2009年ESL之就医和人际交往20 Falling in Love_在线英语听力室

(单词翻译:双击或拖选)

20 Falling in Love

GLOSSARY

to stare – to look at something without turning away to look at anything else; to

look at something with a lot of concentration

* Why is that man staring at me? Do I have something in my teeth?

crush – a feeling of liking someone romantically, usually used to describe the

feelings of children

* I had a crush on Aaron in high school, but he was dating someone else.

to fall head over heels – to fall in love with someone; to have very strong

feelings of love and affection; to begin to have a strong romantic interest in

someone

* Yoshida fell head over heels for Noemi and they weremarried within nine

months!

love at first sight – the feeling of loving someone immediately after meeting him

or her, and knowing one wants to spend the rest of one’s life with that person

* Was it love at first sight, or were you friends for a long time before you started

dating?

sparks fly – when there is an obvious romantic attraction between twopeople

* Everyone saw the sparks fly when Davis met Tamar.

to miss – to not see or notice something

* How could I have missed that stop sign? I can’t believeI didn’t stop before

driving through the intersection!

blush – a pink or red color on one’s cheeks, usually caused by feelings of

embarrassment or anger

* She never shouts, but if you see a blush on her cheek, then you know she’s

angry.

grin – a small smile of happiness and satisfaction, usually without showing one’s

teeth

* The scientist grinned when he learned that his articlewould be published in the

journal.

chemistry – a romantic attraction between two people, where each person is

interested in the other person

* He’s smart, funny, hard-working, and kind, but I just don’t feel any chemistry

with him.

to steal a glance – to look at someone or something very quickly, trying not to

let other people notice that one is interested in thatperson or thing

* That man is pretending to read the newspaper, but he keeps stealing glances at

you. I think he likes you!

figment of (one’s) imagination – something that one has imagined; something

that one thinks is real, but isn’t

* Diego thought he heard someone knock at the door, butnobody was there. It

must have been a figment of his imagination.

attracted to (someone) – liking someone; thinking that someone is interesting in

a romantic way, usually because one is interested in that person’s personality or

physical appearance

* Are you more attracted to tall or short women?

to speak for (someone) – to speak on behalf of another person; to present

another person’s opinions or ideas

* Are you speaking for yourself, or for your employer?

that’s for me to know and for you to find out – a phrase used when one has

secret information that one doesn’t want to share with another person and wants

to tease that person about it

* I asked the director who the new choreographer would be, but she just said,

“That’s for me to know and for you to find out.”

COMPREHENSION QUESTIONS

1. According to Maya, what did Jorge do when he first met Jessica?

a) He smiled.

b) His cheeks turned red.

c) He stared at her.

2. What does Maya mean when she says that Jessica was stealingglances at

Jorge all night?

a) She was trying to get information about him.

b) She was taking his food off his plate.

c) She was secretly looking at him.

______________

WHAT ELSE DOES IT MEAN?

crush

The word “crush,” in this podcast, means a feeling of liking someone

romantically, usually used to describe the feelings of children: “Maxim had a

crush on his first-grade teacher.” As a verb, “to crush” means to squeeze

something in one’s hand, or press down on something very hard, so that its

shape changes and it is destroyed: “He’s very strong, and cancrush metal cans

in one hand.” Or, “The car was crushed during the windstorm when a tree fell on

top of it.” When cooking, sometimes herbs and other foods are crushed to

release their smell or flavor: “Add two tablespoons of crushed garlic.” Finally, the

verb “to crush” can mean to end someone’s happiness or hurt someone’s

feelings: “Crowley was crushed when his girlfriend broke up with him.”

to speak for

In this podcast, the phrase “to speak for (someone)” means to speak on behalf of

another person, or to present another person’s opinions or ideas: “Will you

please speak for me at the meeting? I won’t be able to go today.” The phrase

“speak for yourself” is used when someone makes a general statement, but one

doesn’t believe that idea applies to oneself: “He said,‘We all need to go on a

diet,’ but his wife said, ‘Speak for yourself!’” The phrase “to speak up” means to

speak more loudly: “Speak up, please. They can’t hear you in the back of the

room.” The phrase “to speak up for (someone)” means to support and defend

someone, especially if that person is not present: “Everyone was saying bad

things about Teran, but Lamar spoke up for him, saying that it wasn’t his fault the

project failed.”

CULTURE NOTE

Falling in love “affects” (changes) people in many ways.Let’s “take a look at”

(consider) some of the “stereotypical behaviors,” or things that people are

generally expected to do when they fall in love.

