Episode 0209

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

And my name is Catherine and today we're talking about office stuff. Things in your office.

That's right. We are talking about secrets in the office or maybe specific little things that people talk about behind other people's back.

Okay, bad things then. So this is an elementary level lesson. Before we get going though, let's take a look at a phrase in today's vocabulary preview.

Vocabulary preview.

Alright, so the phrase for today is actually the same as the title for this lesson and that's office gossip.

Okay, you all know what an office is. What is gossip?

So to gossip means to talk about other people secretly or behind their backs, or maybe talk about other people's problems or private things.

So, oh my God, did you hear? John's totally going to break up with her.

So you're talking about people without them knowing.

Right.

Right. So you're talking about their private things, their relationships, maybe you're even maybe criticizing them.

That's right. So office gossip is talking about people in your office without them knowing, so saying bad things about them.

Right. So, without any more delay, why don't we listen to this dialogue for the first time?

Hey, Eric, have you heard?

Hmm, no, go on, tell me. What's the latest office gossip?

Well, you didn't hear this from me, but the rumor is, Paula is getting a promotion.

Hey guys, what are you two whispering about?

Alright, we're back. So we have four keywords that we want to look at from this gossip dialogue. So why don't we take a look at those now in language takeaway?

Language takeaway.

Okay, the first word is rumor.

Rumor. Now this is an interesting word about gossip.

Yeah, a rumor. So a rumor is a story that might or might not be true.

Right.

Okay, so I heard a rumor that they broke up yesterday.

Okay. So you're not sure if they broke up or no one has told you for a fact.

No, it means I probably heard it from someone else who heard it from someone else who heard it from someone else who doesn't really know.

Right. So rumors are maybe guesses about people and you don't know if they're true. You see this a lot with famous people, movie stars. They always talk about rumors that maybe they got married in secret or something.

Exactly. There's a rumor that Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt are breaking up.

Right.

Okay, so we don't think that we don't know if it's true. Rumor.

Okay. That's a rumor. So now the rumor that they heard was that this girl Paula is getting a promotion.

Promotion. This is an important office word. Uh this means to be offered a better job in your company. That means to move up.

To move up, right.

Alright, so this is a noun, you get a promotion, right?

Okay. Awesome. So that is a promotion. Now when they were talking about the promotion, the girl said, oh, I can't believe the guy said and Eric said, I can't believe she's getting a promotion. She's so two-faced.

Two-faced. So think about what this means. To have two faces, to be two-faced means to have two different sides to your personality. A good one and a bad one.

Mhm.

Okay. So like, um, I could be very nice to Marco. Marco, wow, you look so good today. You're such a nice guy, such a hard worker and then, oh my God, Marco's such an idiot. He's like never working and he's always on the phone. Oh, hi Marco.

That is two-faced, that's very good.

Alright, so two-faced means to have two different sides to your personality.

Now, it's interesting the way that you use this word. You say two-faced.

Mhm.

Right? So you have to add the ED at the end. You can't say he is two-face, or he has two-face.

No, it's an adjective, so he's two-faced.

Okay.

She is two-faced.

Okay, two-faced. I don't like people who are two-faced.

Okay.

Very good. And we have one final word and it's actually a verb when people talk like this. When they're talking like this, so they're talking quietly.

Very quietly, to whisper.

Okay. So what are you whispering about?

Uh-oh, so usually when people are whispering, they're talking about a rumor.

Right, or they're talking in secret. You don't want somebody else to hear you.

Right. So when you want to be very quiet, like at the movie theater, you whisper.

Whisper. Okay. So those are our four words for language takeaway. Why don't we go back, listen to the dialogue again and we'll be back to take a look at a couple of phrases.

Hey, Eric, have you heard?

Hmm, no, go on, tell me. What's the latest office gossip?

Well, you didn't hear this from me, but the rumor is, Paula is getting a promotion.

Hey guys, what are you two whispering about?

Alright, we're back. So now we have three key phrases from this great dialogue on Fluency Builder.

So this first one is the beginning to any great rumor. Uh, we say, have you heard?

Right. So, have you heard?

Have you heard that she got a promotion?

Right. It's kind you're not really asking, right? It it although it is a question, have you heard, but you're not really expecting an answer.

What you're this means, I'm going to tell you some gossip.

Right. Have you heard?

Because maybe I did, maybe I didn't, but I'm still going to say it. She's still going to say it anyway.

