Welcome to English as a Second Language podcast number 659, Finding Love on Valentine's Day.
This is English as a Second Language podcast episode 659.
I'm your host, Dr Jeff McQuillan, coming to you from the Center for Educational Development in beautiful Los Angeles, California.
You know our website is eslpod.com, but did you know that it's www.eslpod.com?
Huh?
I bet you didn't.
This episode is called Finding Love on Valentine's Day.
It's a dialogue between Tony and Chelsea about finding love on Valentine's Day.
Let's get started.
Another Valentine's Day.
I really hate Valentine's Day.
What's your problem?
I'm sick of seeing heart-shaped boxes, stuffed animals, and Cupid decorations everywhere.
Lovey-dovey couples on the street and nothing but sentimental movies on TV.
That's what I have a problem with.
You're just jaded because you don't have a Valentine on Valentine's Day.
Do you blame me?
This is the third year I'm spending Valentine's Day alone.
That's enough to make any man feel jaded.
There are plenty of women you could go out with.
Just open your eyes and look around.
All of the women I know are either psycho or attached.
I've given up on dating.
How will you find a Miss Right with an attitude like that?
I've told you, I've given up.
Well, I think you should open your eyes.
Your valentine may be right under your nose.
Tony is friends with Chelsea and Tony has a problem.
He says another Valentine's Day.
Valentine's Day, also known as St.
Valentine's Day is traditionally a day that celebrates love and affection, especially romantic love.
Tony says, I really hate Valentine's Day.
Chelsea says, what's your problem?
Meaning, what's wrong?
Why are you so strange?
Depending on the intonation, the way you pronounce that phrase, it could be considered a criticism.
If somebody says, what's your problem, man?
They're indicating that you are acting strange or unusual right and that perhaps you should be careful that you could get hurt.
But here, Chelsea is just saying, what's the matter?
What is the situation?
Why do you hate Valentine's Day?
Tony says, I'm sick of seeing heart-shaped boxes.
To be sick of something means that you are tired of it.
You no longer want to, in this case, see heart-shaped boxes, stuffed animals and Cupid decorations everywhere.
Heart-shaped means made in the shape or the form of a heart.
Of course, that symbolizes love, traditionally.
Stuffed animals are small, usually small.
They can be big toys that are in the shape of an animal and they're very soft.
They are often given to young children.
However, some men give them to their girlfriends or wives as a romantic gesture.
Cupid decorations refers to the Roman god Cupid, who was the son of Venus and Mars.
In Latin, the word cupido means desire, as in sexual, romantic desire.
That's what's the idea behind the Cupid decorations.
Traditionally, Cupid is shown in art as a small boy who has a bow and arrows.
An arrow is a long, thin arrow. piece of wood that is sharp at one end and you use the bow to shoot the arrows into the hearts of poor humans who then fall in love there was a great song by i think it was sam cook cupid pull back your bow And let your arrow go straight to my lover's heart for me.
It's better when Sam sings it.
On Valentine's Day you will often see decorations, things that people put up to make somewhere look different.
For example, at Christmas, you put up a tree and you may put up lights around your house.
These would be Christmas decorations.
Lovey-dovey is sort of an informal way of saying to people who love each other very much and often show that love in public.
They're kissing each other and they're holding hands and they're hugging each other.
You know, the sort of thing that girls usually love and guys don't.
Well, that's a lovey-dovey couple.
And Tony says he has a problem with that.
He doesn't like that.
He also doesn't like sentimental movies.
Something that is sentimental has a lot of emotions, a lot of feelings.
Usually it's used somewhat as a criticism of You're saying that's too emotional.
There's too much obvious emotion or feelings expressed in the movie or the song, whatever it happens to be.
You may wonder why Tony hates Valentine's Day so much.
And Chelsea tells us in the next sentence she says You're just jaded because you don't have a valentine on Valentine's Day.
To be jaded J-A-D-E-D means that you are no longer excited by or interested in something that seems to interest everyone else.
