Sometimes Help Is Just 'A Phone Call Away'
2024-08-18
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1And now, Words and Their Stories, from VOA Learning English.
2On today's show we talk about some expressions that deal with an important device in our lives - our phones.
3With a smartphone, we can connect to the world.
4In fact, we can say smartphones give us the world at our fingertips.
5Needless to say, we use phones to stay in contact with the people in our lives.
6We use them to reach out to our friends, family, neighbors, and co-workers.
7So, when we tell someone that we are just a phone call away, what we are really telling them is that we are available.
8We are there for them.
9We often use this expression to offer help to someone who is in a difficult situation or just in need of a friendly voice.
10For example, let's say my friend is having a hard time with an advanced English course.
11The assignments are difficult, the material is hard to understand, and his teacher has not been answering his emails.
12I can say to him, "Look, if you ever need help, I'm just a phone call away. Call anytime!"
13It's good to be available to some people some of the time.
14But maybe not all the time.
15We all have someone in our lives who contacts us too much.
16They may blow up our phones with a flood of calls and text messages.
17When your phone blows up, someone is trying to contact you repeatedly.
18Here's an example. Let's say your neighbor, Jana, is having trouble with another neighbor, Jake.
19And you are in the middle of it.
20They are both blowing up your phone with calls and texts about their disagreement.
21You can tell them, "Hold the phone! Just stop! Talk to each other and work out your problems because I've had enough."
22The expression hold the phone is a way to say "wait" or "stop."
23We use it when we hear something surprising or when we have had enough of a situation.
24And it doesn't have to be about phone calls or texts.
25For example, let's say a friend tells me that my favorite singer is coming to town. I can't believe it! So, I can say, "Hold the phone! Are you serious?" It's like saying, "Hold on a minute!"
26Now, let's go back to your arguing neighbors, Jana and Jake.
27Let's say they take your advice. They are willing to work out their problems.
28They try to call each other but the keep missing each other's calls.
29First Jana calls Jake, but he isn't available.
30Then Jake calls her back, but now Jana isn't available.
31They play phone tag like this for days until they finally speak to each other.
32Tag is a child's game. One person is "it" and must chase and tag, or touch, the other children.
33So, phone tag is when two people try to contact each other but their calls go unanswered.
34At least Jake and Jana are trying to work out their problems.
35When it comes to keeping relationships happy in the neighborhood, they are not phoning it in.
36When we phone it in, we don't try our best at something.
37We don't give our best efforts.
38For example, some people who lose interest in their jobs might start phoning it in.
39They stop trying and do not do their best work.
40That's not the case with us here at VOA Learning English.
41we are not phoning it in.
42We work hard every day to bring you new learning English content.
43And that's all the time we have for this Words and Their Stories.
44Until next time, I'm Anna Matteo.
1And now, Words and Their Stories, from VOA Learning English. 2On today's show we talk about some expressions that deal with an important device in our lives - our phones. 3With a smartphone, we can connect to the world. In fact, we can say smartphones give us the world at our fingertips. 4Needless to say, we use phones to stay in contact with the people in our lives. We use them to reach out to our friends, family, neighbors, and co-workers. 5So, when we tell someone that we are just a phone call away, what we are really telling them is that we are available. We are there for them. We often use this expression to offer help to someone who is in a difficult situation or just in need of a friendly voice. 6For example, let's say my friend is having a hard time with an advanced English course. The assignments are difficult, the material is hard to understand, and his teacher has not been answering his emails. I can say to him, "Look, if you ever need help, I'm just a phone call away. Call anytime!" 7It's good to be available to some people some of the time. 8But maybe not all the time. 9We all have someone in our lives who contacts us too much. They may blow up our phones with a flood of calls and text messages. When your phone blows up, someone is trying to contact you repeatedly. 10Here's an example. Let's say your neighbor, Jana, is having trouble with another neighbor, Jake. And you are in the middle of it. They are both blowing up your phone with calls and texts about their disagreement. You can tell them, "Hold the phone! Just stop! Talk to each other and work out your problems because I've had enough." 11The expression hold the phone is a way to say "wait" or "stop." We use it when we hear something surprising or when we have had enough of a situation. 12And it doesn't have to be about phone calls or texts. For example, let's say a friend tells me that my favorite singer is coming to town. I can't believe it! So, I can say, "Hold the phone! Are you serious?" It's like saying, "Hold on a minute!" 13Now, let's go back to your arguing neighbors, Jana and Jake. Let's say they take your advice. They are willing to work out their problems. They try to call each other but the keep missing each other's calls. First Jana calls Jake, but he isn't available. Then Jake calls her back, but now Jana isn't available. They play phone tag like this for days until they finally speak to each other. 14Tag is a child's game. One person is "it" and must chase and tag, or touch, the other children. So, phone tag is when two people try to contact each other but their calls go unanswered. 15At least Jake and Jana are trying to work out their problems. When it comes to keeping relationships happy in the neighborhood, they are not phoning it in. 16When we phone it in, we don't try our best at something. We don't give our best efforts. For example, some people who lose interest in their jobs might start phoning it in. They stop trying and do not do their best work. 17That's not the case with us here at VOA Learning English. we are not phoning it in. We work hard every day to bring you new learning English content. 18And that's all the time we have for this Words and Their Stories. 19Until next time, I'm Anna Matteo. 20Anna Matteo wrote this lesson for VOA Learning English. 21_______________________________________________ 22Words in This Story 23tag - n. a game in which the player who is it chases others and tries to touch one of them who then becomes it 24We want to hear from you. Do you have similar expressions in your language? In the Comments section, you can also practice using any of the expressions from the story. Our comment policy is here. Or send us an email at LearningEnglish@voanews.com.