English Boost Level Up Your Skills | English Podcast Conversation | Episode 24

[Music] hello English Learners welcome back to another great lesson at English pod my name is Marco and my name's Erica and today we're going to be building something that's right uh we've got a lesson about um construction cool so we're going to be working at a construction site today and we're going to learn a lot of cool vocabulary with different types of tools and we'll also learn some phrases that you can use to talk about work so even if you're not really interested in building and making stuff with your hands um you will learn some

language to talk about work in general all right so before we get started with this construction dialogue let's take a look at vocabulary preview vocabulary preview well Marco we're going to look at two words now and like you said we're building something in this lesson right right we're going to be building a deck a deck a deck all right so a deck what is that basically it's an elevated wooden platform that houses will have like in their backyards maybe so it's a a platform that's a little bit higher off the ground MH behind your house

mhm so it's very popular for houses to have decks and people will put out a table and chairs and maybe have lunch out there or something or barbecue or something ex y okay so a deck now they're building this deck and they they need to follow some plans plans plans the plans that we're talking about are construction plans yeah it's kind of like the map for the deck how you're going to build it exactly so we can have floor plans for example M so that that shows you how the the building looks like where the

different rooms are like a house right so it's basically the map for a construction okay great so two interesting words we're going to hear both of these in the dialogue now why don't we get started and and find out what's going to happen as they're building this deck all right ladies and gentlemen we you've been hired to build a deck on this here house and turn this boring and drab lawn into a Backyard Oasis there is one catch though we've only got one day to finish this so I'm going to need everyone to give 110%

today it's going to be tough but we've got a great team here and I know that together we can tackle this project that being said let's get to work that's right now remember we've been over the plans but we really need to make sure that everything is up to code the home inspectors here are pretty th so please make sure you follow the plans exactly and remember the Carpenters rule of thumb measure twice cut once okay guys let's get at it Bob pass me that hammer the nails won't go in wood is too hard I

think I'm going to need the nail gun that did it hey do me a favor and help me cut this this 2x4 will you pass me that circle saw and grab hold of the end of the board now help me drill some holes in it so we can place the bolts I think you should sand the edges look at all these splinters someone could get hurt jeez you got to take pride in your work yeah you're right pass me the sander and I'll take care of it Julia get over here with that level measuring tape

and not box of screws oh no Look Out Below all right so there are a lot of people building the deck they have to build it fast they've only got one day so it's a really big challenge huh yeah and I think this is a good lesson in uh maybe not rushing through important projects right exactly so we saw some really interesting tools that they were using so why don't we look at that first in language takeaway language take away all right so we got some language all about tools so why don't we just get

started so they mentioned a nail gun nail gun a nail gun so we all know about Hammers and Nails right right so so the nails are what you put in the wood exactly now this is an advanced tool so you don't have to use a hammer it's kind of hard to explain so why don't we listen to the sound this tool makes well I guess like its name suggests it's a gun for putting nails in Wood yeah it it actually uses compressed air to push Nails really fast into the wood all right all right so

they're nailing some some some pieces of wood together but they also needed to cut the wood and they said um help me cut the 2x4 yeah she said help me cut this 2x4 so a 2x4 this is a very popular type of wood that you use in construction a 2x4 is BAS basically 2 in by 4 in so 2 in High and 4 in wide mhm so it's the most popular and common type of wood that you would use for construction a 2x4 you'll hear it all the time so they're going to cut the 2x4

and C said pass me the circular saw a circular saw a circular saw so a saw we understand is something you use to cut wood mhm but you have many types of saws you have a band saw you have a circular saw and this one makes this [Applause] sound so I guess it's called a circular saw because the blade or The Cutting part is shaped in a circle yeah a circular saw so after they cut the piece of wood one of the guys said I think you should sand the edges to sand something to sand

something all right so if you want to sand usually a piece of wood you want to use paper covered in sand to make it very smooth yeah exactly and so um they also mentioned a sander right uh a sander is basically a machine that has this sandpaper on it and will do the hard work for you all right so to sand something and a sander now our next word is very related to sanding something because if you don't sand a piece of wood it might have splinters splinters Splinter splinters so like I said if you

cut a piece of wood they're little pieces of wood that stick out and you can get hurt they can get under your skin yeah so tiny tiny parts of wood mhm that's called a splinter mhm a splinter okay so why don't we go on to our next tool they were talking about a level a level the level all right so this is a tool that all Carpenters have and it's basically a tool that has a little bit of water in it right yeah and it helps you make sure that everything is straight and flat exactly

so that's a level every carpenter has it and also a measuring tape a measuring tape measuring tape now I'm sure if this was a video podcast we could show show you what a measuring tape was and you'd really understand it but we'll do our best to describe it for you so a measuring tape is like a ruler that rolls up mhm yeah it's a very convenient ruler because you can it can roll up and you can measure something that is maybe six feet or a three meters long and you can extend it and when you're

done measuring you can put it back and just put it in your pocket yeah every every carpenter has one a measuring tape all right so that's our last tool that we're going to talk about so why don't we move on now to fluency Builder where we've got some uh phrases that you can use to talk about work fluency Builder so when the contractor started giving them instructions he said I need everyone to give 110% today to give 110% so when you give 110% you are basically trying very hard yeah you you give everything you have

