Episode 0104
Summary
The audio is a lively commentary on a ski show hosted by Rick Fields and Bob Copeland in Aspen, Colorado. They enthusiastically describe the perfect skiing conditions, introduce a skiing champion who will teach basics (though he doesn't speak in this segment), and then Bob offers beginner skiing advice. Rick humorously attempts a jump, resulting in a fall, which Bob comically narrates. The hosts conclude the segment looking forward to more skiing.
Transcript (Click timestamp to jump)
Welcome ski lovers of all ages. My name is Rick Fields and here with me is the man that needs no introduction, Bob Copeland.
Thank you, Rick. What a beautiful day here in Aspen, Colorado, where the sun is shining and we've got 12 inches of fresh powder. It doesn't get much better than this.
That's right, Bob, but today we have a special treat for our viewers. We're joined here by Ian Rooney, four-time Giant Slalom champion. And on this special edition of the show, Ian is going to teach us the basics of skiing. So, let's hit the slopes.
Well, first off, let's get those boots on. You're gonna want to make sure your boots fit snugly. That's right. Now snap them into your bindings. And you're also going to want a good pair of goggles to protect your eyes. It's a bright day today, so there's gonna be a lot of glare out there on the slopes. We don't want you hitting any of those moguls.
Bob, since you're a beginner skier, you might take a few spills. It's a good idea to have a good warm pair of dry ski gloves.
Easy there, Rick.
Well, let's head over onto the chairlift and test your skills.
All right, we're up here on the Bunny Hill. So, Bob, why don't you do a few snowplow turns?
Gnarly run, Rick. Nice carving. You've got some mad skills. That was sick.
You want to see gnarly? See that bump over there? I'm gonna catch some major air!
Butt plant! He lost his skis. Yard sale!
Well, thanks for joining us here today. I think that about does it. Bob, Ian, time for some après-ski?
No way, man. We're off to grab some freshies.
Summary
This podcast episode from EnglishPod, hosted by Marco and Erika, is an advanced lesson on skiing. It introduces vocabulary and phrases related to skiing through a simulated dialogue featuring commentators Rick Fields and Bob Copeland, and ski champion Ian Roosy, in Aspen, Colorado. The dialogue covers Bob's beginner skiing lesson, including his attempts at snowplow turns, Rick's teasing, Bob's failed attempt to 'catch some major air' resulting in a 'butt plant' and 'yard sale', and the suggestion of 'apres-ski'. The hosts then break down key terms like 'fresh powder', 'giant slalom', 'bindings', 'goggles', 'moguls', 'bunny hill', 'gnarly', 'sick', and phrases such as 'hit the slopes', 'take a spill', 'catch some major air', 'call it a day', and 'grab some freshies', providing definitions and examples. The episode encourages listeners to use these new terms and phrases to sound more natural.
Transcript (Click timestamp to jump)
Hello English learners, welcome back to another podcast here with us at English Pod. My name is Marco.
And I'm Erica.
And today we're bringing you another part of our sports series, and this time it's an advanced lesson.
That's right. We're heading to the mountains today to take a skiing lesson.
All right, so we're going to be learning about skiing, a winter sport and very popular throughout the world.
So before we get started, why don't we take a look at a couple of words in vocabulary preview?
Vocabulary preview.
All right, so we're going to hear these two words in our dialogue. The first one is fresh powder.
Fresh powder.
Fresh powder.
Okay, so powder. We probably know this phrase already.
Yep, but here we're talking about uh fresh light snow.
So fresh light snow, snow that recently fell. Yep.
Okay, so it's it looks like powder.
The best kind the best kind for skiing on.
Okay, the best kind. All right, so fresh powder.
What about our next phrase?
Well, we're also going to meet a four-time Giant Slalom champion.
All right, a four-time Giant Slalom champion.
Okay, so Giant Slalom is a type of ski race.
Mhm. when you probably see it on TV when they go down the hill and they have to go through these red or blue flags, right?
Yep. Now, four-time Giant Slalom champion means he won the Giant Slalom four times.
Okay. So this is an interesting way of saying that somebody did something many times.
Right.
So I can say the three-time Nobel Prize winner.
Yes, exactly.
Okay.
Or the five-time Olympic gold medalist.
Okay, perfect. So now it's time for us to go to the mountains with our famous Rick Fields and Bob Copeland and we'll see what happens.
Welcome ski lovers of all ages. My name is Rick Fields and here with me is the man that needs no introduction, Bob Copeland.
Thank you, Rick. What a beautiful day here in Aspen, Colorado, where the sun is shining and we've got 12 inches of fresh powder. It doesn't get much better than this.
