ESL Podcast 701 - Improving Your Looks
agent - a person whose job is to represent actors, musicians, writers, or other types of artist to help them find work
Sara is thinking of becoming a model, but she needs to find a good agent first.
potential - the possibility of being able to do something; the qualifications and ability to do something that one is not yet doing
With her great people skills and interest in biology, she has a lot of potential to become a doctor.
to sign you - to create a legal agreement to work with and/or represent a particular person
How old were you the first time a professional basketball team wanted to sign you?
salable - able to be sold easily, especially because something is very useful or attractive
Troy would be more salable as a business consultant if he started wearing suits and ties instead of shorts and flip-flops.
hair extension - a piece of artificial hair that is attached to one's own hair or scalp (the skin on one's) head to make one's hair look longer and/or fuller
The key to having natural-looking hair extensions is to make sure they're the same color as your real hair.
fuller - hair with more body and volume; hair that has a lot of shape and seems to move, rather than hanging straight down from one's head
Lynn uses mousse and a hair dryer every morning to make her hair appear fuller.
to spruce up - to make something look nicer or neater; to improve the appearance of something
My parents are coming to visit tomorrow, so I need to spruce up my apartment.
to cap teeth - to allow a dentist to put small pieces on each tooth, entirely covering the visible surface of each tooth, to improve their appearance
He had uneven, yellow teeth until he asked his dentist to cap them.
teeth whitening - a procedure that lightens the color of one's teeth, making them less yellow or gray and more white
After years of drinking coffee and red wine, his teeth were so discolored that he paid for a professional teeth whitening.
spray tan - a procedure where all the skin on one's body is sprayed with a chemical to make it look darker, as if one had spent a lot of time in the sun
Women who love having dark skin but don't want to risk getting skin cancer can choose to pay for a spray tan every few weeks.
constructive criticism - advice that may be very negative, but is intended to help another person improve
When giving constructive criticism, it's important to let other people know you're trying to support them as much as possible.
to stamp out - to end or eliminate something; to get rid of something
What can we do to stamp our poverty and hunger in our community?
individuality - uniqueness; the characteristics that make a person special, unlike anyone else
Many students don't like wearing uniforms, because they would rather wear clothes that express their individuality.
clone - an exact copy of another person; someone who seems just like another person, copying his or her appearance and behavior
Mariah and her sister are so much alike, they could be clones!
sch(m) - a common prefix for many Yiddish words, often attached to English words to create Yiddish-like words for humor
Books, schmooks! Why do you spend so much time reading textbooks when you could be having fun with us?
Don't you even think about it - a phrase used to warn someone not to do something because one thinks it is a very bad idea and one will be upset if he or she does it
You want to throw her a surprise birthday party! Don't you even think about it! She's very shy and it would really embarrass her.