EC128_Guide.pdf

English as a Second Language Podcast

www.eslpod.com

ENGLISH CAFÉ – 128

TOPICS

American cities: Portland, Oregon; Take Me Out to the Ballgame; ocean versus

sea, ability versus capability

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GLOSSARY

metropolitan area – a city and its surrounding area; a city and all the smaller

cities around it that are actually connected to it

* New York City has 8.2 million residents, but the New York-Northern New

Jersey-Long Island metropolitan area has almost 19 million residents.

confluence – the geographic place where two bodies of water meet

* Many towns and cities are built at the confluence of rivers, because those

locations have a good water supply.

to kayak – to ride in a one-person boat on a river, lake, or ocean, using a long

stick with wide ends to control the direction and speed, where the boat often flips

over

* My friend told me that when I am kayaking, I should wear a helmet so that my

head doesn’t hit the rocks if my kayak flips over.

to hike – to go on long walks in the forests or mountains, away from cities

* Whenever they go hiking, they take a backpack with lots of food and water, a

flashlight, warm clothes, and a medical kit.

to snowshoe – to walk around in the snow with special large nets tied to the

bottom of one’s shoes so that one can walk on top of the snow without falling into

* Snowshoeing works because the special snowshoes distribute your weight over

a larger area, letting you walk on top of the snow without sinking into it.

environmentally conscious – aware of how one’s actions affect the natural

world; aware of environmental problems and doing things in one’s own life to

prevent and/or fix those problems

* If Americans were more environmentally conscious, they would buy fewer

things and drive their cars less often.

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ENGLISH CAFÉ – 128

anthem – an official song that is associated with a country or organization

* At the Olympic Games, the national anthem of the winner’s country is always

played during the award ceremonies.

seventh-inning stretch – the break during the seventh of the nine parts

(innings) in a baseball game

* During the seventh-inning stretch, when everyone else was singing Take Me

Out to the Ballgame , Cheryl went to buy some beer and hot dogs.

to root – to cheer; to clap and shout to encourage a person or team to do well; to

noisily show one’s support for a person or team, especially at a sporting event

* Yevgeny rooted so much at the game yesterday that today he can hardly talk!

strike – the act of a baseball player swinging the bat but missing the ball

* The audience was disappointed by the baseball player’s third strike.

ocean – one of five very large bodies of salty water that cover the Earth’s surface

* Earth has five oceans: the Pacific, Atlantic, Indian, Antarctic, and Arctic

Oceans.

sea – one of many large bodies of salty water that cover the Earth’s surface

* How many islands are in the Caribbean Sea?

ability – being able to do something well, usually used when talking about

people

* People who have the ability to speak multiple languages are able to work in

international business more easily than those who speak only English.

capability – an ability to do something well, usually used when talking about

companies, technology, or countries

* She wants to buy a cell phone with more capabilities, like taking photos and

accessing email.

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

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ENGLISH CAFÉ – 128

WHAT INSIDERS KNOW

Homebrewing

“Brewing” is the process of making beer and other alcoholic beverages through

“fermentation” (a process where yeast changes sugar into alcohol). Many people

are fascinated by the process of making beer and often visit “breweries” (large

companies that make beer). “Microbreweries” (small companies that make beer)

are becoming increasingly popular as Americans begin to “favor” (prefer) local

microbrewery beer brands over large, national beer brands.

Some Americans “take this a step further” (go beyond something) by brewing

their own beer at home. This is known as “homebrewing.“ The beer they make

is usually for personal “consumption” (eating or drinking), although some

homebrewers make their own “labels” (special stickers to put on bottles) and give

the beer away to their friends for free. In most states, it is legal for homebrewers

to brew up to 100 gallons per person who is older than 21 and lives in the home,

but no more than 200 gallons each year. Making more beer, or selling the brew

to other people, is illegal, because the government wants to “tax” (get money for

the government) these sales.

Many homebrewers invest a lot of time and money in the process. They need a

lot of special “equipment” (machines to help one do something) and, of course,

the “ingredients” (types of food that are used to make other types of food).

However, they seem to enjoy the process of brewing just as much as they enjoy

drinking the beer! Many homebrewers are members of brewing clubs, where

they can share ideas with other homebrewers.

Many homebrewers bring their beer to “amateur” (not professional) brewing

competitions. “Judges” (people who taste the beers and decide which one is

best) give out awards for the best brews.

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ENGLISH CAFÉ – 128

COMPLETE TRANSCRIPT

You’re listening to ESL Podcast’s English Café number 128.

