Welcome to English as a Second Language podcast number 401, Giving Warnings and Cautions.
This is English as a Second Language podcast episode 401.
I'm your host, Dr Jeff McQuillan, coming to you from the Center for Educational Development in beautiful Los Angeles, California.
Our website is eslpod.com.
You can go there to download a learning guide, an 8-10 page guide.
We provide for all of our current episodes.
It contains all of the vocabulary definitions, sample sentences, additional definitions not discussed on the audio episode, cultural notes, comprehension checks and a complete transcript of every word we say on this episode, so you can follow along as well.
This episode is called Giving Warnings and Cautions.
It is a dialogue between Brett and his mom.
They're going to be talking about Brett's new apartment and some problems in the apartment.
Let's get started.
Hi, Mom.
Come in.
Welcome to my new place.
My roommates aren't here right now, or I'd introduce you.
Hi, dear.
This is, um, nice.
It is, isn't it?
I know you were a little worried about me moving out and into a house with five roommates but, as you can see, this is a nice place.
Let me give you a tour.
Oh, okay.
Isn't it a little cramped in the house with six people?
No way.
Come on.
I'll show you the rest of the house.
Let's go this way to the kitchen.
Watch out for that hole in the floor.
I don't want you to trip.
And...
Don't worry about the do not cross police line tape.
It's just a joke.
This is the kitchen.
Why are all of your dishes on the floor?
What do you keep in your cupboards?
Be careful opening them.
We're short on closet space, so some of the guys keep their clothes and shoes in them.
You never know what you'll find if you open one.
We just have to watch our step when we walk around the kitchen.
Come on, I'll show you the bathroom.
You only have one bathroom for six people?
We're guys, so we don't really need more than one bathroom.
I just have to pay attention to when people take showers if I want enough hot water for my own shower.
Watch your head.
Too late for the heads up.
Something just fell on my head.
Oh...
It's nothing.
It's just a little problem with the ceiling.
Look out!
I think the ceiling is falling down.
This place is dangerous.
It's nothing.
Don't worry.
As long as we stay alert, this is a great place to live.
Our dialogue begins with Brett saying, hi, mom, come in.
His mother probably knocked on the door and he opened the door and said come in, come into my place.
He says, welcome to my new place.
My roommates aren't here right now or I'd introduce them.
He means, if my roommates were here, I would introduce you to them.
But they're not.
Mom says, hi, dear.
This is, uh, nice.
You can tell Mom doesn't really like Brett's new place.
Brett says, however, not understanding that.
It is, isn't it?
He thinks it's nice.
He says, means to leave the place where you are living and begin living in a new place.
So if you are living in an apartment and you move out, you take all of your things and you put them in a different apartment or house.
So Brett has moved out from wherever he was living before to this new house with five roommates people who live with you.
Brett says, let me give you a tour, Mom.
Let me show you the house.
Mom says, oh, okay.
Isn't it a little cramped in the house with six people?
Cramped, C-R-A-M-P-E-D, means crowded, without people.
The word cramp has a couple of different meanings in English.
Take a look at our learning guide for some additional explanations.
Brett disagrees with his mother's question.
His mother is saying it's too small, it's too crowded, it's too cramped in the house.
Brett says, no way, meaning not at all, absolutely not.
Then he says, come on, I'll show you the rest of the house.
Let's go this way to the kitchen.
Then he says, watch out for that hole in the floor.
If somebody says, watch out for something...
That's a warning, to let people know they may be in danger or there may be something they need to be careful about.
A parent may tell their child, watch out for the cars when you cross the street.
When you walk across the street, be looking and be careful so that you don't get hurt.
Brett says to his mom, watch out for that hole in the floor.
That, of course, is our first indication that Brett's house is not very nice.
He says to her, I don't want you to trip.
As a verb.
In this case, to trip means to accidentally hit your foot against something so that you fall down or almost fall down.
Trip has a couple of different meanings also in English.
Take a look at our learning guide for some more information on that.
Brett continues, and don't worry about the do not cross police line tape.
It's a joke.
When there's a crime, when someone does something illegal, and the police come to where the crime took place we would call it the scene of the crime they usually have an investigation.
And they put a long piece of thin plastic... that says do not cross it's telling people they cannot come into this area for example if there's a murder and they find a body they would put police tape this long thin piece of plastic that says do not cross do not come in there's a popular television show on american television called csi Crime Scene Investigation.
So you may have seen these Do Not Cross Police Line tapes.
Brett says it's just a joke.
Mom says, this is the kitchen?
Why are all your dishes on the floor?
What do you keep in your cupboards?
