Welcome to English as a Second Language Podcast number 345, The Seven-Year Itch.
This is English as a Second Language Podcast, episode 345.
I'm your host, guess who?
Dr Jeff McQuillan, that's right from Los Angeles, California.
I should say beautiful Los Angeles, California.
And the Center for Educational Development.
I'm feeling good today.
Be sure to visit our website at eslpodcom where you can download a learning guide for this episode, and Our learning guides are 8-10 page PDF files that contain all of the vocabulary definitions, sample sentences using our new vocabulary in different contexts, additional explanations of words that have additional meanings beyond what we talk about on this episode.
You'll also find a cultural note, as well as some comprehension questions in the learning guide.
Again, go to our website for more information.
This dialogue is called the seven-year itch.
It's about how husbands and wives sometimes separate or divorce, and Because the man wants to find a new partner.
Let's get started.
Did you hear the news?
Nancy and Brian are splitting up.
How long have they been married?
How do you know?
Maybe it was Nancy who had a wandering eye.
Maybe, but it's a shame.
They were such a nice couple.
Doesn't anyone take marriage vows seriously these days?
To me, it's a lifelong commitment.
If you ask me, I think our notion of marriage is outdated.
Conventional wisdom is that everybody wants to be unfaithful after they've been married a few years.
Why not make marriage a short-term arrangement?
In my view...
A marriage should last for seven years unless you want to renew.
If you don't, you each go your separate ways.
You make marriage sound like an apartment contract.
Not everybody is as cynical as you are.
I don't think that most couples think seriously about committing adultery and many couples stay together for life.
You may live in La La Land, but I live in the real world.
If that's the real world, I don't want to live there.
Our dialogue begins with Sonny saying to Igor, Did you hear the news?
Did you hear what happened?
Nancy and Brian are splitting up.
To split up is a two-word phrasal verb meaning to end a relationship, especially a romantic relationship.
The person who ends the relationship is usually the one who is described as splitting up with.
For example, My girlfriend told me she was splitting up with me.
She wanted to leave me.
I didn't want to leave her.
That's the way it usually goes.
Or went, when I was dating.
To split up has a couple of different meanings in English.
Take a look at our learning guide for some more explanations.
Well, Sonny says that Nancy and Brian are splitting up.
Igor says, how long have they been married?
Sonny says eight years.
I'm sure it was the seven-year itch.
To itch is when you get a sensation on your skin that you need to scratch.
That's an itch, I-T-C-H.
The seven-year itch refers to an idea that is popular, at least in the United States that people will become tired of their marriage after about seven years.
So you get married.
Seven years later, you decide, eh.
Maybe I'll find someone else.
That's the seven-year itch.
It was also a movie, a very interesting movie.
Take a look at our learning guide in the cultural note where we talk about this movie, the seven-year itch.
So Sonny thinks that Brian and Nancy are splitting up because of the seven-year itch.
She then says what women often say when they find out two people are splitting up that they know.
To be unfaithful means to be not loyal.
When you are talking about a romantic relationship, It means having another relationship with someone else who is not your wife husband, girlfriend or boyfriend.
So if you are married and then you start having a relationship, we would say start seeing another person.
That would be unfaithful.
Igor says, how do you know?
Maybe it was Nancy. who had a wandering eye.
A wandering eye means a tendency or typical behavior of flirting of trying to get other people interested in you romantically who are not your wife or husband, boyfriend or girlfriend.
So when we say a man has a wandering eye, that means he's in a relationship, but he's always trying to get the attention of other women.
Igor is saying that Nancy, the woman in this relationship, had the wandering eye.
Sonny says maybe, but it's a shame.
It's too bad.
When you feel sad about something, you may say it's a shame.
Your marriage vow, V-O-W, is a promise.
Your marriage vows are promises that a husband and wife makes to each other.
You can also use the word vow as a verb.
I vow I will...
Make sure that I do the vacuuming tonight, dear.
I vow, I promise.
Marriage vows then are promises between a husband and a wife.
When you have a marriage, when you have a wedding ceremony.
That's when you exchange these promises, these vows.
Sonny says...
To me, marriage is a lifelong commitment.
Lifelong, one word, means for your entire life, until you die.
A commitment is a promise to behave in a certain way, a promise to do something.
So marriage is a lifelong commitment.
Eager says, if you ask me if you want my opinion...
I think our notion of marriage is out of date.
Notion means idea or concept, a way of thinking about something.
Igor is saying that our notion of marriage is out of date.
Out of date means the same as old-fashioned or outdated, something that doesn't belong to the present time.
Igor continues conventional wisdom is that everybody wants to be unfaithful after they've been married a few years.
Conventional wisdom means common opinion, public opinion, ideas that are accepted by most people.
Something that is conventional is something that is typical.
It's the way it's always been done. conventional wisdom is that everybody wants to be unfaithful.
Why not make marriage a short-term arrangement, he asks.
Short-term means for a short or limited period of time.
In my view.
Igor continues and you know he's getting himself into problems by saying this A marriage should last for seven years unless you want to renew.
To renew means to continue to do something for a longer period.
If you become a member of ESL Podcast, you can renew.
You can each month continue your membership.
Well, Igor thinks that you should be able to renew your marriage...
If you don't, you should each go your separate ways.
To go your separate ways means to end the relationship, especially a romantic relationship.
So each person can do what they want to do, not be married anymore.
Sonny, of course, doesn't agree.
She says, you make marriage sound like an apartment contract.
A contract is a legal, written, usually document between two people.
So Sonny is saying, you make marriage sound like it's just like any other agreement.
Not everybody is as cynical as you.
To be cynical C-Y-N-I-C-A-L means believing that bad things will happen, not believing anything good can happen.
You're being negative, pessimistic.
He's cynical.
Sonny's saying that Igor is cynical about marriage.
I don't think that most couples think seriously about committing adultery and many couples stay together for life.
Adultery A-D-U-L-T-E-R-Y is when a married person has sexual relations with someone who isn't his wife or her husband.
That would be adultery.
Not a good thing.
Don't recommend it.
Igor says you may live in La La Land, but I live in the real world.
La La Land is an expression that means a place or time that is imaginary, that is silly, that it is not a serious way of looking at life.
You're saying to someone, you are wrong, you are living in an imaginary world.
You're in La La Land.
A lot of people describe Los Angeles this way.
Of course, La La is spelled L-A hyphen L-A.
Sonny says, if that's the real world, I don't want to live there.
Guess who will be sleeping on the couch tonight?
Now let's listen to the dialogue, this time at a normal speed.
Did you hear the news?
Nancy and Brian are splitting up.
How long have they been married?
Eight years.
I'm sure it was a seven-year itch.
I bet Brian was unfaithful to Nancy.
If you ask me, I think our notion of marriage is out of date.
Conventional wisdom is that everybody wants to be unfaithful after they've been married a few years.
Why not make marriage a short-term arrangement?
In my view, a marriage should last for seven years unless you want to renew.
If you don't, you each go your separate ways.
You make marriage sound like an apartment contract.
Not everybody is as cynical as you are.
I don't think most couples think seriously about committing adultery and many couples stay together for life.
You may live in La La Land, but I live in the real world.
If that's the real world, I don't want to live there.
The script for this episode was written by Dr. Lucy Say, who's never had the seven-year itch.
From Los Angeles, California, I'm Jeff McQuillan.
I haven't had the seven-year itch either.
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 2008.
