درسنامه واژه ها

##San Francisco Weather – 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 San Francisco Weather. I have the text of the conversation and I’ve made some notes about some words or groups of words that you may have had difficulty understanding. So I’ll be explaining those words or groups of words as they relate to this conversation.

And always in the beginning, I like to explain three words that you hear a lot in our conversations. The first one is y’know, y’know. And really, it’s two words combined into one, you and know. So sometimes when we’re speaking fast, it sounds like y’know.

The second word that you hear a lot is yeah. Yeah is a slang word for yes.

And the third word that you hear a lot is like. Like has different meanings and one of the most common meanings that you probably know is to have positive feelings for someone or something. But it can also be a filler word. So many times, when we’re speaking and we say like, it might not have a meaning. It’s just a filler word. Okay, so let’s begin with the conversation, San Francisco Weather.

So San Francisco is a city in Northern California. California is a large state on the western coast of the United States and it’s where Joe and I live.

Alright, so at the very beginning Joe says, “I talked to Wat today.” So Wat is the name of a friend of mine and Joe’s and AJ.

And then Joe says, “He said it’s about 100 degrees up there.” So 100 degrees, that means Fahrenheit, which would be about 37.77 degrees Celsius. And when Joe says up there, he means where Wat lives, which is about 4-1/2 hours north of San Francisco.

Then Joe says, “I bet that Wan’s probably feeling like it’s a little more like Thailand.” So Wan is the name of another friend of mine and Joe’s and AJ and it’s Wat’s wife. And when Joe says feeling like it’s a little more like Thailand, he says Thailand because both Wan and Wat are from Thailand.

Then Joe says, “I thought that she was just going to turn around and head back home.” So when he says turn around and head back home, he meant he thought she was going to move back to Thailand.

And then I say, “It’s kind of a unique experience for her.” So unique means different here.

And then Joe says, “When you came back to the United States from Thailand.” So what he’s talking about is the fact that I lived in Thailand for 2-1/2 years.

And then I say, “It doesn’t snow here though in the city.” So what I mean by city is San Francisco.

And then I say, “I had this idea that I was going to be moving here in the spring and it would be like in Georgia.” So Georgia is a state in the southeastern part of the United States and it’s where I grew up.

And then I say, “I’d be able to wear my clothes that I’d been wearing in Thailand.” So what I mean by that is light clothing that would be comfortable to wear in warm to hot weather.

And then I say, “Zach actually visited Thailand.” So Zach is the name of a friend of mine and Joe’s.

And then I say, and I’m actually, Zach had said this to me, “San Francisco’s pretty chilly year-round.” So chilly means cool weather, like in the 50s, 50s Fahrenheit which would be 10 to 15 degrees Celsius.

And then I say, “I froze when I first moved here.” So what I mean by that is I was very cold most of the time.

And then Joe says, “I think that a lot of people have this misconception.” Misconception meaning incorrect idea.

And then Joe says, “They think that California, meaning the entire state, is like Southern California, warm beaches and women with blond hair and bikinis.” Okay, so entire state, that means the whole state. And Southern California, California is such a large state there is actually a northern part and a southern part and the southern part is warmer than the northern part usually. And bikinis, these are two-piece swimsuits worn by girls or women.

And then I say, “I thought that it was…all of California was like Florida.” So Florida is a state in the southeastern part of the United States. It’s right below Georgia. If you’re looking on a map, it looks like an upside-down thumb. And the weather there is warm to hot year-round.

And then Joe says, “They were freezing and they needed to get something that would keep them warm.” So freezing means very cold.

And then I say, “It took me a while to really acclimate to this weather.” So acclimate means adjust or get used to.

And then I say, “San Francisco was having a heat wave.” Heat wave means unusually hot weather.

And then I say, “They’re wearing shorts and tank tops and fanning themselves.” So tank tops are sleeveless shirts. And fanning themselves, they were doing this with their hands or with paper, trying to make some air to help cool themselves.” And then Joe said, “Well, I’m not accustomed to it.” So accustomed means used to, he’s not used to it.

And then Joe says, “When it starts to get hot here, I am just…I’m dying, basically.” So when Joe says he’s dying, he’s not really dying, he’s just feeling very uncomfortable from the heat.

And then Joe says, “But now when I go back east during the summer, it’s unbearable for me.” So unbearable means too much, it makes him too uncomfortable.

And then I say, “You adapt though to wherever you’re living.” So adapt means get used to.

And then I say, “I’m burning up and thinking it’s so incredibly hot.” So burning up means feeling very hot and uncomfortable. And incredibly hot means really, really hot.

And then I say, “I had gotten used to the weather living in Bangkok.” So Bangkok is the capital city of Thailand.

And then I say, “It was a few notches hotter.” So notches here means degrees. It was a few degrees hotter.

And then Joe says, “That’s not true, c’mon.” So c’mon is actually two words combined together, come and on. And it means like admit it, admit it’s not true.

And then I say, “But when I first moved here, those days were far and few between.” So far and few between means we didn’t have many warm days.

And then Joe says, “The Mission District tends to be the warmest spot in the city.” So Mission District, this is the name of our neighborhood.

And then Joe says, “And then say go out to San Francisco State.” So San Francisco State is one of the colleges here in San Francisco.

And then Joe says, “It’s like you’re in a totally different part of the world, the difference in weather.” So totally here means completely, a completely different part of the world.

And then I say, “That was strange for me, too, when I first moved here, all the microclimates.” So microclimates, this is a weather in a small area such as in the different neighborhoods here.

And then I say, “And then the fog would roll in and it would start cooling down and I didn’t have enough layers.” So fog is basically low-hanging clouds that bring cooler temperatures. And layers, what I meant by that is clothes to put on to stay warm. So I would carry extra clothes with me like extra jackets and coats to put on so I would stay warm.

And then Joe says, “I’m really talking about weather in the Mission because this is where I’ve lived the entire time I’ve lived in San Francisco.” So entire means whole.

And then I say, “Right.” So I’m saying correct. I’m agreeing with Joe.

And then I say, “Polk Street, that was like a wind tunnel.” So wind tunnel, what I meant was it was a very windy street.

And then Joe says, “We used to call it the Van Ness wind tunnel.” So Van Ness is the name of a street here in San Francisco.

And then Joe says, “When I worked at the Lighthouse for the Blind, we used to call it the Van Ness wind tunnel.” So the Lighthouse for the Blind, this was a place that Joe worked many years ago. They offered services for blind people.

And then Joe says, “It looks like someone had just destroyed your hair and tossed it all over the place.” So what he meant by that, all of that, is your hair would get messed up from the wind.

Okay, so that is the end of our lesson for the conversation San Francisco Weather and I’ll be right back with the commentary.