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ESL Podcast 201 – Making a Bet

GLOSSARY
back of the line – end of a line of people waiting for something, some event
* We’ll never get in. I can’t even see the back of the line from here!
to step out of line – to leave your place in a line of people
* If you’ll hold my place, I’ll step out of line to get us some water and snacks from
the store across the street.
ahead of – in front of; before
* If we don’t hurry, the other team will get ahead of us and reach the finish line
before we do.
to flip for it – to decide a winner by using a coin; using a coin, each person
selects a side, then one person throws it in the air to see which side is up when it
lands
* There are three of us and only one ticket left for the show. Why don’t we flip for
it?
heads/tails – the front side (heads) or the back side (tails) of a coin
* If it’s heads, he has to wash my car, and if it’s tails, I have to cook him dinner.
to take the odds – to decide to take the risk or the chance
* He took the odds on that basketball game and he won for the first time in
weeks.
you’re on – said when someone accepts a bet or a gamble; to agree to a contest
or competition
* You think you can beat me in a bike race around the park? You’re on!
your lucky day – you are fortunate; you have good luck
* It’s your lucky day. You can buy this MP3 player for only $20.
double or nothing – a bet in gambling where a player bets again to double or
cancel the debt depending on the result

* I can’t believe I lost that last game. How about double or nothing?

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ESL Podcast 201 – Making a Bet

stakes – money or something valuable that people gamble to win or play for
* She’s playing a dangerous game at work, but the stakes are a better job and a
higher salary.
no matter what happens – an expression used to assure someone that
something will occur even if there are difficulties or problems
* They told us that the electricity will be back on tomorrow morning no matter
what happens.
that’s the idea – an expression used to tell someone that they are correct or that
they are doing something correctly; that’s right
* - Am I doing this math problem correctly?
- Yes, that’s the idea. Now all you need to do is finish solving it.
what do you say? – will you agree?
* I promise never to forget your birthday again if you’ll just give me another
chance. What do you say?
to talk (someone) into (something) – to convince someone about something;
to get someone to do something that they don’t want to
* She tried talking Curtis into coming with us this weekend, but he said he had
too much work to do.

your luck will hold up – your good luck will continue
* Don’t bet that your luck will hold up. If I were you, I’d take my winnings and quit
now.

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ESL Podcast 201 – Making a Bet

COMPREHENSION QUESTIONS
1.
a)
b)
c)

Ivan just won the first bet and he is now
standing in front of Suzanna in line.
at the back of the line.
standing behind Suzanna in line.

2. What are the stakes for the double or nothing bet?
a) Suzanna has to get in the back of the line.
b) Suzanna or Ivan has to buy a drink for the other person.
c) Ivan buys two drinks for Suzanna.
______________

WHAT ELSE DOES IT MEAN?
to flip for it
The phrase “to flip for it,” in this podcast, means to decide a winner using a coin:
“They decided to flip for it to decide who will ride in the front seat of the car on the
long road trip.” The verb “to flip” has several meanings. “To flip through” means
to look or search through something quickly, usually something with pages: “I
flipped through all of the books on this shelf but I still didn’t find the letter she was
hiding.” Or, “He didn’t really read those papers. He just flipped through them.”
“To flip over” means to turn over very quickly: “In the accident, the car flipped
over and caught on fire.” Or, “When we all jumped on the bed, he flipped over
and fell off!”
that’s the idea
In this podcast, the phrase “that’s the idea” is used when you’re confirming to
someone that they’re doing something correctly: “You’ve got it now. That’s the
idea. Soon you’ll be doing it better than I can.” We can also use this phrase to
mean that this is the general meaning or method of doing something: “Making
good bread isn’t easy, but that’s the idea.” A similar phrase, “to get the idea,”
means to understand: “I’m starting to get the idea that you don’t want me here.”
Or, “He’s been studying those books for days but he doesn’t seem to be getting
the idea.” Another phrase, “to have no idea,” means to not know at all: “I could
tell that she was gaining weight, but I had no idea that she was going to have a
baby!” Or, “We’re all going to the performance tonight but I have no idea what
time it starts.”
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ESL Podcast 201 – Making a Bet

