Episode 65: The Indianapolis 500

May 15, 2020ESL Podcast, Recordings & Transcripts500, American, education, English, ESL, exercises, free, Indianapolis, Indy, Karren Doll Tolliver, Komnata Chista, language, learning, listening, podcast, vocabularyktolliver@komnatachista.com

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 8:04 — 7.4MB)

Welcome to Slow American English, the podcast for learners of American English. I’m your host, Karren Tolliver.

This is episode number 65: The Indianapolis 500

Before we begin, here are three important items:

Buy all the Slow American English workbooks now on Amazon. They are for both teachers and students. There are pre-planned lessons for each episode with listening, reading, speaking and writing exercises, transcripts and answer keys. You can even use the workbooks without the podcast recordings, so get yours today.
Many thanks to my Patreon patrons for your monthly contributions that keep the podcast going. You help pay for web hosting and other expenses. Without you, I could not produce this free podcast for English learners all over the world. If you are not yet a patron, please visit Patreon.com/SlowAmericanEnglish and become one today!
Subscribe to the podcast website at SlowAmericanEnglish.net. There are free transcripts PLUS links to become a patron and to buy the workbooks.

Now for the podcast:

Transcript:

Every year on Memorial Day Sunday, 33 race cars compete in Indianapolis, IN, on the Indianapolis Motor Speedway racetrack. The event is called the Indianapolis 500, or Indy 500, because the race is 500 miles long. It’s the oldest currently operational auto race in the world. The track itself is an oval, 2.5 miles long. Drivers must complete 200 laps for 500 miles, only making left turns. The winner gets a cold bottle of milk to drink, along with some money, of course!

The cars are Indy cars, which are similar to Formula 1 cars in that they have open cockpits and one seat, but the design is different. Indy cars are a little faster, with an average top speed of about 235 miles per hour (mph). Also, Formula 1 races are held all over the world, but the Indy car races are mainly in the US, although some events are in other countries. Of course, the Indianapolis Motor Speedway is only one of the tracks where Indy car races are held, but it is the most famous.

Because the original Indy 500 track was made of bricks, it’s nicknamed the Brickyard. Nowadays it is asphalt, but there is still a strip of bricks across the track that serves as the finish line. Many races are held there, including some Formula 1 and NASCAR races. For the Indy 500, the traditional announcement for the start of the race was, “Gentlemen, start your engines!” Since 1977, however, women have competed in the race, so now the announcement is often, “Drivers, start your engines!”

The track was built in 1909, and the first Indy 500 race was in 1911. At times, the race has been delayed or shortened because of rain, and sometimes the race was completed the following day or week. Only six times has it been cancelled altogether: twice during WWI and four times during WWII. In 2020, it has been rescheduled for August because of the coronavirus pandemic.

Some famous driver names in Indy car history are A.J. Foyt; Danica Patrick; Mario and Michael Andretti; Bobby, Al, and Al Unser, Jr.; Helio Castroneves; and Rick Mears. Another well known name is Roger Penske, a former driver who leads a large automotive company and sponsors racing teams. In fact, Penske’s company owns the Indianapolis Motor Speedway itself.

NTT IndyCar is the regulating organization for Indy car racing events held throughout the year. They make the rules and keep records. Drivers make points for such things as participating, number of laps completed, speed, and winning.

To begin the Indy 500, a special car leads the race cars around the track to warm up before the race begins. This car is called a pace car. As with other car races, a green flag is waved to start the race, and the pace car exits the track. A yellow flag is waved for caution, for example, when there is a crash and the drivers must slow down and maintain position. In this case, the pace car re-enters the track and leads the other cars again. A red flag is waved to stop the race if conditions are too dangerous. A black and white checkered flag is waved when the winner crosses the finish line at the end.

The place alongside the track where the driver’s team waits is called the ‘pit’. A ‘pit stop’ is when the driver exits the race for car service or other reasons. The team that services the car is the ‘pit crew’.

### End of Transcript ###

For a free transcript and to subscribe to the podcast, visit SlowAmericanEnglish.net. You can also subscribe via any podcast feed reader.

Theme music is written and performed by SW Campbell and used by permission. Find more music by this artist at Soundclick.com/swcampbell.

This has been Slow American English. I’m Karren Tolliver. Thank you for listening.

