ESL podcast 889 taking up a new hobby

English as a Second Language Podcast
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ESL Podcast 889 – Taking Up a New Hobby

GLOSSARY
to commiserate – to sympathize or empathize; to feel pity for someone; to
spend time talking with someone about his or her experience of sadness or
problems
* We all commiserated with Janet for a few weeks after her breakup, but now
we’re tired of hearing about it.
retirement – the period of time in one’s life when one is older and no longer
works, having saved enough money from working earlier in life
* Gregorio dreams of traveling to all the national parks during his retirement.
to drive (someone) up the wall – to make someone feel crazy; to be very
annoying to another person
* This kids are making so much noise, they’re driving me up the wall! I can’t wait
until they fall asleep tonight!
to putter around – to spend time doing unimportant things without a purpose,
especially when one is bored and is looking for something interesting to do
* When Edgar wants to have some time alone, he putters around in the barn.
to take up – to begin doing some activity for the first time
* How old were you when you took up playing the violin?
hobby – an activity that one does for fun; an activity that one finds interesting
and pleasurable
* Hannah’s hobbies include cooking, reading, swimming, and photography.
to occupy (one’s) time – to keep one busy; to give someone something to do in
his or her free time
* Sheila’s children occupy most of her time.
gardening –making plants grow in the area around one’s home, especially
vegetables or flowers

* Wendy really enjoys gardening, so she has several varieties of tomatoes and
cucumbers in her back yard.
woodworking – building things out of wood; carpentry
* We’re looking for someone who can build a custom table for our dining room.
Do you know any experts in woodworking?

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ESL Podcast 889 – Taking Up a New Hobby

scrapbooking – creating informal books with many photos and memorabilia
(small objects or papers that help one remember things) that are pleasant to look
at and help one remember important events in life
* Lauren enjoys scrapbooking and often makes beautiful books about her family’s
vacations.
sedentary – without much or any physical activity; not active; sitting still
* Doctors warn that a sedentary lifestyle can lead to diabetes and heart
problems.
bird watching – looking at wild birds and identifying what kind they are
* They live in an area that is great for bird watching, because their home is next
to a river with many trees.
golf – an outdoor game that involves hitting a small white ball with metal and
wooden clubs (sticks) into small holes that are far away
* Did you play a 9- or 18-hole round of golf?

chess – a board game played by two players on a black-and-white checkered
surface where they are trying to trap the other player’s most important piece, the
king
* Chess is a game of strategy and concentration, not luck.
genealogy – the study of one’s family and ancestors; the study of who one’s
parents, grandparents, great-grandparents, and older relatives were
* Arleta became very interested in genealogy and was able to determine that her
great-great-great-great grandfather came from a small village in Italy.
musical instrument – a tool or device that makes sound for music
* Olivia never learned to play a musical instrument, but her brother plays the
trombone and her sister plays the trumpet.
to find (one’s) footing – to know what one wants and feel comfortable in one’s
situation or circumstances
* After moving out of his parents’ home, it took Greg a few months to find his
footing in a new city.
newfound – recently obtained
* What’s the source of Christian’s newfound confidence?

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ESL Podcast 889 – Taking Up a New Hobby

COMPREHENSION QUESTIONS
1. What does Melissa mean when she says that her father is “driving her mother

up the wall”?
a) He is taking up too much space in the house.
b) He is making her remodel their home.
c) He is doing things that annoy and frustrate her.
2.
a)
b)
c)

Which of these hobbies is sedentary?
Skydiving.
Sewing.
Skateboarding.

