Daily English 1223 Experiencing a Difficult Childhood

Dialogue/Story

Slow Speed begins at: 1:41
Explanation begins at: 3:45
Normal Speed begins at: 17:25

Complete Transcript

Welcomed to English as a Second Language Podcast number 1,223 – Experiencing a Difficult Childhood.

This is English as a Second Language Podcast episode 1,223. I’m your host, Dr. Jeff McQuillan, coming to you from the Center for Educational Development in beautiful Los Angeles, California. (I fooled you there, ha!)

This episode is a dialogue between Morris and Tony about growing up in difficult situations. Let’s get started.

[start of dialogue]

Morris: Congratulations on finishing your latest book. What’s it about?

Toni: It’s about a girl whose parents abandoned her at birth and who ends up living on the streets. She experiences abuse and is put in juvie.

Morris: Wow, that sounds heavy. Wasn’t your last book about children whose parents served time in prison and who lived in fear of bullies in their neighborhood?

Toni: Yes, I wrote that after my first book, which was about a brother and sister who lived in an impoverished home, traumatized by events beyond their control.

Morris: Do you ever write about happy childhoods?

Toni: I do write about happy childhoods. All of the children and teenagers in my books are very resilient. They are survivors.

Morris: I was thinking about children who have normal childhoods with two parents living in the suburbs.

Toni: You call that normal? You think they’d be happy? I bet there’s an underbelly of crime and misery in most seemingly perfect families.

Morris: I’ve no doubt that if that were true, you’d be the one to write about it.

[end of dialogue]

Morris says to Tony, “Congratulations on finishing your latest book.” We can guess that Tony is a writer, an author. Morris asks Tony, “What’s it about?” meaning “What is your book about?” What is the topic of the book? Tony says, “It’s about a girl whose parents abandoned her at birth and who ends up living on the streets.” “To abandon someone at birth” is to give up your baby right after the baby is born. Usually this expression “to abandon someone at birth” refers to, typically, a mother who leaves her child perhaps at the door of a hospital or somewhere else.

There used to be a term for this called a “foundling” (foundling). A “foundling” is a baby who has been abandoned by his or her mother and who is found – hence the word “foundling” – by someone else who takes care of the baby. It was even quite common in some cities in Europe to have foundling hospitals. There’s one in London. There’s one in Florence, Italy, and in several other cities. Fortunately, nowadays, we don’t have a lot of foundlings, but that’s what happens in Tony’s book. A girl is abandoned at birth and ends up living on the streets.

The expression “to live on the streets” means to be without a home, to not be able to live in any one place but to have to perhaps move around every day. A more common term nowadays is simply “homeless.” “To live on the streets” implies often that you are involved perhaps in activities that aren’t very healthy or safe. Tony says the character, the girl in her novel, “experiences abuse and is put in juvie.” “Abuse” (abuse) is when someone hurts you, either physically or emotionally, perhaps even sexually.

This girl eventually “is put in juvie” (juvie). “Juvie” is another word for “juvenile detention.” Juvenile detention is where you go if you are under the age of 18 and commit a crime or do something wrong. You will not go to a regular prison or jail. You will instead typically be sent to a special jail for children and teenagers called “juvenile detention.” “Juvenile” means that you are young. You are not an adult. In the United States, you are an adult legally when you are 18 years of age. The girl in Tony’s novel is eventually placed in juvenile detention – in “juvie.”

Morris says, “Wow, that sounds heavy,” meaning that sounds very serious. “Wasn’t your last book about children whose parents served time in prison and who lived in fear of bullies in their neighborhood?” Tony’s previous book was about parents who “served time in prison.” “To serve (serve) time in prison” means to spend time in jail, to be a prisoner. “To live in fear” of something means to always be worried or frightened of something. Some people live in fear of death. They are worried about dying all the time, which is not a very good way to enjoy your life.

In Tony’s novel, the children (whose parents are in prison, remember) live “in fear of bullies.” A “bully” (bully) is a person who is mean to other people, who uses his strength, power, or influence to hurt other people or to make other people scared. Normally the term “bully” is used to describe a child who intimidates or is mean to another child. More recently, the word has begun to be applied to adults, although the primary use is still one which is referring to a child or a teenager who is mean to another child or teenager.

The characters in Tony’s previous novel “lived in fear of bullies in their neighborhood” – in the area where they grew up. Tony says, “Yes, I wrote that after my first book, which was about a brother and sister who lived in an impoverished home, traumatized by events beyond their control.” What happy novels Tony writes. The first book she wrote was about a brother and sister who lived in an “impoverished home.” “Impoverished” (impoverished) means very poor, without a lot of money. They lived in a house, a poor house, and were “traumatized by events beyond their control.”

