If you want to come to the United States and meet a handsome (attractive, good looking) single (unmarried) man or beautiful single woman, where should you go?

Recently someone looked at the number of single men versus single women who live in large cities in the United States.  In some cities, there are many more single women than single men, meaning these would be better places for a man to meet a single woman.  In other cities, there are far more single men than there are women, meaning that these would be  good places if you want to meet a man (and a bad place if you want to meet a woman!).

According to the Boston Globe newspaper, here are some of the best places to meet single women (or at least, the cities that have a lot more single women than single men):

• New York City
• Philadelphia
• Detroit
• Chicago

In general, large cities in East and Midwest tend to have more women than men.  The exception to this rule seems to be the cities of Minneapolis and St. Paul, where I grew up.  Perhaps it is a good thing that I left there!

The following cities would be the best ones for a woman to meet a man (or the worst places for a man to meet a woman):

• Los Angeles
• San Francisco
• Phoenix
• Seattle
• San Francisco
• Las Vegas

Large cities in the West and Southwest have more single men than single women.  So although many men come to Los Angeles to become famous in the movies or on television, it’s not the best place to meet your future girlfriend.

What explains this difference in the number of single men and women in different cities?  One theory is that men are more likely to leave their hometown (the place where they were born or grew up) and move to another city that has more job opportunities.  In the last 30 years, many of the new jobs have been created in places such as Los Angeles, Phoenix, and other large cities in the Southwest and Pacific Northwest (in states such as Washington and Oregon).   States in the East and Midwest have lost many jobs, and since women are less likely than men to move to find a new job, you find more single women in eastern cities than in western cities.

What city can you go to where there is an almost equal number of single men and single women?  The answer is Boston, Massachusetts, although no one understands why that is.

~Jeff

It’s difficult to think of classic American rock without thinking of the Eagles. The Eagles formed in the early 1970s in Los Angeles and broke up (stop working together) in 1980. They were one of the most successful rock groups and had two of the best-selling albums (recording with many songs) of all time.

In 1994, they reunited (became a group again) to go on a tour (performing in many cities) called “Hell Freezes Over.” We use the expression, “when hell freezes over,” when we want to say very forcefully that we don’t intend for something to happen again. For example, if your wife or girlfriend asks you every week if you will take her dancing, but you hate to dance, you may get angry at her and say, “I’ll take you dancing when hell freezes over!” (That’s not a very nice thing to say, but you get the point.) To freeze over means for a liquid (something wet) to get so cold that it becomes solid or hard. Hell is the very hot and horrible place that Christians believe bad people go to after they die. So by naming their tour “Hell Freezes Over,” the Eagles is saying they they had never intended to get back together and to tour; this is something very unexpected.

The title of this song is “Desperado.” A desperado is someone who is reckless or who doesn’t think of what will happen before doing something. Desperado can also refer to a criminal or someone who does not follow the law or society’s rules.

~ Lucy

“Desperado”
by the Eagles

Desperado, why don’t you come to your senses (think clearly; act sensibly)?
You been out riding fences (sitting on the divisions or barriers between two properties or two options) for so long now
Oh, you’re a hard one
I know that you got your reasons
These things that are pleasing you
Can hurt you somehow

Don’t you draw (get a card in a card game) the queen of diamonds, boy
She’ll beat you if she’s able
The queen of heats is always your best bet (something that gives you the best chance for success)
Now it seems to me, some fine things
Have been laid (put carefully) upon your table
But you only want the ones that you can’t get

Desperado, oh, you ain’t getting no younger
Your pain and your hunger, they’re driving you home
And freedom, oh freedom, well, that’s just some people talking
Your prison (jail) is walking through this world all alone

Don’t your feet get cold in the wintertime?
The sky won’t snow and the sun won’t shine
It’s hard to tell the nighttime from the day
You’re loosing all your highs and lows
Ain’t it funny how the feeling goes away?

Desperado, why don’t you come to your senses?
Come down from your fences, open the gate (door in a wooden barrier or fence)
It may be raining, but there’s a rainbow (an arch of many colors in the sky) above you
You better let somebody love you,
You better let somebody love you, before it’s too late

When most Americans think of a Californian (someone who lives in California), they think of someone who is very relaxed, someone who is laid-back.  A New Yorker (someone from the state of New York) is often seen as having the opposite personality, someone who is stressed out (feeling very anxious, under a lot of stress).  These are very popular images, but are they true?

Some psychologists have begun to test the residents (people who live in a certain place) of different states to see if they have certain personality traits.  A trait is a characteristic, something that is stable over time.  These psychologists gave a 44-question personality test that looked at five different personality traits: extraversion (how much you like to talk to other people), agreeableness, conscientiousness (how careful you are or how carefully you follow the rules), openness (whether you are open to new ideas and experiences), and neuroticism (having a mild mental disease usually related to stress and anxiety).

