Archive for year 2010
Christmas Questions from our listeners answered!
12/25/2010
by Culips
in Chatterbox
Podcast: Play in new window | Download
Happy Holidays wherever you are! This year we asked what people wanted to know about the holiday season in Canada and we got some questions! In this episode, Harp and Maura answer these questions, talking about clementines and whether Christmas or New Year’s is the bigger holiday. They both also share some memorable moments from their past including Harp’s Y2K scare and Maura’s Christmas kitty!
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| Maura: | Usually if it’s a close friend or family member, you might want to spend a little bit more money, but really it’s hard to say for sure. A lot of the time as well, people don’t exchange presents. |
| Harp: | It’s usually an unspoken agreement with the person if you’re going to give them a gift or not. |
| Maura: | Sometimes you might be surprised when someone gives you a gift that you weren’t expecting. I personally don’t exchange gifts with a lot of my friends. That’s because we don’t need to spend all that money. We don’t need to buy each other a gift, and we just spend time together instead, so a lot of people chose to do that. |
| Harp: | Yeah. Same thing with my friends. Sometimes we’ll exchange presents that we’ve made for each other. One of my favourite gifts that my friend ever gave to me was a hand knit scarf, so she made it, it wasn’t expensive. |
Expressions included from this episode in Lipservice:
| The holidays | Turkey dinner with all the trimmings |
| Clementines | More Christmas food |
| Christmas v.s. New Year’s | Christmas decorations |
| Christmas carols | Presents and gifts |
| Unspoken agreement | To exchange presents |
| Canada Post and Santa Claus’ address | Y2K |
| To put down your foot | It’s better to be safe than sorry |
Podcast/ Lipservice: Culips ESL Podcast, Photo: Ryan King
Dibs!
12/19/2010
by Culips
in Catch Word
Podcast: Play in new window | Download
In today’s episode we’re going to look at an expression that you can use to say that something is yours. To make a claim that something or some activity belongs to you, you can call dibs. It’s a funny little word with some variations that we also talk about, like to have first dibs. And if you’re going to go for a car ride with some friends, you may want to know about shotgun!
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| Maura: | So, maybe you arrive at your friend’s house and there’s some food spread out on the table and there’s only one piece of cake left, so you say that you call dibs on the piece of cake. So, by saying I call dibs on the cake, it means that that is your piece of cake. So you’re really making a quick claim to something that something is yours. |
| Harp: | Yeah, or if you’re playing a game, you can call dibs on, being the first person to go. |
| Maura: | Yeah, so you could also call dibs on an action or an activity. It doesn’t have to be an item; it could be that you want to be the first person to do something. One thing we should mention is that when you use this expression and you make a claim to something, you want to do it with good friends, family, people that you know really well. |
| Harp: | Exactly. Never in a professional environment, and don’t do it with people you’ve just met. |
Expressions included from this episode in Lipservice:
| oldies but goodies | I called dibs on it |
| to have first dibs | to call dibs on something |
| dibs time | shotgun |
| to be left | No big deal |
| The Wild West | an oldie but a goodie |
Podcast/ Lipservice: Culips ESL Podcast, Photo: John Watson
‘Tis the season!
Everyone at Culips is getting ready to relax and be with friends and family this holiday season! We are currently working on our Christmas episode. A great way to to learn English with this episode is to sit back and have some egg nog (a traditional holiday drink).
One thing that always get me in the Christmas spirit is Christmas music. When I was young we always decorated the Christmas tree as a family and listened to Nat King Cole’s Christmas album.
I especially remember the song I posted below because one Christmas my sister had lost her two front teeth. Check out the song with the lyrics.
And here is a video from the television movie Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, which is a real classic and one of my favourites! If you listen closely, lyrics in the song tell the whole story of Rudolph. Do you know the story of Rudolph?
-Maura
Tips for Canadian job interviews
12/12/2010
by Culips
in Chatterbox
Podcast: Play in new window | Download
Harp is back by popular demand with more advice on looking for work. This time Harp gives advice on everything about the interview process. She talks about how to prepare, what to do during the interview, and how to follow up afterwards. You’ll get some tips about the Canadian job hunt, and hear some of the related vocabulary. But really, this is a great episode for just about anyone looking for a job!
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| Maura: | Now, another question I have is about dressing, because some people don’t know whether to wear a suit or dress more casually. |
| Harp: | I think that you should dress professionally, and there’s always that saying, dress for the job that you want, not the job that you’re interviewing for, so if you want to be a manager, wear a suit. It’s better to be overdressed than underdressed. So don’t wear jeans, don’t wear something you would wear to go clubbing, don’t wear anything that’s ripped. Wear clean, professional-looking clothes, even just a sweater and dress pants if they’re clean, ironed, professional looking. |
| Maura: | That’s good advice. So, you must have some advice for us now during the interview, when everyone is the most nervous. What can we do to be successful? |
| Harp: | You know, before I went into recruitment, one of my friends told me she goes into in an interview always telling herself she can get this job. So she’s so confident. You know, she’s passed every single interview? She’s gotten every single job she’s interviewed for. |
Expressions included from this episode in Lipservice:
| Back by popular demand | Tips and advice |
| To be pumped | Press releases |
| To google it | To set you apart |
| To think on your feet | The trick |
| To put a positive spin on something | Dress for the job you want, not the job you’re interviewing for |
| Overdressed and underdressed | The thank-you email |
Podcast/ Lipservice: Culips ESL Podcast, Photo: Lewis Minor
A taste of your own medicine
12/6/2010
by Culips
in Catch Word
Podcast: Play in new window | Download
Have you ever given someone a taste of their own medicine? Has anyone ever given you a taste of your own? Shawn gave Angela a taste of her own medicine. This means that Shawn treated Angela in the same bad way that she had been treating him. This episode is about the expressions that people can use to talk about their revenge. You can hear these expressions often in television or film, or from people who are giving some payback.
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| Maura: | So the expression was two can play at that game. So that means that one person was being not nice and then when you also decide to be not nice, that makes two people, so you say, two can play at that game. |
| Harp: | Yeah, let’s give an example for this. |
| Maura: | OK. Hey Jane. |
| Harp: | Hi. |
| Maura: | Did you hear that Sue was spreading rumours about you? |
| Harp: | No. |
| Maura: | Yeah, she said that your hair colour isn’t natural. |
| Harp: | Well, two can play at that game. I’m gonna give her a taste of her own medicine and spread some rumours about her. |
| Maura: | So in that example, Sue was spreading rumours and so Jane decided to spread rumours about her in retaliation. |
| Harp: | Yes, because two can play at that game. |
Expressions included from this episode in Lipservice:
| Bank | To build up |
| Dark | A taste of your own medicine |
| A taste | Soap opera |
| To be pushed around | Bully |
| We’ll se how you like it | Two can play at that game |
| Tit for tat | An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth |
| A prison sentence | An eye for an eye makes the whole world blind |
Podcast/ Lipservice: Culips ESL Podcast, Photo: Pascal
