Are you Early or Late? English Podcast for Vocabulary — Transcript

Full transcript

1. 0:01Everyone, welcome back to another
2. 0:03English vocabulary podcast here on High
3. 0:05Level Listening. Now, quick question for
4. 0:07you. Are you the kind of person who's
5. 0:09always right on time, or are you usually
6. 0:12running a few minutes late?
7. 0:14>> Mhm, yes. Well, as you might be able to
8. 0:16guess, today we're talking about time.
9. 0:19But specifically, we're talking about
10. 0:21being punctual, which is being on time,
11. 0:25and also being late, as well as all the
12. 0:27other little habits and behaviors that
13. 0:30determine whether you arrive with time
14. 0:32to spare, or you're rushing through the
15. 0:34door at the very last second.
16. 0:37>> So, like always, we've got two short
17. 0:39stories. One in American English with
18. 0:41me, Kat, and one in British English with
19. 0:44Mark. And it's going to be packed with
20. 0:46natural B1 and a sprinkle of B2 phrases
21. 0:49that you can use to talk about your very
22. 0:51own life.
23. 0:53>> Yeah, exactly. And like always, we'll go
24. 0:55through each of our stories multiple
25. 0:57times to help you learn new words and
26. 0:59phrases to take your English to the next
27. 1:01level.
28. 1:02>> And if you really enjoyed learning this
29. 1:04practical vocabulary through everyday
30. 1:06topics like this in our stories, you can
31. 1:08find more than 100 real-life topics
32. 1:11inside our study guide, My Year of
33. 1:13English Vocabulary. You can find over
34. 1:152,400 words and phrases and much more in
35. 1:19the link in the description below.
36. 1:24>> Okay, so let's hear our first story. Kat
37. 1:27will go first.
38. 1:29Kat, are you someone who likes to arrive
39. 1:31early, or do you usually cut it quite
40. 1:34close?
41. 1:35>> Well, I'm definitely an early person. I
42. 1:38hate feeling rushed, so I always give
43. 1:40myself plenty of time to get somewhere.
44. 1:42If, say, I have an appointment at 10:00,
45. 1:45I'll try to aim to get there 15 minutes
46. 1:47early. I'd much rather have time to
47. 1:49spare than be pressed for time.
48. 1:51The kind of the downside is that
49. 1:53sometimes I end up waiting around for
50. 1:54everyone else to show up.
51. 1:57And what about you, Mark? Are you
52. 1:58normally pretty punctual?
53. 2:01>> I try to be, but I have a terrible habit
54. 2:04of cutting it very fine. I'll be getting
55. 2:07ready and think I'll have loads of time,
56. 2:09and then suddenly I'm running behind.
57. 2:12Usually it's because I lose track of
58. 2:13time while I'm doing something else. I
59. 2:16rarely completely miss things, but I do
60. 2:19often find myself scrambling out the
61. 2:21door and arriving right at the last
62. 2:23minute more often than I'd like.
63. 2:29Okay. So, you've heard both of our
64. 2:31stories. You might have heard that Kat
65. 2:33and I are quite opposites this time.
66. 2:36Don't worry if you didn't catch
67. 2:37everything the first time. We're about
68. 2:39to go back to the start of our stories
69. 2:41and go through them one more time, and
70. 2:43we'll focus on the words and phrases
71. 2:45about being early and on time and being
72. 2:49a little bit late. So, back to the start
73. 2:52of your story, Kat. Do you usually
74. 2:54arrive early or do you cut it pretty
75. 2:56close?
76. 2:58>> I'm definitely an early person.
77. 3:02All right, so let's hear that one again.
78. 3:03I'm definitely an early person. So,
79. 3:06that's a good way to say 100% no doubt
80. 3:10about it. I am definitely
81. 3:14an early person.
82. 3:16So, when you kind of say this phrase,
83. 3:18I'm an early person, I'm a cat person,
84. 3:21I'm a tea person, right? So, this just
85. 3:25basically means that I am a person who
86. 3:28likes to have tea. I am a person who
87. 3:31likes to be early. I'm a person who
88. 3:33likes to
89. 3:35hang out with cats. So, I'm a cat
90. 3:37person. I'm an early person. Don't
91. 3:39forget because we're using the word
92. 3:41early with a vowel, we say an early, an
93. 3:45early person. So, I'm definitely an
94. 3:47early person.
95. 3:50>> Okay. So, why do you like getting to
96. 3:52things early?
