Welcome to English as a Second Language podcast number 507, Guarding One's Privacy.
This is English as a Second Language podcast episode 507.
I'm your host, Dr Jeff McQuillan, coming to you from the Center for Educational Development and Transcription by CastingWords, cultural notes and a complete transcript of this episode of everything we say.
This episode is called Guarding One's Privacy.
It's a dialogue between Dan and Mina, talking about people who want to keep their personal information private or secret.
Let's get started.
I went to visit my old friend Mina, whom I hadn't seen in several years.
It was one of the strangest afternoons of my life.
Hi, Mina.
It's really good to see you.
Dan, come in.
Hurry.
Uh, okay.
Why do you have four locks on your door, and why are all of the curtains drawn?
I like my privacy.
And anyway, I think there's a peeping Tom around this apartment building and I don't want him to get a peek into my apartment.
Oh, okay.
I noticed that your name isn't on your mailbox.
I wasn't sure I had the right apartment number.
Do you think I would voluntarily give people that information?
They are constantly trying to invade my privacy.
All I want is anonymity, but I have to be on guard all of the time.
These days I only give out personal information on a need-to-know basis.
No offense, but isn't that a little paranoid?
You act as though everybody is out to get you.
Aren't they?
Haven't you noticed?
We constantly have to disclose our most personal information on forms and to anyone who comes to our door.
If I didn't know you were coming today, I wouldn't have opened my door at all.
You mean you live here in seclusion like a hermit?
Of course not.
I have plenty of friends.
Come and meet them all.
Wow.
You must have ten birds and twenty cats.
Yes, that's right.
But rest assured, none of them will breathe a word of what you say here today.
Our story begins with Dan saying that he went to visit his old friend Mina, whom he hadn't seen in several years.
It was one of the strangest afternoons of my life, he says.
Dan says, hi Mina, it's really good to see you.
Mina says, Dan, come in, hurry.
Dan is obviously at Mina's house.
He knocks on her door.
And she tells him to hurry up and come in.
Dan says, oh, okay.
Why do you have four locks on your door?
And why are all of the curtains drawn?
A lock is something that you use to prevent other people from opening a door.
Mina has four locks on her door.
She also has her curtains drawn.
Curtains are pieces of fabric that cover a window so you can't see inside.
To be drawn means, in this case, to be closed.
We use this word in talking about curtains.
Sometimes we use the word drapes.
Curtains or drapes are drawn when they are closed.
Drawn however, has a couple of different meanings in English, so be sure to look at the learning guide for this episode for some additional explanation of that.
Mina says, I like my privacy.
Privacy is the ability to be alone, to keep your personal information secret, so that other people don't know about you or what you are doing.
Privacy has become very important, especially on the Internet.
Mina says, I think there's a peeping Tom around this apartment building.
And I don't want him to get a peek into my apartment.
The expression a peeping Tom refers to a person, a man typically, who is looking through the windows trying to watch women, especially when women are taking their clothes off.
It's obviously a very negative expression to use about someone.
In fact, you could probably get arrested by the police for being a peeping Tom.
I'm not sure why the name Tom is used.
I'm glad it isn't a peeping Jeff.
Well, Mina says that she wants to make sure that this peeping Tom doesn't get a peek P-E-E-K into her apartment.
To peek at something means to look quickly at something, especially if it is difficult to see or if you're not supposed to see it.
So taking a peek means taking a quick look.
Dan says, oh, okay.
I noticed that your name isn't on your mailbox.
The small box where the mail carrier the person from the usually government agency that delivers mail to your house is puts your mail.
The mailbox is the place where the mail is put.
Mina however, does not have her name on her mailbox.
Dan says i wasn't sure i had the right apartment number.
Mina says do you think i would voluntarily give people that information?
Voluntarily means willingly when you want to do something.
She's saying i would not voluntarily, of my own free will, give people my information such as her name.
She says they are constantly trying to invade my privacy.
They were not sure who they are.
Are trying to invade her privacy.
To invade someone's privacy is to learn something about another person that they want to be secret, that they don't want to tell you.
If someone sends you a personal letter and your friend opens the letter and reads it without telling you or without you giving them permission, that would be an invasion of privacy.
He would be invading your privacy.
Invasion is the noun from the verb to invade.
Normally, this verb to invade refers to an army going into another country.
The ancient Roman army invaded Greece back in the second century BC, I believe.
Well, Mina doesn't want anyone to invade her privacy.
She says, all I want is anonymity, but I have to be on guard all the time.
