Episode 0175

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

And my name is Catherine and today we're talking about something we talk about every year.

Every year after Christmas or well during the Christmas holidays, we talk about New Year's, New Year's Day and a very important topic, New Year's resolutions.

All right. So we're not going to preview anything today. It's all in the dialogue. But when we come back, we'll be talking more about what you hear and some great phrases you can use at the new year.

Why would that be funny?

Well, think about it. We are a society that is always on the go. Not because we have to, but because we want to.

Why?

We work hard and spend less time at home because we are trying to provide for our family with goods and services that are usually unnecessary.

I don't agree, but anyways, I think you should start thinking of a New Year's resolution yourself.

What's the point? We always make New Year's resolutions, and by February, we will have forgotten about them. It's pointless.

Well, maybe then you should resolve to sticking to your goals and objectives.

Well, I would go if you kept your promise of going to the gym with me every day.

Yeah, yeah, whatever.

All right, great. We're back. So this is very typical, a New Year's resolution that you make, but then people don't really stick to it, etc.

They don't?

Uh, usually they don't.

Mhm.

All right, but, uh, you're probably wondering what is a New Year's resolution. So why don't we take a look at this word and many more on language takeaway.

Okay, so New Year's resolution, let's break this phrase down. The first phrase is New Year's. So, the new year is January 1st in the West. And it is celebrated on the 31st of December, at the at night when the clock changes to the new year. And a New Year's resolution, remember that S there, is something that you want to do or to change in the new year. It's a fresh start.

Okay. So you pretty much the verb that you use there is to resolve to do something. So my New Year's my New Year's resolution is to, you know, go to the gym every day.

It's like a promise to yourself. Right.

Mhm.

So and this is very common, right among Americans. They try and because it's a new year, it's a fresh start, so they want to start doing something great.

Exactly. We can talk about this at the end, but a lot of companies try to use this to sell Americans stupid things. So we'll get there in a minute, but, um, the two people in this dialogue are talking about, um, the idea of spending more time with friends and family. And the other person says, well, sometimes it's hard to do that because you have to provide your family with goods and services.

All right. So this phrase, goods and services, is very common, especially in economics and sociology. So what does this mean?

And they go together, right? So goods are tangible items, things that you buy, you know, like food or, you know,

Clothes.

Clothes, a TV, etc.

Stuff.

Stuff. And services, of course, are other things like, for example, going to the doctor or the dentist or any other service you get.

So service usually includes another person doing something for you. But you might not actually get something physical like a TV if you pay for it. So goods and services, it's included in this phrase, always goods and services.

Very good. And well, moving on as we mentioned with the New Year's resolution, uh, we had that verb there to resolve. So, what does it mean if I want to resolve?

Okay, well, to resolve, as we said, is to decide or to promise yourself to do something. So it's a decision that you don't want to change your mind about, for example, I, this year, I've resolved to quit smoking. That means I've made a decision for myself and I'm going to do it.

Okay. Very good. And and not to be confused with like to solve, right? It has no no real relation there, right?

No, resolve to resolve to do something is to have a strong, um, passion or interest in doing something for yourself or changing an action.

Very good. And uh, well, our last word for language takeaway is brand new. A brand new, something that's brand new.

Okay. So, brand new, a brand new car, a brand new watch, etc. A brand new movie.

Very good. So, uh, great phrases there. Very good. So, great words there. Why don't we listen to the dialogue again and we'll be back with three phrases.

Why would that be funny?

Well, think about it. We are a society that is always on the go. Not because we have to, but because we want to.

Why?

We work hard and spend less time at home because we are trying to provide for our family with goods and services that are usually unnecessary.

I don't agree, but anyways, I think you should start thinking of a New Year's resolution yourself.

What's the point? We always make New Year's resolutions, and by February, we will have forgotten about them. It's pointless.

Well, maybe then you should resolve to sticking to your goals and objectives.

Well, I would go if you kept your promise of going to the gym with me every day.

Yeah, yeah, whatever.

All right, we're back. So now let's take a look at these three phrases on fluency builder.

Okay, this first phrase is very common at gas stations and food like fast food chains. We could say on the go.

All right. So, um, he mentioned that we are a society that is always on the go.

Exactly. So you're always going to work, going home from work, going to the store, going to the school to get the kids, always moving, moving, moving. So that that kind of action, that kind of life is on the go.

Okay. You can also say eat on the go. That means I eat while I'm going somewhere, while I'm doing something. I don't sit down.

Okay. So on the go. And well, talking about New Year's resolution and we said that, well, many people resolve to to do something, but they don't really do it. And we have a phrase that is used here, uh, to stick to something. Stick to your resolution.

