Welcome to English as a Second Language podcast number 1063.
Preparing for a new baby.
This is English as a Second Language podcast episode 1063.
I'm your host, Dr Jeff McQuillan, coming to you from the Center for Educational Development in beautiful Los Angeles, California.
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This episode is a dialogue between Wanda and Enrique about someone who is expecting a new baby, a mother who is about to give birth to a new baby.
Let's get started.
Oh, hi.
I wasn't expecting you today.
We've been cleaning out our garage and your sister said I should come by with a few things for your baby.
That's really sweet of you guys, but I'm not due for another six months.
But you'll need these things to get the baby's room ready, right?
Well, we don't actually have a baby room set up yet.
There's no time like the present.
Here's a crib and the mattress.
It just needs to be assembled.
Oh, here are some bumper pads that go with it.
Great, Here's a changing table.
Here are two car seats, one for infants and one for toddlers, and here's a booster seat.
Positive.
Here's a basic baby monitor and a video monitor so you can keep tabs on the little one.
Whoa, what's in all these bags?
They're baby and kids clothes.
You'll need more than you think.
That's really generous of both of you, but are you sure you want to give it all to me?
Of course, you're family, and this will help you save a lot of money.
And it'll free up garage space for your new workshop?
Well, why not kill two birds with one stone?
Wanda begins our dialogue by saying to Enrique, Oh, hi.
I wasn't expecting you today.
I didn't think you were coming today.
Enrique says we've been cleaning out our garage and your sister said I should come by with a few things for your baby.
To clean out means to clean completely or thoroughly.
A garage is a place where you normally store your car, although many people use it to store other things.
And that's the case with Enrique and his wife.
They have cleaned out their garage and are bringing some things for Wanda.
Wanda says, that's really sweet of you guys.
The word sweet here means nice or kind.
But, Wanda continues, I'm not due for another six months.
When we talk about when a mother is due, we mean when she expects to give birth to the baby.
Enrique says, but you'll need these things to get the baby's room ready, right?
Enrique is saying well yes, it's six months, but you still need to get the room where the baby will be staying, prepared and ready.
Wanda says, well, we don't actually have a baby room set up yet.
To set up means to prepare, usually involving perhaps moving furniture around, in this case, or perhaps putting a place for the baby to sleep.
That would be setting up a baby room.
Enrique says there's no time like the present.
This is an old expression, a cliché really.
No time like the present, P-R-E-S-E-N-T.
It means that you should take advantage of an opportunity to do something immediately, right away, without waiting.
Enrique says here's a crib and the mattress.
A crib, C-R-I-B, is a special place where babies sleep.
It's a bed that has high sides to it, almost like walls, that prevent the baby from falling out.
A mattress, M-A-T-T-R-E-S-S, is a soft, comfortable surface that you sleep on.
Enrique says to Wanda here's a crib and the mattress, meaning the mattress that goes with the crib or inside of the crib.
He says, it just needs to be assembled.
To assemble A-S-S-E-M-B-L-E means to put something together, especially when there are a lot of small parts involved.
Many people buy furniture at a store such as Ikea and when they bring it home, they have to assemble the furniture.
This, of course, is sometimes almost impossible, in the same way that assembling children's toys is sometimes impossible,
But we hope it won't be impossible for Wanda to assemble this crib.
Enrique continues, oh, here are some bumper pads that go with it.
Bumper B-U-M-P-E-R.
Pads P-A-D-S are cushions, soft material that are placed against the walls of the crib so that the baby doesn't hit his or her head against the side of the crib.
It's sort of like a mattress but it's vertical so the baby doesn't hit his or her head against the side of the crib and hurt him or herself.
Wanda says great.
She means that's wonderful, I'm very happy.
Enrique then says here's a changing table.
A changing table would be a special table that you use On which you put the baby when you are changing the baby's clothes.
In particular, changing the baby's diapers, which is the part of the clothes the baby wears around its middle.
Because, of course, babies don't get up and use the bathroom the way the rest of us do.
I wish they did.
Wanda says, wow, that's really big.
She's referring to the changing table.
Enrique, however, just continues on giving her things.
He says, And here's a booster seat.
A car seat is a general term used to describe a special chair that you use in a car into which you put a baby or a young child.
In the United States, in most states, perhaps in all states, You must put a baby or a small child in a car seat.
You can't just hold the baby in your arms, for example.
That's against the law.
The idea is, of course, to protect the baby or the small child should there be an accident.
There are two kinds of car seats mentioned here.
