Welcome to English as a Second Language podcast number 1249, Making Temporary Repairs.
This is English as a Second Language podcast, episode 1249.
I'm your host, Dr Jeff McQuillan, coming to you from the Center for Educational Development in beautiful Los Angeles, California.
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This episode is a dialogue about fixing things that are broken, at least for a short time, until you can fix them permanently.
Let's get started.
Hey, what happened to the lights?
I think you have a short break. or maybe a loose wire.
Don't worry.
In an emergency, I'm your man.
Whatever the problem is, I can probably find a stopgap solution.
When I was growing up, we lived in the middle of nowhere, and my parents had to make do.
They improvised all the time. using what was on hand to make repairs.
They did what they had to do.
Whatever the problem was, they were able to cobble together something, even if it was a little makeshift.
Like to think I learned a thing or two from them.
So do you think you can fix this?
Well, it's not going to be done properly, but I'll jury-rig something, so the lights will work temporarily until you can get it repaired professionally.
That's great, but just in case, I think I'll run to the store for some candles.
This episode is called Making Temporary Repairs.
Something that is temporary is for a short time.
The opposite of temporary is permanent.
P-E-R-M-A-N-E-N-T.
Desiree says to Chris in our dialogue, what happened to the lights?
Chris says, I think you have a short or maybe a loose wire.
Electricity is of course transmitted through through wires, to your light bulbs and your computers and other machines in your house.
If these wires somehow touch each other in a way they shouldn't, you can get something called a short S-H-O-R-T.
The word short is short for short circuit, which is when the two wires touch each other in such a way that the electricity no longer transmits properly to your lights or your other machines.
Desiree says, my guests are going to arrive any minute.
Desiree, we guess here is having a party and she has invited people to her house, her guests, and the guests are supposed to arrive or show up any minute, meaning very soon.
Desiree has some problem with her lights, and she's asking Chris for help.
Chris says, don't worry.
In an emergency, I'm your man.
An emergency, E-M-E-R-G-E-N-C-E, is some unexpected, sudden situation that is dangerous or dangerous going to cause or has caused some harm Chris is saying that if you find yourself in a dangerous situation or a situation that you need help with he is your man he says I'm your man that expression is used To mean that you have the skills or the knowledge or the experience to do what another person needs you to do.
For example, if you know a lot about programming, computer programming and someone says I need someone to help me build a new app for the computer,
Google Play or Apple App Store.
You might say, I'm your man.
That means I know what you need in order to get this done.
I have the skills.
I have the qualifications, we might say.
That's what Chris is saying to Desiree.
Maybe he likes Desiree, and like a lot of guys, like a lot of men...
He wants to impress her.
He wants her to think that he is intelligent or he has a lot of skills.
Chris says, I'm your man.
Whatever the problem is, I can probably find a stopgap solution.
A solution that is stopgap, S-T-O-P-G-A-P, is temporary.
It won't last a long time, but it will be good enough for now.
Desiree says, are you sure?
I don't want you to get electrocuted.
To get electrocuted.
E-L-E-C-T-R-O-C-U-T-E-D is to get an electrical shock, that is, to receive a high amount of electricity accidentally, Usually so much so that it can kill you, that you might be harmed or even killed by it.
Now, sometimes people get electrocuted on purpose when a government decides to kill someone.
Because that person is a criminal.
One way of doing it is to electrocute the person, to put electricity into his body until he's dead.
But here we're talking about accidental electrocution.
Desiree is concerned that perhaps Chris doesn't know what he's doing.
Chris says.
However, when I was growing up, We lived in the middle of nowhere and my parents had to make do.
To live in the middle of nowhere means to live far away from any city or far away from other people.
Chris says he grew up in the middle of nowhere, that is, in a small town or perhaps on a farm somewhere.
And his parents had to make do.
The verb to make do is an unusual one.
We usually think of the verb to make or the verb to do.
But there's actually a verb in English which is to make do.
And that means to be satisfied with what you have or with what is possible, even though it isn't a perfect solution to the problem.
So if someone says to you you just have to make do, that person means you have to be satisfied with or happy with whatever you have, even if it isn't enough or even if it isn't a perfect solution to your problem.
If you don't have enough money, you have to make do.
You have to just find a solution even if it isn't a perfect one.
Chris says his parents had to make do.
They improvised all the time. using what was on hand to make repairs.
To improvise I-M-P-R-O-V-I-S-E means to do something without a plan, to do something without having thought about it carefully before doing it.
Sometimes that's necessary in an emergency.