______________
WHAT ELSE DOES IT MEAN?
to take up
The phrase “to take up,” in this podcast, means to begin doing some activity for
the first time: “Do you think I’m too old to take up ballroom dancing?” The phrase
“to take after (someone)” means to look or act like an older relative: “Jesse really
takes after his father.” The phrase “to take off” means to remove a piece of
clothing: “Do you want to take off your jacket?” The phrase “to take (something)
on” means to agree to do something and be responsible for it: “Are you sure you
have enough time to take on more volunteer work?” Finally, the phrase “to take
(somebody) on” means to have a physical fight with someone: “Why did you try
to take on a boy who is so much bigger than you are?”
to find (one’s) footing
In this podcast, the phrase “to find (one’s) footing” means to know what one
wants and feel comfortable in one’s situation or circumstances: “After just two
weeks in the new job, I feel like I’ve found my footing and things are going really

well.” The word “footing” describes one’s stability and ability to remain in one
place and in control on a dangerous, uneven, or slippery surface: “These boots
offer amazing footing, even on ice.” Or, “Randall lost his footing and slipped on
the oily sidewalk.” Finally, the phrase “on an equal footing” means in the same
condition, or having the same rights: “Do you think men and women will ever truly
be on an equal footing in the workplace?”

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ESL Podcast 889 – Taking Up a New Hobby

CULTURE NOTE
Mandatory Retirement
In some “professions” (types of work), people are “subject to” (controlled by
certain rules of) “mandatory retirement,” which specifies that they must retire at a
certain age, regardless of whether they would like to continue working. This is
most common in jobs that are very dangerous or require very “acute” (sharp)
“mental” (related to thinking) abilities.
For example, “pilots” (people who fly airplanes) have a mandatory retirement age
of 65. Most “air traffic controllers” (people whose job is to monitor the positions of
airplanes in the sky and make sure they don’t get too close to each other) have a
mandatory retirement age of 56. Many police officers, “park rangers” (people who
work in protected natural areas) and firefighters have a mandatory retirement age
of 57. Most “military personnel” (people serving in the army, navy, etc.) have a

mandatory retirement age, too, especially those who work in dangerous jobs on
the “front lines” (where the physical fighting happens).
Some people believe that mandatory retirement is illegal or at least wrong,
because it is based on an age rather that one’s ability to perform the a particular
job. They argue that if someone is still capable of performing the “duties” (what
one is expected to do in a job), then that person’s age should not matter.
The “Age Discrimination in Employment Act” (law) “prohibits” (does not allow)
employers from forcing people to retire once they reach a certain age. However,
certain jobs like the ones listed above are “exempt” (not affected by the law).
______________
Comprehension Questions Correct Answers: 1 – c; 2 – b

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ESL Podcast 889 – Taking Up a New Hobby

COMPLETE TRANSCRIPT
Welcome to English as a Second Language Podcast number 889: Taking up a
New Hobby.
This is English as a Second Language Podcast number 889. I'm your host, Dr.
Jeff McQuillan, coming to you from the Center for Educational Development in
beautiful Los Angeles, California.
Our website is ESLPod.com. Become a member of ESL Podcast and support
this podcast. Go to the website for more information.

This dialogue we will discuss in this episode is about starting a new hobby, a new
thing that you're going to do for fun and entertainment. Let’s get started.
[start of dialog]
Eric: Who were you talking to on the phone?
Melissa: My mother. I was commiserating with her about Dad’s retirement.
Eric: Your father retired two months ago. That was a good thing, right?
Melissa: Well, it’s good that he doesn’t have to work anymore, but he’s driving
my mother up the wall. He putters around the house and gets in her way. She
retired last year, so she’s had a year to establish her new routine. He’s still kind
of lost.
Eric: Why doesn’t he take up a hobby? That would give him something
interesting to occupy his time.
Melissa: Believe me, my mother has tried to interest him in gardening,
woodworking, and even scrapbooking, but nothing has worked.
Eric: Those sound too sedentary for somebody as active as your father. How
about encouraging him to take up bird watching or golf?
Melissa: He wouldn’t be interested in those hobbies. I think he needs something
more challenging, maybe playing chess or doing genealogy. Maybe he could
even learn to play a musical instrument.

