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to hold nothing back The phrase “to hold nothing back,” in this podcast, means to do something with maximum effort, or to do something at an extreme or maximum level: “Blake held nothin

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GLOSSARY

tryout – audition; an opportunity to demonstrate one’s ability to earn an

opportunity to participate in something, especially a sports team, a music group,

or a theatrical performance

* More than 100 people attended the tryout, hoping to be selected for the

basketball team

physical – a medical exam, typically conducted once a year as a check-up to

evaluate one’s health

* The school requires that all students complete a physical and have their

doctor’s approval before participating in athletic activities

to make a team – to be selected to participate in a team; to be chosen as the

member of a team

* Only students with a GPA of at least 3.5 will make the debate team

pep talk – a speech that encourages one or more people to do very well and

helps them feel motivated and enthusiastic

* The vice-president gave all the sales representatives a pep talk to help them meet their sales goals

to have (one’s) head in the right place – to concentrate and be thinking about

the right thing, without distracting thoughts

* In high school, Kyle was a poor student, but once he got to college, he seemed

to have his head in the right place and he was really focused on his studies

to dominate – to do something better than anyone else; to be the best, most

important, loudest, biggest, and/or strongest in a group

* This author’s books always dominate the lists of bestsellers

to intimidate – to frighten someone, especially because one appears to be very

strong and confident, with superior skills or talent

* All the other golfers became intimidated when they saw the youngest

competitor make a hole in one

to impress – to make someone feel respect and admiration, especially because

one has done something very well or has a lot of talent or skill

* The job candidate impressed us with her direct and thorough answers to the interviewer’s questions

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coach – trainer; a person whose job is to help an athlete or team develop skills

to perform as well as possible

* The gymnastics coach thinks that William could compete in the Olympics if he doesn’t suffer an injury

to play hard – to try very hard to win a game or competition

* The other team is playing hard, but our players are bigger and stronger, so we will probably win

to hold nothing back – to do something with maximum effort; to do something

at an extreme or maximum level

* If you’re going to finally tell her how your feel, hold nothing back

to send a message – to communicate something very clearly so that there is no

possibility of misinterpretation or misunderstanding

* Firing low-performing employees sends a clear message to the rest of the staff

a force to be reckoned with – something or someone that is a significant factor

and must be dealt with, because it is too important or noteworthy to be ignored

* The new manager is a force to be reckoned with, with new ideas and plans

to have faith in – to believe in something and think that is it real and good, even

if that something that cannot be seen; to trust

* The Board of Directors must have faith in this proposal, or else they wouldn’t have approved the budget for it

tough – physically strong and brave; capable of doing things that are too difficult

or unpleasant for most other people

* Blaine thinks he’s tough enough to hike to the top of the mountain in just a day

to scowl – to frown angrily; to make a mean, aggressive facial expression,

turning down the corners of one’s mouth and partially closing one’s eyes

* The woman scowled when the dog peed on her carpet

to crush – to beat a competitor very badly; to score a clear win; to strongly

defeat

* Their team crushed ours, 39 to 8

I tell you what – a phrase used to make a suggestion or to present a new idea

for another person to consider

* I tell you what, let’s hear everything the presenters want to say before we make

a final decision

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COMPREHENSION QUESTIONS

1 What is a pep talk?

a) A motivational speech

b) Extra exercises to warm up

c) Secret information about one’s competitors

2 What does Marcela mean when she says that she wants Kenji to have his head in the right place?

a) She wants him to improve his skills for playing the game

b) She wants him to accept all of her advice

c) She wants his to think positive thoughts and be confident

WHAT ELSE DOES IT MEAN?

to hold nothing back

The phrase “to hold nothing back,” in this podcast, means to do something with maximum effort, or to do something at an extreme or maximum level: “Blake held nothing back when telling his boss all the reasons why he was quitting.” The phrase “to hold (someone) back” means to prevent someone from making

progress: “The need to care for young children can hold women back in their career.” The phrase “to hold (something) back” can mean to not show an

emotion: “They found it difficult to hold back tears while watching the movie.” Or,

“Even though they knew laughing would be inappropriate, they couldn’t hold back their laughter.” Finally, the phrase “there’s no holding (someone) back” means that there is nothing one can do to prevent someone from doing something:

“Once she made up her mind to sell the house, there was no holding her back.”

to crush

In this podcast, the verb “to crush” means to beat a competitor very badly or to strongly defeat them: “Nobody likes to watch one team crush another; games are always more interesting when the teams are more evenly matched.” The phrase

“to crush (someone)” means to make someone feel very upset or disappointed:

“Ali was crushed when he found out he wasn’t accepted into the program.” The phrase “to crush (someone’s) hopes/confidence/dreams” means to make

someone lose all hope/confidence/dreams: “Getting a grade of “F” in

biochemistry crushed Jacques’ dreams of becoming a medical researcher.” Finally, the phrase “to have a crush on (someone)” means to feel romantic

feelings and love for another person, especially if one does not know that person well: “Is it common for elementary school students to have a crush on their

teacher?”

