Welcome to English as a Second Language Podcast number 653, Reading Product Reviews.
This is English as a Second Language Podcast, episode 653.
I'm your host, Dr Jeff McQuillan, coming to you from the Center for Educational Development here in Los Angeles, beautiful Los Angeles, California.
Our website is eslpod.com.
Download a learning guide for this episode from our website.
Our dialogue today is between Dominic and Andrea.
It's going to be about when you are looking to buy something and you decide to see what other people think of that product what we would call a product review.
Let's get started.
Do you want some help with that box?
Sure, thanks.
What is it?
It's a new TV.
My old one has been on the fritz for a week, and I needed a new one.
Is this a highly rated model?
Highly rated?
I just went to the electronics store and bought it.
It was on sale.
You mean you didn't read up on it before you bought it?
You didn't look at the reviews?
But if you read the reviews, you'll know which product gives you the best value, which is the most reliable and durable and which company has good customer support.
Nobody wants to buy something that's defective or poorly designed.
Don't you care about those things?
Maybe, but who has time to do that?
Instead, I go to the store and see which one I like overall.
If it's on sale, that's all the better.
That's worked for me so far.
Is that how you bought your old TV?
Yeah.
Enough said.
Dominic asks Andrea, do you want some help with that box?
Andrea says, sure, thanks.
Dominic asks, what is it?
Andrea says, it's a new TV, a new television.
The expression to be on the fritz F-R-I-T-Z is an informal one, meaning it isn't working very well.
It is unreliable, undependable.
Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't. something that is highly hyphen rated, R-A-T-E-D, is something that people have a good opinion of, something that is made well.
A model, in this case, is one particular design of a machine or a product by someone. some company.
For example, Toyota Car Company has different models, the Corolla, the Camry, and so forth.
They have different kinds of cars, different looks to their cars.
That's all part of the particular or specific model.
Dominic asks if this TV is a highly rated model.
Andrea says, highly rated.
I just went to the electronics store, places where you would buy a TV or a radio, possibly a computer.
These are all electronics.
She says, I just went to the electronics store and bought it.
It was on sale.
Something that is on sale usually means that it has a lower price than normal.
It is discounted.
You can buy it for less.
Dominic says, you mean you didn't read up on it before you bought it?
To read up on something notice the two prepositions up and on means to read a lot of information about something, to learn a lot about something.
I need to read up on American history for my history test tomorrow.
Or I need to read up on investing money, because I'm getting old and I don't want to be poor when I'm old.
The verb to read has lots of different phrasal verbs associated with it.
Take a look at our learning guide for some examples of those.
Dominic says, you mean, that is, do you mean, you didn't read up on it before you bought it?
You didn't look at the reviews?
A review is someone's usually printed, but it could be spoken review opinion about a particular product, what they think is good, what they think is bad about it.
You can find these in magazines and newspapers.
You can find them very easily on the internet.
Apparently, andrea did not read the reviews.
In fact, she says no, i never do that, i never read the reviews.
I think that's a waste of time.
Something that is a waste, W-A-S-T-E, of time is something that is not worth spending time on.
Something that you shouldn't spend a lot of time on because it isn't going to give you very much.
Andrea says, I go with my gut, G-U-T.
This expression.
To go with your gut means to do what you feel is right without doing any research or asking other people's opinions, or at least not listening to them if you do.
Your gut is an informal way of describing the stomach, the middle part of your body.
The idea is that you're not necessarily using your brain, your intellect.
You're using your feelings and emotions to make a decision.
Dominic tells her.
But if you read the reviews, you'll know which product gives you the best value.
Value means the relationship between how much something costs and how good it is.
If you buy a really good car at a low price, we would say that you are getting good value.
Dominic says that the reviews will tell you which product gives you the best value, which is the most reliable and durable and which company has good customer support.
Something that is reliable.
I-A-B-L-E is something you can trust, something that is dependable.
Durable, D-U-R-A-B-L-E, is something that is strong, something that will not break easily.
The opposite of durable is fragile, F-R-A-G-I-L-E.
Here, Dominic is really using the word to mean that it will last a long time, that you can use it for many years and it will still be good.
Dominic also mentions finding a company that has good customer support.
We might also say customer service.
That is a company where, if you have a problem, you can call them or email them and they will respond, help you with the problem.
Or if there's a serious problem, they will give you a refund or allow you to get something else.
That's good customer support.
Dominic says nobody wants to buy something that's defective or poorly designed.
Something that is defective, is not working properly, something that has a serious problem or a flaw, probably because it was made wrong.
The company that made it did something wrong.
It's defective.
When we say something is poorly designed, we mean that it is a bad design.
There's a problem there. in the way that the pieces go together.
There's a problem in the way that the company decided to make it.
Maybe the shape is wrong or the pieces don't fit together very well.
That would be something that is poorly designed.
A umbrella that had holes in it would be poorly designed.
The purpose of an umbrella is to keep the rain from falling on you.
If the umbrella had holes in it, that would be obviously a very poor design.
Dominic says don't you care about these things?
Andrea says maybe, but who has time to do that?
To do all that research?
Instead, I go to the store and see which one I like overall.
Overall, O-V-E-R-A-L-L, means considering everything together comprehensively.
When we consider all the different parts of something.
Andrea says if it's on sale, if the television in this case is on sale, that's all the better.
The expression all the better means even better.
Something that is an improvement in the situation, that makes it more pleasant or cheaper or more beneficial.
That's worked for me so far.
Andrea says, meaning that is how I have always done things and I have been successful.
Dominic says, is that how you bought your old TV, the one that doesn't work anymore?
Andrea says, yeah.
Dominic says, enough said.
Enough said is an informal phrase that we use when something is so obvious that you don't need to add any additional information.
What Dominic is saying here is that because Andrea doesn't read the product reviews, she buys things like her old television that don't work.
And this is going to be perhaps a problem with her new television.
He doesn't need to detail this argument.
He doesn't need to explain this anymore.
It should be obvious to Andrea what the problem is with her thinking, with her logic.
That's why he just says, enough said.
Now let's listen to the dialogue, this time at a normal speed.
Do you want some help with that box?
Sure, thanks.
What is it?
It's a new TV.
My old one has been on the fritz for a week and I needed a new one.
Is this a highly rated model?
Highly rated?
I just went to the electronics store and bought it.
It was on sale.
You mean you didn't read up on it before you bought it?
You didn't look at the reviews?
No, I never do that.
I think that's a waste of time.
I go with my gut.
But if you read the reviews, you'll know which product gives you the best value, which is the most reliable and durable and which company has good customer support.
Nobody wants to buy something that's defective or poorly designed.
Don't you care about those things?
Maybe, but who has time to do that?
Instead, I go to the store and see which one I like overall.
If it's on sale, that's all the better.
That's worked for me so far.
Is that how you bought your old TV?
Yeah.
Enough said.
We think our ESL podcasts provide you with good value, thanks to the wonderful scripts by Dr Lucy Say.
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 2011 by the Center for Educational Development.
