Welcome to English as a Second Language Podcast, number 525, Falling in Love.
This is English as a Second Language Podcast, episode 525.
I'm your host, Dr Jeff McQuillan, coming to you from the Center for Educational Development in beautiful Los Angeles, California.
Our website is at eslpod.com.
Go there to download a learning guide for this episode that contains all of the vocabulary definitions, sample sentences, additional definitions, comprehension questions, cultural notes, and did I mention a complete transcript of this episode?
This episode is called Falling in Love.
It is a dialogue between Maya and Jorge about that old story, a boy and a girl.
Let's get started.
What are those?
They're pictures from our ski trip last weekend.
Is there any reason you're staring at the ones with Jessica in them?
I think you've got a crush on her.
Then I think you're falling head over heels for her.
Don't be ridiculous.
I've only just met her.
I knew it was love at first sight when I introduced you at Yannick's party.
I could see the sparks fly.
I couldn't miss her blush or your silly grin.
There was certainly a lot of chemistry between the two of you, that's for sure.
I hardly talked to her at the party.
Yes, but I could see her stealing glances at you all night.
That must have been a figment of your imagination.
Oh really?
Okay, I won't deny that I'm attracted to Jessica, but I can't speak for her.
Yes, but I can.
What?
She asked me about you.
When?
Yesterday, at lunch.
What did she say?
What did you say?
That's for me to know and for you to find out.
Maya asks Jorge, What are those?
Jorge is looking at some pictures.
He says they're pictures from our ski trip last weekend.
Apparently he and some friends went skiing.
Maya says, is there any reason you're staring at the ones with Jessica in them?
To stare, S-T-A-R-E, means to look at something for a long time without looking at anything else.
Normally it's considered impolite or rude to stare at someone, even if you find that person attractive.
Jorge is staring at the picture, however, not at an actual person.
In particular, he's staring at a woman by the name of Jessica.
Maya says, I think you've got a crush on her.
A crush, C-R-U-S-H, is a feeling of liking someone romantically.
Usually we use this word in talking about children or teenagers.
When they say they like someone, we say they have a crush on them, someone they're interested in romantically, to the extent that children have actual romantic feelings.
That is the word we would use, a crush.
So Maya's using it sort of as a joke here because Jorge is obviously not a child.
Jorge says, I'm not 10 years old.
I don't get crushes.
The word crush actually has a couple of different meanings.
So take a look at the learning guide, you know, for some additional explanations.
Maya says, then I think you're falling head over heels for her.
This expression to fall head over heels, H-E-E-L-S is one to describe someone falling in love with another person, to have very strong feelings of love and affection, especially at the very beginning.
When you first start to like someone.
Someone who falls head over heels is someone who falls in love somewhat quickly.
Your heels are the bottom of your feet, so to fall head over heels would mean sort of like falling down because you're so much in love with this person, which can be kind of painful, both the falling down and the love part.
Jorge says, Don't be ridiculous.
I've only just met her.
Maya says, I knew it was love at first sight when I introduced you at Yannick's party.
The expression love at first sight S-I-G-H-T means you fall in love with someone the first time you see them.
You see a beautiful woman on the other side of the room, and you fall in love with her.
That's love at first sight.
That's what happened with me and my wife, actually.
It was love at first sight.
Well for me, she didn't even notice I was in the room, but from my perspective it was love at first sight.
Well, Maya introduced Jorge and Jessica at a party recently.
Maya says that she could see the sparks fly.
The expression sparks S-P-A-R-K-S fly means that there was an obvious romantic connection between the two.
A spark.
Technically is what happens, for example, if you were to take a match and strike it against a stone.
It might create a spark.
You'll see a small particle flying off, usually with a bright light.
That's a spark.
A spark can also mean, as in this case, a connection between two people, a romantic connection.
So Maya says she could see sparks fly.
She could see that they were falling in love with each other.
Maya says, I couldn't miss her blush or your silly grin.
To miss means not to notice, not to see.
So when Maya says I couldn't miss, she means it was obvious to me that she was blushing and you had a silly grin.
To blush means that your cheeks change color, usually to pink or red, either because you're embarrassed or perhaps because you're angry.
A woman might blush if you give her a compliment.
If she's embarrassed by it, perhaps she thinks it's too much.
Perhaps she knows you're trying to express your romantic interest.
