Episode 0038
Summary
A father and daughter are at a car dealership. The daughter, turning 16, expresses her frustration about not having a car. The salesperson attempts to sell a sedan, but the father becomes fixated on a World War II tank used for commercials, ultimately deciding to purchase the tank over the sedan, much to his daughter's exasperation.
Transcript (Click timestamp to jump)
Hi there, can I help you folks?
I'm just browsing, seeing what's on the lot. My daughter wants a car for her birthday, you know how it is.
Dad! I'm 16 already, and I'm like the only one at school who doesn't have a car.
She's right, you know. Kids these days all have cars.
Let me show you something we just got in, a 1996 sedan. Excellent gas mileage. It has dual airbags and anti-lock brakes, a perfect vehicle for a young driver.
Dad, I love it! It's awesome. Can we get this one, please?
I see. What can you tell me about this one?
Oh, that's just an old World War II tank that we use for TV commercials. Now about this sedan...
Whoa, whoa, wait a minute. Tell me more about this tank.
Well, sir, if you're looking for quality and safety, then look no further. Three inches of reinforced steel protect your daughter from short-range missile attacks.
Does the sedan protect her from missile attacks?
It does not.
Well, I don't know. Let me sleep on it.
Did I mention the tank is a tank?
I'll take it.
Dad!
Summary
This EnglishPod lesson, hosted by Marco and Erica, introduces car-related vocabulary and useful shopping phrases. It includes a humorous dialogue where a father and daughter shop for a car; the daughter desires a sedan, but the father ultimately decides to purchase a World War II tank due to its superior safety features. Key vocabulary discussed includes 'vehicle', 'sedan', 'gas mileage', 'airbags', 'brakes', and 'reinforced', while useful phrases covered are 'I'm just browsing' and 'sleep on it'. Marco also shares a personal anecdote about driving a tank during his military service.
Transcript (Click timestamp to jump)
Hello English learners, welcome back to English Pod. My name is Marco.
And I'm Erica.
And today we're bringing you another great lesson for all of you who are interested in shopping.
Especially those of you who are interested in shopping for a car.
A car, exactly. So we're gonna give you some great language about describing a car or characteristics of a car.
Yep.
And also some really interesting language for shopping.
Yes, especially buying something really big and expensive.
Yeah, like a car.
Yeah.
So before we listen to our dialogue, let's take a look at vocabulary preview.
Vocabulary preview.
On vocabulary preview today we're bringing you two words. The first one is vehicle.
Vehicle.
Vehicle.
Vehicle.
So again, a vehicle is a machine, right?
Right, a machine that carries people from one place to another.
So it's important to say that a vehicle could be an airplane.
A car.
A car.
A boat.
A boat.
Even a bicycle.
Right.
Yeah.
That's a vehicle.
Our second word is sedan.
Sedan.
Sedan.
Sedan.
So a sedan is a type of car.
Exactly. It's a type of car with four doors that can fit five people inside.
So to make it more clear, most taxis are sedans.
Exactly.
Right?
Yeah. They have four doors, five people can fit in there including the driver.
Except taxis in Mexico.
They're not sedans?
They're little Beetles.
Oh.
They're Volkswagen Beetles, so those are not sedans.
Okay.
But yeah, most countries have sedans as taxis.
To give you some examples, like a Toyota Corolla or a Toyota Camry is a sedan.
Yeah, yeah. Maybe like a Volkswagen Jetta. Is that it?
A Jetta, yeah. Jetta is a sedan.
Now we could listen to our dialogue and it's gonna be at a normal speed the first time, but you don't have to worry about it.
We'll come back and teach you some of the important words from the dialogue.
Hi there, can I help you folks?
I'm just browsing, seeing what's on the lot. My daughter wants a car for her birthday, you know how it is.
Dad, I'm 16 already and I'm like the only one at school who doesn't have a car.
She's right, you know. Kids these days all have cars.
Let me show you something we just got in. A 1996 sedan, excellent gas mileage. It has dual airbags and antilock brakes, a perfect vehicle for a young driver.
Dad, I love it! It's awesome! Can we get this one please?
I see. What can you tell me about this one?
Oh, that's just an old World War II tank that we use for TV commercials. Now about this sedan.
Whoa, whoa, wait a minute. Tell me more about this tank.
Well, sir, if you are looking for quality and safety, then look no further. 3 inches of reinforced steel protect your daughter from short-range missile attacks.
Does the sedan protect her from missile attacks?
It does not.
Well, I don't know. Let me sleep on it.
Did I mention the tank is a tank?
I'll take it.
Dad!
I think she's really lucky.
Really?
She's getting a tank to go to school. How awesome is that?
Uh, I would be so embarrassed if I had to drive to school in a tank.
It's like the coolest car.
Oh, you're such a boy.
All right, a surprising ending to a relatively easy shopping day.
Yeah.
Uh let's take a look at some language that we saw in our dialogue on language takeaway.