CULTURE NOTE
In the U.S., one of the most popular ways to gamble is to go to a “casino,” or a
public place where gambling games are played. Each state in the U.S. can make
its own laws about allowing gambling casinos. For almost 50 years, the state of
Nevada, where the city of Las Vegas is located, was the only state where casino
gambling was legal. At first, the casinos were owned by “organized crime,” or
criminal organizations. Later, big hotel companies like Hilton and Ramada were
allowed to own casinos, and gambling grew from Las Vegas to other Nevada
cities, such as Reno. Today, Las Vegas is still one of the most popular places to
gamble in the country.
In the late 1980’s and early 1990’s, several other states also decided to make
gambling casinos legal, including South Dakota and Colorado. During this time,
the first “riverboat casinos” were also created. Riverboat casinos are casinos
that are located on boats. Some lawmakers thought that by putting casinos on
riverboats, they could limit where casinos were located and they could also limit
the time that gambling could occur by saying, for example, that gambling could
only happen while the ship is “sailing,” or moving on the water. Riverboat
casinos have become very popular in states located on rivers, such as Illinois,
Mississippi, and Missouri. Right now, there are about six states that have
riverboat gambling on about 65 boats. The games allowed on these riverboats
are normally the same as in any other casino.
______________
Comprehension Questions Correct Answers: 1 – a; 2 – b

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ESL Podcast 201 – Making a Bet

COMPLETE TRANSCRIPT
Welcome to English as a Second Language Podcast number 201, “Making a
Bet.”
This is English as a Second Language Podcast episode 201. 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 for the
complete Learning Guide to this podcast.
Today's podcast is called, “Making a Bet.” Let's get started.
[Start of story]
Suzanna: Hey, the back of the line is over there.
Ivan: I was here. I just stepped out of line for a minute to get some cash.
Suzanna: Yeah, right. I don’t remember you being in line ahead of me.
Ivan: Come on. Let’s do this. We’ll flip for it. If it’s heads, I win and I get to get
back into line. If it’s tails, you win and I’ll go to the back of the line.
Suzanna: All right. I’ll take those odds. You’re on.
Ivan: Here goes…Oh, it’s heads! I win.
Suzanna: I guess it’s your lucky day.
Ivan: I guess so. How about going double or nothing?
Suzanna: What are the stakes?
Ivan: If it’s tails and you win, I go to the back of the line and I have to buy you a
drink when we get inside. If it’s heads and I win, I get back in line in front of you
and you buy me a drink.
Suzanna: So, no matter what happens I have to have a drink with you?

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ESL Podcast 201 – Making a Bet

Ivan: That’s the idea. What do you say?
Suzanna: Okay, you talked me into it. Let’s see if your luck will hold up.
Ivan: I’ve got a good feeling it will.
[End of story]
The podcast today is entitled, “Making a Bet.” To make a bet, “bet,” means that
you are saying to someone that you have a certain prediction about what will
happen in the future and if what you think - your prediction - happens, then you
win the bet. And, if what you predict doesn't happen, you lose the bet. Usually, a
bet is with money. You say to someone, “I'll bet you ten dollars that it rains
tomorrow.” You are saying that if it rains tomorrow the other person has to give
you ten dollars, and if it doesn't rain you have to give him ten dollars.
In dialogue, we have two people, Suzanna and Ivan, who are waiting outside of
what is probably a popular bar or pub or dance club, and Suzanna says to Ivan,
“Hey, the back of the line is over there.” What happened is that Ivan was coming
into the line where they were waiting to get in to the club or bar. To go to the
back of the line means to go to the end of the line. So, if someone says, “The
back of the line is over there,” they're saying you have to go to the end of the line.
You cannot come here, close to the front of the line, where Suzanna is standing.
Ivan says, “I was here. I just stepped out of line for a minute to get some cash.”
Ivan is saying that he was standing in line - and to stand, “stand,” in line means

to wait in line - he was standing in line and then he stepped out of line. To step,
“step,” out of line means to leave the line, to go somewhere away from the line.
The line, of course, are the people, the line of people who are waiting to get in.
Suzanna says that, “Yeah, right,” when Ivan tells her that he had “just stepped
out of line.” The expression, yeah right, with that intonation, with that
pronunciation, means that she does not believe him. It's an informal way of
saying I don't believe you. I don't think that's true. “Yeah, right,” Suzanna says,
“I don’t remember you being in line ahead of me.” To be ahead of someone,
“ahead,” one word, means to be in front of them. So, to be ahead of a person in
a line means you are closer to the front of the line than they are.
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ESL Podcast 201 – Making a Bet

Ivan says, “Come on. Let’s do this.” Come on means be reasonable, try to
agree with me, try to see things my way. He suggests to Suzanna that they
make a bet. He says, “We’ll flip for it.” To flip, “flip,” for something means to flip
a coin. And, you take a coin, such as a quarter or a dime or a nickel, which are
American coins made out of metal, and you put it on your hand and with your
thumb, you throw the coin up in the air and it goes around and around and
around and then it comes down. Well, when he says to “flip for it,” means let's
flip a coin to decide. “If it’s heads,” he says, “I win and I get back into line. If it’s
tails, you win and I’ll go to the back of the line.” A coin has two sides. One side,
which has the picture, usually, of a president or a famous person. In England, it

