ESL Podcast 533 - Making Funeral and Burial Arrangements

funeral - a ceremony after a person has died, putting the body somewhere and allowing other people to say goodbye

Have you thought about what kind of funeral you want to have when you die?

mourner - a person who is very sad because another person has died, usually a close friend or a family member

How many mourners went to Ted Kennedy's funeral?

wake - the period of time after death but before a funeral, when people meet in that person's home to remember the person and talk about his or her life, usually while eating food

I won't be able to go to Aunt Elmina's funeral, but I did go to her wake.

to cremate - to burn the body of a dead person until only ashes (grey-colored powder) are left

Lynn wants to be cremated, because she doesn't like the idea of her body lying in the cold earth.

ashes - the grey-colored powder that is left after something burns in a fire

Could you please sweep the ashes out of the fireplace?

to scatter - to spread around, to put a small amount of something over a large area

I dropped the children's toy box, and crayons and markers are scattered all over the bedroom floor.

to bury - to place a body or something else underground, covering it with earth

Christian is trying to bury his little sister's feet and legs in the sand, but she keeps moving away.

casket - a special box that is used to hold a dead body and is placed underground

He wants a fancy metal casket with gold handles and a red velvet lining, but his wife would prefer a simple wooden casket.

headstone - a piece of stone placed at the top of a grave, usually with the dead person's name, date of birth, date of death, and sometimes a short phrase

This headstone is very simple: "Gabriel Marciano, 1857-1938, a loving husband and father."

to inter - to bury the body of a dead person, in the ground or inside of a building

We're going to meet at the church at 11:00, and her body will be interred at noon.

mausoleum - a small building that is used to hold the bodies of dead people, usually when they are all from one rich family

All of Charlotte's aunts and uncles plan to be interred in the family's mausoleum.

hoopla - excitement and attention; lots of activity and motion; with many interesting things happening

What's all the hoopla for on the street? What's happening?

to grieve - to feel very sad because someone has died or because one has lost something important

I don't think you should ask Meghan out on a date. She's still grieving for her husband, even though he died two years ago.

fuss - lots of unnecessary activity, worry, actions, or discussion, especially if everything would be simpler without it

I've never seen so much fuss over a missing cat! They cried, called the police, and put up posters all over the neighborhood.

gravesite - a small, outdoor space where one dead body is buried

Every year, on the anniversary of our mother's death, we go to leave flowers on her gravesite.

non-denominational - without a religious affiliation; not connected to a particular religion

When did you start going to a non-denominational church? I thought you were raised as a Presbyterian.

cemetery - an outdoor area where many bodies are buried

On Halloween night, the teenagers dress up as ghosts and run through the cemetery, trying to scare people.

fun and games - activities that are not serious and are only meant for having a good time

They thought that skipping class was all fun and games until they realized they might fail algebra.