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


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ESL Podcast 889 – Taking Up a New Hobby

Eric: Maybe your Dad just needs time to find his footing again. Given time, he’ll
figure out what he wants to do with his newfound free time.
Melissa: Maybe. But what does my mother do in the meantime?
Eric: She can take up a new hobby, too – out of the house!
[end of dialog]
Eric starts off by saying, “Who were you talking to on the phone?” Melissa says,
“My mother. I was commiserating with her about dad's retirement.” “To
commiserate” (commiserate) means to spend time talking with someone about
his or her experience of sadness or problems. It's to give someone sympathy, to
say, “Oh, yes, I understand. Boy, that's really difficult.” You are commiserating
with them. Melissa was commiserating with her mother about her father's
retirement. “Retirement” is the period of time, usually when you're older when you
stop working full-time and, we hope, relax a little.
Eric says, “Your father retired two months ago. That was a good thing, right?”
Melissa says, “Well, it's good that he doesn't have to work anymore, but he's
driving my mother up the wall.” “To drive someone up the wall” means to make
them go crazy, to drive them crazy. Usually, we refer to people who are very
annoying, or who cause you to get angry or upset, we may say those people are
“driving you up the wall.” Melissa's father is driving her mother up the wall. Why?
She says that her father “putters around” the house and gets in her way. “To
putter (putter) around” means to spend time doing things that aren't very
important, especially when you're bored and you’re looking for something to do.
Maybe you'll go and you'll clean your desk, or you'll go outside and try to cut your
grass a little bit here and there, but not really seriously, not with any sort of
purpose. You're basically wasting time. You're puttering around.
Well, Melissa's father is puttering around the house and getting in the way of his
wife. Melissa says that her mother retired last year so she's had a year to
establish a new routine. “To establish a routine” means to get into the habit of
doing certain things. When you retire, and you don't have to go to work every
day, you have to develop a new routine, a new set of habits that you will follow

when you get up in the morning and through the rest of the day.
Melissa says that her father is still “kind of” lost, meaning he’s somewhat lost.
Eric says, “Why doesn't he take up a hobby?” “To take up” is a two-word phrasal
verb which here means to begin doing some activity for the first time. Usually, we
use this phrasal verb when we are starting some new activity for fun. An activity
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ESL Podcast 889 – Taking Up a New Hobby

that you do for fun for enjoyment, for pleasure is often called a “hobby” (hobby).
A hobby could be something like golfing. A hobby could be collecting stamps,
postage stamps. A hobby could be playing cards, playing cards with your friends
every Tuesday. That might be something that is part of your hobby. “To take up a
hobby” means to start a new hobby.
Eric said that taking up a hobby would give him something interesting “to occupy
his time.” “To occupy your time” means to keep yourself busy, to keep yourself
doing something so you don't get bored. Melissa says, “Believe me,” meaning
trust me, “my mother has tried to interest him in gardening, woodworking, and
even scrapbooking, but nothing has worked.” These are three hobbies you could
take up. The first is “gardening,” where you grow plants in a certain area, grow
flowers or vegetables or something else. “Woodworking” refers to building things
out of wood. We might also call it, if it were an occupation, “carpentry.” To make
things out of wood is “woodworking.” “Scrapbooking” is creating informal books
with photographs and other things to help you remember usually a certain time in

