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Trang 1GLOSSARY
wedding – the ceremony that brings two people together in marriage
* Derek wants a small wedding, but his fiancée wants to invite hundreds of
people
ex – a former romantic partner; a person with whom one used to have a romantic
relationship
* Frank never dates colleagues, because he doesn’t want to be in the position of working with an ex
to have the nerve – to be very bold and arrogant; to do something that is
shocking and rude, without being sorry about it
* I can’t believe Sheila had the nerve to ask me to pay for the meal after she was the one who suggested we go to such an expensive restaurant
to invite – to ask someone to come to an event or to participate in something
* How many people are you inviting to the party?
water under the bridge – something that happened in the past and has been
forgotten and no longer has any importance or influence
* When Bryan and Kai were younger, they fought a lot, but now those arguments are water under the bridge and they are best friends
no hard feelings – without any anger or resentment; not holding a grudge; not
spending a lot of time thinking about how another person hurt oneself or did something bad in the past
* I’m sorry I dated your sister without asking for your permission first No hard feelings, okay?
breakup – the end of a romantic relationship; the moment when two people
decide to stop dating each other
* A lot of people have horrible stories about breakups that happened via text messaging or email
mutual – done by two people, usually at the same time; in the interest of two
people; experienced by two people
* They shook hands as a sign of their mutual agreement and said they would put
Trang 2to have a soft place in (one’s) heart for (someone) – to have sweet, kind, and
possibly romantic feelings for another person; to like someone
* Peter has always had a soft spot in his heart for Mikayla I wonder why he has never asked her out on a date
to harbor – to continue to have hopes or fears, but keep them secret and hidden
from other people
* How can he still be harboring anger over what happened four years ago?
to never come to pass – to not happen; to not occur
* Some economists are predicting an unemployment rate of 20%, but I hope that never comes to pass
to move on – to continue with one’s life, no longer worrying about some past
event or letting it affect one’s decisions and actions
* Janelle’s husband died 10 years ago, and she has finally decided that it’s time
to move on and start dating again
to wish (someone) well – to hope that one has a good life and finds peace and
happiness; to have only good feelings toward another person
* We’re sad to see Kaitlynn leave the company, but we wish her well in her next job
match – one half of a pair, sharing many characteristics or interests with the
other person or thing; part of a set
* Do you think this skirt would be a good match for this sweater?
to hold out on (someone) – to not fully share all the available information with
another person; to keep a secret, at least partially, and not tell everything to another person
* Did something happen at work today? It seems like you’re holding out on me
do tell – a phrase used to ask someone to share information or to invite
someone to speak, especially about very exciting or interesting news
* How was your date with Sarah? Do tell!
Trang 3COMPREHENSION QUESTIONS
1 What does Andy mean when he asks, “He had the nerve to invite you to his wedding?”
a) He thinks Jamal would be very nervous to invite Yuka
b) He thinks Jamal’s invitation was inappropriate
c) He thinks Jamal’s should have invited him, too
2 What does Yuka say about Jamal’s new wife?
a) She seems to have a lot in common with Jamal
b) She is very beautiful
c) She is very kind and thoughtful
WHAT ELSE DOES IT MEAN?
to have the nerve
The phrase “to have the nerve,” in this podcast, means to be very bold and
arrogant, or to do something that is shocking and rude, without being apologetic:
“How could Lola have the nerve to tell me I don’t dress well enough, when she was wearing shorts in the office?” The phrase “to be a bundle of nerves” means
to be very nervous and anxious about something: “Damian is always a bundle of nerves before his presentations.” The phrase “to steady (one’s) nerves” means to calm down and stop being so nervous: “Maybe taking a five minute break would help her steady her nerves.” Finally, the phrase “to lose (one’s) nerve” means to become very nervous or worried and lose confidence so that one is no longer able to do what one had planned to do: “Mike was going to ask Mariah to marry him, but then he lost his nerve.”
