ESL Podcast 490 – Eating Spoiled Food

Ryan: It’s really nice of you to make dinner for me. It’s been a long time since I’ve had a home-cooked meal.

Corrie: I’m happy to do it. First, though, let’s see what you have in your fridge.

Ryan: I have tons of food in there.

Corrie: What is that? It looks moldy¹.

Ryan: Oh, that’s cheese. I’m sure it’s still good, if we just cut off the moldy parts.

Corrie: Okay, but look at the “best if used by” date. This expired three months ago. What about this?

Ryan: That’s hamburger. Maybe you could make some spaghetti with meatballs.

Corrie: Not with this rotten meat. It’s definitely gone bad. Can’t you tell by the discoloration? Meat isn’t supposed to be gray.

Ryan: I guess you’re right. I bet this milk isn’t any good either, is it?

Corrie: Nope. It’s gone sour, and you might as well throw out this bread, too. It’s stale.

Ryan: Isn’t there anything you can use in this kitchen?

Corrie: Well, this oil is rancid, this butter looks tainted², the vegetables are wilted³, and even your canned goods are rusted⁴. You do have a lot of food in your kitchen, but it’s been here a long, long time.

Ryan: I don’t like things to go to waste.

Corrie: I guess not. I’m still willing to make you dinner, but we’ll have to do some shopping. My cooking isn’t the best, but I don’t usually give people food poisoning, and I don’t want to start now.

Ryan: Okay, okay, give me a list and I’ll go to the market.

Corrie: And while you’re there, I’ll see what I can do about getting rid of all of this hazardous⁵ waste!


Script by Dr. Lucy Tse

1 moldy   

adj.发霉的

参考例句：

• She chucked the moldy potatoes in the dustbin.她把发霉的土豆扔进垃圾箱。
• Oranges can be kept for a long time without going moldy.橙子可以存放很长时间而不腐烂。

2 tainted   

adj.腐坏的；污染的；沾污的；感染的v.使变质( taint的过去式和过去分词 )；使污染；败坏；被污染，腐坏，败坏

参考例句：

• The administration was tainted with scandal. 丑闻使得政府声名狼藉。
• He was considered tainted by association with the corrupt regime. 他因与腐败政府有牵连而名誉受损。 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 wilted   

（使）凋谢，枯萎( wilt的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The flowers wilted in the hot sun. 花在烈日下枯萎了。
• The romance blossomed for six or seven months, and then wilted. 那罗曼史持续六七个月之后就告吹了。

4 rusted   

v.（使）生锈( rust的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• I can't get these screws out; they've rusted in. 我无法取出这些螺丝，它们都锈住了。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• My bike has rusted and needs oil. 我的自行车生锈了，需要上油。 来自《简明英汉词典》

5 hazardous   

adj.(有)危险的，冒险的；碰运气的

参考例句：

• These conditions are very hazardous for shipping.这些情况对航海非常不利。
• Everybody said that it was a hazardous investment.大家都说那是一次危险的投资。