Daily English 1284 Discovering a Minor Theft

Dialogue/Story

Slow Speed begins at: 0:59
Explanation begins at: 3:46
Normal Speed begins at: 16:47

Complete Transcript

Welcome to English as a Second Language Podcast number 1,284 – Discovering a Minor Theft.

This is English as a Second Language Podcast episode 1,284. I’m your host, Dr. Jeff McQuillan, coming to you from the Center for Educational Development in beautiful Los Angeles, California.

This episode is a dialogue between Maria and the owner of a store about stealing something from the store. Sounds dangerous. Let’s get started.

[start of dialogue]

Maria: What’s going on here? I came as soon as I got your phone call. Why are you holding onto my son like that?

Store Owner: I am restraining your son because I caught him shoplifting. I thought you’d like to be here when I called the police.

Maria: There’s no need for that. He’s not a delinquent.

Store Owner: He is from my standpoint. Theft is a serious crime.

Maria: I know it is and I’ll make restitution. Please give him a second chance. Please don’t call the police.

Store Owner: Well, it’s not the value of what he’s stolen that’s important. It’s the fact that he committed an offense.

Maria: Please let me pay for it and I’ll make sure he never enters your store again. What did he take and how much do I owe you?

Store Owner: I told you that it’s not the cost of the item. It’s the principle.

Maria: What exactly did my son take?

Store Owner: He ate a grape.

Maria: One grape?

Store Owner: Yes, before I stopped him. He could have eaten the entire fruit stand if I hadn’t been vigilant.

Maria: All this is over one grape.

Store Owner: You should be thanking me for alerting you to this behavior. As a parent, you know you need to nip these things in the bud. Today it’s a grape; tomorrow it’s a car!

Maria: [sigh] Okay, how much do I owe you for one grape?

[end of dialogue]

Maria begins our dialogue by asking, “What’s going on here?” meaning “What is happening?” Maria continues, “I came as soon as I got your phone call.” So, someone has called Maria and Maria has traveled from her work or her home to this place. Well, it turns out we’re inside of a store in this dialogue. Maria then asks the person who owns the store, the person whose store it is, “Why are you holding onto my son like that?” “To hold onto” someone means to put your arms or hands on someone so the person can’t leave, so he doesn’t escape or go away from you.

The store owner says, “I am restraining your son because I caught him shoplifting.” “To restrain” (restrain) someone means to make it difficult or impossible for a person to move. The store owner is holding on to this, I assume, child because the young man was caught “shoplifting.” “Shoplifting” (shoplifting) comes from the verb “to shoplift,” which means to steal something from a store – usually a small item, something that isn’t worth a lot of money.

The store owner continues, “I thought you’d like to be here when I called the police.” The shop owner is saying to the mother of this young man that he’s going to call the police and wanted the mother there when he called. Maria says, “There’s no need for that,” meaning that isn’t necessary. “He’s not a delinquent.” A “delinquent” (delinquent) is a young person who commits a crime or who does things that are against the law. I was never a delinquent, though I did know some people who were delinquents, who broke the law when they were young.

The store owner says, “He is from my standpoint.” The store owner is saying, “Actually, yes. Your son, Maria, is a delinquent.” He’s a delinquent from the store owner’s “standpoint” (standpoint). “Standpoint” is another word for viewpoint, or perspective. It describes the way that you view or understand a situation. The store owner is saying, “Well, maybe you, Maria, don’t think he’s a delinquent, but I think he’s a delinquent. Why? Well, because he stole something.”

“Theft,” he continues, “is a serious crime.” “Theft” (theft) is a noun meaning the crime of stealing things, the illegal act of taking things that don’t belong to you. Maria says, “I know it is,” meaning yes, theft is a serious crime. I agree. She says, “I’ll make restitution.” “To make restitution” (restitution) means to return or pay for something that was stolen, or perhaps to make up for something bad that you did to someone else by giving that person money or by doing something else for that person.

Maria then says to the store owner, “Please give him a second chance,” meaning allow him another opportunity to do things right. “Please don’t call the police,” she says. The store owner says, “Well, it’s not the value of what he’s stolen that’s important. It’s the fact that he committed an offense.” “Value” (value) here refers to the price of what the young man stole. It’s how much money something is worth.

The store owner is not worried about how expensive the item that was stolen is, but rather the fact that this young boy committed an offense. “To commit an offense” (offense) means to break a law – to do something that is against the rules of an organization or the laws of a certain place. It’s to commit a crime, in other words. Maria says, “Please let me pay for it and I’ll make sure he never enters your store again. What did he take and how much do I owe you?” she says. Maria is asking the store owner how much money she has to give the store owner to pay for what her son stole.

