2011年ESL之就医和人际交往 19 Admiring Someone from Afar_在线英语听力室

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19 Admiring Someone from Afar

GLOSSARY¹

what I wouldn’t give… – a phrase used to mean that one wants something verymuch, being willing to give a lot to have it

* What I wouldn’t give to have a few extra days of vacation from work!

date – a social meeting between two people who may be romantically interestedin each other

* Danielle went on a date with her coworker Evan, but they didn’t have very muchto talk about.

number – phone number; the set of numbers one uses to make a phone call toreach another person

* I didn’t know you were interested in surfing, too. Give me your number and I’llcall you the next time I go surfing.

out of (one’s) league – for something or someone to be so good or of such highquality that one feels they or it is beyond one’s level

* We need to hire entertainment for our community show, but most of the nameson this list are out of our league. We don’t have the money to hire them!

to have nothing on (one) – to be as good as one; to have no advantages overone

* Dora has nothing on Maureen, who is just as good a mother as Dora believesherself to be.

confidence – feeling that one is able to do something because one has theability or the right qualities to achieve it; self-assurance

* Junko has confidence in her own ability to start a successful business.

to throw (something) away – to dispose of something in the trash; to waste anopportunity

* All of the food in this refrigerator has gone bad. Throw it all away!

out of the blue – without warning; for something to happen without an indicationbeforehand that it would be happening

* Christophe received an email message out of the blue from his old elementaryschool friend.

creep – jerk²; a person who behaves in a bad or undesirable³ way

* Ophelia’s brother is a creep, always making fun of Ophelia and her friends andmaking their lives miserable⁴.

bold – confident and courageous⁵; showing an ability to take risks; not shy ormeek

* In a bold move, McQ Corp. announced that it would open 100 new stores nextyear.

to steal – to take something one doesn’t own; to take another person’s property

* Watch those kids to make sure they don’t steal any candy!

to admire (someone) from afar – to respect and like someone romanticallywithout approaching or getting to know him or her, observing him or her from adistance

* Wei has always admired Jason from afar, but has never tried to talk to him.

to come off as – to leave the impression that; to make others see you in acertain way, often without intending to

* Bruno comes off as a tough guy, but he’s really kind and soft-hearted when youget to know him.

mysterious – something or someone that is difficult to understand, identify, or toknow

* Benoit received a mysterious box in the mail.

to eat it up – to eagerly accept something, often because it is what one wants tohave or to believe

* Parents love to see their children singing and dancing. No matter how poorlythey perform, the parents will eat it up.

no guts⁶, no glory – a phrase meaning that if one does not take risks, one willnot gain anything

* Carl decided⁷ to invest money in the new plan even though it’s risky⁸, because hebelieves in no guts, no glory.

COMPREHENSION QUESTIONS

1. What does Lynn want Perry to do?

a) Stop feeling so sad.

b) Ask the man why he threw away the girl’s number.

c) Call the girl and ask her for a date.

2. Which of these would be “out of the blue”?

a) Doing something the same way each week.

b) Doing something complete unexpected.

c) Doing something without help from others.

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WHAT ELSE DOES IT MEAN?

to have nothing on (someone)

The phrasal verb, “to have nothing on (someone)” in this podcast, means to beas good as someone or to have no advantages over someone: “The new playeron the team may be younger, but he has nothing on the old players.” “To havenothing on (someone)” also means to have no information that could bedamaging to someone: “We have nothing on the new political candidate that wecan use to damage his image.” The opposite to this is “to have something on(someone),” which means to have information that can be damaging or hurtful tosomeone: “The reason James gets the best assignments and a raise each yearis that he has something on the boss.”

to eat it up

In this podcast, “to eat it up” means to eagerly accept something, often becauseit is what one wants to have or to believe: “This new cell phone is designed forpeople who text a lot and I have no doubt teenagers will eat it up.” “To eat it up”

can also mean to eat everything that is available or that is offered: “I made thisfried chicken especially for you, so eat it up!” “To eat (something) up” means touse a lot of resources or time: “This computer program eats up too muchmemory.” Or, “Janice likes to play sports in her free time, but playing everyweekend would eat up too much of her time, time she prefers to spend with herfamily.”

CULTURE NOTE

Toll-Free Phone Numbers in the U.S.

Many business want new customers to be able to call them to place orders or toask questions without having to pay for the “long distance” (not local) call. Forthat reason, these businesses have “toll-free” (costing nothing) phone numbersavailable to the “general public” (everyone). The company is charged for thelong distance call instead of the caller.