your life or certain important events in your life. That's called “scrapbooking”
(scrapbooking).
Eric says that these hobbies that Melissa's mother has tried to interest her father
in sound too “sedentary” for somebody as active as her father. He is talking
about activities being “sedentary” (sedentary). That means to be without a lot of
physical activity, not very active just sitting in a chair on a couch. Eric says, “How
about encouraging him to take up bird watching or golf?”
“Bird watching” is a hobby where people go and look at birds try to identify
different kinds of birds that are out in the world. “Golf” is a game that you play
with a small white ball and metal or wooden sticks, which are called “clubs.” You
try to get the ball into a little round hole. Famous golfers would include people
like Tiger Woods. That's the game he plays, golf.
Melissa says, “He wouldn’t be interested in those hobbies. I think he needs
something more challenging” – more difficult – “maybe playing chess or doing
genealogy.” “Chess” (chess) is a game that you play on a board where you have
two players – one player tries to move the chess pieces around in order to defeat
the other player. The board usually has white and black squares and each side of
the board has these little pieces that you move around and try to capture the
other person's pieces. That's chess. “Genealogy” (genealogy) is when you study
your ancestors, when you figure out who your grandfather, your greatgrandfather, your great-great-grandfather, your great-great-great grandfather,
were. You try to figure out who all those people were.
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ESL Podcast 889 – Taking Up a New Hobby

Melissa says, “Maybe he could even learn to play a musical instrument.” A
musical instrument would be something like a guitar or a piano or a violin. Those
are all musical instruments, things that we use to make music. Eric says, “Maybe
your dad just needs to find his footing again.” “To find your footing” (footing)
means simply to know what you want, to feel comfortable in a certain situation.
Sometimes, it takes a while when people retire to adjust, to change their life, to
change their thinking so that they are comfortable in the new situation.
Eric says, “Given time” – if he has enough time – “he'll figure out” – he'll discover
– “what he wants to do with his newfound free time.” “Newfound” – one word –
means recently obtained, something you just got. We often use that in describing
freedom, or free time – my newfound freedom. I just ended a relationship with my
girlfriend. I have newfound freedom! Of course, you also don't have a girlfriend,
but the idea is that it’s something positive. My newfound free time, free time that I
didn't have just a few days ago or weeks ago and now I have.
Melissa says, “Maybe, but what does my mother do in the meantime?” – until that
happens. Eric says, “She can take up a new hobby too – out of the house,”
meaning until Melissa's father finds a new hobby, a new routine, Melissa's
mother should take up a new hobby that would require her to leave the house so
she wasn't in the house with her husband.
Now let’s listen to the dialog this time, at a normal speed.
[start of dialog]
Eric: Who were you talking to on the phone?
Melissa: My mother. I was commiserating with her about Dad’s retirement.
Eric: Your father retired two months ago. That was a good thing, right?
Melissa: Well, it’s good that he doesn’t have to work anymore, but he’s driving
my mother up the wall. He putters around the house and gets in her way. She
retired last year, so she’s had a year to establish her new routine. He’s still kind
of lost.
Eric: Why doesn’t he take up a hobby? That would give him something

interesting to occupy his time.
Melissa: Believe me, my mother has tried to interest him in gardening,
woodworking, and even scrapbooking, but nothing has worked.
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these materials on another website or distributing them in any way is prohibited.


English as a Second Language Podcast
www.eslpod.com

ESL Podcast 889 – Taking Up a New Hobby

Eric: Those sound too sedentary for somebody as active as your father. How
about encouraging him to take up bird watching or golf?
Melissa: He wouldn’t be interested in those hobbies. I think he needs something
more challenging, maybe playing chess or doing genealogy. Maybe he could
even learn to play a musical instrument.
Eric: Maybe your Dad just needs time to find his footing again. Given time, he’ll
figure out what he wants to do with his newfound free time.
Melissa: Maybe. But what does my mother do in the meantime?
Eric: She can take up a new hobby, too – out of the house!
[end of dialog]
We hope it's a long time before our scriptwriter goes into retirement. That's
because we love the wonderful Dr. Lucy Tse.
From Los Angeles, California, I'm Jeff McQuillan. Thank you for listening. Come
back and listen to us again right here on ESL Podcast.
English as a Second Language Podcast is written and produced by Dr. Lucy Tse,
hosted by Dr. Jeff McQuillan. Copyright 2013 by the Center for Educational
Development.

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These materials are copyrighted by the Center for Educational Development (2013). Posting of
these materials on another website or distributing them in any way is prohibited.