Background: This esl podcast is a conversation between friends about a problem with one of their sleeping problems. Here we can listen to someone that can’t take suggestions from other people about themselves very well. Hopefully you aren’t one of these people! Learn excellent terms and vocabulary and have fun listening to this podcast!
Being Defensive
Conversation
| A: I’ve been feeling really sluggish for the past few weeks.
B: Have you been getting enough sleep? What about your diet? A: My sleep has been quite good. I don’t think there’s much of a problem with my diet either. B: What about all of those late night burgers you’ve been pigging out on at Mcy D’s? A: Ya, you’re one to talk. I don’t think I’d even recognize you if you didn’t have food in your mouth. B: Hey, let’s not change the subject. You’d probably have a lot more energy if your worked out more. A: Well, you’re not exactly Arnold Schwarzenegger yourself. B: I thought we were talking about you. You are being so defensive. You sound like a six year old. A: Whatever |
Key vocabulary and phrases that are discussed in the podcast:
Sluggish: tired, slow moving
Diet: the kinds of foods you eat regularly. It’s different than “on a diet”. If you are “On a diet” it means that you are choosing to eat only certain kinds of food to lose weight or some other health reason.
Pigging out on: This is a phrase we use to describe someone who is eating really fast or rudely like a pig. We can also use it to describe someone who eats a lot of junk food.
Mcy D’s: A slang term for MacDonald’s
You’re one to talk: This is a sarcastic phrase and it is used to tell the other person that they shouldn’t be judging you because they have the same problem themselves. For example, if someone tells you that you should spend more time studying but you know that they don’t study either, you could reply to them with, “you’re one to talk”
Let’s not change the subject: This phrase is used to tell someone if you are trying to have a conversation about something specific, and they keep trying to talk about something else. Usually people who are trying to change the subject are not comfortable talking about it.
You’re not exactly Arnold Schwartzenegger yourself: Arnold Schwarzenegger is a famous actor and body builder. He obviously goes to the gym a lot. This phrase is one way of telling someone that they don’t exercise a lot. You can use this phrase with many different famous people’s names. If you want to tell someone they are not really handsome you could say, “you’re not exactly David Beckham”. Be careful when you use this phrase though because it is often quite impolite.
Being Defensive: If someone is being defensive, it means that when someone talks to them about a sensitive topic for them, they will not accept it and usually say something aggressive back. For example, the person in this dialogue was being really defensive because he didn’t want to talk about his eating problem or not exercising. He kept trying to change the subject instead.
You sound like a six year old: We often say this to describe someone who is being very immature.
Whatever: This is used to say that you totally disagree with someone but don’t want to continue talking about it anymore.
August 10th, 2009 at 3:56 pm
A PRETTY AMAZING LESSON THANKS GUYS. I LIKE THIS SITE SO MUCH.
THE MUSIC IS GREAT AS WELL.
September 29th, 2009 at 6:20 am
That is wonderful guys and its very nice to listening thank you so much
November 25th, 2009 at 12:18 pm
I have visited a lot of English teaching websites, and downloaded many episodes to listen to with my ipod but none of them is amazing like yours. Go ahead in this way!
November 14th, 2011 at 10:02 pm
I wish to express my thanks to this writer for rescuing me from this particular situation. Because of surfing around throughout the internet and coming across things which are not helpful, I figured my life was over. Existing without the answers to the difficulties you’ve resolved by way of your entire blog post is a critical case, as well as those that might have negatively affected my entire career if I hadn’t come across your website. Your own personal mastery and kindness in controlling all areas was excellent. I am not sure what I would’ve done if I hadn’t encountered such a step like this. It’s possible to at this point relish my future. Thanks for your time so much for the expert and result oriented guide. I won’t be reluctant to refer the blog to anybody who will need guide on this issue.