“To be traumatized” (traumatized) means to be affected by something very bad that happens to you, a very bad experience or perhaps even a bad injury to your body. If you are traumatized by events, something happens in your life that affects you mentally, emotionally, or psychologically. Events that are “beyond your control” are things that you are not able to influence or stop. There are many things in our life that are beyond our control – things that we can’t stop or influence, like how stupid other people are. There’s not a lot you can do about that, although I’ve tried.

Morris asks Tony, “Do you ever write about happy childhoods?” “Childhood” refers to the time when you are growing up, between the time you are born and, say, 18 years old. Tony says, “I do write about happy childhoods. All the children and teenagers in my books are very resilient.” “Resilient” (resilient) is an adjective meaning to be able to recover quickly from a difficult experience or situation. Someone who is “resilient” is someone who, even though he goes through difficult times, is able to recover, is able to get better.

Tony describes her characters as being “survivors” (survivors). A “survivor” is someone who remains alive – the word comes from the verb “to survive” – even when he is in difficult situations. A survivor is someone who is able to continue living even when he may die because of the situation he is in – and of course, who can forget that wonderful song by Destiny’s Child, “I’m a Survivor.”

“I’m a survivor, I’m gonna make it
I will survive, keep on surviving.”

Great stuff, great stuff. Anyway, we’re talking about survivors in Tony’s depressing novels. Morris says, “I was thinking about children who have normal childhoods with two parents living in the suburbs.” The “suburbs” are the areas outside of the main city, which in the United States are often where the richer people live. Tony says, “You call that normal?”

She doesn’t think having two parents and living in the suburbs is normal the way Morris does and the rest of us do. Tony says, “You think they’d be happy?” meaning “Are you saying that the children would be happy with two parents living in the suburbs?” Once again, most of the evidence says they are, but not Tony. No. Tony says, “I bet there is an underbelly of crime and misery in most seemingly perfect families.”

An “underbelly” (underbelly) is something that is hidden normally, something you can’t see that usually involves either crime or something bad happening. “Misery” (misery) is suffering – extreme unhappiness – when everything is terrible and sad, like watching an American presidential election. It’s misery.

The word “seemingly” (seemingly) means apparently – something appears a certain way, but it isn’t really. That’s why Tony says that she thinks there’s an “underbelly of crime and misery in seemingly perfect families.” The families look perfect, but in fact they’re not. They’re full of misery, according to Tony.

Morris says, “I’ve no doubt that if that were true, you’d be the one to write about it.” Morris is saying that if it were in fact true that there is an underbelly of misery in seemingly perfect families, Tony would be the person who would write stories about that.

Now let’s listen to the dialogue, this time at a normal speed.

[start of dialogue]

Morris: Congratulations on finishing your latest book. What’s it about?

Toni: It’s about a girl whose parents abandoned her at birth and who ends up living on the streets. She experiences abuse and is put in juvie.

Morris: Wow, that sounds heavy. Wasn’t your last book about children whose parents served time in prison and who lived in fear of bullies in their neighborhood?

Toni: Yes, I wrote that after my first book, which was about a brother and sister who lived in an impoverished home, traumatized by events beyond their control.

Morris: Do you ever write about happy childhoods?

Toni: I do write about happy childhoods. All of the children and teenagers in my books are very resilient. They are survivors.

Morris: I was thinking about children who have normal childhoods with two parents living in the suburbs.

Toni: You call that normal? You think they’d be happy? I bet there’s an underbelly of crime and misery in most seemingly perfect families.

Morris: I’ve no doubt that if that were true, you’d be the one to write about it.

[end of dialogue]

Our dialogues never traumatize you. That’s because they’re written by the always-happy 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.

Glossary

to abandon (someone) at birth – to give up one’s baby and no longer have anything to do with it; to refuse to serve as a mother or father to one’s child

* Heather was abandoned at birth, but fortunately, she was adopted by a loving couple.

to live on the streets – to be homeless; to have to take care of oneself without a steady job or a reliable or safe place to live

* Some of our students live on the streets and come to school without having eaten a meal in a day or more.

abuse – mistreatment; physical, emotional, and/or sexual harm caused intentionally

* What is the government doing to prevent the abuse of the elderly?

juvie – juvenile detention; a prison or jail for children and teenagers

* Children in juvie need to be given opportunities to continue their education.

heavy – very serious, without any silliness or joking

* War is a heavy topic, so let’s not talk about it at the party.

to serve time in prison – to spend time in jail as a prisoner as a punishment for one’s crimes

* When Christopher was younger, he served time in prison for stealing cars.

to live in fear – to constantly feel anxious, worried, and frightened because one perceives a danger

* Many illegal immigrants live in fear that they or a family member might be forced to leave the country.

bully – a person who is mean to others and uses strength, power, or influence to intimidate and/or hurt others who are weaker