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CULTURE NOTE

Team Sports in Schools

Most American high schools offer opportunities for students to play team sports with their “peers” (classmates) Some of the teams are “open to everyone” (with everyone being allowed to play, regardless of experience or skill level), but

others require that students try out and demonstrate their abilities before they are selected by the coach and/or team “captain” (the leader of a team)

The best players, usually “upperclassmen” (juniors and seniors; students in 11th and 12th grade), play on “varsity” teams Players who are not as “talented” (with a lot of natural ability) or as skilled yet, usually younger students in 9th and 10th grade, play on “junior varsity” or “JV” teams The JV athletes are training to

become varsity players in a “subsequent” (later) year

A “second-string” player is an individual who is not one of the starting players on the team, but serves as a “substitute,” or someone who can take the place of a regular player who is not able to play, “perhaps” (maybe) because of an “injury” (when one’s body is hurt)

High school sports teams “typically” (usually) practice after school and before dinner time, although some teams have evening practices They may practice between one and four nights per week, depending on the “season” (time of year), ability level of the team, and upcoming games Games are sometimes held in the evening, and sometimes on weekends Teams usually play against the teams of other high schools If the high schools are “nearby” (close), the families might be responsible for transporting the students to the game If the students are

competing against teams that are further way, or if they are in a “championship” (games played to determine which team is the best in an area), the school might provide bus transportation

Comprehension Questions Correct Answers: 1 – a; 2 – c

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COMPLETE TRANSCRIPT

Welcome to English as a Second Language Podcast number 1,103 – Sports Tryouts

This is English as a Second Language Podcast episode 1,103 I’m your host, Dr Jeff McQuillan, coming to you from the Center for Educational Development in beautiful Los Angeles, California

Visit our website at ESLPod.com Become a member of ESL Podcast When you

do, you can download the Learning Guide for this episode

This episode is a dialogue between Marcela and Kenji about trying to become a member of a sports team Let’s get started

[start of dialogue]

Marcela: All right, you’re ready for these tryouts You’ve passed your physical You’ve trained for months You’re going to make that team

Kenji: It’s okay I don’t need a pep talk I’m just going to do the best I can

Marcela: Yes, but you want to have your head in the right place You’re going to dominate the field You’re going to intimidate the other players

Kenji: No, I only want to impress the coach I’m going to play hard and hold nothing back

Marcela: Yes, that’s fine, but you want to send a message to the other players that you’re a force to be reckoned with

Kenji: I’m going to have faith in my abilities and hope for the best

Marcela: At least try to look tough Try scowling at the other players like you can’t wait to get them on the field so you can crush them

Kenji: [sigh] I tell you what, why don’t you scowl for me? I think you’re much scarier than any player who’s ever played this game

[end of dialogue]

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Marcela begins our dialogue by saying to Kenji, “Alright, you’re ready for these tryouts.” A “tryout” (tryout) is an opportunity to demonstrate your ability to do something Usually it is something you have to do in order to become a member

of a sports team or perhaps even a musical group A “tryout” is when you go in front of sometimes a coach or another judge who decides if you are good enough

to be a member of this group or this team

So, a “sports tryout” would involve you going and playing the sport in front of a group of coaches or in front of a coach who is going to decide whether you are good enough to be part of this sports team Another word for a tryout that we often use when we’re talking about a musical production or a movie or a

television show is “audition” (audition)

Marcela says to Kenji, “You’ve passed your physical.” A “physical,” as a noun, is

a medical examination that determines whether you are healthy enough to

participate – in this case, in a certain sport Children often get physicals every year or every other year to make sure that they’re growing properly, that they don’t have any physical problems that they need to take care of Adults should also get a physical once a year or every other year I know I do

Marcela says Kenji passed his physical, meaning his doctor determined that he was good enough to participate in this particular sport Marcela says, “You’ve trained for months,” meaning you’ve been preparing physically for months

