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English as a Second Language Podcast
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ENGLISH CAFÉ – 412
TOPICS
The Pledge of Allegiance; the Grateful Dead; user versus customer versus
subscriber; “Old Time Rock and Roll”; hands down
_____________
GLOSSARY
pledge
– an oath or promise where one states that one will do certain things or
behave in a certain way in the future
* When you join this program to stop drinking alcohol, you take a pledge to never
touch alcohol again.
allegiance
– loyalty, especially to a large group or a country
* In the movie, the king had the allegiance of the people, who were willing to fight
for him.
to recite
– to repeat aloud; to say aloud something that was previously written or
said
* Can you recite a list of past American Presidents?
indivisible
– cannot be divided; cannot be split apart into pieces
* Johan believes that when two people get married, they are indivisible until
death.
atheist
– a person who does not believe in the existence of God
* If we tolerate different religions in this organization, it makes sense to also
tolerate people who are atheists.
polytheist
– a person who believes in more than one god
* The ancient McQuillanites were polytheist, believing in both moon and sun
gods.
idolatry
– the practice of worshipping objects; the practice of believing that
objects have special religious significance and that deserve worship
* Is it idolatry to burn incense and say prayers to pictures of one’s ancestors?
dissent
– disagreement; opinions that are different from what others believe
* Our boss won’t allow any dissent, expecting her employees to never question
her decisions.
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English as a Second Language Podcast
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ENGLISH CAFÉ – 412
psychedelic
– referring to people who use illegal drugs that affect how they think
and what they see or hear
* Kailie decorated her bedroom in a psychedelic style, with strange designs on
her walls, lava lamps, and beanbag chairs.
to hallucinate
– to see and hear things that aren't really there, usually when one
is under the influence of powerful drugs
* Grandma’s new medication is making her hallucinate and think that she’s
floating when she’s just sitting in a chair.
following
– a group of fans; a group of admirers and supporters
* At first, Benoit just wrote a blog for his friends to read, but the blog has really
developed a following.
hippie
– a person from a subculture that was popular in the 1960s, usually with
long hair, wearing sandals and wide pants, and a lot of bead necklaces, and
advocating for peace and free love
* Can you believe that Marjorie’s parents were hippies when they were
teenagers? They are so conservative now.
user
– someone who uses something; someone who uses a computer; someone
who uses drugs
* Our manual is organized so that any user can find information easily.
customer
– a person who buys goods or services from someone; someone who
purchases products or service from an individual, organization, or company
* Customers are complaining that we’ve raised our prices three times in two
years.
subscriber
– a person who pays for magazines in advance, to be delivered
every month; a person who pays a monthly charge for television, Internet, or
other service for their home or for use on their computer or mobile devices
* As a subscriber, you pay $10 a month and have access to our services as long
as you continue to pay.
hands down
– easily and decisively; without question
* This is hands down the best chicken curry I’ve ever tasted!
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these materials on another website or distributing them in any way is prohibited.
English as a Second Language Podcast
www.eslpod.com
ENGLISH CAFÉ – 412
WHAT INSIDERS KNOW
The Boston Massacre
March 5, 1770 was not just a “typical” (normal) day in Boston, Massachusetts.
On this day, British soldiers killed five “civilian” (not military) men in an “incident”
(event) known as the Boston “Massacre” (event where many people are killed). It
was one of the most important events that led to American independence from
Great Britain.
In the late 1700’s, Boston was a “colony” of (area controlled and governed by) of
Britain and the people of Boston disliked British “rule” (government control). The
“citizens” (people who live and belongs to a place) of Boston were not “shy”
(timid; quiet) about their unhappiness, and they made the British aware of this
hatred. This resulted in the British “Parliament” (government) sending more
“troops” (soldiers) to Boston to maintain control.
On February 22, 1770, less than two weeks before the massacre, a member of
the British government killed a boy named Christopher Seider. The killer was
“convicted” (found guilty in a court of law) of the murder, but to the surprise of
many, he was given a “royal pardon” (official forgiveness by a king or queen) and
was given a new job in the government. This angered the citizens of Boston even
more.
On the night of March 5
th
, a group of people “taunted” (said and behaved in a
hostile way to get someone to react) several British soldiers. They threw
snowballs, sticks, and stones at them. Captain Thomas Preston of the British
Army “ordered” (told) his men to fight back and started shooting the people.
Three were immediately killed and several people also died from their “wounds”
(injuries).
Citizens of Boston asked the government to removed Captain Thomas Preston
and his soldiers from “duty” (work; job) and charge them with murder. John
Adams, a future American president, was a lawyer then and defended Captain
Preston in court. Six men were “acquitted” (found not guilty) and two were
convicted of “manslaughter” (the crime of killing without intending to).
Although some historians say that it should not have been called a massacre, the
events of March 5, 1770 were very important. It was one of the most important
events that led to the American Revolutionary War, the war that gained American
independence from Great Britain.