would be a picture of the Queen. That's the heads because it shows the head of
a person. The other side is called the tail of the coin, or we usually use the
plural, tails. So, when someone says, “If it's heads,” meaning if the side that has
the head on it is the side that lands up, then you win. If it's tails, if the back of the
coin is the one that you can see when it stops and you catch it with your hand,
then that means, in this story, that Suzanna wins. So, heads I win, tails you win.
Well, Suzanna says, “All right,” she agrees to this. She says, “I’ll take those
odds. You’re on.” To take those odds, “odds,” means that I accept what you are
saying. The odds are the chances that you can win something. For example, if
you are flipping a coin, the odds are 50-50, 50 percent chance that you will get
heads or 50 percent chance that you will get tails. So, she's saying, “I will take
those odds,” means I will accept your bet. Another way of saying I accept is to
say you're on . You're, “you're,” which is short for you are, you are on, you're on
means I agree.
Well, Ivan flips the coin and it's heads, which means that he wins. Notice that the
expression is it's heads, that means that the heads side of the coin was the one
that was on top. Suzanna says, “I guess it’s your lucky day.” - your lucky day.
To be lucky, “lucky,” means to have good fortune, to have things that go your
way, we might say, that are good things that are happening to you. So, it's his
lucky day.
Ivan says, “I guess so. How about going double or nothing?” Double or nothing
is an expression we use in betting when someone loses a bet, or wins a bet, and
the person says, “let's now bet twice the amount” - two times the amount of the
first bet. So, let's say you are betting someone five dollars and you win the bet, if
he says, “I'll bet you double or nothing,” or “let's go double or nothing,” that
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ESL Podcast 201 – Making a Bet

means that you flip the coin again, in this case, and if you win he owes you ten
dollars, and if he wins you owe him nothing.
Suzanna says, “What are the stakes?” The stakes, “stakes,” plural, are the
things that you will win, the money or the whatever it is that you will win if you win
or if...what you have to give the other person if you lose. Usually the stakes are
money. We have an expression, high stakes. When we say the stakes are high
we mean that they are very expensive or there is a lot that you have to give if you
lose. The opposite would be low stakes.
Ivan tells Suzanna that the stakes are that if it's tails and Suzanna wins he has to
go to the back of the line, and he has to buy her a drink when they get inside.
Notice there are two things he has to do. In the original bet he was just going to
go to the back of the line, but since it's double or nothing, he has to do something
more. What he'll have to do is go to the back of the line and buy her a drink. If
it's heads and Ivan wins, he gets to go back into line in front of Suzanna, and
Suzanna has to buy him a drink.
Suzanna says, “So, no matter what happens I have to have a drink with you?”
The expression, no matter, “matter,” what happens, means in both
circumstances, in both situations, or in any situation - it doesn't matter if she wins
or loses, there's no difference, she still has to have a drink with Ivan. Of course,
Ivan is hitting on Suzanna. To hit, “hit,” on someone means that you are
romantically interested in them and you try to get to know them, and you try to
perhaps get their telephone number, or get them to go and have a drink or have
coffee with you. This is something that you would do, of course, only if you were
single. If you're married, you shouldn't be hitting on anyone, I don't think!
Ivan then says, “That’s the idea.” So, he answers Suzanna's question about

having to have a drink with her by saying, yes, that's my intention. That is what I
want to happen. That's the idea. That's what I was planning. He then says to
Suzanna, “What do you say,” meaning, do you agree to this bet? Do you agree
to having a drink with me? And here, of course, is the most important part of the
dialogue when Suzanna says, “No! You're a loser! Get away from me!” No,
actually Suzanna doesn't say that! A loser, “loser,” is a slang term meaning
someone who is not very attractive or someone who does things wrong all the
time. Someone who is not a person that you would want to date or be in a
romantic relationship.
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ESL Podcast 201 – Making a Bet

But, our story has a happy ending because Suzanna says, “you talked me into it.”
To talk someone into something means that you convince them, you get them to
agree with you. And, Suzanna says that, “you,” Ivan, have “talked me into it” you have convinced me. Then she says, “Let’s see if your luck will hold up.” The
expression, to have your luck hold, “hold,” up, two words, means that it will
continue. To hold up, here, means to continue, so she's saying let's see if you
continue to be lucky since you bet the first time and you won. And, Ivan says,
very confidently as you would expect, “I’ve got a good feeling it will” - means I
think that my luck will continue.
Now let's listen to the dialogue, this time at a native rate of speech.
[Start of story]
Suzanna: Hey, the back of the line is over there.

