2017 October Flashcards
Cocaine for Babies
Posted on Tuesday - October 3, 2017 by Dr. Jeff McQuillan
I feel bad for parents dealing with teething babies (babies with growing teeth). It seems nothing can soothe (calm and quiet) them when they have a toothache (pain in the tooth).
But if you were a parent in the U.S. in the 1880s, and you went to the pharmacy (store where drugs and medications are sold) for something to help your baby, the pharmacist may have handed you (given you) some Cocaine Toothache Drops (see photo).
Cocaine is a highly-addictive (something your body wants and needs very badly) illegal (against the law) drug. It is usually used in the form of white powder (very small solid pieces, like dust).
Drops are small solid candies that you put in your mouth and suck on while they slowly dissolve (turn from a solid to a liquid).
These cocaine drops promised an instantaneous (immediate) cure (something that will make you healthy again). It’s not clear how much cocaine was in each drop, but I’m pretty sure the FDA (Food and Drug Administration) would not approve it today. The FDA is the government agency that now regulates (makes rules about) drugs sold in the U.S.
I wonder what parents 100 years from now will say about some of the medicines we give children today!
~ Jeff
Image Credit: National Institute of Health
No Room for a Park? Build a Parklet.
Posted on Tuesday - October 10, 2017 by Dr. Jeff McQuillan
Here I am on Saturday afternoon enjoying my coffee. I’m not sitting outside of a cafe. I’m sitting at a parklet in Santa Monica.
You know what a park is: it’s a green space with trees where people can go to enjoy nature, play sports and games, and just relax. But in a place like LA where there isn’t enough room for a lot of parks, some cities are building parklets.
The suffix “-let” is usually used with nouns to mean something smaller than the original. For example, a booklet is a small or thin book with fewer pages than a regular book. A ringlet is a piece of hair made into a small curl, usually on little girls. When used with animals, “-let” means a baby animal: a sow (female pig) has piglets.
These parklets — or small parks — are placed on the street and take the space of one or more parking spaces, next to the sidewalk (walkway along the street).
Here’s another parklet, this one in downtown Los Angeles:
If you don’t mind a little exhaust (gas from cars, trucks, and other vehicles), they’re a nice place to sit, relax, and people-watch (watching people go by when you don’t have anything else to do).
~ Jeff
Photo credit: City of Los Angeles
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Posted on Tuesday - October 17, 2017 by Dr. Jeff McQuillan
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The World Series is Here – Play Ball!
Posted on Tuesday - October 24, 2017 by Dr. Jeff McQuillan
Today is the first game of this year’s Major League Baseball World Series. The best two baseball teams of 2017 play to determine the champion (winner) this year. My favorite team, the Los Angeles Dodgers, is in the series for the first time in 29 years.
It should be a national holiday.
There are 30 teams in Major League Baseball. They are divided (split; separated) into the American League and the National League, each with 15 teams. The winners of those two leagues play each other in the World Series.
The World Series has the word “world” in it although only teams in the U.S. and Canada are in the Leagues. In fact, there is now only one team from Canada — the Toronto Blue Jays. So that’s a little American hyperbole for you.
Hyperbole refers to exaggerated claims, such as when you say that something is much more or much bigger than it really is. Of course, you should not believe it is literally (actually) true. It isn’t.
For example, I might say, “L.A. traffic is so bad that it takes me years to get home from work.” or “My bald head is so shiny (reflects light so well), it could be used to beam (shine light) messages into space.”
The World Series consists of (has) a maximum of seven games. The team that wins four out of seven games wins the series. We often use the phrase “best out of (number)” — the person or team who/that wins the most out of a number of competitions is the champion. The World Series is a best out of seven competition.
The Dodgers play the Houston (Texas) Astros today here in Los Angeles.
As you can see, I’m ready to root for (support and encourage) my team. Go, Dodgers!
~ Jeff
The Sounds of Halloween
Posted on Tuesday - October 31, 2017 by ESLPod.com
It’s Halloween and you’re watching your favorite horror (scary) film today. Can you hear it? It’s the squeak (making a high-pitched sound) of an old door, a high-pitched (with high sounds) scream, the sound of thunder (loud crashing sound during storms). These are all sounds you may hear in popular horror movies thanks to Jack Foley.
Jack Foley (1891-1967) left his mark on (became well known and remembered for) the film industry by developing techniques for many popular sound effects (sounds heard in a movie, play, or TV show, but not made by the actors). He is best known for including environmental or ambient (in the surrounding area; happening around something) sounds into films. In fact, the people who do this type of work today are known as “Foley artists.”
Before Jack Foley’s techniques were invented, films usually used pre-recorded (created and captured earlier) sounds, which were added later. But Foley changed this by creating the sounds in real time (when they were needed in the films). The sounds could include anything from a telephone ring, a squeaky door, footsteps (the sound of one’s feet hitting the ground as one walks), to the sound of clothing rustling (sound of fabric moving) as people walk.
The sound effects are intended to enhance (improve; make better) the film, making it feel more realistic (similar to real life). Without those sound effects, films may feel too quiet and even uncomfortable for viewers. The best sound effects sound and feel seamless (without being separate or different), so the audience doesn’t realize that those sounds are not what the actors are actually producing.
Foley effects are especially important when films are dubbed in another language (with the dialogue being presented in another language), because when the dubbing replaces the original language, it also replaces all other sounds. As a result, those sounds must be added back in with each dubbed version.
So the next time you watch a film, listen for the work these Foley artists. They help to make us believe what’s on the screen.
~ ESLPod Team
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Image Credit: From Wikipedia
- This post was adapted from “Culture Note” from Daily English 1226. To see the rest of the Learning Guide, including a Glossary, Sample Sentences, Comprehension Questions, a Complete Transcript of the entire lesson and more, become a Select English Member.
