ESL podcast 895 government reactions to protests

English as a Second Language Podcast
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ESL Podcast 895 – Government Reactions to Protests

GLOSSARY
to rise up against – to rebel; to fight against; to start a revolution
* Why didn’t the slaves rise up against their owners?
dictator – a political leader who has complete or total control and does not
consult or listen to others
* The best CEOs always ask for others to be involved and never act like dictators
within their company.
to rally – to gather and assemble, especially to show support for or opposition to
something
* The university students are rallying against gun violence.
media blackout – a period of time when the media (newspapers, television,
magazines, radio, and websites) are not allowed to discuss or report on a
particular topic
* During a hostage situation, a media blackout can help to make sure that the
bad guys don’t get the attention they’re hoping to get.
protester – a person who is fighting against a social issue, usually by standing in
a public area and shouting or singing while holding up signs
* It’s hard to believe Shannon was a protestor in the 1960s. She seems so quiet
and conservative now.
to clash – to fight against someone; to oppose someone, especially with
physical force or violence
* What can the community do to prevent gangs from clashing with each other
and causing violence in the neighborhood?
to put down – to make something stop, or at least to make it calmer and less
intense; to minimize or reduce the intensity of something
* The army used many different types of weapons to put down the rebellion.

violent – with a lot of physical force that hurts or kills other people
* Does playing violent video games make teenagers more likely to hurt other
people in real life?
it’s early days yet – a phrase used to show that it is too soon to make a
judgment or a decision, and one must wait to see what will happen
* The red team seems to be winning, but it’s early days yet and anything could
happen.
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ESL Podcast 895 – Government Reactions to Protests

tear gas – gas that is sprayed to irritate a person’s eyes, making them red,
painful, and tearful (wet)
* The police wore special masks and sprayed tear gas into the home to try to
force the intruder to come out.
to fire into the crowd – to use a gun to send bullets into an area where there
are many people, without aiming at anyone in particular, but trying to hurt or kill
people
* The shooter fired into the crowd, hitting women and small children.
tyranny – cruel, unfair, and mean governance; an abuse of power
* Ingrid wants to emigrate to avoid the tyranny in her home country.
to rule with an iron fist – to govern or control a population very strictly and
sternly, punishing people for breaking the law, without making any exceptions
* In theory, it might make sense for the university dean to rule with an iron fist,

but in reality, she has to learn to bend the rules based on each situation.
to use any means necessary – to do whatever needs to be done; to not place
limits on one’s actions
* The secret agents were instructed to use any means necessary to get the
password, even if they had to torture or kill people.
to stay in power – to remain in control of something, especially in a leadership
position or in politics
* Adam loves being the chairperson and would like to stay in power forever.
to have a fighting chance – to have the possibility of winning; to have a chance
of succeeding
* As long as we have a fighting chance, we can’t give up.
to topple – to overthrow; to bring an end to a government; to take power away
from a political leader
* What toppled the Roman Empire?
ruthless – willing to do anything to get what one wants; not putting any limits on
one’s actions, even if that means hurting others
* Selena was ruthless in her pursuit of the award. She lied, cheated, and stole to
make sure the committee would choose her.

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ESL Podcast 895 – Government Reactions to Protests

COMPREHENSION QUESTIONS

1.
a)
b)
c)

What is tear gas?
A gas that explodes into a fireball very easily.
A gas that irritates people’s eyes.
A gas that makes people laugh.

2.
a)
b)
c)

According to Tom, what will the dictator do to stay in power?
He’ll send them out of the country.
He’ll do whatever he might need to do.
He’ll give people money to make them like him.

______________
WHAT ELSE DOES IT MEAN?
to clash
The verb “to clash,” in this podcast, means to fight against someone or to oppose
someone, especially with physical force or violence: “Experts believe that many
nations will begin to clash over clean water as populations continue to grow.” The
verb “to clash” also means to disagree strongly: “The researchers clashed over
the implications of their findings.” Or, “The two candidates clash on all the major
issues.” If two colors “clash,” they do not look good together: “That skirt clashes
terribly with that blouse. Why would you wear them together?” Finally, a “clash” is

a ringing noise created when two pieces of metal hit each other: “The clash of the
cymbals made the music much more dramatic.”
to fire into the crowd
In this podcast, the phrase “to fire into the crowd” means to use a gun to send
bullets into an area where there are many people, without aiming at anyone in
particular, but trying to hurt or kill people: “Nobody knows why the killer began to
fire into the crowd at the shopping mall.” The phrase “to fire questions at
(someone)” means to ask a lot of questions very quickly: “No matter how quickly
the reporters fired questions at Tom, he never appeared worried or nervous.”
Finally, the phrase “to fire (something) off” means to do something quickly,
especially to write a letter quickly and send it: “Let me just fire off a few emails
and then I can leave the office.”

