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  • 13 آبان 1402

Episode 01

تس و راوی در مورد تولد صحبت می کنند و مهمانان آنها در مورد بافتنی و غذای مورد علاقه خود صحبت می کنند. کارولینا، دانشجوی ونزوئلا که در نیوکاسل تحصیل می کند، برای خرید کفش می‌رود. او چه نوع کفشی را انتخاب خواهد کرد؟

Section 1: "It's Tess's birthday today…!"

Ravi: Hello and welcome to the Second series of the LearnEnglish Elementary podcast. This is podcast number one. If you listened to the first series you’ll remember – I hope – that my name’s Ravi…
Tess: … and I’m Tess. Yes, we’re back again. I hope you didn’t miss us too much. We’ve had a little break – did you go anywhere nice Ravi? Ravi: No.
Tess: – and now we’re back with more good stuff for you to listen to. We’ve got…
Ravi: Aren’t you going to tell them, Tess? I’ll tell them if you don’t. We’ve chosen a special day to come back – it’s Tess’s birthday today, isn’t it?
Tess: Yeah, it is.
Ravi: Happy birthday!
{sound of kiss on the cheek}

Tess: Thank you.
Ravi: Are you doing anything special?
Tess: Well, I’m going out for dinner with some friends tonight and then we might go to a club. I’m not really sure.
Ravi: Sounds good. Where are you going to eat? Is it somewhere a bit special or …
Tess: Yeah, it’s a French place. I’ve heard it’s really good but I haven’t been there.
Ravi: I’m sure it’ll be great. Any good presents? Tess: Well, I got some money from my mum and dad to buy myself something nice so I’m going to get some new boots with that. And that’s it, so far ….
Ravi: Well, I’ll get you a coffee when we finish here, OK?
Tess: OK. And a cake?
Ravi: Oh go on then. A small one. But let’s get on with it. What have we got today?

Tess: We’ve got our quiz, then we’ve got people telling us about their favourite food. And Carolina’s back again.
Ravi: Right. If you’re listening and you don’t remember Carolina, she’s a student from Venezuela who’s come to Britain to study and we follow her in every podcast to hear how she’s getting on.

Section 2: I’d like to talk about…

Tess: But to start with, we’ve got something new. This section is called ‘I’d like to talk about…’ In every podcast, we’ll talk to someone who wants to tell us about something that they’re interested in. It could be anything – a hobby, a person, a place, a thing – something that you know a bit about and would like to share with Ravi and me – and all our listeners of course. And to start us off with ‘I’d like to talk about …’ we’ve got Esther here with us. Esther. Hello.
Esther: Good morning.
Ravi: Hi Esther. Welcome to the podcast. You’re a student aren’t you?
Esther: Hello Ravi. Yes, that’s right.
Ravi: Here in London? What are you studying?

Esther: Yeah. Chemistry. I’m doing a Masters.

Ravi: Blimey. Is that what you’re going to tell us about? I’m lost already.
Esther: No, actually. I’d like to talk about knitting.
Ravi: Knitting?

Esther: Yeah, knitting. It’s really popular nowadays you know. Lots of young people are doing it. There’s a university knitting club that I’m in.
Ravi: But why do people want to knit?
Tess: To make things Ravi! To make things to wear! You’re wearing a jumper – it’s made of wool – well, it’s knitted, isn’t it? You get the wool from a sheep and you knit a jumper! Or socks! Or a scarf!
Ravi: OK, OK, OK, don’t go crazy - it was a stupid question. Sorry Esther.
Esther: That’s OK. But you know, there are some men in our knitting club too, and some of them are really good at it. Knitting’s really quite fashionable now. There are celebrity knitters and everything.
Ravi: Yeah?
Esther: Yeah. There’s Madonna, and erm … Julia Roberts and Uma Thurman. Lots of people. And of course, nowadays people are more worried about the environment and trying to recycle things, and so knitting’s perfect. You can take an old jumper that you don’t like any more and make something new. It’s a cheap way to get clothes.

Tess: Good point. Do you know anything about the history of knitting Esther? When did it start?

Esther: Not really. Some people say that it started with people making nets, you know, for catching fish or animals, but nobody knows for sure. I saw a pair of socks once in a museum. They were from Egypt, about a thousand years old I think. They were beautiful, really complicated, but that’s the oldest thing I know.

Ravi: That’s interesting.
Esther: Remember that they didn’t have machines for knitting till the nineteenth century, so everything was done by hand - even clothes for kings and queens. In England it was always men that knitted for the rich people. They had to do six years’ training to become ‘master’ knitters.
Ravi: Six years!
Tess: So women didn’t knit?
Esther: Well poor women did of course. In fact the whole family used to knit – the fathers and the children too - making socks and things that they could sell to make money.
Tess: Did you make that jumper you’re wearing?

Esther: Yes, I did.
Tess: It’s really nice. Esther: Thank you. It took me ages.

Tess: I could never make something like that.

