



Hello once again and welcome to another Mansion Ingles podcast. This is podcast number 58 recorded for February 2013.

Este mes, en el nivel básico vamos a practicar algunos frases con los verbos, y también vocabulario sobre el tiempo. The weather. En el nivel intermedio practicamos vocabulario de la compra - Shopping.

There are some more idioms to study in the advanced section along with vocabulary about lies and deception. There's business vocabulary as usual, and of course many more ideas and resources to help you improve your English and take it to the next level.


Ok so, let's begin then as usual with el nivel básico. En el primer ejercicio del nivel básico, habían algunas colocaciones con verbos y sustantivos. Escucha y repite:

to go abroad - abroad significa en el extranjero. Escucha: abroad. Repite: Abroad - to go abroad.  I go abroad every year. I went abroad for Christmas. Did you go abroad last year?

to buy souvenirs. Souvenirs son recuerdos. Escucha: souvenirs. Repite: souvenirs. to buy souvenirs. I buy souvenirs. When I go abroad, I buy souvenirs.

to rent an apartment. - alquiler un piso. apartment es una palabra en el inglés americano. ¿Cómo se dice piso en el inglés britanico? - flat. Repite: flat - to rent a flat. Apartment - to rent an apartment. I want to rent an apartment.

Escucha: to take photos. Repite: photos - take photos. I like taking photos. Did you take any photos?

Escucha: To go for a walk - nota como las palabras for y a se juntan - go for a walk - Repite: walk - for a - for a walk - go for a walk. I often go for a walk after lunch.

Escucha: to have a good time. Repite: time - good time - have a good time. We have a good time. Yesterday we had a good time. Are you having a good time?

to walk around the town. Repite: the town - around - around the town - walk around the town. We love walking around the town.

Escucha: to go by car. Repite: car - by car - go by car - we go to work by car. I went by car. I like going by car.

Escucha: to stay in a hotel. Repite: hotel - in a - in a hotel - stay in a hotel - We stayed in a hotel - Where did you stay? We stayed in a hotel. Did you stay with friends? No, we stayed in a hotel.

Very good! ¿Muy bien!

Luego, hemos practiacado vocabulario sobre el tiempo. ¿Cómo se dice 'hace frio' en inglés? - It's cold. Repite: It's cold.

 ¿Cómo se dice nieve en inglés? - snow. Repite: snow. It snows in winter. Does it snow in winter? Does it snow in Valencia? No, it doesn't. Does it snow in Chicago? Yes, it does.

¿Cómo se dice, 'Hace calor'? - It's hot. Repite: It's hot. It's very hot. It's really hot today.

¿Cómo se dice very very very hot? - It's boiling! Phew, it's boiling in here! - It's boiling today.

¿Cómo se dice niebla en inglés? fog - F-O-G fog - y ¿Qué es el adjetivo? - foggy - It's foggy - It's foggy outside. I can't see, it's foggy.

¿Cómo se dice lluvia en inglés? - rain. repite: rain. Esta lluviendo - it's raining. Repite: It's raining.

¿Cómo se dice 'soleado' en inglés? - sunny. Repite: sunny - It's sunny - Is it sunny? Is it sunny in Valencia? - Yes, it is. It's very sunny.


Ok, moving on to the intermediate section, we practised some vocabulary connected to shopping. Let's see if you can remember the vocabulary if I read the definitions. For example, What's the name of the place, in a clothes shop, where you try on clothes before buying them? It's the...... fitting room. Repeat. the fitting room - Excuse me, where's the fitting room? Can I try this on? Yes sir, the fitting room is over there.

What does the shop assistant usually stand behind? A shop assistant usually stands behind the...... counter. Repeat: counter.

If clothes are the correct size, we say that they.....fit you. If they look good on you, we say that they.....suit you. Repeat: It fits you. Does it fit you? Yes it fits me. - Does it suit me? - Yes, it suits you very well.

