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Golden Gate Park – Vocabulary Lesson

Hi, this is Kristin Dodds, one of the teachers and directors of Learn Real English. Welcome to this month’s vocabulary lesson for the conversation Golden Gate Park. So I have the text of the conversation here and I’ve made some notes about some words or groups of words that you may have had difficulty understanding. I’ll be explaining those as they relate to this conversation. So they could have another meaning in a different conversation, but I’ll be giving the meanings for this conversation, as they relate to this conversation. Alright, so let’s start.

Always in the beginning I like to talk about three different words that you hear in a lot of our conversations. The first one is y’know, y’know. Y’know is actually two words combined together, you and know. So sometimes when we’re speaking fast, it sounds like y’know instead of you know. So it’s two words said together quickly.

The next word is yeah. Yeah is a slang word for yes. And the third word is like. Now, you probably know that like means to have positive feelings for someone or something, but it can also be a filler word, which means that it has no meaning. So a lot of times when you hear like, it really doesn’t have a meaning. It’s just a filler word.

Okay, so let’s start now with the conversation Golden Gate Park. So Golden Gate Park is the name of a really large park in San Francisco.

Alright, at the very beginning of the conversation, I say, “I’m going back tomorrow to volunteer at the Botanical Gardens.” So volunteer means to work without getting paid. Usually, if someone volunteers for an organization, it’s an organization that has a good cause and they’re not trying to make a profit or they’re not trying to make money. They’re just trying to provide a service for a good cause. So because they’re not trying to make money, their funds or their money is not very plentiful. They don’t have a lot of it so volunteers come in. People come and work for free to help the organization keep going. Botanical Gardens, when I mention Botanical Gardens, the Botanical Gardens are 55 acres within the Golden Gate Park. So the Golden Gate Park is a little over 1,000 acres. So a little more than half is the Botanical Gardens and the Botanical Gardens has more than 8,000 different kinds of plants from around the world.

Alright, then Joe says, “Oh, cool.” So cool is slang here for great.

And then I say, “Who would have thought that I would enjoy weeding?” So a weed is an unwanted plant.

It’s a plant growing somewhere where you don’t really want that plant to be growing. So it’s thenconsidered a weed. And weeding means pulling unwanted plants out of the ground. And it’s done so that plants that are wanted have a better chance of growing, because the weeds will grow around the plants that you want to keep. So then it takes nutrients sometimes from those plants that you want to keep. So you pull them from the ground, the weeds, and then it gives the plants you want a better chance of growing, of living.

Okay, then Joe says, “I think you told me in the past you always disliked it, but that was more when you were a child, right?” So what he’s talking about is me weeding; pulling weeds or unwanted plants from the ground. And when he mentions me doing it as a child, my mom and dad had a garden at one point so they were growing vegetables for us to eat. And they would make me and my two brothers go out to pull the weeds from around the vegetables. We’d have to pull the plants and this was in the summer time, and this was in the state of Georgia, which is where I grew up, it’s in the southeastern part of the United States. So the summers get really hot. And I can remember their garden was out in this open area so there were no trees around and it was in the middle of the summer so the sun was just coming down on me and it was just really, really hot. So I did not like weeding then.

Then I say, “This is the perfect weather to be out gardening because it’s cool weather here in San Francisco.” So when I say gardening, I’m talking about working outside with plants. And when I say cool weather here in San Francisco, I mean that the weather is not quite cold. Here in San Francisco, the weather generally stays 50 to 60 degrees Farenheit, which would be 10 to 15-1/2 degrees Celsius. So sometimes it can get warmer than that, sometimes colder, but generally San Francisco weather likes to stay in that weather temperature range.

And then I say, “Last week it was foggy.” So foggy: fog is…these are low-hanging clouds. So in San Francisco the fog will come in, a lot of times in the late afternoon it will roll in, you can actually watch it and when it starts to come in, then the weather gets even cooler.

And then I say, “There was a sun beating down on me.” So when I say beating down on me, I’m saying it wasn’t heating me up or getting me hot.

And then I say, “Even if the sun had come out, there was plenty of tree coverage.” So tree coverage: what I mean is there were plenty of trees, there were a lot of trees to protect me from the sun.

And then I say, “Did you realize that there’s 10 different lakes?” So I’m talking about, in Golden Gate Park, there’s 10 different lakes. A lake is a body of water, smaller than an ocean, but it’s a body of fresh water whereas the ocean is saltwater. So it’s a body of fresh water and there’s 10 different lakes in Golden Gate Park. Y’know, it doesn’t have to be really large. Some of them are fairly small, but still, that’s a lot, 10, for a city park.And then I say, “At Stow Lake you can rent those little paddle boats.” So a paddle boat is, usually it’s a boat that seats two people and it operates like a bicycle. You peddle it with your feet like a bicycle. And then I think there’s something in the back where you can actually move in the direction that you want to go. So that’s a paddle boat.

