Transcription
Ah, yeah. Get ready to laugh. In this lesson, we're learning English with Barack Obama, ex-president in the United States, on Jimmy Kimmel Live. By the way, if you're new here, every week we help you to understand fast-speaking natives just like Obama, without getting lost, without missing the jokes, and without subtitles. Like Hiroyuki, who says that our lessons have helped him to understand his favorite movies without subtitles. So, if you want to get confident listening, it's really simple. Just hit that subscribe button and the bell below so you don't miss any of our new lessons.
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So, when you're at home, can you like, can you run down to the kitchen in your underpants in the middle of the night if you're hungry? I mean, I could. I, I don't. You don't? No. Is there someone in the kitchen at all times? Like, if you wanted a sandwich in the night, would you have to wake someone up? Yeah, I wouldn't wake somebody up to have a sandwich. You're allowed to go in the refrigerator on your own. I am. There's, there's a refrigerator and, and there's silverware. When was the last time you, you actually cooked? Uh, now, it's been a while. Since it's been a while. I, I won't lie about that. You ever drive? I cannot drive. I mean, I, I'm, I'm able to drive. Is gonna have a birth certificate in Kenya. We drive on the other side.
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So, when you're at home, can you like, can you run down to the kitchen in your underpants in the middle of the night if you're hungry? Jimmy is well aware that all these questions he's asking Barack Obama are quite silly. However, the reason he's asking these questions is probably because people might often wonder to what extent a president goes through the same routine a normal person does in his or her everyday life. Does he actually ever make himself a sandwich? Does he drive himself somewhere when he needs to? Does he cook his own food? So, the first question is whether he goes, particularly at night and in his underpants, to the kitchen for a sandwich when he's hungry. So, underpants are these. He says, "run down to the kitchen," which is the same as "go to the kitchen." Let's see how people use this in these other examples. No, it's fine, Manny. I can run down the store right now and get a stupid jeweler. Hi Jay, don't scream at him. It was an honest mistake. So, you know, in horror movies, when the girl's like, "Oh my god, there's something in the basement. Let me just run down there in my underwear and see what's going on in the dark." And you're like, "What is your problem? Call the police." You're allowed to go in the refrigerator on your own. I am. There's, there's a refrigerator and, and there's silverware. If you're allowed to do something, you have permission to do it. All right, let's prepare for the day. Tonight, here's the things you're not allowed to talk about: love, poetry, music, or passion. Again, with presidents, the question is whether they must have official staff do everything for them. As we're learning from Obama, he doesn't. He can get his food on his own if he wants. If you do something on your own, you do it without any help. Listen to me, I need to do this on my own. If I fail, I fail. If I pass, I pass. Do you get it? This is different from "to be on your own," which means that you're alone. For God's sake, he's on his own for two days and he joins a gang. Silverware is a word that refers to knives, forks, spoons, etc., made of steel or other materials. Example: Can you put the silverware on the table? When was the last time you, you actually cooked? Uh, now, it's been a while. Since it's been a while. A while is an unspecified period of time. When we say "it's been a while," we mean that a long time has passed since you last did something. We usually follow this up with "since." It's been a while since I read an actual newspaper. Miss that sound. This is also something you can say when you meet someone you haven't seen in a long time. Well, hey Sheldon, it's been a while. Uh, now, it's been a while. Since it's been a while. I, I won't lie about that. "I won't lie" or "I'm not going to lie" is a phrase that we say when we want to emphasize that we're being honest. Example: Your cake was way better than mine, I'm not gonna lie. I won't lie, the movie was better than I expected. Do you ever drive? I cannot drive. I mean, I, I'm, I'm able to drive. When we say that we know how to do something, we often use the verb "can." So, if you say "I can swim," you're saying that you're able to do it. As seen here, it can be ambiguous at times. In this clip, this can mean different things. For example, that he isn't allowed to drive, or that he does not know how to drive. To avoid the misunderstanding, he says he's "able to drive," meaning he has the ability to do so, but probably because of security reasons, as a president, he was not permitted to drive vehicles. Hey, would you like to understand natives no matter how fast we speak? And wouldn't you like to be able to watch your favorite movies and series without the subtitles? Well, our Fluent with Friends course can help you a ton in reaching your goal and having a lot of fun along the way. You will learn alongside the first two seasons of the TV series Friends, which various academic studies show is the best series out there for learning English. And you get PDF power lessons, vocabulary memorization software, access to our Fluency Circle global community, and so much more. And you can try it for free right now with our three-part master class. What are you waiting for? Just click up here or down in the description below to learn more and sign up. We look forward to meeting you inside. Is that actually? I don't have a birth certificate. There used to be rumors that Barack Obama was not born in the U.S. and therefore he could not be president. Some allegations stated that he was born in Kenya, which is where his father is from. In just a few short weeks, Donald Trump's stance on where President Obama was born has well evolved from this. The reason I have a little doubt, just a little, just a little, is because he grew up and nobody knew him. To this, I want him to show his worship. I'm saying it's a real possibility, much greater than I thought two or three weeks ago. Then he has pulled one of the great cons in the history of politics and beyond politics. In those same three weeks, Trump's poll numbers have gone from this to this, nearly doubling in less than a month. I suspect that some of my critics back home are suggesting that I'm back here to look for my birth certificate. That is not the case. Obama later released a copy of his birth certificate that showed he was born in Hawaii. So, in this clip, they're