EC071_Guide.pdf

English as a Second Language Podcast

www.eslpod.com

ENGLISH CAFÉ – 71

TOPICS

How to ruin your computer, how much things cost in the US, secret vs.

confidential vs. private, cliché vs. touché

_____________

GLOSSARY

laptop – a small portable (able to move from place to place) computer

* When I needed a new computer, I bought a laptop instead of a desktop so that I

can take it with me when I travel.

to ruin – to destroy; to damage something so that it cannot be repaired

* I walked outside in the rain in my new jacket and now it’s ruined!

versatile – able to be used for different things and in different ways; able to

change easily

* This new table we bought is really versatile. We can use as a dining table or as

a desk.

to spill – to cause liquid to flow or fall out of a container by accident

* She forgot to put the cap back on the bottle, and when her roommate took it out

of the refrigerator later, soda spilled everywhere

fried – destroyed by burning (with fire or high heat), usually used for electronic

things

* Nicholas was hoping that his cell phone could be fixed, but the clerk at the store

said that it was fried.

to take (something) in (for repair) – to bring something to a store or center to

be fixed

* When do you have time this week to take the TV in to get fixed?

to salvage – to rescue; to prevent something from being lost completely or

destroyed

* Sinead and Paul went on a long vacation together in hopes of salvaging their

troubled marriage.

to back up – to save a copy of files from a computer in case there is a problem

with the original files

* I know I should back up my hard drive everyday, but I keep forgetting!

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ENGLISH CAFÉ – 71

model – one version of a product; one type of product among others

* This DVD player comes in three models. All three cost about the same, but

they have slightly different features.

spy – a person who secretly gets information on someone or something, and

gives that information to someone else, usually a government or a business

* Have you seen that movie about the two spies? One of them works for the US

government and other one is a spy for Britain.

secret – something that should not be told to other people; information that

should not be known by other people

* My granddaughter asked me, “If I tell you where I hid my doll, can you keep it a

secret from my brother?”

private – something that should not be told to other people; something that

belongs to and is used only by a particular person or group of people

* When I was little, I used to keep a diary where I wrote down all of my private

thoughts.

confidential – something that should not be told or shown to other people;

usually for official use for things such as information, records, or reports

* The management sent out an important memo to all of the managers marked

“confidential.”

cliché – a phrase or an opinion that is used too often and shows a lack of

original thought or thinking

* Curt tries to impress everyone when he talks, but he uses so many clichés, it’s

hard to take him seriously.

touché – said as an acknowledgement (recognition) when someone else has

said something smart or clever at your expense (while making you look bad)

* A: You complain that schools don’t teaching students how to write, but

look at all these mistakes in your report!

B: Touché! I guess I’m no better than the kids today.

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ENGLISH CAFÉ – 71

WHAT INSIDERS KNOW

Computer-Related Versions of Old Sayings:

 Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day. Teach him to use the

Net and he won't bother you for weeks.

 You can't teach a new mouse old clicks.

Computers have changed our lives in many ways. It has even changed some old

and well-known English “sayings,” or short phrases or sentences that have in

them good advice or wisdom. These “takeoffs” (new versions) are often very

funny.

The original version of the first saying is: “Give a man a fish and you feed him for

a day. Teach him to fish and you feed him for a lifetime.” “To fish” means to

catch fish from the lake or ocean, usually using a fishing “pole” (stick) or a “net”

(something made from rope to catch fish). This saying, then, means that if you

give other people something, they will benefit only today or right now. But if you

teach people to do something on their own, they can take care of themselves and

won’t need you or someone else to help them.

The takeoff on this phrase is: “Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day.

Teach him to use the Net and he won’t bother you for weeks.” The “Net” means

the “Internet” and is a “pun” for the other meaning of “net,” which is something

made of rope to catch fish. A “pun” is a joke that uses two meanings of the same

word. So, the meaning of this saying is that if you teach someone how to use the

Internet, they can keep busy by themselves without troubling you for a long time.

We all know how much time we “waste” (to use carelessly) “surfing” (moving from

one website to another) on the “Net!”