Language takeaway.
We have four words for you today. The first one is gas mileage.
Gas mileage.
Gas mileage.
Gas mileage.
So gas mileage is how many miles you can travel on a gallon or a liter of gasoline.
Well, you know what's interesting, in some English-speaking countries like Australia, New Zealand, Canada, we use kilometers to measure distance, but we still talk about gas mileage.
Mmm.
Yeah.
I guess you can't say gas kilomilage.
No.
Or something like that.
But yeah, it's, yeah, basically how many kilometers or how many miles you can travel on a tank or on a liter or gallon of gas.
Exactly.
Okay.
The next word is airbags.
Airbags.
Airbags.
Airbags.
These are like big bags of air that fill up and come out of the car when there's a crash.
Right. So that way you don't hit your head against the steering wheel or something like that.
So they protect you.
I've heard that Volvo has like 18 airbags now in their cars.
They are very safe cars, you know.
It's like a big balloon.
Uh-huh.
Okay, our third word today is brakes.
Brakes.
Brakes.
Brakes.
So what are brakes?
Brakes are little, what are brakes? Brakes are what make your car stop.
Okay, so they're the little machines maybe that stop your car?
Yeah, they're on the wheels.
Yeah.
They make your car stop. You have brakes on your bike.
Yes.
On your car, etc.
Mhm.
Our last word today on language takeaway, reinforced.
Reinforced.
Reinforced.
Reinforced.
So we have some examples of how we use reinforced because it's a little bit weird.
Yeah, these will help you understand the meaning.
Example one.
So, I reinforced all the walls. There's no way they're gonna fall down.
Example two.
This plastic is reinforced with glass, so it's both light and strong.
So basically anything that's reinforced is made stronger.
Perfect.
Reinforced steel, reinforced table.
Uh-huh. Anything.
Okay.
Great, so now we could listen to our dialogue again. You can practice all these words that we just talked about and we'll come back shortly.
Hi there. Can I help you folks?
I'm just browsing, seeing what's on the lot. My daughter wants a car for her birthday. You know how it is.
Dad, I'm 16 already and I'm like the only one at school who doesn't have a car.
She is right, you know. Kids these days all have cars.
Let me show you something we just got in. A 1996 sedan. Excellent gas mileage. It has dual airbags and anti-lock brakes. A perfect vehicle for a young driver.
Dad, I love it! It's awesome! Can we get this one, please?
I see. What can you tell me about this one?
Oh, that's just an old World War II tank that we use for TV commercials. Now about this sedan.
Whoa, whoa, wait a minute. Tell me more about this tank.
Well, sir, if you are looking for quality and safety, then look no further. 3 inches of reinforced steel protect your daughter from short-range missile attacks.
Does the sedan protect her from missile attacks?
It does not.
Well, I don't know. Let me sleep on it.
Did I mention the tank is a tank?
I'll take it.
Dad!
So we have a couple of interesting phrases to talk about shopping.
Right.
Let's look at these in fluency builder.
Fluency builder.
The first one today is I'm just browsing.
I'm just browsing.
I'm just browsing.
I'm just browsing.
This is a really useful phrase because usually salespeople will come up to you and ask you, can I help you or are you interested in something?
Yeah.
And you're just looking so.
Yeah, maybe you don't really want to buy today.
Right.
So you're just, uh, I'm just browsing.
Mhm.
So then they'll just leave you alone and.
Yeah, they won't bother you as much.
Yeah, it's a good, good phrase.
Another good phrase.
Sleep on it.
Sleep on it.
Sleep on it.
Sleep on it.
So we have some examples of how we use sleep on it.
Example one.
I don't know if we should buy that house. It's perfect for us, but it's so expensive.
Let's sleep on it.
Example two.
Why don't you sleep on it and tell me tomorrow?
Example three.
This is a bit more than what I can afford. Let me sleep on it.
To sleep on it means to.
Like to think about it overnight.
To think about it, right?
So maybe you want to buy this really expensive car.
But you need to think about it.
Right.
So you'll sleep on it.
So yeah. You go home, sleep on it, think about it twice and then make a decision.
Exactly.
Okay, great words and great dialogue. So.
Yeah, I love this one!
Yeah, it was, it's kind of funny.
So we could listen to it again and then we'll come back and talk a little bit about it.
Hi there, can I help you folks?
I'm just browsing, seeing what's on the lot. My daughter wants a car for her birthday, you know how it is.
Dad, I'm 16 already and I'm like the only one at school who doesn't have a car.
She's right, you know. Kids these days all have cars.
Let me show you something we just got in. A 1996 sedan, excellent gas mileage. It has dual airbags and antilock brakes, a perfect vehicle for a young driver.
Dad, I love it! It's awesome! Can we get this one please?
I see. What can you tell me about this one?
Oh, that's just an old World War II tank that we use for TV commercials. Now about this sedan.
