Welcome to English as a Second Language podcast number 393, Trash and Recycling.
This is English as a Second Language podcast episode 393.
I'm your host, Dr Jeff McQuillan, coming to you from the Center for Educational Development In beautiful Los Angeles, California.
Transcription by CastingWords.
It has become popular in many countries, including the United States, to try to reuse certain things, to recycle certain things, to help protect the environment.
We'll listen to a dialogue between Rashid and Nicole talking about recycling.
Let's get started.
What are you doing?
I'm putting my garbage into the garbage can.
Why?
Don't you recycle?
You're supposed to separate out your recyclables and put them in a separate bin.
I know, I know.
But who has the time?
I don't have that much trash anyway.
Oh yeah?
The dump is full of food containers that aren't biodegradable from people who didn't have the time.
Come on, don't blow things out of proportion.
It's not like I'm going to save the environment all by myself.
No, you're not.
But if everybody thinks the same way you do, we're going to use up all of our natural resources.
When did you turn into an ecologist?
I don't see you conserving energy.
You have your lights on all night.
I can see them through your window.
I use energy efficient bulbs.
Besides, I take my recyclables to the recycling center.
I have energy efficient appliances and I turn down my thermostat.
I'm just saying that you're not doing everything you can to save the environment.
Okay, okay.
Put your money where your mouth is and help me separate out my recyclables.
Me?
You want me to help you sort through your garbage?
Since you're the expert, I need you to show me how.
Rajid asks Nicole, what are you doing?
Nicole says, I'm putting my garbage into the garbage can.
Why?
The garbage can is the thing that we use to hold waste, to keep things that we don't want, that we want to throw out.
But we have a garbage can usually inside of the house.
You put things inside a bag.
Then you take the bag and you put it outside to get rid of it.
Nicole says, why?
Rajid says, don't you recycle?
Meaning, don't you take your used plastic, glass, paper, and other things that can be used again.
Recycling is something that is popular in most American cities.
Here in Los Angeles, for example, we have different containers for newspapers, plastic, and glass.
We have a separate container for trash that is not recyclable, that you can't use again like you can paper.
Then we have a third container for leaves and grass.
The city then comes by once a week and it picks up the trash and it picks up the recycling material.
It then brings it to someone who then takes that and recycles it, who tries to reuse it.
Rajid says you're supposed to separate out your recyclables and put them in a separate bin.
Recyclables are, of course, things that you can recycle.
Things that can be made into new things.
A bin is a large plastic container used to store things in.
We often use this word in talking about the container you use for recycling.
Nicole says, I know, I know, but who has the time?
She's saying she doesn't have time to separate her trash into recyclables and non-recyclables.
She says, I don't have that much trash, that much garbage, anyway.
Rajid says, oh yeah?
We use this expression, oh yeah, meaning I think you're wrong.
It's a way of disagreeing with someone.
Rajid says, The dump.
D-U-M-P is a large, usually outdoor area that the city or companies use to put the garbage in.
To get rid of the trash and the garbage.
Sometimes it's called the garbage dump.
Dump has a couple of different meanings.
Take a look at the learning guide for some additional meanings of that word.
Rajit is saying that the garbage dump is full of food containers, which are things that you use to store or put other things, in this case food.
Food containers that aren't biodegradable, from people who didn't have the time, he says.
Biodegradable means that it is able to change into smaller pieces that will not damage or hurt the natural environment.
Something that is biodegradable will eventually be part of the environment again.
Something that is not biodegradable will be there 100 or 1000 or 2000 years.
So Rajid here is clearly complaining to Nicole that she is not doing what she should be doing.
Nicole says, come on, which could mean a couple of things.
Come on, is something you may say to someone who you are trying to get to move or to leave in a hurry.
A mother might say to her son, come on, we're late for school.
You have to run to get into the car.
But here Nicole is saying come on to mean that she doesn't believe what Rajid is saying or she disagrees with what he's saying.
Nicole says don't blow things out of proportion.
To blow something out of proportion means to make a problem seem bigger than it really is.
Nicole says, The environment is a general term for the natural world.
Everything that is not made by humans.
That's the general use of that term.