You have to think creatively, we might say.
You have to think of a solution right away.
That's improvising.
There's actually a form of comedy called improvisation, where the actors and actresses, or the comedians, make up jokes about right there, on the spot, without having a chance to write them down and practice them.
They're doing it live.
In fact, we call that kind of comedy, improvisation comedy, improv.
It means to improvise a joke, to think of the joke right away without having a chance to prepare it.
It's one of my favorite kinds of comedy.
The verb to improvise however, is used more generally to mean to do anything without planning it first.
Chris says that his parents improvised all the time, meaning frequently using what was on hand H-A-N-D to make repairs.
On hand means what is available and ready to use right now.
Desiree says that Chris's parents sound very handy, H-A-N-D-Y.
To be handy means to be very good at using your hands and simple tools in order to fix things.
A person who is handy is someone who is able to repair or fix things in a house, for example.
We even have the expression a handyman.
A handyman is someone that you can pay money to to come over to your house and fix small problems.
Handymen usually also don't have the education or licenses to fix things like electrical problems or plumbing, although many times they are able to do those sorts of things.
The adjective handy then is used to refer to someone or describe someone who has those skills and abilities.
Chris says that his parents did what they had to do.
Whatever the problem was, he says the parents were able to cobble together something, even if it was a little makeshift.
To cobble C-O-B-B-L-E together.
Something means to be able to combine or put different things together quickly in order to solve a problem.
If a solution to your problem is makeshift, M-A-K-E-S-H-I-F-T, It is temporary.
It is something that was done quickly to solve the problem now, but is not a permanent repair or solution.
I like to think I learned a thing or two from them, meaning from his parents.
The expression to learn a thing or two means to get some basic knowledge about something through your experiences with it.
So by taking time In trying to understand web design, I learned a thing or two from that experience of trying to solve some basic problems with my website.
That would be one way of using that expression.
Desiree then asks Chris, so do you think you can fix this?
Chris says well, it's not going to be done properly, meaning I'm not going to fix it the correct way, but I'll jury rig something.
So the lights will work temporarily until you can get it repaired professionally.
To jury.
J-U-R-Y hyphen rig R-I-G.
Something is to repair something, or fix something for a short time until you can do it correctly later.
It's a temporary fix of something.
Chris thinks he can fix the lights temporarily until Desiree can get them repaired or fixed professionally by an electrician, by someone who has the skills to do it correctly.
Desiree says, that's great.
But just in case, I think I'll run to the store for some candles.
Just in case, C-A-S-E, is a common expression meaning as a precaution.
I'm going to do something to prepare myself if this other thing doesn't work.
For example, when I was in my early 20s, I decided I would get a teaching license.
I would go back to school and get a license from the government to be a teacher, just in case I needed to have a job.
Because I didn't really want to become a teacher, but I thought well, the world will always need teachers.
I will always be able to get a job.
So I got my teaching license just in case.
Then I discovered I really liked teaching and decided to continue being a teacher.
But originally that wasn't my plan.
I got my license just in case whatever else I wanted to do didn't work out, wasn't successful.
Desiree wants to go to the store to get some candles, just in case Chris is not able to fix her lights.
Candles C-A-N-D-L-E-S are blocks of wax with a string that you light with a fire and burn in order to give you light.
Now let's listen to the dialogue, this time at a normal speed.
Hey, what happened to the lights?
I think you have a short or maybe a loose wire.
My guests are going to arrive any minute.
What am I going to do?
Don't worry.
In an emergency, I'm your man.
Whatever the problem is, I can probably find a stopgap solution.
Are you sure?
I don't want you to get electrocuted.
When I was growing up, we lived in the middle of nowhere, and my parents had to make do.
They improvised all the time, using what was on hand to make repairs.
They both sound very handy.
They did what they had to do.
Whatever the problem was, they were able to cobble together something, even if it was a little makeshift.
I like to think I learned a thing or two from them.
So do you think you can fix this?
Well, it's not going to be done properly, but I'll jury-rig something, so the lights will work temporarily until you can get it repaired professionally.
That's great.
But just in case, I think I'll run to the store for some candles.
You don't need to make do with your English.
You can find a permanent solution by listening to the dialogues written by our wonderful script writer, Dr Lucy Say.
From Los Angeles, California, I'm Jeff McQuillan.
Thanks for listening.
Come back and listen to us again right here on ESL Podcasts.
English as a Second Language podcast is written and produced by Dr Lucy Say, hosted by Dr Jeff McQuillan.
Copyright 2016 by the Center for Educational Development.
