to be a nice day.
The weather report is sometimes called the forecast.
It's information about what will happen with the weather in the next couple of days.
Unfortunately, most forecasts are at least partially inaccurate in many places, especially places where the weather changes quickly.
Ali is angry.
He says, that's the last time I trust those weather casters.
When someone says that's the last time I something, they mean that they're angry that they will not listen to those people again.
The people here are the weather casters.
A weather caster is a person who is We used to call them the weatherman, but now there are both men and women.
In some places, the weathercaster on television or on the radio is actually a real meteorologist.
A meteorologist is someone who has studied at the university about things related to the weather.
On some channels, like a couple here in Los Angeles, the weathercaster is just a beautiful woman.
I'm not sure which I prefer.
You can guess.
To get caught in something means that you are surprised by something.
You weren't expecting something, often a bad thing.
I got caught in a traffic jam.
I wasn't expecting it and suddenly there were many cars and I was moving very slowly.
Ali gets caught in a rainstorm.
He says, I'm soaking wet.
We already said soaked means very wet.
This is an expression you'll sometimes hear, I'm soaking wet.
It means I'm very wet, I'm drenched.
The word soaking has a couple of different meanings.
Take a look at our learning guide for some additional definitions.
Margot says, when I felt a raindrop on my head this morning, I should have known that we were in for a big rainstorm.
A raindrop, one word, is one drop or piece, if you will, of rain.
It's a small ball of water that falls from the sky.
Margot says, when I felt a raindrop on my head or when I felt it hitting my head, I should have known.
I should have known, understood and realized that we were in for that.
We will be expecting, or should be expecting, a big rainstorm.
A rainstorm is a storm with a lot of rain, when you get a lot of rain for a certain period of time.
Margot says right then, meaning at that moment An umbrella is what we call, the thing that you use so that the rain does not fall on you.
It's usually round and is put above your head.
Margo says she was running late, meaning she was late for her work.
She was behind schedule, we also say.
Ali says I can't believe I have to go out on sales calls today, meaning he has to go and travel to other buildings, other businesses.
He's obviously a salesperson.
He says I'm not looking forward to getting back in my car when it's raining cats and dogs out there.
The expression to rain cats and dogs means to rain very heavily, to rain a lot.
We might also say to pour.
Someone will say it's pouring out there, meaning it's raining very hard.
I'm not sure why we say cats and dogs, but that's the expression, to rain cats and dogs.
Margo says, somebody in this office must have an umbrella you can borrow.
I'll go see.
I'll investigate.
Ali says, thanks.
It looks like it's only drizzling now.
To drizzle, D-R-I-Z-Z-L-E, means to rain very lightly or only very slightly.
Another verb we use is to sprinkle.
When it isn't raining hard, it's the opposite of raining cats and dogs.
But it's still raining.
Ali says maybe it's letting up.
To let up is a two-word phrasal verb meaning to gradually decrease, to slowly become less and less intense.
So if you say the rain is letting up, you mean that it is getting less and less severe.
It's raining less and less.
Margot says, don't count on it.
The expression to count on something means to depend on something or to rely on something, to believe that something is true, in this case, to believe that something will happen.
Margot says, it'll be pouring again in a minute.
It'll be raining very hard again in a minute. in a very short time.
Let me see if I can round up an umbrella and maybe even a raincoat.
To round up is another two-word phrasal verb, meaning to find something or to get something.
You go look for something and then you find it.
We usually use this expression when you're not sure where something is.
It's not normally a big thing.
To round up something.
That verb, to round up, has a couple of different meanings in English.
Once again, take a look at the learning guide for some additional explanations on that phrasal verb.
Margot says maybe she can even find a raincoat.
A raincoat is a rain jacket.
It's something you wear over your regular clothing to keep you dry.
Ali says, thanks.
I'll be in the bathroom wringing out my clothes.
To wring W-R-I-N-G out something or to wring something out is once again a two-word verb, a phrasal verb.
It means to take a wet piece of clothing or a towel and turn your hands in opposite directions so that the clothes or the towel becomes tighter and tighter.
And as you do this, as you are twisting the piece of clothing, water will come out of it.
It's a way of getting water out of something that is wet, out of a fabric.
At the end, Ali says what a miserable day.
Something that is miserable is very unhappy or very uncomfortable.
You can also use that word to mean displeased, unhappy about something that someone has done.
It's raining and now I'm miserable.
My wife left me and now I'm miserable.
Or very happy.
It depends, really, on who your wife is.
In my case, I would be miserable, of course.
Now let's listen to the dialogue, this time at a normal speed.
Oh, geez, you're drenched.
It wasn't supposed to rain today.
I know.
I looked at the weather report last night and it was supposed to be a nice day.
That's the last time I trust those weather casters.
I hate getting caught in the rain.
I'm soaking wet.
When I felt a raindrop on my head this morning, I should have known that we were in for a big rainstorm.
Right then I should have gone back into my house to get an umbrella, but as usual, I was running late.
I can't believe I have to go out on sales calls today.
I'm not looking forward to getting back in my car when it's raining cats and dogs out there.
Somebody in this office must have an umbrella you can borrow for the day.
I'll go see.
Thanks.
It looks like it's only drizzling now.
Maybe it's letting up.
Don't count on it.
It'll be pouring again in a minute.
Let me see if I can round up an umbrella and maybe even a raincoat.
Thanks.
I'll be in the bathroom wringing out my clothes.
What a miserable day.
The script for this episode was written by Dr. Lucy Say.
Thank you, Lucy.
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.