What do we call the time of year when shops reduce the price of their goods? This time of year is known as the.... sales. Repeat: sales.  The sales are on in Valencia at the moment. During this time you can very often find good ......bargains. Repeat: bargains. or gangas - bargains - Where did you find that bargain? Repeat: Where did you find that bargain? -  I found it in the sales.

Ok, which two things can you put your shopping in, in a supermarket? Well, if you don't have a lot of shopping, you can put it in a....basket - una cesta. A shopping basket. Repeat: A shopping basket. But if you have a lot of shopping, you'll probably need a ....trolley, a shopping trolley, or a shopping cart as they say in the US. You've probably seen the words "shopping cart" on internet web sites like Amazon, for example. Repeat: basket. Can I have a basket? - trolley - Excuse me, where are the trolleys?

Finally, what's the area of the supermarket called where you pay for your goods? It's called the ....checkout. Repeat: checkout.

Excellent! - Well done!

If you like these podcasts, and if you are learning more English with these podcasts, you can buy full lessons for only 1 euro and 40 centimos from our online shop - nuestra tienda online. Las lecciones están a nivel intermedio (B1). Puedes encontrarlas en mansioninglesdescargas.wazala.com that's: mansioninglesdescargas - todo junto - punto . wazala.com. Cada leccion vale 1.40 euros y dura approx. 1 hora y cada leccion está en el formato mp3 lleva su trascripcion en formato PDF.

There were more idioms this month in the advanced section. Let's see if you can remember the idioms if I say the Spanish equivalent. For example, ser pan comido. Do you remember this idiom in English? It's "A piece of cake.". Repeat: A piece of cake. The exam was a piece of cake. I was nervious before the job interview, but in the end it was a piece of cake.

The next one was más muerto que mi abuela. - "(To be) as dead as a doornail." Repeat. as dead as a doornail. I think I've killed this spider, it's as dead as a doornail.

Then we had the idiom Por los pelos. Do you remember the English? Something about teeth. - "By the skin of our teeth."  or by the skin of my teeth. Repeat: by the skin of my teeth - I passed the exam by the skin of my teeth. They got to the airport late and they caught the plane by the skin of their teeth.

Our next idiom was llevar las riendas. -  "(To be) in the driver's seat." Huge consumer demand for electricity has put energy companies in the driver's seat. - in control.

How do you say "Estar por buen camino" in English? - " To be on the right track."  Repeat: on the right track. Now we're on the right track. We made some mistakes in the beginning, but now we're on the right track.

And finally, Esto es el colmo - Do you remember? "This is the last straw." Repeat: the last straw. It was the last straw.  He came home drunk at 5 o'clock in the morning and that was the last straw.

Listen to the idioms again and repeat them:

  • A piece of cake.
  • (To be) as dead as a doornail.
  • By the skin of our teeth.
  • (To be) in the driver's seat.
  • (To be) on the right track.
  • This is the last straw.

Also in the advanced section, there were some words connected to lies and deception. For example. if you are frank with someone you are honest and sincere with them. For example, "She gave a frank opinion of my work." - "I'll be frank with you." "To be perfectly frank, I don't think it's good enough." Repeat. Let me be frank with you. - To be perfectly frank I don't believe you.

If something is trumped up, it's false or fabricated (fabricado, inventado). trumped up often collocates with 'charges'. He was arrested on trumped up charges. Repeat: trumped up charges. He was arrested on trumped up charges.

Counterfeit money is false or fake money. It's not real. This 50 euro note is counterfeit. The cashier would not accept the payment because it was made with counterfeit money. Repeat: counterfeit money. Don't accept any counterfeit notes. Remember, 'bills' in American English and 'notes' in British English. A 20 dollar bill in America, and a 20 pound note in the UK.