Whoa, whoa, wait a minute. Tell me more about this tank.
Well, sir, if you are looking for quality and safety, then look no further. 3 inches of reinforced steel protect your daughter from short-range missile attacks.
Does the sedan protect her from missile attacks?
It does not.
Well, I don't know. Let me sleep on it.
Did I mention the tank is a tank?
I'll take it.
Dad!
So Marco, have you ever driven a tank?
I mean, I know you're in the army, so.
Uh, yeah, actually I did, I did drive a tank before.
Really?
A really, yeah, a really old one, kind of like a World War II type tank.
But yeah, they're really fun and interesting. You have, it's not like driving a normal car, you have pedals and you have.
So there's no steering wheel?
No, no, no. You have a levers.
Yeah.
And what many people don't know is that actually tanks are manual transmissions, you have to change gears.
Oh, really?
And it's really hard to change gears on those things.
And what's the gas mileage like in a tank?
I don't know, maybe like 5 miles per gallon. Well, they run on diesel, which is a different type of fuel, right?
Yeah. Okay, well very cool. I never knew that my podcast partner had driven a tank. That's pretty awesome.
Yeah, well, it was, it was fun, definitely and uh I hope I get to do it again someday.
Alright. Well, uh guys, have you ever driven a tank?
Or a submarine or any type of armored vehicle?
Yeah, tell us about it at our website, englishpod.com.
Right, we'll be there to answer all your questions. I'll also be there to maybe post some more crazy stories.
Or some pictures of a tank or something.
Yeah, maybe. All right guys, we'll see you there. Until then, it's goodbye.
Bye.
Summary
This audio is an English vocabulary review from "The English Pod." It begins with a male speaker explaining the exercise: listeners hear a definition or context and then identify the corresponding vocabulary word. A female speaker then provides the word. The exercise continues at a faster pace, with the male speaker giving definitions and the female speaker responding with the words. The final section features the female speaker stating the vocabulary word, followed by example sentences demonstrating its usage. The content focuses on words related to vehicles, shopping, and general descriptions.
Transcript (Click timestamp to jump)
The English Pod audio review.
Listen to the meaning, then say the vocabulary word.
Look around to see if anything is interesting.
Browse.
A car with four doors.
Sedan.
The amount of gas used per mile.
Gas mileage.
Dual airbags.
A device that slows down or stops something.
Break.
Something that carries people from one place to another.
Vehicle.
Strengthen, make something stronger.
Reinforce.
Think about something further and make a decision later.
Sleep on it.
A vehicle that is larger than a car, has four doors and is shaped like a box.
Minivan.
A large vehicle that is suitable to run on rough surfaces.
SUV.
An event where goods or services are sold at a price lower than usual.
Sale.
Something that is done to increase sales.
Promotion.
The amount of reduction in price.
Discount.
Something bought or sold at a price lower than its actual value.
Bargain.
Let's try that faster.
A vehicle that is larger than a car, has four doors and is shaped like a box.
Minivan.
The amount of gas used per mile.
Gas mileage.
A car with four doors.
Sedan.
Something that is done to increase sales.
Promotion.
A large vehicle that is suitable to run on rough surfaces.
SUV.
Look around to see if anything is interesting.
Browse.
Something that carries people from one place to another.
Vehicle.
A device that slows down or stops something.
Break.
Dual airbags.
Think about something further and make a decision later.
Sleep on it.
An event where goods or services are sold at a price lower than usual.
Sale.
Strengthen, make something stronger.
Reinforce.
Something bought or sold at a price lower than its actual value.
Bargain.
The amount of reduction in price.
Discount.
Now say the word and hear it in a sentence.
Browse.
I'm just browsing, I don't need any help.
Browse.
Lena was browsing through the department store when she saw Tom.
Browse.
There's a lot of people browsing through the store but no one is buying.
Sleep on it.
I don't know if we should buy that house. It's perfect for us, but it is so expensive. Let's sleep on it.
Sleep on it.
Why don't you sleep on it and tell me tomorrow?
Sleep on it.
This is a bit more than what I can afford. Let me sleep on it.
Vehicle.
There were a lot of vehicles on the road today.
Vehicle.
Three vehicles were involved in the accident.
Vehicle.
Remember, do not leave any valuable items in your vehicle.
Gas mileage.
What kind of gas mileage does this car get?
Gas mileage.
The gas mileage is great. The car gets 30 miles to the gallon.
Gas mileage.
The gas mileage improves if you drive on the highway.
Break.
Is something wrong with the car's break? I can't stop.
Break.
Make sure you get your bike's brakes checked. I don't want you to get in an accident.
Break.
The brakes didn't work and he crashed into a tree.
Reinforce.
So, I reinforced all the walls. There's no way they're going to fall down.
Reinforce.
The plastic is reinforced with glass, so it's both light and strong.
Reinforce.
The building is made with reinforced steel, so it is quite