English Cafe 272.pdf

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English as a Second Language Podcast
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ENGLISH CAFÉ – 272
TOPICS
Famous Songs: God Bless America and Kate Smith; The American Girl Dolls;
provided that versus as long as; “g” as in “gansta”; to suck
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GLOSSARY
patriotic
– saying or doing something that shows one’s love of one’s own
country; having strong feelings of support for one’s own country
* Each year on the Fourth of July, the Abrahams family shows its patriotic
feelings by displaying an American flag in their front yard.
to set (something) aside
– to decide not to have or to work on something right
now, instead saving it for later
* Liam will be home late from work. I’ll set aside some food for him in the oven.
prayer
– a conversation that one has with God, thanking God for what one has
and perhaps asking for what one wants
* Mian hopes that her prayers will be answered and her mother will recover from
her illness soon.
to bless
– for God to help and protect a person, giving him or her success,
health, and other good things in life
* Chiniqua felt blessed to have five happy children and eight healthy
grandchildren.
to stand beside
– to be loyal to someone and support him or her in good times
and in bad times
* Erin’s husband stood beside her through her many years battling cancer.
foam
– the group of many white bubbles on top of a liquid, usually on top of a hot
drink or on the sea or ocean
* I can’t drink this hot chocolate until the foam disappears or it will tickle my nose.
rendition
– a particular performance of a song; a person’s performance or
interpretation of a piece of music
* Have you heard Jeff McQuillan’s rendition of “Fly Me to the Moon”?
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English as a Second Language Podcast
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ENGLISH CAFÉ – 272
seventh-inning stretch
– a break that occurs in the middle of the seventh inning
(part) of a baseball game, when people can get up to move around and get a
snack
* Let’s go get sodas and some snacks during the seventh-inning stretch.
line
– product line; a group of related products made by a company
* This bicycle company released a line of bicycles with wider seats that are more
comfortable.
doll
– a toy made to look like a human; a toy made to look like a person
* Samantha takes her doll with her everywhere and sleeps with it at night.
child labor
– the practice of having very young children work in factories for very
little pay
* The police arrested the factory owner after they found evidence of child labor.
accessory
– something that can be added to something else so that it can be
more useful or attractive
* I bought a couple of accessories for my new cell phone: a case and an extra
battery.
provided that
– if; with the understanding that
* Jim can come with us on the trip, provided that he pays for his own expenses.
as long as
– if; with the understanding that; for a certain period of time
* You can borrow my guitar for as long as you need, as long as you take good
care of it.
“g”
– short for “gangster” or the informal “gangsta”, which is a person who is in a
group or gang of criminals, or someone who acts like a criminal or does illegal
things; someone who speaks and behaves like someone who is in a gang
* On the weekends, Phil tells everybody he’s a “g,” but he’s really an accountant.
to suck
– to be inadequate, bad, or displeasing; to be of poor quality
* That movie sucked! I want my money back!
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These materials are copyrighted by the Center for Educational Development (2010). Posting of
these materials on another website or distributing them in any way is prohibited.
English as a Second Language Podcast
www.eslpod.com
ENGLISH CAFÉ – 272
WHAT INSIDERS KNOW
Bobblehead Dolls
Many sports “franchises” (organization that includes many teams) want to attract
sports fans and to get them to buy tickets to the games. One way to do this is to
offer special “promotions” (special objects or services) at specific games. A
popular promotion is to give special “collector’s items” (items made in limited
numbers that may be valuable to fans and/or that may gain value over time) to
people who enter the park or “stadium” (large place with a field in the middle and
many seats around it where sports are played). Sometimes, sports fans receive
t-shirts or small towels on these special promotion days. Other times, fans are
given a “pennant,” which is a narrow flag with the team’s name on it that fans can
“wave” (move back and forth) at the game to show their support and enthusiasm.
One of the most popular promotions at games are bobblehead dolls of popular
players on the “home team” (the team playing in its own city). This special type
of doll or toy is made to look like a specific player. The head of the player is
usually “oversized” and is much larger than the body. The head is attached to
the body by a “spring,” which is a strong wire that is formed into to “coil,” like a
circle with ends that do not meet, and that can pulled or pushed, but returns to its
original shape. The spring allows the head to be “tapped” (touched lightly) to
cause the head to “bobble” (move slightly back and forth, and up and down at the
same time). This is how the doll got its name.
The first modern bobblehead dolls appeared in the 1950s. In 1960, Major
League Baseball, the main organization of professional baseball teams in the
U.S., produced a bobblehead doll series for some of the championship players
that year. These bobbleheads have become collector’s items. Outside of sports,
one of the most valuable sets of bobblehead dolls is of the well-known band The
Beatles.
