Episodio 85
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¡Hola a todos! Soy Georgiana. Mi misión es ayudarte a hablar inglés con fluidez.
¿Quieres sonar más natural cuando hablas inglés?
Hoy aprenderás seis expresiones populares relacionadas con la comida. Después practicarás tu inglés hablado con una mini-historia divertida.
Bien. Aprendamos algunos idioms nuevos:
Hay un tipo de comida que nos hace sentir mejor porque nos resulta familiar o nos recuerda a la infancia. En inglés se llama COMFORT FOOD.
Comemos comfort food porque nos reconforta, aunque eso no significa que siempre sea comida especialmente saludable.
Ejemplo:
"After a tiring day, it's so wonderful to cook some comfort food and read a good book."
¿Y a quién no le gusta un buen trozo de tarta? En inglés, cuando algo es extremadamente fácil de hacer, decimos que es A PIECE OF CAKE.
Esta expresión, claro, no tiene nada que ver literalmente con la comida.
Hay otra expresión muy parecida: AS EASY AS PIE, que también significa «muy fácil».
Ejemplos:
"I thought the test would be difficult, but it was a piece of cake."
"Compared to learning Japanese, learning English was as easy as pie."
Pero hay ocasiones en las que YOU CAN'T HAVE YOUR CAKE AND EAT IT TOO.
Sí, has acertado: es otra expresión idiomática. 🙂
Cuando alguien dice «you can't have your cake and eat it too», quiere decir que no puedes disfrutar al mismo tiempo de dos ventajas incompatibles.
La imagen literal es sencilla: no puedes comerte el pastel y conservarlo intacto para después.
Ejemplo:
"James works too hard to pay for that luxurious house. The irony here is that he never has any time to stay at home and enjoy it. I guess he can't have his cake and eat it too."
¿Te gustan estas expresiones? Espero que no te esté entrando hambre, porque todavía vamos a hablar un poco más de comida.
Así que dime: ¿te gusta la tarta? Y sé sincero. 🙂
Si intentas abarcar demasiado, en inglés podemos decir BITE OFF MORE THAN YOU CAN CHEW.
Esta expresión significa asumir más de lo que realmente puedes manejar.
Cuando alguien has bitten off more than they can chew, se ha comprometido con una tarea demasiado grande, difícil o exigente.
Así que recuerda: no intentes hacer más de lo que puedes manejar. 🙂
Ejemplo:
"Tom has taken on too much responsibility. He shouldn't bite off more than he can chew. "
Después de tanto pastel, hablemos de algo menos dulce.
Otra expresión muy común es TO TAKE SOMETHING WITH A PINCH OF SALT.
¿Qué crees que significa?
No significa literalmente que tengas que añadir una pizca de sal a algo.
To take something with a pinch of salt significa no aceptar completamente como cierta la información que te dan. Está muy relacionada con la palabra skeptical.
Por tanto, si take something with a pinch of salt, mantienes cierta duda y no te lo crees todo al cien por cien.
Ejemplo:
"I don't trust everything Sarah says, so I take anything she says with a pinch of salt."
Repasemos las expresiones una vez más:
COMFORT FOOD
PIECE OF CAKE
AS EASY AS PIE
YOU CAN'T HAVE YOUR CAKE AND EAT IT TOO
BITE OFF MORE THAN YOU CAN CHEW
TAKE SOMETHING WITH A PINCH OF SALT
No te preocupes si todavía no recuerdas todos los significados. Escucha la lección varias veces y deja que los idioms se vuelvan familiares poco a poco.
¿Quieres seguir practicando inglés? Continúa con un curso de audio completo.
MEJORA TU EXPRESIÓN ORAL
Mini-historia: practica tu inglés hablado
Responde a las preguntas en voz alta con respuestas cortas y rápidas. Repite la mini-historia varias veces para mejorar tu expresión oral y tu comprensión.
Jason used to eat all the time, especially when he was stressed-out.
When did Jason eat?
Did he eat only occasionally?
No. No. Jason didn't use to eat occasionally. He used to eat all the time.
Did he eat more when he was stressed-out?
Yes. He ate more, especially when he was stressed out.
What type of food did Jason eat?
Did he only eat greens?
No. Jason didn't only eat greens. Jason ate comfort food.
Jason thought that since he ate all day, it would be easy to become a professional cook.
Why did Jason think being a cook would be as easy as pie?
Because he ate all day, he thought being a cook would be a piece of cake because he ate all day.
Who ate all day?
Jason or the cook?
No. No. The cook didn't eat all day. It was Jason who ate all day.
Did Jason think that becoming a professional cook would be a piece of cake?
Yes. Jason thought that becoming a professional cook would be a piece of cake.
However, his friends were skeptical about Jason's intentions.
Were Jason's friends convinced of his intentions?
No. Jason's friends weren't convinced about his intentions. They were skeptical about Jason's intentions.
Did Jason's friends take his intentions with a pinch of sugar?
No. No. Jason's friends didn't take his intentions with a pinch of sugar. They took his intentions with a pinch of salt.
Jason realized he had to stop eating all day and start learning to cook.
Did Jason realize anything?
Yeah. Jason figured something out. He realized he had to stop eating all day.
Jason wanted to learn how to cook only a dish. Right?
No. No. Jason didn't only want to learn how to cook a dish. He wanted to become a professional cook.
Did Jason realize that he could have his cake and eat it too?
No. Jason realized he couldn't have his cake and eat it.
He couldn't keep eating all day if he wanted to become a professional cook.
Finally, Jason took it easy and became an excellent amateur cook, but not a professional.
Was Jason stressed out about becoming a professional cook?
No. He wasn't stressed out. Jason took it easy. He was relaxed.
What did Jason become?
A professional cook?
No. Jason didn't become a professional cook. He became an amateur cook.
Why didn't Jason become a professional cook?
Because he didn't want to bite any more than he could chew.
Becoming a professional cook would be too much effort for Jason.
Gracias por escuchar. Nos vemos en el próximo episodio.
Repaso
Vocabulario
Repasa las palabras y expresiones más útiles antes de volver a escuchar.
Comfort food
Comida que hace sentir mejor, a menudo porque recuerda a la infancia o a experiencias familiares.
A piece of cake
Algo extremadamente fácil de hacer.
As easy as pie
Otra expresión que significa que algo es muy fácil.
You can't have your cake and eat it too
No puedes disfrutar al mismo tiempo de dos ventajas incompatibles.
Bite off more than you can chew
Asumir más trabajo o responsabilidad de lo que realmente puedes manejar.
Take something with a pinch of salt
Ser escéptico y no creer por completo lo que te dicen.
Skeptical
No estar completamente convencido de que algo sea cierto.
Idiom
Expresión cuyo significado no se deduce literalmente de las palabras que la componen.
¿Quieres seguir practicando inglés? Continúa con un curso de audio completo.