166.2 - English Story: Irregular Verbs with McDonald's
Jun 6, 2024
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Listen to this episode as they tell a story about McDonald's founding and expansion, highlighting 10 irregular verbs in Simple Past Tense. The focus is on mastering verbs for high-intermediate learners, with premium content available for deeper learning. Explore childhood memories of fast food, McDonald's reputation, drive-thrus, Ronald McDonald, and charity work.
McDonald's success stemmed from a limited menu and assembly line efficiency.
Ray Kroc's strategic vision led McDonald's to global expansion and iconic menu items.
Deep dives
Founding of McDonald's and Ray Kroc's Influence
The podcast discusses the entrepreneurial journey behind McDonald's, detailing how in 1940, the McDonald brothers opened a barbecue restaurant that later evolved into the fast-food giant we know today. By focusing on a limited menu, implementing an assembly line for efficiency, and partnering with Ray Kroc, McDonald's transformed into a successful franchise under Kroc's guidance, introducing iconic items like Big Macs and Happy Meals.
McDonald's Evolution and Global Impact
The episode highlights McDonald's growth and global presence, attributing its rapid success to Ray Kroc's business acumen and strategic vision. With over 36,000 restaurants across 100 countries, McDonald's remains a significant player in the fast-food industry. The podcast prompts a discussion on whether McDonald's will maintain its status as a cultural icon of the United States in the future.
Transition of Ronald McDonald and Charity Work
Following the transition of Ronald McDonald as the main mascot of McDonald's due to changing perceptions and negative associations with clowns, the podcast sheds light on the philanthropic efforts of the Ronald McDonald House charity. Known for supporting families with sick children by providing resources and accommodation during medical treatments away from home, the charity reflects McDonald's commitment to social responsibility and community support.
Welcome back to the second part of episode 166. In today’s episode, we’re going to talk about Irregular Verbs and McDonald’s. You guys know McDonald’s, right.? Big Macs, Filet-o-Fish, Happy Meals?
In this lesson, you'll hear a short story about the founding and expansion of the world-famous fast food restaurant. In it, you'll hear 10 Irregular Verbs in the Simple Past Tense. Here they are:
1. To begin (began)
2. To make (made)
3. To speed (sped)
4. To eat (ate)
5. To leave (left)
6. To see (saw)
7. To buy (bought)
8. To take (took)
9. To rise (rose)
10. To grow (grew)
The story is shorter than my typical cultural lesson and that’s because the real focus here is mastering verbs. For those of you who have a high intermediate level or higher, you may already know most of these; this lesson will help reinforce the correct past tense forms (they'll be presented in many new contexts!).
Season 4 (Episodes 150 - 200) = Each episode includes a quiz, the PDF transcript (the text of the audio) with definitions of challenging words and the mp3 file.