Episode 0265

Hello everyone and welcome to English pod.

My name is Marco.

That's right. Today we are dealing with a house that is filled with different types of bugs.

Ew, bugs. Well, it's summer time so it's not that uncommon but not a pleasant thing to deal with.

That's right. So we're going to call an exterminator, so you might be asking yourself what that is. But before we explain, why don't you listen to the dialogue for the first time.

Hi, did you call for an exterminator?

What sort of pests are we dealing with?

Well, there's nothing that we can't handle. I'll spray the floorboards and walls to get rid of the cockroaches, but the termites will be harder to get rid of.

We will have to cover the entire house and fumigate it. Unfortunately, that means you will have to find a place to stay for the next three days.

No problem. Just get rid of the bugs.

All right, we're back. So now we have six keywords that we've chosen out for you. Let's take a look at those now on Language Takeaway.

Language Takeaway.

What is an exterminator? It's a person, right?

That's right. It's a person that has the job to exterminate or to delete or eliminate different types of bugs or pests.

So an exterminator's job is to kill bugs.

That's right.

And usually an exterminator comes to your home or your office to do this, right?

That's right. So, uh, maybe in your house you have a lot of different types of bugs. Maybe you have, uh, I don't know, spiders. So an exterminator will come and he will try to get rid of the spiders.

And pest is our next word.

That's right. A pest. Now, uh, we're talking about bugs and they can be considered a sort of pest.

Well, pest though is a more general term, right? So you can say pest about something like rats or mice.

That's right. So basically some type of animal that, uh, is very annoying and also causes some sort of harm or danger.

Right. So there was a movie, if I remember correctly, in the 1990s. It was terrible and it was called The Pest.

Yeah, that's right.

Okay. So, uh, obviously our home is filled with bugs and that's what the person said that it is infested.

Okay. So a place like an office building or like you said, Marco, a home is infested if it is filled with something. And so infested means it's filled with something bad.

That's right. So in this case, the house is infested with bugs.

They're living upstairs, downstairs, in the basement, in the kitchen, they're everywhere.

That's right. And she said that we, well, actually they have termites in the wood.

All right. So termites are a special kind of bug that almost always live in wood, right?

That's right. They're little bugs that I think eat the wood and, uh, this is why they're so dangerous because they make the house, uh, weak because they eat off all the wood that that supports it.

So you can say the house fell down because it was infested with termites.

That's right.

Termites.

And, uh, also we have a very common pest or a bug, we have cockroaches.

Cockroaches come in different sizes, some are big, some are small, but they're very, very strong bugs. They can live through anything.

That's right. They're small, usually brown, but sometimes I think you can see black cockroaches.

That's right. And they love to be near food and decaying things like garbage bins.

That's right.

So, uh, a very common type of pest cockroach. And in order to get rid of termites and cockroaches and all these, uh, types of bugs, we have to fumigate the house.

Okay, so this is one method that the exterminator uses to kill bugs.

And like in the dialogue, when you fumigate a house, um, basically you fill the house with fumes or gases that kill bugs.

So people, like you and me, we can't be in the house when that happens, right?

That's right. Actually, if you see an exterminator, he will always fumigate wearing a mask, so he doesn't inhale those, uh, poisonous gas.

Right. So it's very dangerous for people and you'll have to make sure you talk to your exterminator to make sure that the gases he's using, uh, aren't getting into your body.

That's right.

Okay, so why don't we listen to the dialogue again and we'll be back in a bit.

Hi, did you call for an exterminator?

What sort of pests are we dealing with?

Well, there's nothing that we can't handle. I'll spray the floorboards and walls to get rid of the cockroaches, but the termites will be harder to get rid of.

We will have to cover the entire house and fumigate it. Unfortunately, that means you will have to find a place to stay for the next three days.

No problem. Just get rid of the bugs.

All right, so now we've chosen three key phrases for you on Fluency Builder.

Fluency Builder.

Well, this first phrase comes from the very beginning of today's dialogue. Um, the second person in the dialogue says these bugs are driving us crazy.

So to drive someone crazy.

Okay. So if you're driving someone crazy, it means that you're making them, uh, crazy.

All right. So it could be you're making them angry or you're making them frustrated, but it has nothing to do with cars, right?

Yeah, yeah. There's no driving involved.

So driving here means making. You're making me crazy. You're really making me frustrated.

That's right. So, in this case, the, the animals, the, the bugs were driving them crazy. They were so annoying that they were just, they were very irritated.

That's right. Okay.

So, um, now, obviously bugs are driving them crazy and she went on to explain that it's because the house is infested with just about everything.

Well, this is a great phrase because we can say it in a lot of different contexts.

In this context, it means there is not everything, every single bug in the house, but just about everything. That means almost every bug you can think of is in this house.

That's right. So, it's kind of a way of exaggerating also.

Because obviously, well, they have cockroaches, they have termites, but, uh, they're saying we have a lot of different types of bugs. We have just about everything that you can imagine.

You could even say, this restaurant has just about every Chinese dish you could ever think of.