Right. So usually you can say, uh, what, right? Or in this case Eric goes, no, go on, tell me, what's the latest office gossip. So obviously

He knows it's going to be gossip.

Right. Have you heard?

Alright, and so the next thing Pam says is, well, you didn't hear this from me.

Okay. What does this mean?

This is typical.

This is a way of saying, okay, don't tell anyone that I told you.

So you can tell people, but just don't tell them that I said that this happened because Pam doesn't want to get in trouble.

Right.

She doesn't want anyone to know that she was giving out rumors.

Mhm. So that's why she's starting out with, well, you didn't hear this from me, but the rumor is, okay. So you can, so this is a way of saying, all right, don't tell anyone that I told you. You didn't hear this from me. And also you can go, you can say, but the rumor is or you can say, but rumor has it.

Oh, rumor has it that Paula is getting a promotion.

Mhm. So you can go both ways. And now he exclaimed something that's very strange if you just look at it from these two words, no way.

No way.

What is no way?

Well, in this context, no way means, really? Wow. I'm surprised.

So it's a way to express surprise.

That's right, but be careful because there's another meaning to this phrase. For example, uh, Marco, could you help me out get the get the groceries from the car?

Huh? Okay, that means

Okay, no way. That means no. But also if you say it like, oh, no way. You're saying, wow, that's so interesting.

Mhm. So it can be an expression of surprise or it can be a way of saying no, very firmly. No way.

Exactly.

Alright, so three great phrases there. Um very interesting dialogue about gossip, very common in the office environment. So why don't we listen to the dialogue again and we'll be back in a little bit.

Hey, Eric, have you heard?

Hmm, no, go on, tell me. What's the latest office gossip?

Well, you didn't hear this from me, but the rumor is, Paula is getting a promotion.

Hey guys, what are you two whispering about?

Okay, we're back. So office gossip is generally, well, it's common. It happens in every office, but I think that it's good to avoid too much gossip because sometimes people's feelings can get hurt.

Yeah, it's it's actually very interesting because usually the bigger the company is, I think more gossip starts to spread because, you know, there are departments. So you got the marketing department, the finance department. So you're like, oh, Cathy from finance, she slept with Tom from marketing and stuff like that.

Then you have the gossip about the bosses.

Right.

Did you see? He totally left for the weekend, but his wife was at home.

Yeah, so and also one of the situations where a lot of rumors and office gossips starts to come up is office parties or the office Christmas parties where people maybe are drinking or something happens and a lot of rumors start to spread.

And they're more relaxed than usual. They do things they wouldn't normally do. Absolutely. So maybe we could open this up to you. Uh, is there a common rumor or office gossip that you hear in your office?

Or is there is there that one secretary or or or guy that's always spreading rumors and and gossiping?

And don't use any real names. You can just tell us general stories, but that's about it for us here today at English Pod. Hope you've enjoyed this. Check out our website englishpod.com. Let us know if you have any questions or concerns. But until next time. Bye.

Bye.

The English Pod audio review.

Listen to the meaning, then say the vocabulary word.

Learn something by the ear, usually in surprise.

Hear.

Rumor or talk of a personal, sensational nature.

Gossip.

Soft speech produced without full voice.

Whisper.

A mixture of truth and untruth passed around.

Rumor.

Act of raising in ranked or position.

Promotion.

Let's try that faster.

Act of raising in ranked or position.

Promotion.

Rumor or talk of a personal, sensational nature.

Gossip.

A mixture of truth and untruth passed around.

Rumor.

Soft speech produced without full voice.

Whisper.

Learn something by the ear, usually in surprise.

Hear.

Now say the word and hear it in a sentence.

Hear.

Have you heard, Maria is getting a divorce.

Hear.

Have you heard the latest news? Tony is quitting his job.

Hear.

Have you heard the latest gossip? Britney Spears is pregnant again.

Gossip.

I like to read about celebrity gossip.

Gossip.

I think gossip magazines speculate about celebrities.

Gossip.

Rick always reads the gossip column in the local newspaper.

Rumor.

I hate it when people spread rumors.

Rumor.

I heard a rumor around the office about me today.

Rumor.

Usually rumors turn out to be untrue.

Promotion.

Sally got a promotion for doing a good job.

Promotion.

Tom was promoted to senior manager.

Promotion.

The company is considering which employees deserve a promotion.

Whisper.

I hate it when people are whispering in the movie theater.

Whisper.

You must whisper in places such as a library.

Whisper.

It is considered rude to whisper in front of others.