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These materials are copyrighted by the Center for Educational Development (2010). Posting of
these materials on another website or distributing them in any way is prohibited.
English as a Second Language Podcast
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ENGLISH CAFÉ – 272
COMPLETE TRANSCRIPT
You’re listening to ESL Podcast’s English Café number 272.
This is English as a Second Language Podcast’s English Café episode 272. I’m
your host, Dr. Jeff McQuillan, coming to you from the Center for Educational
Development in beautiful Los Angeles, California.
Visit our website at eslpod.com. Download this episode’s Learning Guide, an 8-
to 10-page guide we provide for all of our current episodes that gives you some
additional help in improving your English.
On this Café, we’re going to continue our series on famous American songs,
focusing on God Bless America and one of its most famous performers or
singers, Kate Smith. We’re also going to talk about something called the
American Girl products, which are books and dolls that are currently very popular
among young girls in the United States. And, as always, we’ll answer a few of
your questions. Let’s get started.
This Café begins with a continuation of our series on famous songs. Today
we’re going to talk about the song God Bless America, which is a patriotic song.
Something that is “patriotic” (patriotic) is something that shows your love for your
country, coming from the Latin word “patria,” meaning country. You can be
patriotic by, for example, putting your country’s flag in front of your house, or
perhaps volunteering to serve in the military – the armed forces, or by
volunteering to help other people in your country to make your country better.
You can also be patriotic by celebrating your national day, for many countries the
Independence Day if they were once part of another country. You can also sing
songs like God Bless America – well, if you’re American. If you’re not then you
would sing, of course, a different song about your country.
God Bless America was written by one of the most famous composers in the
early 20
th
century Irving Berlin in the year 1918. Berlin, at the time, was serving
in the U.S. Army; this is during the end of World War I. After he wrote it he set it
aside because he was working on other things. The phrase “to set (something)
aside” (aside) means to decide not to continue working on something right now,
to save it for later. Berlin set aside his new song for 20 years, and finally in 1938
he started working on it again; we might say he picked it up again. “To pick
(something) up” can mean to take your hand and to lift it up in the air, but it also
can mean to start working on something. We often use it with musical
instruments: “I want to pick up the piano.” That doesn’t mean you want to lift the
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These materials are copyrighted by the Center for Educational Development (2010). Posting of
these materials on another website or distributing them in any way is prohibited.
English as a Second Language Podcast
www.eslpod.com
ENGLISH CAFÉ – 272
piano in the air, which would be a little difficult. Instead, it means you want to
learn how to play the piano. Well, in this case, when we say Berlin picked it up
again, we mean he started working on it again.
He changed the song from being a song about war to being a song about peace.
The song, in fact, is written as a prayer. “Prayer” is the notion that you are
talking to God or having a conversation with God. When God “blesses” someone
or something, God helps and protects that person or that thing. That’s the idea
when we say God blesses something or God bless you. That means we want
God – if we believe in God – to protect you, to take care of you. That’s why when
someone sneezes (achoo) people often say “God bless you,” meaning we hope
God protects you and keeps you healthy. And by the way, don’t get too close. I
don’t want to get your cold! So, in God Bless America we are asking God to
bless this country – to protect this country.
I’m now going to sing the song, first without music, then we will explain the lyrics,
and then I’ll sing it again with music. Of course I have to sing, that’s why I record
these podcasts! My real ambition – what I really want to do is be a professional
singer some day. Unfortunately, I don’t sing very well. Well, here we go!
God Bless America,
Land that I love.
Stand beside her, and guide her
Through the night with a light from above.
From the mountains, to the prairies,
To the oceans, white with foam
God Bless America,
My home sweet home.
God Bless America,
My home sweet home.
Now let’s look at the “lyrics,” or the words in the song. The singer, as I
mentioned, is asking God to bless America, the United States, the land that I love
– the country that I love. We’re asking God to stand beside her and guide her.
“To stand beside (someone)” means to be loyal to that person, to support him or
her in good times as well as in bad times. So we say stand beside her and guide
her, or help her along her path. As in many places in English, a country is often
referred to using the female pronoun “she,” so we say guide her.
Then the song asks God to bless America from the mountains to the prairies
(prairies). A “prairie” is a large, flat area of land covered by grass. And in the
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These materials are copyrighted by the Center for Educational Development (2010). Posting of
these materials on another website or distributing them in any way is prohibited.

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