Episode 64: Steve Jobs and Apple

April 15, 2020ESL Podcast, Recordings & TranscriptsAmerican, apple, education, English, ESL, exercises, free, jobs, Karren Doll Tolliver, komnatachista, language, learning, listening, podcast, steve, vocabularyktolliver@komnatachista.com

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 8:52 — 8.1MB)

Welcome to Slow American English, the podcast for learners of American English. I’m your host, Karren Tolliver.

This is episode number 64: Steve Jobs and Apple

Before we begin, here are three important items:

I hope that all of you are healthy and safe during this world crisis pandemic. It is the most unusual thing I have ever seen. But you know what to do, so please take every step necessary to stay safe. During your isolation, you can listen to all of the Slow American English podcasts again to reinforce your learning. They are all online at SlowAmericanEnglish.net. Subscribe to the podcast there, find free transcripts and links to become a patron and to buy workbooks.
To help with your English learning, you can buy Slow American English workbooks on Amazon in almost every country. You can use the workbooks either with or without the podcast. Teachers can use the pre-planned lessons for listening, reading, speaking and writing. Students can use each lesson for self-study. Get yours in print or Kindle version now!
Thank you to my Patreon patrons for pledging a little money every month to keep the podcast going. Your contributions help pay for web hosting and other expenses. Without you, I could not help English learners all over the world. If you are not yet a patron, please visit Patreon.com/SlowAmericanEnglish and become one today!

Now for the podcast:

Transcript:

Steve Jobs was born in 1955 in San Francisco, CA. He was adopted as a baby and grew up near San Francisco. He would one day help the area to become Silicon Valley.

Jobs was extremely intelligent and much smarter than most people. He went to college in Oregon, but he dropped out after only six months. However, he then audited creative classes where his love for design grew. While in Oregon, he lived and worked at an apple orchard.

When he was nineteen, he worked as a video game designer for Atari. When Steve Jobs was 21 years old, he and his good friend Steve Wozniak (“Woz”) founded Apple Computer in 1976. It was one year after Bill Gates had founded Microsoft. Jobs and Wozniak worked in Jobs’ garage, the same place where Jobs’ father taught him electronics as a hobby when he was younger.

At that time, computers were very large and very expensive. Only big companies and governments had computers. Apple Computer made them smaller, cheaper and more user-friendly. Anyone now could buy one. Apple’s first product was the Apple I, and the electronics were designed by Woz. Jobs was responsible for marketing. The computer was sold as a kit that people had to put together.

Apple introduced the Apple II computer in 1977. It was ready to use and was the first highly successful individual computer. The Apple II started a boom in personal computer sales. It also opened the market for software companies to sell directly to consumers.

Three years later, Apple had sales of over $139 million and became a publicly traded company on the stock market. At the end of the first day of trading, the company was worth almost $2 billion.

Apple has almost always been on the leading edge of technology. They were the first to produce computers that anyone could buy. And even if they did not introduce a product, they have always improved it. Their design and marketing abilities have always been on the top level mainly because of Steve Jobs.

Jobs was forced to leave Apple in 1985 because executives thought he was hurting the company. He then started NeXT computer company, which was bought by Apple in 1996. In 1986, Steve Jobs bought an animation company from George Lucas that would become Pixar. Pixar produced the first entirely computer-animated movie, Toy Story, in 1995.

Jobs came back to Apple in 1997. The company had not been doing well, but he led the company to great success once again. Among the revolutionary Apple products produced were the iMac desktop, Macbook Air laptop, iPod, iPhone and iPad. In 2008, Apple became the second-largest music seller in the US because of iTunes. It was normal that other companies scrambled to produce comparable products every time Apple introduced something new.

Steve Jobs died in 2011 after fighting cancer for almost ten years. He was only 56 years old. He is considered one of the geniuses of electronics, marketing, design and business. If you want to know more about him, I recommend the book, Steve Jobs, by Walter Isaacson, published a few months after Jobs died.

Language note: Apple started as what we call a garage business in American English. Garage businesses are small start-ups, and the term implies the products are the owner’s inventions. We can also say selling out of your garage. For example, “Jobs started selling computers out of his garage.” Microsoft, Google and Amazon also started as garage businesses.

### End of Transcript ###

For a free transcript and to subscribe to the podcast, visit SlowAmericanEnglish.net. You can also subscribe to the podcast recordings anywhere you get podcasts.

