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, how are you?
I'm doing good.
I'm feeling pretty energetic.
I had trouble sleeping the past couple of nights, but then finally this morning I was able to sleep.
Well, I was up most of the night, but then in the morning I was able to sleep.
And so I feel pretty rested.
So I'm trying to work as much as I can, because I know I'm productive at the moment and who knows when I'll be productive again.
But yeah, let's talk about today's story.
Today we're going to talk about luck.
Have you got the ticket?
Yes, yes.
Calm down.
It's here.
Calm down?
Are you kidding me?
I've been studying for months.
Studying what?
It's a lottery.
It's all down to luck.
No, it isn't.
I've read lots of books.
I've even taken a statistics course.
And I know I've got the winning numbers.
Okay.
Then why do you have that ring on?
I know that's your lucky charm.
Shut up.
I always wear it.
Uh, no you don't.
I told you, I don't need luck.
I know what I'm doing.
Okay, okay.
Whatever you say.
So, what are you going to do with the money that you win?
Stop asking me that.
You're going to jinx it.
Oh, yeah?
So, if you don't win, it's my fault?
Dude, this is the third time you've bought a lottery ticket.
You didn't win the first two times.
Well, you know what they say.
Third time's the charm.
Did you read that in your statistics book?
Stop making fun of me.
You'll see.
Turn it up.
Here are the winning numbers.
59.
Yes.
3.
Yes.
15.
Yes.
18.
Yes.
72.
No, no, no, no.
Ugh.
Tough luck, man.
Next time.
Hold on.
Sorry.
There seems to have been a mistake.
It's 62.
I repeat, 62.
I won, Louis.
I won.
All right.
So I guess he was right.
He won.
Good for him.
All right.
Let's talk about expression number one.
Be down to luck.
Studying what?
It's a lottery.
It's all down to luck.
If the outcome, the results of a situation is down to luck, do you have any control over it?
No.
If the outcome of a situation is down to luck, that means that you have no control over it, because it's only a matter of luck.
It only depends on how lucky you are.
So which things in life are down to luck and which ones aren't?
I personally think that there's a pretty good deal of things that you have control over.
Things like, I don't know, the kind of job that you choose or the relationships that we're in.
These are things that we do have some type of control over.
But there are also some other things that are just down to luck.
Things like the country where you're born or the family that you have.
Those are things that are down to luck.
It's not things that you have any control over.
You can't choose those things.
So yeah, I think, I don't know, maybe half and half.
Expression number two, lucky charm.
Okay, then why do you have that ring on?
I know that's your lucky charm.
What's the purpose of a lucky charm?
The purpose of a lucky charm is to bring you good luck.
So it's an object.
It can be really any object that you think that you believe brings you good luck.
So what objects can be lucky charms really?
Anything.
Um, i think they tend to be pretty small, because usually you want to carry them with you whenever you need them.
So let's say, i don't know, you want to take a test, you got an important job interview, so you're going to take your lucky charm.
Bring it with you because you think it's gonna, it's gonna help you pass or the exam or get the job, whatever.
Um, so yeah, you can't I don't know bring a lamp with you just because it's your lucky charm.
I don't think that would be acceptable.
But hey, if you have a lamp as your lucky charm, just do you.
I don't have anything against that.
Do you have any lucky charms?
I personally don't have any lucky charms.
I tried back in the day because my sister had it.
She actually had a photo of me as her lucky charm.
And so I wanted to do something similar.
And I tried different things.
I think I tried, like, I don't know. pens or bookmarks or even photos.
But the problem, I think, with Lucky Charms is that they mess with your head because, First of all, I don't really believe that, you know, Lucky Charm can bring you good luck.
But sometimes we convince ourselves that they do.
And so let's say that you forget them at home or you lose them, then you might not end up succeeding at what you want to succeed because you keep on thinking oh, I'm never going to get this because I forgot my lucky charm or because I lost my lucky charm.
So I think, you know what?
I think it's better to just rely on ourselves and not really believe that it's just an object that can help decide our fate.
