2009年ESL之旅行交通购物 16 Finding the Perfect Gift（打印版）

2009年ESL之旅行交通购物 16 Finding the Perfect Gift（在线收听）

16 Finding the Perfect Gift

GLOSSARY

gift – present; something that is given to another person, especially on a birthdayor holiday

* Meghan receives birthday gifts from her parents, grandparents, and all of heraunts and uncles.

present – gift; something that is given to another person, especially on a birthdayor holiday

* Ties and socks are common presents for Father’s Day.

to knock (someone’s) socks off – to impress someone very much; to dosomething that surprises someone in a good way, usually because it is verygood, nice, and unexpected

* It sounds like you really knocked their socks off in the interview! You’ll definitelyget the job.

gift certificate – a piece of paper that one buys at a store and lets one spend acertain amount of money at that store, usually given to another person as apresent

* For his birthday, Joao asked for gift certificates to his favorite clothing store.

gift card – a small, rectangular piece of plastic that looks like a credit card andlets one spend a certain amount of money at a specific store, usually given toanother person as a present

* They gave her a $50 gift card to the bookstore as a graduation present.

to pick out – to choose; to decide which one of something one would like tohave or buy

* Why did we pick out such an ugly color of paint for the bathroom walls?

to put thought into (something) – to think about something carefully,considering all the options or considering another person’s opinion

* Bettina hardly put any thought into college, and just decided to go the universityclosest to her parents’ home.

to rack (one’s) brain – to spend a lot of time thinking about something,especially when it is very difficult and one cannot find the answer or solution

* Eberhard has been racking his brain for months, trying to figure out how he canmake enough money to pay all of his bills, but it seems impossible.

to get carried away – to go overboard; to do too much of something; to takesomething to an extreme

* Harold always gets carried away decorating for Halloween, putting pumpkinsand ghosts all over his house and yard.

to please (someone) – to make someone happy and satisfied* Arpad tries to please his parents by always getting good grades at school.

it’s the thought that counts – a phrase used to show that even thoughsomething didn’t work as planned, one appreciates the effort and considerationthat went into doing something

* - I planned a beautiful picnic in the park for my girlfriend, but it was ruined bythe rain.

* - Don’t worry about it. It’s the thought that counts.

disappointed – unhappy because something isn’t as good as one wanted it tobe, or because something didn’t happen as one had expected it to

* We were all really disappointed when the company lost its biggest client.

to hold (something) against (someone) – to not forgive someone forsomething that happened; to be angry at someone for something that happenedin the past; to blame someone for something that happened

* How can you still hold it against me for hitting your car? That happened yearsago and I paid for the repair.

to boggle (one’s) mind – to confuse someone; to be very surprising forsomeone; to be difficult or impossible for one to understand

* Gunter is an award-winning researcher, so it boggles my mind how he alwayscomplains about his career.

to work (oneself) up – to become very angry, excited, or worried aboutsomething

* Paola always works herself up before her parents come to visit, trying to cleanher house perfectly before they arrive.

to return – to take something back to the store where it was bought so that onecan exchange it for something else or get one’s money back

* You can return purchases to our store for 30 days with the original receipt.

COMPREHENSION QUESTIONS

1. According to Fae, why wouldn’t her mother like a gift certificate?

a) She couldn’t use it to buy socks.

b) It would show that Fae wasn’t very thoughtful.

c) She wouldn’t know which store to use it at.

2. Why is Fae worried about getting her mother the wrong gift?

a) Because her mother will never forgive her.

b) Because her mother only likes expensive gifts.

c) Because her mother was disappointed by last year’s gift.

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WHAT ELSE DOES IT MEAN?

to get carried away

The phrase “to get carried away,” in this podcast, means to do too much ofsomething, or to take something to an extreme: “When they cleaned out thegarage, they got carried away and accidentally threw away some things theywish they had kept.” The phrase “to carry (something) too far” means to do toomuch of something so that it becomes a problem: “Joseph always enjoys tellingjokes at the office, but last week he carried it too far.” The phrase “to carry(something) off” means to do something that is very difficult, especially if otherpeople did not believe that one could do it: “I can’t believe you sold your home forthat much money! How did you carry it off?” Finally, the phrase “to carry(someone) through” means to help someone through a very difficult situation:

