Welcome to a new episode of English Vocabulary Booster.
My name is Lara and I'm a SALSA certified English teacher.
Learning new vocabulary usually takes a long time, but we'll do it in a way that's easy, quick and efficient.
In every episode, we'll learn how to use five new English words or expressions, so that you too can start speaking like a native.
So let's get learning.
All right, you guys, welcome back.
This week's topic is family.
All right.
Let's hear today's story.
It's very short.
Here we go.
Hello, Rick.
Mike over here reporting from Norway where the impossible just happened.
The world record for longest ski jump now belongs to Jonathan McGill, who just performed a jump of over 840 feet.
That's right.
We're talking about the son of Sandy and Jack McGill, the two professional skiers who died in the big avalanche of 92.
Little John was put up for adoption and went to live with a long-lost relative from Colorado.
Despite being brought up in a quite little town.
As soon as he was old enough, he decided to follow in his parents' footsteps.
After the job, he simply said, Guess it's in my blood.
Back to you, Rick.
Okay, we're back.
It was really hard to read that story because I was pinching my nose the whole time to change my voice.
And I couldn't really read.
But I think it went well.
Okay, so let's begin with expression number one.
To be put up for adoption.
To be put up for adoption.
Little John was put up for adoption.
When is a baby put up for adoption?
Before or after finding new parents?
A baby is put up for adoption before finding new parents, because you want to find parents for this child.
It can be before they're born or after they're born, you know?
What could be the reasons for putting up a child for adoption?
Well, there's various reasons, right?
So it could be maybe, you know, just like in the story, the parents have died.
Both parents have died.
They got nobody else.
You know, the child has nobody else that they can go live with.
And so they are put up for adoption.
Or maybe, you know, sometimes some parents are just very young.
They don't feel like they could do a good job as parents.
So they decide to put up their baby up for adoption.
Maybe there's bad like financial situations, or maybe the parents have committed a crime and they're both in jail.
Whatever, you know whatever.
The reason may be some kids are put up for adoption.
So do you know somebody who was put up for adoption?
I don't think I know anybody who's been put up for adoption.
But then again, it's something that, you know, maybe some people don't share.
So there's really no way of knowing in the end.
Expression number two, long lost relative and when to live with a long lost relative.
Is a long lost relative someone you saw recently or a long time ago?
Well, Here, the expression itself kind of helps you.
Long lost relative.
That's someone that you saw a long time ago.
You haven't lost them, okay?
It's not like your keys in the morning when you have to leave.
Oh my gosh, where's my uncle?
I don't see him.
No, that just means you haven't seen them in a very long time.
So can you think of any long lost relatives of yours?
I have a lot, okay?
I have a whole side of family living in Sicily, in Italy, and I just I haven't seen them in forever.
So I think I have, I don't know, dozens and dozens of long lost relatives.
Expression number three, bring up.
Despite being brought up in a quiet little town, Who normally brings up a child?
So normally, the person who brings up the child is the parents.
But...
You know, depending on your situation, you may be brought up by someone else.
We've already discussed it.
It's the same as with the verb raise that we talked about in the previous episode, in episode 22.
You know, you can be brought up by your parents by, you know, sometimes an older sister or an older brother.
And can you bring up an adult?
No.
No.
You only bring up a child.
To bring up someone means to help them grow and develop, okay?
Both like by supporting them financially as well as emotionally.
So just bringing up only involve material stuff or also values, okay?
Well, when you're talking about bringing up, you usually refer to the whole package.
You know everything that's needed to help a child grow, both material stuff but also values.
And where were you brought up?
So in which country or which city?
I was brought up in Italy, in the north of Italy, specifically in Milan.
Expression number four, follow in someone's footsteps.
He decided to follow in his parents' footsteps.
If you follow in your parents' footsteps, for example, do you emulate your parents?
Do you act like them?
Or do you do something different?
Following in someone's footsteps, in this case your parents' footsteps.
That means that you follow Kind of live life or do something that your parents have done before.
It's very used when you're talking about the career of someone.
Let's say that your parents were lawyers.
I've decided to follow in my parents' footsteps and become a lawyer myself.
Okay.
But so who follows in someone's footsteps?
Is it younger family members or older family members?
We're only talking about younger people.
If you're younger, you can follow in someone's footsteps because that person has already done the work.
And so you're just like kind of copying them and kind of going through the same things they did.
Again, it's very, very used with jobs.
So are you following in your parents' footsteps?
I guess I am.
My mom was a teacher.
She's retired now.
But I have become a teacher myself.
So it wasn't my idea.
I didn't do it when I first did it.
I was like, oh, I'm going to follow in my mother's footsteps, you know.
It just sort of happened.
But I guess, yeah, I realized that I was following in my mom's footsteps.
Last expression, be in one's blood.
It's in my blood.
If a skill or interest is in your blood, do you share it with someone else and with who?
Yes.
If something is in your blood a skill like an ability or something that you like, that means that you share it with someone in your family, usually many people in your family.
And is the expression it's in my blood used to describe something that feels natural or forced when you do it.
If it's in your blood, It means it feels natural.
You don't have to force it.
Imagine you have a family of musicians, okay?
Your mom plays the violin, your dad plays the piano and you go to high school and you start playing the trumpet.
And it just becomes very, very natural to you.
That's because it's in your blood.
It's not literally in your blood.
And I don't even really know if a talent can be, you know, passed up through genetics.
Maybe yes, maybe no.
I don't know enough about science.
But that's the expression, you know?
It means I have the same skill that my family, the rest of my family has.
So is there something that you believe is in your blood?
I think something that comes...
I don't think so, actually.
Maybe I've been adopted.
Who knows?
No, but I think I'm really good at languages.
I'm an okay singer, but I don't know anybody in my family who's good at either of these things.
So I don't know.
I guess maybe teaching is in my blood.
Again, because my mom was a teacher, but I can't think of anything else, honestly.
And that is it for today.
And remember, if you want to access the transcript, as well as lots of other resources, visit enboocom.
That is E-N-B-O-O-O dot com.
Have a great day.
