2010年ESL之日常生活 23 Planting Flowers and Trees

 

23 Planting Flowers and Trees

GLOSSARY

to plant – to put seeds or plants into the ground so that they can grow, usually toproduce food or to make an area more beautiful

* Thirty years ago, we planted a small maple tree in front of our home, and nowit’s beautiful and at least 20 feet tall.

garden – an area of land used for growing plants, either for food or for beauty

* Reynosa picked lettuce, tomatoes, and cucumbers from her garden to make asalad.

fertilizer – a substance that makes soil (earth; dirt) better and more nutritious forplants, often made from animal feces (solid waste) or chemicals like nitrogen andphosphorous

* Our plants would grow more quickly and be healthier if we put some fertilizer inthe soil.

to get to (someone) – to bother or annoy someone, especially after a period oftime

* All the news stories about homeless people are starting to get to me. I think weshould volunteer and do something to help.

weed – an unwanted plant; an undesirable plant that should be removed from anarea

* Our rose garden has so many weeds that we almost can’t see the flowers!

soil – dirt; earth; the substance on the ground outdoors that plants can grow in

* Do we need to buy special soil for these flowers, or can we just plant them infront of the house?

to dig – to make a hole in the earth, usually by using a shovel (a tool) to movesoil

* The dog dug a hole near the tree and buried its bone there.

hole – an open area with nothing in it, surrounded by something else

* Watch where you step! There are a lot of holes in the sidewalk and you couldhurt yourself if you fell into one.

seed – the small piece of a plant that has all the genetic information needed for anew plant to grow

* The little girl’s mother taught her not to eat the seeds when she eats an apple.

She should spit them out.

flower – a beautiful, colorful part of a plant, usually with many small pieces, thata plant uses to attract insects like bees, and that people give to each other asgifts

* Melissa had beautiful flowers at her wedding ceremony: hydrangea, roses, andtulips.

pot – a plastic or ceramic container, usually round, without a top that is filled withsoil and plants, used either indoors or outdoors

* Winnie grows mint, oregano, basil, and other herbs in small pots by her kitchenwindow.

left – remaining; still available

* A lot of food was left after the party, so Camden asked his guests to take someof it home with them.

deep – with a long distance below the surface; going far below something

* If you don’t know how to swim very well, stay out of the deep end of the pool.

root – one of the parts of a plant that is below ground and not seen, used tobring water and nutrients out of the soil and into the plant

* If we want to get rid of those blackberry plants, we need to make sure we pullout all the roots. Otherwise they’ll just grow back again.

to grow – for a living thing to become bigger and older over time

* I can’t believe how much your children have grown since the last time I sawthem!

direct sunlight – with sunshine falling on something; with exposure to the sunthat is not blocked by anything else

* Those plants will probably die in direct sunshine. It would be better to plantthem in the shade under a tree.

to water – to put a small amount of water on or near a plant so that it willcontinue to live and grow

* How often do you water your houseplants?

to supervise – to manage; to watch how someone is doing something and giverecommendations, instructions, and orders for doing it better

* Nathan spends a lot of time supervising his new employees, but once theyprove that they know what they’re doing, he lets them work independently.

COMPREHENSION QUESTIONS

1. Which of these should be planted in the ground?

a) Hole.

b) Flowers.

c) Pots.

2. What does Eric say about fertilizer?

a) He’s starting to like the smell of fertilizer.

b) He doesn’t notice the smell of fertilizer anymore.

c) The smell of fertilizer is starting to bother him.

______________

WHAT ELSE DOES IT MEAN?

to dig

The verb “to dig,” in this podcast, means to make a hole in the earth, usually byusing a shovel (a tool) to move soil: “Before you dig a hole in your yard, call thegas company to make sure you don’t break one of their pipes.” The phrase “todig a hole for (oneself)” means to do something that creates problems foroneself: “By using his credit card to buy everything, Cleve is really just digging ahole for himself.” The phrase “to dig (one’s) own grave” has the same meaning:

“I can’t believe Clifton spoke to his boss so rudely! He’s digging his own grave.”