Expression number three, jinx.
Stop asking me that.
You're going to jinx it.
Does jinxing involve bringing good luck or bad luck?
Jinxing involves bringing bad luck.
And what do people believe you need to avoid doing in order not to jinx something?
I think one of the most common things if you don't want to jinx something, is to not talk about it unless you're sure it's going to happen.
I'll give you an example.
Let's say, I just had a job interview and I'm pretty sure I got the job, but they haven't confirmed it to me yet.
Well, some people believe that if I start talking about it as if I got the job, saying things like oh yeah, I know I'm going to get the job
Or I don't know, maybe start spending the money that you don't have yet because you haven't actually gotten the job yet.
Some people believe that by doing that, you are jinxing it.
So you're bringing bad luck. to that situation.
And so in the end, you're not going to get the job.
I don't know.
At least that's what people do and that's what people say.
Do you ever avoid saying something because you're afraid you're going to jinx it?
Yes, totally.
I know it's totally irrational.
It doesn't make any sense.
But yes, if I'm not sure that something's going to happen, I avoid talking about it, because I'm afraid that just by talking about it it's going to jinx it and I'm not going to get whatever it is that I want.
Expression number four, third time's the charm.
Well, you know what they say, third time's the charm.
When is the saying third time's the charm used?
When you have failed to do something once before or twice before.
You say, third time's the charm, when you try to do something two times before that and you have failed.
According to the saying, third time's the charm, will you be successful the third time?
Yes, that is exactly what third time's the charm means.
It means that if you fail twice in a row, then the third time that you try doing something, that something again, you will be successful.
So the third time is the lucky one, so to say.
Third time's the charm.
Do you believe that third time's the charm?
Well, it depends.
I mean, sure, I understand that for things that you have some control over, it could be.
For example, if I want to pass an exam, I might study, take it, fail once, study again, take it and fail twice.
Well, by the third time, I will probably, I'll probably know the test pretty well.
I will have studied a lot harder.
And so yes, maybe I'm more likely to pass it the third time.
But for things like the lottery, and I don't think if you buy a third ticket after losing twice, then you've got more chances of winning, you know.
But people like to think that third time's the charm.
And I actually like it because I think that it makes you feel a little more hopeful.
If you failed at something twice, you're probably feeling a little...
Yeah, discouraged, a little sad.
And you're probably thinking, well, this is never going to work.
I'm never going to succeed.
But if you think that the third time's the charm, then maybe you've got a little bit of hoping you.
That will push you to do a bit better.
To be honest with you, I just think it's something that people say to make.
People that have failed feel better.
Expression number five, tough luck.
Ugh, tough luck, man.
Next time.
If you tell someone tough luck, do you say that to them because they were lucky or not?
You say tough luck to someone who hasn't been lucky in whatever situation they were in.
And if you tell someone tough luck, do you say it because you feel sorry for them?
No.
The expression tough luck is usually used in more of a sarcastic way.
So really, when I'm using it, I'm trying to, let's say, a lot of times, not all the time, but a lot of times I'm almost making fun of you.
So if we're both competing for the same thing and I win and you don't, Well I can tell you ugh, tough luck.
You know, but I'm saying it maybe with a smile on my face because I am trying to make fun of you a little bit.
So yeah, it's not.
You know it's not the nicest thing to say, but especially among friends, if you're playing a game, you can definitely use that expression.
Has something ever happened that made you say to someone, tough luck?
Yes, I think it was probably when I was playing with my boyfriend.
So this one time we're playing cards.
And then another time we're playing like the stupid video game on his phone.
And the first couple games that we played, I won.
And so I sarcastically said well, tough luck, you know, don't worry, it's gonna, it's gonna be better next time.
And then he ended up beating me and like all the other games that we played.
So I was just being like super cool at the beginning, being like hey, tough luck, like you'll, you'll do better next time, kiddo.
And then he was the one that was um, that was winning all the time, And that is it for today.
And remember, if you want to access the transcript, as well as lots of other resources, visit enboocom.
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Have a great day.
