M: Hello English learners! Welcome back to another podcast here with us at EnglishPod! 
My name is Marco. 
E: And I’m Erica. 
M: And today we have an advanced lesson for all of you and a very good one, because 
we’re going to be talking about a very serious topic – global warming. 
E: That’s right, um, and, you know, even though most people agree that global warming is 
a big problem, there’s still this sort of fringe element of people who believe that actually 
global warming doesn’t exist. [NOTE: fringe element is a relatively small group of people 
whose views contradict with the common, mainstream views] 
M: Exactly, so, that’s what we’re gonna be looking at today, but before we tell you more or 
less what the dialogue is about, let’s take a look at some words in “vocabulary preview”. 
Voice: Vocabulary preview. 
E: We’re gonna look at two words here and you’ll hear both of these in the dialogue, so, the 
first one is polar ice caps. 
M: Polar ice caps. 
E: Polar ice caps. 
M: So, when we talk about polar ice caps, polar is… 
E: Like the poles, the… 
M: The poles, right? 
E: The North and South poles of the earth. 
M: Okay, so, the extreme… 
E: The top and bottom. 
M: The top and bottom of the planet. 
E: Yeah. 
M: Okay, and what about ice caps? 
E: So, the polar ice caps are masses of ice that, uh… that live or that exist on the top and 
the bottom of the world. 
M: We have these big chunks of ice that are on the top and the bottom of the planet. 
E: Yes, so, they’re there all year around. 
M: Okay, so, these are the polar ice caps. What about our next word? 
E: Well, next word is endangered species. 
M: An endangered species. 
E: An endangered species. 
M: Okay, so, endangered species… 
E: It’s a type of animal that is, um, at risk of completely dying out. 
M: Okay, so, it’s not completely extinct. 
E: Right. 
M: So, it… there’s still… 
E: It’s in danger. 
M: Okay, in danger of. 
E: Yeah. 
M: So, an example of endangered species would be… 
E: Uh, the Bengal tigers. 
M: Okay, the tigers or… 
E: Aha. 
M: The pandas. 
E: Uhu. 
M: Right? 
E: Or maybe gorillas. 
M: Right, so, all of these animals, that are very few of them left in the world, so, they are 
endangered species. 
E: Okay, so, with that I think we’re just about ready to turn to our dialogue. Now, here 
we’re gonna learn a lot of language that you can use when you want to, uh, make an 
argument or express your point of view in a very sort of academic way. But, Marco, what 
are we arguing about here? 
M: So, we’re gonna listen as a college professor is lecturing about global warming and well, 
one of the students doesn’t really agree with what he’s saying. 
A: And therefore, global warming is the greatest de-
ception of the early 21st century. Questions?
B: Uh… yeah. In the lecture you said there’s more
evidence in the scientific record supporting global
cooling?
A: Well, yes, essentially, the historical record sup-
ports a theory of climate cycles. Warming and
cooling are cooperating processes in the plane-
tary eco-system.
B: If that’s true and the planet is getting cooler,
what explains the rapid melting of the polar ice
caps and the dramatic rise in the global average
temperatures?
A: But are global temperatures rising? If you look at
the data from nineteen seventy-five you’ll…
B: You’ll be misled. If you were serious, you would
look at the record starting in the 1880’s. Then
you would see how dramatically the earth’s tem-
perature has changed.
A: Young lady, I beg to differ. Look, the point of
the lecture was to emphasize that there is evi-
dence for both sides, and I’m putting forth the ar-
gument that there’s greater evidence in support of
the global cooling hypothesis. Look, it’s an indis-
putable fact that the public is being manipulated
and scared into believing there’s some kind of
climate crisis; this scaremongering is done, quite
simply, for political reasons.
B: But even without the uncomfortable reality that
greenhouse gases like carbon dioxide contribute
to global warming, isn’t the topic appropriate for
politicians to discuss?
A: Not if they want to use your tax dollars and mine
to fund completely unnecessary initiatives.
B: Yeah, like conservation, protecting endangered
species and investing in renewable energy. At the
very least, you have to concede that this debate
has the potential to end our dependence on for-
eign oil. Buying oil supports autocratic countries
that use these revenues to devastating ends.
A: Why, I’ve never been so disrespected in all of my
days. I’m a professor, a scientist and researcher
of high regard.
B: Yeah, and a duplicitous one at that. Everyone
knows you’re in the pocket of the oil lobby.
Why should we trust your so-called findings more
than tobacco institute studies which say smoking
doesn’t harm health? You’re full of it.
A: Some people just cannot handle civil debate!
M: Alright, so, apparently this college professor is, uh, not very, uh, truthful in what he’s 
saying, right? 
E: Well, yeah, maybe he believes it, but, uh, they certainly have very strong 
and differing opinions. 
M: Uhu, so, that’s the interesting part is that we heard a lot of language that she used to 
argue her point of view, so, this is interesting and we can start now looking at some of this 
language in “language takeaway”. 
Voice: Language takeaway. 
E: So, the college professor was arguing against this idea of global warming and she said 
“look, it’s an indisputable fact”. [NOTE: actually, he said] 
M: Okay, an indisputable fact. 
E: An indisputable fact. 
M: Okay, so, let’s break it down and let’s take a look at this wordindisputable. 
E: You can’t argue against it. 
M: Okay, so, something indisputable is you can’t argue with it. And, well, a fact… 
E: That’s something that’s true. 
M: Okay, so, you can’t argue with this… truth. 
E: This peace of information, yeah. 
M: Alright, indisputable fact. 
E: So, why don’t we give a few examples? Um, it’s an indisputable fact that China is the 
most populous nation on earth. 
M: Okay, exactly, or it’s an indisputable fact that EnglishPod is the best podcast out there. 
E: Indeed, it is indisputable. 
M: Alright, so, indisputable fact. And what about our next word? 
E: Well, the student accused the professor of scaremongering.[NOTE: to accuse = to 
blame] 
M: Scaremongering. 
E: Scaremongering. 
M: Scaremongering. 
E: Scaremongering. 
M: Okay, now, this is kind of a strange word scaremongering. 
E: Yeah, and I think some examples will help us to understand the meaning a little bit 
better. 
Voice: Example one. 
A: Software flaws are not the same as virus attacks and saying otherwise it’s just 
scaremongering. 
Voice: Example two. 
B: There’s been a lot of scaremongering caused by the rumor that mobile phones cause 
cancer. 
M: Okay, so, basically we understand that it’s kind of putting fear in people’s minds. 
E: Yeah, it’s sort of like selling fear for your own benefit. 
M: Uhu. Okay, so, making people afraid for some objective or some purpose. 
E: Yeah, and you know, this word reminds me of the word afishmonger. 
M: Okay, a fishmonger, what’s that? 
E: Which is basically a seller of fish, so, a scaremongerer is a seller of fear. 
M: Okay, interesting, so now, we have a way of remembering, ah… 
E: Yes. 
M: Scaremongering. Alright, and moving on to our next word we haveautocratic. 
E: Autocratic. 
M: An autocratic country. 
E: Uhu. So, an autocratic country is ruled by someone who holds total power. 
M: Okay, so, we have an autocratic country, so, basically we have, ah… a leader that… that 
rules everything, right? 
E: Right. 
M: But we can apply it not only to a country, we can say a person is autocratic. 
E: Yeah, you could say “oh, I can’t stand my boss’s autocratic leadership style”. 
M: Or maybe a company. 
E: Uhu. Um, “this company is a very autocratic organization”. 
M: Okay, very good. And what about our last word? 
E: The student accused the professor of being duplicitous. 
M: Okay, so, she said he is duplicitous. 
E: Yes, duplicitous. 
M: Alright, what does that mean? 
E: When you’re duplicitous, you, um… you have behavior that is dishonest and is designed 
to trick people. 
M: Okay, so, you’re not a very honest person, if you’re duplicitous. 
E: Yeah, you’re telling lies as a means of… of making people do something or tricking 
them. 
M: Okay, very good. So, a duplicitous person or a duplicitous idea, maybe? 
E: Uhu. 
M: Okay. Alright, so, these are all the words that we have on language takeaway today, but 
now let’s move on to some very interesting phrases that we can use to put forward some 
arguments in “fluency builder”. 
Voice: Fluency builder. 
E: Okay, and Marco, you actually just mentioned our first phrase which is I’m putting 
forth the argument that. [NOTE: actually, Marco saidput forward which means 
something very similar, if not the same] 
M: Okay, so, putting forth the argument that. 
E: Uhu. 
M: So, if you put forth an argument… 
E: You present it. 
M: You present it. 
E: Yeah. 
M: Or you push it towards somebody, right? 
E: Yeah, you give it. 
M: Aha. So, can we just put forth an argument? 
E: Well, actually you can put forth a lot of things like put forth a suggestion. 
M: Okay, I’m putting forth a suggestion that we should get a new computer. 
E: Or an idea. 
M: Tim put forth the idea that we should go on vacation to Hawaii. 
E: Oh, good idea. 
M: Alright, so, you can put forth many different things. 
E: So, the professor obviously is putting forth the argument that global warming is 
a myth and the student obviously totally disagreed and she said you have to concede 
that. 
M: Okay, you have to concede that. 
E: You have to concede that. 
M: Alright, so, this word concede or you have to concede. Why don’t we listen to some 
examples before we listen to the meaning? 
Voice: Example one. 
A: I’m sorry, but I can’t concede with you on this point. [NOTE: you might also say "I'm 
sorry, but I can't concede this point to you] 
Voice: Example two. 
B: Julie conceded that she might have forgotten her sister’s birthday. 
Voice: Example three. 
C: All philosophers conceded that their philosophies have some errors. 
E: Okay, so, you have to concede that, um, basically you have to agree that this one 
point in my argument is true. 
M: Maybe you’re arguing many different points with somebody, but you tell them “well, you 
have to concede that the earth is round”. 
E: Okay, so, that… that part I can’t… I can’t argue with. It’s really true. 
M: Okay, very good. So, concede. 
E: Uhu. Now, at the end of the dialogue the student accused the professor of being in the 
pocket of the oil lobby. 
M: Okay, so, he is in the pocket of. 
E: To be in the pocket of. 
M: Alright, so, if I have somebody in my pocket, what does that mean? 
E: It means basically you’re bribing them. 
M: Okay, so, maybe I have the senator in my pocket. 
E: Okay, so, obviously you’re paying the senator to do what you want. 
M: Okay, very good, so, it’s another way… it’s a very informal way of saying “I’m bribing 
somebody” or that person is being bribed. 
E: That’s right. 
M: Alright. 
E: So, why don’t we move to our final phrase? And the student s… was talking about the 
professor’s so-called findings. 
M: Okay, so, your so-called findings. 
E: So-called. 
M: So, this word, so-called. 
E: You use this word when you wanna take away from the importance of an idea. [NOTE: 
to take away from = to lessen the value of something or someone] 
M: Or… Alright, so, I use it before a noun, right? 
E: Right. So, for example, “my so-called friends”. 
M: Okay, so, these friends are not really your friends, maybe. 
E: So, yeah, you… they are friends in name, but they don’t act like friends. 
M: Okay, so, you can say “my so-called job”. 
E: Okay, so, maybe you… you kind of go to work, but do nothing all day. 
M: Right, or maybe you… you don’t even really like what you do. 
E: Right. 
M: Right, so, my so-called job, my so-called friends or maybe my so-called teacher. 
E: Okay, so, this is a bad teacher. 
M: Exactly, so, we use it a lot with many different nouns, right? 
E: That’s right, so, that’s our last phrase for fluency builder. Now, I think it’ll help us to 
understand these words and phrases a little bit better to hear them again in context. 
A: And therefore, global warming is the greatest de-
ception of the early 21st century. Questions?
B: Uh… yeah. In the lecture you said there’s more
evidence in the scientific record supporting global
cooling?
A: Well, yes, essentially, the historical record sup-
ports a theory of climate cycles. Warming and
cooling are cooperating processes in the plane-
tary eco-system.
B: If that’s true and the planet is getting cooler,
what explains the rapid melting of the polar ice
caps and the dramatic rise in the global average
temperatures?
A: But are global temperatures rising? If you look at
the data from nineteen seventy-five you’ll…
B: You’ll be misled. If you were serious, you would
look at the record starting in the 1880’s. Then
you would see how dramatically the earth’s tem-
perature has changed.
A: Young lady, I beg to differ. Look, the point of
the lecture was to emphasize that there is evi-
dence for both sides, and I’m putting forth the ar-
gument that there’s greater evidence in support of
the global cooling hypothesis. Look, it’s an indis-
putable fact that the public is being manipulated
and scared into believing there’s some kind of
climate crisis; this scaremongering is done, quite
simply, for political reasons.
B: But even without the uncomfortable reality that
greenhouse gases like carbon dioxide contribute
to global warming, isn’t the topic appropriate for
politicians to discuss?
A: Not if they want to use your tax dollars and mine
to fund completely unnecessary initiatives.
B: Yeah, like conservation, protecting endangered
species and investing in renewable energy. At the
very least, you have to concede that this debate
has the potential to end our dependence on for-
eign oil. Buying oil supports autocratic countries
that use these revenues to devastating ends.
A: Why, I’ve never been so disrespected in all of my
days. I’m a professor, a scientist and researcher
of high regard.
B: Yeah, and a duplicitous one at that. Everyone
knows you’re in the pocket of the oil lobby.
Why should we trust your so-called findings more
than tobacco institute studies which say smoking
doesn’t harm health? You’re full of it.
A: Some people just cannot handle civil debate!
M: Alright, very good, so, interesting ways of putting forth, uh, arguments and, well, it’s an 
interesting topic and very controversial, right? 
E: That’s right, but what I, um… what I noticed in this dialogue is that the… the student was 
pretty assertive in putting forth her argument and standing up to the teacher. 
M: Right, she argued with the teacher a lot and this is interesting, because of a very cultural 
aspect, I think, right? 
E: Yeah, ah… in… in North American universities, um, there’s this idea that, uh, it’s really 
important to, um, you know, think critically and to argue against different ideas, um, and… 
and to… you know, to reallyspeak up when you don’t agree with something. 
M: Right, so, basically, there’s this cultural… questioning… 
E: Yeah, yeah. 
M: Not only what you’re being taught, but you can also question the teacher. You don’t 
actually have to believe everything that the teacher is saying. 
E: Exactly, and actually I think this situation is really interesting, you know, you always go 
to these lectures and there’s always a question and answer period at the end of the 
lectures. 
M: Uhu. 
E: And I think that there’s like this… this group of sort of academically minded people who, 
um… who feel like it’s really cool to ask these really difficult questions and engage in 
arguments… 
M: Uhu. 
E: With the profs. 
M: Yeah, yeah, that’s really true, but actually she used a lot of polite language and a lot of 
polite ways of actually arguing with the professor… 
E: Yeah. 
M: Until the last point when she said you’re full of it. 
E: Yeah, you’re full of it. 
M: Right? You’re full of it. 
E: So, what’s she saying here? 
M: Alright, she’s basically saying that you’re full of shit. 
E: Marco? 
M: Hehe. So, yeah, you’re… you wouldn’t really say that. So, to be a little bit less rude you 
would just say “you’re full of it”. 
E: Yeah, but that is one step too far I think… I think this would be considered a little bit 
rude in university. 
M: Yeah, for a professor, yeah, but I guess if you don’t believe what your friend is telling 
you or maybe he’s exaggerating, you can say “oh, you’re full of it”. 
E: Yeah, okay, so, some great argumentative language here in this dialogue, but, uh, we 
wanna give you an opportunity to try out some of this language, so, come to our website 
at englishpod.com. 
M: Right, we’re there to answer any questions or doubts and we’ll see you guys there. 
E: Alright, guys, until next time… Good bye! 
M: Bye!