Welcome to English as a Second Language podcast number 610, Preparing to Travel.
This is English as a Second Language podcast episode 610.
I'm your host Dr. Jeff McQuillan coming to you from the Center for Educational Development.
In beautiful Los Angeles, California, blue skies, 72 degrees, another beautiful day in L.A.
If you can't visit us here in Los Angeles, visit our website at eslpod.com.
You can download the learning guide for this episode that includes additional information, including a complete transcript of this episode, to help you improve your English even faster.
This episode is called Preparing to Travel.
It's a dialogue between Shannon and Ignacio, using a lot of vocabulary that you would need before you go on a trip.
Let's get started.
It looks like you're ready for your trip.
You must be psyched.
Yeah, I am.
I'm almost ready.
I could pick up your mail for you.
Thanks, but it'll just be easier this way.
I've also called the newspaper office to have my newspaper delivery suspended.
Tomorrow I'll arrange for my bank to automatically pay my bills, so I won't have my utilities cut off or accrue any late fees.
I could pay your bills for you.
I don't mind.
It's nice of you to offer, but I've got it covered.
This morning I took my plants over to my neighbor's house.
He agreed to water them for me while I'm gone.
I could have come over and watered your plants.
That wouldn't have been a problem at all.
Thanks for being willing to do that.
As always, you're so helpful.
Oh, I try my best.
I was wondering if I could ask just one favor from you.
Of course you can.
Just name it.
You know my dog, Rex.
Oh, no.
I could board him at a kennel, but he's had bad luck at kennels.
Could you look after him while i'm gone?
No way, why.
Why don't you ask the people who worked at those kennels where rex has been?
I'm willing to pitch in, but i'm no sucker.
Shannon begins the dialogue by saying It looks like you're ready for your trip.
You must be psyched.
To be psyched.
P-S-Y-C-H-E-D means to be very excited about something.
It's a very informal expression.
It means you are mentally prepared for something, something that you want to do, that you are looking forward to do.
Ignacio says, To hold the mail or hold your mail means not to have your mail delivered to your house for a specific period of time.
In other words, the post office, the local building where the mail is taken care of.
They will keep your mail at the post office while you are on vacation.
The reason people do this is because they don't want all this mail coming to their house and people would realize that they weren't there and therefore they might try to steal something.
So it's very common for people to hold their mail when they go on a long vacation, let's say a week or more.
That's what Ignacio is doing.
Shannon says, I could pick up your mail for you.
I could drive to your house every day or every other day, every second day, and get it for you.
Ignacio says thanks, but it'll just be easier this way.
I've also called the newspaper office to have my newspaper delivery suspended.
To suspend something... means to temporarily, for a short time, stop doing something.
You plan on doing it again in the future, but for right now, you don't want it done.
In this case, Ignacio is suspending his newspaper delivery, where they come every morning and bring a newspaper to your house.
I have my newspaper delivered every morning.
Well Ignacio, because he's going to be gone, doesn't want a bunch of newspapers sitting outside his house, which is again something that if you were a thief, if you were someone who likes to rob or steal things from houses, you would see that and think the person is not at home and you can break into their house.
It's the same idea as we mentioned about the male.
Suspend has a couple of different meanings in English.
You can find those in this episode's learning guide.
Ignacio says, tomorrow I'll arrange for my bank.
I will call my bank and tell them to automatically pay my bills so I won't have my utilities cut off or accrue any late fees.
So Ignacio is calling his bank and telling them to automatically pay his bills.
Many banks now on their websites allow you to pay your bills electronically.
And you can even have it done automatically.
So you don't even have to go in to the website.
They will automatically pay the bill for you.
And that's what Ignacio wants.
He's especially concerned about his utilities.
A utility...
U-T-I-L-I-T-Y is a service that is provided by typically the government to you.
We are referring to your water, your gas, your electricity.
These are all things that the government, the local government does, takes care of, but of course you have to pay for it.
Collectively, that is, as a group, we call these utilities.
If you are renting an apartment, sometimes it will include utilities, meaning it would be part of your rent.
You don't have to pay extra.
Sometimes it doesn't.
Ignacio is concerned that they will cut off his utilities.
To cut off is a two-word phrasal verb meaning to stop providing a service, usually because you haven't paid for it.
So if you don't pay your phone bill...
He's also concerned about accruing late fees.
To accrue A-C-C-R-U-E means to have something add up over time, for something to increase or become larger.
Usually we use this verb when we are talking about something financial, something related to money.
If you don't pay your utilities, the utility company may charge you an extra fee, an extra amount of money, for being late.
