International Workers Day

Hello everyone! Welcome back to EnglishPod! My name is Marco.

And I’m Erica.

And today we’re bringing you an advanced lesson for all our advanced learners out there.

That’s right. And in this lesson we’re visiting a history class.

Yes, ah, we’re gonna be talking about a very interesting topic that’s known around the world, which is International Workers’ Day.

That’s right. And we’re going to learn a little bit about the history of, uh, the workers movement in the United States.

Right, but we’re also gonna be taking a look at some of the great words and, of course, a little bit more advanced or complicated structures.

That’s right. So, uh, I guess without further ado we can get started with the dialogue. [NOTE: without further ado, it means something like “immediately” or “without deferring any longer” or “with no more talking”]

Alright, so, we were in that history class and we learned something new, something interesting, right?

Yeah, International Workers’ Day, um, it’s a… it’s not celebrated in the U.S., but… in the many other countries it is.

Right, on May First, uh…

Uhu.

A lot of people have a day off, so that’s always good.

Yes.

Alright, so, why don’t we take a look at some of the words that we saw in this dialogue, which were maybe a little bit different or difficult in “language takeaway”? Voice: Language takeaway.

Alright, we’re just gonna look at five words here and the first one… we talked about the genesis of the movement.

Right, genesis.

Genesis.

Okay, so, many of you may know that Genesis is a book in The Bible, right?

That’s right. And that’s where this word comes from.

Aha.

It’s the first book in The Bible.

Uhu. So, it’s the beginning.

Or the origin.

Origin.

Uhu.

So, that’s a genesis. So, the genesis of our legal system, you would say.

Right, or the genesis of this problem.

Uhu. So, it’s the origin.

Yeah, it’s a little bit of a formal word, isn’t it?

Yeah, I guess maybe you can say the origin or the beginning.

Yeah, but maybe in… in an academic setting…

Uhu.

You can talk about the genesis.

Yes. Very good. Alright, what do we have next?

Well, one of the reasons why the… the workers movement got started was because of the appalling working conditions.

Uhu, appalling.

Appalling.

If something is appalling…

It’s shockingly bad.

Very, very bad.

Yeah.

So now, if something is appalling… like the working conditions were appalling…

That’s right.

You would feel appalled.

Exactly. I’m appalled at your behavior.

Okay, so, it’s almost like you are disgusted. [NOTE: when we use the word like disgusted, disgusting and so forth, we pronounce the K instead of the G; so, it sounds like disKusted]

Yeah, that’s right.

Right?

Yeah.

Very, very strong word.

Yeah, very strong.

Okay. Okay, so, the working conditions were appalling and people were setting up this movement.

Uhu.

Right? But what happened?

They met some hostility.

Hostility.

Hostility.

Hostility from the police, right?

That’s right.

So, what is hostility?

Um, hostility is the state of… of receiving an unfriendly reaction.

Okay.

They acted in a very unfriendly way and it also suggests, you know, a hint of violence, even.

Okay.

Yeah.

Yeah-yeah. So, if somebody is hostile they can maybe be aggressive and maybe to a point violent. [NOTE: to a point = to some degree ]

That’s right.

Okay, so, a hostile person.

Yeah, or a hostile environment, a dangerous environment.

Okay, hostility, hostile, very good.

Yeah. Now, because of these appalling working conditions the labor movement decided to take drastic measures.

Drastic measures.

Yeah, drastic measures. This is a really wonderful phrase. And I think it would help us to listen to a few examples of this phrase in use. Voice: Example one.

The president was faced with some difficult decisions and was forced to take drastic measures to solve the crisis. Voice: Example two.

The police took very drastic measures to control the protestors outside the government palace.

So, we understand drastic measures as extreme actions or decisions, right?

Yeah, exactly.

I think there’s the saying that says “desperate times call for drastic measures”.

No, “desperate times call for desperate measures”.

Oh, thanks. Well, okay, but it goes around there somewhere, right?

Some… something like that.

So, if… if you really have an emergency, you need to do something drastic.

You have to take drastic measures or you can even say “take drastic actions”.

Okay, very good. And what about our last word?

After w… the protest ended, uh, in violence, um, people started to get angry because of the brutality the police showed.

Okay, brutality.

Brutality.

So, again maybe brutality and hostility are… maybe similar, right?

S… a little bit similar. So, brutality is the state of being harsh or very forceful.

Okay, so, brutality. Now, we also use the word brutal.

Right, so that means harsh or very forceful.

Now, sometimes we can use that word, but not in a harsh of forceful way, right?

Yeah, and it’s… it’s quite… yeah, I… I might say something like “oh my God, that test was brutal”.

Aha, it was brutal or…

So, that was really hard or really difficult.

Right, so, that’s what you’re saying with this word, that it’s very hard or it was very intense.

Yeah, maybe one more… one more example.

Okay, so, for example I can say “oh, I went for a run today and it was brutal…

So…

I’m so tired”.

So, it was really difficult.

Yeah, something like that.

Yeah, a…

Brutal.

And, Marco, is this something that used by everyone?

That phrase brutal using in… in that context world be for younger people, maybe…

Uh.

Not really… it wouldn’t really hear older people using it like that.

So, it’s a little bit slangy.

