Wed July 11 2007
Download English lesson podcast and transcript Hi! Lori here, welcoming you to a new episode of Real English conversations from betteratenglish.com....
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Download English lesson podcast and transcript Hi! Lori here, welcoming you to a new episode of Real English conversations from betteratenglish.com. I hope you're all enjoying the summer. One of the typical summer pastimes in the USA is playing baseball. There's even a saying that goes something like this: "It's as American as baseball and apple pie." But today's show isn't about baseball or app... read more
Download English lesson podcast and transcript Hi! Lori here, welcoming you to a new episode of Real English conversations from betteratenglish.com. I hope you're all enjoying the summer. One of the typical summer pastimes in the USA is playing baseball. There's even a saying that goes something like this: "It's as American as baseball and apple pie." But today's show isn't about baseball or apple pie. It is about food, though. Weird food combinations, to be precise. And after listening to today's episode, you might want to change the saying to "It's as American as donuts and peanut butter and jelly!" Before getting into the conversation, I want to thank the anonymous listener who sent us three books from our Amazon wish list last week. Whoever you are, I hope you hear this message so that you will know how happy the books made me. Thanks so much! I'd also like to encourage our listeners to visit our friends at China232. China232 is a free conversational English podcast similar to ours and I really think you'll like it. That's www.china232.com. OK, let's get on with today's conversation. Conversation transcript Lori: When I was over in the States recently, I was reading one of my mom's magazines. And in that magazine I read about a new hamburger. Michael: OK. Lori: That...it really takes the cake, this new hamburger. You know, we've talked about junk food before, but this is amazing. It's a big beef burger, and they put sharp cheddar cheese and two slices of bacon... Michael: What... Can I just stop you there? What is sharp cheddar cheese? Lori: Sharp cheddar cheese? A sharp cheese is a cheese that has a strong flavor. Michael: Ooh, OK. Lori: So cheese can be mild or sharp. Michael: Right. Lori: You'd think that the opposite would be "dull," but you don't talk about a dull cheese. Michael: Or "blunt" cheese. Lori: Yeah, a blunt cheese, right, exactly. Exactly. So sharp cheddar cheese. But anyway, back to the burger, it's got...yeah, a big beef patty, sharp cheddar cheese and two slices of bacon. And now here is the key. Michael: Mmm, the bacon sounds good. Lori: Yeah, but the key ingredient...the bun is actually a KrispyKreme glazed donut. Michael: Uh huh. Lori: Can you believe that? And it's actually a baseball team, I think, the Gateway Grizzlies, it's what they're calling "Baseball's Best Burger," and they're serving it at their baseball games. Michael: Baseball's weirdest burger, maybe! Lori: Baseball's most artery-clogging burger. Michael: So you said that it was, the burger bun is a donut, Lori: Mmm hmm. A donut, yes. Michael: Is that, um, I mean, donuts are sweet though, aren't they? Lori: Yeah, it's a glazed donut so it would be sweet. And apparently they cut it in half and toast it and use that as the bun on this burger. Michael: That sounds horrendous. Lori: It..I couldn't...I thought it was a joke when I first read about it. I thought it must be a joke but apparently it's true. Michael: It really makes me wonder, you know, they have this, um this kind of, stereotype of American people being fat. Lori: Right. Michael: And I guess if, you know, they're eating things like that whilst sitting down at the baseball game. Lori: Yeah, sitting down watching other people do sports. Michael: Exactly...that's what I'm thinking, yeah! Lori: Right.I just wonder, how would someone even come up with that, the idea of using a donut as a hamburger bun. Michael: Well, there is something that you can, I mean, being an American you can tell me if this is true or not, I remember hearing about sandwiches that Americans like, and it's peanut butter and jelly. Lori: Well, that's, yeah, that's a classic kid's sandwich. Peanut butter and jelly or even peanut butter and honey, you can have... Michael: Well, what you call jelly, isn't that what we [British English speakers] would call jam? Lori: Yeah, jam. Michael: So peanut butter and jam. So it's the savory peanut butter, salty, peanutty tast
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