Welcome to English as a Second Language podcast number 474, Having Trouble Sleeping.
This is English as a Second Language podcast number 474.
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.
And a complete transcript of this episode.
We're going to listen to a dialogue between Luis and Stevie.
Stevie is a girl, a woman here.
Stevie is going to be talking to Luis about how she is having trouble sleeping at night, using a lot of vocabulary we might use to talk about that situation.
Let's get started.
So how are the newlyweds doing?
Oh we're great.
I'm just a little tired.
Well that goes with the territory right?
No that's not what I mean.
Patrick has been keeping me up with his snoring.
Oh that's a bummer.
Yeah, it really is.
I'm usually awakened soon after I fall asleep, and then I toss and turn all night.
That's not all.
Patrick also talks in his sleep.
Wow, that's terrible.
I'd make a beeline for some sleeping pills if I were you.
Have you tried waking him up when he snores or talks in his sleep?
I tried that one night, but he just ended up sleepwalking.
Geez, what are you going to do?
It's a little early in your marriage for separate bedrooms, but I wouldn't rule it out.
I'll keep it in mind.
If I don't get a good night's sleep soon, separate bedrooms will be the least of our problems.
Luis asks Stevie, so how are the newlyweds doing?
A newlywed, N-E-W-L-Y-W-E-D, one word, is someone who has been married very recently, usually within the past year or so.
So the year after you are married you might be called a newlywed, meaning you have been married recently.
This is a question that Luis asks Stevie.
He's asking about Stevie and her new husband.
Stevie says, oh, we're great.
I'm just a little tired.
Luis jokes with her and says, well, that goes with the territory, right?
The expression to go with the territory means that it's to be expected in a particular situation.
It's expected to be part of something.
If you are a police officer, you need to learn to use a gun.
It goes with the territory.
It's part of your job.
It's part of your responsibility.
Louise is making a joke here, saying that Stevie is not getting very much sleep because she's newly married and newly married couples may do other things at night, for example, that would cause them not to sleep as much.
I'm not sure.
I've been married too long.
I don't remember far back in time.
Stevie says, no, that's not what I mean.
Meaning?
No, she is not having problems sleeping because she and her husband are doing other things in bed.
Stevie says, Patrick, her husband, has been keeping me up with his snoring.
To keep someone up means to keep them awake, not allowing them to sleep.
To snore means to make a loud sound each time you breathe through your nose while you are sleeping.
Something like, I know, it's pretty ugly, but that is me snoring.
Louise says, oh, that's a bummer.
A bummer.
B-U-M-M-E-R is an informal term meaning a disappointment, something that you feel badly about.
I'm not going to be able to go to the concert tonight. what a bummer, or that's a bummer.
It's a bad thing.
It's an informal expression, however.
Stevie says, yeah, it really is, meaning, yes, it is a bummer.
I'm usually awakened soon after I fall asleep, she says.
To awaken means to wake up or to wake someone else up.
To fall asleep means to begin to sleep.
Stevie says, Stevie says, The expression to toss and turn means to move your body.
First you lie on your left, then you lie on your right.
You keep moving back and forth because you can't fall asleep.
That's to toss and turn.
Stevie says that Patrick also talks in his sleep.
To talk in your sleep means to start saying things even though you are unconscious, even though you are sleeping.
This can be very dangerous, especially if you're dreaming about your former girlfriend, for example, or boyfriend or dog if your dog is in the room where you are sleeping, for example.
Luis says, wow, that's terrible.
I'd make a beeline for means I would go directly to something without any hesitation.
To make a beeline for something means to go to do something, or to go somewhere right away, without hesitating, without stopping.
To do it immediately.
Luis says, I would immediately get some sleeping pills.
Sleeping pills are drugs that help you sleep.
Stevie says I took some sleeping pills one night last week, meaning last week, one night in the last week, but I woke up groggy and disoriented.
To be groggy, G-R-O-G-G-Y, means that you are very tired.
Usually you just woke up.
And you're not mentally awake yet.
You're not able to move or think normally.
This happens too sometimes if you take a certain drug.
The drug could make you groggy, could make you sleepy, could make you not as alert as you would be otherwise.
To be disoriented means to not know where you are or what is happening, to be confused.
If someone spins you around very fast or gives you a certain drug, you might become disoriented.
You're not sure where you are, what you're doing here, what is going on.
Stevie says, I'd rather have insomnia than load up on drugs.
She prefers, she says, she'd rather have insomnia.
Insomnia is the inability to sleep during the nighttime or most nights.
Insomnia, not able to sleep.
To load up on something means to have, to use, to eat, or to buy a lot of something.
I'm going to load up on pasta when I go to the grocery store.
I'm going to get lots and lots of pasta because I love pasta.
I do.
I really do.
I'm going to load up on it.
The word load has several different meanings in English however, so take a look at our learning guide for some additional explanations.
Stevie says that she'd rather have insomnia than load up on drugs.
Louise says, have you tried waking him up when he snores or talks in his sleep?
Have you tried waking Patrick up?
To wake someone up means to make a noise or do something so that they stop sleeping.
Stevie says, I tried that one night, but he just ended up sleepwalking.
He just ended up means the final result was what happened after I did that was...
To sleepwalk means to get out of your bed and to start walking even though you are still sleeping.
You don't usually remember this after you wake up.
That is sleepwalking.
Luis says, What are you going to do?
G's here just is an expression of surprise or, in this case, perhaps confusion.
Stevie says, I wish I knew, meaning I don't know.
I wish I did know.
Luis says, it's a little early in your marriage for separate bedrooms, but I wouldn't rule it out.
Luis is saying that maybe you should sleep in different rooms, although you just got married, so it's a little early for that.
He says, however, he wouldn't rule it out.
To rule something out is to decide not to do something.
To decide that something is not an option.
I'm not going to do that in the future.
I'm not even going to consider it.
I'm going to rule it out.
Rule has several different meanings, also in English, so take a look at the learning guide for some additional explanations.
Finally, Stevie says, To keep something in mind means I will consider it.
I will not forget about it.
Meaning, we will have more serious problems than just sleeping in different rooms.
Now let's listen to the dialogue, this time at a normal speed.
So, how are the newlyweds doing?
Oh, we're great.
I'm just a little tired.
Well, that goes with the territory, right?
No, that's not what I mean.
Patrick has been keeping me up with his snoring.
Oh, that's a bummer.
Yeah, it really is.
I'm usually awakened soon after I fall asleep, and then I toss and turn all night.
That's not all.
Patrick also talks in his sleep.
Wow, that's terrible.
I'd make a beeline for some sleeping pills if I were you.
I took some one night last week, but I woke up groggy and disoriented.
I'd rather have insomnia than load up on drugs.
Have you tried waking him up when he snores or talks in his sleep?
I tried that one night, but he just ended up sleepwalking.
Geez, what are you going to do?
I wish I knew.
It's a little early in your marriage for separate bedrooms, but I wouldn't rule it out.
I'll keep it in mind.
If I don't get a good night's sleep soon, separate bedrooms will be the least of our problems.
It would be a bummer if we didn't have Dr Lucy Say to write our scripts for us, as she did for this episode.
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.
Copyright 2009 by the Center for Educational Development.