Mhm.

That's not true, it doesn't have every single one, but it has a lot.

That's right. Okay.

So that's the way that you use just about everything.

And, uh, for our final phrase, we use it a little bit earlier on. Let's explain it a little bit. When we're talking about bugs, we want to get rid of bugs.

This is why we call the exterminator to get rid of the cockroaches.

You might hear this phrase a lot when you're watching movies about gangsters or mobsters like The Sopranos, the TV show. Get rid of him, right?

So this is a phrase that means in this case, to kill something or to kill someone, to get rid of it, to get rid of him, to not have it anymore.

Right. So, um, rid means to, to get away or to throw away. Um, but in this case, you're not just throwing it away, you're killing these bugs.

That's right. So we want to get rid of the bugs.

Now, obviously, as you said, we can also throw away, for example, um, these shoes are too old. I'm going to get rid of them.

Or hey, Marco, this milk smells funny. Can you get rid of it?

Mhm. Very good.

So that's the way that you would use that phrase to get rid of something.

So why don't we listen to our dialogue for the very last time and we'll be back to talk a little bit more.

Hi, did you call for an exterminator?

What sort of pests are we dealing with?

Well, there's nothing that we can't handle. I'll spray the floorboards and walls to get rid of the cockroaches, but the termites will be harder to get rid of.

We will have to cover the entire house and fumigate it. Unfortunately, that means you will have to find a place to stay for the next three days.

No problem. Just get rid of the bugs.

I don't know. I am, uh, I'm actually okay with termites or for example, cockroaches, they're a little bit weird, but, uh, I actually really dislike spiders.

Really? So you're okay with cockroaches, but spiders make you nervous.

Yeah, yeah. Spiders are

Well, the thing is that spiders can actually hurt you.

And cockroaches generally cannot. They're gross, they're dirty, but spiders, there are very, very many kinds of dangerous spiders out there that are poisonous.

That's right. So for example, uh, termites, nothing's going to happen or cockroaches, they're they're nasty. Not unless your house, you know, is weakened by hundreds of millions of termites.

That's right. But for example, I think, uh, other people have, um, like, uh, snakes sometimes, that's pests because they live in areas that have a lot of, uh, snakes or mice because snakes are attracted by mice.

That's right. So, um, some people keep cats for that reason. They want the cats, especially on farms, the cats to catch the mice.

Or to scare the, the snakes away, but I don't really have a problem with snakes or spiders, but I do have a problem with scorpions.

Oh, scorpions. If you live close to a desert or a very dry area, scorpions, uh, they, they really scare me.

I've seen on, uh, I think Discovery Channel that in Australia they're very common and so, uh, not only scorpions, but also spiders. So whenever you put your shoes on, you have to check that there's nothing in it.

That's right. Also, shower drains, you know, where the water goes down, the hole in the shower. Oftentimes you get things like scorpions in the, in the desert areas that come out of the drain.

Really? Oh wow. That's some that looks like something from a horror movie or something.

Yeah. And all of a sudden you're you're in the shower and there's pests coming out of the drains. Yeah, that's nasty. Terrifying.

All right. So, um, a lot of different types of, uh, kind of scary bugs and pests, but we would like to know if you've ever had an infestation in your home or what pests are you afraid of?

So let us know. Our website is Englishpod.com. We hope to see you there.

All right, we'll see you guys next time.

Bye.

Bye.

The English part audio review.

Listen to the meaning, then say the vocabulary word.

A professional who kills pests.

Exterminator.

An annoying and harmful insect or animal.

Pest.

To spray with smoke or other chemicals.

Fumigate.

Not be able to deal with.

Can't handle.

Simply.

Just.

Let's try that faster.

Simply.

Just.

An annoying and harmful insect or animal.

Pest.

A professional who kills pests.

Exterminator.

To spray with smoke or other chemicals.

Fumigate.

Not be able to deal with.

Can't handle.

Now say the word and hear it in a sentence.

Exterminator.

Can I get an exterminator to get rid of the wasps in our yard?

Exterminator.

I need to call an exterminator to take care of our termite problem.

Exterminator.

The exterminator came and sprayed the entire house. So it should be bug-free now.

Pest.

Our house is infested with all sorts of pests. It's horrible.

Pest.

Mosquitoes, termites, cockroaches, rats, and fleas are all considered pests.

Pest.

He's a pest. He annoys everyone he comes in contact with.

Fumigate.

If you have cockroaches in your home, you should fumigate it.

Fumigate.

You shouldn't stay in your apartment when you fumigate it. It's bad for your health.

Fumigate.

She's staying with us for a few days because the exterminator is fumigating her house.

Can't handle.

There is a large workload. I can't handle it.

Can't handle.

He's really good at fixing computers. No matter how complicated the problem is, there's nothing he can't handle.

Can't handle.

I can't handle any more criticism.

Just.

I don't care what you have to do. Just take care of the problem.

Just.

Stop making excuses and just finish your work.

Just.

When you're done, you can just leave everything on the table and I'll clean it up.