ESL Podcast 371 – A Scandal

Caridad: Look at this! The president of McQuillan University is stepping down. He submitted his resignation this morning after an undergraduate student made allegations that they had an affair and that she’s pregnant with his baby.

Nate: That’s terrible. Maybe they were in love.

Caridad: In love? He’s married and has four kids, and when she first went public about the affair, he denied it and said that she had made up the whole story. Would someone in love try to cover up something like this?

Nate: Who knows? The president of a major university is a person with a lot to lose. I’m not making excuses for him, but maybe he lost his head.

Caridad: Of course he had a lot to lose. Anyone who is in the public eye like he is shouldn’t be playing with fire. He’s an embarrassment¹ to his family and to his university.

Nate: I still think there could be extenuating² circumstances. All you know you’ve learned from one newspaper article.

Caridad: That much is true, but I know one thing: Whatever happens to him, it serves him right!


Script by Dr. Lucy Tse

1 embarrassment   

n.尴尬；使人为难的人(事物)；障碍；窘迫

参考例句：

• She could have died away with embarrassment.她窘迫得要死。
• Coughing at a concert can be a real embarrassment.在音乐会上咳嗽真会使人难堪。

2 extenuating   

adj.使减轻的，情有可原的v.（用偏袒的辩解或借口）减轻( extenuate的现在分词 )；低估，藐视

参考例句：

• There were extenuating circumstances and the defendant did not receive a prison sentence. 因有可减轻罪行的情节被告未被判刑。
• I do not plead any extenuating act. 我不求宽大，也不要求减刑。 来自演讲部分