That's right, Bob, but today we have a special treat for our viewers. We're joined here by Ian Roosy, four-time Giant Slalom champion.
And on this special edition of the show, Ian is going to teach us the basics of skiing. So let's hit the slopes.
Well, first off, let's get those boots on. You're going to want to make sure your boots fit snugly. That's right. Now, snap them into your bindings.
And you're also going to want a good pair of goggles to protect your eyes. It's a bright day today so there's going to be a lot of glare out there on the slopes. We don't want you hitting any of those moguls.
Bob, since you're a beginner skier, you might take a few spills. It's a good idea to have a good warm pair of dry ski gloves.
Easy there, Rick.
Well, let's head over onto the chair lift and test your skills.
All right, we're up here on the bunny hill. So Bob, why don't you do a few snow plow turns?
Gnarly run, Rick. Nice carving. You've got some mad skills. That was sick.
You want to see gnarly? Well, see that bump over there? I'm going to catch some major air.
Butt plant.
He lost his skis. Yard sale.
Well, thanks for joining us here today. I think that about does it.
Bob, Ian, time for some Aprè ski.
No way, man. We're off to grab some freshies.
Pretty uh, pretty embarrassing for Rick there, wasn't it?
Yeah, he was a little bit uh, cocky.
And then he ended up falling.
Well, I think there's a lesson in that for all of us, but um what the real lesson is today is language. So why don't we start with language takeaway.
Language takeaway.
All right, on language takeaway today, let's take a look at the first word.
We have some bindings.
Bindings.
Bindings.
Bindings are sort of like a lock that attaches your boot to your ski.
Mhm. So those are the bindings. I guess it comes from the verb to bind.
Yeah, to tie something um so that it stays.
Okay, binding.
So so for example, my bindings are broken.
Okay. And another piece of skiing equipment and very important is goggles.
Goggles.
Okay, we have goggles now.
Yep. Not to be confused with Google.
It's spelled almost the same way, huh?
Yep. But goggles are kind of like imagine a big pair of glasses that you wear when you ski.
Mhm. So it makes people kind of look like flies.
Yes, yes. They have these huge glasses. Yeah. And you'll also see safety goggles, which you might wear if you are a mechanic fixing a car or someone working with wood or chemicals or what have you.
Okay, so goggles basically protect your eyes from snow, from the sun, from anything.
That's right.
All right.
So moving on to our next ski word. They said uh you should wear the goggles so that you don't accidentally go go over the moguls.
Okay, moguls.
Moguls.
Okay, moguls, it sounds kind of strange. What what are these things?
Um basically these are uh the bumps that are are in a ski hill.
Bumps. Okay, so they're kind of like mini little hills.
Yep.
And they're very difficult to ski over, right?
That's right. You got to be pretty good to uh handle those moguls.
Okay.
Now, since these guys are beginner skiers, they're starting out on the bunny hill.
A bunny hill.
The bunny hill.
Okay, very popular among skiers. The bunny hill is the easiest hill.
Mhm. So it's where the beginners start to learn. Yeah, all the kids.
Oh, the kids are on the bunny hill.
All right, and our final word. Actually, we're going to look at two words here because they mean almost exactly the same thing. We heard the ski instructor say gnarly.
Gnarly run.
Yeah, gnarly. So an interesting word. It's spelled G N A R L E Y.
Okay, so but you don't say gnarly.
You say gnarly.
Yep. And a related word, sick.
Okay, now, sick means to be sick, right?
No, no, no, not here. Let's listen to some examples to help us understand.
Example one.
Those were some sick dance moves. You are amazing.
Example two.
Jack and I went to the beach yesterday and served some really gnarly waves.
Example three.
Man, the concert last night was sick. I can't believe we got front row seats.
Okay, so basically gnarly and sick, they mean that it's amazing, it was cool.
It's awesome.
Awesome.
Yep. So these two words are are very, very informal. They're it's it's slang.
Yeah, and actually skier slang. Both of these words I think originated with skiers, snowboarders, skateboarders.
Gnarly dudes.
Gnarly dudes. Okay, so okay, so that's all the words we have for language takeaway.
But we have some great phrases that we want to take a look at before we listen to the dialogue again. So, it's time now for fluency builder.
Fluency builder.
All right, so Rick said that it is time to So Rick invited everyone to start skiing by saying, let's hit the slopes.
Okay, so to hit the slopes.
To hit the slopes.
Okay, now, we want to hit the slopes. What does that mean?
Go skiing.
Let's go skiing. Let's go to the mountain.
Now, we can change the noun slope for something else, right?
Yeah, you can you can change it for a lot of other different nouns. Um and why don't we hear some examples of how you can do that?
Example one.
I really have to hit the books and study for my exam tomorrow.
Example two.