Ivan: I was here. I just stepped out of line for a minute to get some cash.
Suzanna: Yeah, right. I don’t remember you being in line ahead of me.
Ivan: Come on. Let’s do this. We’ll flip for it. If it’s heads, I win and I get to get
back into line. If it’s tails, you win and I’ll go to the back of the line.
Suzanna: All right. I’ll take those odds. You’re on.
Ivan: Here goes…Oh, it’s heads! I win.
Suzanna: I guess it’s your lucky day.
Ivan: I guess so. How about going double or nothing?
Suzanna: What are the stakes?
Ivan: If it’s tails and you win, I go to the back of the line and I have to buy you a
drink when we get inside. If it’s heads and I win, I get in back in line in front of
you and you buy me a drink.
Suzanna: So, no matter what happens I have to have a drink with you?
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ESL Podcast 201 – Making a Bet

Ivan: That’s the idea. What do you say?
Suzanna: Okay, you talked me into it. Let’s see if your luck will hold up.
Ivan: I’ve got a good feeling it will.
[End of story]
The script for today's podcast was written by Dr. Lucy Tse, our lucky scriptwriter.
Remember, you can email us at if you have questions or
comments about this podcast. From Los Angeles, California, I'm Jeff McQuillan.

Thanks for listening. We'll see you next time on ESL Podcast.
English as a Second Language Podcast is written and produced by Dr. Lucy Tse,
hosted by Dr. Jeff McQuillan. This podcast is copyright 2006.

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ESL Podcast 202 – At the Gas Station

GLOSSARY
gas prices – the amount of money you pay to buy one gallon of gasoline, the
fuel put into cars to make them run
* A lot of people are choosing not to go on vacation this summer because gas
prices are too high.
through the roof – very high; higher than people thought possible
* I read that during World War II, many people couldn’t buy meat because prices
were through the roof.
gas station – a place that sells gasoline, the fuel that makes cars run
* This gas station sells gasoline, and also drinks and snacks.
to fill up – to put something in a space until the space is full
* Could you hand me those empty bottles so I can fill them up with water?
tank – a container or an object, usually made of metal, that holds large amounts
of liquids or gas
* Those large round containers over there are the city’s water tanks.
full-service – a part of a gas station where a gas station employee puts gasoline

into your car and takes your money for payment
* I like to use the full-service option when it’s raining so I won’t get wet.
self-service – getting gasoline and making payment at a gas station on your
own, without the help of a gas station employee
* It costs less to buy gas using self-service than full-service at most gas stations.
pump – the machine at a gas station where you buy gas
* Can you help me with this? I don’t think this pump is working.
out of order – not working; broken
* We were in the bathroom so long because three out of the four sinks were out
of order.
pay inside – being required to go into the gas station building or store to pay for
the gas you buy
* She was sure she was going to be late for work if she had to pay inside for gas.
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ESL Podcast 202 – At the Gas Station

pay at the pump – to pay for gasoline by using a bank card or credit card at the
pump, or the machine that gives gas
* Some of the independent gas stations don’t have the option to pay at the pump.
to swipe – to slide; to move your credit card through a machine quickly to make
a payment
* After the clerk told me the total amount for my purchases, I swiped my credit
card through the machine.

cap – a removable top to a container to keep things from spilling or falling out
* After pouring a glass of orange juice, he didn't put the cap back on correctly and
juice spilled everywhere.
grade – a score given to something to show its level or quality
* My father only eats at restaurants that get a grade of A from the state health
department.
unleaded gas – a type of gasoline; the most common type of gasoline sold at
gas stations in the U.S.
* I told him to be sure to buy unleaded gas because any other type may hurt the
car’s engine.
nozzle – the smallest part of the end of a hose, tube, or pipe
* Be careful! I think you just broke the nozzle off the garden hose.
to top off – to add to something that is already full
* She planned to top off the five-course meal with three different kinds of cake.
receipt – a piece of paper that shows the items someone bought and the price
* She told me that I couldn't return the shoes I bought last week without the
original receipt.
squeegee – something used to clean windows; a T-shaped object with a strip of
sponge on one side to clean and a piece of rubber on the other side to wipe the
water off windows
* After cleaning them with some soap and a squeegee, the windows looked
brand new.

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ESL Podcast 202 – At the Gas Station

COMPREHENSION QUESTIONS
1.
a)
b)
c)

How did the person in the story pay for the gas he bought?
He went inside and gave money to the cashier.
A gas station employee took his credit card at the full-service pump.
He swiped his credit card at a self-service pump.

2.
a)
b)
c)

After filling his tank with gas,
the man bought some snacks.
the man cleaned his windows with the squeegee.
the man pushed the button for the grade of unleaded gas.