Esther: You could. You have to practise but it’s not that difficult. That’s another thing I like about knitting. When you start you can just do kind of simple things like scarves and stuff and then when you get a bit better at it you can make more difficult things like this.
Tess: Well, that’s great. Thanks very much Esther. Really interesting.

Esther: Thank you.
Tess: Ravi? What do you think? Want to start knitting?
Ravi: Hmmm. Maybe. Hey, Tess. What do you get if you cross a sheep with a kangaroo?

Tess: A father sheep and a mother kangaroo? Or the other way round?
Ravi: I don’t know – it doesn’t matter Tess. The joke’s just ‘what do you get if you cross a sheep with a kangaroo?’.
Tess: Go on
Ravi: A woolly jumper.
Tess: You’ve been waiting to say that, haven’t you?
Ravi: Yeah.
Tess: Well, Esther is going to give us some knitting pictures and links to put up on the site if you want to find out more.
Ravi: You enjoyed that, didn’t you? Why don’t you try and knit something?
Tess: I could, couldn’t I? I could make you a scarf for your birthday. When is your birthday? Is it in June?
Ravi: Yeah, the fifteenth. You’ve got plenty of time if you start now.
Tess: Ho, ho. …. Oh. I forgot to say, listeners, if you want to write something or record something you can send it to us at learn English podcast at British Council dot org, that’s learnenglishpodcast - all one word – at - britishcouncil – all one word DOT org, that’s o-r- g. Like I said, it can be whatever you want – a hobby, a person, anything. Or just tell us if you like knitting. Send it to us and we’ll put the best answers on the site.

Section 3 – Quiz

Ravi: OK. Time now to go to the phone to talk to today’s quiz contestant, who is Mark from Nottingham. Hello, Mark? No. Er ..OK ..
Mark: {on phone} Hello?
Ravi: Mark! Hi. How are you? Mark: I’m fine thanks, Ravi.

Ravi: What are you up to today?
Mark: Oh, nothing special. It’s my day off so I’m not doing very much.
Ravi: What do you do?
Mark: I work in a clothes shop in Nottingham.

Ravi: Ah. OK. It’s not Paul Smith is it? He’s from Nottingham isn’t he? Great designer.
Mark: No, it’s not Paul Smith, He is from Nottingham though. No, I work in a small clothes shop in the centre of town.
Ravi: Do you like it?
Mark: Yeah, it’s OK, yeah. It’s good.
Ravi: Great. Right. We’re going to play ‘Hot Seat ‘, OK? Tess?

Tess: Yes. So you’re going to play with Ravi today Mark. I’m going to give Ravi some words – he doesn’t know what they are – and he’s going to try to explain them so that you can guess the words. All right?
Mark: OK.
Tess: And we’ll see how many you can get in one minute. Oh .. and the other thing is all the words are connected. This time the connection is – people in your life. Let’s do one to practise. So, for example, if I say, erm , it’s your father’s brother. Or your mother’s brother’, who is it?

Mark: Uncle.
Tess: Right. You’ve got the idea. Are you ready to go?
Mark: Ready.
Tess: OK then. Ready Ravi? Let’s start. Here are the words. You’ve got one minute a starting from …. now.
Ravi: Right … erm … the person who lives next door to you … erm .. in the house next to yours. Mark: Neighbour? Next door neighbour?
Ravi: Neighbour. Yes. Erm … your brother’s daughter. Or your sister’s daughter. It’s your ……?
Mark: Nephew. I mean niece. Niece.
Ravi: Yes, niece. Someone in the same … no … someone who goes to the same school as you and they’re …
Mark: Pupil?
Ravi: No. They’ve got the same teacher as you and you sit next to them or something. They’re your …?
Mark: Classmate?
Ravi: Yes! Phew! I couldn’t say ‘class’ Erm, come on then … if you’re married this is, like, your wife’s dad …

Mark: Father-in-law.

Ravi: OK. Next one. Someone who you work with, like, Tess is my …. ?
Mark: Friend?
Ravi: No. Well, yes, but that’s not what I mean. We work together so we’re …?
Mark: Erm .. I don’t know.

Ravi: We …
Mark: Oh. Colleagues.
Ravi: Colleague, yes. How’s the time? Erm .. this person is … another word for ‘manager’. The person who’s in charge at work is your ..?

Mark: Boss?
Ravi: Yes. Boss. Your uncle’s children are your …?

Buzzer sounds

Mark: Cousins?
Ravi: Yes. OK, I’ll give you that one. Phew. That was really stressful. Well done Mark. How many is that Tess?
Tess: Neighbour. Niece. Classmate. Father-in- law. Colleague. Boss and Cousin. Seven. Well done Mark. And Ravi.
Mark: Thanks.
Ravi: And thanks for playing. We’ll send you a book token and anything else we can find lying around the studio. Thanks Mark.
Tess: Right. We’ve got more to come. We’ll hear what some of our listeners say about their favourite food and we’ll catch up with Carolina again after this ….

Section 4: Your turn

Ravi: Now we can move on to Your Turn. This is the part of the podcast when we go out and ask different people what they think about something. We ask a different question in every podcast, and this time the question was ‘Which country’s food is your favourite?’ – and of course, ‘Why?’.
Tess: OK, let’s hear what people said.