Toll-free calling began in 1967 in the United States. Before that time, callers whowanted the person being called to be “billed” (charged) had to place a “collectcall” with the help of an “operator” (person who works for the phone companyand whose job is to help people make telephone calls). The first companies touse toll-free calling in the U.S. were those in the travel “industry” (business),including large hotel “chains” (companies with stores or businesses in manylocations) and rental⁹ car companies.

For many years, people could “identify” (find; recognize) a toll-free phone numbersimply by noticing that it began with “1-800.” In fact, “one-eight hundred” became“synonymous with” (the same as; identified directly with) the term “toll-free,” sothat people could simply say, “Call our 1-800 number to get free information,”

instead of, “Call us toll-free to get free information.” Beginning in 1996, however,phone companies started to “run out of” (not have enough of) phone numbersbeginning with 1-800 and added the “prefix” (word, letters, or numbers placebefore others) 1-888. As time passed, other toll-free prefixes¹⁰ were added, with 1-877 added in 1998, 1-866 added in 2000, and 1-855 in 2010. However, today,people still say “one-eight hundred” to refer to all toll-free phone numbers.

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

COMPLETE TRANSCRIPT¹¹

Welcome to English as a Second Language Podcast number 742: AdmiringSomeone from Afar.

This is English as a Second Language Podcast episode¹² 742. I’m your host, Dr.

Jeff McQuillan, coming to you from the Center for Educational Development inbeautiful Los Angeles, California.

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

This episode is called “Admiring Someone from Afar.” When you see someonethat you like at a distance, that’s what we’re talking about here. It’s going to beabout love, of course. Let’s get started.

[start of dialogue]

Perry: Look at her! What I wouldn’t give to get a date with her.

Lynn: You should go talk to her and ask her for her number.

Perry: No way! She’s completely out of my league. See that guy she’s talkingto? He’s the kind of guy who’ll get her number.

Lynn: That guy has nothing on you. The only thing that guy has that you don’t isconfidence.

Perry: See? She’s giving him her number. I don’t have a chance.

Lynn: But look what he’s doing with it. He’s throwing it away. What a jerk! Waithere.

Perry: Hey, where are you going?

Lynn: I’ve got it. Here it is. Here’s her number. Call her.

Perry: Call her?! Out of the blue? You’re crazy. She’ll think I’m some kind ofcreep.

Lynn: No, she’ll think you’re being bold. She’ll love that.

Perry: What am I supposed to say to her? “Hi, I stole your phone number andI’d like a date.”

Lynn: No, tell her the truth. Tell her you saw her, admired her from afar, andwanted to ask her out.

Perry: What if she asks me how I got her number?

Lynn: Tell her you’ll tell her that when you see her on your first date. You’llcome off as mysterious. She’ll eat it up.

Perry: I can’t do it. There’s no way I could do that, could I?

Lynn: Yes you can. After all, no guts, no glory!

[end of dialogue]

Perry begins our dialogue by saying to Lynn, “Look at her! What I wouldn’t giveto get a date with her.” The expression “what I wouldn’t give” means that youwant something very much; you’re willing to do a lot in order to get it. Perry seesthis woman, obviously a beautiful woman, and wants to have a date with her. A“date” is a meeting between two people who may be romantically interested ineach other, although we use the word “date” sometimes for other meanings aswell. “Date” can mean the day on the calendar, the month and day and year ofsomething. It can also be used sometimes for a non-romantic meeting, but hereit’s definitely a meeting that Perry would like to be romantic.

Lynn says, “You should go talk to her and ask her for her number.” Her “number”

is, of course, her telephone number. Now this is the obvious thing that a womanmight say to a man. But a man – most men, anyway, are somewhat afraid ofgoing up and talking to a strange woman, so Perry replies, “No way (meaningabsolutely not)! She’s completely out of my league (league).” The expression “tobe out of your league” means that someone or something is too good or of suchhigh quality that you don’t feel you are worthy¹³. When you say a woman is out ofyour league, you would mean she’s so beautiful, she’s so attractive that shewould not be interested in someone as ugly as you – well, as ugly as me! Wellthis, of course, is an excuse for Perry not to go talk to her. He says, “See thatguy she’s talking to?” Apparently¹⁴, this beautiful woman is talking to another man.

“He’s the kind of guy who’ll get her number.” He’s the sort of person – the sort ofman who will be able to get her to give him her number.