To stick to it. So you think of tape or glue, these things that help things stick together. Okay. So in that sense, it's kind of, uh, it's a way for you to describe continuing to do something or not stopping, not quitting, not ending it. And so I could say, remember how I said I wanted to quit smoking? Well, I'm really going to stick to this resolution because I think it's important. That means I'm not going to give up.

Right. Very good. So you're going to stay with it. You're not going to give up.

All right. So stick to something, like, for example, our English learners, they'll stick to learning English.

And we could say as a word of as words of encouragement, you stick to it. Stick with it. Don't give up.

Keep with it. Don't give up. All right.

And uh, well, finally, they were discussing or more arguing about the gym membership and everything and he mentioned that the gym bag is gathering dust.

All right, this is a very nice phrase, I think, because it's very visual. I like I like phrases where you can see what's happening. So, gathering means collecting. That means, um, that the dust in the air, it's building on this bag. And something is gathering dust if we don't use it.

Mhm. So we haven't gone to the gym because our bag is in the corner and it's just filled with dust.

Very good. Okay. So it's another way of saying you never use it, you never do it, etc. It's for an object though. You can't say you are gathering dust.

All right, great phrases. So why don't we listen to this dialogue one last time.

Why would that be funny?

Well, think about it. We are a society that is always on the go. Not because we have to, but because we want to.

Why?

We work hard and spend less time at home because we are trying to provide for our family with goods and services that are usually unnecessary.

I don't agree, but anyways, I think you should start thinking of a New Year's resolution yourself.

What's the point? We always make New Year's resolutions, and by February, we will have forgotten about them. It's pointless.

Well, maybe then you should resolve to sticking to your goals and objectives.

Well, I would go if you kept your promise of going to the gym with me every day.

Yeah, yeah, whatever.

All right, we're back. And well, as you mentioned, there are some interesting things about this dialogue, especially when they talked about a society that's always on the go. And you mentioned that, well, sometimes you eat on the go.

And I've seen people in the United States that are actually eating while driving.

I'm guilty of doing that. Yeah.

Really? You have no time to actually sit down for like 15 minutes and eat.

Now, I remember being in high school at home and, you know, you just have so much stuff to do. You have, uh, school, then after school, there's like, you know, soccer practice, after that, there's music lessons and you never have time to eat, so you have to grab food in the car, and then on the way home, you're, you're picking things up and you get home and you do your homework or whatever. There's so much stuff to do, and it doesn't stop. It doesn't stop when you grow up. It doesn't stop if if if you're an older person, it's just that's the way life is in America.

Wow, yeah, that's that's really interesting because I think many of our listeners that are in other countries would find that a little bit peculiar if they actually went to the United States and saw somebody in their car, you know, like having a hamburger while driving, you know, and sipping on their soda.

Well, that's the thing. You don't you don't have much time. But actually, this is based on, um, true events kind of, on the fact that many Americans do want to spend more time at home with their friends, with their family, because, as you say, you're always so busy.

And I think it's a nice resolution to to resolve to have dinner with your family once or twice a week at home where you sit down and you talk about your lives. It's nice because you get to share and you you get to know each other better and, you know, otherwise, you're always just on the go in different places.

Yeah, exactly. So we want to hear your comments and your opinions about this topic. So why don't you visit our website englishpod.com and we'll see you guys there.

Bye.

The English Pod Audio review.

Listen to the meaning, then say the vocabulary word.

New Year's decision or plan.

New Year's resolution.

Very busy and active.

On the go.

Idea you try to make people understand.

Point.

Bring to an end.

Resolve.

Completely new.

Brand new.

Let's try that faster.

Completely new.

Brand new.

Very busy and active.

On the go.

Bring to an end.

Resolve.

Idea you try to make people understand.

Point.

New Year's decision or plan.

New Year's resolution.

Now say the word and hear it in a sentence.

New Year's resolution.

My family always made separate New Year's resolutions, but this year, we decided to make one resolution for the entire family.

New Year's resolution.

His New Year's resolution is to finish a marathon.

New Year's resolution.

A popular New Year's resolution is to go to the gym and eat well.

On the go.

Our family is always on the go with our kids' extracurricular activities.

On the go.

He is always on the go with his job.

On the go.

She prefers being on the go to sitting around and doing nothing.

Point.

Point.

It's pointless to go now. We will be an hour late.

Point.

There's no point in telling me twice. I learned my lesson.

Resolve.

He resolved to devote his entire life to finding a cure for cancer.

Resolve.

In order to become the best pianist, you should resolve to practice every day.

Resolve.

The warrior resolved to show no mercy to the enemy when he saw the destruction they had caused.

Brand new.

Brand new.

He drove around town, showing off his brand new sports car.

Brand new.