97. 3:54>> Oh, I hate feeling rushed. So, I always
98. 3:57give myself plenty of time to get
99. 3:58somewhere.
100. 4:00Now, this this feels kind of strong. I
101. 4:03hate feeling rushed. I just hate it,
102. 4:06right? So, I hate feeling rushed. If you
103. 4:10are rushing or you are rushing someone
104. 4:13else, it means that you are pushing them
105. 4:16and you are giving them pressure to
106. 4:18hurry up. Go faster. Go faster. We might
107. 4:21be late. Oh, I'm so sorry. I was rushing
108. 4:23this morning. I forgot my backpack. I
109. 4:25forgot my laptop at home. I was rushing.
110. 4:28So, that means that I thought I was
111. 4:30going to be late and I started to worry.
112. 4:32So, I went faster. So, I hate feeling
113. 4:35rushed.
114. 4:36I hate feeling rushed. So, I always give
115. 4:39myself plenty of time.
116. 4:42So, when you give yourself
117. 4:45plenty of time, that sounds like you're
118. 4:47very organized. You're very you're
119. 4:49you're planning to be there early. So,
120. 4:52okay, an hour before. All right, I need
121. 4:5420 minutes to drive there, 10 minutes to
122. 4:57get ready, 20 minutes for this. So, I'm
123. 4:59giving myself plenty of time. So, I'm
124. 5:03organized. I've planned everything. I'm
125. 5:05giving myself plenty of time. So, I hate
126. 5:07feeling rushed. So, I always give myself
127. 5:10plenty of time to get somewhere.
128. 5:13>> Okay, that makes sense. Well, how early
129. 5:16are we talking? How early is early?
130. 5:19>> Okay, well, let's say if if I have an
131. 5:21appointment at 10:00, I'll try to aim to
132. 5:23get there 15 minutes early.
133. 5:26So, this is kind of um, you know, I I
134. 5:29don't have an appointment right now, but
135. 5:31if if I have an appointment at 10:00,
136. 5:34I'll try to aim to get there 15 minutes
137. 5:37early.
138. 5:39So, I'll try to aim. We use this a lot
139. 5:42with time. Uh, let's aim for 10:00. That
140. 5:46means I want you to be there at 10:00,
141. 5:48but if it's a little before and a little
142. 5:50after, that's okay. So, I'll try to aim
143. 5:54to get there 15 minutes early. Here
144. 5:57we're using the word get again to arrive
145. 6:00to get there 15 minutes early. Right?
146. 6:03So, I'm not trying to aim for 10:00. I'm
147. 6:07actually aiming for 9:45. Right? That
148. 6:09gives me plenty of time to get there, to
149. 6:12park, to walk in the door, etc.
150. 6:16>> And so, that way if you're held up or
151. 6:18you're delayed, you've still got time.
152. 6:20>> Exactly. I'd much rather have time to
153. 6:23spare than be pressed for time.
154. 6:26So, if you agree with someone, you
155. 6:28There's lots of different ways to say
156. 6:30that I agree, but exactly is a really
157. 6:33good one. Uh exactly. I'd much rather
158. 6:38So, we're using a phrase here, I would,
159. 6:41and it's I'd.
160. 6:43I would. That means if something happens
161. 6:46in the future, this is my choice.
162. 6:49I'd much rather
163. 6:52have time to spare
164. 6:55than be pressed for time.
165. 6:58So, that means if I have the choice, I
166. 7:01would choose this. I'd much rather have
167. 7:04time to spare.
168. 7:06Sometimes some people will ask you,
169. 7:08"Hey, do you have any spare something?
170. 7:11Do you have any spare pens?
171. 7:13Um do you have any spare time later?"
172. 7:15Spare time or spare pens, these are
173. 7:18extra, extra time, kind of like free
174. 7:20time. So, I'd rather have time to spare,
175. 7:24meaning some extra time where I'm doing
176. 7:26nothing, than be pressed for time. Okay,
177. 7:30think of like pressed for time. If you
178. 7:33are pressed for time, you don't have a
179. 7:35lot of it. All right? Oh, I'm so sorry,
180. 7:38I'm pressed for time right now. Um I
181. 7:40don't have any free time. We can't talk
182. 7:41right now. I have to go. Sorry. Sorry.
183. 7:43Sorry. No free time. I am pressed for
184. 7:45time right now.
185. 7:47So, I'd much rather have time to spare
186. 7:50than be pressed for time.
187. 7:52>> Okay. Well,
188. 7:53are there any downsides of being so
189. 7:56early all the time?