Yeah-yeah.

Okay.

Alright.

Great, great. So, those are, uh, five interesting vocabulary words. As Marco mentioned we wanna look at some more difficult structures now in “fluency builder”. Voice: Fluency builder.

Okay, so, we have some phrases that we saw in this dialogue and, well, let’s start with the first one.

Well, the teacher opens this discussion by talking about how an understanding of the legal system is an important aspect of being a good citizen.

Okay, an important aspect.

An important aspect.

So, well, maybe we know the word important, right?

Obviously.

So, what is aspect?

A… a part of something. An important part of something.

Okay. So, the teacher started with “an important aspect of” and then specified the idea or what part it belongs to.

Right, so, it usually follows this form: noun is an important aspect of noun.

Okay.

So, for example, quality control is an important aspect of keeping customers happy.

Okay, perfect. A part of, very good. So, aspect sounds a little bit more formal or just a lot more intelligent, right?

Yeah, professional and… actually, this… is a wonderful way of setting up your idea.

So, the teacher said that it’s an… an important aspect of understanding the legal system was understanding its origins…

Uhu.

Or its genesis.

Yep.

And then she moved on and said that it’s not enough to simply memorize laws.

That’s right. It’s not enough to simply do something.

Okay, so the beginning of this sentence “it’s not enough to simply” something.

Uhu.

By starting the sentence like this you are indicating that more is required, right?

So, here “it’s not enough to simply memorize the laws” we're saying that most people just memorize the laws, but they need to go further.

And understand them.

Exactly.

Another example would be - it’s not enough to simply pass your exams… you must get good grades as well.

Right, or maybe in a business context – it’s not enough to simply satisfy your customers, you must impress them.

Okay, very good. So, that’s a very good way of starting out this idea of more is required.

That’s right, more is required.

Alright.

Alright, well, I wanna move on to one final point here. I found this sentence to be really, really interesting. They passed a resolution stating that eight hours would constitute a legal day’s work.

Okay, so, why is this interesting?

Well, I found that, you know, there’s two verbs going on here. They passed a resolution that eight hours would constitute…

Okay.

A legal day’s work. So, we’ve got two verb times going on here at the same time.

Uhu.

And I’m wondering about this… this one would.

Okay, so, what’s happening here? Obviously, this happened in the past as like about a hundred years ago, right?

Right, so, the resolution was passed… a hundred years ago.

Aha, right, so… this is going on in the past.

Right.

But there was a future action that was going to happen in consequence of this.

Right, so, the resolution stated that eight hours would constitute.

Uhu.

So, that… that’s like the primary action was the passing of the resolution…

Uhu.

And the result is the sort of fi… this event that happens in the past, but is a future event to the first primary event.

Hehe. So…

Does that make any sense at all?

So, this is called the future in the past, right?

That’s right.

Okay, so, it’s a… it’s a grammar structure. Many of you maybe know the simple present or… or the… or the future tenses, but this is a little strange one and as we said… so, maybe it’s a little bit difficult to understand the grammar in general. So, why don’t we take a look at some more examples of how we would use this future in the past? Voice: Example one.

The president sad that he would cut taxes by five percent. Voice: Example two.

I made a promise that I would not smoke anymore. Voice: Example three.

Karl told me he would buy a new car.

Okay, so, now I think it’s clear this whole idea of the future in the past and, well, uh, we’ll also be answering any questions on the site, if you have any problems, right?

That’s right.

Okay, so, why don’t we listen to the dialogue one more time and then we’ll come back and talk about this holiday, which is the International Workers’ Day.

Alright, so, well, Erica, in Canada do you celebrate this?

We do, but not on May First.

Oh, really? When is it?

The first weekend in September.

Oh, really? And why?

Um, I am not one hundred percent sure…

Hehe.

I think it’s because that we already have a long weekend in… in, uh, May, because we celeb… because on the Twenty-Fourth of May is the Queen… Queen Victoria’s birthday. We have to celebrate that. We can’t…

Oh, really?

Yeah, we can’t have two vacations in the same month.

Oh, wow. Well, yeah, I mean… it’s not productive, right?

Exactly.

We…

What about in Ecuador?

Yeah, we do on May First, it’s a… it’s a holiday and… we actually have two holidays in May as well, because on the twenty-fourth we actually celebrate the Battle of Pichincha, which is one of the decisive battles for the independence of Ecuador, so… we don’t mind having two holidays in the same month.

Well, it sounds like, um, Ecuador has better holiday schedule than Canada, so…

Yeah, it is.

Yeah.

So, yeah, on May First people take vacations and… or companies usually on May First will do something special for their employees.

Oh, it’s kind of a nice gesture, isn’t it?

Yeah, so, it’s like… it’s workers day, so they will… tho… set up maybe a barbeque or a trip or something like that, so that’s what usually happens on May First.

Great. Well, what about in your countries, listeners? Um, wh… do you celebrate, uh, May Day? [NOTE: don’t confuse with mayday, which is an emergency code word]

May Day.

Yeah.

May First, right? And if you do, well, let us know. Come to our website englishpod.com and leave your questions and comments there as well.

That’s right. Well, thanks for downloading this lesson and until next time… Bye!

Bye!