_______________
WHAT ELSE DOES IT MEAN?
to swipe
The verb “to swipe,” in this podcast, means to slide: “Each employee has an ID
card that he or she has to swipe to get into this building.” Another meaning of
this verb is to try to hit something with one long motion, or by moving an arm:

“The cat swiped at the ball and made it roll under the sofa.” A similar term,
“sideswipe,” is used to describe when one car hits another on its side: “Coming
home in the rain, another car sideswiped mine, and now, the passenger door
doesn’t open properly.” Used in an informal way, “to swipe” can also mean to
steal: “The boy was caught trying to swipe all of the candy from the jar when the
owner wasn’t looking.”
cap
In this podcast, the word “cap” means a cover or a top to a container: “If I don't
find the cap, I'm going to have to throw out this jar of peanut butter.” “Cap” can
also be used as another word for hat: “Baseball caps are worn even by people
who don't play baseball.” The word can also be used to mean a restriction or a
limit on something: “She knew she had to put a cap on her spending if she
wanted to save enough money for a new car.” In this way, it can also be used as
a verb, “to cap”: “The football players went on strike last year because the
management wanted to cap their salaries.” Finally, “to cap off” can also be used
to mean to add something special at the end of something: “To cap off her long
list of victories, the lawyer won a very difficult case just before she retired.”
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ESL Podcast 202 – At the Gas Station

CULTURE NOTE
In most cities in the U.S., people depend on their cars, rather than public
transportation, for their everyday life. Public transportation is run by the

government and usually includes buses, subways, and trains. With the exception
of a few big cities such as New York, Boston, and San Francisco, many people
think that public transportation is not convenient enough to use everyday, to go
work or school, or to travel around town. However, too many cars on the road
cause poor air quality, or “air pollution,” which affects people’s health. Having
fewer cars on the road also means fewer “traffic jams,” where cars move very
slowly or are stopped on the road.
In the past 30 years, the government, private organizations, and businesses
have been trying to get people to drive their cars less. Many of these are
“incentive” programs that reward people for using other types of transportation.
For example, many large cities have “carpool lanes,” or a lane on a road or
freeway just for people in cars with at least two or three people. During “rush
hour,” or the time of day when the roads are the busiest, people who drive in
carpool lanes are less likely to be caught in traffic jams.
Some companies are encouraging their employees to carpool by giving them
different types of incentives. For instance, employees who carpool may get a
special parking “permit,” or pass, that allows them to park in the most convenient
parking spaces at work.
______________
Comprehension Questions Correct Answers: 1 – c; 2 – b

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ESL Podcast 202 – At the Gas Station


COMPLETE TRANSCRIPT
Welcome to English as a Second Language Podcast number 202, “At the Gas
Station.”
This is English as a Second Language Podcast episode 202. I'm your host, Dr.
Jeff McQuillan, coming to you from the Center for Educational Development in
the beautiful City of Los Angeles, California.
Today's podcast is going to be about going to a gas station to get some gas.
Let's go!
[Start of story]
It’s been a long time since I’ve seen my friends Steve and Liz, and I thought this
would be a good weekend to drive up to Santa Barbara to see them. Gas prices
have been through the roof, but I decided to take the short road trip anyway.
Before getting on the road, I went to the gas station to fill up my tank.
I drove past the full-service pump and parked at the first self-service one. I got
out of the car and saw that there was an “out of order” sign telling customers to
pay inside. I wanted to pay at the pump so I got back into the car and pulled up
to the next one. Luckily for me, this one was working.
I swiped my credit card and took the gas cap off. I pushed the button for the
grade of unleaded gas I wanted and put the nozzle into my tank. There was a
sign on the pump that read, “Do not top off.” After the tank was full, I replaced
the nozzle and pressed the button for a receipt. Right when I was about to leave,
I noticed that my windows were dirty, so I got the squeegee and some paper
towels and cleaned them. Now, I was ready for my drive up north.
[End of story]
Our story today is entitled, “At the Gas Station.” A gas station is a place where
you go to buy gasoline. Notice that we use the word gas, “gas,” to mean
gasoline, but sometimes it is also used to mean natural gas, the kind of gas that
you would use for a stove or an oven in the kitchen, but here it means gasoline.
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ESL Podcast 202 – At the Gas Station

We begin the story by me saying that, “It’s been a long time since I’ve seen my
friends Steve and Liz, and I thought” that this weekend would be a good one “to
drive up to Santa Barbara to see them.” Santa Barbara is located about an hour
north of Los Angeles. It's a city like Los Angeles that is on the Pacific Ocean. It's
a small city compared to Los Angeles, but it's very popular for people to go on
the weekend because it's nice, it's small and it's close to Los Angeles. So, if you
want to go somewhere for a short holiday, for a couple of days, it's very close
and convenient. I also mention in the story that I am going “to drive up to Santa
Barbara.” We usually say drive up when we are going somewhere north, and
drive down when we are going somewhere south. So, here I'm driving up to
Santa Barbara. That tells you that it is north of where I am.
I continue the story by saying that, “Gas prices have been through the roof.” The
gas price is the amount of money you pay for gasoline. Right now, in the United
States, it's about 50 dollars a gallon, or least it seems like 50 dollars a gallon.
When we say the prices for something have been through the roof, “roof,” we
mean that they've been very high, very expensive. The roof is the covering on
your house. It's the top of a house or a building. So, through the roof would be
very expensive, very high.
Even though the “Gas prices have been through the roof, I decided to take the
short road trip anyway.” A road, “road,” trip is when you take a trip or a vacation
by car, when you drive somewhere. “Before getting on the road,” that is before I

