ESL Podcast 265 - Listening to the Radio

simulcast - a live (not recorded) broadcast of an event or performance; something that is shown in two places or in two ways at the same time, such as on the television and the radio

I was watching the basketball game at home, but I had to drive to my sister's house before it ended. Fortunately, the game was being simulcasted, so I was able to listen to the end of the game on the radio while I was in the car.

live - being shown on the radio or television at the same time that something is actually happening; not being broadcasted from a recording

This afternoon at 4:00 there will be a live speech by the President on TV.

campus radio - a radio station owned by a college or university and operated by students

Chantelle likes to listen to campus radio, because it has music from many different countries and information about events at the university.

public radio - a radio station that is not owned by a private company; a radio station that is a non-profit organization and asks for money from its listeners instead of selling advertising

NPR, National Public Radio, is the most well known public radio station in the United States.

reception - how well a radio (or television) program can be heard (or seen) due to the quality of the airwaves and signals that are being received

We usually listen to the radio when we drive, but in the mountains the reception isn't very good, so we bring CDs to listen to.

antenna - a long, thin piece of metal that makes the quality of sound from a radio or the picture on a television set better

Try moving the TV antenna to the right so that we can see the program more clearly.

low-tech - low-technology; not sophisticated; technologically simple; using simple, old technologies

Candace is so low-tech that she still uses a typewriter instead of a computer.

AM/FM - Amplitude Modulation / Frequency Modulation; two types of air waves that one can listen to on a radio

When someone stole the expensive CD player that was in Henrietta's car, she decided to buy a simple AM/FM radio that no one would want to steal.

satellite radio - a type of digital radio that uses satellites in space, can be heard anywhere, and has very good quality

They bought a new satellite radio that lets them listen to thousands of radio stations in hundreds of languages.

format - the type of music or talk show on a radio program; the design of a program and the order in which things happen

This radio program has a format where experts talk about something for 30 minutes and then listeners can call in to ask questions.

station - a radio or television company and the programs that it offers to listeners on a particular TV channel (3, 4, 7) or radio frequency (93.1, 104.7)

My favorite radio station is 102.9 because it has lots of blues and jazz music.

DJ - disc jockey; a person who plays music and speaks between songs on a radio station

I wish the DJ on this station would talk less and play more music.

static - a hissing noise that one hears on a radio or TV program that isn't supposed to be there, and is usually caused by the signal or reception being weak

There's too much static on this program! Let's find another station to listen to.

broadcast - a program shown on TV or played on the radio; radio or TV transmissions that anyone can receive

People who live far away from a large city usually don't get very many broadcast TV stations, so many of them have cable TV.

snob - a person who thinks that he or she is better than other people because he or she likes a certain type of thing or knows a lot about it

Richard is a wine snob! He's always talking about the expensive wines he owns and he always says that I don't drink very good wines.

to settle for (something) - to be satisfied with something; to be content with something even though it may not be the best

On Friday nights I'm usually tired from work and ready to settle for a quiet night at home instead of going to a party with friends.

to jump on the bandwagon - to begin doing something that everyone else is doing; to begin doing something because it is very popular with other people

Six of Mark's friends bought a new home last year, so he decided to jump on the bandwagon and buy a new house, too.

This is the thanks I get - a sarcastic and funny phrase that is used to show that one is disappointed with how another person responded to something that one said or did while trying to help him or her

When Luke tried to help a cat get down from a tree, the cat bit his hand. Luke said, "This is the thanks I get for helping a cat!"