So mom walks into the kitchen and sees dishes on the floor, not in the cupboards.
The cupboards are large wooden boxes that have doors on them where you can put your dishes inside of or where you can put pans inside of.
We call those the cupboards.
C-U-P-B-O-A-R-D.
One word.
Brett says, He's warning his mother to take care when she opens the door of the cupboard.
That's what be careful means.
Brett says we're short on closet space, so some of the guys keep their clothes and shoes in them.
To be short on something means to be without something, to be lacking something that you need.
So some of the boys who live with Brett are putting their clothing where the dishes would go in the kitchen, because they are short on closet space.
A closet is a place in your bedroom where you normally put your clothes.
Brett says you never know what you'll find if you open one, if you open one of the cupboards.
We just have to watch our step when we walk around the kitchen.
To watch your step means to be aware of where you are walking, where you are putting your feet, usually because there's something dangerous there.
So if someone spills some water on the floor, You may say, watch your step.
Be careful as you walk through here because there's water on the floor.
Brett then says, come on, I'll show you the bathroom.
Mom says, you only have one bathroom for six people?
Brett says, we're guys.
We're men.
So we don't really need more than one bathroom.
To pay attention means to notice something, to be aware of something.
It's also something you would say to someone when you want them to be aware.
A teacher may say to her student, pay attention when I am talking to you.
In other words, you need to listen carefully in that case.
This is something I could never do in school.
The teachers were always saying, pay attention, McQuillan.
Brett says, watch your head.
This again is another warning that you would give someone.
We talked about watch your step when you have to be careful where you are walking.
Now Brett says watch your head, meaning look above to make sure you're not going to hit your head on something.
Mom says too late for the heads up.
Something just fell on my head.
A heads up means means a warning.
When you tell someone about something that's going to happen that they may need to be careful of or pay attention to, someone may say to you I want to give you the heads up, or a heads up, on the new project the manager is asking us to work on tomorrow.
They're giving you a warning.
They're telling you something you need to know so you're prepared.
Brett says, oh, it's nothing, meaning what fell on his mother's head was not anything important.
It's just a little problem with the ceiling, he says.
The ceiling is the top of the room.
So Brett is saying, well, things are falling from the ceiling, but it's not a big problem.
His mother then says, look out.
I think the ceiling is falling down.
This place is dangerous.
Look out is another way of warning people.
We use this when something bad is about to happen and the person needs to protect themselves, to get out of the way.
For example, if one of your neighbor children some of the children who live next to you are hitting golf balls and these golf balls are hitting the side of your house and they might even hit you, the child may say look out, or look out for that ball, meaning you have to be careful that you don't get hit.
Of course, if this happens to you, then you take all of the balls and you throw them back at the children.
Well, that's what I do.
Mom says, this place is dangerous.
This place is unsafe.
Not safe.
Brett says, it's nothing.
Don't worry, meaning it's not a problem.
As long as we stay alert, this is a great place to live.
To be alert means to be aware of what is happening around you, to be paying attention.
Of course, there are a lot of problems with the house, so if you are not alert, you could get hurt.
Now let's listen to the dialogue this time at a normal speed.
Hi, Mom.
Come in.
Welcome to my new place.
My roommates aren't here right now, or I'd introduce you.
Hi, dear.
This is nice.
It is, isn't it?
I know you were a little worried about me moving out and into a house with five roommates but, as you can see, this is a nice place.
Let me give you a tour.
Oh, okay.
Isn't it a little cramped in the house with six people?
No way.
Come on.
I'll show you the rest of the house.
Let's go this way to the kitchen.
Watch out for that hole in the floor.
I don't want you to trip.
And don't worry about the do not cross police line tape.
It's just a joke.
This is the kitchen?
Why are all of your dishes on the floor?
What do you keep in your cupboards?
Be careful opening them.
We're short on closet space, so some of the guys keep their clothes and shoes in them.
You never know what you'll find if you open one.
We just have to watch our step when we walk around the kitchen.
Come on, I'll show you the bathroom.
You only have one bathroom for six people?
We're guys, so we don't really need more than one bathroom.
I just have to pay attention to when people take showers if I want enough hot water for my own shower.
Watch your head.
Too late for the heads up.
Something just fell on my head.
Oh, it's nothing.
It's just a little problem with the ceiling.
Look out!
I think the ceiling is falling down.
This place is dangerous.
It's nothing.
Don't worry.
As long as we stay alert, this is a great place to live.
The script for this episode was written by someone who is never short on good ideas for scripts.
Dr. Lucy Say.
From Los Angeles, California, I'm Jeff McQuillan.
Thank you for listening.
Come back and listen to us 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.
