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Hello everyone, welcome back to EnglishPod. My name is Marco

and my name is Catherine and today we are talking about an important holiday the world over.

It’s very important all over the world, especially in the United States. So that’s a good look at this holiday and vocabulary preview.

Vocabulary preview

The name of the holiday is Veteran’s Day. So, veteran

So, what’s a veteran?

A veteran is a person who has participated in a war, or in some kind of military situation.

Okay so Veteran’s Day is a day where you commemorate all the people that fought in the different wars.

Exactly. A veteran doesn’t have to be a World War II veteran. They could be a Civil War veteran or a Vietnam War veteran

Or a gulf war

Exactly.

All right. So, that’s the day in the United States where everyone honors all the soldiers that participated in different wars and they fought for their country. Alright, so why don’t we take a look at our dialogue for the first time and we’ll be back.

A: Do you have any plans for Veteran’s Day?

B: You mean Armistice Day.

A: What are you talking about? November 11th is Veteran’s Day. What planet are you from?

B: Well, as you know, on November 11th the allies signed a peace treaty with the Germans, also known as the Armistice Treaty. This marked the end of WWI and many countries around the world commemorate this date under names such as remembers day. In Poland it’s their Independence Day! There’s a lot going on around the world on this day.

B: Wow, I didn’t know! Probably because I flunked history in school.

Alright, so there’s a lot of really great vocabulary in this elementary lesson. So let’s take a look at some of these words and phrases in language take away.

Language take away

Alright. So, the first word that came up after the guy mentioned Veteran’s Day, the girl mentioned Armistice Day.

Armistice

Okay, so what is this Armistice Day.

Armistice means to stop fighting, right? So, it’s a time in which people lay down their arms, we say. And it’s one that’s celebrated in Commonwealth countries like England or Canada and in parts of Europe.

Okay, very good. So, Armistice Day kinda like the equivalent for Commonwealth countries to Veteran’s Day. Alright, and well the girl gave him a bit of a history lesson and mentioned that on November 8 11, the allies signed a peace treaty. So we have two great words here, allies.

So, allies is a word that we use in English to indicate people who fought against the Germans, Italians and Japanese in World War II. So, allies include Great Britain, America

France

France for some time, so these are countries that were, and Russia. They were fighting against the Germans.

Right. So, in general terms, an ally is a friend, right?

Exactly. So, Marco and I are allies. If there’s a fight I’m on his side.

The opposite of enemies

Exactly.

Very good. And well, the allies signed a peace treaty. So, what is a peace treaty?

A treaty is a document that outlines new rules for a situation and a peace treaty is a document that calls for peace. It says we will not fight anymore. We will have peace and this is this is what this means. So, we have new rules.

So, it’s an agreement. It’s like a contract.

Exactly. It’s the contract between nations.

Okay, very good. Alright, and as we mentioned Veteran’s Day or Armistice Day, we commemorate these events that happened in the past. So, to commemorate something

Right. So in this sense, we are honoring it. So, to commemorate is to remember, to honor, to

remember with respect

to, yeah, to remember with respect. Exactly. There’s a positive, respectful tone here. It’s remembering for good reason.

Okay, very good. So, we’ve taken a look at these four words, why don’t we listen to our dialogue again and we’ll be back in a bit to look at fluency builder.

A: Do you have any plans for Veteran’s Day?

B: You mean Armistice Day.

A: What are you talking about? November 11th is Veteran’s Day. What planet are you from?

B: Well, as you know, on November 11th the allies signed a peace treaty with the Germans, also known as the Armistice Treaty. This marked the end of WWI and many countries around the world commemorate this date under names such as remembers day. In Poland it’s their Independence Day! There’s a lot going on around the world on this day.

B: Wow, I didn’t know! Probably because I flunked history in school.

Today’s fluency builder includes a couple of really interesting phrases that are kind of longer. So, let’s take a look at the first one which is very very common in English.

Alright. So, this person was kind of using a sarcastic tone because he said what you talking about, right?

So this guy says Veteran’s Day, you mean Armistice Day? What you talking about, that means no I mean Veteran’s Day.

Right. So, he wasn’t really asking like what are you talking about. He was literally saying with this sentence, are you crazy? Or like,

you’re wrong

you’re wrong.

So, what are you talking about, is a way, very sarcastic way to say, listen, I think you’re wrong or you must be a little bit crazy.

Right. What are you talking about? All right, and then to the end of the whole sarcastic sentence there, he said, what planet are you from?

So, obviously this is Veteran’s Day. What planet are you from? So, you’re so wrong. How do you not understand what this is?

How do you not know this?

Right. And so for example I could say, maybe I’ll ask, Marco president of the United States?

Alright, I can say, well what planet are you from? It’s obviously Pres. Obama.

So, it’s like obviously everybody knows this and so you’re saying how do you not, how do you not know this already.

So, it’s very sarcastic. What planet are you from?

And finally, the guy’s talking about how he doesn’t understand what the meaning of Veteran’s Day is. And after this long explanation, he says, wow, I didn’t know. Probably because I flunked history in school.

So, if you flunked history or you flunked any subject in school, it means you didn’t pass.

Exactly. So, flunk, to flunk is a verb in English and it means to fail a subject. That means maybe in 100% is perfect, you got 50% or 40% and you have to take the course again.

Okay. Did you ever flunk an exam in school?

No, really? You didn’t? never?

No.

Such a good student.

Did you?

Maybe I did, only once or twice.

I was much too self-critical.

Alright, let’s listen to this dialogue again and we’ll be back in a bit.

A: Do you have any plans for Veteran’s Day?

B: You mean Armistice Day.

A: What are you talking about? November 11th is Veteran’s Day. What planet are you from?

B: Well, as you know, on November 11th the allies signed a peace treaty with the Germans, also known as the Armistice Treaty. This marked the end of WWI and many countries around the world commemorate this date under names such as remembers day. In Poland it’s their independence day! There’s a lot going on around the world on this day.

B: Wow, I didn’t know! Probably because I flunked history in school.

Alright. So, Veteran’s Day, it’s a big deal in the United States, right?

It’s a very big deal in—

There’s a parade

Yeah, in most cities in the country, there’re parades and when I was in school we had to play music cause I was in band. We used to play music for the veterans and we go to the cemetery and play taps– I know the taps—

It’s like the funeral song?

Yeah, we play funeral songs and taps for the local veterans who will be respecting and commemorating fallen soldiers.

And the president talks as well like in national TV and stuff.

That’s right, that’s right.

All right. So, it’s very interesting, especially the history lesson, the fact that on November, I think it’s called 11 11 11, right? November 11 at 11 o’clock, they signed this armistice treaty.

And that was in 1918. So, this is World War I, we’re talking about when the world had never really seen fighting like this before.

Right.

And so, everyone was just relieved when what they called the great war was finally over.

It’s a very interesting history lesson so I’m sure many people have some opinions on this. So, we would be glad to hear it from you on our website at Englishpod.com. You can also leave questions or comments and we’ll see you guys there.

And let us know, do you celebrate this holiday in your country.

Yeah. Alright.

Until next time, bye.