* The school bully stole Jamal’s lunch money and punched him on the playground for no reason.

impoverished – very poor; without any money or other resources

* We’re collecting food and clothing for impoverished families in our community.

traumatized – shocked and permanently affected by a disturbing experience or injury

* Many veterans are traumatized by what they saw in the war.

beyond (one’s) control – outside of one’s control; something that one is not able to influence or stop

* The weather is beyond our control, but let’s try to have a fun vacation anyway despite the rain.

childhood – the experience of growing up; one’s life from birth to age 18

* I spent most of my childhood in Chicago, but then moved to Houston for college and I’ve been here ever since.

resilient – able to recover quickly or easily from a difficult experience or challenging circumstances

* Sheila is a resilient young woman who overcame a terrible car accident and learned to walk again.

survivor – someone who remains alive and continues to exist despite very difficult circumstances

* Were there any survivors in the plane crash?

underbelly – something that is normally hidden and unseen, or something that people are unaware of or choose to ignore, usually involving criminal or unpleasant things

* The city has a dangerous underbelly full of thieves and drug dealers.

misery – extreme unhappiness and suffering, with no hope of improvement

* The war left many children homeless, living alone in misery.

seemingly – apparently; seeming to be a certain way

* They had a seemingly happy marriage, so we were all surprised when they announced they were getting a divorce.

Comprehension Questions

1. What happens in Tori’s latest book?
a) Someone kidnaps a girl at birth.
b) Someone harms a girl at birth.
c) Someone refuses to be a parent to a girl at birth.

2. What does Morris mean when he says, “that sounds heavy”?
a) The book seems to cover an important issue in society.
b) The book seems very serious, sad, and depressing.
c) The book sounds long and difficult to read.

Answers at bottom.

What Else Does It Mean?

heavy

The word “heavy,” in this podcast, means very serious, without any silliness or joking: “Why bring such heavy books to read on a beach vacation? I thought you’d bring some light mysteries.” The word “heavy” also means weighing a lot: “These boxes are so heavy! What’s in them?” A “heavy drinker/smoker” is someone who drinks or smokes a lot: “Bernard is a heavy drinker, but I don’t think he’s an alcoholic.” The phrase “heavy breathing” describes loud, slow breathing: “Kristy found her husband’s heavy breathing reassuring at night.” A “heavy sleeper” is someone who does not wake up easily: “Sammy is such a heavy sleeper that he didn’t even wake up during the earthquake.” Finally, the phrase “heavy schedule” means a day or a calendar with many appointments, commitments, or other scheduled activities: “Gets get some rest. We have a heavy schedule tomorrow.”

seemingly

In this podcast, the word “seemingly” means apparently, or seeming to be a certain way: “The professor assigned a seemingly impossible math problem.” Or, “The seemingly interesting job turned out to be incredibly boring.” The word “seemingly” also means according to the facts that one had at one point in time: “This is seemingly the best solution, but we won’t have all the facts until later.” The verb “to seem” means to appear to be true: “That seems like a bad idea.” The phrase “couldn’t seem to do (something)” means that one tried to do something but could not succeed: “No matter how hard we tried, we couldn’t seem to fit everything back into the box.” Finally, the phrase “seem to do (something)” can be used to show uncertainly: “I seem to have lost my glasses.”

Culture Note

Boot Camps for Juvenile Offenders

A “boot camp” is usually a short-term training program, especially when referring to training for new soldiers or intense exercise programs designed to help people lose weight quickly. This idea has been “adapted” (changed for another purpose) to be used in prisons. Boot camps are sometimes used instead of a “prison term” (a length of time when one must stay in a prison). Some of these boot camps require “hard labor” (intense, difficult physical activity), while others are more “therapeutic” (designed to change one’s behavior) and include activities like “counseling” (opportunities to talk about one’s feelings) and “academic” (related to school subjects) classes.

Some boot camps are designed specifically for “juvenile offenders” (children and teenagers who have broken the law) and they are “highly” (very; extremely) “controversial” (with people having strong opinions for and against something). In one “alarming” (causing surprise and great concern) case, a 14-year-old died during a boot camp in Florida while his “drill instructors” (the people who lead activities in a boot camp) “beat” (hit) him and insisted that he continue to exercise even after he had “collapsed” (fallen down). This boot camp was actually part of an “academy” (school) rather than a prison system, but in response, the state of Florida in 2006 “banned” (no longer allowed; prohibited) “state-run” (operated by the state government) boot camps.

“Advocates” (people who think something is good) of boot camps say that the camps are a good way to “shock” (surprise in a negative way) “trouble youth” (children who get into a lot of trouble) so that they change their behavior. But “opponents” (people who dislike something) say that the boot camps are too “harsh” (difficult) and “severe” (strong and strict) for children and teenagers.

Comprehension Answers

1 - c

2 - b