EC165_Guide.pdf

English as a Second Language Podcast

www.eslpod.com

ENGLISH CAFÉ – 165

TOPICS

U.S. Mint; how auctions work; cache versus cash; listen to versus listen for

_____________

GLOSSARY

mint – a type of plant with leaves that have a refreshing flavor and are often

used in toothpaste or candy to help the mouth smell fresh; a place where coins

are made

* The U.S. Mint in Philadelphia is open to the public from Mondays to Fridays so

that visitors can see how coins are made.

coins – small, round pieces of metal that are used as money

* Before going to the laundromat to wash my clothes, I always make sure that I

change some dollar bills into coins.

circulation – the way that something moves from place to place or person to

person; the passing of something through a system

* It was very hot in the room, so the manager turned both the air conditioner and

the fan on to increase the circulation of air in the office.

worn out – old from being used or touched too much; tired from too much work

* After working for two weeks on the project and getting little sleep, Ahmad was

worn out.

to melt down – to turn something that is solid into liquid by using a very hot

temperature

* The jewelry designer melted down small, unwanted pieces of gold and

redesigned the gold into a beautiful ring.

to deface – to destroy the way something looks by writing on it or breaking it; to

make something that was beautiful become ugly

* It is common in big cities to see many buildings defaced by graffiti.

pennies – one-cent coins; money that is worth one cent (1/100 of a dollar)

* Many people don’t value pennies and they forget that pennies can add up to a

lot of dollars.

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ENGLISH CAFÉ – 165

auction – a special event where things are sold to the person who offers the

most money

* After the earthquake disaster, our company held an auction to help raise money

for the victims.

high-end – expensive; fancy; high-class

* My friends often shop in high-end stores. I, on the other hand, prefer more

reasonably priced stores.

antique – something that is old or made a long time ago and is now considered

valuable

* That lucky man bought an old table at a market for $20 and later found out that

the table was made by a famous designer and is considered an antique worth

$3,000.

bid – the amount of money that someone is willing to pay for something

* When that building went on sale, several companies made bids to buy it

because it is in a good location.

cash – money; paper bills and coins

* The restaurant we’re going to doesn’t accept credit cards, so please make sure

that you bring some cash along.

cache – a hidden store of things; a special place for hiding things

* The old man didn’t trust banks, so he kept a cache of money under his bed.

cachet – of high quality; a characteristic that is worth admiring

* Sometimes, it is worth spending more money to buy things that have cachet

and will last a longer time than buying something cheap and of low quality.

to listen to – to pay attention to somebody or something so that you can hear

what is being said

* The noise of the traffic makes it difficult to listen to my music.

to listen for – to make an effort to hear a noise, word, or phrase that you are

expecting

* The kids are eagerly listening for the radio announcement that school is

cancelled because of the snow.

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these materials on another website or distributing them in any way is prohibited.

English as a Second Language Podcast

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ENGLISH CAFÉ – 165

WHAT INSIDERS KNOW

Unusual Things Sold at Auctions

Auctions have been around for a long time. While auctions traditionally sold

things like valuable art, auctions are now selling more and more unusual items.

“Online” (on the Internet) auctions such as eBay have allowed people to make

money in very “creative” (new and unusual) ways.

In 2005, a fifteen-year old boy, Dennis Whipple from New Jersey, “put up” (made

available for sale) his entire “life savings” (all of the money he had saved

throughout his life) for sale on eBay. Dennis wanted to sell his bank account to

the “highest bidder” (person offering the most money). The most amazing thing

about this sale was that no one knew how much was in the bank account!

Because this was such a crazy idea, many people were interested in this sale,

and at least 50 people made a bid to buy the bank account for several thousand

dollars.

In the same year, a Californian named Jeremy Johnson also “came up with”

(thought of) an “ingenious” (very clever) idea to make money. Jeremy decided to

auction off advertisement space on his “bald head” (head without hair).

Companies who made the highest bid could put their name, “logo” (picture or

image representing a company), or website on Jeremy’s head for 30 days. In the

end, a sports entertainment company won the bid and put their logo and website

address on Jeremy’s head as a way to “promote” (get more attention and

business for) their company.

While some people sell unusual items in auctions to make money for themselves,

others are using auctions as a way to raise money for “charity” (organizations

that do not make money for themselves, but to help people). During the 2006

FIFA World Cup, for example, all the soccer players and “coaches” (people who

help players play better) signed their names in a book. The book was then

auctioned off to raise money to help poor children around the world. The goal of

this auction was to raise at least $18 million dollars.

Like the famous soccer players, the actress Scarlett Johansson also used her

“fame” (someone or something known by many people) to help raise money for

charity. She did this by offering the highest bidder a date with her. The final bid

was $40,100, and the money went to an international organization, Oxfam, which

helps poor people around the world.