When people have a crush, they become “preoccupied with”(always thinking

about) the person they’re falling in love with. Younggirls might “doodle” (make

small drawings on a piece of paper) hearts and the “initials” (the first letter in

one’s first, middle, and last name) of the person they like. Other people might

find themselves “staring into space” (looking into the distance, not aware of what

is happening around oneself) while thinking about that“special someone” (the

person whom one loves). Some people become so “distracted” (always thinking

about something else) when they fall in love that they “lose their appetite” (no

longer want to eat) and/or have trouble sleeping at night.

Other people become very creative and “expressive” (able toshare one’s

thoughts and feelings) when they fall in love. These people “light up” (become

very excited and animated) when they are around their special someone, or even

when they think about that person. They might write love letters or romantic

poetry. Some people send them to the person they’re inlove with, but they do it

secretly, signing “from a secret admirer” instead of putting their name on it.

Other people write songs and “serenade” (sing a romantic song outside a

bedroom window) the person they’re falling in love with. People who aren’t as

musical and don’t know how to “compose” (write music) might make a “mix tape,”

or make a recording of many of their favorite romantic songs, and give it to their

special someone as a gift.

______________

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

COMPLETE TRANSCRIPT

Welcome to English as a Second Language Podcast number 525: Falling in

Love.

This is English as a Second Language Podcast episode 525. I’m your host, Dr.

Jeff McQuillan, coming to you from the Center for Educational Development in

beautiful Los Angeles, California.

Our website is at eslpod.com. Go there to download a Learning Guide for this

episode that contains all of the vocabulary, definitions, sample sentences,

additional definitions, comprehension questions, culturalnotes, and, did I

mention, a complete transcript of this episode.

This episode is called “Falling in Love.” It is a dialogue between Maya and Jorge

about that old story, a boy and a girl. Let’s get started.

[start of dialogue]

Maya: What are those?

Jorge: They’re pictures from our ski trip last weekend.

Maya: Is there any reason you’re staring at the ones withJessica in them? I

think you’ve got a crush on her.

Jorge: I’m not 10 years old. I don’t get crushes.

Maya: Then, I think you’re falling head over heels for her.

Jorge: Don’t be ridiculous. I’ve only just met her.

Maya: I knew it was love at first sight when I introducedyou at Yannick’s party. I

could see the sparks fly. I couldn’t miss her blush or your silly grin. There was

certainly a lot of chemistry between the two of you, that’s for sure.

Jorge: I hardly talked to her at the party.

Maya: Yes, but I could see her stealing glances at you all night.

Jorge: That must have been a figment of your imagination.

Maya: Oh, really?

Jorge: Okay, I won’t deny that I’m attracted to Jessica, but I can’t speak for her.

Maya: Yes, but I can.

Jorge: What?

Maya: She asked me about you.

Jorge: When?

Maya: Yesterday, at lunch.

Jorge: What did she say? What did yousay?

Maya: That’s for me to know and for you to find out!

[end of dialogue]

Maya asks Jorge, “What are those?” Jorge is looking at some pictures; he says,

“They’re pictures from our ski trip last weekend.” Apparently, he and some

friends went skiing. Maya says, “Is there any reason you’re staring at the ones

with Jessica in them?” “To stare” (stare) means to look atsomething for a long

time, without looking at anything else. Normally, it’s considered impolite or rude

to stare at someone, even if you find that person attractive. Jorge is staring at

the picture, however, not at an actual person. In particular, he’s staring at a

woman by the name of Jessica.

Maya says, “I think you’ve got a crush on her.” A “crush” (crush) is a feeling of

liking someone romantically. Usually we use this word in talking about children

or teenagers; when they say they like someone, we say they have a crush on

them – someone they’re interested in romantically to theextent that children

have actual romantic feelings, that is the word we would use, a crush. So,

Maya’s using it sort of as a joke here, because Jorge is obviously not a child.

Jorge says, “I’m not 10 years old. I don’t get crushes.” The word “crush” actually

has a couple of different meanings, so take a look at theLearning Guide – you

know, for some additional explanations.

Maya says, “Then, I think you’re falling head over heels for her.” This

expression, “to fall head over heels” (heels), is one to describe someone falling in

love with another person, to have very strong feelings of love and affection,

especially at the very beginning when you first start to like someone. Someone

who falls head over heels is someone who falls in love somewhat quickly. Your

“heels” are the bottom of your feet, so to fall head over heels would mean sort of

like falling down because you’re so much in love with this person. Which can be

kind of painful, both the falling down and the love part!

Jorge says, “Don’t be ridiculous. I’ve only just met her.” Maya says, “I knew it

was love at first sight when I introduced you at Yannick’s party.” The expression

“love at first sight” (sight) means you fall in love withsomeone the first time you

see them. You see a beautiful woman on the other sideof the room and you fall

in love with her, that’s love at first sight. That’s what happened with me and my

wife actually. It was love at first sight – well, for me. She didn’t even notice I was

in the room, but from my perspective, it was love at first sight!

