📙 Part 2: Describe a time when you felt proud of a family member

This episode's vocabulary

High-flyer (noun) – A person who is or has the potential to be very successful, especially academically or in business. → My family are a bunch of high-flyers in a lot of ways.

Stands out in my mind (idiom) – To be very memorable. → One time that particularly stands out in my mind is when my cousin was accepted into the program.

Prestigious (adjective) – Inspiring respect and admiration; having high status. → She was accepted into a prestigious English teaching course in Japan.

Pay off (phrasal verb) – To result in success or a benefit. → Her hard work had paid off rather nicely.

Jump through a lot of hoops (idiom) – To do a series of difficult or annoying things in order to achieve something. → You have to jump through a lot of hoops to get into that program.

Several times removed (phrase) – Used to describe a distant cousin relationship. → She's my cousin, but she's several times removed from me.

Unaccustomed to (adjective) – Not familiar or comfortable with something. → She speaks several languages, so she's not unaccustomed to getting a lot done.

Smooth sailing (idiom) – Easy progress without problems or difficulties. → It wasn't smooth sailing, like with most job interviews these days.

Hassle (noun) – Irritating inconvenience. → Even with all the hassle involved, she still managed to reach her goal.

Reach a goal (phrase) – To succeed in achieving something you want. → She still managed to reach her goal and didn't let anything stop her.

A real class act (idiom) – A person who is stylish, sophisticated, and admirable. → She's a real class act and I hear she's been doing very well since she started.

Questions and Answers

Maria: Describe a time when you felt proud of a family member. You should say when it happened, who the person is, what the person did, and explain why you felt proud of him or her.

Rory: Well, there are lots of times this has happened, really. My family are a bunch of high-flyers in a lot of ways, but one time that particularly stands out in my mind is when my cousin Rena was accepted into the JET program, which is a prestigious English teaching course in Japan.

When it comes to when it happened, it must have been about two years ago, I think. She had been working really hard on organizing her acceptance and everything related to it for about a year and it had paid off rather nicely. As I understand it, it's not an easy program to get on and you have to jump through a lot of hoops to get in, in addition to being an ideal candidate. So, it's impressive that she managed to do that, or both of those things, really.

With regard to who she is, like I said, she's my cousin, but she's not just any cousin. She's several times removed from me, but that doesn't make a difference as our family is quite close. So an achievement by anyone is always a good thing. She's in her early 20s now, but at the time, I think she would have been in her late teens. At least I suppose so. And she speaks several languages, so she's not unaccustomed to getting a lot done.

In terms of what she did, or what exactly she did, as I mentioned, it was with the aim of being accepted, but she had to do things like prove her credentials and qualifications, in addition to going to interviews to demonstrate her suitability for the position on the program. It wasn't smooth sailing, like with most job interviews these days. And I suppose that's why I'm proud of her, when it comes to that side of things. Even with all the hassle involved, she still managed to reach her goal and didn't let anything stop her. She's a real class act and I hear she's been doing very well since she started. If she hadn't got that position, I think we still would have been pleased with her trying, but obviously it's even better that she succeeded.

Maria: And what about your cousin? Did she feel proud?

Rory: I don't know. I certainly hope so. It's a big achievement.