Daily English 1291 Types of Metal

Dialogue/Story

Slow Speed begins at: 1:10
Explanation begins at: 2:57
Normal Speed begins at: 17:02

Complete Transcript

Welcome to English as a Second Language Podcast number 1,291 – Types of Metal.

This is English as a Second Language Podcast episode 1,291. 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 Raquel and Chris about types of metal, that usually hard material that you usually find in the ground. Let’s get started.

[start of dialogue]

Raquel: You’re not going to believe what my client wants for the finishes in their new house.

Chris: You’re the interior decorator to the rich and famous, so nothing would surprise me.

Raquel: My client wants only precious metals. He wants his bathroom fixtures to be made of platinum and gold.

Chris: You’re kidding! Stainless steel, bronze, or nickel ones aren’t good enough for him?

Raquel: Not even close. I suggested some aluminum light fixtures for the living room and he told me he wanted solid silver.

Chris: But for the kitchen, there’s got to be more run-of-the-mill metals, like tin or copper, right?

Raquel: He hasn’t asked me to stock the kitchen yet, but if he does, I wouldn’t be surprised if he asked for titanium forks!

Chris: Yours is a strange job, catering to the wishes of the rich.

Raquel: That’s true, but it’s taught me a lot.

Chris: What?

Raquel: To truly appreciate the ordinary!

[end of dialogue]

Raquel begins our dialogue by saying to Chris, “You’re not going to believe what my client wants for the finishes in their new house.” “You’re not going to believe” is an expression we use when we are about to say something that is surprising or perhaps difficult to believe. A “client” (client) is a person who pays you money to do something for him. People who are designers or lawyers or other service professionals have “clients.” It’s just another word for a “customer.”

Raquel’s client wants to have what she thinks are some rather surprising “finishes” (finishes) in his or her new house.” “Finishes” refers to the outside, if you will, of things that are in the house – the surfaces in the house. We’ll get a better idea about what kind of finishes we’re talking about in a minute here. Chris says, “You’re the interior decorator to the rich and famous, so nothing would surprise me.”

We learn that Raquel is an “interior (interior) decorator (decorator).” An “interior decorator” is a person who is responsible for making the inside of your house or your office look nice. An interior decorator is someone who decides on what kind of chairs and tables and other furniture would go into a new room or a new house. An interior decorator decides what color paint to put on the walls – all the things that would make a room have a certain look are decided upon by an interior decorator.

Chris is describing Raquel as “the interior decorator to the rich and famous” – people who have a lot of money or people whom everyone seems to know. Raquel says, “My client wants only precious metals.” “Precious (precious) metals (metals)” are things like gold, silver, platinum, and other metals that are very expensive and often used in things like jewelry, such as rings or pendants.

Raquel says that her client – we now learn it’s a man – “wants his bathroom fixtures to be made of platinum and gold.” Your “bathroom fixtures” (fixtures) are things such as “faucets,” which is what you use to turn on the water in your sink or in your bathtub. A “fixture” is anything that is attached, or fixed, to something else. If you have a shower in your bathroom, you have a “showerhead,” something that is used to pour the water or spray the water over you. That would be a “fixture.”

This client of Raquel’s wants his bathroom fixtures “to be made of,” or to be from, the materials “platinum” and “gold.” “Platinum” (platinum) is a silvery, white, hard metal. If you want to be technical, it has the atomic number 78 with the chemical symbol Pt. For the rest of us, it’s just a really expensive metal that looks like silver. “Gold” (gold) has the chemical symbol Au and the atomic number 79. I’m sure you’re all remembering your days back in high school as I say that. It’s a bright yellow metal that is often used in jewelry, and in the old days was used in people’s teeth.

Chris says, “You’re kidding,” meaning you’re joking. Then he says, “Stainless steel, bronze, or nickel aren’t good enough for him?” Chris names three other kinds of more common metals, metals that are less expensive. They include “stainless (stainless) steel (steel).” “Steel” is a hard metal. “Stainless steel” is a metal that has another metal mixed with it called “chromium” (chromium). This prevents the steel from rusting, from turning a orange color. It is usually shiny – that is, it reflects light easily.

“Bronze” (bronze) is an orange-golden combination of metals. It’s made from copper and some other metal, often tin (tin). Bronze is what we call an “alloy” (alloy). It’s a mixture of two different metals, but it’s mostly copper. Bronze is often used in sculptures and statues. If you leave it for a long enough time, bronze will often turn green. Copper will also often turn a greenish color over time.

“Nickel” (nickel) is another kind of metal. It has the atomic number 28. It’s a silver, white, shiny metal. In the United States, the five-cent coin is called a “nickel” because it is made in part from nickel. It’s mostly copper, I think, but it’s partially made of nickel, and it has a shiny, silver-like color to it. Raquel says that these cheaper metals are not good enough for her client. She says, “Not even close,” meaning they’re not anywhere near good enough for him.

She says that she “suggested some aluminum light fixtures for the living room” and he, her client, told her “he wanted solid silver.” “Aluminum” (pronounced in British English “aluminium,” because it’s spelled different) is a relatively inexpensive or cheap metal. It has atomic number 13 and the chemical symbol Al. It’s something that costs less money to use, but of course Raquel’s client didn’t want aluminum light fixtures. He wanted ones made of “solid silver” (silver).

I’ve been talking about silver for a few minutes here, assuming you know what it is. If not, it’s atomic number 47. Does that help? How about chemical element symbol Ag? Ah, now you understand. It’s shiny gray metal often used in jewelry. Raquel’s client wants his light fixtures – the things that are used to hold lightbulbs, basically – made of solid silver, which would be very expensive.

Chris says, “But for the kitchen, there’s got to be,” meaning there has to be, “more run-of-the-mill metals like tin or copper, right?” “Run (run) – of – the – mill (mill)” is a term used to describe something that is standard, ordinary, usual. In this case, not expensive. Chris is suggesting that the client will use run-of-the-mill metals for his kitchen, things like “tin” (tin) or “copper” (copper). “Tin,” I’ve already mentioned, is another metal with a silver-white look to it. “Copper” has sort of a reddish-orange color.

Raquel says that her client hasn’t asked her “to stock the kitchen yet, but if he does,” she says, “I wouldn’t be surprised if he asked for titanium forks.” “To stock” (stock) means to have something available so that the, in this case, client can use it. Raquel says that she would not be surprised if her client asked for “titanium (titanium) forks.”

“Titanium” is a very strong, silver-colored metal that is nowadays sometimes used in making things such as kitchen appliances – things that you use in the kitchen. It’s a very strong metal. There was a famous song called “Titanium” just a few years ago. Don’t worry, I won’t sing it now.

Chris says, “Yours is a strange job,” meaning you have a strange or weird job, Raquel, “catering to the wishes of the rich,” he says. “To cater (cater) to” someone means to do exactly what that person wants. In this case, Raquel caters to the wishes or wants or desires of rich people. There are a lot of people here in Los Angeles who do that – cater to the wishes of the rich celebrities, the movie stars and so on, who live here.

Raquel says, “That’s true, but it’s taught me a lot,” meaning I’ve learned a lot from this experience of working with the rich. Chris says, “What?” Raquel responds, “To truly” – that is, to really – “appreciate the ordinary.” The “ordinary” (ordinary) refers to things that are common, that are normal, that are everyday – the sorts of things that you don’t often see here in Hollywood.

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