You're listening to Business English Pod, the Business English podcast for professionals on the move.
This is the fourth in a series of intermediate podcasts that focus on business travel.
In this series we're following a group of trainees who work for the telecommunications company Ambient as they visit their head office in Michigan in the US.
How do you make friendly chat with your colleagues?
What kinds of topics can you talk about?
We'll be looking at some answers.
In particular, we'll be studying how to chat about movies.
Because almost everyone loves to go to the cinema, movies are always a good topic for small talk.
As our listening begins, it's Monday morning.
Ernesto, a trainee from the Philippines, says hello to his American colleague Brenda, as she comes into the office.
As you listen, try to answer these questions.
The answers will be posted in a few days at www.businessenglishpod.com.
One, what does Brenda mean when she says, veg out?
Two, what are critics and what do they think about Rush Hour 3?
And three, how does Brenda like her coffee?
Hey, how you doing?
Fine for a Monday.
How about you?
Great.
Get up to anything exciting on the weekend?
Come again?
Did you do anything exciting over the weekend?
No, not really.
Mostly vegged out at home.
Vegged out?
Relaxed.
Like a vegetable.
Oh, I get it.
I did get out to see a movie though.
Really?
What did you see?
Rush Hour 3.
It was actually pretty killer.
Much better than the second one.
Awesome.
What kind of movie is it?
You've never heard of Rush Hour 3?
You're kidding me.
They're like action comedies.
The last one came out like six years ago.
Who plays the lead?
It stars Jackie Chan as a Chinese inspector and Chris Tucker as an old cop.
Oh, Jackie Chan.
I think I've heard of it.
What's the plot?
There's not much of a plot.
Basically, Jackie Chan and Tucker's characters team up to beat up the bad guys.
Where does it take place?
It starts in America, but it's mostly set in France.
Yeah?
And how does it end?
I don't want to give it away.
You should see it for yourself.
Maybe I will.
What did the critics say?
The critics didn't pan it, but they're not raving either.
They say Jackie's getting tired.
He's 53, you know.
Yeah, that's getting up there.
But I hear he does all his own stunts.
Totally.
He's great.
Apparently it's a box office hit, too.
So obviously other people agree.
It grossed $41 million in the first weekend alone.
Wow, that's pretty good.
Get you a cup of coffee?
That would be great.
Thanks.
Cream and sugar?
No cream, but some equal if they have it.
The first thing you notice about Onesto and Brenda is that their language is quite informal, so they obviously already know each other.
Onesto starts their conversation with an informal greeting.
Hey, how you doing?
Fine for a Monday.
How about you?
Great.
Saying ya instead of you sounds more casual.
Also, Ernesto changes the n sound to n in doing.
This also sounds more informal.
Similarly, Brenda melts her words together in an informal style.
Instead of pronouncing carefully how about you, she just says how about you.
What does Brenda mean by fine for a Monday?
She means, considering it's a Monday, which is nobody's favorite day, I'm doing fine.
How you doing is one kind of informal greeting.
What are some others?
How you doing?
What's up?
Hey dude, how's it going?
Morning, mate.
You look like you could use a cup of coffee.
Hi, Sandy.
How was the traffic this morning?
How do you respond to these greetings?
After how you doing, you can say great or not bad.
How about you?
Or how about yourself?
After, what's up, we usually say, not much, you?
What happens next?
Get up to anything exciting on the weekend?
Come again?
Did you do anything exciting over the weekend?
The first time, Onesto uses a typically British English expression.
Get up to anything on the weekend?
When Brenda doesn't understand, he uses an American expression.
Did you do anything exciting over the weekend?
He could also have said, What did you do over the weekend?
How does Brenda respond?
No, not really.
Mostly vegged out at home.
Vegged out?
Relaxed.
Like a vegetable.
Oh, I get it.
To veg out is a slang expression.
Veg is short for vegetable.
As Brenda says, veg out means to relax.
It usually refers to doing something that requires no mental effort, like watching TV.
Imagine yourself sitting on the couch like a vegetable.
But Brenda didn't only just veg out at home.
She also got out of the house.
What did she do?
I did get out to see a movie, though.
Really?
What did you see?
Rush Hour 3.
It was actually pretty killer.
Much better than the second one.
Killer is an informal American slang expression that means good or cool.
How does Anesta respond?
Awesome.
Awesome is another case of informal slang.
It means great.
Onesto is just acknowledging that he's listening to Brenda and encouraging her to continue talking.
He guides the conversation with a question.
What kind of movie is it?
This is a way of asking about the genre or type of movie.
What are some common ways of asking or responding to questions about genre?
What kind of show is it?
It's a comedy.
It's a sci-fi story.
It's a horror film.
It's an action movie.
It's a romantic comedy.
Sci-fi refers to science fiction, stories about the future.
Other genres are romances or westerns.
What kind of movie is Rush Hour 3?
You've never heard of Rush Hour 3?
You're kidding me.
They're like action comedies.
The last one came out like six years ago.
Notice the use of like.
