ESL podcast 889 taking up a new hobby

ESL podcast 900 simplifying information ESL podcast 900 simplifying information ESL podcast 900 simplifying information ESL podcast 900 simplifying information ESL podcast 900 simplifying information ESL podcast 900 simplifying information ESL podcast 900 simplifying information

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GLOSSARY

to commiserate – to sympathize or empathize; to feel pity for someone; to

spend time talking with someone about his or her experience of sadness or problems

* We all commiserated with Janet for a few weeks after her breakup, but now we’re tired of hearing about it

retirement – the period of time in one’s life when one is older and no longer

works, having saved enough money from working earlier in life

* Gregorio dreams of traveling to all the national parks during his retirement

to drive (someone) up the wall – to make someone feel crazy; to be very

annoying to another person

* This kids are making so much noise, they’re driving me up the wall! I can’t wait until they fall asleep tonight!

to putter around – to spend time doing unimportant things without a purpose,

especially when one is bored and is looking for something interesting to do

* When Edgar wants to have some time alone, he putters around in the barn

to take up – to begin doing some activity for the first time

* How old were you when you took up playing the violin?

hobby – an activity that one does for fun; an activity that one finds interesting

and pleasurable

* Hannah’s hobbies include cooking, reading, swimming, and photography

to occupy (one’s) time – to keep one busy; to give someone something to do in

his or her free time

* Sheila’s children occupy most of her time

gardening –making plants grow in the area around one’s home, especially

vegetables or flowers

* Wendy really enjoys gardening, so she has several varieties of tomatoes and cucumbers in her back yard

woodworking – building things out of wood; carpentry

* We’re looking for someone who can build a custom table for our dining room

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scrapbooking – creating informal books with many photos and memorabilia

(small objects or papers that help one remember things) that are pleasant to look

at and help one remember important events in life

* Lauren enjoys scrapbooking and often makes beautiful books about her family’s vacations

sedentary – without much or any physical activity; not active; sitting still

* Doctors warn that a sedentary lifestyle can lead to diabetes and heart

problems

bird watching – looking at wild birds and identifying what kind they are

* They live in an area that is great for bird watching, because their home is next

to a river with many trees

golf – an outdoor game that involves hitting a small white ball with metal and

wooden clubs (sticks) into small holes that are far away

* Did you play a 9- or 18-hole round of golf?

chess – a board game played by two players on a black-and-white checkered

surface where they are trying to trap the other player’s most important piece, the king

* Chess is a game of strategy and concentration, not luck

genealogy – the study of one’s family and ancestors; the study of who one’s

parents, grandparents, great-grandparents, and older relatives were

* Arleta became very interested in genealogy and was able to determine that her great-great-great-great grandfather came from a small village in Italy

musical instrument – a tool or device that makes sound for music

* Olivia never learned to play a musical instrument, but her brother plays the trombone and her sister plays the trumpet

to find (one’s) footing – to know what one wants and feel comfortable in one’s

situation or circumstances

* After moving out of his parents’ home, it took Greg a few months to find his footing in a new city

newfound – recently obtained

* What’s the source of Christian’s newfound confidence?

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COMPREHENSION QUESTIONS

1 What does Melissa mean when she says that her father is “driving her mother

up the wall”?

a) He is taking up too much space in the house

b) He is making her remodel their home

c) He is doing things that annoy and frustrate her

2 Which of these hobbies is sedentary?

a) Skydiving

b) Sewing

c) Skateboarding

WHAT ELSE DOES IT MEAN?

to take up

The phrase “to take up,” in this podcast, means to begin doing some activity for the first time: “Do you think I’m too old to take up ballroom dancing?” The phrase

“to take after (someone)” means to look or act like an older relative: “Jesse really takes after his father.” The phrase “to take off” means to remove a piece of

clothing: “Do you want to take off your jacket?” The phrase “to take (something) on” means to agree to do something and be responsible for it: “Are you sure you have enough time to take on more volunteer work?” Finally, the phrase “to take (somebody) on” means to have a physical fight with someone: “Why did you try

to take on a boy who is so much bigger than you are?”