I'm really tired. I think I'm going to hit the bed now.
Example three.
Honey, can we hit the supermarket on our way home? I need to buy some milk.
Okay, great. So great examples and now we understand how we can use the hit the something.
Mhm.
All right. What about our next phrase?
Well, uh you might take a spill when you catch some major air.
Okay, so to take a spill.
To take a spill.
Take a spill.
Fall.
To fall. It means like a like a light fall or a...
Yeah, pretty dramatic fall.
Pretty dramatic. So you fell.
Yeah.
So for example, instead of saying that little girl was riding her bike and she fell. I can say that little girl was riding her bike and she took a bad spill.
Yep.
Okay. So to take a spill. You have to use the verb take, though.
Yes, exactly. You cannot just spill.
Okay. You have to take a spill.
Mhm.
All right. What about our next phrase?
Well, um you might take a spill when you catch some major air.
Okay, catch some major air.
To catch some major air.
So, am I catching something? How how am I catching air? That's impossible.
Well, imagine if you're jumping and your skis are catching the air.
Ah, okay, so I'm in the air for a very long time, maybe?
Yeah. When you catch some air, basically it's it's like you're flying for a couple seconds.
So you're flying for a couple of seconds, you're very high up in the air.
Yep.
Okay, to catch some air.
Yeah, and you'll hear this phrase, um when you're, you know, not only when you're talking about skiing, but also maybe if you're, you know, you're driving your car really fast and it sort of jumps up in the air for a minute, well, not a minute, a second, that would be catching air as well.
Okay, so to catch air.
Mhm.
All right, so they finished skiing, they were kind of tired and he said, well, let's call it a day.
To call it a day.
Let's call it a day.
Let's go home.
Let's go home. It's over. Let's let's finish. Let's finish the day.
Yep.
Let's call it a day and go home.
Mhm. But not before we go to our next word uh to grab some freshies.
All right, grab some freshies.
Grab some freshies.
Okay, freshies. What are these freshies?
Remember we talked about fresh powder?
Mhm.
It's that.
So it's an informal way of saying fresh powder.
Yeah, fresh powdery light snow.
Okay, freshies.
Yep, so the snow that nobody has skied on before.
Really good phrases and some amazing vocabulary. Let's listen to this dialogue one last time and then we'll come back and talk a little bit more about this really fun sport.
Welcome ski lovers of all ages. My name is Rick Fields and here with me is the man that needs no introduction, Bob Copeland.
Thank you, Rick. What a beautiful day here in Aspen, Colorado, where the sun is shining and we've got 12 inches of fresh powder. It doesn't get much better than this.
That's right, Bob, but today we have a special treat for our viewers. We're joined here by Ian Roosy, four-time Giant Slalom champion.
And on this special edition of the show, Ian is going to teach us the basics of skiing. So let's hit the slopes.
Well, first off, let's get those boots on. You're going to want to make sure your boots fit snugly. That's right. Now, snap them into your bindings.
And you're also going to want a good pair of goggles to protect your eyes. It's a bright day today so there's going to be a lot of glare out there on the slopes. We don't want you hitting any of those moguls.
Bob, since you're a beginner skier, you might take a few spills. It's a good idea to have a good warm pair of dry ski gloves.
Easy there, Rick.
Well, let's head over onto the chair lift and test your skills.
All right, we're up here on the bunny hill. So Bob, why don't you do a few snow plow turns?
Gnarly run, Rick. Nice carving. You've got some mad skills. That was sick.
You want to see gnarly? Well, see that bump over there? I'm going to catch some major air.
Butt plant.
He lost his skis. Yard sale.
Well, thanks for joining us here today. I think that about does it.
Bob, Ian, time for some Aprè ski.
No way, man. We're off to grab some freshies.
Well, we heard the guys uh talk about Aprè ski and actually this is one of my favorite parts of skiing.
Mhm. What what is this? It sounds French.
Yeah, it is. I guess the Frenchness sort of gives it an air of of specialness, right?
But Aprè ski is basically the party that you have after your your finish skiing.
So usually you would have parties after skiing.
Right. So you you finish, you you finish your ski day, you've called it a day, you've uh glided down those slopes, you you head on over to the lodge, you know, the little cabin, grab a a beer or two or maybe some hot alcoholic drink and uh kick back and relax with your friends.
Wow. So it's popular for families to go to a ski resort and stay there for a couple of days. So this is when you would do this with your friends or family.
Yep. And you know what? If it if it's with your friends, it's going to last until late into the night.
All right, so it sounds fun. And next time maybe if you go skiing with your friends and you guys are speaking English now, you can use all these great phrases and maybe surprise your friends if you tell them, let's go grab some freshies or something like that.