That's what a late fee is.
Ignacio doesn't want to have a bunch of late fees.
He has to pay, so that's why he wants his bills paid automatically.
Shannon again offers to help.
She says, I could pay your bills for you.
I don't mind, meaning it's no problem for me.
Ignacio says, it's nice of you to offer, but I've got it covered.
To have something covered or to have got something covered is an informal way of saying that you have already fixed the problem or you have taken care of the problem.
You have everything under control, we might also say.
Ignacio says.
This morning I took my plants over to my neighbor's house.
His flowers perhaps, Ignacio says.
The neighbor agreed to water them for me while I'm gone.
To water here means to give the plants water so that they don't die.
This is the problem I think I have when I get a plant, I forget to water it. and it dies.
I don't know why the plant doesn't ask me for the water.
Tell me it's thirsty.
I just don't understand.
Anyway, back to the episode.
Shannon says, I could have come over and watered your plants.
I could have come over if you had asked me.
This is what we call a conditional clause.
That wouldn't have been a problem at all.
Again, there's an idea of if you do something, then I would do something else.
But Shannon, of course, was not asked by Ignacio, and that's why she's using the conditional form.
Ignacio says, thanks for being willing to do that.
Shannon says, Oh, I try my best.
I do my best.
Ignacio then says, Ask you to do one thing.
Shannon says, of course you can.
Just name it.
When someone says name it, they mean you are willing to do whatever the other person wants or needs.
It's an informal phrase.
It's saying I will do whatever you want me to do.
Ignacio says, you know my dog, Rex?
Rex is the name of the dog.
Shannon says, oh no.
Ignacio says, I could board him at a kennel, but he's had bad luck at kennels.
A kennel is a place where you can leave your dog or your cat or other small pets while you are traveling.
It's like a hotel for animals.
To board means in this case to pay for the animal to be at the kennel.
Ignacio says, could you look after him while I'm gone?
To look after someone means to take care of someone, to keep someone safe or out of trouble.
My mother is sick.
I need to go to her house to look after her.
Shannon, however, says no way, meaning absolutely not.
I will not look after your dog.
Ignacio says why?
Shannon says why don't you ask the people who worked at those kennels where Rex has been?
In other words, if Rex had a problem at the kennel, it's probably because he's not a good dog.
Shannon says, I'm willing to pitch in, but I'm no sucker.
To pitch P-I-T-C-H in is a two-word phrasal verb meaning to help someone do something, to assist with something, typically doing a small part of a larger project or job.
If you have a big project at work, the boss may ask everyone to pitch in, everyone to help, or he may use another phrasal verb to help out.
Shannon says she is willing to pitch in, but she's no sucker.
She's not a sucker.
S-U-C-K-E-R.
A sucker is a person who is easily fooled, who is easily tricked.
We might also say a gullible person.
In Shakespeare's play Othello, Othello was sort of a sucker.
He was someone who believed everything that he was told.
Well, this expression is very informal, but it means the same thing.
Someone who believes what he or she is told and is easily fooled.
The word is sometimes used as an insult.
See you later, sucker.
You shouldn't say that, typically, however.
It's kind of a mean thing and someone might decide to put their fist into your face if you say that.
Now let's listen to the dialogue, this time at a normal speed.
It looks like you're ready for your trip.
You must be psyched.
Yeah, I am.
I'm almost ready.
I've gone to the post office and filled out a form so that they'll hold my mail while I'm gone.
I could pick up your mail for you.
Thanks, but it'll just be easier this way.
I've also called the newspaper office to have my newspaper delivery suspended.
Tomorrow I'll arrange for my bank to automatically pay my bills, so I won't have my utilities cut off or accrue any late fees.
I could pay your bills for you.
I don't mind.
It's nice of you to offer, but I've got it covered.
This morning, I took my plants over to my neighbor's house.
He agreed to water them for me while I'm gone.
I could have come over and watered your plants.
That wouldn't have been a problem at all.
Thanks for being willing to do that.
As always, you're so helpful.
I try my best.
I was wondering if I could ask just one favor from you.
Of course you can.
Just name it.
You know my dog, Rex?
Oh, no.
I could board him at a kennel, but he's had bad luck at kennels.
Could you look after him while I'm gone?
No way.
Why?
Why don't you ask the people who worked at those kennels where Rex has been?
I'm willing to pitch in, but I'm no sucker.
Don't worry about our scripts.
Dr. Lucy Say's got it covered.
Thank you, Lucy.
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 2010 by the Center for Educational Development.