190. 7:57>> Well, yeah. I guess sometimes I do end
191. 8:00up waiting around for everyone else.
192. 8:02Not everyone is as punctual as I am.
193. 8:05>> All right. That's your reward for being
194. 8:07organized.
195. 8:09>> exactly. Sometimes I end up Sometimes I
196. 8:13end up waiting around for everyone else.
197. 8:17So, this phrase I end up in my head, I'm
198. 8:21there early and I get there early and
199. 8:23everything goes very smoothly.
200. 8:25But, in the end
201. 8:27I end up waiting around for everyone
202. 8:31else.
203. 8:32Now, what's the difference between
204. 8:33waiting for everyone else and waiting
205. 8:35around for everyone else? Waiting around
206. 8:38sounds like I'm bored.
207. 8:40Oh, yeah. Well, they're looking over
208. 8:42here. Looking at her ass. Gosh, well.
209. 8:44I'm sure they'll be here soon. I'm just
210. 8:46waiting around. It's a little bit more
211. 8:48casual, but it does sound like I I don't
212. 8:50have anything to do. If I'm waiting for
213. 8:52my friends, I might be impatient. I
214. 8:55might be just worried about them. You
215. 8:57know, I'm waiting for I'm waiting for
216. 8:58you. Are you Are you coming? I'm waiting
217. 9:00for you. But, I'm just waiting around,
218. 9:02so no big deal. It means I have nothing
219. 9:04to do. I'm bored. I'm here. I'm waiting
220. 9:07around for you.
221. 9:09All right. So, that's the end of my side
222. 9:11of the story. Let's go ahead and listen
223. 9:13to Mark's side of the story. Mark, do
224. 9:16you consider yourself punctual?
225. 9:19>> Uh I try to be, but I have a terrible
226. 9:22habit of cutting it very fine.
227. 9:26So, I try to be, but I have a terrible
228. 9:29habit of cutting it very fine.
229. 9:34So, am I punctual?
230. 9:36I try to be. Like I try to be punctual.
231. 9:40I try to be on time, but I don't have to
232. 9:43say those extra words.
233. 9:44Like are you a healthy person? I try to
234. 9:47be.
235. 9:48But I have a terrible habit.
236. 9:52When you talk about yourself, especially
237. 9:54if there's some characteristic or
238. 9:56behavior that you don't like and you're
239. 9:58a little bit embarrassed by it and
240. 10:00you're like uh
241. 10:02I have a terrible habit of eating too
242. 10:05much before bed or have a terrible habit
243. 10:08of staying up and looking at my phone
244. 10:11instead of going to sleep. So my
245. 10:12terrible habit of cutting it very fine.
246. 10:17This is a first the first time phrase in
247. 10:20my story. If you cut something fine,
248. 10:24fine can actually mean like thin. So
249. 10:27imagine you're cutting fruit or like
250. 10:30garlic and you're slicing it to very
251. 10:32fine little pieces. But we also use it
252. 10:35with time. If you cut it very fine, then
253. 10:38you are very very close to the deadline.
254. 10:42Maybe you have to be somewhere at 9:00
255. 10:44and you arrive at 8:59.
256. 10:47You're like,
257. 10:48"Oh, that's close. You are cutting it
258. 10:50very fine." This is also something that
259. 10:52teachers like to say when their students
260. 10:55just arrive on time or maybe
261. 10:58you're about to leave the house and you
262. 11:00know there's traffic and you know
263. 11:02they're going to be very close to
264. 11:04missing it. You're like, "Oh, you you're
265. 11:07leaving now? You're cutting it very
266. 11:09fine."
267. 11:10So that's a phrase to arrive right on
268. 11:13time or just before where maybe it's
269. 11:15kind of stressful, maybe you're a bit
270. 11:17panicky, maybe it's making the people
271. 11:19waiting for you nervous as well. So I
272. 11:21have a terrible habit of cutting it very
273. 11:24fine.
274. 11:26>> I know. So [clears throat] what happens
275. 11:27when you do that?
276. 11:29>> Uh usually I'll be getting ready and
277. 11:31I'll think "I've got loads of time." And
278. 11:33then suddenly, I'm running behind.
279. 11:37So, I'll be getting ready, and I'll
280. 11:38think, "I've got loads of time." And
281. 11:41then suddenly, I'm running behind.
282. 11:44So, yes, I know I have an appointment or
283. 11:47something later. So, I'm getting ready.
