0:00

Do you use a top sheet? Do

0:02

you even know what that is? The

0:05

answer might depend on

0:07

where you live. Hi

0:09

there everyone, it's Jeff,

0:11

and this is Plain

0:13

English, the podcast that

0:15

helps you upgrade your

0:17

English with stories about

0:19

the world. The great

0:21

thing about Plain English

0:23

is that we talk

0:25

about anything and everything.

0:27

And so you might

0:29

only listen to podcasts

0:31

about health and nutrition,

0:33

or you might only

0:35

listen to podcasts about the

0:37

news, or about politics, or

0:40

about business. But if you

0:42

listen here, you'll hear lots

0:45

of English words about lots

0:47

of topics. And boy, today

0:49

is no different. Do you

0:52

use a top sheet? That

0:54

is the topic. Some cultures.

0:56

Like for example, where I

0:58

grew up, we use a

1:01

top sheet. I bet every bed

1:03

in every house in my hometown

1:05

had a top sheet on it.

1:07

But in many parts of

1:10

Europe and Asia, there is

1:12

no top sheet. Some of you

1:14

don't even know what I mean

1:16

by top sheet. So that is

1:19

today's topic. This

1:21

is episode number

1:23

765 so you

1:25

can find the

1:27

full episode resources

1:29

at plain english.com/765

1:31

that includes the

1:33

transcript, built-in translations,

1:36

quiz, skills exercises, discussion

1:38

area, and more. Plain

1:41

english.com/765. Now listen I

1:43

forgot to announce the

1:45

theme for the month

1:48

of April. The theme

1:50

is at home. So

1:52

last week I told

1:54

you about my adventures

1:57

in co-living. Today we

1:59

continue theme of At

2:01

Home with this discussion

2:03

of top sheets. So

2:06

remember, Plain english.com/765 for

2:08

the full resources of

2:10

this episode. Before we

2:12

start today's story, I'd just

2:14

like to remind you that

2:17

the podcast is just one

2:19

part of how we can

2:21

help you upgrade your English

2:23

skills. At Plain english.com,

2:26

you can make faster

2:28

progress. with active learning

2:30

strategies. You can take quizzes,

2:33

do activities, listen to

2:35

the fast version of the audio,

2:37

watch video workshops, practice

2:39

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2:41

even join a live call with

2:43

JR and me. It's all about

2:46

helping you build your

2:48

skills to become a better,

2:50

more confident English speaker.

2:52

Sound good. Go to Plain

2:54

english.com. to start

2:56

your free 14-day

2:58

trial today. Now, let's

3:01

jump into today's story.

3:04

Travel enough and

3:06

you'll discover many

3:08

cultural differences around

3:11

the world. Language,

3:14

food, mannerisms, entertainment,

3:16

and to that,

3:19

add betting. Specifically.

3:21

Specifically. Specifically. top

3:24

sheets. The top

3:26

sheet is the flat

3:28

sheet that goes directly

3:30

on top of the

3:32

sleeper. Some cultures use

3:35

it and some don't. I

3:37

grew up in the United

3:39

States and to me a

3:42

top sheet is an essential

3:44

part of a bed. A

3:46

bed without a top

3:48

sheet is in my

3:51

opinion and experience incomplete,

3:54

but I recognize that many

3:56

of you listening don't know

3:58

what a top sheet is

4:00

or why we use it. In

4:02

fact, there isn't even

4:04

a word for top sheet

4:07

in German. So let me

4:09

explain what I mean.

4:11

In many parts of

4:13

the world, a complete

4:15

bed includes two sheets.

4:18

The fitted sheet and the

4:20

flat sheet. The fitted

4:22

sheet has elastic on

4:25

the bottom. and fits

4:27

snugly around all four

4:29

corners of a mattress.

4:32

This is the sheet

4:34

you sleep on and

4:36

the elastic helps it

4:38

to stay firmly in

4:40

place all night long.

4:42

The top sheet is flat.

4:45

This is the sheet you

4:47

sleep under. Some people

4:49

prefer to tuck the

4:52

flat sheet under the

4:54

mattress. Others prefer to

4:56

let it lay loosely on

4:58

top of them. But however

5:01

you do it, the layering

5:03

is the same. First, the

5:05

fitted sheet, then you, then

5:08

the flat top sheet. You

5:10

can put some combination

5:12

of blankets and a

5:15

comforter on top of

5:17

the top sheet. A comforter

5:20

is a thick blanket.

5:22

Usually stuffed with

5:24

feathers or synthetic material,

5:26

a comforter keeps you

5:28

nice and warm on

5:31

chilly nights. Top sheets have

5:33

several advantages. The

5:35

most commonly cited reason to

5:38

use a top sheet is

5:40

that it protects the sleeper

5:42

from the other layers on

5:44

the bed and vice versa.

5:46

Stir to your blankets and

5:48

comforters are harder to

5:51

wash. Many comforters are

5:53

dry clean only, so you

5:55

might only wash those once

5:58

or twice a year. Believe

15:06

it or not, we

15:08

offer exactly that at at.com. Every

15:12

time you learn an

15:14

expression with plain English, you

15:16

can write your own

15:18

example using that expression. using and

15:20

then an expert English

15:22

speaker. that's me, speaker

15:24

English speaker will read

15:26

your example and give you

15:28

personal feedback on how

15:30

to improve. In other In other

15:32

words, you can make all your

15:34

mistakes with... If

15:45

that sounds good to to you, then

15:48

go to plain.com and

15:50

start your free free -day

15:52

trial. Practice as many

15:54

English expressions as you like.

15:56

like, and you'll get feedback

15:59

on every sentence. sentence. today.