Theme music is written and performed by SW Campbell and used by permission. Find more music by this artist at Soundclick.com/swcampbell.

This has been Slow American English. I’m Karren Tolliver. Thank you for listening.

Episode 63: National Register of Historic Places

March 15, 2020ESL Podcast, Recordings & TranscriptsAmerican, education, English, ESL, exercises, free, historic, Karren Doll Tolliver, Komnata Chista, language, learning, listening, national, podcast, register, vocabularyktolliver@komnatachista.com

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 7:42 — 7.1MB)

Welcome to Slow American English, the podcast for learners of American English. I’m your host, Karren Tolliver.

This is episode number 63: National Register of Historic Places

Before we begin, I want to give a big thank-you to my Patreon patrons for pledging a little money every month to keep the podcast going. Your contributions help pay for web hosting and other expenses. Without you, I could not help English learners all over the world. If you are not yet a patron, would you please visit Patreon.com/SlowAmericanEnglish and become one today?

Buy Slow American English workbooks on Amazon. You can use all the workbooks either with the podcast or without it. Teachers can use the pre-planned lessons for listening, reading, speaking and writing. Students can use each lesson for self-study. Get yours in print or Kindle versions now!

Visit Patreon.com/SlowAmericanEnglish for FREE bonus material. Download a pdf file containing the National Register of Historic Places listing for the Statue of Liberty, including pictures. Please enjoy!

Now for the podcast:

Transcript:

The National Register of Historic Places is the official list of historic things in the USA believed to be so important that they should be preserved, based on national standards. The list contains not only buildings but also sites like battlefields, structures like bridges, objects like artworks, and districts such as neighborhoods.

The National Register is similar to the idea of UNESCO’s World Heritage List, except the National Register contains only items within the United States. In fact, there are 24 UNESCO sites within the US, such as the Statue of Liberty and the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Both of these are on the National Register, too.

The National Register was established by the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966. It is managed by the National Park Service, which is part of the Department of the Interior. Today, the list contains over 95,000 items. Almost every county in the country has at least one item on the list.

Here is the process for getting something on the National Register:

Someone must nominate the item to be listed. This could be a local city government, a Native American tribe or a private owner of the item. They would probably contact their State Historic Preservation Office (SHPO) for research information, forms to fill out and so on.

The SHPO and others evaluate the nomination based on several characteristics. One is age, and, generally, the item should be at least 50 years old. In addition, the item should still look much like it did in the past and be associated with important historical events or be an important example of engineering, architecture, archaeology or other categories.

The SHPO also asks for public comments. If the owner doesn’t want the item to be listed, the item cannot be listed. But the SHPO can send the nomination to the National Park Service for further evaluation.

If the item passes the first evaluation, it is recommended to the National Park Service in Washington, DC. Then the National Park Service makes a final decision. If the item passes, it’s placed on the National Register of Historic Places.

After being put on the National Register, the item’s owners or caretakers can now apply for tax cuts and grants from federal and private organizations. That money is then used to help preserve the item. Listing on the National Register does not prohibit changes to the item, but getting tax cuts and grants might.

Many items on the National Register have plaques displayed about them. Plaques are not required, but many owners and caretakers get one because they are so proud. In addition, if the item receives tax credits and grants that prevent it from being changed, the National Register listing qualifies it for alternative fire and safety equipment codes. For example, if an old building cannot be changed to have modern fire and safety equipment, different rules are allowed.

The National Park Service maintains a free, public online database with all the information about all the items on the National Register. This month’s free bonus material at Patreon.com/slowamericanenglish is a copy of the listing for the Statue of Liberty from the database.

### End of Transcript ###

For a free transcript and to subscribe to the podcast, visit SlowAmericanEnglish.net. You can also subscribe wherever podcasts are downloaded.

Theme music is written and performed by SW Campbell and used by permission. Find more music by this artist at Soundclick.com/swcampbell.

This has been Slow American English. I’m Karren Tolliver. Thank you for listening.

Episode 62: Impeachment Process

February 15, 2020ESL Podcast, Recordings & TranscriptsAmerican, education, English, ESL, exercises, federal, free, government, impeachment, Karren Doll Tolliver, Komnata Chista, language, learning, listening, podcast, usa, vocabularyktolliver@komnatachista.com

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 7:44 — 7.1MB)

Welcome to Slow American English, the podcast for learners of American English. I’m your host, Karren Tolliver.