284. 11:50Getting ready is a general term for
285. 11:54preparing yourself. So, it could be
286. 11:55brushing my teeth, brushing my hair,
287. 11:57choosing my clothes, uh putting on
288. 12:01makeup or something like that, and
289. 12:03getting ready. So, again, when you are
290. 12:06talking about getting ready for work, or
291. 12:09your kids putting on their uniform and
292. 12:11packing their books, they are getting
293. 12:13ready for school. So, I'll be getting
294. 12:15ready, and I'll think, "Oh, yeah. I only
295. 12:18need 2 minutes to brush my teeth, or I
296. 12:21need like 1 minute to put on my clothes.
297. 12:24So, I've got loads of time.
298. 12:27I've got lots of time." In the UK, we
299. 12:29love to say "loads." Oh, yeah, loads of
300. 12:32people, got loads of money.
301. 12:34I've got loads of time, and then
302. 12:35suddenly,
303. 12:37I'm running behind.
304. 12:40So, I'm not literally running, but I'm
305. 12:43checking my watch, or I'm checking my
306. 12:45phone, and I am behind schedule. I am
307. 12:49running behind.
308. 12:50You can say this if you're in a hurry.
309. 12:52You're like, "Come on, hurry up. We're
310. 12:54running behind. We're running behind
311. 12:56schedule." It's a common phrase at work,
312. 12:59but generally, shortly, you can say,
313. 13:01"Oh, we're late. I'm running behind."
314. 13:04>> I like that phrase a lot. I use that all
315. 13:06the time because I don't use the word
316. 13:08late because, you know, if it's a
317. 13:10meeting with friends or something, "Oh,
318. 13:12I'm running behind. I I was expecting to
319. 13:15get there early, but I'm running
320. 13:16behind." So, I like that phrase a lot. I
321. 13:18use it
322. 13:19>> it sounds like you have the chance to
323. 13:20catch up and get back on track.
324. 13:23>> Mhm. That's true. I like that. Yes,
325. 13:24there is a positive. It's like, "Oh, I I
326. 13:26could still get there on time, maybe."
327. 13:28But But I am running a bit behind.
328. 13:31So, um
329. 13:33So, what are What are you doing that you
330. 13:34end up running late in the end?
331. 13:37>> Yeah, usually it's because I lose track
332. 13:39of time while I'm doing something else.
333. 13:42So, usually it's because I lose track of
334. 13:45time while I'm doing something else.
335. 13:48So, main phrase, I lose track of time.
336. 13:52If you lose track, it kind of means you
337. 13:55forget about it, or maybe you forget
338. 13:59what you need to do. Uh a track can also
339. 14:02be like a path or a trail, and you
340. 14:04follow the track, and if you lose the
341. 14:07track, you get lost. You're like, "Oh,
342. 14:10wait. Where am I? What?" And I'm a bit
343. 14:12confused. So, again, maybe I think I
344. 14:14only need 1 minute to put my clothes on,
345. 14:16but then I get distracted by something.
346. 14:19I have a message on my phone. I'll
347. 14:21quickly reply to that. And then, "Oh,
348. 14:22where is that shirt I put on?" Oh,
349. 14:25it's on the Oh, it's over there. And
350. 14:27suddenly, you lose track of time. Things
351. 14:29just take longer than you expect, and
352. 14:31suddenly, oh yeah, I'm running behind.
353. 14:35>> Now, you're you're talking about cutting
354. 14:37it fine, right? And you're talking about
355. 14:39losing track of time, but are you
356. 14:41actually late all that often?
357. 14:44>> I I rarely completely miss things, but I
358. 14:48do often find myself scrambling out the
359. 14:50door and arriving right at the last
360. 14:53minute more often than I'd like.
361. 14:56So, I rarely completely miss things, but
362. 14:58I do often find myself scrambling out
363. 15:01the door and arriving right at the last
364. 15:03minute more often than I'd like.
365. 15:07So, yes, through my story, I am
366. 15:09sometimes very, very close to missing
367. 15:12it, but I rarely completely miss things.
368. 15:16So, it's not like I forget about it, or
369. 15:19I'm so late that I can't go to the
370. 15:22appointment or I'm so late that I've
371. 15:25missed the train,
372. 15:26but I do often find myself scrambling
373. 15:30out the door.
374. 15:32We've done this trick lots of times in
375. 15:34previous episodes. If you say one thing,
376. 15:36I don't completely miss things,
377. 15:39but I do often find myself If you want
378. 15:43to stress that two things are both true,
379. 15:46but they're very different, we put a do
380. 15:49with some emphasis before your verbs.