Finally, the phrase “to dig (one’s) heels in” means to refuse to do what otherpeople want one to do: “Everyone tried to convince Savannah not to buy thehouse, but she dug her heels in and did it anyway.”

left

In this podcast, the word “left” means remaining or still available: “We’ve dusted,vacuumed, and swept, so all that’s left is to vacuum and then our house will beperfectly clean.” Or, “I only have $4 left, but that should be enough for us to goget some ice cream.” The phrase “to leave (someone)” means to stop living withone’s spouse and/or children: “Her Dad left them when she was just four yearsold.” The phrase “to leave (something) to (someone)” means to makearrangements for someone to have something one owns after one dies:

“Grandma left all her jewelry to Aunt Lena.” Finally, the phrase “to leave a lot tobe desired” describes something that is not very good: “Normally the restaurantserves delicious food, but last night, our meal left a lot to be desired.”

CULTURE NOTE

Many Americans like to have a flower garden in front of their house to make itmore beautiful. The gardener tries to plant a lot of colorful plants that “flower”

(bloom; produce flowers) at different times of the year. If the plants are chosenbecause they’ll “attract” (make something want to come) “butterflies” (flyinginsects with large, colorful wings), the garden is known as a “butterfly garden.” Ifthe garden is in a “shady” (in a shadow; without much sunlight) area, it is knownas a “shade garden” and has only plants that grow well in the shade.

A “vegetable garden” is typically grown behind a house, where people don’t seeit. Vegetable gardens aren’t “intended” (meant; supposed) to be beautiful.

Instead, they are intended to be used for growing food. A typical vegetablegarden produces enough tomatoes, lettuce, cucumbers, carrots, and othervegetables for one family to eat during the summer. An “herb garden” is a smallgarden that has also has “edible” (able to be eaten) plants, but only “herbs,”

which are small plants with strong flavor, like oregano, basil, and mint.

A “community garden” is shared space where many people grow plants,especially when they don’t have enough land to grow a garden in their own homeor apartment.

Some people don’t want to spend a lot of time working in a garden, so they mighthave a “rock garden,” where rocks are placed “artistically” (in nice-looking ways)for “visual interest” (something that people like to look at). If there are enoughrocks, weeds can’t grow there.

City parks sometimes have “sculpture gardens” where there are many“sculptures,” or large pieces of art made from wood, plaster, or metal. The focusis on the artwork – not on plants – so the sculptures often just rest on grass.

______________Comprehension Questions Correct Answers: 1 – b; 2 – c

COMPLETE TRANSCRIPT

Welcome to English as a Second Language Podcast number 637: PlantingFlowers and Trees.

This is English as a Second Language Podcast episode 637. I’m your host, Dr.

Jeff McQuillan, coming to you from the Center for Educational Development inbeautiful Los Angeles, California.

Our website is eslpod.com. Download a Learning Guide for this episode that willhelp you improve your English – and make the sun shine brighter in the morning!

It’s true!

This episode is a dialogue between Zuly and Eric about flowers and trees. Let’sget started.

[start of dialogue]

Zuly: Hurry up! Mom will be home any minute and we’re not done planting.

Eric: Whose idea was it anyway to plant a garden for Mom for her birthday?

We’ve been working under this hot sun all day and the smell of the fertilizer isreally getting to me.

Zuly: It was our idea, remember? We both wanted to give Mom somethingspecial this year. Look, we’re almost done. We’ve already picked the weeds,prepared the soil, and dug the holes for the new seeds and flowers. I’m takingthe flowers out of their pots now and I’ll have them in the ground in a minute.

After that, all we have left to do is to plant the new tree. Keep digging!

Eric: Are you sure the hole needs to be this deep?

Zuly: Yes, the book says that the roots need to have room to grow. That’s theperfect place for it, too. It’ll get a lot of direct sunlight.

Eric: Great, but my arms are so tired, they’re about to fall off.

Zuly: Move over. I’ll dig for a while. Why don’t you water the new flowers?

Eric: Sure, right after I take a little break. In the meantime, I’ll supervise. Comeon. Keep digging. You’re almost there…

Zuly: I think you’d better keep your mouth shut, or I’ll think of some new uses forthat fertilizer!

