Welcome to English as a Second Language.
Podcast number 309, Describing Distances and Giving Directions.
This is English as a Second Language podcast episode 309.
I'm your host, Dr. Jeff McQuillan.
Thank you, where you can find several premium courses, additional courses on daily English and business English topics.
This episode is called Describing Distances and Giving Directions.
It's going to be a dialogue between Daniela and someone who works at a hotel, a hotel clerk, about how to get to, how to arrive at different places in the city.
Let's get started.
Could you tell me where I can find a drugstore?
Sure.
There's one up the street near the corner of Selma and Main.
If you get to Abreu Avenue, you've gone too far.
It's set back from the street, so it's a little hard to find.
You know, I just remembered that there's a bigger and better drugstore around the block.
It's no more than a three-minute walk.
Go out the main doors of the hotel, hang a left, go straight for about a quarter of a mile and then make another left at the first street.
Okay, I think I've got that.
Thanks.
If you want a drugstore with a pharmacy, you'll need to walk a little farther.
Go out these doors, walk roughly three blocks until you get to a dead end.
Turn right, cross the street, and you'll see a bank.
It's Kitty Corner from the Bank.
You should be able to walk there in five minutes, give or take.
Thanks.
Thanks a lot.
I think I'm all set.
See you later.
You know, I just remembered that there's another drugstore.
Thanks, but I've really got to get going.
Bye.
Well, some people just don't appreciate other people's help.
Our dialogue begins with Daniela saying to the hotel clerk, the employee at the hotel Could you tell me where I can find a drugstore?
The hotel clerk says, sure, yes.
There's one up the street near the corner of Selma and Main.
Selma and Main are the names of two streets in their city.
The expression up the street means on the same street that you are on right now.
You will hear the expressions up the street and down the street, often meaning the same thing.
Up the street is sometimes used when you are up a hill, you are going up a hill.
Down the street could be going down the hill, but in general conversation they are often used to mean the same thing.
A close distance to where you are now.
The clerk says that the drugstore is up the street near the corner of Selma and Main.
The corner is what we call the place where two streets cross each other, where they meet.
That would be the corner.
Meet me on the corner of Hollywood and Vine means meet me on the corner of Hollywood Boulevard and Vine Street, which happens to be in the Hollywood section of Los Angeles.
Here, the drugstore is on the corner of Selma and Main.
The clerk says, if you get to Abreu Avenue, you've gone too far.
To go too far means to accidentally pass something.
To accidentally walk or drive past the place where you wanted to go.
For example, I left Minnesota... driving to Colorado.
But a couple of days later, I found myself in Los Angeles.
I asked someone, is this Colorado?
And they said, no, this is California.
You've gone too far.
But I decided to stay in L.A.
The hotel clerk says that the drugstore is set back from the street, so it's a little hard to find.
To be set back from a road or a street means that the building is not next to the street, not immediately next to the street.
The building is not close to the street.
There is some space, some distance between where the street ends and where the building begins.
Daniella says oh, that's okay, i'll keep an eye out for it, meaning i'll be looking for it carefully.
The hotel clerk says you know, I just remembered that there's a bigger and better drugstore around the block.
A block is what we call the space, usually a square, where there are four streets, one on each side.
That space, that area, is called a block.
When someone says it's around the block, they mean that you can go up the street and take a left or a right, and it will be on the street that crosses the one where you are.
Sometimes around the block just means it's very close, similar to up the street, but when it's on a different street.
The hotel clerk says it's no more than a three-minute walk.
Go out the main doors, meaning exit, or leave the main doors of the hotel, hang a left, go straight for about a quarter of a mile and then make another left at the first street.
To hang...
H-A-N-G, a left, is an informal way of saying to turn left, to make a left hand turn.
You can hang a left or you can hang a right.
When I was growing up, some kids would make a joke and say, hang a Louie.
Instead of saying left, they would say Louie because I guess it sounded funny.
The hotel clerk tells Daniela to hang a left, go straight.
Continue walking straight for about a quarter of a mile.
A mile, you probably know, is 1.61 kilometers, 5,280 feet to be exact.
Then the hotel clerk says make another left at the first street.
Daniela says, okay, I think I've got that, meaning I think I understand.