381. 15:52So, I do like the horror films. I just
382. 15:55think they're scary.
383. 15:56Um I do often find myself scrambling out
384. 15:59the door.
385. 16:00Scrambling is kind of running in a hurry
386. 16:04and grabbing my keys, my phone, my
387. 16:07wallet, a hat, and I'm just in a real
388. 16:10hurry. I'm scrambling out the door
389. 16:12and arriving right at the last minute.
390. 16:17Maybe I have a train and it leaves at
391. 16:199:02.
392. 16:21I run onto the platform at 9:01.
393. 16:24That is right at the last minute. I get
394. 16:27on the train and the doors close behind
395. 16:29me. So, if you cut it very fine or cut
396. 16:32it very close, you also arrive right at
397. 16:35the last minute.
398. 16:37>> Okay, so let's go ahead and hear both of
399. 16:39those stories all together once more.
400. 16:42I'm definitely an early person. I hate
401. 16:45feeling rushed, so I always give myself
402. 16:47plenty of time to get somewhere. Uh
403. 16:49let's say if I have an appointment at
404. 16:5110:00, I'll try to aim to get there
405. 16:53maybe 15 minutes early. I'd much rather
406. 16:55have time to spare than be pressed for
407. 16:58time. Right? So, the downside is that
408. 17:00sometimes I do end up waiting around for
409. 17:02everyone else.
410. 17:04>> And then my story one more time. I try
411. 17:07to be, but I have a terrible habit of
412. 17:09cutting it very fine. I'll be getting
413. 17:12ready and I'll think I've got loads of
414. 17:14time and then suddenly I'm running
415. 17:16behind. Usually it's because I lose
416. 17:18track of time while I'm doing something
417. 17:20else.
418. 17:21I rarely completely miss things, but I
419. 17:23do often find myself scrambling out the
420. 17:25door and arriving right at the last
421. 17:27minute more than I'd like.
422. 17:30>> Okay, so today you heard lots of natural
423. 17:32ways to talk about being early, being
424. 17:35punctual, and of course cutting it fine
425. 17:38or running a bit behind.
426. 17:40>> Yeah, so in Kat's story, we heard
427. 17:42phrases like early person, feeling
428. 17:44rushed, plenty of time, time to spare,
429. 17:48and wait around.
430. 17:50>> And for Mark's story, you heard the
431. 17:52words like punctual, cutting it very
432. 17:54fine, running behind, losing track of
433. 17:57time, rushing and scrambling out the
434. 17:59door, and right at the last minute.
435. 18:03>> Yeah, okay. So, now we want to hear from
436. 18:04you. Are you more like me or are you
437. 18:06more like Kat? If you're meeting a
438. 18:08friend at 7:00, do you get there sort of
439. 18:1110-15 minutes early or do you get there
440. 18:14exactly at 7:00 or are you there at 7:05
441. 18:18sending them a message going, "Sorry,
442. 18:19I'm on the way."?
443. 18:22>> And what normally makes you late? Are
444. 18:24you losing track of time? Are you taking
445. 18:26too long to get ready? Or do you just
446. 18:28kind of underestimate how long it'll
447. 18:30take you to get somewhere? Let us know
448. 18:32in the comments below. We read and reply
449. 18:34to every single one.
450. 18:36>> And if you like learning this way
451. 18:37through conversational topics and you
452. 18:40want to learn phrases that you can use
453. 18:42to talk about your daily life, we've
454. 18:44created that My Year of English
455. 18:46Vocabulary product for you.
456. 18:49>> Inside, you'll learn over 2,400 useful
457. 18:52words and phrases across more than 100
458. 18:54real-life topics just like the one today
459. 18:56with both American and British English
460. 18:59so you can steadily build your everyday
461. 19:01vocabulary throughout the entire year.
462. 19:04>> Exactly. Yeah, it works out to around
463. 19:06200 new words and phrases every month
464. 19:09covering everyday life, feelings, work,
465. 19:12relationships, travels, all the topics
466. 19:14that we've covered in our previous
467. 19:15episodes and loads more.
468. 19:18>> And you can check out my year of English
469. 19:19vocabulary in the link in the
470. 19:21description below.
471. 19:23>> Okay, thank you very much for watching.
472. 19:25Don't forget to like and subscribe if
473. 19:26you want more natural American and
474. 19:28British English here at High Level
475. 19:29Listening and we'll see you very soon.
476. 19:31Bye-bye.
477. 19:32>> Thank you. Bye, everybody.