Name: 🎧 Learning English with Podcasts | Episode 018 I Need An Assistant Elementary Level
Uploaded: 2026-03-25T06:14:19.000Z
Duration: 9 min 33 s
Description: Thousands of YouTube videos with English-Chinese subtitles! Now you can learn to understand native speakers, expand your vocabulary, and improve your pronunciation...

Hello everyone and welcome to English Pod.

I'm excited about this, uh, lesson that you have for us today.

Yes, it's actually a very, very useful lesson.

It's about someone asking his boss for an assistant.

Well, it's someone who helps you with your work around the office.

So let's listen to this, uh, dialogue, and

when we come back we'll take a look at all the interesting and useful vocabulary that you'll find.

Like I told you before, we just don't have the resources to hire you an assistant.

I understand that, but the fact is we're understaffed.

The economy's bad and it's too risky to take on new staff.

Here's an idea: what if we hire an intern?

She would take some of the weight off my shoulders.

She could give me a hand with some of these projects, and we could keep our costs down.

Tony, I'd like to introduce you to your new assistant.

Yeah, he's, uh, I don't know why though he's surprised.

I think we should talk about that a little bit later.

Yes, for now let's look at some interesting vocabulary and phrases here.

Yeah, the first one that I want to take a look at is "resources." Resources.

And that means, in this text, basically money.

I've chosen another interesting word for you, and that's "understaffed." Understaffed.

Now, understaffed means that they don't have enough people working there.

Um, the next one is "timing is just not right." The timing is just not right.

Okay, let's listen to how we can use this entire phrase in a different situation so then we can understand what it means.

I was going to sell my house, but the timing is just not right.

Yes, actually it's very obvious that it means that it's just not a good time.

I have another interesting phrase for you, which is "weight off my shoulders." Weight off my shoulders.

So "to take weight off my shoulders" is another way of saying to help me with my work, or to take some of my work away from me.

If you have a lot of things to do and I come and help you, that means that I took some of the weight off your shoulders.

Let's look at the next, uh, phrase that we have here,

and it's "give me a hand." Give me a hand.

It's not that I'm going to give you somebody's hand, right?

Let's listen to some examples, and then we can come back and explain what it means.

Neil, I'll need you to give me a hand with the sales reports.

Here, let me give you a hand with your suitcase.

All right, "give me a hand" is another way of saying "help" or "to help out." Exactly, to help out.

Now, the last phrase we're going to look at here in this dialogue is "keep our costs down." Keep our costs down.

So "to keep our costs down" means to try and not spend so much money.

Many companies, for example, now, uh, control how much printing you do.

Yeah, so in other words, they do not want to have unnecessary spending.

Okay, I think it's time for us to listen to this dialogue one more time,

but I want everyone to listen and see why Tony is surprised at the end when he meets his intern, when he meets his assistant.

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🎧 Learning English with Podcasts | Episode 018 I Need An Assistant Elementary Level

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