Thanks.
The hotel clerk continues now.
If you want a drugstore with a pharmacy, you'll need to go a little farther.
A pharmacy is a place where you can get drugs that are given to you or you are told to take by your doctor.
A drugstore sometimes doesn't have a pharmacy in it.
You can buy certain kinds of drugs, but you can't buy the drugs that your doctor gives you to take.
That require special permission.
The clerk says, Farther means at a greater distance, more.
The clerk says to Daniela go out these doors, exit these doors.
Through these doors walk roughly three blocks.
Roughly here means about, approximately, around.
I am roughly 5 feet 10 inches.
Maybe a little taller, maybe a little shorter.
The clerk says to Daniela, walk roughly three blocks until you get to a dead end.
A dead end, two words, is a street that stops.
It's where the street ends.
It doesn't continue going any further.
It's a dead end.
Sometimes a dead end means that the street doesn't connect to any other streets.
In our story, however, it means that the street ends.
So you need to take a right.
The hotel clerk says cross the street.
To cross means to walk over to the other side of the street.
And there you'll see a bank.
To cross something has a couple of different meanings.
Take a look at our learning guide for some additional explanations.
So the hotel clerk is explaining to Daniela how she will see a bank after she crosses the street.
The clerk says it's Kitty Corner from the bank.
The drugstore is Kitty, K-I-T-T-Y hyphen corner from the bank.
To be Kitty Corner from something means to be located on the other side of the street from in the opposite part of an intersection.
So you have two streets that cross each other.
There are four corners at the intersection.
If you are in the southwest corner, to be kitty corner would be on the northeast corner.
So it's on the other side of both streets.
When you are at an intersection where the two streets cross,
That's kitty corner.
It's diagonal from where you are.
A kitty is normally an informal word for a cat.
I don't know why it is related to this expression, but there you have it.
The clerk says to Daniela, you should be able to walk there in five minutes, give or take.
The expression give or take means more or less, approximately, about, roughly.
All of those mean the same.
I'm 130 pounds.
I weigh 130 pounds, give or take.
Sometimes we'll say, how much?
Give and take.
I weigh 130 pounds, give or take 50 pounds.
Meaning, maybe it's 50 pounds less, maybe it's 50 pounds more.
Daniela says, thanks, thanks a lot.
I think I'm all set.
To be all set means to be ready to do something, to be prepared to do something.
The word set has a couple of different meanings in English.
Again, take a look at the learning guide for additional explanations.
The clerk finally says, I just remembered there's another drugstore.
You know is a very common phrase in English, sometimes used to introduce a new idea or new information that you haven't thought about before.
The clerk wants to give her more directions to another drugstore.
Daniela says, thanks, but I've really got to get going.
Bye.
The hotel clerk seems upset that Daniela is leaving.
He says, well, some people just don't appreciate other people's help.
Now let's listen to the dialogue, this time at a normal speed.
Could you tell me where I can find a drugstore?
Sure, there's one up the street near the corner of Selma and Main.
If you get to Abreu Avenue, you've gone too far.
It's set back from the street, so it's a little hard to find.
Oh, that's okay.
I'll keep an eye out for it.
You know, I just remembered that there's a bigger and better drugstore around the block.
It's no more than a three-minute walk.
Go out the main doors of the hotel, hang a left...
Go straight for about a quarter of a mile, and then make another left at the first street.
Okay, I think I've got that.
Thanks.
Now, if you want a drugstore with a pharmacy, you'll need to walk a little farther.
Go out these doors, walk roughly three blocks until you get to a dead end.
Turn right, cross the street, and you'll see a bank.
It's Kitty Corner from the bank.
You should be able to walk there in five minutes, give or take.
Thanks.
Thanks a lot.
I think I'm all set.
See you later.
You know, I just remembered that there's another drugstore.
Thanks, but I've really got to get going.
Bye.
Well, some people just don't appreciate other people's help.
The script for this episode was written by Dr. Lucy Say.
From Los Angeles, California, I'm Jeff McQuillan.
Thanks for listening.
We'll see you next time on ESL Podcast.
English as a Second Language Podcast is written and produced by Dr Lucy Say, hosted by Dr Jeff McQuillan.
This podcast is copyright 2007.