to find (one’s) footing

In this podcast, the phrase “to find (one’s) footing” means to know what one wants and feel comfortable in one’s situation or circumstances: “After just two weeks in the new job, I feel like I’ve found my footing and things are going really well.” The word “footing” describes one’s stability and ability to remain in one place and in control on a dangerous, uneven, or slippery surface: “These boots offer amazing footing, even on ice.” Or, “Randall lost his footing and slipped on the oily sidewalk.” Finally, the phrase “on an equal footing” means in the same condition, or having the same rights: “Do you think men and women will ever truly

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CULTURE NOTE

Mandatory Retirement

In some “professions” (types of work), people are “subject to” (controlled by certain rules of) “mandatory retirement,” which specifies that they must retire at a certain age, regardless of whether they would like to continue working This is most common in jobs that are very dangerous or require very “acute” (sharp)

“mental” (related to thinking) abilities

For example, “pilots” (people who fly airplanes) have a mandatory retirement age

of 65 Most “air traffic controllers” (people whose job is to monitor the positions of airplanes in the sky and make sure they don’t get too close to each other) have a mandatory retirement age of 56 Many police officers, “park rangers” (people who work in protected natural areas) and firefighters have a mandatory retirement age

of 57 Most “military personnel” (people serving in the army, navy, etc.) have a mandatory retirement age, too, especially those who work in dangerous jobs on the “front lines” (where the physical fighting happens)

Some people believe that mandatory retirement is illegal or at least wrong,

because it is based on an age rather that one’s ability to perform the a particular job They argue that if someone is still capable of performing the “duties” (what one is expected to do in a job), then that person’s age should not matter

The “Age Discrimination in Employment Act” (law) “prohibits” (does not allow) employers from forcing people to retire once they reach a certain age However, certain jobs like the ones listed above are “exempt” (not affected by the law)

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

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COMPLETE TRANSCRIPT

Welcome to English as a Second Language Podcast number 889: Taking up a New Hobby

This is English as a Second Language Podcast number 889 I'm your host, Dr Jeff McQuillan, coming to you from the Center for Educational Development in beautiful Los Angeles, California

Our website is ESLPod.com Become a member of ESL Podcast and support this podcast Go to the website for more information

This dialogue we will discuss in this episode is about starting a new hobby, a new thing that you're going to do for fun and entertainment Let’s get started

[start of dialog]

Eric: Who were you talking to on the phone?

Melissa: My mother I was commiserating with her about Dad’s retirement Eric: Your father retired two months ago That was a good thing, right?

Melissa: Well, it’s good that he doesn’t have to work anymore, but he’s driving

my mother up the wall He putters around the house and gets in her way She retired last year, so she’s had a year to establish her new routine He’s still kind

of lost

Eric: Why doesn’t he take up a hobby? That would give him something

interesting to occupy his time

Melissa: Believe me, my mother has tried to interest him in gardening,

woodworking, and even scrapbooking, but nothing has worked

Eric: Those sound too sedentary for somebody as active as your father How about encouraging him to take up bird watching or golf?

Melissa: He wouldn’t be interested in those hobbies I think he needs something more challenging, maybe playing chess or doing genealogy Maybe he could

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Eric: Maybe your Dad just needs time to find his footing again Given time, he’ll figure out what he wants to do with his newfound free time

Melissa: Maybe But what does my mother do in the meantime?

Eric: She can take up a new hobby, too – out of the house!

[end of dialog]

Eric starts off by saying, “Who were you talking to on the phone?” Melissa says,

“My mother I was commiserating with her about dad's retirement.” “To

commiserate” (commiserate) means to spend time talking with someone about his or her experience of sadness or problems It's to give someone sympathy, to say, “Oh, yes, I understand Boy, that's really difficult.” You are commiserating with them Melissa was commiserating with her mother about her father's

retirement “Retirement” is the period of time, usually when you're older when you stop working full-time and, we hope, relax a little

Eric says, “Your father retired two months ago That was a good thing, right?” Melissa says, “Well, it's good that he doesn't have to work anymore, but he's driving my mother up the wall.” “To drive someone up the wall” means to make them go crazy, to drive them crazy Usually, we refer to people who are very annoying, or who cause you to get angry or upset, we may say those people are