Usually this is because you have had a lot of exposure.
You have a lot of experience with that thing.
This is perhaps not quite the case for Tony, even though Chelsea says he's jaded.
I'm not sure if that is exactly his situation, but in any case he certainly is upset or unhappy because he doesn't have a Valentine on Valentine's Day.
A valentine with a small v is used as a noun to mean a romantic partner, someone you are involved with, your boyfriend or girlfriend, your husband or wife.
Those would be your valentines.
Well, you should only really have one valentine, at least one at a time.
Tony says, do you blame me?
Meaning, are you saying that it is my fault?
Do you think that I am the one who is responsible for this situation?
To blame B-L-A-M-E someone is to say that they did something wrong.
We use this expression to show that we feel that we are rational logical, but we are justified in saying the things we are saying.
Tony says, Again, We often use this word when you have too much exposure to a situation.
Tony seems to have not very much exposure, but it can sometimes be used just to mean bored or uninterested in something.
Tony is unhappy because he doesn't have a Valentine and has not had one for three years.
Chelsea says there are plenty of women you could go out with.
To go out with in this case means to date, to have a romantic relationship with, to make your boyfriend or girlfriend
Just open your eyes and look around, she says.
Now, Tony, you have to understand, not too smart, okay?
Doesn't really understand what Chelsea's saying to him.
Chelsea says, just open your eyes and look around.
Tony says, all of the women I know are either psycho or attached.
Psycho is an informal word meaning crazy, someone with a lot of mental or intellectual problems, someone who doesn't act rationally.
If you are attached, in this case it means that you have a strong connection with someone else.
Really, it means that these women already have boyfriends.
Those are the only women he knows.
He says, I've given up on dating.
I should mention that attached has some other meanings as well, and those are in our wonderful learning guide.
So Tony says he has given up on dating.
To give up is a two-word phrasal verb, which means, in this case, to stop doing something.
Usually because you have not been very successful.
You have failed many times.
I'm going to give up cooking because I'm not very good at it.
True story.
Chelsea says, This is...
Kind of a play on words.
That is, Chelsea is sort of using a traditional expression, Mr Right, and using the feminine, the female Miss.
Normally we talk about a woman meeting Mr Right, meaning the perfect husband, the perfect man to be her husband.
Chelsea says that Tony can meet Miss Right, the perfect woman.
Again, that's not the normal use of it, but she's sort of playing with that.
She says how will you find a Miss Right with an attitude like that, with the way that you are acting?
Tony says, I've told you I've given up.
Chelsea says, well, I think you should open your eyes.
Your Valentine may be right under your nose.
Something that is right under your nose means that it is easily available.
It is, in fact, very close to you, but you don't see it.
You don't notice it.
And obviously Tony doesn't realize that Chelsea is not just his friend.
Chelsea perhaps wants to be his Valentine.
And Tony is just too much of a man to understand reality.
Isn't that true, ladies?
Now let's listen to the dialogue, this time at a normal speed.
Another Valentine's Day.
I really hate Valentine's Day.
What's your problem?
I'm sick of seeing heart-shaped boxes, stuffed animals, and Cupid decorations everywhere.
Lovey-dovey couples on the street and nothing but sentimental movies on TV.
That's what I have a problem with.
You're just jaded because you don't have a Valentine on Valentine's Day.
Do you blame me?
This is the third year I'm spending Valentine's Day alone.
That's enough to make any man feel jaded.
There are plenty of women you could go out with.
Just open your eyes and look around.
All the women I know are either psycho or attached.
I've given up on dating.
How will you find Miss Wright with an attitude like that?
I've told you, I've given up.
Well, I think you should open your eyes.
Your Valentine may be right under your nose.
If you've given up on learning English, you need to listen to the wonderful scripts by our script writer, Dr Lucy Say, who is not psycho, although she may be attached.
I'm Jeff McQuillan from Los Angeles, California.
I am Jeff McQuillan.
Did I say that already?
Thank you for listening.
Come back and listen to us again 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.