Anonymity is to be anonymous, that is to be in a situation where no one knows who you are or what you are doing.
Anonymity is a noun coming from the idea of anonymous, which is unknown.
So nobody knows about you.
She says, however, that she has to be on guard all the time.
To be on guard is an expression meaning to be very careful or cautious, to prevent something from happening, to be alert.
This means to be on guard.
Guard has a couple of different meanings in English however, so take a look at that learning guide for some more explanations.
She says, is used to describe a situation where people are only given information that they absolutely must have, and only that very necessary information is shared or given to them.
It's an expression you would probably hear in the government or in the military, talking about secrets that the military has or that a country has.
It's not normally used in daily conversation.
But of course, Mina here is what we would call a little bit paranoid.
She's very worried that other people are going to hurt her or that other people are trying to follow her.
To be paranoid is considered a negative description.
It's to be too worried, to be worried without any good reason.
In fact Dan says no offense, meaning I don't want to hurt you by saying this, by insulting you, but isn't that a little paranoid?
Dan says, To be out to get someone means to be trying to do something to somebody, usually something bad.
If you say your boss is out to get you, You're saying your boss is trying to hurt you or harm you in some way.
There are actually two expressions here.
To be out to do something means to try to do something.
To get someone means to attack, hurt, or perhaps even kill someone.
So to say someone is out to get you means that someone is trying to harm you.
Mina then says, aren't they?
Haven't you noticed?
We constantly have to disclose our most personal information on forms and to anyone who comes to our door.
If I didn't know you were coming today, I wouldn't have opened my door at all.
To disclose means to share or to give some secret or private information to someone else.
So Mina thinks that everyone is trying to invade her privacy by asking her for all this personal information.
Dan then says to Mina, you mean you live here in seclusion like a hermit?
To be in seclusion means to be alone without talking to other people or seeing other people.
A hermit is a person who lives alone and doesn't speak to anyone else.
This was originally a religious idea among the early Christians.
They were men who would go out into the desert by themselves and live by themselves and spend the whole day praying.
That was to be a hermit, to be alone.
Women also sometimes were hermits, and there are even today people who are hermits for religious purposes.
But Dan here is talking about Mina being by herself, and so he's using the term hermit almost as an insult.
Mina says, of course not.
Of course I don't live like a hermit.
I have plenty of friends.
Come and meet them all.
Dan says, wow, you must have 10 birds and 20 cats.
Her friends are animals.
Mina says, yes, that's right.
But rest assured, none of them will breathe a word of what you say here today.
The phrase rest assured means don't worry.
There is no problem.
There is no reason to worry.
She says none of these animals will breathe a word of what you say here.
To breathe a word is an expression that means to say something, especially to tell someone something that is personal, private or secret.
Of course, the animals won't breathe a word.
In fact, they can't talk, so it's a pretty safe environment.
Obviously, Mina needs some help.
Now let's listen to the dialogue, this time at a normal speed.
I went to visit my old friend Mina, whom I hadn't seen in several years.
It was one of the strangest afternoons of my life.
Hi, Mina.
It's really good to see you.
Dan, come in.
Hurry.
Uh, okay.
Why do you have four locks on your door, and why are all the curtains drawn?
I like my privacy.
And anyway, I think there's a peeping Tom around this apartment building and I don't want him to get a peek into my apartment.
Oh, okay.
I noticed that your name isn't on your mailbox.
I wasn't sure I had the right apartment number.
Do you think I would voluntarily give people that information?
They are constantly trying to invade my privacy.
All I want is anonymity but I have to be on guard all of the time.
These days I only give out personal information on a need-to-know basis.
No offense but isn't that a little paranoid?
You act as though everybody is out to get you.
Aren't they?
Haven't you noticed?
We constantly have to disclose our most personal information on forms and to anyone who comes to our door.
If I didn't know you were coming today, I wouldn't have opened my door at all.
You mean you live here in seclusion like a hermit?
Of course not.
I have plenty of friends.
Come and meet them all.
Wow.
You must have ten birds and twenty cats.
Yes, that's right.
But rest assured, none of them will breathe a word of what you say here today.
It's no secret that this script was written by our very own Dr. Lucy Say.
If you'd like to support us here at ESL Podcast, consider becoming a Learning Guide member or sending a small donation.
Go to eslpod.com to find out more information.
From Los Angeles, California, I'm Jeff McQuillan.
Thank you 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.
Copyright 2009 by the Center for Educational Development.