[end of dialogue]

Zuly and Eric are brother and sister. Zuly says to Eric, “Hurry up (go faster)!

Mom will be home any minute (meaning very soon) and we’re not done planting.”

“To plant,” as a verb, means to put seeds or plants into the ground so that theycan grow, either to produce a flower or some kind of food typically. A “seed” is avery small part of a tree or plant that when you put it in the ground grows anothertree or plant. It’s how – one way how trees and plants reproduce, how you getmore of them. The verb, then, is “to plant” seeds, flowers, or trees – to put themin the ground.

Eric says, “Whose idea was it anyway to plant a garden for Mom for herbirthday?” A “garden” is an area often near your house where you grow plants,either flowers or food. Many people grow certain kinds of food in gardens. WhenI was young we had a small garden where we had tomatoes and carrots and, Ithink, green onions. I was never a very good gardener. A “gardener” issomeone who works in a garden. A “gardener,” more commonly pronounced“gardner,” is also someone who you bring to your house to cut your grass andtrees and so forth.

So, Zuly and Eric are planting a garden – that’s what we would say, “to plant agarden” – for their mother. He says, “We’ve been working under this hot sun allday and the smell of the fertilizer is really getting to me.” “Fertilizer” (fertilizer) isoften made from the waste of animals – if you understand what I mean. Whenthe animal goes to the bathroom, you take what comes out of the animal, andyou put it in your garden, because it will help the ground – the soil we would callit; the dirt – it will help it give nutrients – give food to the plants that will then helpthe plant grow. At least that’s what I think happens – I’m not a gardener! “To getto (someone)” means to bother someone, especially after a long period of time.

“My new colleague (my new co-worker) is really getting to me.” He’s botheringme.

Well, Eric says that the smell of the fertilizer is getting to him. Fertilizer doesn’tsmell very nice! Zuly responds, “It was our idea (both of us), remember? Weboth wanted to give Mom something special this year. Look, we’re almost done(we’re almost finished; we have almost completed the garden). We’ve alreadypicked the weeds, prepared the soil, and dug the holes for the new seeds andflowers.” Couple of words there: “We picked the weeds.” A “weed” (weed) is aplant that you don’t want, that you didn’t put in your garden but is growing there anyway. That’s a weed. “Weed” informally – slang – also can mean marijuana,the drug that some people smoke. In fact, there is a television show – I think it’sstill running – it’s still being shown, called Weeds, about a family that growsmarijuana. Strange but true! Well here, Zuly and Eric are trying to get rid of theweeds, that’s why Zuly says they have “picked them,” meaning they have takenthem out of the ground. They’ve also prepared the soil. “Soil,” as I mentionedearlier, is another name for dirt or earth; it’s what you put the seeds into whenyou are planting them. “To dig” (dig) means to make a hole in the earth tousually put something in there. The past tense of “dig” is “dug” (dug). “Dig” hasother meanings, which you can find in our Learning Guide. “Seeds,” we’vealready mentioned also, are a small part of the plant that has all of the necessarygenetic information to reproduce, or to make a new plant or a new tree. A “hole,”

you probably know, is an area with nothing in it surrounded by something else.

You can have a hole in the wall; you have the wall, but then you have a circle,let’s say, that has nothing in it – there’s no wall. That’s a hole.

So Zuly says that we’ve already picked the weeds, prepared the soil, and dug theholes for the new seeds and flowers. “I’m taking the flowers out of their pots nowand I’ll have them in the ground in a minute.” A “pot” (pot) is usually a round,small container, like a small bucket, that you put soil into – dirt into, and you cangrow a plant in this little pot, and you can move the pot from one part of thehouse to another. In this case, Zuly is planting flowers that are in small pots.

She will take them out of the pots and put them in the ground in the garden sothey can grow bigger. After putting the flowers in the ground, she says that allwe have left to do is to plant the new tree. The word “left” here is not theopposite of “right”; “left” here means remaining or still available. For example, ifyou have five cookies and you eat two of the cookies, I can ask you, “How manycookies do you have left?” How many are remaining? And the answer, ofcourse, is one, because I ate two of them when you were not looking. You haveto be careful with me!