“Her faith in her religion carried her through her son’s death.”

to please

In this podcast, the verb “to please (someone)” means to make someone happyand satisfied: “He buys flowers at least once a month because he knows theyplease his girlfriend.” The phrase “please yourself” is used to tell someone thathe or she is free to do whatever he or she wants, but that one doesn’t really thinkit’s a good idea: “You’re going to skip class? Please yourself.” Or, “Pleaseyourself, but I’m going to bring an umbrella in case it rains.” Finally, the word“please” is sometimes used to show disbelief, or to show that one does notbelieve what another person has said or done: “Alicia thinks she can win thebeauty contest? Oh, please! There’s no way that will happen!”

CULTURE NOTE

Many Americans enjoy giving and getting gift cards because they “ensure”

(guarantee; make sure something happens) that the “recipient” (the person whoreceives the gift card) can pick out exactly what he or she wants to have. With agift card, no one needs to worry about “pretending” (making something seem tobe true when it really isn’t) to like a gift when they would really prefer to havesomething else.

However, people have begun to realize that there are many “pitfalls” (hiddenproblems) to using gift cards. Some gift cards have “hidden” (not easily seen)“fees” (money that must be paid), such as “activation fees” (money paid to beginusing a card) or fees that are paid each time the card is used. Other gift cards“expire” (cannot be used after a certain date), so if the recipient doesn’t use thecard before that expiration date, the gift card loses all of its “value” (the amount ofmoney something is worth).

In addition, studies have shown that many gift cards are never used. Accordingto Consumer Reports magazine, in 2006 there were $8 billion in unused giftcards. Gift cards might not be used because they are lost or forgotten, orbecause the recipient doesn’t want to buy anything at that particular store.

Gift cards can still be good presents, but it’s important to make sure that the giftcard is for a store where the recipient enjoys shopping. Also, it is a good idea tobuy “retail cards,” which are sold by a particular store, instead of “bank cards,”

which are sold by a bank and can be used almost anywhere, because bankcards “tend to have” (usually have) higher fees.

______________

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

COMPLETE TRANSCRIPT

Welcome to English as a Second Language Podcast number 538: Finding thePerfect Gift.

This is English as a Second Language Podcast episode 538. I’m your host, Dr.

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

Support this podcast by going to our website and becoming a Learning Guidemember. You can also make a donation on our website to help keep thesepodcasts free for everyone.

This episode is called “Finding the Perfect Gift.” It’s a dialogue between Fae andPablo about someone who’s looking to find a gift. Let’s get started.

[start of dialogue]

Fae: Help! I still need to buy a gift for my mother and I can’t seem to think of theperfect present, something that’ll really knock her socks off.

Pablo: Why don’t you just get her a gift certificate or a gift card? That way, shecan pick out her own gift.

Fae: Oh, she would hate that. She would think that I didn’t put any thought intobuying her a present at all, while I’ve been racking my brain to think of somethingshe’ll like. Maybe I should buy her a car!

Pablo: Now, don’t get carried away. You get like this every year. I know youwant to please your mother, but remember, it’s the thought that counts.

Fae: I wish that were true. If I get her the wrong gift, I’m afraid she’ll bedisappointed, or worse, she’ll hold it against me for the rest of my life.

Pablo: It boggles my mind how you can work yourself up like this every year.

Fae: How can I not? You know my mother.

Pablo: Yes, I do, and I have one piece of advice for you: Buy her a gift she canreturn.

[end of dialogue]

Fae says to Pablo, “Help! I still need to buy a gift for my mother and I can’t seemto think of the perfect present, something that’ll really knock her socks off.” A“gift” and a “present” are the same thing; it’s something that you give anotherperson. A gift is something that you don’t expect the other person to give youanything in exchange for; you’re not asking the other person to give you anymoney. Gifts and presents are always free, although it has become popular inthe last few years on television to talk about how people could get a free gift. Butall gifts – all presents are, by definition, free. Fae says, “I can’t seem to think ofthe perfect present, something that’ll really knock her socks off.” “To knock(someone’s) socks off” is an informal expression meaning to impress someonevery much, to do something that surprises someone but in a good way – in aunexpected way.

