EC109_Guide.pdf

English as a Second Language Podcast

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ENGLISH CAFÉ – 109

TOPICS

Cities: Tucson, Arizona (Interview with Dr. Lucy Tse), Harper’s Index, to get a

kick out of (something), to commute, to not stand for (something), “Early to bed,

early to rise, makes a man healthy, wealthy and wise”

_____________

GLOSSARY

landmark – a natural or man-made object that is very large and/or important and

identifies an area, helping people know where they are

* The Statue of Liberty is a famous landmark in New York City.

border – the imaginary line between two countries, states, or provinces that

shows where one ends and another begins

* Washington, DC has borders with Virginia and Maryland.

canyon – a deep area like a valley that is surrounded by steep rock and was

created over many years by a river running over and through the rocks.

* A canyon is formed over millions of years as water slowly changes the shape of

the rocks.

reservation – an area of the United States given to a group of Native Americans

so that they can form their own government

* How many Cherokee live on this reservation?

to fry – to cook something with oil in a hot pan until it has a golden brown color

* When you cook with chicken, do you prefer to fry it or bake it in the oven?

desert – a hot, dry area with a lot of sand and few plants and animals

* People who go to the desert need to bring lots of water, hats, and sunscreen.

crop – a plant that is grown on farms for food, clothing, or other uses

* The most important crops in this area are potatoes and corn.

cactus – a plant that grows in the desert, can live on little water, and is covered

with sharp points for protection from animals

* Don’t touch the cactus! It’s sharp and it will hurt your hand.

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ENGLISH CAFÉ – 109

needle – a small sharp and pointed object that is used to give people medicine; a

pointed part of a plant, such as a cactus

* The little boy started screaming when he saw the nurse coming towards him

with a needle in his hand.

snowbird – a person who spends the cold part of the year in a warm climate

(southern United States) and the hot part of the year in a cooler climate (northern

United States)

* They bought a house in Florida so that they could be snowbirds, spending the

winter in Miami and the summer in Philadelphia.

retired – no longer working because one has worked one’s whole life and now

has enough money to relax and enjoy old age

* Grandpa Henry is 82 years old, but he still isn’t retired because he likes his job

too much to quit.

cowboy – a man who rides horses and works with cows all day, usually wearing

a large hat, jeans, and boots

* In Texas, some people dress like cowboys even though they work in the city.

to get a kick out of (something) – to enjoy something very much; to like doing

something

* Joel gets a kick out of watching old black-and-white movies.

to commute – to drive between one’s home and office every day to go to and

from work

* Rhea has to commute for 55 minutes each way because she lives very far from

her office.

to not stand for (something) – to not tolerate something; to not be able to

support something; to strongly feel that something is wrong or inappropriate

* I won’t stand for his poor performance any longer. I’m going to ask him to leave

the company.

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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 – 109

WHAT INSIDERS KNOW

Louis L’Amour and Zane Grey

Louis L’Amour and Zane Grey were American “authors” (writers) who wrote

about the “Old West,” or the period of time when there were many cowboys and

Native Americans in the Western United States. Their “westerns” (books or

movies relating to the Old West) continue to be very popular “novels” (long

books) today.

Louis L’Amour (1908-1988) thought of himself as a “storyteller” (a person who

tells stories informally) rather than a great writer. He wrote more than 100 novels

that have been translated into many languages. Many of his novels were

“adapted for film” (made into movies). Louis L’Amour loved the Old West so

much that he even tried to build a western-style town called Shalako, but he “ran

out of money” (didn’t have enough money) to finish. Before he died, he won

many awards for his work, including the Congressional Gold Medal and the

Medal of Freedom, two very “prestigious” (respected) awards.

Zane Grey (1872-1939) wrote his first “bestseller” (a book that is very popular

and sells many copies), Heritage of the Desert , in 1910. After that, he wrote

many books about “conquering the Wild West” (bringing American societies and

civilization into the Western United States) and “manifest destiny” (the idea that

the United States was meant to cover the entire continent, from the Atlantic

Ocean to the Pacific Ocean). His most famous book is Riders of the Purple

Sage , which was written in 1912. He wrote more than 90 books in total. As with

Louis L’Amour, many of Grey’s books were adapted for film. Grey’s novels were

very popular and he became one of the first “millionaire” (a person with at least

one million dollars) authors.

