46 MAKING MISTAKES - my American friend

Marta: Today we’re talking about MAKING MISTAKES. Marta: Ugh! It’s 3 o’clock. Cindy was supposed to be here at noon! Where is she?! Cindy: Hey girl! How are ya? Ok, here’s your coffee and here’s your copy of the script. Can I borrow your headphones? Is this mic on? Marta: Where have you been? Cindy: What do you mean? I was at the coffee shop. What’s wrong with you? Why are you using the finger- tapping sound effect? Marta: You SCREWED UP, you’re late! You said you’d be here at noon! Cindy: No I didn’t. Marta: You are late! Cindy: It’s 3. I’m always here at 3 o’clock. Look, I’m even a minute early- it’s only 2:59…oh wait, now it’s three. Marta: (Marta searching through text messages) Look! Look! Here’s your text… ‘’see you at noon! lol. smiley face!’’ Cindy: Oh, I forgot!…I MESSED UP BIG TIME, didn’t I? Marta: Yes, you messed up BIG time! That means you made a big mistake. We had a lot of material to discuss…. Cindy: ….and I was supposed to be here 3 hours ago. I’m sorry. Marta: We’re talking today about making mistakes. Cindy: Oh good! …Here’s your coffee…. I’m an expert! (laughs) Marta: Aside from today’s BLUNDER…. Cindy: a blunder is a careless mistake…. Marta: Can you think of any other huge ERRORS you’ve made? Cindy: Oh, you want to know about like EPIC FAILS? Really huge failures? Marta: uh huh. Cindy: Well, dying my hair red was a MAJOR FAIL! I won’t be doing that again anytime soon! Marta: No Cindy, I’m talking about a situation where you just fell flat on your face. Cindy: Ok, TO FALL FLAT ON YOUR FACE means to fail in an embarrassing way. Well, I’ve never been good at Math. I had to take high school Algebra twice. Marta: Twice? Cindy: Twice! And I remember having this big Algebra exam. It was like a sink or swim moment. I had to pass the exam or I would have to repeat the class the following year. SINK OR SWIM Marta: What happened? Cindy: Total BRAIN FREEZE! Marta: No! Cindy: Yes! Five minutes into the exam, my brain just froze and I forgot everything. I BOMBED. I failed the exam and the following year, when all of my classmates had moved onto the next level, I was still stuck in Level 1 Algebra. It was embarrassing! Marta: So you FLUNKED? You failed your Algebra exam? Cindy: Oh, I CHOKED! I BIT THE DUST HARD! I couldn’t remember the first thing about Algebra! In fact, that’s why I was late this afternoon, I’m still trying to pass my high school Algebra exam! (laughs) How about you Marta? Can you think of any GAFFES, screw-ups or a faux pas that you’ve made recently? Marta: Well, no. Not since this morning anyways! (laughs) Hey Cindy, what was that last expression you used? Did you say FAUX PAS? That’s French. It literally translates to false step. Cindy: Yes, a faux pas. That’s a commonly used expression. It means a social blunder, an error, an inappropriate remark. Someone had committed a major faux pas against a friend of mine recently. Marta: What happened? Cindy: Well, a woman asked my friend if she was pregnant. She’s not pregnant! Marta: That’s a serious faux pas! Cindy: Don’t ever ask a woman if she is pregnant unless you are 100% sure…. Marta: …that she is in fact pregnant! Cindy: Ugh, people can be so cruel nowadays! I love the expression: ‘’If you don’t have anything nice to say, don’t say anything at all!’’ Marta: That’s good advice! Cindy: Hey Marta, why don’t we take a break for now and go out and grab a pizza? My treat, I’ll pay. I want TO MAKE IT UP TO YOU for being 3 hours late today. Marta: Oh…that’s okay Cindy…really, it’s no problem…I forgive you…. Cindy: No, really. I feel terrible. I want to make it up to you. Let me buy you dinner tonight….I insist. Marta: No…let’s just stay inside and finish working. I’ll fix sandwiches and… Cindy: Come on! Let’s go outside! We have all night to work. I’ll get our coats. Marta: Cindy, have you even looked in the mirror today?! Look at your outfit! Cindy: What?? It’s a red blouse! Marta: …with a violet skirt… Cindy: …and green shoes! What’s the problem? I thought it would be fun and colorful! Was that a mistake? Marta: A mistake? Your outfit is not a mistake, it’s a crime against fashion! Cindy: Oh…you’re right! I should have worn the yellow blouse instead! Marta: Did you get dressed in a dark closet today? Cindy: Hey, whatever happened to ‘’if you don’t have anything nice to say- then don’t say anything at all’’?? Marta: I’m sorry, but your outfit defies all logic! Marta: Thanks for listening everyone! Cindy: Thanks everyone! And be sure to read the bonus Vocabulary section at the end of this transcript. Marta: Stop by our Facebook page today and say hi! Cindy:

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46 MAKING MISTAKES - my American friend is an episode from my American friend.

This episode is 8:45 long.

This episode was published on May 31, 2013.

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