A grin, G-R-I-N, is a small smile of happiness, usually without showing your teeth.
So Jorge was happy and Jessica was blushing because, perhaps, of something that Jorge said.
Maya insists that there was certainly a lot of chemistry between the two of you.
Chemistry in this context means a romantic attraction between two people where each person is interested in the other.
He likes her and she likes him.
Sometimes if you're watching a movie and you see that there's a couple in a movie who are supposed to be in love with each other but it doesn't really seem by their acting that they're in love with each other.
We might say they don't have any chemistry.
There's no obvious romantic connection with their characters, with their acting in this case.
Jorge says, I hardly talk to her at the party.
I hardly means very little.
I didn't talk to her very much.
Maya says, yes, but I could see her stealing glances at you all night.
A glance, G-L-A-N-C-E, is a quick look at someone.
We use the expression to steal a glance, meaning that you look at someone quickly without them noticing that you are looking at them.
This usually indicates that perhaps they're interested in you.
To steal here means to do it without the other person noticing.
Jorge says that must have been a figment of your imagination.
The expression to be a figment F-I-G-M-E-N-T of your imagination means that it's something that you made up, something that you invented, something you imagined.
That's not real, not true.
Maya says, oh really?
Jorge says, okay.
Now he confesses, I won't deny that I'm attracted to Jessica, but I can't speak for her.
He says I won't deny, meaning I will tell you the truth.
I won't say it isn't true.
I am attracted to Jessica.
Attracted to means that you like someone, you think you're interested in them in a romantic way.
You haven't necessarily fallen in love with them yet, but you're attracted to them.
You can be attracted to someone who isn't your romantic interest, someone you see in the movie or someone you see walking down the street.
Many times you'll feel some sort of physical attraction for that person.
And if you're single, you may then go up and talk to that person.
Probably not if you're like me, but I'm not single, so it's not a concern for me, is it?
Jorge says that he can't speak for her, meaning for Jessica.
To speak for someone means to speak on behalf of another person, to give the other person's ideas or opinions.
This is often necessary if the other person isn't there.
You may talk to them and you agree on some things.
And then you go to a meeting and you say well, I'm going to speak for Billy.
I'm going to speak for Laura, these are her ideas, her opinions.
Hopefully she's given you permission to speak for her.
Of course, you don't want to speak for someone who didn't give you permission to do so.
Well, Jorge says he can't speak for Jessica, meaning he doesn't know if Jessica is attracted to him.
Maya says...
Yes, but I can, meaning I can speak for Jessica.
And Jorge, surprised, says, What?
Maya says, Jessica asked me about you.
Jorge asks, When?
Maya says, Yesterday, at lunch.
Perhaps Jessica works in the same office.
Jorge says, What did she say?
He, of course, now is very interested.
He also asks, what did you say, Maya?
Maya says, somewhat jokingly, that's for me to know and for you to find out.
This phrase is used when you have some secret information, but you don't want to share it.
You don't want to give it to another person. you want to sort of tease that person.
That is, make them uncomfortable by telling them that you're not going to tell them the information.
That's for me to know and for you to find out, meaning I'm not going to tell you.
And you're sort of making not exactly fun of the other person, but you are exercising a certain control, a certain power over the situation because you have this secret information.
So that's the story of Jorge and Jessica.
Now let's listen to the dialogue, this time at a normal speed.
What are those?
They're pictures from our ski trip last weekend.
Is there any reason you're staring at the ones with Jessica in them?
I think you've got a crush on her.
I'm not 10 years old, I don't get crushes.
Then I think you're falling head over heels for her.
Don't be ridiculous, I've only just met her.
I knew it was love at first sight when I introduced you at Yannick's party.
I could see the sparks fly.
I couldn't miss her blush or your silly grin.
There was certainly a lot of chemistry between the two of you, that's for sure.
I hardly talked to her at the party.
Yes, but I could see her stealing glances at you all night.
That must have been a figment of your imagination.
Oh, really?
Okay, I won't deny that I'm attracted to Jessica, but I can't speak for her.
Yes, but I can.
What?
She asked me about you.
When?
Yesterday, at lunch.
What did she say?
What did you say?
That's for me to know and for you to find out.
It's no figment of my imagination.
This script was actually written by 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.
Copyright 2009 by the Center for Educational Development.
