2011年ESL之就医和人际交往 04 Demanding an Apology_在线英语听力室

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04 Demanding an Apology

uncalled for – inappropriate and unacceptable; not reasonable

* I know you’re frustrated² we didn’t get the contract, but yelling³ at your employeesis uncalled for.

apology – a statement where one says one is sorry for what one has done,regrets it, and wants to ask for the other person’s forgiveness

* The newspaper printed an apology for misquoting the mayor⁴.

chill⁵ out – an informal phrase used to tell someone to relax or calm down

* Chill out! It was just thunder and nothing to be scared of.

to cross the line – to go too far, often when one has been playing around orjoking, but did something to make any other person very mad; to take somethingto an unacceptable extreme

* We know students often work together on the homework assignments, but youreally crossed the line when you put your name on someone else’s essay.

to freak out – to become very upset and worried about something; to react sostrongly that one loses control of one’s actions and/or words

* Gerry freaked out when his TV stopped working in the middle of the mostimportant football game of the year.

get over it – an informal phrase meaning that one should stop thinking orworrying about something that happened in the past and begin to act as before,as if the thing had never happened

* You and Jenna broke up more than two months ago. Get over it and startdating other women!

to hurt (someone’s) feelings – to make someone feel bad, usually by sayingsomething that is insulting⁷ or offensive⁸

* It really hurt my feelings when you forgot our wedding anniversary⁹.

for God’s sake¹⁰ – a phrase used when one is very frustrated and thinks anotherperson is being unreasonable¹¹

* For God’s sake, I just need one dollar! I know you could lend it to me if youwanted to.

to take (something) back – to retract¹² what one has said; to have anotherperson pretend that something never happened or was never said

* I’m sorry for what I said. I said it without thinking and I wish I could take it back.

sorry – filled with feelings of regret for what one has done or said; wishing thatone had not done or said something, especially when it hurt another person

* Blake says he’s sorry his campaign ran such negative political ads, but nobodybelieves him.

to regret – to feel bad about something and wish that it had never happened

* Do you ever regret your decision to stop working as an attorney¹³ and insteadwork for low-paying nonprofit organizations?

to owe (someone) – to be indebted to someone; to need to give someonesomething or pay someone a certain amount of money

* How much do you owe the city in parking tickets?

cruel – mean; intending to hurt another person; wanting to cause problems orpain for someone

* The soldiers were very cruel to their prisoners.

over the hill – old; past the best years of one’s life

* Young people often think 40-year-olds are over the hill, but 40-year-olds tend tothink that term better describes 60-year-olds.

to take years off (one’s) life – to shorten¹⁴ one’s life; to do something that makesone more likely to die sooner, often used when one is exposed to something thatis very annoying, frightening, or frustrating¹⁵

* That horror¹⁶ movie scared me so much it took years off my life!

COMPREHENSION QUESTIONS

1. Why does Vera say “it crossed the line”?

a) Because Alvaro’s joke was unacceptable.

b) Because Alvaro crossed to her side of the room.

c) Because Alvaro interrupted her phone conversation.

2. What was Alvaro’s joke about?

a) About Vera’s bad sense of direction.

b) About Vera’s laziness.

c) About Vera’s age.

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WHAT ELSE DOES IT MEAN?

chill out

“Chill out,” in this podcast, is an informal phrase used to tell someone to relax orcalm down: “Chill out! It’s just a test, and in a few years no one will care whatgrade you got.” The phrase “to take a chill pill” has the same meaning: “Yes, yougot a bad haircut, but take a chill pill! It will grow back.” The verb “to chill” meansto make something colder: “Please chill the bottle of wine before dinner.” Thephrase “chilled¹⁷ to the bone” means extremely cold: “After skiing all day in a lightjacket, Mimi was chilled to the bone.” Finally, the phrase “to chill (one’s) blood”

means to scare or frighten someone very badly: “Lawson thought he saw a ghostand it chilled his blood.”

to take (something) back

In this podcast, the phrase “to take (something) back” means to retract what onehas said, or to have another person pretend that something never happened orwas never said: “I can’t believe you just said that! Take it back, or I’ll never beyour friend again.” The phrase “to take the lead” means to move into the winningposition in a race or competition: “Darrell started slowly, but after the third lap, hetook the lead.” The phrase “to take it or leave it” means that one does not carewhether another person accepts an offer: “I’ll sell the car to you for $5,800. Takeit or leave it.” Finally, the phrase “to take after (someone)” means to be similar toan older relative, either in appearance or behavior: “Drake takes after his father,always daydreaming¹⁸ about space travel.”