The store owner says, “I told you that it’s not the cost of the item. It’s the principle.” The store owner is saying, “Well, the price isn’t important. It’s the principle” (principle). The “principle” is the belief or idea that guides your behavior, that tells you what to do. For example, you could have a principle of honesty that tells you never to lie, especially to your girlfriend or your wife or your mother. Of course, I hope you don’t lie to anyone.

Maria says, “What exactly did my son take?” The store owner responds, “He ate a grape.” A “grape” is a very small round or oval fruit that is usually purple, red, or green. We make grapes into wine. We make wine from grapes, for example. It’s a very, very small thing, one grape. Maria is surprised. She says, “One grape?” The store owner says, “Yes, before I stopped him. He could have eaten the entire fruit stand if I hadn’t been vigilant.” The store owner is concerned that this young boy ate a single grape. He says, “Well, he could have eaten the entire fruit stand if I hadn’t been vigilant.”

A “fruit stand” (stand) is a small store, basically, that sells fruit, usually outside. It’s not something that is permanent. A fruit stand is usually something that you can move from one place to another. This man owns a fruit stand and thinks that this young boy was going to eat all of his fruit because he ate a single grape. He says, “He could have eaten the entire” – that is, all of the – “fruit stand” if he hadn’t been “vigilant” (vigilant). “To be vigilant” means to be very careful about dangers or threats around you, to be watching very carefully to make sure nothing bad happens.

Maria is surprised – shocked, perhaps – by the store owner’s reaction. She says, “All this over one grape?” meaning the store owner caused all of this trouble just because her son ate a single grape. The store owner says, “You should be thanking me for alerting you to this behavior.” “To alert” (alert) someone is to make someone aware of something – to tell someone about something that the person might not have known about, especially if it’s a danger or a problem.

The store owner says, “As a parent, you know you need to nip these things in the bud.” The expression “to nip” (nip) something “in the bud” (bud) means to solve a problem early, when it’s still a small problem, before it becomes more serious or a bigger problem. For example, if someone at your work always comes in two minutes late, your boss might decide “to nip the problem in the bud” just in case the person begins to come in 10 minutes late or 20 minutes late. You solve the problem when it’s still small. That’s what the store owner is suggesting Maria do for her son.

He says, “Today it’s a grape,” meaning today his crime is stealing a grape, “tomorrow it’s a car.” Maria then sighs – she makes a sound indicating that she is perhaps not very happy with the store owner. She says, “Okay, how much do I owe you for one grape” – how much money do I need to give you to pay for the one grape that my son stole?

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

Maria: What’s going on here? I came as soon as I got your phone call. Why are you holding onto my son like that?

Store Owner: I am restraining your son because I caught him shoplifting. I thought you’d like to be here when I called the police.

Maria: There’s no need for that. He’s not a delinquent.

Store Owner: He is from my standpoint. Theft is a serious crime.

Maria: I know it is and I’ll make restitution. Please give him a second chance. Please don’t call the police.

Store Owner: Well, it’s not the value of what he’s stolen that’s important. It’s the fact that he committed an offense.

Maria: Please let me pay for it and I’ll make sure he never enters your store again. What did he take and how much do I owe you?

Store Owner: I told you that it’s not the cost of the item. It’s the principle.

Maria: What exactly did my son take?

Store Owner: He ate a grape.

Maria: One grape?

Store Owner: Yes, before I stopped him. He could have eaten the entire fruit stand if I hadn’t been vigilant.

Maria: All this is over one grape.

Store Owner: You should be thanking me for alerting you to this behavior. As a parent, you know you need to nip these things in the bud. Today it’s a grape; tomorrow it’s a car!

Maria: [sigh] Okay, how much do I owe you for one grape?

[end of dialogue]

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From Los Angeles, California, I’m Jeff McQuillan. Thanks for listening. Come back and listen to us again right here on ESL Podcast.

Glossary

to hold onto – to grab someone or something with one’s hands or arms and not let go; to use one’s hands and/or arms to grab someone or something and not release it

* Could you please hold onto these bags for a few minutes while I use the restroom?

to restrain – to limit someone’s movements; to make it difficult or impossible for someone to move or do something

* The police officer managed to restrain the criminal so that handcuffs could be placed on him.

to shoplift – to steal something from a store, especially a small item

* The teenage girls shoplifted makeup from the store for a few weeks before they were caught.

delinquent – a young person who commits crime and/or who behaves in ways that are against the law

* The fact that he has purple hair and earrings doesn’t necessarily mean he’s a delinquent.

standpoint – viewpoint; perspective; the way one views, interprets, and understands a situation

* From my standpoint, it’s not enough to tell children they’ve done something wrong. They need to be punished.

theft – the crime of stealing things; the illegal act of taking things that belong to someone else without that person’s permission

* Do you think they’ll identify the people responsible for the theft of your computer?