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ENGLISH CAFÉ – 109

COMPLETE TRANSCRIPT

You’re listening to ESL Podcast’s English Café number 109.

This is English as a Second Language Podcast’s English Café episode 109. 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, eslpod.com. You can download a Learning

Guide for this episode to help you improve your English even faster. You can

visit our ESL Podcast Store, which has business and daily English courses, and

you can look at the ESL Podcast Blog, where we provide even more cultural

information and information about ESL Podcast during the week.

Our first topic today is going to be Tucson, Arizona. We’re going to talk about the

city of Tucson, and we’re going to do a special interview about Tucson. We’re

also going to talk about something called the “Harper’s Index,” and as always,

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

Our first topic today is going to be about the city of Tucson, as part of our “Cities

Series” that we’ve been doing every month or so here on the English Café.

Today, we’re going to do something a little different; we are going to interview

someone who is from, originally, this city. We’re going to talk about Tucson,

Arizona, and we’re going to interview our own Dr. Lucy Tse, who grew up in the

city of Tucson. So Lucy, welcome to the English Café.

Lucy: Thank you, I’m happy to be here.

Jeff: Now Lucy, let’s start by talking about where Tucson is in the United States,

for people who don’t know.

Lucy: Tucson is in the state of Arizona, and Arizona is in the southwestern part

of the U.S. It’s next to California, in the southern part. Arizona is also part of the

“Four Corners” in the United States. In the southwestern part of the U.S., there

are four states that meet each other at the corner, and those states are, of

course, Arizona, New Mexico, Utah, and Colorado. So, if you visit the Four

Corners area you could actually stand in a place and take a step this way, that

way, and the other way and be in four different states in a very short time.

Arizona is also right next to Mexico. It shares a “border,” that’s B-O-R-D-E-R,

meaning it’s right next to Mexico, and they share this border for nearly 400 miles.

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ENGLISH CAFÉ – 109

Jeff: What are some things, Lucy, that someone visiting Arizona could see?

What should a tourist see if they go to Arizona?

Lucy: Well, the most well known landmark in Arizona is probably the Grand

Canyon (canyon). And the Grand Canyon is a very, very large hole in the ground

that was formed by the Colorado River over many, many centuries. The Grand

Canyon is considered to be one of the “Wonders of the World,” or one of the

most amazing natural things of interest in the world.

The other thing that Arizona is known for is the Indian reservation. The Navajo

Indians have a reservation (reservation). The “reservation” is a place that the

U.S. government gave to the Indians as a separate place to live, with its own

government and its own laws.

Jeff: Isn’t it true that many of the places that the government gave for Native

Americans, or American Indians, to live were some of the worst places in that

particular area?

Lucy: Yes, that’s absolutely true. Many of the areas where reservations are

located in the United States, it’s difficult to grow crops. It’s a place where it’s not

very welcoming to the people who live there, and it’s difficult for them to make a

living.

Jeff: That’s a good point. In order to make a living – in order to make enough

money to live on – you need land that will allow you to grow “crops,” or plants

that you can eat and sell. Let’s talk a little bit now about the place where you

grew up, Tucson. Tell us a little bit about Tucson.

Lucy: Well, Tucson is a city in Arizona, but it’s not the largest city and it’s not the

capital. The capital of Arizona is Phoenix. But, it is the second-largest city in the

state, and it has a population of about half a million. If you include the entire

metropolitan area, it has almost a million residents – a million people who live

there. And it’s also close to Mexico; it’s only about a two-hour drive from the

border.

Jeff: When you mention Tucson to an average American, what would they think

of? What is Tucson known for?

Lucy: Well, I think it’s known for two things – probably two things will come into

your mind. One is that it’s very, very hot. In the summer, the temperature

regularly gets to be over 100 degrees Fahrenheit. When I was little, we used to

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