CULTURE NOTE

An “apologist” is someone who “defends” (protects from attack) an idea orsystem, especially when it is unpopular with most people. Often apologistsdefend religious views, but the term “American Apologists” refers to a group ofeconomists who defended the “industrial age,” or the period of time from the 18thto 19th century when large “industry” (large businesses that produce things) grew.

During the industrial age, a few people like Vanderbilt, Carnegie, and Rockefellerbecame very wealthy. Their “greed²⁰” (strong desire for more of everything,especially money and power) seemed “unethical” (immoral and wrong) to someAmericans. At the same time, most people lost the opportunity for “propertyownership” (the ability to own one’s home and land) and simply worked for thelarge industrial “giants” (people and companies that are very successful in aparticular field).

The American Apologists tried to defend the greed of the “robber barons” (thepeople who made a lot of money in the industrial age) “at the expense of”

(creating disadvantages for) most other Americans. These economists¹⁹ defendedthe power of industrial leaders and argued against “anti-trust legislation” (lawsthat do not allow a single person or company to provide all the products orservices of a certain type). They also argued against “labor unions” (groups ofworkers who create organizations to fight for better pay and conditions). Many ofthe American Apologists argued that these things were normal, necessary partsof the country’s economic development.

Most of their beliefs have been “discredited” (are no longer believed orsupported) and most economists now believe that the power of industrial leadersneeds to be “limited” (have restrictions) and that workers need certain“protections,” like “minimum wages” (the smallest amount of money that can bepaid to workers).

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Comprehension Questions Correct Answers: 1 – a; 2 – c

COMPLETE TRANSCRIPT²¹

Welcome to English as a Second Language Podcast number 661: Demanding anApology.

This is English as a Second Language Podcast episode²² 661. I’m your host, Dr.

Jeff McQuillan, coming to you from the Center for Educational Development inbeautiful Los Angeles, California, home of Hollywood and the Beach Boys – anda lot of crime and smog, but usually sunny and warm, so that’s something.

Here’s another something, you can go to our website at eslpod.com anddownload a special Learning²³ Guide for this episode that will help you improveyour English even faster, as well as giving you discounts at many fine restaurantshere in Los Angeles. Just bring your Learning Guide with you.

This episode is called “Demanding an Apology.” Let’s get started.

[start of dialogue]

Vera: That was uncalled for. You owe me an apology!

Alvaro: Chill out. It was a joke!

Vera: It wasn’t funny and it crossed the line.

Alvaro: Why are you freaking out? Get over it. I was just joking.

Vera: You really hurt my feelings.

Alvaro: For God’s sake, I didn’t mean it. I take it back, okay?

Vera: You do?

Alvaro: Yes, I do.

Vera: And you’re sorry? You really regret what you said?

Alvaro: I’m sorry you heard my joke.

Vera: That’s not a real apology. You owe me a real apology. What you saidwas cruel.

Alvaro: I made a joke about you being over the hill. You’re clearly not over thehill, so it was clearly a joke. Okay?

Vera: Do you really think I’m old?

Alvaro: No, I don’t. But you know what you’re doing to me right now? You’retaking years off my life!

[end of dialogue]

Vera and Alvaro are having an argument; they are having a disagreement;they’re not happy with each other. Vera says, “That was uncalled for.” We don’tknow what Alvaro said, but Vera thinks it was uncalled for. Something that is“uncalled for” is something that is inappropriate or unacceptable, something youconsider wrong, usually something you consider insulting. Vera says, “You oweme an apology!” “To owe” (owe) someone something means that you have togive them something. You did something, in this case wrong, and therefore youmust give them an “apology,” a statement saying that you are sorry for what youdid. That’s an apology.

Alvaro says, “Chill out.” “Chill out” is an informal phrase that’s become popular inthe last 20-25 years or so that means to relax, to calm down, don’t be so excited.