joking about this funny and ridiculous incident. We're now going to focus on some of the connected speech in this clip. Jimmy starts off this interview saying, "When you're at home." Can you distinctly hear "at" in that utterance? Can you say it without over-pronouncing it? "At" is a structure word, and most times we say it in its weak form. So, we don't say "at," we say "uh." Let's take a look at some examples. Are you mad at me? No, I'm not mad at you. I just... Yeah, well, at least I didn't suck at customer relations. Then he says, "I, I won't lie about that." Here, the "t" gets reduced to the point it almost loses all its presence. So, this sounds like "I won't." The rest sounds like "why about that." This "t," because it's before a "th" sound, isn't pronounced. Let's listen to these two sentences again and take the chance to mimic how they say it. When you're at home. So, when you're at home. I, I won't lie about that. I, I, I won't lie about that. I, I won't lie about that. Actually, the last time I drove, uh, a former staffer came by and, and he comes through the, the South Lawn, and he's got, uh, one of these, uh, new electric cars. At the time, they were new. Yeah, and, and he was very excited about it. I said, "Well, yeah, let's try it out." So, I, I just grab his keys, and we just go out. It's parked right in front, and I start circling the South Lawn. And the Secret Service, there, no matter what you do, do not let him out. And they, uh, they, they, they were pretty upset. They, so they call you renegade, right? Is that there? Yeah, yeah. Because you're tooling around in an electric car, topping speeds of 30 miles an hour. Yeah, I, I think I think we have 35. Yeah. If you have to go to the dentist, does, do you go to the dentist? Dentist comes to me. Dentist comes to you. You have the chair and the tools. You've got the hole in the chair. Everything is all there. Everything is there in the basement. I didn't know. I showed up. I said, you know, I think, uh, you know, I've got, uh, a cap that's loose. Sir, here we are. Do you reset the clocks with daylight saving time? Happens. Somebody else does that. Somebody does that for you. Will you get rid of daylight saving time, or at least get rid of the part where we have to wake up earlier? You can leave the other one. Well, see, this is a California thing because you guys are always getting sun. Yeah, in the East Coast, you don't mind losing that hour because that's a signal that spring is here. We only care about ourselves.
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Actually, the last time I drove, a former staffer came by, and he comes through the South Lawn. A staffer is a member of a staff. He's referring to the White House staff, which is the group of people who work in this institution. Look, look, I talked to corporate about protecting the sales staff, and they said they couldn't guarantee it if there's downsizing. Okay, but there's no downsizing. So, just don't bottom line. Do I need to be worried? Maybe. Now, he says "former staffer" because this person doesn't work in the White House anymore. At the moment of this interview, Barack Obama was the president of the United States. Nowadays, we could say that he's the former president, and that the current president is Donald Trump. A lawn is a common part of an American house. It is the area of grass in front of one's house. For example, the chore of cutting this grass is called mowing the lawn. So, the South Lawn refers to the area of land to the south of the White House. By the way, did you notice how he starts telling this story in the past? "A former staffer came by." However, then he switches to the present tense, even though he's talking about a past event. "And, and he comes through the South Lawn." Have you ever wondered why a native might do this? Well, we explained this in our recent lesson with Finding Nemo. You can watch that and learn how to tell a story in English after you finish this lesson. And he was very excited about it. I said, "Well, yeah, let's try it out." If you're excited about something, you're very enthusiastic and eager. We say "excited about something" and "excited to do something." Let's check out these examples with each. What's going on? We're just really excited about this charity event that we have to go. Er, what are you doing here? Your hair is sweating. That's 'cause I'm excited to see my friends. Let's go, buddy. To try something out means to try, use, or consider something in order to make a decision or form an opinion about it. And the Secret Service, no matter what you do, do not let him out. The United States Secret Service is the body of law enforcement tasked with protecting the nation's leaders and their families. We use "no matter what" to say that you will definitely do something or not do something, as is the case here. I support her decision. That's what good detectives do. They have each other's back, no matter what. Hey, would you like to learn more with ex-president Obama? Well, we have a hilarious lesson that you're going to love with him and President Trump that you can watch after you finish this video by clicking up here or down in the description below. They, they were pretty upset. They, so they call you renegade, right? Is that there? Yeah, yeah. Because you're tooling around in an electric car. If someone is upset, they are unhappy, disappointed, or worried because of something. Oh god, I know. I'm pathetic. I'm a loser. Honey, you're not pathetic. You're just... you're sad. Yeah, I mean, people do stupid things when they're upset. My god, if I had a nickel for every guy I wish I hadn't. In this case, a renegade is someone who is rebellious and acts unconventionally. As you may know, Obama is famous for not doing things traditionally thought of as typical behavior for a president. We can see this just by the fact that he participated in a comedy program like Jimmy Kimmel Live, or roasting Trump in this other lesson we did with him. Because you're tooling around in an electric car. The phrasal verb "to tool around" means to drive around in a casual or fun manner rather than to arrive at some destination. Stopping speeds of 30 miles an hour. I, I think I think we have 35. As a verb, "to top" means to reach a maximum limit. So, if a car tops the speed of 30 miles per hour, it means that the maximum speed that a car can reach is 30 miles per hour. What they mean here is that Obama probably didn't drive over 30 miles per hour, as he was just driving around the property of the White House, which is actually quite responsible of him, despite what the Secret Service thought. He jokes that he thinks they actually hit 35, meaning they achieved 35 miles per hour. Oh, speaking of good news, somebody just hit 100 Twitter followers.