Well, Maya introduced Jorge and Jessica at a party recently. Maya says that she

could see the sparks fly. The expression “sparks (sparks) fly” means that there

was an obvious romantic connection between the two. A “spark,” technically, is

what happens, for example, if you were to take a match and strike it against a

stone; it might create a spark. You’ll see a small particle flying off, usually with a

bright light. That’s a spark. A spark can also mean, as in this case, a connection

between two people – a romantic connection.

So, Maya says she could see sparks fly, she could see that they were falling in

love with each other. Maya says, “I couldn’t miss her blush or your silly grin.”

“To miss” means not to notice, not to see. So when Mayasays, “I couldn’t miss,”

she means it was obvious to me that she was blushing and you had a silly grin.

“To blush” means that your cheeks change color, usually topink or red, either

because you’re embarrassed or perhaps because you’re angry. A woman might

blush if you give her a compliment, if she’s embarrassed by it. Perhaps she

thinks it’s too much; perhaps she knows you’re trying to express your romantic

interest. A “grin” (grin) is a small smile of happiness, usually without showing

your teeth.

So, Jorge was happy and Jessica was blushing because, perhaps,of something

that Jorge said. Maya insists that there was certainly a lot of chemistry between

the two of you. “Chemistry,” in this context, means a romantic attraction between

two people, where each person is interested in the other. He likes her, and she

likes him. Sometimes if you’re watching a movie, and you see that there’s a

couple in a movie who are supposed to be in love with each other, but it doesn’t

really seem by their acting that they’re in love with each other, we might say they

don’t have any chemistry. There’s no obvious romantic connection with their

characters – with their acting, in this case.

Jorge says, “I hardly talked to her at the party.” “I hardly” means very little; I

didn’t talk to her very much. Maya says, “Yes, but I couldsee her stealing

glances at you all night.” A “glance” (glance) is a quick look at someone. We

use the expression, “to steal a glance,” meaning that you look at someone

quickly without them noticing that you are looking at them. This usually indicates

that perhaps they’re interested in you. “To steal,” here, means to do it without

the other person noticing.

Jorge says, “That must have been a figment of your imagination.” The

expression “to be a figment (figment) of your imagination” means that it’s

something that you made up, something that you invented,something you

imagined that’s not real – not true. Maya says, “Oh, really?” Jorge says, “Okay

(now he confesses), I won’t deny that I’m attracted to Jessica, but I can’t speak

for her.” He says, “I won’t deny,” meaning I will tell you the truth – I won’t say it

isn’t true; I am attracted to Jessica. “Attracted to” means that you like someone,

you think you’re interested in them in a romantic way. You haven’t necessarily

fallen in love with them yet, but you’re attracted tothem. You can be attracted to

someone who isn’t your romantic interest, someone you see in the movie or

someone you see walking down the street. Many times you’ll feel some sort of

physical attraction for that person, and if you’re single, you may then go up and

talk to that person – probably not, if you’re like me. But I’m not single so it’s not a

concern for me, is it?

Jorge says that he can’t speak for her, meaning for Jessica. “To speak for

(someone)” means to speak on behalf of another person, to give the other

person’s ideas or opinions. This is often necessary if the person isn’t there; you

may talk to them and you agree on some things, and then you go to a meeting

and you say, “Well, I’m going to speak for Billy,” “I’m going to speak for Laura,”

these are her ideas – her opinions. Hopefully, she’s given you permission to

speak for her. Of course, you don’t want to speak for someone who didn’t give

you permission to do so.

Well, Jorge says he can’t speak for Jessica, meaning he doesn’t know if Jessica

is attracted to him. Maya says, “Yes, but I can,” meaning I can speak for Jessica,

and Jorge, surprised, says, “What?” Maya says, “Jessica asked me about you.”

Jorge asks, “When?” Maya says, “Yesterday, at lunch.” Perhaps Jessica works

in the same office. Jorge says, “What did she say?” He, ofcourse, is now very

interested. He also asks, “What did yousay (Maya)?” Maya says, somewhat

jokingly, “That’s for me to know and for you to find out!” This phrase is used

when you have some secret information, but you don’t want to share it – you

don’t want to give it to another person. You want tosort of tease that person.

That is, make them uncomfortable by telling them thatyou’re not going to tell

them the information. “That’s for me to know and foryou to find out,” meaning

I’m not going to tell you, and you’re sort of making not exactly fun of the other

person, but you are exercising a certain control – a certain power over the

situation because you have this secret information.

So that’s the story of Jorge and Jessica. Now let’s listen to the dialogue, this

time at a normal speed.