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, you guys.
Let's talk about today's episode.
And today's topic is cold.
Hey, sweetie.
Jack called us and told us you couldn't come for Thanksgiving because of the blizzard.
Yeah.
Yeah, Mom, sorry.
It's awful here, really.
We're snowed in.
It's awful.
You and Dad are so lucky to be living in Florida.
Trust me.
We're over here freezing our butts off.
Oh, I can't imagine.
It's gotta be awful.
Your teeth are chattering and everything.
How sad.
Yeah, but...
It's all right.
We'll see you at Christmas.
That is, if there isn't another blizzard.
You never know with this crazy weather.
Right, right, right, right, right, right.
You know what's funny, sweetie?
What?
Your dad and I drove all the way from Florida and we're standing right outside your front door and the weather is beautiful.
Not even a little bit of snow.
You're... You're where?
Right outside your house.
Bundle up, honey.
Otherwise you're gonna catch a cold.
Okay, so maybe the weather wasn't a great excuse to not go to a Thanksgiving dinner.
All right, let's take a look at expression number one, blizzard.
Jack called us and told us you couldn't come for Thanksgiving because of the blizzard.
Is a blizzard a severe snowstorm or a mild snowstorm?
A blizzard is a severe snowstorm.
That means that it snows very heavily and then it's also super windy.
Have you ever experienced a blizzard?
Um, not really.
I mean, I was where I live right now.
First of all, in Spain, it never snows.
Well, I should say in Valencia, it Never snows.
In Milan, it does where I grew up.
But from time to time, and it's never like we never get blizzards.
But in the States, especially in certain States, It does happen from time to time.
And there have been a couple of times when it snowed very heavily.
For example, when I was in New York, when I was in Chicago.
But at least when I was there, I never experienced the blizzard.
Thank goodness.
But if I had, I think I would have just stayed home, you know, and not gone anywhere.
Expression number two, be snowed in.
It's awful here, really.
We're snowed in.
If you are snowed in, can you leave your house?
No, if you are snowed in, you are stuck inside your house or inside the place that you are in right now.
And why?
Why?
Well, you're snowed in.
So you're stuck there because of the snow.
Because it snowed so much that the snow is basically blocking either the doors and the windows.
So you literally, you can't physically leave the place where you are.
Have you ever been snowed in?
No.
Thank goodness.
I think it would be a very, it's got to be pretty, pretty annoying.
And also you got to be prepared for it because obviously you have to store food.
You have to make sure that you got everything you need in the house to survive.
Expression number three, freezing your butt off.
We're over here freezing our butts off.
If you are freezing your butt off, how cold are you?
Very cold or just a bit?
If you're freezing your butt off, that means that you are really cold.
You are quite literally freezing.
Well, not literally.
Now we'll see.
What happens to your butt when you're freezing your butt off?
Is it going to fall off?
No, it's not going to fall off.
Nothing's going to happen to your butt.
Don't worry.
But it's just an expression.
So when you're saying that you're freezing your butt off, it's so cold that it feels like your butt could almost freeze, fall off.
But it's not going to.
I don't think that's ever happened.
I'll do some research, but I don't think that's ever happened.
So it's just an expression to say that you're really, really cold.
Do you remember a time when you were freezing your butt off?
Yes, pretty much every day for the past, I think, three months here in Valencia.
It's crazy because everybody thinks that Spain is such a warm country which, especially in the south, it is.
But the thing is that the houses, at least the walls, are built in a way that they don't keep the house warm.
So during winter… it gets really cold.
It doesn't get super cold outside, but the problem is that it's not very well insulated.
The houses aren't.
And so it feels really cold when you're inside the house.
In fact, sometimes it's warmer or it feels warmer when you leave the house as opposed to when you're indoors.
But I spent especially there were a couple weeks when it was a little colder outside and I was freezing my butt off every day inside the house.
Expression number four, teeth chattering.
It's got to be awful.
Your teeth are chattering and everything.
What sound do your teeth make when chattering?
Okay, let's see if I can do this.
They go...
But faster, okay?
So it's when your teeth knock together.
And what can cause your teeth to chatter?
So mostly it's from being too cold.
When your body is really cold, what it does to try and stay warm.
It'll do lots of different things, like shivering, like well, your teeth will chatter.
So it's a response mechanism that your body does. puts into action.
And but it can also happen when you're extremely scared.
That's never happened to me personally, but I know it can happen.
And then also from extreme anxiety.
So if you have an anxiety attack or panic attack that might cause your teeth to chatter from just all of the everything that's happening within your body,
Do your teeth chatter when you're cold?
Yes, they do.
My boyfriend hates it.
He gets really, I don't know, it just, it really annoys him for some reason when I do that.
But when it gets really cold, my teeth will chatter.
Expression number five, bundle up.
Bundle up, honey.
If you bundle up, do you wear warm clothes or summer clothes?
If you bundle up, you wear warm clothes, usually more than one layer.
So lots of warm clothes to keep you warm.
When do you need to bundle up?
To leave the house or to stay indoors?
Usually you bundle up before leaving the house.
If you know it's going to be very cold, if it's snowing, you know if the temperatures are very low, you will have to bundle up.
So put a lot of nice warm clothes so that you know that even if you are leaving the house, you're not going to be cold.
Do you need to bundle up to leave the house at this time of year?
So I am... So it's February now.
I'm recording this in February.
And where I live right now, which is in Valencia Spain, then No, you definitely do not have to bundle up to leave the house.
In fact...
I think pretty soon it's almost going to be time for short sleeve shirts.
So I'm pretty excited for that.
But no, thank goodness.
I do have to bundle up sometimes to stay inside the house for some reason, like I said.
I feel like it's colder when I'm at home.
I'm not moving.
I'm not walking.
And so obviously I feel colder.
But when I leave the house and walking, I'm doing stuff.
So my body gets a little warmer.
But no, I don't need to bundle up to leave the house at this time of year in Valencia.
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.