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ESL Podcast 895 – Government Reactions to Protests

CULTURE NOTE
Kent State Shootings
The Kent State Shootings, sometimes called the Kent State “Massacre” (an
incident where many people are killed), happened at Kent State University in
Kent, Ohio, on May 4, 1970. Students across the country were protesting against
the Vietnam War and specifically President Nixon’s plans to “invade” (go into a
country without permission) Cambodia.

At Kent State University, the protests began peacefully, but the crowd became
angry and ended up yelling, breaking windows of some local businesses, and
throwing beer bottles. The police and then the “National Guard” (an organized
group of citizens who are trained and ready to fight or otherwise serve their
country when needed) became involved over a four-day period as the protests
“escalated” (became bigger and more serious).
On May 4, university “officials” (employees with authority) tried to cancel the
students’ planned protest, but about 2,000 people gathered anyway. The
National Guard tried to “disperse” (make people spread out) the protestors, but
they were unsuccessful and the protestors began throwing rocks. The National
Guard threw tear gas at the students and then began firing at the students. In 13
seconds, 67 “rounds” (bullets) were shot, killing four students and “wounding”
(causing injuries to) nine others. The shootings “raised many questions” (made
people begin to ask) about whether the government has the right to disperse
protestors and/or shoot citizens.
Photographs of the shootings “shocked” (surprised in a negative way) people
across the United States and “prompted” (caused; led to) many other protests.
The shootings have been “memorialized” (put into something else to be
remembered) in songs, poems, books, plays, and other forms.
______________
Comprehension Questions Correct Answers: 1 – b; 2 – b

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ESL Podcast 895 – Government Reactions to Protests

COMPLETE TRANSCRIPT
Welcome to English as a Second Language Podcast number 895: Government
Reactions to Protests.
This is English to English as a Second Language Podcast number 895. 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. Go there and become a member of ESL Podcast
today.
This episode is a dialogue between Tom and Marianne about people who don't
like what the government is doing and try to change it. Let's get started.
[start of dialog]
Tom: Have you seen the news?
Marianne: No, what’s happening?
Tom: People in McQuillanland are rising up against the dictator and rallying
against his government.
Marianne: Wow, this is big. I thought the dictator would order a media blackout
and we wouldn’t hear any news out of McQuillanland.
Tom: There is a media blackout, but people are using social media to tell the
world what’s going on. Hundreds of thousands of protesters are clashing with
police, and the government is having no success putting down the protests.
Marianne: Has it been violent?
Tom: It’s early days yet, but the government has already used tear gas and fired
into the crowd. It’s hard to say how many people have been hurt.
Marianne: So this may be the end of tyranny in McQuillanland.
Tom: Don’t bet on it. The dictator has ruled with an iron fist and won’t hesitate to
use any means necessary to stay in power.

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ESL Podcast 895 – Government Reactions to Protests

Marianne:" Well, the protesters have a fighting chance and I’m betting that they’ll
topple the government and that ruthless tyrant!
[end of dialog]
Our dialogue begins with Tom saying to Marianne, “Have you seen the news?”
Marianne says, “No. What's happening?” Tom says, “People in McQuillanland
are rising up against the dictator and rallying against his government.” “To rise up
against someone” means to fight against someone, usually the government, or
the people who are in charge. “To rise up against the government” means to try
to get rid of the government, the people running the government, to fight against
them, to start a revolution.
Tom says, “The people in McQuillanland,” which is normally a nice place, “are
rising up against the dictator.” A “dictator” (dictator) is a political leader who has
complete power, who doesn't listen to other people, who doesn't let people have
a voice in his or her government, someone who controls everything and usually,
someone who is not very nice to people who don't like him. If I started to give the
names of some dictators, I would have to be here for a couple of days, perhaps,
before I finish. So, we'll just describe what a dictator is and you can think of your
own examples.
Tom says “The people in McQuillanland are rising up against the dictator and
rallying against his government.” “To rally” (rally) means, in this case, to get
together in the same place, to gather, to assemble, especially if you are doing it

for some sort of political reason, usually associated with protesting some action
of the government. “To protest” means to oppose, to be against, to say, “We
don't want that anymore.” Marianne says, “Wow. This is big,” meaning this is
important or this involves a lot of people. “I thought the dictator would order” –
would demand – “a media blackout.” “Media” (media) refers to television,
newspaper, radio – nowadays, the Internet, Twitter – all of these are part of
media. A “media blackout” is when the government decides to close the
newspapers, to close the televisions, to shut down or turn off the Internet
connections, to stop people from getting information about what's going on in
their own country.
Marianne says that she thought the dictator would order this media blackout.
Tom says, “There is a media blackout, but people are using social media to tell
the world what's going on.” I included Twitter in my description of “media,” but
more specifically, Twitter is part of what we would call “social media.” This is the
new forms of technology like Twitter or Facebook that allow people to share
information with their friends and people they know on the Internet very quickly.
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ESL Podcast 895 – Government Reactions to Protests

