EC108_Guide.pdf

English as a Second Language Podcast

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ENGLISH CAFÉ – 108

TOPICS

Route 66, playground games for children, on time versus in time, counting

seconds using Mississippi, to knock (oneself) out

_____________

GLOSSARY

allergy – a medical problem where one gets sick after touching or eating

something

* Many people have allergies to cat hair.

a frog in (one’s) throat – the feeling of having something in one’s throat and

being unable to talk clearly; to be unable to speak clearly without coughing first to

clear one’s throat

* The presenter had a frog in her throat because she was nervous, but after she

coughed and drank some water she was fine.

route – a numbered freeway or highway that lets one get from one place to

another

* Drive south on Route 39 for about 30 miles until you get to Springfield.

interstate – a large freeway that travels through two or more states

* Interstate 5 takes drivers through California, Oregon, and Washington.

prosperous – wealthy; with a lot of money; rich; successful

* Only some of the people who found gold in California became prosperous.

to get (one’s) kicks – to enjoy something; to make oneself happy by doing

something

* Dimitry gets his kicks by going surfing every weekend.

to celebrate – to praise someone or something; to say good things about

someone or something

* On Veterans Day, Americans celebrate the men and women who have fought

in wars for their country.

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English as a Second Language Podcast

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ENGLISH CAFÉ – 108

to be “it” – to be the person who has to run around and touch or catch other

people in many children’s games

* Ryan touched his friend on the shoulder and then ran away, shouting, “Now

you’re ‘it’!”

playground – an outdoor area where children play on swings, slides, and other

large pieces of equipment

* Does this park have a playground where children can play?

to freeze – to stop moving

* The deer froze in the headlights of the approaching car.

chalk – small sticks of white or colored powder that are used to write or draw on

chalkboards, sidewalks, or streets

* The children wrote, “Welcome home, Daddy!” in big letters with pink chalk on

the street in front of their house.

footwork – the way that one moves one’s feet, especially when dancing or

playing sports

* Everyone was fascinated by the dancer’s complicated and beautiful footwork.

in time – before something is due; before a deadline; before something else

happens

* Please be home in time for dinner.

on time – when something is due; at the moment of the deadline

* Will you be able to finish writing the report on time?

to knock (oneself) out – to do something to one’s full enjoyment; to begin doing

something, usually without another person’s participation

* If you want to spend all day in the kitchen making a big holiday meal, knock

yourself out. I’d rather go to a restaurant.

These materials are copyrighted by the Center for Educational Development (2007). Posting of

these materials on another website or distributing them in any way is prohibited.

English as a Second Language Podcast

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ENGLISH CAFÉ – 108

WHAT INSIDERS KNOW

On the Road by Jack Kerouac

On the Road is a “novel” (long book) by an American writer named Jack

Kerouac. He wrote the novel in just three weeks in 1951. It is “autobiographical”

(about the author’s life) and it has an unusual style known as “stream of

consciousness” (a type of writing that is written as a person thinks, without the

organization of most other styles of writing).

The novel is about the “road trips” (driving vacations, often across the country

and usually in a car) that Jack made with his friends while they were young over

a period of seven years. The boys don’t have very much money, but they go from

New York City to San Francisco and even Mexico City and many places in

between. In the end they return to New York City, but they have many

“adventures” (exciting and interesting experiences) “along the way” (during their

trip). They meet many people from other “social classes” (groups of people with

certain education and amounts of money) and learn from their “interactions” (the

way that one relates to another person) with them.

Although the novel is autobiographical, Jack changed the names of many of the

people and places in the novel. Other “references” (words and phrases

connected to other words, phrases, people, or places) are “tied” (connected) to

real people and places.

Many other writers, musicians, and poets say that they have been “influenced”

(affected) deeply by On the Road . Many people believe that it is one of the best

American novels ever written. In fact, Time magazine included On the Road in its

list of the 100 best American novels written between 1923 and 2005.

These materials are copyrighted by the Center for Educational Development (2007). Posting of

these materials on another website or distributing them in any way is prohibited.

English as a Second Language Podcast

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ENGLISH CAFÉ – 108

COMPLETE TRANSCRIPT

You’re listening to ESL Podcast’s English Café number 108.