She's saying it's not like I'm going to save the environment, meaning I'm not going to save the environment all by myself.
Rajid says, no, you're not.
But if everybody thinks the same way you do, we're going to use up all of our natural resources.
To use up resources is a two-word phrasal verb meaning to use all of something, to use everything of something.
There are a couple of different meanings of this verb.
Take a look at our learning guide for some additional explanations.
Rashid is afraid that we are going to use up our natural resources.
These are things that people use from the environment, such as oil gas, the wood from trees, minerals.
All of these are natural resources.
Usually, we describe the things that we need for energy or things that we use in our society as natural resources.
Nicole says, when did you turn into an ecologist?
An ecologist, E-C-O-L-O-G-I-S-T is a person who cares about, and perhaps studies, the natural world, the environment.
It could be a scientist or it could just be someone who is concerned about the environment.
Another word we might use for that sort of person is an environmentalist.
So an ecologist could be a scientist or, more generally, someone who cares about the environment and protecting the environment.
Nicole says to Rajid, I don't see you conserving energy.
To conserve means, to use as little of something as possible, to use very little so that you will have more in the future.
You can conserve energy by not using a lot of electricity, by turning your lights off, by not driving as much, and so forth.
Nicole says to Rashid, you have your lights on all night.
I can see them through your window.
Obviously, Nicole and Rashid live close to each other.
Rashid says, however, I use energy efficient bulbs or light bulbs.
Energy efficient means the light bulbs don't use very much energy.
A light bulb is the thing you put in a lamp so that it gives off light when you plug it in, when you connect it to electricity.
Rajid says, besides, I take my recyclables to the recycling center.
I have energy efficient appliances and I turn down my thermostat.
A recycling center is a place where you can take things usually larger things or things that the city doesn't pick up to have them recycled.
Sometimes recycling centers will give you money if, for example, you bring in a lot of bottles or plastic bottles that can be recycled.
Here in Los Angeles it's very common in almost every part of the city to see people often people who don't have a lot of money, people who are poor go around and try to find recyclables.
They'll even look in the recycling bins of other people to try to take out the plastic or the recycling material the bottles in order to bring them to a recycling center and get a little money for them.
Rajid also says he turns down his thermostat.
Your thermostat is a tool that's used to control the temperature in a building, how hot or how warm it is in your house or in your office.
To turn down the thermostat means to lower the temperature of the thermostat so that you don't use as much energy.
Nicole says, I'm just saying that you're not doing everything you can to save the environment.
Then she says, okay, okay.
Put your money where your mouth is and help me separate out my recyclables.
The expression to put your money where your mouth is means to do what you are telling other people to do.
To make your own actions consistent with or agreeing with your words.
To do what you are telling others to do.
Nicole is saying, well, help me now separate my recyclables.
Rajid says, me?
You want me to help you sort through your garbage?
Nicole then says, jokingly, since you're the expert, I need you to show me how.
Now let's listen to the dialogue, this time at a normal speed.
What are you doing?
I'm putting my garbage into the garbage can.
Why?
Why?
Don't you recycle?
You're supposed to separate out your recyclables and put them in a separate bin.
I know, I know, but who has the time?
I don't have that much trash anyway.
Oh yeah?
The dump is full of food containers that aren't biodegradable from people who didn't have the time.
Come on, don't blow things out of proportion.
It's not like I'm going to save the environment all by myself.
No, you're not.
But if everybody thinks the same way you do, we're going to use up all of our natural resources.
When did you turn into an ecologist?
I don't see you conserving energy.
You have your lights on all night.
I can see them through your window.
I use energy-efficient bulbs.
Besides, I take my recyclables to the recycling center, I have energy-efficient appliances and I turn down my thermostat.
I'm just saying that you're not doing everything you can to save the environment.
Okay, okay.
Put your money where your mouth is and help me separate out my recyclables.
Me?
You want me to help you sort through your garbage?
Since you're the expert, I need you to show me how.
The script for this episode was written by Dr. Lucy Say. who never recycles her scripts.
From Los Angeles, California, I'm Jeff McQuillan.
Thanks 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.
This podcast is copyright 2008.
