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Speaker 1: The temperature was already thirty degrees at seven o'clock this morning.

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Let me tell you it's time to beat the heat.

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A nice dish of chocolate ice cream is one of

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my favorite ways to cool off, and on a day

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like this, that really hits the spot.

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Speaker 2: Welcome to another Happy English podcast, coming to you from

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New York City. And here's your English teacher, Michael.

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Speaker 1: All right, thank you, John, and thanks everyone. It's Michael

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here from Happy English and I help people speak English better.

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And this is Happy English Podcast, Episode eight forty two.

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Time to beat the heat. Hello and welcome. Thanks for

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joining me for another episode of the Happy English Podcast.

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I'm your English teacher Michael, and I'm so glad you're listening.

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It's week four of our summer series. This time we're

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talking about how Americans beat the heat. When you beat

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the heat, you try to stay cool when it's really

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hot out. And let me tell you, summer in a

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lot of the US can get pretty brutal, even in

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New York City in July and August. So how do

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we cool off? Well, two things come to mind right away.

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Ice cream and movie theaters. Let's start with ice cream.

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I mean, is there anything better on a hot day,

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whether it's a cone a Sunday or one of those

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classic ice cream sandwiches, Americans go crazy for ice cream

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in summer. You'll see ice cream trucks driving through neighborhoods

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playing music to let kids and adults know they're coming,

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and the local ice cream shops will have long lines

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in the evening when people come out after dinner to

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cool off, cool off. Let's take a break for a

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second and talk about that phrase cool off. To cool

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off means to do something to help lower your body temperature,

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usually when you're hot, like after walking around in the

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sun all day, I needed to cool off with an

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ice tea. On a hot day, some people jump into

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the pool to cool off, or like I just said,

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grabbing some ice cream or an Italian ice is a

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great way to cool off in the summer. Personally, I

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think a few scoops of chocolate ice cream really hits

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the spot after a hot, sticky day. And that brings

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us to another great phrase, hit the spot. When something

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hits the spot, it means it's exactly what you needed

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at that moment. Something that hits the spot really satisfies you,

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Like after working in the garden in thirty degree heat,

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a cold glass of lemonade hits the spot. When Paul

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got home from work, he said that a cold beer

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really hit the spot. So yeah, ice cream on a

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hot day totally hits the spot. Another classic way to

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beat the heat is by heading to the movie theater.

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Theaters in the US are known for b being super

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air conditioned, like bring a jacket kind of air conditioning.

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Going to the movies is a great way to spend

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a couple of hours out of the sun, especially when

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there's a good movie playing. And that brings us to

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the idea of the summer blockbuster. What's a summer blockbuster. Well,

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it's a big Hollywood movie that's released in the summer,

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usually full of action, explosions, special effects, and big stars.

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Studios save their most expensive and most exciting films for

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the summer because that's when a lot of people have

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time off, families, students, on vacation, you name it. People

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pack into movie theaters for these movies. And that's another

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great phrase to two pack into. To pack into a

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place means a lot of people crowd into it, usually

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because something popular is happening, like last weekend in Birmingham, England,

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tons of people packed into the stadium for the Ozzy

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Osbourne concert. At popular restaurants in New York, people pack

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into the places as soon as they open. And when

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the new Spider Man movie comes out, you can bet

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people will be packing into the theaters. So yeah, ice

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cream and movie theaters are kind of like part of

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the American summer survival kit. It's not unusual for friends

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or families to make a whole day or evening of it,

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grabbing lunch or dinner, watching a movie, and maybe even

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going for ice cream after all. Right, and that's it

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for this week's American culture point. I hope you're beating

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the heat wherever you are. And if you're ever visiting

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the US in summer, now you know you can always

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cool off with some ice cream or catch a Blockbuster

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in an ice cold theater. And keep in mind, the

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best way to remember English like this and any other

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word or phrase in English, is to take that word

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or phrase, write it in a sentence that's true for

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you or true in your world, and then memorize your sentences. Hey,

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do you want to get more practice actually using your English,

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then you should join my podcast learner's study group. There

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you can make new friends, join us for live group

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lessons every week where we practice these podcast lessons together.

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Plus you get access to the pdf tray, sanscript and

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audio download for every Happy English podcast in the past

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and in the future. And on top of that, each

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episode has exercises where you can practice this English point

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with speaking and writing checked by me. To learn more, well,

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just visit my Happy English dot com and choose podcast

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lesson eight forty two. Remember, learning another language is not easy,

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but it's not impossible, and I'm here to help you

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on your journey.

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Speaker 2: This podcast is brought to you by Happy English. Please

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visit Myhappy English dot com show your support for Happy

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English by leaving us a review. Get English, Get Happy,

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Happy English.