“driving you up the wall.” Melissa's father is driving her mother up the wall Why? She says that her father “putters around” the house and gets in her way “To putter (putter) around” means to spend time doing things that aren't very

important, especially when you're bored and you’re looking for something to do Maybe you'll go and you'll clean your desk, or you'll go outside and try to cut your grass a little bit here and there, but not really seriously, not with any sort of

purpose You're basically wasting time You're puttering around

Well, Melissa's father is puttering around the house and getting in the way of his wife Melissa says that her mother retired last year so she's had a year to

establish a new routine “To establish a routine” means to get into the habit of doing certain things When you retire, and you don't have to go to work every day, you have to develop a new routine, a new set of habits that you will follow when you get up in the morning and through the rest of the day

Melissa says that her father is still “kind of” lost, meaning he’s somewhat lost Eric says, “Why doesn't he take up a hobby?” “To take up” is a two-word phrasal

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that you do for fun for enjoyment, for pleasure is often called a “hobby” (hobby)

A hobby could be something like golfing A hobby could be collecting stamps, postage stamps A hobby could be playing cards, playing cards with your friends every Tuesday That might be something that is part of your hobby “To take up a hobby” means to start a new hobby

Eric said that taking up a hobby would give him something interesting “to occupy his time.” “To occupy your time” means to keep yourself busy, to keep yourself doing something so you don't get bored Melissa says, “Believe me,” meaning trust me, “my mother has tried to interest him in gardening, woodworking, and even scrapbooking, but nothing has worked.” These are three hobbies you could take up The first is “gardening,” where you grow plants in a certain area, grow flowers or vegetables or something else “Woodworking” refers to building things out of wood We might also call it, if it were an occupation, “carpentry.” To make things out of wood is “woodworking.” “Scrapbooking” is creating informal books with photographs and other things to help you remember usually a certain time in your life or certain important events in your life That's called “scrapbooking” (scrapbooking)

Eric says that these hobbies that Melissa's mother has tried to interest her father

in sound too “sedentary” for somebody as active as her father He is talking about activities being “sedentary” (sedentary) That means to be without a lot of physical activity, not very active just sitting in a chair on a couch Eric says, “How about encouraging him to take up bird watching or golf?”

“Bird watching” is a hobby where people go and look at birds try to identify

different kinds of birds that are out in the world “Golf” is a game that you play with a small white ball and metal or wooden sticks, which are called “clubs.” You try to get the ball into a little round hole Famous golfers would include people like Tiger Woods That's the game he plays, golf

Melissa says, “He wouldn’t be interested in those hobbies I think he needs

something more challenging” – more difficult – “maybe playing chess or doing genealogy.” “Chess” (chess) is a game that you play on a board where you have two players – one player tries to move the chess pieces around in order to defeat the other player The board usually has white and black squares and each side of the board has these little pieces that you move around and try to capture the other person's pieces That's chess “Genealogy” (genealogy) is when you study your ancestors, when you figure out who your grandfather, your

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great-Melissa says, “Maybe he could even learn to play a musical instrument.” A

musical instrument would be something like a guitar or a piano or a violin Those are all musical instruments, things that we use to make music Eric says, “Maybe your dad just needs to find his footing again.” “To find your footing” (footing) means simply to know what you want, to feel comfortable in a certain situation Sometimes, it takes a while when people retire to adjust, to change their life, to change their thinking so that they are comfortable in the new situation

Eric says, “Given time” – if he has enough time – “he'll figure out” – he'll discover – “what he wants to do with his newfound free time.” “Newfound” – one word – means recently obtained, something you just got We often use that in describing freedom, or free time – my newfound freedom I just ended a relationship with my girlfriend I have newfound freedom! Of course, you also don't have a girlfriend, but the idea is that it’s something positive My newfound free time, free time that I didn't have just a few days ago or weeks ago and now I have

Melissa says, “Maybe, but what does my mother do in the meantime?” – until that happens Eric says, “She can take up a new hobby too – out of the house,”

meaning until Melissa's father finds a new hobby, a new routine, Melissa's

mother should take up a new hobby that would require her to leave the house so she wasn't in the house with her husband

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