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You got the whole chair. Everything is all there. Everything is there in the basement. I didn't know. "Set up" is a very common phrasal verb that means to arrange, organize, or prepare. Example: We need to set up a meeting. We also say that something is "set up," meaning it is prepared or ready to be used. Obama is saying that the White House has a dentist chair set up in its basement. The basement is the room or area in a building that is under the level of the ground. Do you reset the clocks with daylight saving time? The phrasal verb we've just seen, "set up," derives from the verb "set," which is even wider in uses and meanings. One of such uses is to say the phrase "to set a clock," meaning to change or adjust the time in a clock. "Reset" means to set again. Let's explore some different uses of this verb. Man, I've never seen you work this hard at anything ever. It's because I care so much. I set an alarm for 5:00 AM. Every time I wanted food, I rebooted my sister. Are you ready to reboot? When I feel a food craving, I would dunk my head into ice water and reset my brain. Watch me. Will you get rid of daylight saving time? If you get rid of something, you throw it away or don't use it anymore. Well, I just can't believe that she and I are about to get rid of all of her stuff. Her whole life is down there. No, I wouldn't think I'd like that. We really need to get rid of this stuff. So, do you want this crap or not? Daylight savings time is the practice of advancing clocks during warmer months so that darkness falls later each day according to the clock.
So, when you're at home, can you like, can you run down to the kitchen in your underpants in the middle of the night if you're hungry? I mean, I could. I, I don't. You don't? No. Is there someone in the kitchen at all times? Like, if you wanted a sandwich in the night, would you have to wake someone up? Yeah, I wouldn't wake somebody up to have a sandwich. You're allowed to go in the refrigerator on your own.
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I am. There's, there's a refrigerator and, and there's silverware. When was the last time you, you actually cooked? Uh, now, it's been a while. Since it's been a while. I, I won't lie about that.
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You ever drive? I cannot drive. I mean, I, I'm, I'm able to drive. Actually, certificate in Kenya. We drive on the other side. Uh, actually, the last time I drove, uh, a former staffer came by and, and he comes through the, the South Lawn, and he's got, uh, one of these new electric cars. At the time, they were new. Yeah, and, and he was very excited.
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Well, yeah, let's try it out. So, I, I just grab his keys, and we just go out. It's parked right in front, and I start circling the South Lawn. And the Secret Service, there, no matter what you do, do not let him out. And they, uh, they, they, they were pretty upset. They, so they call you renegade, right? Is that there? Because you're tooling around in an electric car, topping speeds of 30 miles an hour. Yeah, I, I think I think we have 35. Yeah. If you have to go to the dentist, does, do you go to the dentist? Dentist comes to me. Dentist comes to you. You have the chair, the tools, and you've got the hole in the chair. Everything is all there. Everything is there in the basement. I didn't know. I showed up. I said, you know, I think, uh, you know, I've got a cap that's loose. Sir, here we are. Do you reset the clocks with daylight saving time? Happens. Somebody else does that. Somebody does that for you. Will you get rid of daylight saving time, or at least get rid of the part where we have to wake up earlier? You can leave the other one. Well, see, this is a California thing because you guys are always getting sun. Yeah, in the East Coast, you don't mind losing that hour because that's a signal that spring is here. We only care about ourselves. Ladies and gentlemen, this is incredible. We actually got a hold of the audio from several phone calls. Phone calls between President Obama and President-elect Trump. And I think it's my duty to share these with you. Hello, Barack. It's Trump. You know those gold medals you give out, Presidential Medals of Honor? Yeah. Can I give them any what I want?