Pablo says, “Why don’t you just get her a gift certificate or a gift card?” A “giftcertificate” is a piece of paper that you buy at a store that you give to someone,and it allows that person to go to that store and use it to buy things. A “gift card”

is similar except it looks like a little credit card, and you are able to give that tosomeone and they can buy whatever they want. Pablo says, “That way(meaning by doing that, by buying her a gift card), she can pick out her own gift.”

“To pick out” is a phrasal verb meaning to choose, to select, to decide which ofsomething you want. Some people don’t like that. In fact, Fae says, “Oh, (hermother) would hate that. She would think that I didn’t put any thought into buyingher a present at all.” “To put thought into (something)” means to think aboutsomething carefully, to think of all the options, to think what of what that person’sopinion would be, what their likes and dislikes are, and to choose somethingcarefully, just for that person. A gift card or a gift certificate means that you reallyhaven’t thought about it at all, and you just picked a store and you gave them agift card for it. So, many people don’t like gift cards and gift certificates, butthey’re very popular.

Fae says, “I’ve been racking my brain to think of something she’ll like.” “To rack(rack) your brain” means to spend a lot of time thinking about something,especially something that’s very difficult – a problem that’s very difficult to solve.

In this case, the problem is which gift Fae should buy her mother. “Maybe Ishould buy her a car,” she says. Pablo says, “Now, don’t get carried away.” “Toget carried away” means to do too much of something, to take something to anextreme; we might also say “to go overboard.” “To get carried away” means todo too much of something. The verb “carry,” however, has many differentmeanings. You know where to look, our Learning Guide, where you can findadditional explanations.

Pablo says, “You get like this every year (meaning you get into this way ofthinking every year). I know you want to please your mother, but remember, it’sthe thought that counts.” “To please (someone)” means to make someonehappy, someone you like, someone that you are trying to satisfy. “Please” has acouple of different meanings, however; once again, take a look at the LearningGuide for some more explanations. Pablo says, “it’s the thought that counts.”

This is an expression – a phrase we have that means even if the person doesn’tlike the gift, they will appreciate the thought that went behind it: the fact that youtried to find something good for them. “It’s the thought that counts.”

Fae says, “I wish that were true (meaning that’s not true for my mother). If I gether the wrong gift, I’m afraid she’ll be disappointed.” “To be disappointed” meansyou’re unhappy because someone didn’t do what you expected or somethingdidn’t result in the way that you wanted it to. Fae says, “worse, she’ll hold itagainst me for the rest of my life.” “To hold (something) against (someone)” isanother phrasal verb meaning not to forgive someone for something thathappened, to continue to be angry at someone for something that happened inthe past. Fae thinks that her mother will be mad at her for the rest of her life –which could be a very long time!

Pablo says, “It boggles my mind how you can work yourself up like this everyyear.” “To boggle (boggle) (someone’s) mind” means to confuse someone, to dosomething that is very surprising, very confusing, very difficult for another personto understand. It means that you’re really confused about something; you’rereally surprised about something. “Why my brother decided to leave his jobboggles my mind,” I’m completely confused by it. Usually we use this expressionwhen we somehow disapprove or disagree with whatever the outcome or resultwas.

Pablo says it boggles his mind how Fae works herself up like this every year.

“To work yourself up” means to get very worried about something or to get veryangry about something. If your girlfriend decides to end your relationship, yourfriend might say, “Don’t get worked up about it (don’t get worried about it; don’tget angry about it). There are other fish in the sea (is an expression we woulduse in that case).” “There are other fish in the sea (in the ocean)” meaning thereare other women out there that you can find to be your girlfriend – maybe!

Fae says, “How can I not (meaning how can I not work myself up)? You knowmy mother.” Pablo says, “Yes, I do, and I have one piece of advice for you (apiece of advice is one thing that you are recommending to someone): Buy her agift she can return.” “To return” here means to take something back to the storewhere you bought it so that you can get something else, or they will give you the money was paid for the gift. We actually have what are called “gift receipts,”

which are popular, I’m sure, in other places. These are receipts that the store willgive a person; it doesn’t have the amount of the purchase – the amount that youpaid, but it allows the person to bring back to a store to exchange it for somethingelse. Of course once they bring it back, then they’ll know how much it was, soit’s kind of a silly practice really, but that is what a gift receipt is, when you aregoing to return something.

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