Episode 0226

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

My name is Catherine, and today we've got some kids for you in this dialogue. They're doing something that's very common in America. I'm not so sure if it's common elsewhere, but we'll find that out later.

So today we're going to ask for money, uh, because we are having a fundraiser. So this is a very interesting word. Why don't we take a look at it in vocabulary preview?

Vocabulary preview.

So fundraiser is a thing. It's an event. It's something that you do at a school or a business to try and collect money for a special event or charity.

That's right. So, uh, money, you can also say is funds, right? And that's what you're trying to do. You're trying to collect, you're trying to gather a lot of money or funds in order for, uh, like you say some sort of, uh, objective purpose.

Right. But it's not just like, we're having a fundraiser to earn more profits this year. It's usually an event that's for some kind of charity or good cause. So, for example, uh, the company is having a fundraiser for Jenny's child because he's sick and they can't pay for medical care.

Right.

So fundraiser is for a good cause.

Exactly. So that's what this dialogue is all about today. Why don't we listen to the dialogue for the first time, and we'll be back in a bit.

Okay, Mark, it's your turn to ring the doorbell. I did it last time.

But we need to raise enough money for the school fundraiser, so that our class can win the pizza party. You do want to have a pizza party, don't you?

Just go already.

No one's coming.

Try again!

Maybe there's no one home.

Of course there's someone home. There are two cars in the driveway, and I can see lights on in the house.

Hello? Anybody home? We would like to know if you want to sponsor us in our school fundraiser. 50% of the profits goes towards the new school playground.

You don't like chocolate?

They don't look too happy.

Hi sir, would you like to sponsor us or make a donation to...

Grade seven.

No soliciting?

All right, so obviously the kids are selling a candy and a lot of different things for their new playground. That's the fundraiser, right?

Mhm.

Uh, so they they use a lot of interesting words and phrases there. Why don't we take a look at a couple of them on language takeaway?

Language Takeaway.

Well, the first word is one that Marco, you've already talked a little bit about today. Uh, we talked about fundraiser to raise, well, we do have the verb here to raise enough money. So raise is a, a verb that means to collect or gather or to get.

That's right. So you wouldn't really say we are collecting money or we are gathering money. You say we are raising money for the victims of the earthquake in Haiti.

That's right. So, the reason we don't say we are earning money is because you're not doing any work.

Right.

Really. You're not going to the job at 9:00 and leaving the job at 5:00. You're actually asking people for donations.

Exactly. So that's what you're doing. You are raising money. And now moving on, another way that you can, uh, help people maybe through a charity or donation is also to sponsor, to sponsor someone or something.

Okay. So people can sponsor events or people and, uh, companies can also do this as well. So, to sponsor someone is basically to give them money in support of a cause.

Right.

Uh, for example, have you ever done one of those 5K runs or 10K runs?

Did you have to collect sponsors, basically to, uh, to find people who would help pay money for you to do this run?

Uh, not not personally, but I know people who have, who actually get companies interested and maybe that person, for example, is going to run 5 kilometers in this race in order to, uh, raise money for victims of, uh, some serious illness. And so they get sponsors. They get companies to to donate money for this cause.

Right. You could have a person or a company sponsor you. They could be your sponsor by giving you money that you can then use for this charity or special cause.

That's right. But the difference between a fundraiser and to sponsor something or someone is that sponsoring is not always for a charity or for some sort of, uh, non-profit cause, right? We have many sponsors for concerts or for sporting events.

That's right. So often times when you see athletes, they have their sponsors, uh, or their sponsor's logos written all over their jerseys, the clothes that they wear. So for example, if you're watching Formula One racing, you see, uh, the Ferrari and the, the bank, uh, emblems and all these different things.

That's right. So those are different ways of sponsoring events or people.

And now moving on, we have a word that's, well, not really related to, uh, to money and fundraisers, but it's a very interesting word and very common, uh, when the kids mentioned that they're selling a bunch of tacky Christmas ornaments.

Tacky.

Tacky.

Okay. You're going to hear this a lot and, uh, the interesting thing about the word tacky is that it means something different to everyone. So what I think is tacky might be, uh, just normal for Marco and what Marco thinks is really tacky might be something that I actually like.

Right.

And so tacky is basically a bad thing. It means something is not good looking or not very, um, not very, uh,

fashionable.

Fashionable. It's like in bad taste. But as you say, uh, taste is something subjective, right? So maybe for example,

Sometimes we say that when girls wear too much makeup, it's very tacky.

Right. Bright red lipstick and blue eyeshadow.

Exactly. So a guy might say, oh, that's so tacky. Whereas another person might not think it's tacky at all. So this happens a lot and we use this word a lot with decorations, for example. Someone's house, you might describe it as tacky or a restaurant or a bar.