These materials are copyrighted by the Center for Educational Development (2008). Posting of

these materials on another website or distributing them in any way is prohibited.

English as a Second Language Podcast

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ENGLISH CAFÉ – 165

COMPLETE TRANSCRIPT

You’re listening to ESL Podcast’s English Café number 165.

This is English as a Second Language Podcast’s English Café episode 165. I’m

your host, Dr. Jeff McQuillan, coming to you from the Center for Educational

Development in beautiful Los Angeles, California.

Visit our website at eslpod.com. Download this episode’s Learning Guide, an 8

to 10 page guide we provide for all of our current episodes that gives you some

additional help in improving your English. You can also take a look at our ESL

Podcast Store, with additional courses in English, as well as our ESL Podcast

Blog, where several times a week we provide even more help in helping you

increase your language proficiency.

On this Café, we’re going to talk about the U.S. Mint, which is the part of the U.S.

Government that prints or makes money. Then we’re going to talk about how

auctions work. An “auction” is a special way to buy and sell things. We’ll talk

about auctions and their popularity here in the U.S. And as always, we’ll answer

a few of your questions. Let’s get started

We begin this Café talking about the U.S. Mint. A “mint,” is normally a type of

plant that has leaves that have a taste or flavor like, perhaps, your toothpaste, or

some candies. This kind of mint makes our breath smell good. But today we’re

going to talk about a different kind of mint, where the word mint means a place

where money is made.

The U.S. Mint makes “coins,” small, round, metal pieces of money. It does not,

however, print “bills,” or paper money, because this is done by another part of the

U.S. Government. So the U.S. has two different government organizations that

make money: one makes the coins; that’s called the U.S. Mint. The other prints

the bills (the one dollar, five dollar, ten dollar, etc. bills); that’s done by the U.S.

Treasury

The U.S. Mint was first created back when our country was founded; it began in

1792. The main U.S. Mint building is in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, but there are

other “branches,” or parts of the U.S. Mint in Colorado, California, and New York.

Each branch of the U.S. Mint has a mint mark. A “mark,” is something that is

written and down on an object to make it different from other objects. For

example, coins that are made in the Pennsylvania Mint have a P mint mark so

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these materials on another website or distributing them in any way is prohibited.

English as a Second Language Podcast

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ENGLISH CAFÉ – 165

people know where those coins came from. Coins made in Denver, Colorado

have a D mint mark. The next time you see a U.S. coin, try to find the small P or

D mint mark, usually near the face of the president on one side of the coin.

These marks don’t change the value of the coin (a nickel is still just worth five

cents), but they allow people who are collectors to distinguish the coins.

The U.S. Mint makes between 11 billion and 20 billion coins each year and

“distributes,” or sends those coins to the national banks in the U.S. The national

banks are called the “Federal Reserve,” and there are Federal Reserve banks

located in many different cities in the United States. The U.S. Mint also is

responsible for taking coins out of circulation. “Circulation,” here, means the way

that things move through a system. For example, we can talk about the

circulation of blood through the body. The U.S. Mint is interested in the

circulation of coins through the economy.

Now in the U.S., the average coin lasts about 25 years. So the average nickel,

dime, quarter, half dollar, dollar (those are all coins that are made or have been

made recently in the U.S.), those last, on average, 25 years. When I say

“average life” of a coin, I mean how long they can be used for, the typical coin.

After coins are circulated for many years, they become “worn out,” or too old from

too much handling (too much touching). When they become worn out, you can’t

see the face of the person anymore on the coin. For example, the design on the

coins, we could say, becomes difficult to read. Worn out coins are taken out of

circulation and replaced with new coins.

The old, worn out coins are melted down. To “melt” (melt) something down

means to use a very hot temperature to make it into a liquid. The U.S Mint melts

down the coins to use the metal for new coins. The ancient world, in Greece and

Rome, had many bronze statues, but because bronze became so valuable many

of these statues where melted down so that people could use the bronze. That’s

why bronze statues from ancient Greece and Rome are relatively rare. So,

people have melted down things from many reasons, usually because they want

to use the material (the metal), which is in many cases valuable. We’ll talk about

that issue in a minute.

Sometimes coins have been taken out of circulation and melted down not

because they are worn out, but because they are defaced. To “deface” (deface)

means to ruin the way that something looks, usually by breaking it or writing on it.

Some people deface coins by painting them, or gluing them together. This is

considered illegal in the United States: to deface a coin, at least to deface a coin

and then try to use it as a regular coin.

These materials are copyrighted by the Center for Educational Development (2008). Posting of

these materials on another website or distributing them in any way is prohibited.

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