This is a common informal use of oral English.
She's not sure exactly what genre the Rush Hour movies belong to, so she says they're like action comedies.
Onesto does a good job of keeping the conversation going.
What's the next question?
It stars Jackie Chan as a Chinese inspector and Chris Tucker as an old cop.
The lead means the starring role.
In this case, there are two stars, Jackie Chan and Chris Tucker.
What are some other ways to ask about actors or stars?
Who plays the main role?
Who's in it?
Who's starring in it?
Sean Connery's in it.
He plays a retired spy.
It stars Kevin Spacey as a man in a mid-life crisis.
How does Onesto react when he hears the movie stars Jackie Chan?
Oh, Jackie Chan.
I think I've heard of it.
What's the plot?
There's not much of a plot.
Basically, Jackie Chan and Tucker's characters team up to beat up the bad guys.
Keeping the conversation going, Onesto's next question is about the plot, or the story.
He says, what's the plot?
How else could he have asked this question?
And what could you say in reply?
What's it about?
What happens in it?
What's the plot?
Tell me about the story.
It's about two young people who fall in love on a doomed ship.
It's about a meteor that's going to destroy the Earth.
The next logical question for Ernesto to ask is about the setting or where the film takes place.
Where does it take place?
It starts in America, but it's mostly set in France.
There are many other ways to ask and respond to this question.
When does it take place?
Where does it take place?
It's set in New York in the 60s.
It takes place on Mars in the future.
It takes place in a prison.
Of course, another typical question we can ask about movies is about the climax or how it ends.
Climax just means the high point or the most exciting point of the movie.
When Onesto asks, how does it end, what does Brenda say?
I don't want to give it away.
You should see it for yourself.
To give something away means to reveal something.
Brenda means that if she tells Onesto how the movie ends, it won't be exciting when he watches it himself.
Here are some other ways to ask and respond to questions about the climax of a movie.
How does it end?
What happens in the end?
In the end, the ring is destroyed.
In the end, Harry decides he really loves Sally.
A further small talk question that we can use in a discussion about a movie is to talk about how the critics responded.
Critics are professional film watchers who write reviews for magazines or newspapers.
What did the critics say?
The critics didn't pan it, but they're not raving either.
They say Jackie's getting tired.
He's 53, you know.
Yeah, that's getting up there.
But I hear he does all his own stunts.
To pan a movie is to say that it was really, really bad.
On the other hand, to rave about a film refers to praising it very highly, saying that it was very, very good.
How about Jackie Chan's age?
Ernesto agrees with Brenda that Jackie is getting older.
That's getting up there means Jackie's age is getting high.
But he still does his own stunts.
Stunts refers to the dangerous actions in a movie that stars usually have other people do for them, called stunt doubles.
There are many other ways to talk about reviews of a film.
Let's listen to a few.
It got lousy reviews.
Lousy means really bad.
Finally, how does the dialogue finish off?
Brenda agrees that Jackie Chan is remarkable because he does all of his own stunts.
Totally.
He's great.
Apparently it's a box office hit, too.
So obviously other people agree.
It grossed $41 million in the first weekend alone.
Wow, that's pretty good.
Here, totally is another informal American expression.
Used this way, it signals agreement.
Box office means ticket office, and hit means success.
So a box office hit is a movie that sold a lot of tickets.
At the end of the dialogue, Onesto offers to get Brenda a cup of coffee.
How does she like it?
Get you a cup of coffee?
That would be great.
Thanks.
Cream and sugar?
No cream, but some equal if they have it.
Brenda doesn't take cream and sugar in her coffee.
Instead, she prefers equal, which is a sugar substitute with no calories.
Now it's your turn to practice some of the expressions we've learned today.
Imagine you're coming into the office on a Monday morning, like Brenda.
Your colleague will greet you.
Respond appropriately.
After each exercise, you'll hear an example answer.
Good morning.
How are you doing?
Fine.
Can I help say anything on the weekend?
Answer.
Good morning.
How you doing?
Not bad.
How about yourself?
Fine.
Get up to anything on the weekend?
No.
I just vegged out.
You?
Hi.
What's up?
Okay.
Do anything exciting over the weekend?
Answer.
Hi.
What's up?
Not much.
Yourself?
Okay.
Do anything exciting over the weekend?
I saw Rush Hour 3.
How about you?
How did you do?
Rewind and practice again.
As usual, substituting different phrases will help you build fluency.
Remember that the answers are just examples.
There are many possible ways to respond.
That's all for this episode.
We've studied informal greetings for chit-chat in the office and looked at a typical situation where they're used in the morning, when you just come into work.
In addition, we've learned how to chat about movies, which is a favorite small talk topic.
We've also looked at some great informal slang expressions, such as totally, killer, and vegged out.
Be sure to check out the Online Learning Center at www.businessenglishpod.com.
There are plenty of further practice activities there as well.
Also, don't miss the study notes for this and other episodes.
There, you'll find full transcripts, vocabulary, and exercises.
Thanks for listening.
Take care.
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