to make restitution – to return something that was stolen, pay for something that was lost, or in some other way make up for something bad that happened

* Our children will make restitution for breaking the neighbor’s window by paying for it out of their earnings from their part-time jobs over the next six months.

to give (someone) a second chance – to allow someone to have an additional opportunity to do something, especially to behave well; to not punish someone for bad behavior the first time, with the understanding that a punishment will take place if the bad behavior happens again

* After Liliana made a big mistake at work, her boss decided to give her a second chance.

value – how much money something is worth; the price at which something can be bought

* The real estate agent estimates the value of the land at $217,000.

to commit an offense – to commit a crime; to break the law; to do something that is against the rules

* Would you ever consider hiring someone who had committed an offense?

principle – a truth, belief, or value that guides one’s behavior

* Our society was founded on the principle that everyone is created equal.

grape – a small, oval fruit with purple, red, or green skin that grows on vines and can be eaten raw or used to make juice or wine

* The winery will use these white grapes to make chardonnay.

fruit stand – a small outdoor business that sells fresh fruits and vegetables, often with simple tables placed under a tent

* In mid-summer, the fruit stands sell many kinds of fruit, but in early June, they sell only strawberries.

vigilant – watchful and aware of one’s surroundings, being careful about possible dangers or threats

* Adam has very pale skin and spends a lot of time outdoors, so he needs to be vigilant about checking for signs of skin cancer.

to alert – to draw someone’s attention to something; to make someone aware of something; to notify or warn

* The bank sent an email alerting me that my credit card had been stolen.

to nip (something) in the bud – to address and resolve or end a problem very early, before it has an opportunity to become a larger, more serious problem

* We need to nip these bad eating habits in the bud before we become junk food addicts!

Comprehension Questions

1. Which of these is an example of committing an offense?
a) Shoplifting
b) Making restitution
c) Giving someone a second chance

2. What does the storeowner mean when he says that parents “need to nip these things in the bud”?
a) Parents need to punish their children.
b) Parents need to accept responsibility for their children’s actions.
c) Parents need to solve small problems before they become big problems.

Answers at bottom.

What Else Does It Mean?

value

The word “value,” in this podcast, means how much money something is worth, or the price at which something can be bought: “We were shocked by the value of those old paintings.” The phrase “of great value” means to be useful: “This research could be of great value in finding a cure for cancer.” The phrase “of little value” means unhelpful or useless: “There’s little value is arguing about what happened. We need to find a solution and move forward.” If something “holds its value,” its value does not change over time: “Historically, homes in this neighborhood have held their value better than homes in the surrounding neighborhoods.” Finally, “face value” is the value that is printed on something, often different than its actual value: “The face value of this old coin is just one dollar, but it’s actually worth several hundred dollars to collectors.”

to nip (something) in the bud

In this podcast, the phrase “to nip (something) in the bud” means to address and resolve or end a problem very early, before it has an opportunity to become a larger, more serious problem: “If we had known the pipe was leaking, we could have nipped the problem in the bud before we experienced flooding.” The phrase “a nip in the air” means that it is a little bit cold: “It’s a beautiful, sunny day, but there’s a nip in the air.” The phrase “nip and tuck” describes a surgery to improve one’s physical appearance, especially to make one seem thinner or to reduce wrinkles on one’s face: “After giving birth to her last child, Morgana decided to get a nip and tuck.” Finally, the verb “to nip at” means to gently bite something: “Little fish nipped at our toes as we walked in the warm water.”

Culture Note

Petty Theft and Grand Theft

Theft is always a crime, but there are “degrees” (different levels of seriousness) of theft. The worst instances of theft are called “grand theft” or “grand larceny.” Although laws “vary by state” (different states have different laws), grand theft is very serious and usually results in “harsh” (severe; strong) punishments. Grand theft is defined by its “magnitude” (size) and specifically the value of the items that have been stolen. The “threshold” (limit between two categories) for grand theft is usually around $400 or $500. Theft of automobiles is often referred to as “grand theft auto,” which is also the name of a popular video game series.

“Petty theft” refers to theft of items whose value is below the threshold in a particular state. Technically, “shoplifting” is the same as “petty theft,” but in everyday language, people sometimes use the word “shoplifting” to describe petty theft when the value of the items is less than $50. For example, stealing a loaf of bread would be described as petty theft. Stealing small electronics would be described as petty theft. And stealing “luxury” (very nice and expensive) jewelry would be defined as grand theft.

In most states, grand theft is “treated as” (considered) a “felony” (a serious crime with harsh punishments, such as “imprisonment” (time spent in jail)) “whereas” (while at the same time and in contrast), petty theft is treated as a “misdemeanor” (a less serious crime with “lighter” (not as harsh) punishments, such as a “fine” (money that must be paid as a punishment)).

Comprehension Answers

1 - a

2 - c