And then I say, “There are little sailboats.” So a sailboat is a boat that has, I think they’re usually made from some kind of material like canvas, and they’re on the boat and they are used for the wind going into the sails or the material to guide the boat in the direction you want to go. And they can have, I believe most sailboats have motors on them in case there’s no wind and the sails just kind of fall or they don’t fall down onto the boat but they…y’know, there’s no wind moving the sails which will then move the boat. So if that happens, if there’s no wind, then they’re, I think that most sailboats have a motor so that you can actually use the motor to move the boat.

And then I say, “That’s pretty cool.” So pretty cool means that’s really nice or that’s really great.

And then I say, “They’re motorized so maybe you wouldn’t need the wind.” Now I just said that a lot of sailboats or maybe all sailboats have motors. These particular boats on this particular lake in Golden Gate Park might actually be motorized. The sails might not really function or be used as a sail for the wind to move the boat. It might just be for show or for looks. So you might actually use a motor to move the boat. And the motor uses gasoline then, like a car.

And then I say, “They’ve got the Academy of Sciences.” So this is the name of a museum in Golden Gate Park. It’s a natural science museum. So they’ve got all sorts of things in it from live animals actually to bones of dead animals. Well, it’s talked about later in the conversation so I’ll get back to that.

And then Joe says, “Yeah, the De Young Museum.” Now, the De Young Museum, this is the name of another museum in Golden Gate Park and it’s an art museum.

And then I say, “Japanese Tea Garden, where we took our parents that time.” So the Japanese Tea Garden is an area in Golden Gate Park and like the Botanical Gardens, it has a lot of plants in it but everything in the park is…kind of has a Japanese theme or an Asian theme. So there’s Japanese buildings or structures in the Japanese Tea Garden. The plants are cut to look like Japanese styles of cuttings. Everything looks Japanese or Asian.

And then Joe says, “I remember when they each visited, we took them to the park and they really enjoyed it because there was a lot of fun things to do outside of the museums.” So when he says outside of themuseums, he means other than the museums. So, y’know, there’s two museums in the park but there’s so many other things to do besides going to those two museums.

And then Joe says, “We also took my parents to the Conservatory of Flowers.” So the Conservatory of Flowers, this is a building made out…I believe all sides are made out of glass and inside are housed different plants, mostly tropical plants, so plants from areas where it gets very hot, like in Southeast Asia and there’s a lot of moisture or humidity in the air. And this allows for good conditions for these plants to grow then.

Okay, then I say, “Right, yes, and that was my first time going there.” So when I say right, I’m just showing agreement.

And then I say, “That was really cool because they’ve got the butterfly section.” So when I say that was really cool, I’m saying that was really great. And butterfly section, a butterfly is an insect with two large wings, so a pair of large wings, and usually they’re very colorful, the wings. And section means area.

And then I say, “It was very tropical.” So I mentioned tropical just a minute ago. Tropical means, it means…or what I’m talking about, it was very tropical, I mean plants from hot countries, hot countries that have a lot of moisture or humidity in the air. Humidity means moisture or water in the air.

And then I say, “I remember they had the Venus flytrap flowers.” So Venus flytrap flowers, the Venus flytrap, this is a particular kind of plant and it can close and then it can open.

And then Joe says, “Remember when Rosemary was here with my cousin Grace.” So Rosemary and Grace are relatives of Joe’s. Rosemary is the mother of Grace and they live in New York, the state of New York.

And then Joe says, “They did all these renovations and really brought it up to a more modern science museum.” So renovations means improvements. They did all these renovations or they did all these improvements and really brought it up, or changed it, to a more modern natural science museum.

And then I say, “That’s really cool that they do that.” So cool, again, means great. It’s just slang for great.

It’s used a lot in this conversation.

And then I say, “You have to be a resident though or it’s for anybody?” So resident means a person who lives somewhere and has identification to prove that they live there. So I’m speaking about being a resident here in San Francisco where we live.And then Joe says, “Once a month they have a day for each neighborhood for the Academy of Sciences that you can get in free.” So neighborhood, this is an area of San Francisco where people live. So in San Francisco, in a lot of cities, there’s a lot of different neighborhoods that make up the city.

And then Joe says, “You need to be a resident because you show your ID.” So ID is short for identification and usually a form of identification that’s well, that’s used a lot is a driver’s license because it’s got your picture on it and your date of birth and your address.

And then I say, “It’s amazing now how they have the aquarium.” Okay, so I’m talking about in the Academy of Sciences, they have an aquarium. An aquarium is…this is an area in the museum where there are large tanks filled with fish and other animals that live in fresh as well as saltwater.

Then Joe says, “Oh, man.” So when he says that, he’s just agreeing with me.