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These materials are copyrighted by the Center for Educational Development (2013). Posting of
these materials on another website or distributing them in any way is prohibited.
English as a Second Language Podcast
www.eslpod.com
ENGLISH CAFÉ – 412
COMPLETE TRANSCRIPT
You’re listening to ESL Podcast’s English Café number 412.
This is English as a Second Language Podcast’s English Café episode 412. I’m
your host, Dr. Jeff McQuillan, coming to you from the Center for Educational
Development in beautiful Los Angeles, California.
Visit our website at ESLPod.com. Go there. Become a member. Download a
Learning Guide. Improve your life beyond your wildest dreams.
On this Café, we’re going to talk about something that nearly every American
knows, called “The Pledge of Allegiance” – words that Americans say sometimes
in front of an American flag. We’re also going to talk about one of the most
famous rock bands in the United States during the 1960s and 70s: The Grateful
Dead. And, as always, we’ll answer a few of your questions. Let’s get started.
We begin this Café with a discussion of “The Pledge of Allegiance” in the U.S. A
“pledge” (pledge) is sort of like a promise or an “oath” (oath), where you say
formally and officially that you are going to do certain things, or you are going to
behave in a certain way in the future. People sometimes make pledges when
they promise to give money to an organization that needs money, especially a
nonprofit organization.
Here in the United States we have television stations that are not profit-making
companies. They are not companies that are trying to make money. They are
nonprofit organizations. We typically call them “public television,” because they
do get a little money from the government. However, most of the money comes
from people who voluntarily give the organizations money, give these television
stations money so they can have their shows on – their educational shows, their
shows that, perhaps, would not be shown on regular television. When you
promise to pay money, you make a pledge. You say, “I promise to give you this
much money.”
Here, we're talking about pledges to do something a little different than give
money. “The Pledge of Allegiance” refers to promising a certain loyalty to, in this
case, the United States. The word “allegiance” (allegiance) means, really,
“loyalty” – loyalty to your family, loyalty to your country. “To have loyalty” means
to protect that thing, to not do anything to harm that thing that you are loyal to –
your family or your country. Sometimes, in some countries, people pledge
allegiance to a king. They promise to be loyal to the king or to the monarch. In
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These materials are copyrighted by the Center for Educational Development (2013). Posting of
these materials on another website or distributing them in any way is prohibited.
English as a Second Language Podcast
www.eslpod.com
ENGLISH CAFÉ – 412
the United States, we don't have kings and queens, at least not officially, but we
do have the Pledge of Allegiance to the flag of the United States.
Of course, we’re not promising something to the flag, we’re promising something
to what the flag represents, which is the country of the United States. This
Pledge of Allegiance is pretty short. It is not normally said very much outside of
schools. You won't hear the Pledge of Allegiance very often being said in a
gathering of adults. It does happen. It does happen, especially in government or
military situations, but mostly you will hear the Pledge of Allegiance in an
American school, in a kindergarten through 12th grade school.
In most American schools, at least when I was growing up, the students would all
stand up at the beginning of school, and they would say the Pledge of Allegiance
to a flag that was in their classroom. The verb we use here is “to recite” (recite).
When you recite something, you say it out loud. You say it publicly. We often talk
about reciting poems. Here, we’re not reciting a poem. We’re reciting the Pledge
of Allegiance. What happens is all the students stand up and they put their, or
they place, their right hand over the left-hand side of their chest, over their heart,
which for most people is in the left side of your body. If it isn’t in the left side of
your body, you should see your doctor immediately.
Anyway, we put our hand on our heart and then we say, or recite, the words of
the Pledge of Allegiance while looking at the flag. As I said, when I was growing
up, in the 70s and early 80s, it was common for schools to say the Pledge of
Allegiance every morning. I certainly did in the schools that I went to. It’s become
less common in schools, for some reason. Sometimes they only say it once a
week or even once a month. Some schools don't have students who say it at all. I
think most older Americans know the Pledge of Allegiance and certainly
remember saying it every day in school.
The Pledge of Allegiance was written in the late 19th century. It's not something
that we've had since the beginning of our country, in the late 1700’s. It was
instead written in the late 1800s, in 1892, by Francis Bellamy. It wasn't made the
official Pledge to the flag of the United States until World War II, until 1942. It has
been changed a few times, but these changes are rather minor – that is, they’re
very unimportant. Originally, we said “my flag” – now we say “the flag.” The most
important change from the original Pledge of Allegiance that was written by
Francis Bellamy is the addition of the words “under God.” “Under God” was
added in 1954. It was somewhat of a controversial decision and continues to be
so, but before we talk about that, let's talk about the version of the Pledge of
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These materials are copyrighted by the Center for Educational Development (2013). Posting of
these materials on another website or distributing them in any way is prohibited.

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