Daily English 1255 Talking About Gemstones

Dialogue/Story

Slow Speed begins at: 1:16
Explanation begins at: 3:40
Normal Speed begins at: 17:14

Complete Transcript

Welcome to English as a Second Language Podcast number 1,255 – Talking about Gemstones.

This is English as a Second Language Podcast episode 1,255. I’m your host, Dr. Jeff McQuillan, coming to you from the Center for Educational Development in beautiful Los Angeles, California.

[start of dialogue]

Nathan: I’m looking for a gift for my girlfriend. Can you help me pick something out?

Ellie: I’d be happy to. We have a wide selection of jewelry with precious and semiprecious gemstones. Are you interested in something new or antique?

Nathan: I’m not sure. I’m just looking for something nice, something that really reflects our relationship.

Ellie: I understand. Let me show you some of our finest pieces. This ring has a polished faceted stone that has a lot of luster. Isn’t it exquisite?

Nathan: That’s beautiful, but it’s not really what I’m looking for.

Ellie: No problem. How about this piece? It has a lovely color and cut and it’s in a gold setting.

Nathan: Gold, huh? “Golden” isn’t how I’d describe our relationship, at least not yet.

Ellie: Okay, many of our semiprecious stones are set in silver. This one is really radiant, don’t you think?

Nathan: That’s okay, but what about these stones over here?

Ellie: Those are rough uncut stones. They need a lot of work before they’re ready for sale.

Nathan: Rough and needs work? That describes our relationship to a tee. I’ll take one of those.

[end of dialogue]

We’re talking today about “gemstones” (gemstones). The easiest way to define a gemstone is to give you some examples. Examples of gemstones include diamonds, rubies, sapphires, emeralds – these are all colorful and/or shiny pieces of what are technically “mineral crystals” that you find, of course, in the ground usually. Nathan begins our dialogue by saying, “I’m looking for a gift for my girlfriend.” He’s asking Ellie, the woman who works at the jewelry store, to help him pick something out. “To pick out” something or “to pick something out” means to select something from among several options or choices.

Ellie says, “I’d be happy to,” meaning I would be happy to help you. Of course, people who work at a store should be happy to help you. They are, of course, selling something to you. Ellie says, “We have a wide selection,” meaning we have many different kinds, “of jewelry with precious and semiprecious gemstones.” There are two kinds of gemstones. “Precious” (precious) are the more expensive ones. Those are things like the examples I just gave you – diamonds and rubies and sapphires.

The less expensive ones – the cheaper ones, the ones I buy – are called “semiprecious” (semiprecious). “Semiprecious” means that they are not as expensive. They’re often made from other kinds of rock or what are called “organic materials.” The difference is mostly commercial, I think, more than it is geological. In any case, a “semiprecious gemstone” would be something such as jade, jasper, agate, amethyst – those sorts of stones are considered semiprecious. Topaz and turquoise would be another couple of examples. Ellie is saying that they have both precious and semiprecious gemstones.

She asks, “Are you interested in something new or antique?” “Antique” (antique) is sometimes defined as an object that is at least 100 years old, though it is often used simply to mean very old, with no specific reference to how old it is. Nathan says, “I’m not sure. I’m just looking for something nice, something that really reflects our relationship.” “To reflect” means to represent or perhaps to symbolize. Ellie says, “I understand. Let me show you some of our finest pieces.” Now, the word “finest” here means highest quality – best and probably most expensive.

She says, “This ring has a polished faceted stone that has a lot of luster.” “Polished” (polished) refers to something having been rubbed with a cloth or some piece of material so that it is shiny, so that you can sometimes even see your reflection on it. If you have an old piece of silver that has been sitting in your drawer for many years, it will probably need to be polished. You’ll need to do something so that it looks shiny again, so that it looks bright again.

“Faceted” (faceted) refers to something having many sides, or many aspects, if we’re using it more metaphorically. Here it refers to an actual stone that has many different sides to it. “Luster” (luster) refers to the shine of light that is reflected by something. It’s an adjective usually used to talk about jewelry or things like silver. Don’t confuse “luster” with “lust” (lust). “Lust” is sexual desire. We’re not talking about that here. We’re talking about something very different.