to harbor
In this podcast, the verb “to harbor” means to continue to have hopes or fears, but keep them secret and hidden from other people: “Are you still harboring hopes that someone will find your dog?” The verb “to harbor” can also mean to protect a criminal or someone else, giving him or her a safe place to stay: “This home harbored many slaves as they left the southern United States in search of freedom.” Sometimes “to harbor” means to have or contain something, especially
Trang 4CULTURE NOTE
Traditional Weddings
Wedding “receptions” (parties after the wedding ceremony) can be “elaborate” (with many parts or details) events, especially when they include all of the
traditional “components” (parts)
Normally, there is a lot of music and dancing Traditionally, the “bride” (the
woman who has just been married) has the “first dance” (dancing to the first song played) with her father, and then with her “groom” (the man who has just been married)
The “newlyweds” (the two people who have just been married) usually hold a special knife together to cut the first “slice” (piece) of the cake They feed the first bite to each other with their fingers, but many couples actually “smear” (put
something down and move it to make a mark) over the bride’s or groom’s face as they feed it to each other, having fun by making a mess on each other’s faces They also might drink their “champagne” (special white wine with bubbles) so that their arms wrap around each other as they each drink from a “champagne flute” (a long, narrow glass used for drinking champagne)
Later in the reception, the bride sometimes puts her right foot up on a chair and
“raises” (moves higher) the “hem” (bottom sewn part) of her dress to “expose” (allow to be seen) much of her leg The groom then removes a “garter” (a small piece of elastic worn around the “thigh” (upper part of the leg), traditionally used
to hold up stockings) The groom throws the garter toward the “single” (not
married) men and the bride throws her “bouquet” (a collection of flowers held in one’s hands) toward the single women The man who catches the garter and the woman who catches the bouquet “are said to be” (are talked about as if they are) the next ones to marry
Comprehension Questions Correct Answers: 1 – b; 2 – a
Trang 5COMPLETE TRANSCRIPT
Welcome to English as a Second Language Podcast number 859: Attending an Ex’s Wedding
This is English as a Second Language Podcast epsiode 859 I’m your host, Dr Jeff McQuillan, coming to your from the Center for Educational Development in beautiful Los Angeles, California
Our website is ESLPod.com You know that, but did you also know that you can become a Learning Guide member and download? That’s right, a Learning Guide for this episode
This episode is a dialog between Andy and Yuka about going to the wedding – the marriage ceremony – of someone who used to be your boyfriend or girlfriend Sounds pretty interesting Let’s get started
[start of dialog]
Andy: What did you do last weekend?
Yuka: I went to Jamal’s wedding
Andy: Jamal?! Your ex Jamal?
Yuka: Yes, that Jamal
Andy: He had the nerve to invite you to his wedding?
Yuka: I actually thought it was nice of him to invite me Whatever happened between us years ago is water under the bridge There are no hard feelings on either side
Andy: You told me that the breakup was mutual, but I always thought you still had a soft place in your heart for him
Yuka: The truth is, when we first broke up, I did harbor some hopes of the two of
us getting back together, but that never came to pass We both moved on and I
Trang 6Yuka: It was very nice and Jamal’s new wife seems to be a good match for him Andy: And you didn’t mind seeing them together?
Yuka: Not at all, especially after I met Lorenzo
Andy: Lorenzo, huh? You’ve been holding out on me Do tell!
[end of dialog]
Our dialog begins with Andy asking Yuka, “What did you do last weekend?” Yuka says, “I went to Jamal’s wedding.” A “wedding” is an official ceremony where two people promise to, well it depends on the people, but typically, they promise to
be married to each other until they die That doesn’t always happen I
understand Yuka says that she went to Jamal’s wedding Andy says, “Jamal?! Your ex Jamal?” “Ex” (ex) means my ex-boyfriend or my ex-girlfriend It could also mean my ex-husband or my ex-wife We just use the letters “ex” sometimes
in informal conversation when we mean ex-boyfriend or ex-girlfriend Here, it’s Yuka’s ex-boyfriend
Yuka says, “Yes, that Jamal,” meaning that’s the Jamal I’m talking about Andy is obviously surprised Andy says, “He had the nerve to invite you to his wedding?” The expression “to have the nerve (nerve)” means to do something very
surprising, very surprising, but also very rude, very unkind, and to do it without being sorry about it We might also use the adjectives “bold” and “arrogant” when trying to define this expression “You have the nerve to tell me that my hair looks bad, when you’re bald yourself” – when you don’t have any hair yourself? That’s what I said to somebody the other day Well, Andy is surprised that Jamal had the nerve to invite Yuka to his wedding “To invite” means to ask someone to participate or to come to some sort of event
Yuka says, “I actually thought it was nice of him to invite me.” So, Yuka was happy that her ex invited her “Whatever happened between us years ago is water under the bridge.” Yuka is saying that no matter what happened, even if bad things happened many years ago, that is now all “water under the bridge (bridge).” The expression “something is water under the bridge” means
something happened a long time ago but it’s no longer important and I’ve sort of forgotten about it, really It’s not something that bothers me anymore