This is English as a Second Language Podcast’s English Café episode 128. 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. Download a Learning Guide for this episode

while you’re there, an 8 to 10 page guide we provide for all of our current

episodes that gives you some additional help in improving your English. You can

also take a look at our ESL Podcast Store, with additional courses in English, as

well as our ESL Podcast Blog, where several times a week we provide even

more tips for helping you increase your language proficiency.

On this Café, we’re going to continue our series on American cities, focusing on

the city of Portland, Oregon. We’re also going to talk about a traditional song

that we sing at almost every baseball game called Take Me Out to the Ballgame.

We’re going to talk about its origins, customs, and the meaning of its lyrics. And

as always, we’ll answer a few of your questions. Let’s get started.

Our first topic today is Portland, Oregon as a continuation of our series on

American cities. Oregon, what some people call “Oregon” if they’re not from that

state, is a state located in the Pacific Northwest. The “Pacific Northwest” is the

geographic region – the area in the northwestern United States and

southwestern Canada. The U.S. and Canada share what we call this area of the

Pacific Northwest. It consists of, or has as its parts, Oregon, Washington, and

British Columbia, Canada, so the U.S. states of Oregon and Washington, and the

Canadian province of British Columbia. Oregon borders, or is next to, the Pacific

Ocean on the west, with California and Nevada to the south, Idaho to the east,

and the state of Washington to the north.

Portland is in northwestern Oregon and it is the state’s largest city, with about

500,000 people, and about two million people in the metropolitan area. So, in the

city of Portland itself there’s a half a million, but in the areas around Portland

there are two million people. A “metropolitan area” is a city plus the surrounding

areas that are technically outside of the city limits, or the city border, but really

feels like part of the same city. A metropolitan area includes all of the smaller

cities around it, what we usually call “suburbs.” Although Portland is the largest

city in the state, it is not the state capitol. The capitol of Oregon is Salem, which

is much smaller than Portland and further to the south. Be careful not to confuse

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ENGLISH CAFÉ – 128

Salem, Oregon with another famous city, Salem, Massachusetts. There are at

least two famous cites in the U.S. named Salem.

Most of the state’s major businesses are located in Portland. Nike, Intel, and

Xerox have a large presence in the city. Nike, the famous company that makes

running shoes and clothes for playing sports, was actually founded in Eugene,

Oregon. When we say it was “founded,” we mean it was started as a company in

Eugene, Oregon, but it is now based in Portland; the company has its

headquarters in Portland. Portland has many Nike stores and visitors often enjoy

taking a tour of the Nike buildings. So if you go to Portland, put that on your list

of things to do.

Portland is located at the confluence of the Columbia and Willamette Rivers.

“Confluence” (confluence) is the place where two bodies of water meet; in this

case two rivers come together. The city of Portland has some very beautiful

parks and bridges that have been built around it and over these rivers. There are

also many bicycle paths and running trails that are closed to cars. A “running

trail” is a path – a place where you can, obviously, run, if you like to run. I prefer

the walking path myself!

Many of the people who live in Portland, and in Oregon generally, are outdoor

enthusiasts. An “enthusiast” (enthusiast) is someone who enjoys doing

something very much. He or she has a lot of enthusiasm for an activity. The

word “enthusiast” comes from the word “enthusiasm,” to really like to do

something. People in Portland, Oregon are “outdoor enthusiasts,” meaning they

like to go outside, out of the house, and do things. They like to do things such as

running, riding bicycles, kayaking, and hiking. “Kayaking” (kayaking) is riding in a

small one-person boat on a river, a lake, or even in the ocean. “Hiking” means

going on long walks in the forest or the mountains. All of these outdoor activities

are very common in Oregon, which is why I don’t live in Oregon. I don’t really

like kayaking or hiking – riding in a car, that I like!

On a clear day in Portland, a day without too many clouds, you can see the

beautiful snow-covered mountain called Mount Hood. We sometimes give the

name of a mountain by using the word “mount” (mount) in front of it, such as

Mount Rushmore, Mount Hood, Mount Washington. People can easily drive from

the city of Portland to the mountains around it, especially to Mount Hood, to enjoy

their outdoor activities. If you go up into the mountains where there’s snow, you

can ski, you can also go snowshoeing in the wintertime. “To snowshoe”

(snowshoe – one word) means that you put these very large nets on the bottom

of your shoe so you can walk on top of the snow without falling into it – without

These materials are copyrighted by the Center for Educational Development (2008). Posting of

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

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