Episode 0169

Hello everyone and welcome back to English Pod. My name is Marco.

That's right. Today we are going to have a lot of fun and well, before we explain what exactly we're going to do, why don't we take a look at vocabulary preview?

Vocabulary preview.

Okay, so the word we're previewing today is a noun, it's a thing.

Mhm.

It's a roller coaster.

All right, a roller coaster. So that's what we're going to do today. We're going to get on a roller coaster. But what is a roller coaster?

Well, a roller coaster is something that uh, we see often times in parks, amusement parks. And it's it's like a little train, but it can go upside down and it goes very fast and it turns and it's supposed to make you scared and happy.

Okay. So, um, it goes very fast and yeah, many people have probably seen it. It goes very fast and it is, you say, up and down. And, well, you just get on it because it's fun. You go fast and you get scared because you're going so fast and sometimes you're going upside down.

Exactly. And for some reason, I don't know why, but in many romance languages, the name is Russian Mountains.

Exactly, yeah, it's also in Spanish, it's also a Russian mountain.

Yeah.

Montaña rusa.

Russian mountain.

So I think the reason is because back in the day, back, you know, 100 years ago when they were starting, the the first roller coasters came from Russia.

Oh, wow. Yeah. So that's why it's called it.

Well, that's a theory. I'm not sure. But uh, take a listen to today's dialogue. We'll hear it one time and when we come back, we'll be talking about more interesting and exciting phrases and words about roller coasters.

All right, settle down now. You're going to give yourself a heart attack.

I can't believe they charge us $35 each. It seems like such a rip off, don't you think? It's not like I'm going to get on these things.

Chris, I'm not sure you should get on that. It seems a bit too much for you and we've just had breakfast 30 minutes ago. I don't think it's a good idea.

Let him go, Carol, he'll be fine.

All right, we're back. So, uh, interesting. I think this is very common. You get on one of these things, you go so fast that you just throw up.

Have you ever thrown up?

Uh, on a roller coaster? No, never.

No, me neither. All right, well, maybe it's not that common, but let's take a look at some of the words that we hear in this conversation between a boy and his parents.

All right, so as we mentioned, uh, this word, throw up, to throw up. Why don't we take a look at that one first, although it's at almost at the end of the dialogue? Um, what is what is it to throw up?

Okay, well, to throw is different than to throw up. So remember that these two words go together to mean to vomit. That means that the things in your stomach come out your mouth.

Mhm. So like we heard in the dialogue, they came like

Yeah, it's very it's a very disgusting sound, right? And so sometimes people throw up when they eat too much, sometimes they throw up when they're sick, and sometimes they throw up after riding a roller coaster. And so this is this is an important phrase to know.

Or like when you're on a boat, you get seasick and you throw up. Or in a car, or sometimes you get carsick.

All right, so as we mentioned, we're also visiting an amusement park. So why don't we explain this word a little bit? Amusement park.

Well, okay, first of all, everyone probably knows the word park, you know, it's a public place. But in this case, an amusement park is a park of fun. Amusement means fun. And so it's usually a place that you go to and you pay a price and they give you a ticket and you can play all day long. So they have roller coasters and food and shows.

So probably the most famous or well-known amusement park is Disneyland. So that's an amusement park.

Exactly, and there's lots of fun things to do for people of all ages.

All right. And now the kid was so excited that the mom said, all right, you're going to give yourself a heart attack.

Okay, well, a heart attack is another serious health issue. We talked about throwing up before. is when your heart stops beating.

Right. Okay.

Right. So maybe something is stuck or there's there's some problem with your your your heart and there's no more blood going through your heart. And so it's a very, very serious issue. But in this case, she's saying you're so excited, you might hurt your heart. You're going to have a heart attack.

You might hurt yourself because you're so excited.

Right. So she's exaggerating. That's not really going to happen, but she's trying to warn him.

All right. And now the father mentioned that they paid $35 for each of their tickets and he thought it was a rip off.

Okay, rip off is a great, great phrase that we use in spoken English to describe something that's uh unfair. So a price that's unfair.

Okay. So you can maybe go to the market, right? And you ask how much a sweater is and they'll tell you it's $100. You think that's a rip off.

What a rip off. I can buy a sweater for $20. So 100 is definitely a rip off.

All right, so that's a rip off. It was a rip off. He's not very happy with how much money he paid.

Not at all.

All right, and now the kid was talking about the roller coaster that is the highest and fastest roller coaster. And he said that the speed was at more than 100 miles per hour. So what about this miles per hour?

Okay, this is very important if you go to America, you'll see that the speeds on the road are all in miles per hour. So mile is a distance. And per hour means how many miles you can travel every hour. So in one hour you can go 100 miles.

So we have the equivalent, right? We have like kilometers per hour.

Exactly. And so miles per hour, kilometers per hour. These are both called speeds.

Okay. And, uh, well, this is called the Imperial system, right? You use miles, you use inches and feet, whereas the, uh, kilometers or or centimeters or meters, you would use the metric system, right?

Exactly, because the counting, um, the counting is done by meters. Meters metric. So in this case, we're in America. We know that because the speed limit is 100 miles, or the speed here is 100 miles an hour. We know that we're in America because the speed the boy is talking about is miles per hour.

Very good. And I think yeah, you use it in North America and that's pretty much it, right?

I think they use miles in Britain.

Really?

Yeah, I'm not positive. I'd have to check with my British friends.

