Episode 0026

And I'm Erica.

It's December 31st and we are on New Year's Eve.

That's right. And since it's New Year's Eve, we're talking about New Year's resolutions.

Right. In many places it's very common to make a promise for the New Year, something that you will change.

A promise to yourself. To yourself, to change something.

And that's what our dialogue is about today. So, why don't we take a look at our vocabulary preview for this lesson.

Vocabulary preview.

Okay, on vocabulary preview today, we only have one word.

Eating habits.

Eating habits.

Eating habits.

So what are eating habits?

The regular way you eat.

Right. So if you eat healthy or if you eat lots of unhealthy food.

Or even maybe what time you eat, right? If you eat every day a certain time.

Yeah.

Eating habits.

Okay.

So we're ready to listen to our dialogue today and it's going to be a little bit fast, but don't worry about it.

We'll come back and explain all of the key vocabulary after.

So, did I tell you about my New Year's resolution? I've decided to go on a diet.

And you're going to completely transform your eating habits, right?

Exactly. I'm gonna cut out all the junk I eat. No more chips, no more soda, no more fried food.

Uh-huh. I've heard this one before.

But this time, I'm going to stick to it. I really mean it. Trust me, Carol. I'm gonna be a new man in one year's time.

Well, I guess we'll just have to wait and see.

Do we have any chips left?

So Marco, do you think this guy will be successful in changing his eating habits?

Well, I guess he'll never change, but this gives us a great opportunity to look at some great vocabulary in this lesson in language takeaway.

Language Takeaway.

Our first word on language takeaway is junk.

Junk.

Junk.

Junk.

So junk comes from junk food.

Exactly.

Unhealthy food.

Yeah.

Fries, chips.

Hamburgers.

Yeah.

All that junk.

All that junk.

Okay, our second word for language takeaway, transform.

Transform.

Transform.

Meaning to change.

Yep, change.

Uh-huh. So this guy is going to transform his eating habits.

He's going to change his eating habits.

Yeah. Our third word is stuffed.

Stuffed.

Stuffed.

Stuffed.

I'm stuffed.

So we have some great examples on how we can use stuffed and you'll get the meaning from it.

Example one.

Oh, I can't. I'm stuffed.

Example two.

Oh, I ate way too much. I'm stuffed.

Okay, I'm stuffed.

The feeling you get if you eat too much food.

Right, I'm full.

Yeah.

All right. So these are some great words that you can use talking about food.

And eating habits?

And eating habits. Uh and now we can listen to our dialogue a second time and this time, like always, it's gonna be slow.

So, did I tell you about my New Year's resolution? I've decided to go on a diet.

And, you're going to completely transform your eating habits, right?

Exactly. I'm going to cut out all that junk I eat. No more chips, no more soda, no more fried food.

Uh-huh. I've heard this one before.

But this time, I'm going to stick to it. I really mean it. Trust me, Carol. I'm going to be a new man in one year's time.

Well, I guess we'll just have to wait and see.

Do we have any chips left?

There's a lot of great language in this dialogue, isn't there?

Yeah, a lot of great language that we can take a look at with our fluency builder.

Fluency Builder.

The first phrase we have for you is stick to it.

Stick to it.

Stick to it.

Stick to it.

Yes, we've got some examples of how this phrase is used. So let's listen.

Example one.

Stick to it. It's good for you.

Example two.

Stick to it. I'm sure you'll get it.

So stick to it, right?

Basically means keep doing it.

Right.

Even though English learning can be hard.

You should stick to it.

Stick to it.

Exactly.

Okay, let's look at our second phrase for fluency builder.

I mean it.

Mean it.

Mean it.

So this is a great way of saying

I'm serious.

I'm serious.

Yeah.

I mean it.

I'm not joking.

I'm not joking, right?

Yeah. And our final phrase in fluency builder.

Cut out.

Cut out.

Cut out.

Again, we've got some examples of this phrase as native speakers use it. Let's listen.

Example one.

You have to cut out the salt from your diet. No more chips, no more French fries, no more popcorn.

Example two.

It's time for me to focus on my work. I'm going to cut out everything else from my life.

Okay, so cut out means

To remove.

Completely remove.

Take it away.

Take it away.

Okay, some great language, some great phrases in our dialogue today. So why don't we listen to it a third time and we'll come back in a little bit.

So, did I tell you about my New Year's resolution? I've decided to go on a diet.

And you're going to completely transform your eating habits, right?

Exactly. I'm gonna cut out all the junk I eat. No more chips, no more soda, no more fried food.

Uh-huh. I've heard this one before.

But this time, I'm going to stick to it. I really mean it. Trust me, Carol. I'm gonna be a new man in one year's time.

Well, I guess we'll just have to wait and see.

Do we have any chips left?

Okay, so New Year's resolutions are a really common and popular thing in North America.

It's a tradition to make a promise to yourself on New Year's and stick to it throughout the whole year.

Right. But the funny thing is that very few people actually stick to their New Year's resolution.

That's true.

The most common ones are, I'm gonna quit smoking.

Yeah.

That never happens.

No.

I'm gonna go on a diet.

Like this guy.

I'm gonna quit drinking.

Uh-huh.

That almost never happens either. On New Year's Eve, you start drinking.

I mean it's a bad time. Come on.

And another really common one is I'm going to join a gym.

That's why gym membership sales are so high in January.

Right. Everyone joins a gym in January, but come February.

Yeah.

Yeah, very few people in the gym.

Yeah. So Marco, do you have a New Year's resolution for this year?

We will, we will. But today we're out of time. So please go to our website and leave all your questions and comments.

At Englishpod.com.

And uh we'll see you there, but until then it's goodbye.

The English pod audio review. Listen to the meaning, then say the vocabulary word.

Eating plan to help you lose weight.

Diet.

Change.

Transform.

Remove, eliminate.

Cut out.

Usual ways of behaving.

Eating habits.

Continue doing something.

Stick to.

Remain in a state in which you expect something to happen and see if it does.

Wait and see.

Filled with food, no longer hungry.

Stuffed.

Let's try that faster.

Change.

Transform.

Remove, eliminate.

Cut out.

Change.

Transform.

Remain in a state in which you expect something to happen and see if it does.

Wait and see.

Usual ways of behaving.

Eating habits.

Change.

Transform.

Usual ways of behaving.

Eating habits.

Remain in a state in which you expect something to happen and see if it does.

Wait and see.

Eating plan to help you lose weight.

Diet.

Change.

Transform.

Remove, eliminate.

Cut out.

Filled with food, no longer hungry.

Stuffed.

Usual ways of behaving.

Eating habits.

Now say the word and hear it in a sentence.

Diet.

I gained 10 pounds during the vacation. I need to go on a diet.

Transform.

Cut out.

You have to cut out the salt from your diet. No more chips, no more french fries, no more popcorn.

Stick to.

You'd better stick to your promise.

Wait and see.

The test result will come out in two weeks. We'll have to wait and see.

Stuffed.

I can't eat anything else. I'm stuffed.

Wait and see.

The test result will come out in two weeks. We'll have to wait and see.

Stuffed.

I can't eat anything else. I'm stuffed.