And then I say, “And a planetarium and a butterfly garden as well as exhibits that they would have in a natural history museum like dinosaur bones.” Okay, so again, I’m still talking about the Academy of Sciences and in this museum, along with having the aquarium, which I just talked about, they have a planetarium. So this is an area that you go into, you sit down. The lights get turned off. You look up at the ceiling and images of stars and the planets are shown on the ceiling for entertainment or education.

Someone will then talk about the different planets, the different stars. So it’s entertaining as well as it’s educational. You learn something about space. And then exhibits, I say there’s a butterfly garden as well as exhibits. Exhibits are displays or something that’s being shown to people. And then dinosaur bones, so dinosaurs are animals that lived on earth 65 to 230 million years ago, a long time ago.

And then Joe says, “Remember we went through the rainforest they had inside there.” So a rainforest: this is…a rainforest is a tropical forest. So there’s a lot of trees, a lot of plants, animals, that would be in a rainforest. These are all plants, animals that would grow in an area that’s very hot, where there is a lot of moisture or water in the air. So in the Academy of Sciences, they had an area created to be like the conditions of a rainforest. So the temperature felt very hot, very humid, humid meaning water in the air.

And there were plants that you would see in a tropical rainforest.

And then Joe says, “It was really humid.” So humid, I keep using that word a lot. It means a lot of water in the air.

And then I say, “It’s like three miles long and then a half a mile wide.” So I’m talking about Golden Gate Park. Three miles long, that’s about 4.83 kilometers, 4.83 kilometers. And a half a mile wide is about .8 kilometers.And then I say, “Three miles long, that’s pretty big.” So pretty here means really. That’s really big.

And then Joe says, “My first exposure to the park was museums.” So exposure here means experience with. My first experience with the park was museums.

And then Joe says, “Two of the really big ones are the free bluegrass festival.” So that’s the first one, the bluegrass festival. Bluegrass is a particular type of music.

And I say, “Yeah, Hardly Strictly.” So that’s the name of the bluegrass music festival, Hardly Strictly Bluegrass.

And then I say, “Outside Lands.” So that’s the second music festival, that’s the name of it, Outside Lands.

And then Joe says, “They have some endowment that’s funded for years to come.” So an endowment is income or money that’s been given to the city to keep this festival going. So funded means to pay for the expense. It’s paid for, funded.

And then Joe says, “It will remain free for the foreseeable future.” So foreseeable means for a long time.

Foreseeable future, for a long time.

And then I say, “There’s an archery field which I’ve never seen.” So archery is a sport, I guess you would call it a sport, where you use a bow. You pull on the bow, you have an arrow, and then you let the bow go and the arrow goes shooting out towards whatever you’re trying to hit, towards a target. A target is something you’re trying to hit. So they have an archery field. There’s an open area set up with targets and you can actually shoot a bow and arrow at the targets.

And then I say, “There’s apparently tennis courts.” So tennis, if you don’t know, is a sport. It involves two people. It’s played on a hard surface and there’s a net in the middle of the two people and they have what’s called a racquet, something that they hold in their hand, to hit a ball over the net to each other.

And then Joe says, “What about the bison?” So bison, another name is buffalo. These are large brown furry animals.

And then I say, “I looked out and saw this open field and I just saw buffalo.” So open field, this is a large area with grass, a large grassy area.And then Joe says, “I mean granted, when you’re at Golden Gate Park you don’t feel like you’re in the city.” So when he says I mean granted, he’s saying I mean it’s true. When you’re at Golden Gate Park you don’t feel like you’re in the city.

And then I say, “I don’t know why they have that, Bison Paddock they call it.” So a paddock is a small field where horses or, in this case, buffalo are kept. So it’s a field where they’re kept and usually there’s a fence to contain them or to keep them in that area.

And then Joe says, “I’ve also been to the park a number of times to play frisbee golf with AJ.” So frisbee golf is a game and it combines two games, one being frisbee and the other game being golf. So you have a round flat object that you throw and you’re throwing it up ahead in the distance at a particular target or something that you’re trying to hit. And you throw it, you try to get it as close to that target as possible and then once you get it, you hit the target, then you start throwing again into the distance ahead of you to hit another target. And you keep moving along that way. It’s called frisbee golf or another name is disc golf.

And then Joe says, “We just have a barbecue and beer and stuff.” So barbecue: this is cooking food on an outside grill.

And then Joe says, “I remember one year Jason Grody had a big party there also and that was a lot of fun.” So Jason Grody: this is the name of a friend of mine and Joe’s.

And then I say, “Yeah, I bet.” So when I say I bet, I’m agreeing with Joe.

And then Joe says, “There’s so much natural diversity there and it seems so far away from any tall buildings or anything.” So talking about Golden Gate Park, natural diversity, diversity means variety.

There’s so much variety there and you’re so far away from any tall buildings. So you don’t feel like you’re in a city.

And then I say, “Yep.” So yep is slang for yes.

Alright, this is the end of the vocabulary lesson for the conversation Golden Gate Park. I will be right back with the commentary.