Maybe you and your brother had an argument and you’re mad at each other for many months or even years And then, you decide to forgive your brother or he forgives you or you forgive each other, and you forget about that thing that
Trang 7happened You say, “Oh, that’s water under the bridge.” You can think about a river, of course, full of water and the water is always moving past So, when you look down it’s not the same water that you would’ve seen five seconds ago or five minutes or five days ago
Yuka says “There are no hard feelings on either side.” “To have hard feelings” means to have anger or resentment about a situation or a person “No hard feelings” means that you’re not thinking about how this other person acted, or whether they may have insulted or hurt you “No hard feelings” means I’m not mad at you “Please don’t be mad at me” could also be a way of interpreting that expression Yuka says “There are no hard feelings on either side,” meaning neither she nor Jamal is angry at the other
Andy says, “You told me that the breakup was mutual.” A “breakup” is when you end a romantic relationship, usually a boyfriend/girlfriend relationship You could also use the term, however, for a marriage “They broke up their marriage.” They ended their marriage They got a divorce So, breakup could be used in that case, too
Andy says that Yuka told him that their breakup was mutual Something that is
“mutual” (mutual) is something done by two people You both agree “The feeling
is mutual” is another expression we have That means “I feel the same about that person as that person feels about me.” It could be a positive thing It could be a negative thing “Mutual” just means something done by two people or done at the same time Andy is saying that although Yuka told him that their breakup was mutual, he always thought that Yuka still had a soft place in her heart for him
“To have a soft place in your heart for someone” means, really, that you still have kind feelings toward someone, possibly even romantic feelings It’s not always romantic You could have a soft place in your heart for your nephew or for your grandmother, but it might be also romantic in some instances, when you’re
talking, of course, about situations where that’s likely
Andy then thought that Yuka may have still liked Jamal Yuka says, “The truth is, when we first broke up, I did harbor some hopes of the two of us getting back together again.”
“To harbor” (harbor) means to continue to have hopes about something or fears about something It could be a positive or a negative, but to keep those feelings a
Trang 8Yuka says that she and Jamal both moved on “To move on” means to continue with your life, not to worry about some past event or not to let it affect your
decisions about what you’re doing right now When two people breakup in a romantic relationship, it’s usually better for both of them to move on, to find
another boyfriend or another girlfriend, or a dog Dogs sometimes can be much better companions, much better friends than a boyfriend or a girlfriend
Well, Yuka says that she and Jamal moved on and that she wishes him well “To wish someone well” means to hope that that person has a good life, to have good feelings towards that person, to want that person to be happy
Andy says, “Well, how was the wedding?” Yuka said, “It was very nice and
Jamal’s new wife seems to be a good match for him.” “To be a match” (match) here means to have some of the same characteristics, some of the same
interests that the other person has or simply to be a good fit, to be two people that are good together, they’re good for each other They’re a good match Andy says, “And you didn’t mind seeing them together?” meaning “It didn’t bother you
to see your ex-boyfriend with his new wife?” Yuka says, “Not at all, especially after I met Lorenzo.”
Now we find out why Yuka is not angry about going to Jamal’s wedding, because she has a new boyfriend named Lorenzo In English, Lorenzo is “Lawrence,” which some of you may know is my middle name, but I am not dating Yuka I want everyone to know that - especially my wife!
Andy says, “Lorenzo, huh? You’ve been holding out on me.” “To hold out on someone” is not to give that person all the information that you have, to keep some things secret, not to tell the person everything you know Andy says, “Do tell.” This is a somewhat old-fashioned phrase, meaning that you want the other person to give you the information, the (usually) exciting or interesting news that they have to tell you “Do tell” – “Please tell me” is what that expression means Now let’s listen to the dialog this time at a normal speed
[start of dialog]
Andy: What did you do last weekend?
Yuka: I went to Jamal’s wedding
Andy: Jamal?! Your ex Jamal?
Trang 9Yuka: Yes, that Jamal
Andy: He had the nerve to invite you to his wedding?
Yuka: I actually thought it was nice of him to invite me Whatever happened between us years ago is water under the bridge There are no hard feelings on either side
Andy: You told me that the breakup was mutual, but I always thought you still had a soft place in your heart for him
Yuka: The truth is, when we first broke up, I did harbor some hopes of the two of
us getting back together, but that never came to pass We both moved on and I wish him well
Andy: Well, how was the wedding?
Yuka: It was very nice and Jamal’s new wife seems to be a good match for him Andy: And you didn’t mind seeing them together?
Yuka: Not at all, especially after I met Lorenzo
Andy: Lorenzo, huh? You’ve been holding out on me Do tell!
[end of dialog]
Our scriptwriter always wishes us well and the feeling is mutual
From Los Angeles, California, I’m Jeff McQuillan Thank you for listening Come back and listen to us again, here on ESL Podcast
English as a Second Language podcast is written and produced by Dr Lucy Tse, hosted by Dr Jeff McQuillan Copyright 2012 by the Center for Educational
Development