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Speaker 1: Right off the bat. I want to let you know

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that I'm not exactly a big sports fan. I hope

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my saying that wasn't a curveball, but maybe for some

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of you that came out of left field. Well, today

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we're going to talk about baseball, and I really hope

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I can hit a home run with this lesson.

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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 all Ray.

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Speaker 1: Thank you John, and thanks everyone. It's Michael here from

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Happy English and I help people speak English better. And

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this is Happy English Podcast, Episode seven point thirty seven. Baseball.

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Baseball has been called America's pastime for good reason. The

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game has a long history, with its roots trace back

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to the nineteenth century. The exact origins of baseball aren't

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completely clear, but what's certain is that right off the bat,

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the game of baseball quickly became a national sensation. By

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the late eighteen hundreds, baseball was hitting a home run

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in terms of popularity. There were teams forming in cities

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across the country and fans flocking to ballparks to watch

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their favorite players. The growth of baseball wasn't just about

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the game itself. It became a symbol of American life.

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From the roaring crowds in the stands to the crack

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of the bat as a player made contact with the ball,

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Baseball embodied the spirit of competition, teamwork, and the pursuit

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of excellence. This wasn't something that came out of left field.

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It was a victural reflection of the values that many

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Americans held dear. Over the years, baseball has seen its

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share of curveballs, from changes in the rules to the

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rise of new sports that challenged its dominance. But through

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it all, baseball has remained a beloved part of American culture,

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with millions of fans continuing to cheer on their teams

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every season in the stadiums and on TV. In a way,

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baseball is like life itself. You never know when you'll

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need to step up to the plate and do your best.

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And now, let's check out the baseball idioms from this lesson.

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The first one is right off the bat. In baseball,

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the ball's journey begins when the ball makes contact with

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and then leaves the bat. With the image in mind,

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we use right off the bat to mean from the

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very beginning. Here are some examples when Jenny moved next door.

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I liked her right off the bat. Tommy told me

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that he liked his new job right off the bat.

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Right off the bat, I knew that restaurant wasn't going

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to be good because when we arrived there, there were

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very few customers. In baseball, hitting a home run means

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the batter hits the ball out of the park, scoring

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a run and often exciting the crowd. And in every

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day English, we use hit a home run as an

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idiom to mean do something very well or achieve great success.

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For example, at the restaurant, the chef hit a home

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run with his new recipe and the dish became an

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instant favorite. Taylor Swift hit a home run when she

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released the song You Belong to Me. Alice hit a

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home run with her marketing presentation at the conference, receiving

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praise from everyone. Next is out of left field. In baseball,

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left field is the area of the field on the

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left side when facing home plate. The idiom out of

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left field is used when something surprising or unexpected happens.

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Imagine you're having a normal conversation and someone says something

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suddenly that's completely unrelated or surprising you might respond, Wow,

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that came out of left field. So out of left

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field is a way to express surprise or confusion about

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something unexpected. Here are some other examples. That was totally

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at a left field when Jenny told us that she

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was going to quit her job and move out of

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the city. Bill said that he was speechless when his

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girlfriend told him that she wanted to break up with him.

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It was completely at a left field. The next one

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is a curveball. A curveball is a type of pitch

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that changes direction as it approaches the batter, making it

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difficult to hit. In everyday English conversation, to throw a

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curveball means to do something unexpected that challenges someone. For example,

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if your boss gives you a new project to finish

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by the end of the day, you might say, she

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really threw me a curveball with that deadline. Let's look

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at some other examples. The teacher through the class a

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curveball with a surprise quiz. At the end of the

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lesson at work last week, just when we thought the

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project was finished, our client threw us a curveball, requesting

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a couple of major changes. The last one for today

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is to step up to the plate. In baseball, the

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plate is where the batter stands when they are ready

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to hit the ball, and that's a big responsibility in

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the game. As an idiom, when someone steps up to

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the plate, they take responsibility for something, especially in a

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challenging situation. For example, the boss asked me to step

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up to the plate and become the project leader. When

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Ralph lost his job, his wife stepped up to the

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plate and went back to work. Keep in mind, the

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best way to remember this and any other word or

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phrase in English is to take that word or phrase,

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write it in a sentence that's true for you or

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true in your world, and then memorize your sentences. By

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the way, can you imagine getting the chance to practice

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this kind of English with me directly? You can get

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more practice using your English when you join my podcast

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Learner's Study Group. There you can make new friends, join

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us for live group lessons every week where we practice

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these podcast lessons together. Plus you get access to the pdf,

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transcript and audio download for every Happy English podcast in

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

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each episode has exercises where you can practice this English

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point with speaking and writing checked by me to learn more,

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just visit Myhappy English dot com and choose podcas cast

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lesson seven point thirty seven. That's Myhappy English dot com. Remember,

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learning another language is not easy, but it's not impossible,

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and I'm here to help you on your journey.

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

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Visit Myhappy English dot com. Show your support for Happy

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