started driving, “Before getting on the road, I went to the gas station to fill up my
tank.” Your tank, “tank,” is the part of your automobile, your car, where the gas is
stored, where you put the gas. To fill up means to make full, and we use that two
word verb, fill up, when we are talking about a car and gasoline. Someone may
go into to the gas station and say, “Fill 'er up,” meaning fill my car up with gas.
Well, I go to the gas station to fill up my tank. First, I drive “past the full-service
pump.” To drive past means to drive beyond something, to continue driving, not
stopping. And here, I'm not stopping at the full-service pump. The pump,
“pump,” is what we call the machine that you drive up to in a gas station where
you get your gas. The verb, to pump, means to take something out of - usually to
draw something out of the ground or out of another big tank. Gas stations have
very large tanks underneath the ground, and you have to pump the gas, or get
the gas out of the tank into your car's gas tank. So, we can use that verb, to
pump, also for water. When you go and get water out of the ground, you pump it
out, you...you make it go up.
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ESL Podcast 202 – At the Gas Station

Well, here I'm pumping out gas, and the machine that does this is also called a
pump, as a noun. The full-service pump is the pump where someone from the
gas station who works for the gas station will put the gas into your car. In most
gas stations in the United States the majority of the pumps are not full-service,
meaning no one will help you put the gas into the car. You have to do it yourself.

If you drive up to a full-service pump, an employee from the gas station will pump
it for you. However, you pay more for gas at a full-service pump than you do at a
self-service pump. A self-service pump is one where you get out of your car and
you pump your own gas. That is, you put your own gas into your tank.
Well, I went to the self-service one because I am cheap. I don't like to spend
more money than I have to. “I got out of the car and saw that there was an 'out
of order' sign.” When we say something is out of order, “order,” we mean that it's
not working, that it's not functioning properly. In this case, it says that the
customer has “to pay inside.” So, what is out of order, what is not working, is the
credit card machine that you can buy your gas from. The pump is working but
the credit card machine is not. Each pump at the gas station has its own credit
card machine that you can use so that you don't have to go inside the building in
order to pay. But, if you see a sign that says, “pay inside,” that means you have
to take your credit card into the building and give it to them with. Well, that is not
very convenient for people, so most gas stations have credit card machines on
the pump itself. Well, this one wasn't working, and because, “I wanted to pay at
the pump, I got back into” my car and I drove up, or I “pulled up to the next one.”
To pay at the pump means that you can use your credit card and you don't have
to go inside the building.
Well, “Luckily for me,” I say, the next pump had a credit card machine that “was
working.” So, “I swiped my credit card and took the gas cap off.” To swipe,
“swipe,” is a verb, which we use when talking about putting your card, your credit
card, into a credit card machine. Usually in a gas station, you take the card and
you put it in and then you pull it out very quickly. That's swiping your card, when
you take your card and put it through a credit card machine. We use that verb, to
swipe.
Well, “I swiped my credit card and I took the gas cap off.” The gas cap, “cap,” is
what is keeping the gas from coming out of your gas tank in your car. It's a round
piece of plastic usually that you put on the top of your gas tank, just like you
would put a top onto a bottle. If you have a bottle of ketchup or a bottle of soda

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ESL Podcast 202 – At the Gas Station

pop, like Coca-Cola, the top of the bottle has a cap and that prevents the liquid
inside from coming out. Well, a gas tank also needs a cap, and you take the cap
off in order to put the gas into the tank. “I pushed the button for the grade of
unleaded gas I wanted.” There are different grades of gasoline in an American
gas station. Usually there are three grades. The cheapest grade - and
remember, I'm very cheap - is the unleaded gas. Unleaded, “unleaded,” gas is a
type of gasoline. We would say it is a grade, “grade,” of gasoline. We often use
that word when we are talking about quality. It's the same word that we use in
school to talk about the quality of a student's work. If you get a grade of A that
means that it is a very high quality work. I never got very many grades of A in
school.
I wanted the lower quality of gasoline - the unleaded gasoline – so “I pushed the
button for” that particular grade, and I took the nozzle of the pump and put it “into
my tank.” A nozzle, “nozzle,” is a noun, which means the part of the gas pump
that you put into the opening of your tank so the gas will go in. The pump is a
machine, a square box, usually about five or...four or five feet tall, and it has a
hose on it, “hose,” which is a long, round tube through which the gas is pumped.
And, at the end of the hose is a nozzle and that's what you put into your gas tank
to get the gas in.
Well, “There was a sign on the pump that read, 'Do not top off.'“ To top, “top,”