You have to be careful with this expression; if you are saying it to someone youdon’t know very well it’s often considered somewhat²⁴ rude to tell someone to chillout. However, if you’re good friends with them you could say it if you thoughtthey were getting too excited about something. Alvaro says it to his wife, alwaysa bad idea! He says, “It was a joke!” Vera says that whatever Alvaro said wasn’tfunny and it crossed the line. “To cross the line” is an expression meaning to gotoo far. Often we say this when someone is perhaps joking but then sayssomething that is insulting that makes the other person angry. That’s whatAlvaro did, according to Vera.

Alvaro said, “Why are you freaking out?” “To freak (freak) out” is a two-wordphrasal verb meaning to become very upset or worried about something, to reactto something so strongly that you lose control of yourself: you start yellingperhaps, or doing something else to show that you are angry or worried. “Tofreak out” is an informal expression. If you are freaking out, someone might tellyou to “chill out.” Here, Alvaro thinks that Vera is over reacting, she’s gettingmore angry than she should. Then he says something which I recommend verystrongly if you are arguing with your wife or girlfriend, he says, “Get over it.” “Getover it” is an informal phrase meaning that you should stop thinking aboutsomething; stop worrying about something that happened in the past and just act as if nothing had happened, just go on with your life. I’m joking, you would notwant to say that if you still want to have dinner and sleep in your bed; you wouldnot want to say that to your wife! “Get over it,” is what Alvaro says to Vera; hethinks that she should just forget about his little joke. He repeats, “I was justjoking.” Vera, however, says, “You really hurt my feelings.” “To hurt someone’sfeelings” means to make someone feel bad, usually by saying something that isinsulting or offensive, something that would make them angry.

Alvaro says, “For God’s sake, I didn’t mean it.” “For God’s sake” (sake) is astrong expression used to show that you are very frustrated, that you think theother person is being unreasonable. You have to be careful with that expressionand similar expressions that use the name of God or Christ²⁵ or Jesus; manypeople will find those very strong and offensive expressions in and ofthemselves. That is, the expression itself may cause them to get more angry, soprobably don’t want to use that expression; I never do. But at least now youknow what it means if you hear or read it. In any case, that’s what Alvaro says.

He says, “I didn’t mean it,” meaning I wasn’t seriously trying to insult⁶ you. Hesays, “I take it back, okay?” When you say, “I take (something) back” you meanthat you’re sorry for what you said before and you want the other person topretend that you never said it; it was a mistake.

Vera says, “You do?” Alvaro says, “Yes, I do.” Vera says, “And you’re sorry?”

You feel bad about what happened and you wish that you had not done it. Shesays, “You really regret what you said?” “To regret” is similar to “to be sorry,” itmeans to feel bad about something and wish that it had never happened,typically something that you did or didn’t do. If you have regrets, you have afeeling that you should have done something that you didn’t do. I think all of ushave some regrets!

Vera is asking if Alvaro regrets what he said. Alvaro says, “I’m sorry you heardmy joke.” He’s not sorry for telling the joke; he’s sorry that Vera heard him say it.

Vera says, “That’s not a real (or true) apology. You owe me a real apology.

What you said was cruel.” “Cruel” means mean, something that you say or do tohurt another person. Alvaro said, “I made a joke about you being over the hill.”

The expression “to be over the hill” means that you are old, that you are in thelast half or last part of your life; you are no longer young, you are past the bestyears of your life. That happens sometime around the age of – well, any age oldthan what I am right now! Now, Alvaro says, “You’re clearly not over the hill(meaning it’s obvious that you are not old), so it was (obviously or) clearly a joke.

Okay?” He’s explaining why what he said was meant to be a joke, because eventhough he said that his wife was getting old – that she was over the hill, in fact –he didn’t really mean it because she is clearly not over the hill. This is another good way of improving your marriage: tell your wife that she’s over the hill. Youdon’t want to listen to my advice on marriage, trust me!

Vera says, “Do you really think I’m old?” Alvaro says, “No, I don’t. But you knowwhat you’re doing to me right now? You’re taking years off my life!” Theexpression “to take years off your life” means to shorten your life. Moregenerally, it means to do something that makes you annoyed, frustrated, perhapsfrightened, something that may make you die sooner than you otherwise wouldhave. Vera, by forcing Alvaro into an apology and by arguing with him is,according to Alvaro, taking years off his life.

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