“You’re going to make that team.” “To make (make) a team” means to be

selected to participate in a team, to be chosen as a member of a team

Kenji says, “It’s okay I don’t need a pep talk.” A “pep (pep) talk” is a speech that encourages one or more people to do a good job It’s a way of motivating

someone or a group of people Sometimes, before a sports game, the coach of the team will talk to the team and give them a pep talk – try to get them motivated and enthusiastic about going out and winning the game

Kenji says, “I’m just going to do the best I can.” Marcela says, “Yes, but you want

to have your head in the right place.” The expression “to have your head (head)

in the right place” means to be thinking about the right thing – to be focused, to

be concentrated on what you are trying to do It means to be psychologically prepared for a certain activity

Marcela says, “You’re going to dominate the field.” “To dominate” (dominate) in this sentence means to be better than anyone else, to be the best Marcela adds,

“You’re going to intimidate the other players.” “To intimidate” (intimidate) means

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to scare someone, to frighten someone because you are stronger or more

confident than he is “Intimidation” is usually a bad thing

Here Marcela is saying that Kenji should intimidate the other players, the other people on the team, in such a way that they are afraid of him because he’s such

a good player, I think is the idea Kenji says, “No, I only want to impress the coach.” “To impress” (impress) someone is to show someone that you have a lot

of talent or skill – to have that person think that you are very good at what you

do, to have a person admire you

A “coach” (coach) is the person who is the head of a sports team, the person who is in charge of telling the players what to do and of making plans for how the team will play Kenji says, “I’m going to play hard and hold nothing back.” “To play hard” means to try very hard to win a game or a competition, to put all the effort that you can into winning “To hold nothing back” is something similar It means to do something at the maximum level, to do something with the

maximum effort that you can

Marcela says, “Yes, that’s fine, but you want to send a message to the other players that you’re a force to be reckoned with.” “To send a message” to

someone doesn’t mean to email them, necessarily It means to communicate something very clearly to another person or group of people so that there is no possibility of them not understanding You’re making something very clear to them

Marcela is telling Kenji to send a message to the other players What message? The message that he is “a force (force) to be reckoned (reckoned) with.” If you are a force to be reckoned with, you are someone who is too important or too powerful to be ignored You are a person that the other people have to deal with somehow They can’t ignore you They have to do something about you Marcela

is telling Kenji to act in such a way that the other players know that he is a force

to be reckoned with

Kenji says, “I’m going to have faith in my abilities and hope for the best.” “To have faith in” something or someone is to believe in something or someone – to think that this thing or person is real and good even if you can’t see it or even if you don’t have all the information that you might need to know it for sure It can also mean to trust in something or someone

Marcela says, “At least try to look tough” (tough) “To look tough” means to look strong, to look like you are capable of doing things that are very difficult In fact,

we sometimes use this word “tough” as an adjective to mean difficult, but here it

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means to look strong If you say, “That guy looks tough,” you mean he looks physically strong, maybe big enough to hurt you My ex-girlfriend was like that Anyway, Marcela says, “Try scowling at the other players like you can’t wait to get them on the field so you can crush them.” Marcela is obviously trying to get Kenji to be tougher She’s telling Kenji to scowl (scowl) “To scowl” is to make a mean expression on your face Often it involves partially closing your eyes – not closing them all the way, but making this mean expression on your face

“To crush” (crush) means to completely beat or defeat someone For example,

“The Los Angeles Dodgers crushed the San Francisco Giants 10 to nothing in the baseball game yesterday.” That’s just a hypothetical If a team wins by a large score, we say the team “crushed” the other team That’s what Marcela wants Kenji to do to the other players Kenji sighs He makes a sound indicating that he is tired, really, of hearing Marcela give him advice

He says, “I tell you what.” “I tell you what” is an informal phrase used to make a suggestion or to present a new idea for another person to think about or to consider You could also say, “I’ll tell you what.” “I will tell you what.” But the more informal and perhaps a little more common expression is “I tell you what.” Kenji says, “I tell you what, why don’t you scowl for me? I think you’re much scarier than any player who’s ever played this game.” Kenji is saying to Marcela that she seems to be tougher and scarier than any of the people who are on the sports team

Now, we don’t know what kind of sport this is It might be American football It might be basketball But in any case, Kenji doesn’t really want to hear Marcela’s advice and thinks that Marcela should perhaps just go out and try to be the one who scowls and is scary to the other players I have to say, I wasn’t really very big into sports and sport teams when I was in school, although I was on my seventh- and eighth-grade volleyball team Not exactly American football, but I thought we were pretty tough

Now let’s listen to the dialogue, this time at a normal speed