off, “off,” two words, means to try to fill your gas tank until it is completely full.
This is something that gas stations do not like because if you try to get it
completely full, you may spill gasoline on your own car and on the ground, which,
of course, could be dangerous, so they ask you “not to top off.” You can fill your
tank up, but you can't try to get it completely full. “After the tank was full, I
replaced the nozzle,” that is, I took the nozzle out of my gas tank and put it back
into the pump, and I “pressed the button for a receipt.” In American gas stations,
the credit card machine will ask you if you want a receipt after you stop pumping
your gas, after you put the nozzle back into the pump, which tells the machine
that you are done pumping gas. A receipt, “receipt,” is a little piece of paper that
tells you how much gas you bought.
“Right when I was about to leave, I noticed that my windows were dirty” - the
windows of my car - “so I got a squeegee and some paper towels” to clean it. A
squeegee, “squeegee,” is something that you use to clean your car windows. It
usually has on one side a type of sponge, “sponge.” A sponge is something that
holds water; it's soft; you use it to clean. The squeegee usually has a sponge on
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ESL Podcast 202 – At the Gas Station

one side, and on the other side, it has a blade, “blade,” which is a thin piece of
plastic. And, if you put the plastic against the window, it will take the water off.
So, you use the squeegee, which is usually on a stick, maybe a one or two foot
stick, and you use the sponge to wash your window and then you flip it over and

you use the blade of the squeegee to dry your windows. And, of course, you
also can use some paper towels. Well, “Now, I was ready for my drive up north.”
Now let's listen to the story, this time at a native rate of speech.
[Start of story]
It’s been a long time since I’ve seen my friends Steve and Liz, and I thought this
would be a good weekend to drive up to Santa Barbara to see them. Gas prices
have been through the roof, but I decided to take the short road trip anyway.
Before getting on the road, I went to the gas station to fill up my tank.
I drove past the full-service pump and parked at the first self-service one. I got
out of the car and saw that there was an “out of order” sign telling customers to
pay inside. I wanted to pay at the pump so I got back into the car and pulled up
to the next one. Luckily for me, this one was working.
I swiped my credit card and took the gas cap off. I pushed the button for the
grade of unleaded gas I wanted and put the nozzle into my tank. There was a
sign on the pump that read, “Do not top off.” After the tank was full, I replaced
the nozzle and pressed the button for a receipt. Right when I was about to leave,
I noticed that my windows were dirty, so I got the squeegee and some paper
towels and cleaned them. Now, I was ready for my drive up north.
[End of story]
The script for today's podcast was written by the talented Dr. Lucy Tse.
Remember to visit our website at eslpod.com. There you can find a complete
Learning Guide to this podcast episode. It contains all of the vocabulary we just
discussed, the definitions, additional explanations about these topics, culture
notes and the complete transcript of this podcast.
From Los Angeles, California, I'm Jeff McQuillan. Thanks for listening. We'll see
you next time on ESL Podcast.
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ESL Podcast 202 – At the Gas Station

English as a Second Language Podcast is written and produced by Dr. Lucy Tse,
hosted by Dr. Jeff McQuillan. This podcast is copyright 2006.

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ESL Podcast 203 – Text Messaging

GLOSSARY
to text – to send a text message to someone
* I texted my friend to tell him where to meet us so we could all go to dinner
together.
I M @ lib wher r u? – “I am at (the) library. Where are you?”
* When Megan didn’t arrive by 8:30, Tim texted her the message, “I M @ lib
wher r u?”
template – something that is a sample or a model that someone can change and
use for their own purposes
* The template we used to build our website uses red as a background color, but
I changed it to yellow.

to make up – to invent; to create
* All he said was he that he couldn’t come tonight. Don’t make up a story in your
head about the reasons why.
to compose – to write something
* Could you please wait a minute while I finish composing an email?
setting – the part of something that can be set, changed, or adjusted according
to someone’s preference
* She changed the settings on her alarm clock so that she could wake up to her
favorite CD playing.
predictive text mode – a setting for text messages that allows the machine to
complete words for you as you enter the first letters in a word
* Predictive text mode makes it easier for me to text people quickly.
normal tap mode – a setting for text messages that allows you to enter your
own words instead of having the words completed for you by the machine
* I don’t use normal tap mode very much anymore unless I’m texting a list of
names.

