Ryan Hey everyone! Welcome back to another super fun episode of the English Podcast for Beginners! I am Ryan, and today I am feeling full of energy and ready to chat!
Mia And I am Mia! Welcome back, listeners! Ryan, you look so bright and happy today! Did you drink a big cup of coffee this morning? Or did you get ten full hours of sleep last night?
Ryan Oh, absolutely, Mia! I went to bed at ten o'clock last night, slept like a baby, and woke up feeling great! But wait a second, Mia, why do you look a little tired today? You are wearing two different socks, and your hair is a bit messy! What happened to you this morning?
Mia Oh, Ryan, do not ask! Please do not laugh at me! I had the absolute worst and most crazy morning ever today! I overslept!
Ryan You overslept? Oh no! Oversleep — it means you sleep past your alarm time and wake up much later than you wanted to!
Mia Yes, exactly! My alarm clock was set for seven o'clock in the morning, but I turned it off in my sleep and kept sleeping until eight o'clock! I overslept by a whole hour!
Ryan Haha, Mia, that is classic! Waking up an hour late is so scary! But guess what? Oversleep is our big Hero phrase of the day! Oversleep — when you wake up later than you planned!
Mia Yes! That is our main Hero phrase today! And today we are going to talk all about crazy, funny morning routines and what to do when things go wrong! We have six super useful English phrases for all of you!
Ryan That is right! Our Hero phrase is oversleep! And we also have five more amazing, everyday phrases: in a rush, skip breakfast, run late, catch the bus, and on time!
Mia Plus, in Block 2, I am going to share a very funny surprise fact about alarm clocks from history! You will not believe how people woke up for work two hundred years ago before smartphones were invented!
Ryan Wow, a historical alarm clock story? I cannot wait to hear that! So sit back, grab your favorite drink, relax, and get ready for some super clear, fun English listening practice! Let us get started!
Ryan Alright Mia, tell me the whole story! What happened right after you opened your eyes at eight o'clock and realized you overslept?
Mia Okay, so my eyes opened at eight o'clock. I looked at the digital clock on my wall, and my jaw dropped! My heart started beating so fast! I was so scared because our podcast recording was at nine o'clock!
Ryan Oh man! Waking up late is such a terrifying feeling! You realized you overslept, so what was your very first move?
Mia I jumped out of bed like a rocket! I did not even look in the mirror! I was in a rush!
Ryan In a rush! That is our second phrase of the day! In a rush — it means you are moving very fast and doing things quickly because you do not have much time left!
Mia Exactly! I was in a rush! I ran into the bathroom, brushed my teeth in ten seconds, washed my face with cold water, and threw on the first shirt I found on the chair!
Ryan Haha, so that is why you are wearing two different colored socks today! One is blue and one is green! You were in such a rush that you did not even check your socks!
Mia Yes, exactly! I was in such a rush that I put on one blue sock and one green sock without looking!
Ryan That is hilarious! But tell me, Mia, did you have time to make breakfast? Did you cook some eggs, make hot toast, or boil water for coffee?
Mia Are you joking, Ryan? I had zero time at all! I had to skip breakfast!
Ryan Skip breakfast! That is our third phrase! Skip breakfast — it means you do not eat breakfast in the morning because you are too busy or running out of time!
Mia Yes! I love eating warm toast with jam and an apple every single morning, but today I had to skip breakfast completely! I did not even take a single bite of food or a drink of water! My stomach was making loud noises the whole morning!
Ryan Poor Mia! Going to work without food is so hard! So you overslept, you were in a rush, and you had to skip breakfast! What a crazy start to your Tuesday!
Mia But wait, Ryan, before I tell you about how I got to the station, let us talk about that surprise historical fact I promised you in Block 1!
Ryan Oh yes! The surprise historical fact about alarm clocks! Tell me, Mia, how on earth did factory workers and office workers wake up on time before electric alarm clocks existed?
Mia Well, back in the nineteenth century in Britain and Ireland, during the Industrial Revolution, people did not have alarm clocks! So they hired a person called a knocker-up!
Ryan A knocker-up? What on earth is a knocker-up? What did a knocker-up do?
Mia A knocker-up was a real person whose job was to walk down the city streets early every morning! They carried a long wooden stick or a pea shooter straw, and they tapped on people's bedroom windows on the second floor to wake them up for their morning shifts!
Ryan Wait, hold on! You are telling me a person walked down the street with a giant stick and knocked on window glass until people woke up?
