A shock to the system: What does it mean? - The English We Speak
17,299 views ・ 2019-02-04
Please double-click on the English subtitles below to play the video.
00:08
Feifei: This is The English We Speak. Hello, I'm Feifei…
0
8000
3480
00:11
Rob: And hello! I’m Rob.
1
11480
1240
00:12
Feifei: Hey, Rob. How was your holiday?
2
12720
2160
00:14
Rob: Absolutely fantastic
3
14880
2380
00:17
- a whole week sitting around, relaxing, doing nothing.
4
17260
3820
00:21
Perfect!
5
21500
880
00:23
Feifei: It sounds great,
6
23000
1840
00:24
so why are you looking so grumpy today?
7
24840
3020
00:27
Rob: Well, it's my first day back at work
8
27860
1900
00:29
and it's been a shock to the system.
9
29760
2050
00:31
Feifei: A shock?!
10
31810
1070
00:32
Did you get a shock in the office?
11
32880
2089
00:34
Rob: Well, no.
12
34969
651
00:35
Not something dangerous, like an electric shock.
13
35620
2820
00:38
I mean experiencing 'a sudden and unpleasant change
14
38440
3380
00:41
from what you have been used to'.
15
41820
1680
00:43
For me, it's a change from relaxing
16
43500
2030
00:45
and doing nothing on the beach
17
45530
1770
00:47
to suddenly being back in the office,
18
47300
2160
00:49
sitting at my desk, working hard
19
49460
2120
00:51
– with you!
20
51580
840
00:52
Feifei: That does sound like a shock!
21
52420
2200
00:54
Rob: Well, here are some other people
22
54620
1580
00:56
who've experienced a shock to the system…
23
56200
2480
01:02
Examples: After such a long and hot summer,
24
62100
2480
01:04
this cold weather has come as a shock to the system.
25
64580
3580
01:10
I hope they can fix my car quickly.
26
70640
3780
01:14
Walking to work has been a bit of a
27
74420
1560
01:15
shock to the system.
28
75980
2180
01:21
My daughter has found starting secondary school
29
81140
2480
01:23
a real shock to the system.
30
83620
2400
01:26
She gets so much homework!
31
86020
2320
01:33
Feifei: This is The English We Speak
32
93400
1760
01:35
from BBC Learning English.
33
95160
1780
01:36
We've discovered that 'a shock to the system' means
34
96940
3340
01:40
experiencing 'a sudden and unpleasant change'.
35
100280
3940
01:44
It's what Rob's experienced coming back to work today.
36
104220
3093
01:47
So, I guess
37
107313
647
01:47
your holiday is already a distant memory Rob.
38
107960
3710
01:51
Rob: Yes, it is.
39
111670
1130
01:52
Feifei: All that relaxing and doing nothing, hey?
40
112800
2620
01:55
But I'm still confused.
41
115420
1860
01:57
Rob: Why's that?
42
117520
820
01:58
Feifei: 'A shock to the system' is 'a sudden change'
43
118340
3360
02:01
– but you did the same thing on holiday
44
121700
2120
02:03
as you do in the office.
45
123820
2040
02:05
There's no change!
46
125860
1220
02:07
Rob: Very funny.
47
127300
1280
02:08
But, hold on.
48
128580
1400
02:09
If that's what you think, I might as well wear these.
49
129980
3020
02:13
Feifei: Oh no! Swimming shorts and a hat!
50
133000
3520
02:16
Please, go and cover up!
51
136520
1480
02:18
Rob: OK. See ya!
52
138000
1319
02:19
Feifei: Bye-bye!
53
139319
781
New videos
Original video on YouTube.com
About this website
This site will introduce you to YouTube videos that are useful for learning English. You will see English lessons taught by top-notch teachers from around the world. Double-click on the English subtitles displayed on each video page to play the video from there. The subtitles scroll in sync with the video playback. If you have any comments or requests, please contact us using this contact form.