ESL Pod Official - Speak English Fluently by Listening (with Text)

• ESLPodcast 31 - Reading the Newspaper

  I fell into the habit of reading the newspaper every morning when I was a kid. Back then, there used to be two daily newspapers--morning edition and an afternoon edition. Nowadays, of course, many cities in the U.S. have just a morning paper. I'm not too picky about which newspaper I read, although when it comes to national newspapers, I prefer reading the New York Times or the Wall Street Journal over the USA Today. Don't get me wrong: I'm not a news junkie. I just like browsing the different sections, reading the headlines, and checking out the classifieds. I usually skip the sports section and the funnies, and only flip through the food and health sections, but I always read the front page and the editorial page. On the weekends, I'll skim the entertainment section for the movie listings and reviews. I'm sort of old-fashioned in that I still like reading a real, paper newspaper. Sure, I also read some of my news online, but nothing beats lounging around on Sunday morning reading the big, thick paper. Don't worry, though: I always recycle my stack of newspapers. Script by Dr. Jeff McQuillan

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• ESLPodcast 30 - Going to the Drugstore

  I stopped by the drugstore last night on my way back home from work. I had a few toiletries to pick up, as well as my prescription. Fortunately, the chain pharmacy where I go has a little bit of everything: food, greeting cards, magazines--it's almost as big as a regular supermarket. To begin with, I needed to get some medications for my allergies. I've got hay fever, so I'm sneezing up a storm every morning when I wake up. While I was at it, I also got some antacids and some Band-Aids. Now it was time to pick up my refill. I stood in line for a few minutes before being waited on. Since it was not a new prescription, the pharmacist didn't have to do a consultation with me. I just gave the clerk my insurance card and she rang up the sale. Fortunately, I have a low co-pay, so my HMO foots most of the bill. Script by Dr. Jeff McQuillan

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• ESLPodcast 29 - Unkind Comments

  Yesterday, I was talking to an ex-colleague of mine who, quite frankly, has something of a big mouth. I bumped into him at the beach, where he was walking his dog. Anyway, as I was saying, he's the kind of guy that's always bad mouthing his co-workers. So he comes up to me and says, "Hey, Jeff. Long time, no see. What've you been up to?" "Ah, not much, " I said. "Well, guess who I saw yesterday? John Robeson, the guy from accounting at Firth Industries. You remember him, the guy with big ears and and an ego to match." It takes one to know one, I thought, but I kept it so myself. "Oh, really. How interesting," I replied. "Yeah, well, I hate to talk behind someone's back, but ever since he and I had that falling out last year, I've never really cared for the guy." "How come?" I asked. "Well, he's a bit of a backstabber, always trying to outdo the other guy." "I know what you mean," I said. I knew at this point it was time to make my exit, otherwise, this guy would go on about John Robeson for the next 10 minutes. "What time do you have? " I asked him. "It's quarter after five." "Geez, already? Man, I've got to hit the road. I'm supposed to meet my brother at the pier in a few minutes. But, hey, it was sure good to see you again. You take care!" With that, I made my exit. I've got better things to do than to listen to him gripe all day. Script by Dr. Jeff McQuillan

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• ESLPodcast 28 - Small Talk About the Weather

  I admit that I'm not very good at small talk . When I'm with friends, I can just shoot the breeze all day long. But when I talk to a stranger or someone I don't know very well, I'm always casting about, searching for something to talk about. Politics and religion are definitely taboo subjects, at least here in the United States. But you have to chat about something, otherwise there are these uncomfortable silences. So we end up talking about‚ what else?‚ the weather. This usually begins with something like, "So, nice weather we've been having!" or "It sure is a warm one out there today." Of course, we have to comment on the temperature. My favorite is, "It's not the heat that's so bad, it's the humidity!" Actually, I think that's true‚I hate it most when it's muggy outside. Back in my home state of Minnesota, everyone is obsessed with the weather report! Every TV station has it's own meteorologist with a high- tech radar giving you the 5 day forecast. They tell you when the temperature is rising or falling , what kind of clouds are moving in, and how cold the wind chill is. My favorite quote about the weather comes from Mark Twain, who once said, that everybody talks about the weather, but no one does anything about it! Script by Dr. Jeff McQuillan

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• ESLPodcast 27 - Good Advice

  I came across some good advice while reading this week. If you're like me, you spend most of your time thinking about all of the things that are on your "to-do‚" list and you try to figure out how you're going to do them all. Or, sometimes, I think about things that have already happened. Maybe I messed up my presentation at work or had a fight with my boyfriend. People dwell on these kinds of things all of the time. The book I was reading made a very good point. If you're constantly thinking about the past or the future, how can you enjoy the present? In other words, you're making yourself unhappy by stressing out about things that you can't control. At the same time, you're missing what's happening right now. I know I do this all the time. For instance, I was at the movies this past weekend. I was with my good friend and we were seeing a movie we've had our eye on for weeks. I was looking forward to it and my friend and I were both in a great mood. Then, I saw someone across the theater who looked like my co- worker. It wasn't her but it got me thinking. I thought about the report I had to do on Monday and how much I hated working on it. Then, I thought about my co-worker who wasn't pulling her weight. The more I thought about it, the more angry I got. By the time the movie started, my mood had changed completely. I was stressed out. Where did all of that thinking and worrying get me? Nowhere. My new resolution is to try to stop obsessing about the past and the future so much, and to just enjoy the here and now. Script by Dr. Lucy Tse

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