Episode 0217

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

My name is Catherine and today we're talking about helping other people.

That's right. We are going to volunteer and to help other people that maybe don't have as much as we do and so this is a way to give back to the community.

That's right. So this is an intermediate level lesson and before we get going, we have a phrase to preview in today's vocabulary preview.

Vocabulary preview

All right. So on vocabulary preview today, we have this phrase, a soup kitchen or it's a noun, a soup kitchen.

That's right. A soup kitchen is a place, basically it is a place where volunteers can help cook and serve people who don't have enough money to feed themselves.

Okay, so that's a soup kitchen. It's basically a place where people can get free food.

That's right.

Okay. So this is where we're going to be today. We are at a soup kitchen and we're going to hear a couple of people talking about helping out at a soup kitchen. Let's listen.

The people who come here have fallen on hard times and a delicious hot meal can really bolster their spirits.

(inhales deeply)

Here you go. Enjoy your meal.

You're welcome.

Hello sir. Today we have...

Hey, Judy, uh, I'll have a little of everything. Thanks.

All right, we're back. So obviously this person, uh what was he, George, he didn't really need uh the food, but apparently I think he's divorced from his wife and he was like, oh, I need your food.

But other people that were there were very much in need of this food. So why don't we take a look at some of the words and phrases on language takeaway?

Language Takeaway.

Well, we've got a couple of interesting words here at the beginning that have to do with volunteering or helping other people.

The first phrase we have actually is to pitch in.

That's right, to pitch in. So when you pitch in, that's a way of saying helping, right?

That's right, to help.

So I could ask you for your help with something. I could say, hey Marco, can you pitch in a little of your time with this project I have?

Okay, so dedicate or to help, to pitch in.

So when you pitch in, you are helping. This is a really common phrase, very colloquial though, right?

To pitch in. That's right.

Okay. And then moving on, another adjective, when a person likes to help or gives money to the poor, that person is generous.

That's right. So generous is an adjective. That means a person can be generous or an effort can be generous.

For example, a very famous generous person is Mother Teresa of Calcutta.

Oh, I was thinking Warren Buffett, but both of them are very generous.

Mother Teresa for giving back to the poor and Warren Buffett for donating most of his money.

Okay, very good. So that is a sign of a person that is generous.

So usually generous people, like Warren Buffet, you say they he gave away his fortune to people that didn't have money, we call these people the less fortunate.

That's right. So as you said, we've got three words here that mean poor people, basically.

Um and we don't we don't like to say poor people in English because it's not very nice. You know, people can't control their situation in many cases and it's more of a situation of not having what others have.

And so one way to say this is less fortunate.

Okay, so a person that's less fortunate is a person that's poor.

That's right. So I could say, for example, we often try to help the less fortunate by volunteering our time.

Okay. So fortunate is a way of saying that you have fortune or you have luck. So if you say you are very fortunate, that means that you are very lucky.

That's right.

So less fortunate means poor. And another way of saying that somebody is poor, you say that person is needy.

Needy. So this probably makes you think of the word need, to need, and you're right. This comes from need.

So someone who is needy, needs things, needs money, needs help, needs food.

Okay, even attention, right? Somebody that's needy might need a lot of attention all the time.

That's right. So this could actually be a bad thing. Uh someone who's needy says, look at me, look at me. Oh my gosh, look at me, listen to me, and that can be very annoying.

Okay. So the needy. And now finally, a very common word to say that somebody is very poor, doesn't have a place to live, doesn't have a home, you say that person is homeless.

Homeless. Literally means without a home.

And so we often talk about the homeless as being a group of people we want to help in society because the homeless live on the streets, they live in public, and in the winter and times when it's really, really cold, it's very dangerous for them.

Uh so the homeless are a group that people try to help with these soup kitchens and shelters.

Okay, very good. So a lot of interesting words, common phrases there, very useful.

So why don't we go back, listen to this dialogue again and we'll be back in a little bit with fluency builder.

The people who come here have fallen on hard times and a delicious hot meal can really bolster their spirits.

(inhales deeply)

Here you go. Enjoy your meal.

You're welcome.

Hello sir. Today we have...

Hey, Judy, uh, I'll have a little of everything. Thanks.

All right, we're back. So on Fluency Builder today, we have three key phrases, so we're going to take a look at those now.

Fluency builder.

Okay. So what is our first phrase?

Our first phrase comes from the beginning of the dialogue with Mark who says, you know, there are some people who are struggling to make ends meet. So the phrase here is to make ends meet.

Okay, to make ends meet.

So I have So if you take a look at this phrase, it's very hard to determine what that actually means. What does it mean?

Well, think about a string. If you want to make a circle out of that string, you have to connect the ends.

Mhm, right? And uh I think of that as being uh about your income and the money that you spend.

I cannot make ends meet if I earn $10 every week, but I spend 15 on my house and my food.

Right.

Okay. So not being able to make ends meet means you spend more than you earn.

And that's not about cars and fancy TVs, that's about your house, your heat, your bills, and your food.

Your food. Right.

Okay. So to make ends meet is to be able to pay for your necessities.

Okay.

But he can't make ends meet means he can't support himself financially.

Okay, very good. So to make ends meet is pretty much to satisfy your basic necessities.

Financially.

Financially.

Very good. And moving on when we were talking about generosity and people helping out, you know, if you help people that are less fortunate, you are making a difference in a small way.