This is English as a Second Language Podcast episode 108. I’m your host, Dr.

Jeff McQuillan, coming to you from the Center for Educational Development in

beautiful Los Angeles, California.

Visit our website at eslpod.com. Take a look at our new ESL Podcast Blog,

where several times a week we post additional messages and small lessons on

English on our website. You can also take a look at our new ESL Podcast Store

and some new courses we have in the store, including one about English for

business meetings. And, of course, you can download a 8 to 10 page Learning

Guide for this episode as well.

In this Café, we’re going to talk about perhaps the most famous freeway, or

highway, in the United States, Route 66. We’re also going to talk about some

typical games that children play at school when they are young. And as always,

we’ll answer some of your questions. Let’s get started.

I have to begin our Café today by apologizing for my voice. I have been having

some problems recently with allergies. An “allergy” (allergy) is when your body

reacts negatively – in a bad way – to, for example, dust or what we call “pollen”

(pollen), little pieces of a plant or flower. I have allergies, meaning that

sometimes during the year I have problems with my nose, my throat, sometimes

with breathing. I’m not telling you this because you are my medical doctor, but

just to let you know that my throat is a little funny sounding today – my voice is a

little funny sounding today because I have been having some problems with my

allergies. So, I hope I don’t sound like a frog! We have the expression “there’s a

frog in my throat.” A “frog” is a small animal – a green animal that jumps and

makes a very low sounding noise. In English, the sound a frog makes is “ribbet,

ribbet.” Someday we’ll have to do animal sounds in English. It’s an interesting

topic because there are different animal sounds in different languages even

though it’s the same animal.

Today’s first topic is Route 66. A “route” (route), also pronounced “route,” is a

road or a path that goes somewhere. Someone may ask you, “Do you know the

route to San Francisco?” – do you know which freeways and streets to take to

get to San Francisco? Here the word route is used as the name of a road, so it’s

like a freeway or a highway.

These materials are copyrighted by the Center for Educational Development (2007). Posting of

these materials on another website or distributing them in any way is prohibited.

English as a Second Language Podcast

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ENGLISH CAFÉ – 108

Route 66 is probably the best-known highway, or freeway, in the United States

because it was one of the first major, or important, federal, or national, highways

in the United States. It began back in 1926, not too long after cars became

popular in the United States. It started in Chicago, Illinois. It went through

several states, including Missouri, Kansas, Oklahoma, Texas, New Mexico,

Arizona, and California. Route 66 ended in Los Angeles originally.

It was important in American history because many people during the 1930s,

when there was an economic depression around the world – when the

economies of the world were doing very badly, many people lost their jobs during

this time – during this period of economic depression, many people moved west

and they used this freeway, Route 66, to get to California to find a new job.

In the mid-1930s, Route 66 was extended to Santa Monica, California, which is

right next to the ocean, not too far from where I live here in Los Angeles. Route

66 doesn’t end in the ocean however; it ends about a half a mile before you get

to the beach.

Route 66 was used for many years as an important freeway. However, during

the 1960s and 70s the United States built a number of what we call “interstate”

freeways. “Interstate” means between the states. The U.S. government,

beginning really in the 1950s with President Eisenhower, built these freeways to

connect the entire United States together. Route 66 was an older freeway, and

in about 1985 or so, the U.S. officially decommissioned Route 66. To

“decommission” means that they officially removed it from the list of freeways in

the U.S. highway system.

Route 66 is famous; it’s sometimes called “the Main Street of America” because

many businesses and towns became prosperous after Route 66 opened.

“Prosperous” means they made a lot of money. I called Route 66 “the Main

Street of America”; “Main Street” would be the most important or principal street.

Almost every city and town in the United States has a street called “Main Street,”

and the expression is often used to refer to the most important part, or the typical

part, of a town or a city.

Another reason Route 66 became so famous is that there was a popular

American song written in 1946 called “Get Your Kicks on Route 66.” “Kicks”

rhymes with “66.” The expression “to get your kicks” (kicks) means to have fun –

to have a good time: “Get Your Kicks on Route 66.” It was a popular song, and it

was first recorded by the great American singer, Nat King Cole. It has also been

These materials are copyrighted by the Center for Educational Development (2007). Posting of

these materials on another website or distributing them in any way is prohibited.

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