What did they find?  The most open people tend to live on the West Coast and western US, including the states of California, Nevada, Oregon, and Washington.  People who live in New York and Massachusetts were also very high in openness.  This may or may not explain why these states tend to be more politically liberal than others.  The most extroverted people tend to live in the upper Midwest, which includes the states of Minnesota, Wisconsin, North Dakota, and South Dakota.  These are states where people are more likely to talk to people they don’t know and to interact with other people.  Certainly this is true of me, having grown up in Minnesota.

People in the upper Midwest also tend to be the most agreeable, meaning they tend to be perceived as being nice to other people.  The state of New York is the opposite, with people who are considered very disagreeable in terms of their personality test results.  People who live in the central part of the United States tend to be the most conscientious.  This would include the states of Nebraska, Kansas, Oklahoma, and Missouri.

What about neurotics?  Well, not surprisingly (to me), these people tend to live in the eastern part of the United States, including the states of New York, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and Ohio, although people who live in the south-central part of the US, in places such as Arkansas, Mississippi, and Louisiana, also score high on the neurotic test.

Not all psychologists agree that these tests really show people have these different personality traits in different states or regions of the country, and many people who live in some of the states I’ve mentioned aren’t very happy about these results.  They don’t want to be seen, for example, as being disagreeable or neurotic.  Being a Californian, of course, I tend to think that there is some truth in these results, especially when it comes to the people of New York.  (I should point out that there has always been a competition between people who live in Los Angeles and people who live in New York City as to which city is the most important or the best to live in.  You can guess which city I selected.)

The more important question is: Why are people different in these places?  What is it about California that causes people to be more laid-back?  Is it the nice weather?  We don’t really know.  Perhaps it is because California is the home of ESL Podcast!

Jeff

We get a lot of everyday expressions from TV and the television industry. One term that you may hear is to jump the shark. We use this term to talk about something that was once (at one time) good or well-respected taking a swan-dive (going down very quickly) in quality.

The phrase comes from an old TV show called “Happy Days.” The show was on the air (shown) for many years and it was well-liked. However, in one of the last seasons, one of the main characters has to water-ski (wear metal sticks on his feet to ride on the water while a boat is pulling him) and jump over some sharks, some very big and dangerous fish. Most people watching thought it was ridiculous (silly) and a sure sign (indication) of a good TV show taking a swan-dive. That’s why this phenomenon (type of thing) is called “jumping the shark.”

We can use this phrase in other situations, too. For example, an old and respected company that is failing and is trying desperately to get new customers might jump the shark by using a tasteless (using poor judgment; offensive) advertising campaign.

I hope we never jump the shark at ESL Podcast…or have we already?

~ Lucy

Over the past several years, many of our listeners have asked us about English courses for children, especially at a low English level. We have finally completed three courses called “Simple English Stories” just for children — and for adults who want to learn English, too!”

Stories for Children
“Simple English Stories” are children’s stories written at a low level. These fun and exciting stories include useful vocabulary that is repeated many times in an interesting and meaningful way within the story. Hearing English used many times while hearing a fun story will help children learn English quickly and in a fun and exciting way!

Something For Adults and Older Children, Too!
For older children and adults, each set of “Simple English Stories” contains a “Bonus Story” that takes a fresh and different look at the traditional classic story (Story A). This is a humorous and fun way to introduce useful vocabulary. Children and adults can listen together to Simple English Stories — and learn English together!

Find out more about “Simple English Stories“!

We hope that these stories will be useful to you and to your children!

~ Jeff and Lucy

In the past few years, several organization have decided to promote (to let people know about, to advertise) their cause (some issue or problem they want to solve) by using bracelets, a thin piece of plastic, metal, or other material that you wear around your wrist (where your arm is attached to your hand).  These bracelets are often sold to raise money for these organizations and causes, and to let other people know about them.

I think the first one I remember seeing was a yellow “LiveStrong” bracelet that was to support the fight against cancer.  This was started back in 2004 by Lance Armstrong, the American cyclist (someone who races bicycles) who won the Tour de France.  Now every group is making its own bracelet, each with a different color.  Here are some of the colors that you will see people in the US wearing and what cause or organization they support.  Notice that some colors are used by several different causes, but many are related to some disease people are trying to cure or prevent:

• Green – kidney (part of your body that cleans your blood) disease, but also muscular dystrophy and the crisis in Darfur, in Africa.
• Purple – Alzheimer’s disease, lupus
• Orange – multiple sclerosis
• Blue- Crohn’s disease, autism, stopping childhood bullying (when children make fun of or threaten each other)
• White – poverty
• Red – diabetes, AIDS

Although the popularity of colored bracelets is a recent phenomenon (happening, situation), bracelets originally became popular back in the 1970s and 1980s to show support for soldiers who had died in a war or were prisoners of war (POWs), and are still worn for that reason as well.  These are usually black or made of stainless steel.