Okay. So this is a phrase that we hear all the time in the States. I'm not sure if it's the same in other English-speaking countries.

But uh it's a very popular phrase. Uh we talk about making a difference or trying to make a difference and it's not very clear what a difference really is. But generally this means doing good things for other people.

Okay. So celebrities try to make a difference with their money and their fame.

Some people try to make a difference by working at homeless shelters or at soup kitchens. And so there are many different ways to make a difference, but it's basically the idea that you volunteer or you give money to help other people.

Okay, very good. So even if, for example, you recycle, you can say you're making a difference in the environment.

That's right. You're making a difference. Usually a difference is a positive thing, so keep that in mind.

Very good. And for the last phrase on Fluency Builder today, we say that people who come here have fallen on hard times.

So people that have fallen on hard times, what does it mean if you fall on hard times?

Well, basically, hard times are difficulties, right? So not being able to make ends meet, not being able to pay for your food and your housing.

And so we have the verb to fall. You've fallen on hard times because you've gone from a place where you're comfortable to a lower place, a place where life is really hard.

Right. And so think of this as a fixed phrase.

He fell on hard times, or they fell on hard times. This means they don't have much money, or they can't support themselves, or they went bankrupt, for example.

So somebody that loses their job may have fallen on hard times.

That's right.

And there's one more phrase here that deserves a little attention.

We heard this word to bolster. To bolster is a verb that means to improve.

So a hot meal can really bolster their spirits. That means it can make them feel better.

So to bolster their spirits makes means to make them feel happier, to lift their spirits.

That's right. Exactly what you said, to make them feel happier.

Okay, awesome. So a lot of interesting phrases there, ways that you can talk in English about making a difference, about volunteering.

Very interesting stuff, very good for conversations between friends and family.

So why don't we go back, listen to the dialogue again and we'll be back to talk a little bit more.

The people who come here have fallen on hard times and a delicious hot meal can really bolster their spirits.

(inhales deeply)

Here you go. Enjoy your meal.

You're welcome.

Hello sir. Today we have...

Hey, Judy, uh, I'll have a little of everything. Thanks.

All right, we're back. So on Fluency Builder, have you ever done any volunteer work?

I have. I've done quite a bit actually.

Yeah, where what what have you done?

Uh back when I was living in the United States in Chicago, I used to cook for a homeless shelter every week. So I would bring food every Thursday.

So you cook at home and you bring the food over to the shelter?

That's right. So the shelter had a kitchen, but they used donations from people because there are so many people who came there for food.

And uh once a month I would volunteer to also serve the food.

Okay.

So I would bring lasagna or pasta, things that most people like, and then once a month I would sit down with people and talk.

You know, a lot of people are lonely when they uh when they're in homeless shelters because uh they they come alone or maybe it's a mother and her child and uh it's nice to also come and sit and talk to them.

No, it's very interesting and I think volunteering is a much better solution than for example, just giving out money to poor people or something like that. I don't think that's really the solution.

I think you should dedicate your time and your energy to making a difference like in the dialogue.

Well, and I think that the other benefit is for you, the volunteer.

Because it changes your perspective on poverty and on humanity and you think about, well, you know, I could be this person. He was a banker two years ago and now he doesn't have a house.

And I think English Pod definitely supports that you should volunteer, you should make a difference, and I think we can all help each other, right?

That's right. And let us know, have you ever volunteered? What kind of volunteer work have you done? Has it been environmental or social? Let us know on our website Englishpod.com. We hope to see you there.

All right. Bye, everyone.

Bye.

The English part audio review.

Listen to the meaning, then say the vocabulary word.

Set to work vigorously.

Pitch in.

Willing to give away one's money, time, etcetera.

Generous.

Give something for free to a good cause.

Donate.

Be in a difficult situation.

Fall on hard times.

People who need practical or emotional support.

Needy.

Almost not.

Hardly.

Willing to give away one's money, time, etcetera.

Generous.

Set to work vigorously.

Pitch in.

Let's try that faster.

Give something for free to a good cause.

Donate.

Willing to give away one's money, time, etcetera.

Generous.

Almost not.

Hardly.

Set to work vigorously.

Pitch in.

Willing to give away one's money, time, etcetera.

Generous.

Be in a difficult situation.

Fall on hard times.

People who need practical or emotional support.

Needy.

Set to work vigorously.

Pitch in.

Now say the word and hear it in a sentence.

Donate.

Every week I donate four hours of my time to play with the kids at the orphanage.

Donate.

Can you donate some of your time to help us out at the soup kitchen?

Donate.

We have many volunteers who regularly donate their time to talk with the elderly in the nursing home.

Generous.

They gave a generous donation to the organization.

Generous.

This restaurant is very generous with their portion sizes.

Generous.

He is known to be a generous person.

Fall on hard times.

I talked with several homeless people and most of them are on the street because they fell on hard times.

Fall on hard times.

My friend has fallen on hard times and has to sell her house.

Fall on hard times.

I hope we won't fall on hard times during this economic crisis.

Needy.

The needy are numerous in this city.

Needy.

We need to help the needy in our country.

Needy.

There are many needy people in my city.

Hardly.

I make hardly enough money to feed my family.

Hardly.

You're hardly in need of another pair of shoes.

Hardly.

With five kids, I hardly get any peace and quiet.