Right. So for maybe sometimes those Italian restaurants that have the, uh, red and white checkered tablecloths and the pictures of the Italians with the mustaches, I might think that's a little bit tacky, but maybe you think it's a, it's cute.

Right. So something that's tacky. And as we say, people use it all the time. And it's not necessarily a bad thing. You can just say, oh, it's a little bit tacky or I think this, uh, this thing is a little bit tacky.

Okay.

And that's it, right?

So it's it. Okay.

And our final word on language takeaway, uh, towards the end of the dialogue when the kids were reading the sign, the sign said no soliciting and they didn't understand what that means. What does it mean when you have a sign that says no soliciting?

Okay. So to solicit is to try to sell something or to offer a service. So basically the sign means, please don't come to my house and sell me stuff.

Okay.

Um, for example, we have door-to-door, uh, insurance salesmen or makeup sales people, and these people go to your door and they try to sell you their product. And no soliciting means don't come to my house. I'm not going to answer the door if you're trying to sell something.

So, to solicit is to try and sell something.

Mhm.

Okay. But usually in person, trying to make a sale uninvited, right? Because if you're a businessman and you have a meeting, a sales meeting, you're not really soliciting with that other person.

No, this is basically trying to sell something to a stranger.

Exactly. Okay. Very good. So a lot of interesting words there. Why don't we listen to the dialogue again and we'll be back shortly with fluency builder.

Okay, Mark, it's your turn to ring the doorbell. I did it last time.

But we need to raise enough money for the school fundraiser, so that our class can win the pizza party. You do want to have a pizza party, don't you?

Just go already.

No one's coming.

Try again!

Maybe there's no one home.

Of course there's someone home. There are two cars in the driveway, and I can see lights on in the house.

Hello? Anybody home? We would like to know if you want to sponsor us in our school fundraiser. 50% of the profits goes towards the new school playground.

You don't like chocolate?

They don't look too happy.

Hi sir, would you like to sponsor us or make a donation to...

Grade seven.

No soliciting?

Fluency Builder.

Okay, this first phrase is a pretty common one. We wanted to make sure that everyone was comfortable with, uh, the verb that goes with doorbell. So Marco, what do you do to a doorbell?

You ring the doorbell.

You ring the doorbell. So you don't touch it, you don't press it. You can press it, but you ring the doorbell. That's the verb.

Okay. So for example, when I was a little, my brother and I always used to fight about who could ring the doorbell.

Oh, do you do the long ring or do you do the, the ding ding ding ding ding?

You do like that. The annoying ring.

Yeah, so to ring the doorbell.

All right. All right. And, uh, well, going back, when we were talking about no soliciting, you said that sales people go door-to-door selling things.

Mhm.

So this is an interesting phrase and it's a fixed phrase. Going door-to-door.

Well, think about it. So a salesperson who wants to sell maybe some makeup, goes to one house and no one wants to buy any makeup there. So she goes to the next house. So she's going from house to house. But we don't really say house to house because she's going to your door to offer the makeup. So we just say going door-to-door. That means going to strangers homes in order, one door after the next, to sell something.

Very good. You go door-to-door. So you for example, someone can go door-to-door asking for some sugar.

That's right. Or we could say he is a door-to-door salesman.

Door-to-door salesman, very good.

All right. And, uh, now we have an interesting question and it's a very good one because it's a question that comes up a lot. When somebody asks you if you're studying, for example, what grade are you in?

Okay, what grade are you in? So in the American system, for example, we have the very, very bottom, grade K, which is kindergarten for maybe a five-year-old. And at the very top, we have, uh, high school, grade 12. And so in between we have one, two, three, four, five, you know, and up. And so basically, to find out what, what year in school a student is, you have to ask him or her, what grade are you in?

Right.

So then the person would say, I'm in sixth grade, I'm in eighth grade. But this is the way you ask this question for a school, as you said, a kid that's maybe five years old, all the way to 18 years old in high school. What grade are you in? Now, if you're in university and you want to ask your friend what year of university that person's in, then you say,

What year are you?

What year are you?

Yeah, you don't say grade. So basically grade refers to like what you said Marco, um, those first, uh, 12 years of school. And so we call them, uh, we call them, we don't call them grade. So you could ask anybody under the age of 18, what grade are you in? But when you go to university or when you're talking about university students, it gets a little bit different.

So you can say what year are you in or what year are you?

So, if if you're not sure about someone's age and you maybe think they're in college, you can ask them, what year are you? But generally, anyone under 18, what grade are you in?

Okay, good.

All right. And our last phrase, and this is a, this kind of an expression, right?

Mhm.

Goodness sake. For goodness sake.

Okay. So let's look at the context. The kids say, we're in grade seven, and the person at the door says, then for goodness sake, don't you see this sign?

