Welcome to English as a Second Language podcast number 389, Getting a Cold.
This is English as a Second Language podcast episode 389.
I'm your host, Dr Jeff McQuillan, coming to you from the Center for Educational Development, in Transcription by CastingWords.
You get all of the vocabulary words definitions, new sample sentences, additional definitions not talked about on the audio podcast, culture notes, comprehension checks and a complete transcript of everything we say on this episode.
This episode is called Getting a Cold and It's a dialogue between Walt and Irene.
Irene is getting sick.
She's getting a cold.
Let's get started.
What's the matter with you?
I have a bad cold.
Why didn't you stay home from work?
I had no choice.
I have an important presentation this afternoon, and I can't play hooky.
Your nose is running.
Your eyes are red and puffy.
Your voice is hoarse and you look like you're running a fever.
Gee, thanks.
I know I look terrible, but I'll get through it.
I'm taking a nasal decongestant, I'm using eye drops and I'm taking cough medicine and sucking on throat lozenges.
I should be better by the time of the presentation.
Achoo!
Oh, geez.
You just sneezed all over me.
You've contaminated me for sure.
Sorry.
Where's the Kleenex?
I need to blow my nose.
I'm out of here.
You're a walking germ machine.
Walt begins our dialogue by asking Irene, what's the matter with you?
What's the matter means what is wrong.
So what is wrong with you?
Irene says, I have a bad cold.
A cold in this case means a very common illness or sickness that It usually causes you to sneeze, to cough, to have a runny nose so that when you talk you sound a little funny.
These are all parts of having a cold.
It's very common, not serious, but not very fun either.
Cold has a couple of different meanings in English.
Take a look at our learning guide for some additional explanations.
Walt says, Meaning, why did you come to work?
Why didn't you just stay at your house?
He says, Notice Walt doesn't really care about how Irene feels.
He's only worried that she is contagious.
To be contagious means to be able to give your sickness or transfer your illness to another person.
Some diseases, some sicknesses are contagious.
If you have it, you could give it to another person. cold is an example of that.
Irene responds, I had no choice.
I had no option.
I have an important presentation this afternoon and I can't play hooky.
The expression to play hooky is an informal one that means not to go to school or work when you're supposed to, usually because you want to do something fun.
I never did this when I was a student, but some students will not go to school and instead go play games or go do something else instead of going to school.
Some people do this for their work as well.
We call it to play hooky.
It means you are doing something fun instead of what you should be doing.
Walt says to Irene you can't give a presentation in your condition, meaning you are too sick to give a presentation.
Your nose is running.
Your eyes are red and puffy.
These are all things that can happen if you have a cold.
To say that your nose is runny or that your nose is running means that you have liquid coming out of your nose.
This happens when you are sick, when you have a cold.
To run, as a verb, has a couple of different meanings in English.
Take a look once again at the learning guide for some additional explanations.
Walt says also that Irene's eyes are red and puffy.
Something that is puffy, P-U-F-F-Y, means swollen, larger than usual.
Something that is bigger than it should be.
If your eyes are puffy, that means they are bigger than they should be, around your eyes in particular.
Your voice is hoarse.
When we say your voice is hoarse, H-O-A-R-S-E, we mean it sounds strange.
It's lower or rougher than usual, usually because you are either sick or because you have been shouting for a long time.
People go to sporting events, to football, basketball or baseball games, and they are yelling, they are shouting for their team.
Afterwards, their voice may be hoarse.
It may sound strange because they have been shouting.
Walt also says to Irene that it looks like she's running a fever.
A fever is when your body temperature is higher than normal.
Often this happens because you are fighting against, or your body is fighting against this sickness, this illness.
Notice the verb to run.
You're running a fever.
That means you have a high fever.
Your temperature is higher than it should be.
Irene says to Walt, gee, thanks.
She's trying to be funny here.
Walt is telling her all of the terrible things that are wrong with her.
And of course, that's not a very complimentary, a very nice thing to say to someone.
Irene says, I know I look terrible.
But I'll get through it, meaning I'll survive.
To get through something means to go through something and still be able to complete it.
She says, I'm taking a nasal decongestant.
A nasal decongestant is a medicine that helps clear your nose so you can breathe more easily when you have a cold or are sick.
Nasal refers to your nose.
Irene also says she's using eye drops.
Eye drops are a kind of liquid that comes in a small bottle.
You put the drops, the little pieces, if you will, of liquid, into your eyes to make them less red.
Usually, this is something that people do if they are sick, if they are having problems with their eyes.
Irene also says she's taking cold medicine and sucking on throat lozenges.
Cough medicine is usually a liquid medicine that you drink so that you don't cough as much, to stop you from coughing.
She says she's sucking on throat lozenges.
To suck means to use your tongue to hold something in your mouth without biting or chewing it.
A throat lozenge is a small hard piece of candy really, with medicine that helps you feel better if you have a sore throat, if your throat is hurting you.
You can put a lemon or cherry throat lozenge in your mouth and that will help your throat feel a little better.
Irene says, I should be better by the time of the presentation, but then she sneezes.
Walt says, oh, geez, you just sneezed all over me.
To sneeze, of course, means that things come out of your nose very quickly.
You may sneeze if you have a cold.
Walt is complaining that Irene sneezed all over him, meaning when she sneezed, little pieces of liquid fell on him.
He says, you've contaminated me for sure.
To contaminate means to make something dirty or not pure.
Irene says, sorry, where's the Kleenex?
Kleenex capital K-L-E-E-N-E-X is what many Americans call tissue paper that you use when you have a cold.
They're very soft, small pieces of paper that you use to clean your nose, for example.
Kleenex is the name of some tissues that are made by a particular company, but because they're so popular, people just refer to these soft pieces of paper, these tissues, as Kleenex.
Irene says, I need to blow my nose.
To blow your nose means to take one of these small pieces of tissue, a piece of Kleenex, and put it in front of your nose and then blow air out of your nose to get the liquid out from your nasal cavities, your nasal area, your nose.
So blowing your nose is something you would do with, for example...
A small tissue or a handkerchief, which is also used to blow your nose with.
A handkerchief is usually made of cloth, however, not paper.
Walt says, I'm out of here, meaning I'm leaving right now.
You are a walking germ machine, he says to Irene.
The word germ is another word for bacteria.
Germs are bacteria.
They are small things that you can't see normally but that make you sick.
When Walt says Irene is a germ machine, he means that she is creating these germs, creating these things that will make other people sick, including him.
Once again, Walt is more interested in his own health than in the fact that Irene is not feeling well.
So let's hope that Walt gets sick.
Now let's listen to the dialogue, this time at a normal speed.
I had no choice.
I have an important presentation this afternoon and I can't play hooky.
You can't give a presentation in your condition.
Your nose is running, your eyes are red and puffy, your voice is hoarse and you look like you're running a fever.
Gee, thanks.
I know I look terrible, but I'll get through it.
I'm taking a nasal decongestant, I'm using eye drops and I'm taking cough medicine and sucking on throat lozenges.
I should be better by the time of the presentation.
Achoo!
Oh, geez.
You just sneezed all over me.
You've contaminated me for sure.
Sorry.
Where's the Kleenex?
I need to blow my nose.
I'm out of here.
You're a walking germ machine.
The script for this episode was written by someone who never plays hooky, Dr. Lucy Say.
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 2008.