All right. Okay, so that's all the words we have for language takeaway. Let's listen to the dialogue again and we'll be back to explain some phrases.

All right, settle down now. You're going to give yourself a heart attack.

I can't believe they charged us $35 each. It seems like such a rip off, don't you think? It's not like I'm going to get on these things.

Chris, I'm not sure you should get on that. It seems a bit too much for you and we've just had breakfast 30 minutes ago. I don't think it's a good idea.

Let him go, Carol, he'll be fine.

Okay, this first phrase, Marco, is definitely a parent phrase. Okay? So this is something that you often hear parents saying to their children. They say, settle down now.

Settle down now. Teachers say this too, yeah.

Yeah. All right, everyone, settle down.

That means if I'm really excited and I want to talk and I'm running around the room and my teacher says, settle down now. That means quiet down, go slowly, sit down, don't talk. It means calm down.

Calm down. Yeah.

So to calm down, to relax. Settle down.

All right. And now the next phrase is a very kids phrase, I think, right? That you would use on your parents. So if they say, no, you can't go to your friend's house, you, oh, come on, please.

All right. So, what, what do you mean with that phrase? What? Come on, come on, what?

So in this, we have a child who's asking something. He's saying, can you please let me do something? Please, come on. That means, uh, I'm, I'm encouraging you to change your mind or to let me do something. So please let me have my way.

Right, right.

All right, so come on. And you don't only use it as a child or with your parents, right? You can encourage your friends to like, come on, come with me to the bar. Come on. Come on, let's go. Come on.

And, uh, our last phrase, I can handle it.

Okay, this is next to the phrase, ah, come on. So the boy is trying to explain that he's big enough and old enough to go on a roller coaster, but his mother doesn't know. She says, oh, I don't know, you know, you're, you're too young. And so he says, I can handle it.

Mhm.

That means I am big enough and old enough to go on a roller coaster. I won't have a problem.

So, uh, you can do it, right? Basically, I am good enough to do it. So, for example, if I give you a very hard project, you can say, I can handle it. I can do it.

You could also say, I'm very busy right now. I can't handle it.

Okay.

I can't do it. All right, very good. Interesting phrases there. Um, they're very useful and very, very common in spoken English in North America and, well, a lot of places. So, why don't we listen to the dialogue for the third time and we'll be back.

All right, settle down now. You're going to give yourself a heart attack.

I can't believe they charged us $35 each. It seems like such a rip off, don't you think? It's not like I'm going to get on these things.

Chris, I'm not sure you should get on that. It seems a bit too much for you and we've just had breakfast 30 minutes ago. I don't think it's a good idea.

Let him go, Carol, he'll be fine.

All right, so this amusement park, Magic Mountain, it actually exists in the United States, right?

It does. And Six Flags is really a brand. So there are many different parks, amusement parks called Six Flags and each one has a different name.

Mhm.

I'm not sure where Magic Mountain is, but That one's in California.

That one's in California.

Yeah. Then you have like Six Flags Great America.

Yeah, that's my Chicago. That's the one in Chicago.

Yeah. So they're basically amusement parks and they're famous because they have really great or intense roller coasters, right?

Exactly. So the one that we heard about in today's dialogue is called Viper. Like the snake. And that one is at the the amusem park in in California, you mentioned.

But the famous ride in Chicago is Batman the Ride. Because you sit on a seat, but there's no place for your feet. So your feet swing in the wind.

Oh, really? And uh, and it's very fast and you don't actually sit on a train, right? The track is on top of your head.

On top. Exactly. So you're hanging. Like a tree.

So you see everyone downstairs. Well, not downstairs, down at the bottom.

And I hear they have a very serious problem with people losing their shoes.

I heard about this. People wearing sandals and they just fly off.

Exactly. So I I want to warn everyone, if you go to Chicago, or you go to these upside down, these flipped roller coasters, you should bring real shoes, not sandals.

All right. Well, as we mentioned, it's uh, it in many languages, in the Romance languages, they're called Russian Mountains. So I wonder for our Russian listeners, do you have any intense or great roller coasters in Russia? I mean, if it, if they come from Russia, they should have amazing roller coasters there, right?

That's right. Or do you have any idea why we call them Russian Mountains in other languages? Please let us know. Our website is englishpod.com. We also welcome your questions and comments on other issues. So until next time, everyone.

Bye.

Bye.

The English Pod audio review.

Listen to the meaning, then say the vocabulary word.

Relax.

Settle down.

The act of overcharging.

Rip off.

Deal with.

Handle.

Vomit.

Throw up.

Entertainment.

Amusement.

Deal with.

Handle.

Relax.

Settle down.

Entertainment.

Amusement.

The act of overcharging.

Rip off.

Vomit.

Throw up.

Now say the word and hear it in a sentence.

Settle down.

I feel I'm too young to settle down.

Settle down.

Please tell the children to settle down.

Settle down.

I wish I could settle down in a peaceful place.

Rip off.

That guy tried to rip us off.

Rip off.

Rip off.

Handle.

Do you think you can handle such a big responsibility?

Handle.

Handle.

Please handle this box with extreme care.

Throw up.

Last night, I saw a guy throw up so much that I felt sick too.

Throw up.

Children tend to throw up after eating when they move too much.

Throw up.

Please be careful not to throw up inside the perimeter.

Amusement.

I've never been to an amusement park in my life.

Amusement.

Amusement.

I wish there were more amusement parks like this in my city.