This is episode number 62: Impeachment Process

Before we begin, here are three important items:

Buy the fifth Slow American English workbook now! It’s available on Amazon, just like the first four workbooks. You can use all the workbooks either with the podcast or without it. Teachers can use the pre-planned lessons for listening, reading, speaking and writing. Students can use each lesson for self-study. Get yours in print or Kindle version now!
I want to give a big thank-you to my Patreon patrons for pledging a little money every month to keep the podcast going. Your contributions help pay for web hosting and other expenses. Without you, I could not help English learners all over the world. If you are not yet a patron, please visit Patreon.com/SlowAmericanEnglish and become one today!
Become a website subscriber at SlowAmericanEnglish.net. There are free transcripts PLUS links to become a patron and to buy workbooks. Follow me on social media from the website, too.

Now for the podcast:

Transcript:

If you have been following US news for the past few months (2019 and 2020), you might know that the US president was impeached. However, you might not know what that actually means.

It is important to understand that impeachment is not a criminal process. It is a political one. Article II of the Constitution states:

“The President, Vice President and all civil officers of the United States, shall be removed from office on impeachment for, and conviction of, treason, bribery, or other high crimes and misdemeanors.”

Impeachment is a two-step process. Congress is responsible for the actions. First, the House of Representatives brings impeachment charges against a federal official. Then, the Senate has a trial and votes whether to convict.

Here is the procedure:

Members of the House of Representatives must either introduce an impeachment resolution just like they would a regular bill, or they can pass a resolution to start an inquiry. During the inquiry, evidence is gathered and charges are stated. After a few weeks or months of investigation, the representatives vote. If a majority of representatives votes to impeach, there is a trial in the Senate. This should be conducted like a normal trial in a court of law.
Members of the House are appointed to manage the Senate trial, which means they act as prosecutors. The impeached official gathers a legal defense team. Senators act as the jury. After the prosecution and defense teams present their sides of the case, the Senators vote. If two-thirds or more of the senators present vote for conviction, the impeached official is removed from office and possibly prohibited from holding office in the future. There is no other punishment, such as fines or prison time.

Further charges can be brought against the removed official in regular courts, if anyone wants to do that. Additional legal procedures would then follow, including negotiations and even trials, but they aren’t guaranteed, and they don’t involve Congress.

More information about impeachment in the US:

The Constitution does not specify what “high crimes and misdemeanors” are. Therefore, the House of Representatives can decide.
If the president is convicted by the Senate and removed from office, the Vice President becomes president.
Other federal officials besides the president can be impeached by the House.
The House has begun 62 impeachment investigations throughout history.
Only 20 of those 62 investigations resulted in impeachment: 30 judges, three presidents, one Cabinet secretary and one US senator.
The impeached presidents were Andrew Johnson, Bill Clinton and Donald Trump. None were convicted or removed from office.
Andrew Johnson was Abraham Lincoln‘s vice president; he became president when Lincoln was assassinated in 1865. He was impeached in 1868.
Bill Clinton was impeached in 1998.
Donald Trump was impeached in 2020.
Impeachment proceedings were started against President Richard Nixon in 1973, but he resigned before he could be tried in the Senate.
All states except Oregon can impeach state officials. The procedures are basically the same as federal ones.

### End of Transcript ###

For a free transcript and to subscribe to the podcast, visit SlowAmericanEnglish.net. You can also subscribe via Apple Podcasts, Google Play Music, TuneIn and any other podcast feed reader.

Theme music is written and performed by SW Campbell and used by permission. Find more music by this artist at Soundclick.com/swcampbell.

This has been Slow American English. I’m Karren Tolliver. Thank you for listening.

Episode 61: Prohibition

January 15, 2020ESL Podcast, Recordings & TranscriptsAmerican, education, English, ESL, exercises, free, Karren Doll Tolliver, Komnata Chista, language, learning, listening, podcast, Prohibition, vocabularyktolliver@komnatachista.com

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 9:09 — 8.4MB)

Welcome to Slow American English, the podcast for learners of American English. I’m your host, Karren Tolliver.

This is episode number 61: Prohibition

Before we begin, I want to wish you happy new year with health, wealth and love in 2020.