to your job right so it's not only 100% it's 110 more than what's needed so no lunch break exactly so as they were talking about the instructions one of the guys said The Carpenter's rule of thumb a rule of thumb so this is an interesting phrase rule of thumb what does that mean exactly okay well you know what I think we can understand the meaning pretty clearly if we listen to some examples example one the rule of thumb in making a sale is confidence without confidence you don't make a sale example two the Tailor's rule

of thumb is twice the circumference of the wrist is the circumference of the neck example three you don't have to take everything I say about marketing as a rule of thumb um one of the guys noticed a few problems you know the splinters um and he said you've got to take pride in your work okay so to take pride in your work to take pride in your work why did he say that to her what what is he trying to tell her well because she made some mistakes she didn't do such a good job he's

wanting her to work harder work better work more carefully okay and so she can be proud of her work and say this is a job well done so when you take pride in your work you work so well and do such a good job that you feel really happy about it all right good so why don't we listen to this dialogue again for the last time and uh then we'll come back and talk about all right ladies and gentlemen we've been hired to build a deck on this here house and turn this boring and drawn

into a Backyard Oasis there is one catch though we've only got one day to finish this so I'm going to need everyone to give 110% today it's going to be tough but we've got a great team here and I know that together we can tackle this project that being said let's get to work that's right now remember we've been over the plans but we really need to make sure that everything is up to code the home inspectors here are pretty thorough so please make sure you follow the plans exactly and remember the Carpenters rule of

thumb measure twice cut once okay guys let's get at it Bob pass me that hammer the nail nail won't go in the wood is too hard I think I'm going to need the nail gun that did it hey do me a favor and help me cut this 2x4 will you pass me that circle saw and grab hold of the end of the board now help me drill some holes in it so we can place the bolts I think you should sand the edges look at all these splinters someone could get hurt jeez you got to

take pride in your work yeah you're right pass me the sander and I'll take care of it Julia get over here with that level measuring tape and that box of screws oh no Look Out Below so an interesting aspect of North American culture is uh projects like this right building a deck or maybe adding a room to your house yeah that's right and we call this um DIY right DIY do it yourself mhm so it's a very popular summer project right right so if you live um in a in a neighborhood in North America you

might see like you know the dad of a family outside building something and all his friends come over and they you know drink beer and build this big thing together right so it could be a treehouse it could be a deck it could even maybe be adding another room to the house yeah and you know it's actually it's so popular that there are tons of TV shows about how to build stuff for your house and there are are a lot of really big stores where you can go and find like all of this equipment for

building stuff for your house right so basically there are these big stores where you can get anything from paint to Wood to tools huge amount of uh material so you can do it yourself mhm you can DIY all right so that's all the time we have for today but let us know what you think and tell us if you are into doing handiwork like this like maybe building a treehouse or building a deck that's right you can come to our it at englishpod do.com and tell us about it as well you can also leave your

questions there all right so we'll see you guys there and until next time thanks for listening and goodbye [Music] [Music] bye the English pod audio review listen to the meaning then say the vocabulary word a circular saw mounted under a table or bed bench so that large pieces of wood could be cut table saw to try your best to give 110% a decorative strip used for ornamentation or finishing on the edges of a wall molding a piece of wood that is 2 in thick and 4 in wide 2x4 a wall or ceiling constructed of a

prefabricated material such as plaster board or paneling drywall let your effort be a reflection of your skill take pride in your work a person or firm that supplies materials or labor for other companies contractor set of actions to complete a task plans a person who makes or repairs wooden structures Carpenter a tool used to measure how long something is measuring tape let's try that faster let your effort be a reflection of your skill take pride in your work a circular saw mounted under a table or bench so that large pieces of wood could be cut

table saw a piece of wood that is 2 in thick and 4 in wide 2x4 to try your best to give 110% a decorative strip used for ornamentation or finishing on the edges of a wall molding a tool used to measure how long something is measuring tape set of actions to complete a task plans a person or firm that supplies materials or labor for other companies contractor a wall or ceiling constructed of a prefabricated material such as plaster board or paneling drywall a person who makes or repairs wooden structures Carpenter now say the word and

hear it in a sentence to give 110% it's not enough to try your best you have to give 110% if you want to be successful to give 110% we really have to give 110% today if we want to finish this project on time to give 110% good job team you really gave 110% out there today 2x4 we need another 2x4 to finish this deck 2x4 I can't come to work today because the 2x4 fell from my roof and hit me on the head 2x4 did you see that that wrestler pulled out a 2x4 and broke

it on the other guy's back take pride in your work when you take pride in your work you will start to enjoy it more and may even want to learn more to improve yourself take pride in your work I respect Jim a lot because he really takes pride in his work and is very dedicated take pride in your work how can I take pride in my work if I don't enjoy what I'm doing plans Carl I need the kitchen plans today so I can start putting up the kitchen cabinets plans these floor plans are in

Chinese we need to get them translated before we start construction plans our architect isn't done drawing our floor plans but I'm sure the house is going to look great measuring tape this measuring tape is in inches I need one that has centimeters on it measuring tape measuring tapes were originally used by tailor and dress makers measuring tape check out my new digital measuring tape all I have to do is point at an object and it will tell me how far away it is [Music]