Ellie says, “Isn’t it exquisite (exquisite)?” “Exquisite” is an adjective used to describe something that is very beautiful, that is very, we might say, “refined” or “elegant.” We might describe a beautiful diamond as being “exquisite.” It means it’s very, very beautiful. Nathan says, “That’s beautiful, but it’s not really what I’m looking for.” Ellie says, “No problem” – okay, in other words. “How about this piece?” She shows him another piece of jewelry. “It has a lovely color and cut and it’s in a gold setting.” A “cut” (cut) refers to the way that a stone or a crystal is cut by a jeweler, a person who works with stones and jewels.

Diamonds in particular have different cuts, and the different cuts make the diamond look different. The light is reflected differently depending on the cut of the diamond. If you’ve ever bought a ring for your wife or girlfriend, you know what I’m talking about. Ellie mentions this particular stone is in a “gold setting.” “Gold” (gold) is a kind of metal. It’s often referred to as a “precious metal,” just like “precious stone.” A precious metal is a more expensive, a rarer, metal.

A “setting” (setting) refers to where the stone is placed in the piece of jewelry. For example, you could have the diamond in a ring, or you could have it on something you would wear around your neck called a “pendant.” Those are different “settings.” This is in a “gold setting,” meaning the metal of the ring or the pendant is gold. Nathan says, “Gold, huh?” He’s a little surprised, or perhaps confused.

He then says something sort of odd. He says, “‘Golden’ isn’t how I’d describe our relationship, at least not yet.” “Golden” (golden) is the adjective related to gold. Here it means very nice or even perhaps perfect. We talk about California being the “Golden State” because it is where gold was discovered many years ago. “Golden” more generally can refer to something that is ideal or something that is valuable.

Nathan says his relationship with his girlfriend isn’t yet golden, meaning perhaps he doesn’t want to spend that much money on her yet. Ellie says, “Okay, many of our semiprecious stones are set in silver” (silver). Silver is a white metal – chemical element Ag for those of you who are chemists. Silver is expensive, but less expensive than gold. It’s cheaper than gold, usually.

Ellie says, “This one,” showing him another piece of jewelry, “This one is really radiant, don’t you think?” “Radiant” (radiant) refers to something that seems to be producing light. Of course, a stone doesn’t actually produce light. It doesn’t “emit” light, we would say. It “reflects” light. But something that is very shiny might be described as something that is “radiant.” We might describe a beautiful woman as being “radiant,” meaning she’s so beautiful, it’s almost as though light were coming out of her.

Nathan doesn’t seem to like what Ellie is showing him. He says, “That’s okay, but what about these stones over here?” He’s pointing to some other part of the store. Ellie says, “Those are rough uncut stones.” “Uncut” means the jeweler, the person who works with the stones, hasn’t done anything to them yet, hasn’t cut them so that they look nice. The word “rough” (rough) also refers to something as it is when it was found in the ground.

“Rough” might also be the opposite of “polished.” Something that is rough is something that is not very refined. “Rough” is also sometimes used as the opposite of “smooth” (smooth). A “smooth road” or a “smooth street” is one you can drive down without feeling any bumps. The opposite of that would be “rough,” where your car would go up and down because there are holes in the street. We’re talking about “rough uncut stones,” or rocks.

Ellie says the rough uncut stones “need a lot of work before they’re ready for sale.” In other words, they’re not quite ready yet to be sold. Nathan says, “Rough and needs work? That describes our relationship to a tee. I’ll take one of those.” Remember, Nathan was looking for a stone or a gemstone that reflected his and his girlfriend’s relationship, and apparently it needs work. That’s why he says that the rough uncut stones describe their relationship “to a tee” (tee).

“To a tee” is an expression that means perfectly, exactly, precisely. There’s some discussion about whether it should just be the letter “T.” I think you would see it most often spelled out: (tee). No one is quite sure why we say “to a tee,” but everyone understands it means exactly or precisely or perfectly. We often use the expression in referring to a piece of clothing – “It fits me to a tee,” meaning it fits me perfectly. It’s the exact size for me.

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