Another famous saying is: “You can’t teach an old dog new tricks.” This means

that it’s difficult to teach a new way to do something to a person who is used to

doing it the “old” way. A takeoff on this saying is: “You can’t teach a new mouse

old clicks.” A “mouse” is the part of your computer that you put in your hand or

that you control with your finger that allows you to move around to different

places on your computer screen. A “click” is when you press down with a

mouse. This saying, then, means that you can’t do things the old way with a new

device or method.

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

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ENGLISH CAFÉ – 71

COMPLETE TRANSCRIPT

Welcome to English as a Second Language Podcast's English Café, number 71.

This is English as a Second Language Podcast's English Café number 71. 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 to download the Learning Guide for

this episode. We also have some new things on our website including our ESL

Podcast Store, where you can download previous Learning Guides from our

older podcasts as well as some new courses that we think you'll enjoy.

Our topics today on the Café are going to be “How to Ruin Your Computer” - I will

tell you a little bit about my experience with this. We're also going to talk about

how much things cost - what do very common things that everyone uses cost

here in Los Angeles - how much money would you pay for them. That's always

interesting to know, and as always, we'll answer a few questions. Let's get

started!

A couple of weeks ago, I was working on my computer. I have a little laptop,

“laptop,” which is a computer that's usually small and thin, between 12 and,

maybe, 17 inches in terms of the size of the screen.

Well, I was working hard, as I always do, and like many Americans I like to have

something to drink at my desk. Someone said that they notice that Americans

are always drinking something, even when they are out in public they have a

bottle of water or cup of coffee from Starbucks or some soda. And that's, I think,

true, especially in the office people like to have coffee or tea or soda. I like, in

this case, to drink water.

Well, you can guess what happened. The water accidentally spilled onto the top

of my laptop computer. That's why I call this first part of our Café “How to Ruin

Your Computer.” To ruin, “ruin,” means to hurt something or harm something - to

make it so that it is no longer good or that you can no longer use it.

This verb, to ruin, is actually very, what we would call, versatile, “versatile.”

When we say something or someone is versatile we mean they can do

something - many different things, or they can use something in many different

ways. Well, the verb to ruin is a very versatile verb. You can ruin your computer,

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ENGLISH CAFÉ – 71

which is what I did because I spilled water on it. To spill, “spill,” means that you

put some liquid on something, usually by mistake - by accident.

I spilled some water and it ruined the computer. I was saying that this verb, to

ruin, is versatile; you can also ruin your clothes, if you spill something on your

clothes. Or, we can use this verb when we are talking about a movie.

Something in the movie happens that you don't like and it ruins the movie for you,

meaning you can no longer enjoy it because they did something that you really

didn't like in the movie. You can also ruin a meal. If you are talking to someone,

and you're having a nice meal at a restaurant and suddenly two other people

come in and they are talking very loudly and yelling on their cell phones in the

middle of the restaurant - something which I really hate! Well, that could ruin

your meal - it could make it no longer enjoyable.

I ruined my laptop, and I brought it into the repair shop. I should confess - I

should tell you a secret, which is that after I spilled the water I turned the

computer off and I dried it off. I took some towels - some cloths - to get the water

off of the laptop, and I waited for about ten minutes. Then, I thought I would

restart the computer to see if it was still working. This is a big mistake! If you

ever spill something on your laptop, do not turn it on again right away, like I did.

You should wait probably a whole day - 24 hours - before trying to turn it on.

Unfortunately, I didn't know that when I turned on my computer, and what

happened was the water was still in the computer and it essentially - basically -

fried the main part of my computer. The expression to fry a computer part means

that it burned. This word fried, as an adjective, means something has been

burned with fire or some other heat. This is an expression we use about

computers, you say, “Well, the motherboard” - or the logic board, which is the

main part of the computer - “is fried,” meaning it's - it - it doesn't work anymore.

I took the laptop into a repair shop to get it fixed. To take something in means to

bring it somewhere to get fixed. You may say, “I need to take my car in to get

some new oil” - to get my oil changed. Well, you can take in your computer, and

that's what I did. Unfortunately, they told me that the computer could not be

saved, and they could salvage, however, the hard drive.

To salvage, “salvage,” means that you are able to rescue or get something that

was in danger out of danger. Usually, we use this when we are talking about, for

example, a large ship that has an accident and some things fall into the water

that were on the ship. You may try to go into the ocean and salvage that which

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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