-----------------------------
OPENING (0:00)
-----------------------------
Hello from Shinjuku, Tokyo and welcome to eipod.
Eipod is the podcast for eigo on the go so you can practice your
English
on the train, the treadmill, or the tatami.
I'm Russell and I'll be your host for your English adventure.
First off this week, I’d like to thank all the many people who
downloaded podcast number one.
I hope you found it interesting and useful. Please write in with your
comments and suggestions for future shows. Also, if you have questions
you would like to hear answered during the podcast, please send me an
email and I’ll try to answer those so everyone can hear the answer. And
even if you don’t have any suggestions or questions, I’d still like to
hear from you. Please write to mail at eipod dot net That’s M A I L at
mark E I P O D dot N E T
I’d also like to thank Scott Lockman from the Tokyo Calling podcast for
his feedback, advice, and kind words.
OK. On to the rest of the podcast.
First today, is our news segment, which we call [FACT AND FICTION]
-----------------------------
FACT AND FICTION (1:20)
-----------------------------
This segment is called FACT AND FICTION. It is a light take on the
week's news.
Some of it is true and some of it is not. See if you can guess what’s
true and what isn’t. It might be harder that you suspect.
After the defeat of his postal reform bill in early August, Prime
Minister Koizumi called a snap election set for the unfortunate date of
September 11th. Koizumi explained that waiting until January 19th, for
a 119 emergency election was too long so he settled for the American
style 911. Because the election is on the anniversary of the 2001
attacks on the World Trade Center and because of increased terror
threats against Japan in the last few weeks, Koizumi has asked
politicians to take additional safety measures. All politicians will
now be required to wear TWO pairs of white gloves while using speaker
trucks.
Koizumi told the 30 rebels in his own party that voted against the
postal reforms that they would not be allowed to run on the Liberal
Democratic ticket. In fact, Koizumi has sent so-called “assassins” to
run against the rebels in the upcoming elections. Koizumi cited Takeda
Shingen as one of the inspirations for his tactics. The “assassins”
will include a former Miss Tokyo University, popular politicians from
other areas, career bureaucrats, an internet tycoon, and numerous
unknown ninja.
Although public support has generally been in Koizumi’s favor, many
commentators have used words like 'willful' and 'disrespectful' to
describe the prime minister.
Critics claim that attempts by Koizumi to save money by closing
redundant post offices threaten the jobs of 25,000 postal workers, but
what may be more important than savings or jobs to the politicians is
the 250 billion dollars in postal savings used to bankroll pork
projects for politicians. Largely because of these so-called economic
stimulation programs, Japan’s debt now stands at over seven trillion
dollars.
And that is this weeks FACT AND FICTION. Now let's review in our
second segment
FACT AND DICTION.
-----------------------------
FACT AND DICTION (4:11)
-----------------------------
Here are eleven key words from today's news with brief definitions and
sample
sentences:
reform – to change something for the better.
NOTE: reform and renew are not used for buildings. Use renovation for
buildings.
The president called for reform of the tax system.
measure – a way to deal with a situation
Arrest is an extreme measure to stop smoking on streets.
snap – originally the sharp sound of something quickly breaking, now it
can also be used to indicate something sudden--like two things coming
together like fingers or a kind of button(snap).
He made a snap decision to fire the employee because he was angry.
election – the time of voting for someone for a political office
NOTE: Remember to pronounce this L correctly or you could make an
embarrassing mistake. Roll the “L” from the top of your mouth behind
your teeth. Do not tap your tongue to the top of your mouth.
This is a huge election coming up for Koizumi.
assassin – a killer of important people
Many people believe JFK was killed by more than one assassin.
tactic – a short term plan to gain an advantage
Tactics deal with particular actions while a strategy is a broader
outlook.
bureaucrat – a person belonging to a government system that controls
things according to strict rules
The bureaucrat wasn’t used to thinking creatively since she always had
to follow strict rules.
commentator – someone who offers public comments about or descriptions
of an event
The tennis commentator offered analysis of the match between games.
redundant – repeating without offering added meaning or benefit
To say the TOEIC test is redundant because TOEIC is an acronym from the
words Test of English for International Communication.
pork – money politicians bring back to their area to gain popularity
In Japan, money for highways and construction projects is a popular
type of pork
billion / trillion – a billion is 1 followed by nine zeros. a trillion
is 1 followed by 12 zeros
stimulation – causing something to become more active through input
Her life felt boring without the intellectual stimulation of university.
These words, definitions, and the transcript of today’s program are
available online at eipod.net You can use rikai.com to automatically
look up all of the words in today’s transcript. Rikai.com is today’s
WEB RESOURCE.
Rikai.com is a great resource for Japanese students of English because
it reduces the amount of time and work spent looking up things in the
dictionary.
You’ll find a link to rikai.com on eipod.net. as well as rikai’s idiom
of the day. Please check the site everyday to see the day’s idiom.
Remember, after listening to the podcast, try taking dictation and
checking what you’ve written against the transcript. This is a great
way to see just how much you were able to hear and what your weaknesses
are. After you’ve built your listening skills, try building your
speaking skills by speaking along with the podcast from the transcript.
Finally, try shadowing the podcast with no transcript at all. Shadowing
is one of the first things done in interpreter school, so for those of
you hoping to be an interpreter, this is great practice.
Please feel free to add you comments and questions at eipod.net
-----------------------------
BUZZ WORD (10:20)
-----------------------------
It's time for Buzz Word.
In buzz word we pick a new or newly popular word in English.
Today’s word is metrosexual.
The word metrosexual is a bit of wordplay. You might remember last week
we focused on the word metropolis. Metro these days usually means
something urban but it originally comes from the Greek word for
mother. A metrosexual is a heterosexual male who spends a lot of
time and effort on his appearance. Though this word was first coined
more than ten years ago in Britain, it recently became popular in the
United States at about the same time that the television show QUEER EYE
FOR THE STRAIGHT GUY became a hit. In this show five gay men give a
straight man a makeover.
In reaction to the term metrosexual a new term was coined: retrosexual.
A retrosexual man is an old-fashioned style male who spends as little
money and time as possible on his appearance.
I heard that Koizumi often gets his hair permed. Does that make him a
metrosexual? You be the judge.
-----------------------------
CLOSING (12:12)
That's it for this weeks eipod podcast. Join us again next week for
more eigo on
the go. And please visit our website www.eipod.net That's E I P O D dot
N E T.
Please let me know what you think of the podcast by sending a mail to
mail at eipod . net. Thanks again and see you next week.
-----------------------------