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Views #284 | Intermediate 4

India

Jeff talks about India (2 of 2)

Script
Vocab
Quiz


Jeff	Todd

Indians are great people. I love Indians. They are very happy and very fun, and very welcoming people even though Indians are poor, many Indians are poor, they're still very nice, and when you go to Indian, India, the Indians welcome you there, and they're very happy that you're in their country, and you feel this happiness and it makes you happy, and it's a great place.

India is full of surprises. When you are in India you see many things that are very shocking and very strange to your culture. For example, the cow is a very holy animal there. It's part of the religion so you don't eat meat in India, and the cows are allowed to go free and go wherever they want, so maybe when you are driving down the street there will be a cow standing in the middle of the road and you have to drive around him, so this is very, very strange sight. You'll never see a cow in New York city, but you will see a cow in the middle of New Delhi city and it's very surprising at first, and maybe another strange site are the holy men, the Indian Sadus or Indian holy men.

They give up everything. They give up their family, they give up all their belongings. They give up their car, their money, and they just wonder around the country, from religious site to religious site, and they beg for their food and they beg for money to take the bus, and they all wear orange, orange robes and many of them have big long beards and long hair, and they are very distinctive looking, and their very wonderful people, very kind and very nice, and they're very, their inner strength for their religion and for life is very strong and you learn a lot from these people, and you learn a lot from India

Learn vocabulary from the lesson!

great place

India is a great place.

Calling somewhere a 'great place' can mean a lot of things, but it means that you like it for one reason or another. Notice the following:

Seattle is a great place to live.
This restaurant is a great place to celebrate a birthday.

shocking

You will see many things in India that are very shocking and strange to your culture.

If something is 'shocking' it surprises you because it is not something that you usually see. Notice the following:

It was shocking how many people were at the mall.
The prices in that store are shocking.

strange sight

A cow standing in the middle of the street is a very strange sight.

A 'strange sight' is something that is not normal or common. Notice the following:

Even for here four people on a bicycle is a strange sight.
When you have lived here for a few months you won't even think that's a strange sight.

give up

The Indian Sadus or Indian holy men give up everything; their family, their money, and all of their belongings.

If you 'gives something up' don't have it or do it anymore. It is to surrender something, in this case for religious reasons. When we talk about 'giving up' an action or activity it means to stop or quit doing it. Notice the following: