Episode Transcript
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0:01
Today, let's keep talking
0:03
about words related to
0:06
trials. And to
0:08
help improve your English
0:10
fluency, I have created
0:12
a fun mini story. As
0:15
usual, I will ask you many
0:17
simple questions. You must
0:19
answer quickly. It's just
0:22
like having a conversation with someone
0:24
in real life.
0:27
Welcome to Speak English Now
0:29
podcast. With your host, Georgiana,
0:32
the podcast that will help you to speak
0:34
English fluently with no grammar
0:36
and no textbooks.
0:39
Hi. I'm Georgiana, your
0:41
English teacher. Thanks for
0:43
joining me for a new episode. My
0:46
mission is to help you speak
0:49
English fluently. If
0:52
you want to help, please share
0:54
the podcast. That would
0:56
mean a lot. Thanks. Before
1:00
we start, Get the transcript
1:02
on my website. Speak english
1:05
podcast dot com. Okay.
1:10
Let's start. Number
1:13
one, expert witness.
1:16
An expert witness is someone
1:19
who in a trial gives
1:21
their professional and impartial
1:23
opinion on a specific
1:26
topic related to the trial.
1:29
Sometimes, they may prepare
1:31
a report or testify. For
1:36
example, the
1:38
expert witness gave his
1:40
professional opinion on the
1:42
box. It
1:44
was indeed an empty box
1:46
of chocolate chip cookies. Number
1:51
2. Witness. A
1:55
witness is someone who
1:57
has direct knowledge of the
1:59
facts on trial. Witnesses
2:03
are essential because
2:05
they can help determine a
2:07
defendant's guilt. For
2:10
example, a witness can
2:12
provide key information about
2:15
the crime circumstances and
2:18
help confirm whether the defendant
2:21
was present at the crime scene.
2:25
Example, the
2:27
witness testify with
2:29
horror that he saw
2:31
the defendant eating and
2:33
tasting the last chocolate chip
2:36
cookie in the box. Number
2:40
three, cross examination.
2:45
In trials, an attorney asked
2:47
the defendant and others questions
2:50
to find out more about what happened.
2:54
For example, imagine this
2:57
cross examination between the
2:59
prosecutor and the defendant. So
3:03
why did you lick your fingers? Because
3:07
they were covered in chocolate. There
3:11
are no further questions, your honor.
3:15
Number four, judge.
3:18
The judge is the most influential
3:21
person in the courtroom. They
3:23
preside over the trial and
3:26
pass sentences. Your
3:28
honor is a respectful form
3:31
to address a judge. For
3:34
example, The
3:36
judge ruled that the defendant was
3:39
guilty of eating the last cookie
3:41
without sharing it with his friends.
3:46
Number five, jury.
3:50
On the other hand, a jury
3:52
is a randomly selected group
3:55
of people to decide whether
3:57
a person is guilty or
3:59
not guilty. Example,
4:03
the judge had to break for lunch
4:06
as the jury got hungry. After
4:09
hearing about cookies for hours.
4:14
Number six, sentence.
4:18
The sentence is the judge
4:20
decision as to the innocence
4:23
or guilt of the defendant. The
4:26
judge can either absolve or
4:29
convict the defendant with the sentence,
4:32
depending on whether they were found
4:34
guilty. Example,
4:38
the judge passed sentence after
4:40
hearing the prosecutor counsel,
4:43
witness, expert witness, and
4:45
the defendant himself. And
4:49
the last word for today is
4:52
penalty. In
4:54
the context of a trial, the
4:56
word penalty is the
4:59
punishment imposed by the
5:01
judge. If the defendant is
5:03
found guilty. For
5:06
example, the judge
5:09
imposed on the defendant The
5:11
penalty of buying cookies every
5:14
day for his friends, for one
5:16
month. Okay.
5:20
I hope you're having fun. Let's
5:23
listen to all the terms we have
5:25
learned over the last two episodes. Defendant,
5:31
courtroom, accomplice,
5:35
lawyer or attorney. Presumption
5:39
of innocence, prosecutor
5:42
evidence, expert
5:44
witness, witness,
5:48
cross examination, judge,
5:52
jury, Sentence
5:55
penalty. Perfect.
5:59
Now let's continue with a
6:01
mini story. So that
6:03
you can practice your spoken
6:05
English. I
6:08
will tell a story by
6:10
asking simple questions. I
6:13
used this technique extensively in
6:15
my premium courses, as
6:17
it is highly effective. First,
6:21
I say a phrase with information. Next,
6:25
I ask some questions. After
6:28
each question, there is a pause.
6:31
It's your turn to answer. After
6:34
each pause, I give a correct
6:36
answer. That's how I build
6:38
the story. And
6:40
if you want to improve your fluency
6:43
much faster, Check out
6:45
my premium courses on
6:47
my website. Speak
6:49
english podcast dot com
6:52
slash courses. There
6:54
are several levels. Okay.
6:59
Let's start. Ben
7:04
was accused of eating the
7:06
last chocolate chip cookie without
7:09
sharing it with his friends. Hey,
7:13
Ben. Did you drink
7:15
anything? No.
7:22
No. I didn't drink
7:24
anything. Were
7:28
you accused of anything? Yes.
7:38
I was accused of something.
7:41
Were you accused of eating something?
7:51
Yes. I was accused
7:53
of eating the last cookie. Was
7:56
it a peanut butter cookie? No.
8:06
No. It wasn't a peanut
8:08
butter cookie. It
8:10
was a chocolate chip cookie.
8:14
Did you share the cookie with
8:16
anyone? No.
8:24
No. I didn't share it
8:27
with anyone. I ate
8:29
the last chocolate chip by
8:31
myself. Who accused
8:33
you? My
8:41
friends. My friends
8:43
accused me of eating the last
8:45
chocolate chip cookie without
8:48
sharing. Everybody
8:51
was in the courtroom, and
8:53
Judy, the judge, opened
8:55
the session. And the jury
8:57
listen attentively to the
8:59
expert witness. Is
9:03
the courtroom empty? No.
9:11
No. The courtroom is
9:14
not empty. Everybody's
9:16
in the courtroom. Judy,
9:20
did you open anything? Yes.
9:30
I opened the session. Did
9:33
the jury listen to you?
9:42
No. No. The drawing didn't
9:45
listen to me. They listened
9:47
to the expert witness. Did
9:51
the jury talk to the expert
9:53
witness No.
10:01
No. The jury listened
10:04
to the expert witness. They
10:06
listened attentively to the
10:08
expert witness. There
10:12
was also a witness in the
10:14
courtroom who was
10:17
called upon to testify before
10:19
the jury. Was
10:22
there a witness in the courtroom?
10:32
Yes. There was a witness
10:34
in the courtroom. Did
10:38
the witness dance No.
10:47
No. The witness didn't
10:49
dance. The
10:51
witness was called upon
10:53
to testify. Did
10:56
the witness testify before
10:59
the judge or the jury?
11:08
The jury. The witness
11:11
didn't testify before
11:13
the judge, but testified before
11:16
a jury. Judy,
11:20
the judge presented definitive
11:23
evidence, an empty
11:25
box of chocolate chip
11:27
cookies. Judy,
11:32
have you presented your bibliography?
11:42
No. No. Not my bibliography.
11:46
I presented some evidence. What
11:50
kind of evidence did you present?
12:00
Definitive. I have
12:02
presented definitive evidence.
12:07
What was the definitive evidence?
12:11
A box of cereal. No.
12:20
No. Not a box of cereal.
12:23
A box of cookies. The
12:26
definitive evidence was an
12:28
empty box of chocolate chip
12:30
cookies. Judy,
12:33
Did you eat all the cookies? No.
12:43
No. I didn't eat
12:45
any cookies. It
12:47
was Ben who ate all the chocolate
12:50
chip cookies. I just presented
12:53
the empty box as
12:55
a definitive evidence. Finally,
13:00
duty the judge handed
13:03
down a severe sentence. The
13:06
defendant had to offer
13:08
chocolate chip cookies to
13:11
all his friends. Hey,
13:14
Judy. Did you hand
13:16
down anything? Yes.
13:25
I handed down something. Did
13:28
you shake hands with anyone? No.
13:37
No. I didn't shake
13:39
hands with anyone. I
13:41
handed down the sentence. How
13:45
was the sentence? Severe
13:48
or minor. Severe.
13:58
The sentence was severe. What
14:02
did the sentence involve? Chocolate
14:11
chip cookies, The
14:13
sentence involved chocolate
14:16
chip cookies, to
14:18
whom did the defendant
14:21
have to offer cookies to
14:24
you? No.
14:31
No. Not to me.
14:33
The defendant had to offer
14:35
chocolate chip cookies to
14:38
all his friends. Well,
14:42
this is the end of this short exercise.
14:46
If you find it challenging, it's
14:48
perfectly normal. You
14:50
should repeat it several times.
14:53
And if possible, on different
14:55
days, to better understand
14:58
the material. As
15:01
you can see, answering many
15:03
simple questions can
15:05
improve your speaking. Just
15:08
like in a real life conversation. This
15:11
is one of the powerful techniques
15:14
I use extensively in
15:16
my premium courses. The
15:19
courses contain hundreds of
15:21
hours of questions and answers.
15:24
Imagine a podcast episode,
15:27
multiply by one hundred. I
15:30
recommend you take a look at
15:33
Speak english podcast dot
15:35
com slash courses. Okay.
15:40
We have reached the end of this
15:42
episode. See you
15:44
soon. Bye bye. Did
15:47
you enjoy today's episode? Get
15:50
the transcript now at speak english
15:52
podcast dot com.
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