Are bracelets like these popular where you live?  Do you wear one?

~Jeff

If you drive along California freeways, you’ll find signs along the way that look like this:

The Adopt-a-Highway Program is a partnership (cooperation between two or more people or groups) program between state governments and private businesses and organizations. Essentially (basically), it is a way for businesses to sponsor (pay for or provide) the maintenance of a section of the highway. The program is currently in 13 states: Arizona, California, Connecticut, Colorado, Maryland, Massachusetts, Missouri, Nevada, New Jersey, New York, New Hampshire, Rhode Island and Washington State.

An individual, an organization, or a business can be a sponsor and provide maintenance, which includes removing litter (trash), planting trees and flowers, and removing unwanted graffiti (writing and drawings). The sponsors can volunteer to do this work themselves or hire a maintenance service to do it for them.

In California, for example, over 15,000 miles of roads have been maintained using this program. Each sponsor is given a two-mile stretch (distance) and commits to five years. The state saves money, but what do the organizations and business get out of it? In return (in exchange) for maintenance, the company gets their name on a sign that is erected (put up) on the side of the highway to honor someone or to get publicity (attention), like these ones:

Does your city, state, or country have these types of partnerships to maintain roads or other public places?

~ Lucy

In English Cafe 150, I talked about a group of Americans called the Amish. They are a group of Christians who have very traditional values and don’t have a lot of modern technology in the places where they live. They speak a language called Pennsylvania Dutch, but they also learn English in school.

In the podcast, I said that Pennsylvania Dutch is related to a language spoken in the Netherlands, but this was incorrect. Pennsylvania Dutch is actually related to German.

I want to thank Martin, a listener from Germany, for pointing out (finding and telling us) our mistake. We try to be as accurate (correct) as possible in our podcasts, but sometimes there are errors.

~Jeff

Earlier this year, I had a pretty bad sinus infection. The sinus is the passageway (long, narrow way) in your nose; an infection is when something that causes disease in the body makes that part of your body red and swollen (bigger than its normal size), and pus (thick yellow or green liquid) comes out. Yes, you’re right. That is gross (disgusting) and not too comfortable either.

However, one symptom (sign of illness) surprised me. I lost my sense of smell. I only lost it for a short time during the infection, and it slowly came back in the three weeks it took to fully recover (get well). In that time, however, it became very clear to me what every doctor knows: The flavor of food comes largely from the smell of the food and not from the taste in your mouth.

I like to eat. I like to eat a lot. Not being able to smell the delicious foods that I normally ate made eating a much less enjoyable experience. In fact, it became just a necessity (requirement) and no longer a pleasure.

There are many flavors I would miss if I lost my sense of smell permanently (forever). What flavors would you miss if you lost your sense of smell? What flavors would you be happy to never experience again?

~ Lucy

A common question we ask young children is, “What do you want to be when you grow up?” meaning “What job or occupation do you want when you are an adult?”  Sometimes we use this phrase as a joke when talking about ourselves as adults, to suggest that we are not yet mature or very old.

The most common responses from young boys are often things like “fireman” or “policeman” or perhaps “baseball player.”  (We usually say firefighter and police officer nowadays, since it could be a man or a woman.)  I’ve always wondered if Americans still admire or look up to those same professions after they get older.  After all, most little boys don’t actually grow up to firemen, policemen, or baseball players (although I still think I could play professional ball with the Los Angeles Dodgers!).

A recent national survey of American adults asked which professions they thought had “very great prestige.”  Prestige here means that you have a good opinion of it, that it is very desirable.  Here were the top answers, with the percentage of people indicating that profession in parentheses:

1. Firefighter (57%)
2. Scientist (56%)
3. Doctor (53%)
4. Nurse (52%)
5. Teacher (52%)
6. Military officer (46%)
7. Police officer (43%)
8. Clergy (priest, rabbi, minister, iman) (40%)
9. Congressman (US government representative) (28%)
10.  Lawyer (24%)
11. Athlete (such as football or baseball player) (20%)
12. Journalist (18%)
13. Actor (16%)
14. Business executives (11%)
15. Real estate brokers (people who sell houses and buildings) (6%)

As you can see, firefighter and police officer are still held in high esteem (people have a good opinion of them), but athletes are not considered so prestigious.  It is also interesting to note that business executive (bosses) is among the lowest ranked professions, almost as low as real estate brokers, although there are certainly a lot more businesspeople than there are doctors or firefighters.    For Los Angeles, the home of Hollywood, where everyone seems to be an actor (including me), the news is not good: actors have one of the lowest levels of prestige.

Do you think people in your country would agree with this ranking?  What jobs or occupations would be considered to be prestigious where you live?

~Jeff