Mia Yes, exactly! They knocked on the glass firmly until the worker woke up, opened the window, and waved to show they were awake! Some knocker-ups even used a blowpipe to shoot dried peas at upper-window glass!
Ryan Wow! Dried peas hitting your window at five o'clock in the morning! That is so funny! Imagine a man shooting peas at your window to wake you up! You would definitely never oversleep with a knocker-up outside your bedroom window!
Mia Haha, right? And if you overslept and missed your work shift, you did not pay the knocker-up his weekly coins! So the knocker-up made sure everybody woke up on time!
Ryan That is such a cool piece of history! I love learning about how people lived in the past! Now I am glad I have a alarm clock on my phone instead of a stick outside my window!
Mia So Ryan, back to my crazy morning story! After I had to skip breakfast and grab my coat, I ran out of my front door and locked it!
Ryan Were you running fast down the street?
Mia Oh, I was running like a fast runner in a race! Because I checked my phone, and I realized I was starting to run late!
Ryan Run late! That is our fourth phrase of the day! Run late — it means you are behind your scheduled time and you might arrive late for your work, school, or meeting!
Mia Yes! I was running late for our nine o'clock recording session! It was already eight-thirty-five, and the studio is far away! When you run late, your heart pumps so fast and you feel so nervous!
Ryan Oh, absolutely! Running late is one of the most stressful feelings in the world! You feel like the whole clock is ticking against you! So did you decide to take the bus to the studio?
Mia Yes! I ran three blocks to the big bus stop near the park! I wanted to catch the bus at eight-forty!
Ryan Catch the bus! That is our fifth phrase! Catch the bus — it means you arrive at the bus stop just in time to get on the bus before the driver closes the doors and drives away!
Mia Yes! As I was running down the street, I saw the big blue city bus pulling up to the stop! The doors opened, and people were getting on! I ran as fast as my legs could go, waved my hands in the air, and managed to catch the bus just before the doors shut!
Ryan Yes! Woohoo! You made it! That is so exciting! Catching a bus right before it leaves makes you feel like a action movie star!
Mia I know! I stepped onto the bus, swiped my card, and sat down on a seat, sweating and breathing heavily! I caught the bus just in time!
Ryan And what happened next? Did the bus move fast through the city streets?
Mia Yes! Luckily for me, there were no car traffic jams today! The bus driver drove smoothly and quickly! The bus arrived at the stop right in front of our studio building at eight-fifty-five!
Ryan Wow! Eight-fifty-five! That means you arrived five minutes before nine o'clock!
Mia Exactly! So I was on time after all!
Ryan On time! That is our sixth phrase of the day! On time — it means you arrive at the exact correct time or a few minutes before, not late at all!
Mia Yes! On time! I walked through the studio doors at eight-fifty-seven, put down my bag, and sat in my chair right here next to you!
Ryan That is unbelievable, Mia! Let us look at your morning chain: You overslept by a whole hour, you were in a rush, you had to skip breakfast, you were running late, but you managed to catch the bus and arrive completely on time! That is a true happy ending!
Mia Thank you, Ryan! I felt so proud of myself! But my stomach was still grumbling because I had to skip breakfast, so I am going to eat a huge sandwich right after we finish recording today!
Ryan Haha, you definitely deserve a big sandwich! And now, listeners, it is time for Team Ryan versus Team Mia!
Mia Yay! Team Ryan versus Team Mia! Here is our question for all of you listening today: When you oversleep in the morning, what is your personal strategy? How do you react?
Ryan Okay, let me represent Team Ryan! Team Ryan is super calm and relaxed! If I oversleep by thirty minutes, I do not panic! I still take a quick two-minute shower to wake up my brain, I grab an apple or a banana so I do not skip breakfast, and I send a quick text message to my boss saying I am running late! I prefer to be honest, calm, and fed!
Mia What? Ryan, you take a shower and pick fruit when you oversleep? No way! Team Mia is all about maximum speed and emergency mode! If I oversleep, I do not shower, I do not eat, I grab my bag, put on mismatched socks, run out the door in ten seconds, and sprint to the station! Speed is everything for Team Mia!
Ryan Haha, Team Ryan stays cool and eats fruit; Team Mia is full speed in a rush! What about you, listeners? Are you Team Ryan or Team Mia? Do you stay calm when you oversleep, or do you run out the door instantly? Let us know in the comments!
