

Jeff	Todd

Views #1059 | Intermediate (B2)

Movember

Jeff talks about growing a mustache and a way to help fight cancer in the month of November.

Script
Vocab
Quiz

Todd: Jeff, I noticed you're sporting a very nice look. Nice little mustache you got going there.

Jeff: Yeah, this month … I don't usually have mustaches. I find them … only certain men can wear a mustache and look good. I'm not one of those men. I look horrible in a mustache, but it's November and every year countries like Australia and New Zealand, American and Canada, and especially England have a charity gig called Movember, and it's to raise money for prostate cancer.

So in English a nickname for a mustache is a Mo, so November they change the beginning to make it Movember, so all the men must grow a mo or a mustache during November and get donations for prostate cancer, so how it works is that at the beginning of the month, November 1st, you must shave your face clean, and then you start to grow a mustache. Any style you want. A big swirly one, or a little short, zip across the top lip or a big bushy mustache or handlebar or whatever, and you must grow it for the entire month, and then at the end of the month, you send in your photo to the local contest organization and they choose the best mustaches and you win a prize, and then all the donations, all the money that's raised goes to prostate cancer for men. It's like the pink ribbon campaign for breast cancer for women.

Todd: That's fantastic.

Jeff: It's very good but I have to go around looking like a moron for a month of November cause I don't look very good with a mustache.

Todd: Actually, I think you look pretty good. I like your look.

Jeff: It matches my hairstyle which is not so good either so it's a good match.

Todd: So you haven't shaved since the first of the month? It's taken you a month to grow that mustache?

Jeff: That's right. It's a mustache. I shave the rest of my face but you leave a mustache, so yeah, you can't have any other facial hair. You can't have sideburns or a goatee. It must be mustache only, and you shave your face all except your mustache.

Todd: Oh, I see. So how do you get money for this?

Jeff: You raise money through donations. You ask your friends and family to sponsor you but, where I'm living right now it's a very foreign concept. They don't know about Movember, so it's hard to get money cause you have to explain what you're doing and they don't really understand, so they're a bit skeptical. Maybe they think you're just trying to get beer money from them.

Todd: How much have you raised so far?

Jeff: I've got fifty dollars so far.

Todd: Fifty!

Jeff: Yeah, fifty.

Todd: That's not bad. I'll throw in some. How about I throw in another twenty.

Jeff: You give me ten and you promise to grow a mustache next year, and we're even.

Todd: OK, that sounds like a deal. 10 Bucks and I grow a mustache.

Learn Vocabulary from the Lesson

sport a look

I noticed you're sporting a nice look.

When you sport a look, that means you just have a certain look with fashion. We often say other people are sporting a new look, but usually not ourselves. Notice the following:

I see you are sporting a new look these days.
Cathy is sporting a new look for her job.

charity gig

They have a charity gig called Movember.

A gig is an event someone is committed to. Usually a gig is something one is scheduled to do for others, often for pay. A charity gig would be an event to raise money for a cause. Notice the following:

I have a new gig teaching at the local high school.
My band is playing a gig next week.

except

You shave your face all except your mustache.

'All except' just means 'everything but'. The word 'except' excludes one thing from a group of similar things. Notice the following:

Everyone came to the party except Joe.
I took all my clothes except my winter jackets.

raise money

You raise money through donations.

When you raise money, that means you earn money or collect money for a cause. People often raise money for a cause such as money for schools, or funds for the poor, through a charity event. Notice the following: