Episode 0005
Summary
A man expresses frustration about traffic and a long line at what seems to be an airport, while his partner attempts to calm him by reminding him of their upcoming vacation to Hawaii. Their conversation is interrupted when another man confronts the first man for attempting to cut in line, which quickly escalates into a physical altercation.
Transcript (Click timestamp to jump)
I can't believe it took us two hours to get here.
The traffic in New York is unbelievable.
Yeah, but just relax, honey, we're here and we're going on vacation.
In a few hours we'll be in Hawaii and you'll be on the golf course.
I don't know. Look at that line.
It must be a mile long. There's no way I'm waiting for another two hours.
Honey, don't.
Hey man, the end of the line is over there.
Yeah.
No, seriously, I was here first and you can't cut in line like this.
Says who?
I do.
So sue me.
All right, that's it.
Summary
This English learning podcast, hosted by Marco and Amira, focuses on the phrase "cutting in line" and its British English equivalent, "jumping the queue." They discuss the meaning and strong negative connotations of cutting in line, exemplified through a dramatic dialogue segment. A guest from England, Sarah, explains the cultural significance of queuing in the UK, highlighting the strict adherence to rules, even for minor situations like selecting vegetables in a supermarket, and contrasts it with potential confrontational reactions to line-cutting in New York.
Transcript (Click timestamp to jump)
Hello English learners and welcome to English Pod. My name is Marco.
I'm Amira.
All right. Amira is here today and she is going to tell us about the wonderful lesson she has prepared this time.
Well, thank you, Marco. Well, today we have a very interesting lesson prepared for you. It's about someone cutting in line.
Cutting in line, okay.
Yeah, it happens all the time and we all get very upset about it, but, you know, it happens.
Right, right. Well, I imagine that everyone is wondering what cutting in line is.
Why don't we just listen to the dialogue one time and then when we come back, Amira and I will gladly explain all the vocabulary in this dialogue.
Let's listen.
I can't believe it took us two hours to get here. The traffic in New York is unbelievable.
Yeah, but just relax, honey. We're here and we're going on vacation. In a few hours we'll be in Hawaii and you'll be on the golf course.
Oh no. Look at that line. It must be a mile long. There's no way I'm waiting for another two hours.
Honey, don't.
Hey man, the end of the line is over there.
Yeah.
No, seriously, I was here first and you can't cut in line like this.
Says who?
I do.
So sue me.
All right, that's it.
Whoa, I think there's punching.
Yeah, I guess this guy was just a crazy, I don't know, impatient man, huh?
Yes, yes, but we don't want to talk about this now. But for now, we will treat some of the vocabulary and very useful phrases in the dialogue.
So, Marco, do you want to start?
Yes. Let's take a look at our first word would be unbelievable.
Unbelievable.
Unbelievable.
Unbelievable.
Exactly, and just how you say it, it's something incredible, something amazing.
Yeah, but I would like to point out that unbelievable was used here to describe the man's frustration. He's not happy about the traffic in New York.
Exactly, perfect.
Okay, in the next part, the woman, she's trying to calm and relax her husband. And she says that they, um, they'll be in Hawaii in a few hours and, um, you'll be on the golf course.
Right. So, we'll be in Hawaii and you'll be on the golf course.
Yes, we'll be in Hawaii and you'll be on the golf course.
So, this is a great way of talking about your physical location in the future.
Right. So, for example, Amira, tomorrow, where will you be?
Don't worry, Marco, I'll be in the office tomorrow.
Perfect, right? That's where I need you to be.
Yes.
Okay. All right. Well, I have another interesting phrase here for you. Must be a mile long.
A mile long.
A mile long.
A mile long.
Now, that's basically not a mile, it's not a kilometer long, but it's another way of saying that this line is really, really long.
Right, it's just an exaggeration.
Um, now let's let's take a look at there's no way.
There's no way.
There's no way.
There's no way.
Perfect. Let's uh listen to some other examples on how uh we use there's no way in a different situation and then we can come back and talk about it a little bit more.
There's no way I can have those reports finished today.
The stadium is so crowded that there's no way we'll find a seat.
Do you think Michael's gonna buy that house? There's no way he has enough money to buy it.
All right, everyone, so there's no way, is another way of saying it is impossible.
Exactly. There's no way you should miss this podcast, right?
Yes.
Well, I have another phrase for you as well. Cut in line.
Cut in line.
Cut in line.
Cut in line.
Cut in line.
So again, we have some really good examples on how you could use this phrase in different situations.
Let's listen to the examples and then we can come back and talk about it some more.
Excuse me, I'm really late. Can I cut in line, please?
I hate it when people cut in line at the bank. It's so rude.
I think it's okay when a pregnant woman cuts in line.
All right, everyone, cut in line.
Right, so from the examples, we can understand that it means when you are standing in line somewhere and somebody gets in front of you.
Right.
I have another phrase for you here, sue me.
Sue me.
Sue me.
Sue me.
Okay, now sue me is not a nice phrase. If you hear that, you know you're in trouble.
Yeah, it's uh, it's kind of rude, I guess, to say sue me.
Right. Well, it actually means like taking someone to court and asking for money because someone has harmed you in a way.
I think that we should listen to the dialogue one more time and try to figure out why he used that phrase and if he's really going to take him to court.
I can't believe it took us two hours to get here. The traffic in New York is unbelievable.
Yeah, but just relax, honey. We're here and we're going on vacation. In a few hours we'll be in Hawaii and you'll be on the golf course.
Oh no. Look at that line. It must be a mile long. There's no way I'm waiting for another two hours.
Honey, don't.
Hey man, the end of the line is over there.
Yeah.
No, seriously, I was here first and you can't cut in line like this.
Says who?
I do.
So sue me.
All right, that's it.
All right, we're back. Now, this guy, when he says sue me, he's just being rude. I mean, he's just being, uh, kind of impolite and telling him, I don't care.
Right, exactly. Like you can't do anything about it.
Yeah, yeah.
Okay, today in the studio, we have a guest. Uh, her name is Sarah and she's from England.
Hi there.
Hello.
Yeah.
All right. So, um, we're gonna be asking her a couple of questions and she'll be a frequent guest on our show, so you can expect to hear from her a lot.
Well, she didn't know that.
It's a, yes, it's a surprise.
She knows now.
Well, Sarah, uh, our topic today is about jumping the queue.
Okay, Amira, wait, what is this uh jump the queue?
It's the same as cut in line, but in British English.
Ah, okay.
Yes, queuing is very important in England. We're very proud of our queues.
It's true, it's true.
So, so what would be the reaction of people if they like, you know, cut in line?
I think we do take it very seriously. I'm laughing now, but it's it's it's quite serious. So you don't jump the queue. If people, you know, jump in front of you, it's uh, you get a lot of tuts and, oh, you know, shouldn't shouldn't be doing that. And and we make it very obvious.
So you say it out loud?
We we would, uh, you know, perhaps say something. And we have systems, you know, we're in London on the on the metro, on on the underground. You have to stand on the the escalators on the right and and queue and you can't jump in front, you have to walk on the left and queue on the right.
It's all very serious, there's there's rules and regulations.
Is there like a queue handbook that you have to read in high school and kind of take a test on?
Perhaps there should be, there should be, yeah.
Wow. What about New York, Marco?
Well, no, definitely, I guess this um dialogue is similar to a reality of New York. If somebody gets in front of you or cuts the line, somebody's gonna say something and probably end up in a fight if the guy is rude.
Oh my god.
Well, uh Sarah, why don't you tell us, is there a line or a queue for almost everything in England?
It seems like we do just like to form a queue. Yeah.
So, um, you know, Can you think of like some other examples of where you would normally, you wouldn't queue, but you do?
Oh, gosh. Um, things like in the supermarket when you're trying to find some vegetables or something. I'd never push, I'd never sort of reach 'round or anything. I'd just wait until that person had finished picking up their stuff and then, and then go in.
So it just, just try and...
So if like five people want to buy oranges at the supermarket, then you have a little mini queue of five people.
Maybe, right? A little bit. There's no, there's no sort of just shoving through to the front. You just don't do that.
You don't stick your hand out and grab like a tomato.
Well, if you do, again, you would make sure that that person knows, oh, I'm sorry, I'm, you know, just in a hurry or whatever.
But, yeah, it's just letting someone go before you. It's a courtesy, I think. It's quite important to us.
Okay.
Right.
Oh, thank you so much, Sarah.
The pleasure.
Yeah, we'll have you back very soon, so.
All right, we're out of time, but we'll be back tomorrow with another lesson and be sure to visit our website. Don't forget that englishpod.com has many, many resources and, uh, also a community of users and teachers that can, uh, help you, answer questions and, uh, interact with you.
Yes, and you should definitely leave your suggestions, but for now, I wish you all well and bye. Bye.
Summary
The audio is an English vocabulary review session. It features two speakers, one acting as an instructor and the other as a participant. The instructor introduces words and phrases, asks the participant to repeat them, and then provides sentences demonstrating their usage. Vocabulary covered includes terms like "unbelievable," "calm down," "relax," "be a mile long," "there's no way," and "cut in line." The session includes both repetition and context-based sentence exercises.
Transcript (Click timestamp to jump)
The English part audio review.
Listen to the meaning, then say the vocabulary word.
Incredible. Amazing.
Unbelievable.
Calm down.
Relax.
Very long.
Be a mile long.
It's impossible.
There's no way.
Move in front of someone waiting in line.
Cut in line.
Let's try that faster.
Calm down.
Relax.
Incredible. Amazing.
Unbelievable.
Calm down.
Relax.
Very long.
Be a mile long.
Calm down.
Relax.
Move in front of someone waiting in line.
Cut in line.
Calm down.
Relax.
Incredible. Amazing.
Unbelievable.
Calm down.
Relax.
Move in front of someone waiting in line.
Cut in line.
Calm down.
Relax.
Now say the word and hear it in a sentence.
Unbelievable.
It's unbelievable how fast the city is changing.
There's no way.
There's no way I can have these reports finished today.
Be a mile long.
This beach is so beautiful. It must be a mile long.
Relax.
I like to relax by the beach.
Cut in line.
Excuse me, I'm really late. Can I cut in line, please?
Unbelievable.
It's unbelievable how fast the city is changing.
There's no way.
There's no way I can have these reports finished today.
Relax.
I like to relax by the beach.
Cut in line.
Excuse me, I'm really late. Can I cut in line, please?