Mia Yes, tell us your morning style! And now, Ryan, it is time for our Oh Moment guess the number challenge!
Ryan Ooh, I love the Oh Moment! I am ready, Mia! What is today's crazy number question?
Mia Okay, Ryan, here is a question from a global sleep study: What percentage of adult workers around the world admit that they oversleep at least once every single week because they hit the snooze button on their alarms?
Ryan Hmm, oversleep at least once a week? Well, alarm clocks are very easy to turn off! I guess maybe twenty-five percent of people oversleep once a week?
Mia Higher than twenty-five percent!
Ryan Really? Is it forty percent?
Mia Very close! The real answer is forty-four percent! Forty-four percent of adults around the world say they oversleep at least once a week because they press snooze or turn off their alarms!
Ryan Wow! Forty-four percent! That is almost half of all people in the world! So if you oversleep this week, do not feel bad or ashamed! Forty-four percent of people are oversleeping right along with you!
Mia Alright Ryan, now it is time for Block 4: The Practical Scenario Challenge!
Ryan Oh boy, my favorite part of the podcast! Test my brain, Mia! Give me six real-life morning situations!
Mia Scenario number one! You woke up at eight o'clock, but your morning work meeting starts at eight-fifteen, and it takes twenty minutes to drive there. What is your current situation?
Ryan Scenario number one! I am running late! My meeting starts in fifteen minutes, so I am behind schedule and I am running late!
Mia Perfect answer! Scenario number two! You are brushing your teeth with one hand, putting on your shoe with the other hand, and checking your clock every three seconds. What state are you in?
Ryan Scenario number two! I am in a rush! I am moving super fast and doing three things at once because I am in a rush!
Mia Excellent! Scenario number three! You look at the kitchen table, you see a plate of hot delicious pancakes, but you have no time to sit down, so you leave the house without eating anything. What did you do?
Ryan Scenario number three! I had to skip breakfast! It makes me sad to leave pancakes behind, but I had to skip breakfast to save time!
Mia Spot on! Scenario number four! You are running toward the bus stop, you see the yellow bus waiting at the light, you run as fast as you can, tap your card, and step inside before the doors shut. What did you achieve?
Ryan Scenario number four! I managed to catch the bus! I caught the bus right before it drove away!
Mia Awesome! Scenario number five! Your doctor's appointment is scheduled for ten o'clock sharp, and you walk into the waiting room at nine-fifty-five. How did you arrive?
Ryan Scenario number five! I arrived on time! Arriving five minutes early means I am completely on time!
Mia Fantastic! And Scenario number six, the big ultimate test! Your alarm clock was set for six-thirty AM, but you opened your eyes and saw seven-forty-five AM on your clock screen. What happened to you?
Ryan Scenario number six! Oh no, I overslept! I slept more than an hour past my alarm time, so I overslept!
Mia Six out of six! A perfect score! Ryan, you are an absolute morning phrase champion today!
Ryan Thank you so much, Mia! That scenario game was super fun and full of energy!
Mia And that brings us to Block 5, our final wrap-up for today!
Ryan Today we learned six super practical, everyday phrases for talking about morning routines! Let us review all six phrases together one last time!
Mia Phrase number one, our Hero phrase: oversleep — to wake up much later than you planned because you slept past your alarm.
Ryan Phrase number two: in a rush — moving very fast because you do not have enough time.
Mia Phrase number three: skip breakfast — not eating breakfast in the morning to save time.
Ryan Phrase number four: run late — being behind schedule and risking arriving late.
Mia Phrase number five: catch the bus — arriving at the bus stop in time to get on the bus.
Ryan And phrase number six: on time — arriving at the exact right expected time!
Mia And now, listeners, here is your mouth action task for tomorrow morning!
Ryan Tomorrow morning, as soon as you wake up, stand in front of your bathroom mirror, look at yourself, and say out loud in clear English: "I will not oversleep today! I will be on time!"
Mia Yes! Say those two sentences out loud three times every morning to practice your mouth muscle memory and build your English confidence!
Ryan Thank you all so much for listening to today's episode of the English Podcast for Beginners! Keep practicing your listening every day, speak out loud whenever you can, and your English will get better and better every single week!
Mia Goodbye everyone! Have a wonderful day, and try not to oversleep tomorrow!
Ryan Bye-bye, everyone! See you in the next episode!
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Hosted by Ryan & Mia