Yeah, you'll sound pretty, pretty dialed. Pretty cool.
All right, so that's all we the time we have for today. Be sure to check out our website englishpod.com.
Marco and I are always around to answer your questions and, well, thanks for downloading until next time. Goodbye.
Bye.
Summary
This audio is an English vocabulary review focusing on ski-related terms and some general phrases. It presents definitions, then vocabulary words, and finally provides example sentences for selected vocabulary. The pace of the vocabulary review increases in the middle section, and the latter part includes conversational examples.
Transcript (Click timestamp to jump)
The English pod audio review.
Listen to the meaning, then say the vocabulary word.
A skiing race where you must go through flags.
Slalom.
The building that has restaurants and stores on the ski hill.
Lodge.
Winner.
Champion.
Powder, soft light snow.
Pow.
Start skiing.
Hit the slopes.
Avalanche, lots of snow falling off the mountain.
Avy.
A person who operates the chairlift.
Lifty.
Fitting very tightly.
Snugly.
A steep hill with high sides shaped like a bowl.
Bowl.
Make something attach by pressing down.
Snap.
A bottom part that attaches the boot to a ski.
Binding.
A pair of glasses used to protect one's eyes.
Goggles.
Bright light that is reflected by the snow.
Glare.
A space on the mountain which is used for skiing.
Slopes.
A bump on a ski hill.
Mogul.
A covering of the hands with each finger separated so as to keep it warm.
Ski glove.
A slow easy turn where you make a V with the skis.
Snow plow turn.
Turn on your skis with your edges.
Carving.
A line of chairs with a moving cable that carries people up the mountain.
Chairlift.
A party or drinks after skiing.
Aprés ski.
Ski on the area that has never been skied before.
Grab some freshies.
Falling so hard that you lose all your ski equipment.
Yard sale.
Used to describe a skier that jumps really, really high.
Catch some major air.
Small hill.
Bump.
Awesome, cool, used by ski lovers.
Gnarly.
Fall.
Take a spill.
Let's try that faster.
Avalanche, lots of snow falling off the mountain.
Avy.
Fall.
Take a spill.
A steep hill with high sides shaped like a bowl.
Bowl.
A bottom part that attaches the boot to a ski.
Binding.
A slow easy turn where you make a V with the skis.
Snow plow turn.
A pair of glasses used to protect one's eyes.
Goggles.
A covering of the hands with each finger separated so as to keep it warm.
Ski glove.
Falling so hard that you lose all your ski equipment.
Yard sale.
A party or drinks after skiing.
Aprés ski.
The building that has restaurants and stores on the ski hill.
Lodge.
A person who operates the chairlift.
Lifty.
Small hill.
Bump.
Bright light that is reflected by the snow.
Glare.
Winner.
Champion.
Awesome, cool, used by ski lovers.
Gnarly.
A line of chairs with a moving cable that carries people up the mountain.
Chairlift.
A space on the mountain which is used for skiing.
Slopes.
A skiing race where you must go through flags.
Slalom.
Used to describe a skier that jumps really, really high.
Catch some major air.
Make something attach by pressing down.
Snap.
Powder, soft light snow.
Pow.
Fitting very tightly.
Snugly.
A bump on a ski hill.
Mogul.
Start skiing.
Hit the slopes.
Ski on the area that has never been skied before.
Grab some freshies.
Turn on your skis with your edges.
Carving.
Now say the word and hear it in a sentence.
Hit the slopes.
It's a perfect day for skiing, so I want to make sure that we hit the slopes before 9:00 a.m.
Hit the slopes.
You have a test in two days and you haven't studied? You'd better hit the books.
Hit the slopes.
Wow, I have to be at my job interview in 15 minutes. I need to leave and hit the road.
Catch some major air.
Tom and I went to the skate park last weekend and I took some great pictures of him catching some air.
Catch some major air.
The car hit the sidewalk and caught some air before it flipped and hit the street.
Catch some major air.
I'm always afraid of going too fast on the jumps and catching some air.
Gnarly.
Those were some gnarly dance moves. You are amazing!
Gnarly.
Jack and I went to the beach yesterday and surfed some really gnarly waves.
Gnarly.
Man, that concert last night was gnarly. I can't believe we got front row seats!
Take a spill.
I was teaching my niece how to ride her bike and she accidentally took a spill. My uncle was so angry!
Take a spill.
Did you see that? The girl tripped on the sidewalk and took a nasty spill.
Take a spill.
Craig took a spill on his motorcycle and broke his arm.
Well, I think that about does it. We've finished up all the work today and we're ready to go home.
That about does it for today's class everyone. Thanks for coming.
That about does it for today's meeting. See you all here next week.