This is a very special episode for me because it is the five-year anniversary of the podcast! I published the first episode of the podcast five years ago this month! I want to thank all my listeners that have made the podcast so popular.

Also, you can now buy the fifth Slow American English workbook! It’s available on Amazon, just like previous workbooks. You can use all the workbooks either with the podcast or without it. Teachers can use them for listening, reading, speaking and writing. Students can use them for self-study. For links to buy all the workbooks, visit SlowAmericanEnglish.net.

NOTE: As a special five-year anniversary sale, you can buy any of the workbooks for a 25% discount from now until 15 February 2020. Click here to buy your workbooks!

Become a website subscriber at www.SlowAmericanEnglish.net. There are free transcripts PLUS links to become a patron and to buy workbooks.

Follow the podcast on social media. Click the icons on SlowAmericanEnglish.net. Get information about American English idioms, podcast episode information and more.

Huge thanks to my Patreon patrons for pledging a small amount every month to keep the podcast going. Your contributions help pay for web hosting and other expenses. Without you, I could not produce this podcast every month. Thank you! If you are not yet a patron, please consider it. To become a patron, visit www.Patreon.com/SlowAmericanEnglish.

Now for the podcast:

Prohibition

From 1920 to 1933, it was illegal to make, sell or transport alcoholic beverages in the United States. This ban was known as Prohibition, with a capital P. It is also sometimes called ‘the noble experiment’.

The ban was made official by the 18^th Amendment to the Constitution. Because the amendment did not specifically restrict people from having or drinking alcohol, a law called the Volstead Act was passed with additional regulations.

There are several complicated reasons that Prohibition was possible in the USA.

First, because of the industrial revolution, cities became more crowded, which made life more stressful. People tried to relieve stress with alcoholic drinks. More bars and saloons opened, and more people, especially men, drank more alcohol.

Religious movements in the 1800s, such as abolitionist and other campaigns that wanted people to act better, called for temperance. Temperance means to drink less alcohol and be more responsible to your family. Temperance leagues were formed, mostly by women. Religious organizations and temperance leagues said that bars and saloons were bad places. Factory owners wanted temperance so that their workers would be more responsible and less likely to get hurt on the job.

Also, in the early 1900s, World War I caused a worldwide grain shortage. Therefore, grain was restricted from being used to make alcohol in the USA.

Although people had good intentions for passing Prohibition, the results were terrible. People were unwilling to stop drinking alcohol, so they found ways to make their own alcohol and hide it from the government.

There are several words that entered English directly because of Prohibition:

bathtub gin – homemade illegal alcohol made in someone’s bathtub
bootlegging – transporting illegal alcohol; people hid bottles in their boots under their trousers!
dry – place with no legal alcohol; for example, a dry county means you cannot buy alcohol there
moonshine – homemade, illegal alcohol; so-named because people made it at night by the light of the moon
speakeasy – an illegal bar
still – short for distillery; a device for making alcohol

Of course, Prohibition was very unpopular, and the government did not have enough money to enforce the law. There was no longer any tax money from alcohol sales. Also, the stress of the Great Depression in the 1930s made people feel more like drinking alcohol.

Organized-crime gangs grew strong from the manufacture, transport and sale of illegal alcohol. Al Capone, a powerful gang leader in Chicago, made about $60 million during Prohibition. The word ‘gangster’ comes directly from this period in American history.

Because of these and other political reasons, the 21^st Amendment to the US Constitution was passed that repealed, or cancelled, Prohibition in 1933. However, states and local communities can still prohibit alcohol.

In addition to vocabulary, there are other modern effects of Prohibition. For example, some states and counties are still dry. NASCAR racing developed because bootleggers modified their cars to be faster than police cars. In addition, when Prohibition was becoming less popular just before it was repealed, the Volstead Act was amended to permit the manufacture and sale of low-alcohol beer and wine with only 3.2 percent alcohol. That is why traditional American beers such as Budweiser are so weak.

For a free transcript and to subscribe to the podcast, visit www.SlowAmericanEnglish.net. You can also subscribe anywhere you get your podcasts.

Theme music for this podcast is written and performed by SW Campbell and used by permission. Find more music by this artist at Soundclick.com/swcampbell.

This has been Slow American English. I’m Karren Tolliver. Thank you for listening.