Lynn says, “That guy has nothing on you.” The expression “to have nothing on(someone)” means that you are as good as that person; that person has noadvantages over you. Lynn says, “The only thing that guy has that you don’t isconfidence.” “Confidence” is the feeling that you are able to do somethingbecause you have the ability. Speaking in English as a foreign language or asecond language requires confidence. If you have confidence, usually you’llspeak better.

Well, poor Perry doesn’t have confidence in himself. Perry says, “See? She’sgiving him her number. I don’t have a chance.” I don’t have any way I can besuccessful. Lynn says, “But look what he’s doing with it. He’s throwing it away.”

“To throw (something) away” means to put it in the trash; to dispose of it, wemight say. It can also be used to mean to waste an opportunity. But here itmeans, I think, that he’s taking the piece of paper and he’s putting it in atrashcan. Lynn says, “What a jerk! Wait here.” “What a jerk” is Lynn describingthis other man, and so she tells Perry to wait where he is. Perry says, “Hey,where are you going?” Lynn says, “I’ve got it. Here it is. Here’s her number.

Call her.” So Lynn goes over and picks up the telephone number that the otherman threw away and tells Perry to call her. Well, this is rather strange. Perrysays, “Call her?! Out of the blue?” The expression “out of the blue,” like thecolor blue (blue), means unexpectedly, without warning, for something to happenwithout any indication that it was going to happen. This woman, of course,doesn’t even know Perry, may not have even seen him, so if he calls her it wouldbe completely unexpected; it would be out of the blue. Perry says, “You’recrazy.” I think Perry’s right; Lynn is a little crazy here. I mean, he doesn’t evenknow this woman, the woman doesn’t even know who he is. Perry says, “She’llthink I’m some kind of creep.” A “creep” (creep) is the same as a jerk. It’s anegative way of describing someone who behaves in a bad or very unlikableway.

Lynn says, “No, she’ll think you’re being bold.” “To be bold” (bold) means to beconfident, to have courage, to show an ability to take risks, not to be fearful.

Lynn says, “She’ll love that.” Perry says, “What am I supposed to say to her?

‘Hi, I stole your phone number and I’d like a date.’” “Stole” (stole) is the pasttense of “steal” (steal), which means to rob someone, to take something that isn’tyours. Perry says that he can’t really call up this woman and say that he stoleher telephone number. Lynn says, “No, tell her the truth. Tell her that you sawher, admired her from afar, and wanted to ask her out.” “To admire (someone)”

means to like them very much, to respect them very much. It doesn’t have aromantic meaning in all cases: you can admire a president, you can admire afamous person, you could admire your parents, people that you respect. Wesometimes use the phrase “to look up to.” “I look up to my father.” I think he’s a great man; I admire him. It can also be used in the sense of thinking thatsomeone is beautiful; that’s how Lynn is using it here. She says he should tellthis woman that he admired her from afar (afar). “Afar” means at a distance,from a distance, far away. Lynn says he should ask her out. “To ask (someone)out” means to ask them to go on a date with you, a romantic date.

Perry says, “What if she asks me how I got her number?” Lynn responds, “Tellher you’ll tell her when you see her on your first date. You’ll come off asmysterious. She’ll eat it up.” “To come off as” means to make other peoplebelieve a certain thing, to see you in a certain way, to leave a certain impressionon someone. “He came off as an intelligent person,” that is the impression that Igot from him, that is my idea of him from that situation or that encounter. “Hecame off as a jerk,” that would be a very negative way of describing yourimpression of someone, or “a creep.” Well, Lynn thinks that Perry will come offas “mysterious,” something or someone that is difficult to understand or identify.

She says this woman will eat it up. “To eat it up” means to accept somethingeagerly, usually because you want to believe it. It’s something that you believeperhaps already and so when someone tells you, you accept it very quickly.

Perry says, “I can’t do it. There’s no way I could do that, could I?” Lynn says,“Yes you can. After all, no guts, no glory!” This is an old expression, “no guts(guts), no glory (glory).” “Guts” is courage, strength, bravery. “Glory” issomething wonderful that happens, something that you want to happen that willgive you great pleasure or perhaps great fame. So the expression “no guts, noglory” means that if you don’t take any risks, if you’re not brave and courageous,then you won’t gain anything; you won’t be able to get something that you want.

There’s another expression, “no pain, no gain,” meaning in order to getsomething good you often have to go through some pain. And certainly, asking awoman out on a date, for a man, can be pretty painful!

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