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ESL Podcast 203 – Text Messaging

character – any text that takes up one space in a text message; usually letters,
numbers, and symbols
* This screen has a limit of 200 characters. I hope my message is short enough

to fit.
symbol – a character that is not a number or a letter; a small picture that
represents something else
* The logo for that company was created as a symbol of their long history.
screen – the area on an electronic device where you can see the characters
* My computer screen stopped working so I can’t see what I’m typing!
capital letter – a letter used to begin sentences and names, for example, “W”
and “D.”
* This sentence begins with the capital letter, “T.”
option – a type of setting that can be turned on or off, or changed; a choice
* When you purchase this camera, you have the option of paying just $20 more
for a photo printer.
abbreviation – a shortened version of a word
* Do you know what the abbreviation for Texas is? I’m not sure if it’s TX or TS.
to get up to speed – to be able to do something that you are learning as well as
others
* He just started sailing two weeks ago, so please help him to get up to speed.
to not make (any) sense – to be difficult to understand; not to be logical
* It doesn't make any sense to take the elevator when the stairs are faster.

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ESL Podcast 203 – Text Messaging


COMPREHENSION QUESTIONS
1. Why does Jenny text Richard?
a) Instead of the library, Jenny wants to meet at the café.
b) Jenny can’t meet Richard at the library after all.
c) Richard hasn’t arrived and Jenny wants to know where he is.
2. What kind of message did Richard send to Jenny?
a) He sent her a message with predictive text.
b) He used a template.
c) He sent a message written with only capital letters.
_______________
WHAT ELSE DOES IT MEAN?
to make up
The phrase “to make up,” in this podcast, means to invent something: “I am
making up this recipe as I go along.” It can also be used in a negative way to
mean that someone is lying: “Don’t tell me your dog ate your homework because
I know you’re making it up.” The phrase can also be used to mean to stop
fighting and to be kind to one another again: “After fighting for two days, Bill and
Stephanie made up at lunch today and said that they would never fight again.” A
similar phrase, “to make up for something,” means to do something nice for
someone after you’ve made a mistake or done something bad: “To make up for
running over her bicycle with his car, he bought her a new and better one.”
character
In this podcast, the word “character” means any text that takes up space in a
message or document: “This business card doesn’t allow enough characters for
my full name.” Another meaning for the word “character” is a person in a story,
usually not a real person: “The main character in the Harry Potter books is Harry
Potter.” As a noun, “character” can be used to describe someone who is
different from other people or strange in some way. If there is someone who
does strange things for no reason, he might described as “a character”: “I didn’t
know that Lia’s brother was such a character until I met him last week.” It’s

common to hear people say, “he/she is quite a character.” From this, people will
know that this person is a little different or is unique.
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ESL Podcast 203 – Text Messaging

CULTURE NOTE
Below is a list of common texting abbreviations, also known as “txtspk” (textspeak).
Text
b
c
k
m
n
r
u
y
1
2
4
8

Meaning
be

see
okay
am
and
are
you
why
used for part of a word that
sounds like “one”
to, two, or too
for, or part of a word that
sounds like “four”
used for part of a word that
sounds like “eight”

Text
ne1
b4
ur
l8r
atm
asap
btw
cya
cnt

Meaning
anyone
before
your, you are, you’re

later
at the moment; right now
as soon as possible
by the way
see you (later)
cannot or can’t

g2g or gtg
nm

got to go; must leave
never mind; forget what I
said before
thanks or thank you

thx

______________
Comprehension Questions Correct Answers: 1 – c; 2 – b

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ESL Podcast 203 – Text Messaging


COMPLETE TRANSCRIPT
Welcome to English as a Second Language Podcast number 203, “Text
Messaging.”
This is English as a Second Language Podcast episode 203. I'm your host, Dr.
Jeff McQuillan, coming to you from the Center for Educational Development in
beautiful Los Angeles, California.
Remember to visit our website at eslpod.com for more information about this
podcast and for a complete Learning Guide to this episode. The Learning Guide
is an eight to ten page PDF file that you can download. It will give you all of the
vocabulary, the definitions, additional vocabulary and definitions that we don't talk
about on the podcast, as well as cultural notes and a complete transcript of
everything that we say on the podcast.
Today's episode is called, “Text Messaging.” Let's get started.
[Start of story]
I was supposed to meet Jenny at the library, but I was late. Jenny texted me: “I
M @ lib wher r u?”
I’m not very good at texting so I used a template to say I was going to be late.
When I arrived at the library, Jenny laughed at me because she knew I didn’t
know how to text.
Richard: I don’t know how to use this thing. The phone kept making up words
for me.
Jenny: That's because you were composing in predictive text mode. You have
to change your settings to normal tap mode so only the characters you want
show up in the screen.
Richard: Okay, but everything still shows up in capital letters.

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