Welcome to a new episode of English Vocabulary Booster.
My name is Lara and I'm a SALSA-certified English teacher.
Learning new vocabulary usually takes a long time, but we'll do it in a way that's easy, quick and efficient.
In every episode, we'll learn how to use five new English words or expressions, so that you too can start speaking like a native.
So let's get learning!
Hey, you guys.
Welcome back.
Long time no see.
Actually not for you, because you guys were able to listen to the podcast every Wednesday, but I told you I was going to take a little break from recording and I did.
All right.
Without further ado, let's move on.
Let's talk about today's topic.
Today, we're going to talk about light and electricity.
Zzz.
That was my rendition of electricity.
Dad, what happened?
I don't know, Nick.
I think the power went out.
What do we do now?
Dad will show you how to fix it.
Come on, let's go down to the basement.
Let's figure out what happened.
Now, careful, son.
It's pitch black.
Watch where you put your feet.
Grab the flashlight, please.
We don't have one, Dad.
All right.
Well, just use your phone, then.
All right.
Good idea, Dad.
Okay, now point it over here.
Huh.
See?
This is the problem.
Now, we just gotta flip the switch.
No, not you.
I don't want you to get electrocuted.
Okay, ready?
And... Boom!
The power's back on.
Wow, Dad.
There you go, son.
See how easy that was?
I mean, I actually know quite a lot about these kinds of things.
Because when I was... Um, Dad?
I think the power went out again.
I know, son.
I know.
Alright, ready for some new expressions?
Expression number one, the power goes out.
I don't know, Nick.
I think the power went out.
If the power goes out, do you have electricity or not?
Nope, if the power goes out, you are left with no electricity in the house.
And what can cause the power to go out?
So there's a bunch of reasons.
One of the reasons could be the weather, especially if there's I don't know like a really big storm or a tornado or I don't know like something pretty big weather wise, then the power might go out temporarily or even for quite a long time.
Or if nothing's happening, it might also be because the electrical circuit of the house is overloaded.
That happens, for example, when you have too many appliances working at the same time.
So I don't know, maybe your dishwasher and the washing machine, and then you're also cooking.
You know all that stuff.
If you're using too much power, that might cause the power to go out.
When was the last time the power went out in your house?
It wasn't that long ago.
I think it was maybe a couple of days ago.
Because this happens pretty frequently in our house.
I remember I was in the bathroom and I was about to blow dry my hair.
And I plugged in the hair dryer and the power just went out.
Because my boyfriend was cooking.
We had the heater up and running in the other room.
So it was just too much for our poor little apartment to handle.
And so the power went out.
Expression number two, pitch black.
Now, careful, son.
It's pitch black.
If it's pitch black in a room, how much light enters a room?
A lot or none?
None.
If it's pitch black in a room, it's completely dark.
There's not even a little bit of light coming in.
So if it's pitch black, how much can you see?
Nothing.
You can't see anything because it's too dark for your eyes to see.
Do you like for it to be pitch black when you go to sleep or do you prefer a little light?
Hmm.
I think so.
I usually can't sleep well if there's too much light coming into the room.
Um, so I, I want the room to be really dark.
However, especially if I'm sleeping by myself, I don't like for it to be pitch black, because I get a little scared, because you know monsters.
No, but seriously, um, I don't like for it to be pitch black.
I.
I want it to be dark, but I want to be able to still see.
If I have to get up, especially in the, I want to be able to see what's going on around me.
Expression number three, flashlight.
Grab the flashlight, please.
A flashlight is a small electric light that you carry.
How?
In your hand or on your head.
A flashlight is a small electric light that you carry in your hand.
It's usually small enough for you to hold it with one hand only.
Sometimes if it's very big, I would say two, but usually just one.
Do you have a flashlight at home?
No, we don't have a flashlight at home.
I don't think it's really necessary nowadays because every phone has a flashlight.
Pretty much every phone, I think.
But yeah, obviously it's not a great flashlight.
It's not very powerful either.
But it does the job.
Expression number four, switch.
Now we just got to flip the switch.
What does a switch do?
Does it turn on electrical stuff?
Does it turn it off?
Or does he do both?
A switch can do both.
You can turn on electrical stuff, electrical equipment, lights.
But it can also turn these things off.
Where are switches usually located?
On objects or on walls?
On both.
You have both switches that control the lights in the different rooms.
And those are placed on the walls.
But then you also have switches on certain objects, like I don't know the lamp right next to me.
It has a switch.
Let's see, what else has a switch?
The rice cooker that I have in the kitchen, that has a switch.
When flipped or pressed, does a switch change position?
Yes.
So listen to this carefully, because it may seem trivial, it may seem stupid, but it's a big difference.
The difference between a switch and a button is the fact that when you press a switch or you flip a switch, it changes its position.
With a button that doesn't happen, because you press the button and then the button comes right back.
Check your room and count.
How many switches are there?
So and I'm in my bedroom.
Well, you know, because this is where I record the podcast, just like all professionals do, sitting in their bed.
So I'm counting one, two, I got three switches on the walls.
And then I have two on the two lamps that I have one on each side of the bed.
So Five in total.
Expression number five, get electrocuted.
No, not you.
I don't want you to get electrocuted.
If you get electrocuted, where does the electricity go?
Away from your body.
So does it leave your body or does it pass through your body?
If you get electrocuted, that means that the electricity passes through your body.
And what happens to someone that gets electrocuted?
Unfortunately, if you get electrocuted, that means that you're likely gonna die, because it's a pretty serious matter.
What things should you avoid doing if you don't want to get electrocuted?
Well, first of all, do not touch any live wires.
If you see any wires that are, let's say, exposed, don't touch it, okay?
If the power is on, that is very dangerous.
If there's a storm outside, another thing you shouldn't do is open your umbrella, because that attracts the lightning.
I think.
I'm no scientist.
You know that.
Do not stand under a tree because that's really dangerous.
And do not get in the water.
And then there's this other thing that I don't know if it's true, because my mom used to tell me when I was little, but she always told me to not open the fridge when my hair was wet or when my feet were wet.
I forget one of the two or both my hair and my feet or either my hair or my feet.
I don't know when something was wet.
She didn't want me to open the fridge.
I don't know if that's just something that my mom said.
Let me know and reach out to me and tell me if your parents taught you that as well, or if it's all right to do it.
Just in case, don't do it though.
And that is it for today.
And remember, if you want to access the transcript, as well as lots of other resources, visit enboocom.
That is E-N-B-O-O-O dot com.
Have a great day.
