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!
Hello, hello, hello.
What's up?
I'm back.
This is the first episode I'm recording after my vacation.
And let me tell you, I...
So let's begin.
This week's topic is colors.
Chloe, my little sister.
Oh, I've missed you so much.
I haven't seen you in forever.
I've just been so busy with work.
So happy to be back at home for a couple of days.
So, how are you?
Actually, I feel blue.
Why?
What's wrong?
Remember Rosie?
She died.
What?
No, it can't be.
I just saw her the other day.
She was fine.
What happened?
Not really.
She was sick.
She had been sick for a long time.
We were already worried, but then the other day we noticed she was covered in dark spots and we knew it was too late.
When?
When did this all happen?
Why didn't you tell me?
You've kept me in the dark this whole time?
And mom and dad too?
They didn't say anything.
I'm sorry, okay?
I didn't think she mattered that much to you.
Calm down, please.
You're as white as a sheet.
Seriously, take a seat and relax.
I'm sad too, but it's not that big a deal.
Are you kidding me?
You know how much I loved Aunt Rosie.
What?
No, I'm not talking about Aunt Rosie.
I'm talking about our house plant, Rosie.
You know, we don't exactly have a green thumb, but we really thought this one would survive.
Oh my gosh!
How about specifying which Rosie you were talking about?
All right, so pretty big misunderstanding that we just witnessed.
Let's begin with expression one, feel blue.
Actually, I feel blue.
If you feel blue, do you feel happy or sad?
If you're feeling blue, that means that you're feeling sad, unfortunately.
And how sad do you feel?
Only a bit sad or very sad?
If you're feeling blue, that means that you're feeling very sad.
You can also, even if you're depressed, you can say that you feel blue.
It's kind of like this sadness that comes from within, that comes from the inside.
So yeah, it's pretty bad when you feel blue.
And when was the last time that you felt blue?
So I do suffer from... like depression.
It's not too bad.
It's not like chronic, but there are times when I kind of feel, you know hopeless, and I don't want to make this too sad, but we're talking about feeling blue.
So the last time I felt blue was probably a month ago, when my boyfriend was away and I got very, I don't know.
I just miss him very much.
I get very attached to people.
And I don't know if it's a good thing or a bad thing, but he was away.
And there were a few moments when I felt blue because I missed him too much.
Expression number two, spot.
We noticed she was covered in dark spots.
Is a spot, an area on a surface that has the same color as the surface around it, or a different color.
So, don't get confused.
It's easier than it sounds.
A spot is an area on a surface that has a different color than the area around it.
And where are spots likely to appear?
On your hair or on your skin?
Spots usually appear on your skin.
So maybe, I don't know can be anywhere on your skin, like on your arms, on your chest, on your back, wherever.
Are spots lighter or darker compared to the area around them?
Well, it depends on the kind of spot.
So sometimes spots, let's say that they are, you know, sometimes they're red.
And so they might be depending on the color of your skin.
They might be darker or lighter.
Sometimes they're white.
So they tend to be lighter than the skin around them.
And what are spots due to?
So I think there's a lot of different reasons why you could get spots.
One of them could be, for example, an allergic reaction.
Maybe you touch something that you're allergic to and you get all these tiny little spots, all these tiny little marks on your skin.
Maybe sometimes they itch, you want to scratch, or sometimes they're just a different color and that's it.
Or also, sometimes you could get spots after you've exposed yourself to the sun too much.
So, for example, I have dark spots all over my face sometimes.
Because I got a really bad sunburn when I was 18. when I was 16.
So yeah, which leads me to the next question, which is, have you ever been covered in spots?
I am covered in spots.
I can post a picture when this episode comes out on my social media.
So you can see all the spots that I have on my face.
But I do have a lot of dark spots on my face.
And sometimes I'll cover them with makeup.
And sometimes I'm just like, too lazy to do that.
So I don't.
But yeah, I'm covered in spots.
I'm like a leopard.
Expression number three, keep someone in the dark.
You've kept me in the dark this whole time.
If you have some information but you decide to keep someone in the dark, do you tell them everything or do you keep that information to yourself?
If you keep someone in the dark, that means that you do not want to tell them everything.
You want to keep a piece of information secret.
Do you keep someone in the dark because you forget to tell them something, or do you do it on purpose?
If you keep someone in the dark, it's because you want to keep a secret.
You don't want them to know something.
And so you do that on purpose.
Maybe you're doing that to protect them or maybe you want to do that.
You want to keep them in the dark and not tell them something to protect yourself.
Have you ever kept someone in the dark because you didn't want them to know something?
So yes, I don't think it's too bad to keep someone in the dark, especially if it is to protect them.
For example, I can think of when I got my tattoo done, which was, I was 26.
I was like, oh my gosh, was it?
Almost five years ago.
I can't believe it.
Anyway.
So about five years ago I got a tattoo and I didn't want my mom to know right away because I knew she would say something and she would ruin the whole experience, because she's really against tattoos.
And so I went and I did it and I didn't tell her anything.
I kept her in the dark and I only told her after I had got it done.
And yes, she actually reacted the way I thought she was going to react, which was really bad.
But that's okay.
She's over it now.
Expression number four, as white as a sheet.
You're as white as a sheet.
If you're as white as a sheet, is your face more pale than usual or less pale than usual?
You're as white as a sheet.
Your face is very, very pale.
So more pale than usual.
And what feelings can cause you to be as white as a sheet?
It's usually from fear or shock.
Imagine you've just been giving some really terrible news, or maybe you just I don't know.
You saw a ghost or something.
I don't, I don't, I'm not really sure.
But if you're in shock or in fear, that may make you become as white as a sheet.
What would you have to see to become as white as a sheet?
I think something...
I think a real danger.
So I would have to... be presented with a real danger.
So I don't know, imagine I was walking through the forest and I see, I don't know, like a wild animal that wants to attack me.
Or let's say, I'm in the woods and I see a wolf and he looks aggressive.
I think that in that case, I would be as white as a sheet.
Expression number five, have a green thumb.
You know we don't exactly have a green thumb.
If you have a green thumb, are your plants likely to survive or are they likely to die?
If you do have a green thumb, then your plants are likely to survive.
Because if you have a green thumb, that means that you are very good with plants.
You know how to take care of them.
You remember to water them.
So yeah, it's good for your plants if you have a green thumb.
So what about you?
Do you have a green thumb?
I definitely do not have a green thumb.
All of the plants in my house are fake and I bought fake plants because I know I don't have a green thumb.
The few times when I try to buy real plants, I think they lasted, I don't know, probably a week.
And I guess it's my fault because I just, I don't know how to properly take care of them.
So It just makes me sad every time to you know you have to throw away a nice little plant or what used to be a nice little plant.
So I stopped buying them.
I just accepted the fact that I don't have a green thumb and now I only buy fake plants.
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.