A swindler es un estafador o timador. Someone who tricks you. Don't buy anything from Barry, he's a swindler. The verb is to swindle. They were swindled out of 4,000 pounds. We say that you are swindled out of money. Repeat: He swindled me. He swindled me out of 100 euros.

A more informal way of saying to swindle is to rip off. It's a phrasal verb - R-I-P O-F-F. - Rip off - To rip someone off. For example "He ripped the tourist off." Repeat: to rip off. I was ripped off. He ripped me off at the train station. You can also use this phrasal verb as an noun phrase. Listen: It's a rip-off. Did you pay 70 euros for that bag? What a rip-off! Repeat: It's a rip-off. Don't eat in that restaurant, it's a rip-off. 80 euros for dinner? What a rip-off!

The word authentic is similar in Spanish - auténtico - but what's the opposite of authentic? - fake - F-A-K-E - Repeat, fake. That watch isn't real. It's fake. It's a fake watch. Fake means to have a false or misleading appearance, so a person can also be fake if they are trying to be someone they're not. Listen: I don't like that new secretary, she seems so fake. Repeat: fake - She's so fake.


In the Business English section we looked at some more business English vocabulary.

Listen and repeat: First thing (lo primero) - first thing in the morning (a la primera hora) I'll phone you first thing in the morning. - I'll do it first thing - The first thing I do is check my mail.

To implement means implementar, poner en marcha - Repeat: implement, to implement a plan - When are you going to implement it? - The contract was implemented after everyone signed.

To drive sales means to push or increase sales. It can also be used as a noun - a sales drive. Repeat: sales drive. Our company is embarking on a new sales drive. We're driving sales online.

To jeopardize means to put in danger, to expose to loss or injury, to put at risk. Repeat: jeopardize - He jeopardized his job -  He jeopardized his job by always arriving late. If you do that you'll jeopardize the whole project.

The phrasal verb to take on can mean to employ (contratar). We took on 5 new employees last month. It can also mean hacerse cargo de - I think I've taken on too much work. Repeat: to take on - When did the company take you on? - She's taken on too much work.

A fire drill es un simulacro de incendio and it's very common to have regular fire drills in British and American companies. Repeat: fire drill - There's going to be a fire drill tomorrow. What time's the fire drill?

If your office has a dress code it means there are rules of acceptable clothing. You probably should wear a suit and tie, and jeans and T-shirts are often not suitable. Repeat: dress code. Does the office have a dress code? What will I be expected to wear? If there's no dress code, you can wear whatever you like, although pyjamas are probably not a good idea.

Speaking of pyjamas, I think it's time for me to go to bed or 'hit the sack' as we say in colloquial English. So, I'm going to hit the sack now, but don't worry, we'll be back with you next month with another podcast based on our monthly newsletter, our cuaderno de inglés mensual. Remember, you can listen to all our previous podcasts at mansioningles.com and on iTunes.

Si te gusta este podcast, puedes hacernos un gran favor y escribe por favor una corta critíca en iTunes y darnos estrellas por la calidad del mismo. ¿Como se dice crítica o reseña en inglés? - Review - to write a review. If you write a review on iTunes (si escibes una crítica en iTunes) más personas pueden escucharnos porque subimos en el 'ranking' de iTunes.

Thank you very much for listening to this podcast, and for being part of the community of La Mansión del Inglés.

Remember, If you want to contact us you can find us on Facebook. Just search Facebook for La Mansión del Inglés and join our growing community of fans. Or send me an email to: mansionteachers@yahoo.es. You can also follow us on Twitter. Our Twitter name is MansionTwit.

Puedes ver el cuaderno mensual de este mes, y todos los cuadernos anteriores en www.cuadernodeingles.com/

Until next month then, take care, keep practising and taking your English to the next level! Take care and bye for now!


The music in this month’s podcast is by Revolution Void, the album is The Politics of Desire and the track is called Outer Orbit.























Direct download: podcast__cuaderno58_February_2013.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 3:30pm CET