One is for infants, I-N-F-A-N-T-S, and one is for toddlers. t-o-d-d-l-e-r-s an infant is a small baby a very young baby a toddler is a young child usually one who has already learned how to walk those are the most dangerous kind so there are car seats for infants there are bigger car seats for toddlers Enrique also gives Wanda a booster B O O S T E R seat.
A booster seat is a special seat or small chair.
I guess you could think of it as that is used to keep a child, an older child, safe in a car by lifting his or her body high enough so that the seat belt crosses the body at the appropriate height.
A seat belt is a special piece of material, a strap that you put over your body to prevent your body from being thrown out of the car in case of an accident.
So for older children who are too old for a car seat, there are booster seats that the older children can have underneath them.
Wanda says that's a lot of stuff.
That's a lot of things.
Are you sure you want to part with all of this?
To part with something is a two-word phrasal verb meaning to get rid of something, to give something away, especially something that might have some sort of emotional or sentimental value, something that you like a lot.
Wanda asks Enrique if he's sure that he wants to part with all of these things.
Some parents, for example, like to keep all of the things that they used for their baby for many years.
My mother never did that.
There was always another baby that needed to use it.
Although I was the youngest, so I guess she got rid of it after me.
Enrique says positive, meaning yes, he's absolutely sure he wants to part with this stuff.
He continues here's a basic baby monitor and a video monitor so you can keep tabs on the little one.
A baby monitor is a small electronic device, one part of which is in the room where the baby is sleeping, and the other is usually in the parent's bedroom.
You can hear the baby.
So if the baby makes noise or wakes up, you can hear it on the baby monitor.
It's like a little radio between one room of the house and another room of the house or that connects the two rooms together.
A video monitor would be the same sort of thing, except it's actually a video camera and you can look and see your baby from another room.
You use these to keep tabs on your baby.
To keep tabs, T-A-B-S, on someone is to monitor someone or...
We might say to keep track of someone, to get information on someone, so you know how he or she is doing.
Wanda says, whoa, what's in all these bags?
Enrique says, they're baby and kids clothes.
You'll need more than you think.
Wanda says, that's really generous of both of you, but are you sure you want to give it all to me?
Enrique says, of course, your family, meaning you're part of our family.
I'm guessing that Enrique is married to Wanda's sister here.
He says, this will help you save a lot of money.
But Wanda sees that there's another reason that Enrique is giving her all of these things and she tells us at the end of the dialogue.
She says and it'll free up garage space for your new workshop.
To free up is a two-word phrasal verb meaning to make something available, especially space or time.
You can talk about freeing up your schedule, meaning canceling some of your appointments or arranging things so that you have time to do something special.
A workshop, W-O-R-K-S-H-O-P, is a room or an area in a room where you build or fix things.
Some people have a wood workshop in their garage where they cut wood and do things with wood.
I don't have any of these sorts of things in my house.
Enrique says, well, why not kill two birds with one stone?
Enrique is saying yes, I am also trying to make room for my workshop, and that's why I'm giving you all of this stuff.
He uses an old expression to kill two birds with one stone.
This means to solve two problems at once with one action.
If you can imagine a stone, a small rock being thrown up into the air and killing not just one bird but two birds.
Then you get the idea that you can use one action in order to accomplish two different things or to achieve two different purposes.
Now let's listen to the dialogue, this time at a normal speed.
Oh, hi.
I wasn't expecting you today.
We've been cleaning out our garage and your sister said I should come by with a few things for your baby.
That's really sweet of you guys, but I'm not due for another six months.
But you'll need these things to get the baby's room ready, right?
Well, we don't actually have a baby room set up yet.
There's no time like the present.
Here's a crib and the mattress.
It just needs to be assembled.
Oh, here are some bumper pads that go with it.
Great.
Here's a changing table.
Wow, that's really big.
Here are two car seats, one for infants and one for toddlers, and here's a booster seat.
That's a lot of stuff.
Are you sure you want to part with all this?
Positive.
Here's a basic baby monitor and a video monitor so you can keep tabs on the little one.
Whoa, what's in all these bags? their baby and kids' clothes.
You'll need more than you think.
That's really generous of both of you, but are you sure you want to give it all to me?
Of course.
You're family, and this will help you save a lot of money.
And it'll free up garage space for your new workshop?
Well, why not kill two birds with one stone?
Listening to the scripts by our wonderful script writer, Dr Lucy Say kills two birds with one stone.
You get to enjoy the dialogue and improve your English all at once.
From Los Angeles, California, I'm Jeff McQuillan.
Thank you for listening.
Come back and listen to us again right here on ESL Podcast.
English as a Second Language podcast is written and produced by Dr Lucy Say, hosted by Dr Jeff McQuillan.
Copyright 2014 by the Center for Educational Development.