Tom says, “Hundreds of thousands of protesters are clashing with police and the
government is having no success putting down the protests.” Tom talks about
hundreds of thousands of “protesters.” A “protester” is a person who protests, a
person who tries to fight against some wrong that he sees the government doing

or that society is engaged in. “To clash” (clash) means to fight against someone,
to oppose someone, often with physical force, with violence. “Protesters are
clashing with police,” Tom says, “and the government is having no success
putting down the protests.”
“They’re having no success,” that is, there are not able to put down the protests.
“To put down” here is a phrasal verb meaning to stop, especially when a
government stops people who are opposed to it from protesting, from speaking. If
the government put down the protesters, they would be silencing them.
Unfortunately, at least for the dictator, the government has not been successful in
putting down the protests, in stopping them. Marianne says, “Has it been
violent?” Has there been a lot of physical force that has hurt or perhaps even
killed people? Tom says, “It’s too soon to know that yet.” He uses the expression
“it's early days yet.” “It's early days yet” means it's too soon to know. It's perhaps
more common in British English than it is in American English, this expression,
“it's early days yet.”
Tom says “The government has already used tear gas and fired into the crowd.”
“Tear (tear) gas” is a special kind of gas that is meant to hurt your eyes and
make it difficult for you to continue any physical activity. It's what police would
use with a large group of people, a large crowd of people that they were trying to
get rid of, that they were trying to get to go home. “To fire into the crowd” means
to use a gun and shoot into a group of people. This obviously can be rather
dangerous.
Tom says, “It's hard to say how many people have been hurt.” Marianne says,
“So this may be the end of tyranny in McQuillanland.” “Tyranny” (tyranny) is a
cruel, unfair, mean government, where you have a dictator or someone who is in
the government or a group of people in the government who are hurting the
people, who are not letting the people be free. Tom says, “Don't bet on it.” Don't
bet on this being the end of tyranny in McQuillanland. “To not bet on something”
means don't count on it, don't depend on it.
Tom says, “The dictator has ruled with an iron fist and won't hesitate to use any

means necessary to stay in power.” “To rule with an iron (iron) fist (fist)” means to
control or govern a population very strictly, to not let anyone do anything that you
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ESL Podcast 895 – Government Reactions to Protests

don't want them to do, especially those who don't like you, those who oppose
you. A dictator often rules with an iron fist. The fist is just your hand that is, we
use the verb “clenched” – it is put together like a ball. That's your fist. A “iron fist”
would be a fist that of course, would be very hard and well, it would hurt you if
you got punched by an iron fist. But the expression is “to rule,” to govern, “with an
iron fist.”
Tom says, the dictator won't hesitate, will be very willing, to use any means
necessary to stay in power. The expression “to use any means (means)
necessary” means to do whatever needs to be done. If you have to kill someone,
you kill someone. If you have to hurt someone, you hurt them. You will use any
means necessary. The dictator will use any means necessary to “stay in power,”
meaning to keep his power, to keep his control of the government.
Marianne says, “Well, the protesters have a fighting chance and I'm betting that
they'll topple the government and that ruthless tyrant.” “To have a fighting
chance” means that they have a possibility of winning. It's not impossible for
them to win. Marianne is betting that the protesters will “topple” the government.
“To topple” (topple) means to overthrow, to put an end to a government, or the
rulers of that government. “Ruthless” (ruthless) describes someone who is willing

to do anything. It's connected with the expression, “to use any means
necessary.” Someone who is ruthless will do whatever it takes to get what he or
she wants. The dialogue talks about a ruthless “tyrant” (tyrant). “Tyrant” is related
to the word “tyranny,” and here really just means a dictator.
Now let’s listen to the dialogue this time at a normal speed.
[start of dialog]
Tom: Have you seen the news?
Marianne: No, what’s happening?
Tom: People in McQuillanland are rising up against the dictator and rallying
against his government.
Marianne: Wow, this is big. I thought the dictator would order a media blackout
and we wouldn’t hear any news out of McQuillanland.
Tom: There is a media blackout, but people are using social media to tell the
world what’s going on. Hundreds of thousands of protesters are clashing with
police, and the government is having no success putting down the protests.
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these materials on another website or distributing them in any way is prohibited.


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ESL Podcast 895 – Government Reactions to Protests

Marianne: Has it been violent?
Tom: It’s early days yet, but the government has already used tear gas and fired
into the crowd. It’s hard to say how many people have been hurt.
Marianne: So this may be the end of tyranny in McQuillanland.
Tom: Don’t bet on it. The dictator has ruled with an iron fist and won’t hesitate to

use any means necessary to stay in power.
Marianne: Well, the protesters have a fighting chance and I’m betting that they’ll
topple the government and that ruthless tyrant!
[end of dialog]
She’s not a dictator. She's not a tyrant. She certainly is not ruthless. I speak of
our wonderful, kind Dr. Lucy Tse, our scriptwriter. Thank you, Lucy.
From Los Angeles, California, I'm Jeff McQuillan. Thank you for listening.
Comeback 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.