Right. For goodness sake. So this is an expression that's used to indicate, um, maybe you're a little bit frustrated.

Yes. Right. So it's like, come on, or my goodness, or for Pete's sake. So we have many ways of saying, all right, come on. I'm a little tired of this.

Right. You're irritating me.

Right. The person's angry because these kids are trying to sell her something when clearly she has a sign that says no soliciting.

That's right.

Okay. A lot of interesting phrases there. Why don't we go back, listen to our dialogue for the very last time, and we'll be back to talk with you a little bit more.

Okay, Mark, it's your turn to ring the doorbell. I did it last time.

But we need to raise enough money for the school fundraiser, so that our class can win the pizza party. You do want to have a pizza party, don't you?

Just go already.

No one's coming.

Try again!

Maybe there's no one home.

Of course there's someone home. There are two cars in the driveway, and I can see lights on in the house.

Hello? Anybody home? We would like to know if you want to sponsor us in our school fundraiser. 50% of the profits goes towards the new school playground.

You don't like chocolate?

They don't look too happy.

Hi sir, would you like to sponsor us or make a donation to...

Grade seven.

No soliciting?

All right. So door-to-door salesman, I think this used to be a very American thing. I think back in the 50s, you would always see movies where this was actually a profession.

That's right.

People would go door-to-door selling hair brushes or magazine subscriptions, pretty much everything.

Yeah, you still see it sometimes. Some people sell insurance or, uh, there are a lot of religious door-to-door sales people who want to sell religious books or magazines.

But I think it was much more popular in the 1950s because people didn't really use their phones as much to sell things. It was cheaper to have someone drive his car to your neighborhood and then go to every single house. Um, but yeah, it's a very interesting, interesting job. I think it'd be very lonely.

And also, I think, well, now maybe that's been reduced a lot because now you have the internet.

Oh, yeah. Well, the internet means that the sales people come to you without you having to get up. Basically, you're sitting at home in your pajamas and you can order a TV and some clothes.

But it's very interesting because I remember, you would have all these door-to-door salesmen. For example, I had one visit me once who was selling me encyclopedias. A big collection of like, uh, I don't know, 37 books or more. It was a huge amount of books, encyclopedias. And I don't know if you see that anymore.

Not really, not in the states. I don't know if anyone buys physical, huge encyclopedias to have in their home.

No, only collectors perhaps.

Maybe. So it's a very interesting profession. I don't know in the United States, as you say, it's not very common anymore, very little, maybe specific services. But this is interesting, maybe in your country this is still a big thing.

Yeah, let us know. In your country, are door-to-door sales people, uh, still common? Do you see them? Our website is Englishpod.com. We hope to see you there.

All right. Bye-bye.

The English part audio review.

Listen to the meaning, then say the vocabulary word.

Increase in size, quantity or worth.

Raise.

From one house to the next.

Door to door.

Short private road from a street to a house.

Driveway.

Agree to pay for an event or activity.

Sponsor.

The act of giving to a fund or cause.

Donation.

Seek to obtain by persuasion, entity or formal.

Solicit.

A person or an action which collects money for particular purposes.

Fundraiser.

Let's try that faster.

Seek to obtain by persuasion, entity or formal.

Solicit.

A person or an action which collects money for particular purposes.

Fundraiser.

The act of giving to a fund or cause.

Donation.

Increase in size, quantity or worth.

Raise.

Short private road from a street to a house.

Driveway.

Agree to pay for an event or activity.

Sponsor.

From one house to the next.

Door to door.

Now say the word and hear it in a sentence.

Raise.

After four months of doing odd jobs for my neighbors, I finally raised enough money to buy a bicycle.

Raise.

They were raising money for the people who had lost their homes in the earthquake.

Raise.

At the end of the fundraiser, the hospital had raised enough money to buy the new machine.

Sponsor.

He sponsored several kids in the fundraiser.

Sponsor.

Air Canada sponsored the Vancouver Olympics.

Sponsor.

Every month I give money to the child I sponsor in Asia.

Driveway.

80% of the profits will go to the people in need, while the other 20% will be spent on administrative cost.

Driveway.

Two-third Z of the profits will go towards the new drum set for the band.

Driveway.

She was quite surprised when she learned that only a small percentage of the profits would actually be helping kids go to summer camps.

Donation.

He gave a huge donation to the organization.

Donation.

I made a donation to my sister's drama fundraiser.

Donation.

We received so many donations that we raised twice the amount we had set as our goal.

Solicit.

I solicited around my neighborhood last week to raise money for our school band trip.

Solicit.

The organization encouraged its members to go door-to-door soliciting for their cause.

Solicit.

Many buildings don't allow soliciting.