So, Zuly is saying they’re almost finished, and tells Eric to keep “digging,” keeptaking dirt out of the ground, making holes, so they can plant the flowers. Ericsays, “Are you sure the hole needs to be this deep?” “To be deep” means to bebelow the surface, going far below something. If you die and they bury yourbody, they will dig a deep grave. A “grave” is a place where you put a deadbody. The grave has to be deep – it has to be a hole that goes down far into theearth.

Eric is asking Zuly if the hole has to be very deep – “this deep?” Zuly says, “Yes,the book says that the roots need to have room to grow.” The “roots” (roots) of aplant or tree are the parts of the plant or tree that are below the ground that you can’t see. “To grow” is when a living thing becomes bigger, older. Zuly saysthey need these big holes – these deep holes so that the roots have room togrow, they have a place where they can grow. Zuly says, “That’s the perfectplace for it, too. It’ll get lots of direct sunlight.” “Sunlight” is light from the sun,obviously. “Direct sunlight” is when the sunlight goes right on it, there’s nothingin between it, it’s not blocked by anything else.

Eric says, “Great, but my arms are so tired, they’re about to fall off.” “To fall off”

means they are about to come off of his body, to leave or become disconnectedfrom his body. Of course, Eric is joking; it’s just a way of expressing how tired heis.

Zuly says, “Move over. I’ll dig for a while. Why don’t you water the newflowers?” “To water,” as a verb, means to put water usually on a plant or a treeor grass to help it grow. Eric says, “Sure, right after I take a little break.” I’mgoing to stop working right now, he says. “In the meantime (meaning while I amdoing that), I’ll supervise.” “To supervise” (supervise) means to manage, towatch how someone is doing something, to give them instructions. It’s what aboss does. In fact, a person who supervises is often called a supervisor, endingin “or”. Eric says, “Come on. Keep digging. You’re almost there.” He’s sayingthis to Zuly. Zuly says, “I think you’d better keep your mouth shut (“to keep yourmouth shut” means to stop talking) or I’ll think of some new uses for thatfertilizer!” She’s basically saying to Eric if you don’t be quiet I may take thissmelly, unpleasant fertilizer and, perhaps, throw it at you. That’s the way brotherand sisters often act, of course. I know that very well!

Now let’s listen to the dialogue, this time at a normal speed.

[start of dialogue]

Zuly: Hurry up! Mom will be home any minute and we’re not done planting.

Eric: Whose idea was it anyway to plant a garden for Mom for her birthday?

We’ve been working under this hot sun all day and the smell of the fertilizer isreally getting to me.

Zuly: It was our idea, remember? We both wanted to give Mom somethingspecial this year. Look, we’re almost done. We’ve already picked the weeds,prepared the soil, and dug the holes for the new seeds and flowers. I’m takingthe flowers out of their pots now and I’ll have them in the ground in a minute.

After that, all we have left to do is to plant the new tree. Keep digging!

Eric: Are you sure the hole needs to be this deep?

Zuly: Yes, the book says that the roots need to have room to grow. That’s theperfect place for it, too. It’ll get a lot of direct sunlight.

Eric: Great, but my arms are so tired, they’re about to fall off.

Zuly: Move over. I’ll dig for a while. Why don’t you water the new flowers?

Eric: Sure, right after I take a little break. In the meantime, I’ll supervise. Comeon. Keep digging. You’re almost there…Zuly: I think you’d better keep your mouth shut, or I’ll think of some new uses forthat fertilizer!

[end of dialogue]

If you want your English to grow like a beautiful flower, don’t put fertilizer on it.

Instead, listen to the scripts by our own Dr. Lucy Tse.

From Los Angeles, California, I’m Jeff McQuillan. I have no idea what I just saidor what it means! Thank you for listening. Come back and listen to us again onESL Podcast.

English as a Second Language Podcast is written and produced by Dr. Lucy Tse,hosted by Dr. Jeff McQuillan, copyright 2010 by the Center for EducationalDevelopment.