Voice 1: That would be Vietnamese food, especially southern Vietnamese food around the city of Ho Chi Minh. I’ve been there many times and each time I go there my friends will bring me to restaurants where they serve food that has ... ah ... that was cooked with a lot of rich ingredients such as lemon grass, herbs, pepper, and they put in lots of different types of seafood so I think that’s a lot of effort put in to cook up such a dish. So I actually like Vietnamese food very much. And in addition I think the food there is very healthy. They don’t use a lot of oil they use a lot of natural ingredients such as herbs and also fish sauce so what comes out of that is a lot of flavours of seafood plus herbs, which I like very much.
Voice 2: Um, well, I live in Italy at the moment so I’m very fond of Italian food, but really if I had to choose I would say Indian or Thai food because I like spicy food.
Voice 3: My favourite food is food from Italy because I really like pasta and I really like tomato sauce and ... um ... olive oil, and I also like wine and the wine from Italy is very good.

Voice 4: Oh I think I’d have to say France … ah … ‘cos French cooking is superb, so much variety and they just take it so seriously.
Voice 5: Mmm, I’m going to say two countries, aah maybe Italy, from Europe, because I really, really like pizza and aah the different types of pasta they have there, but probably my real favourite type of food comes from Mexico, which aah I just enjoy everything I’ve ever tried from Mexico. It’s always a little bit spicy, maybe a little bit heavy, umm, but really, really good food.

Voice 6: Aah, I think Thai food because it’s … I like spicy food and it’s really kind of fresh, as well, lots of interesting different tastes.
Ravi: So what’s your favourite food Tess? I bet it’s French.
Tess: No. Why? Why French?
Ravi: You’re going to a French restaurant for your birthday aren’t you?
Tess: Well yes, but I’m not sure it’s my favourite. I don’t know, it’s a difficult one. Maybe Italian. I mean good Italian, not just fast food pizzas. What about you?
Ravi: No contest. Indian every time. I’m a traditional boy about food. But I love fast food pizzas as well. All fast food actually.

Section 5: Carolina

Ravi: But now it’s time to find out what’s happening to Carolina. If you listened to the first series of the podcast you’ll know that Carolina is from Venezuela and she’s just started a course at Newcastle University in Britain.

Tess: Yes. In every podcast we hear what Carolina’s been doing. She’s already met a lot of people in Newcastle. She shares a flat with her friend Emily and some other students. And her special friend is a guy called Jamie.
Ravi: Yes, Tess likes Jamie.
Tess: Thank you Ravi. Now let’s hear about Carolina

{In the street}

Carolina: So I told Emily that she .... . Oh, wait a minute. They’re nice.
Jamie: Which ones? Those boots?
Carolina: No, those shoes at the back. The red ones. Let’s go in and have a look.
Jamie: OK.

{In the first shoe shop}

Carolina: Here they are. They’re beautiful. Jamie: What size are they?
Carolina: Um, five and a half. What does that mean? I’m a thirty-six in Venezuela.
Jamie: Yeah, British sizes are different. Try them on. See if they fit. Carolina: No, they’re too big.
Jamie: So try a five – that’s the next size down. Excuse me, have you got these in a five?
Shop Assistant 1: The red ones? No sorry. We’ve only got the sizes on the shelf.
Jamie: OK, thanks. Bad luck. Come on. Let’s …
…

{In the street}

Carolina: OK. But you know, I really do need some shoes. If we’re going to stay with your parents I need to look nice.
Jamie: I don’t think they’ll care what shoes you’re wearing.
Carolina: You know what I mean. Let’s have a look in here.
Jamie: OK.

{In the second shoe shop}

Jamie: What about these red ones?
Carolina: They’re horrible! And they’re too high. I can’t wear very high heels – I can’t walk.

Jamie: Those brown ones then, they’re nice.

Carolina: No, I don’t want brown - I haven’t got any brown clothes.
Jamie: These black ones then. They’re a size 5.

Carolina: Mmm. They’re quite nice. How much are they?
Jamie: Ninety-five pounds.
Carolina: Ninety-five pounds! I’m not paying ninety-five pounds for a pair of shoes! No, let’s go somewhere else. Come on Jamie.
Jamie: But if you like them why don’t you…

…

{In the street}

Jamie: So what exactly do you want? What colour? Carolina: I don’t know exactly, but I’ll know when I see them. Here’s another shop. Come on.

{In the third shoe shop}

Carolina: Now these are nice. Black. Not too high. And not too expensive.
Jamie: Why don’t you try them on?
Carolina: Wait a minute. They’ve got them in grey too. Maybe they’re nicer. What do you think?
Jamie: Try them both on.
Carolina: Excuse me? Have you got these in a size 5?
Shop Assistant 2: In a 5? In black or grey?

Carolina: I’d like to try both of them please.

Shop Assistant 2: I’ll just go and check.
Jamie: Phew. Let’s sit down. Shoe shops make me tired…
…
Carolina: …so which ones do you like best – the grey ones or the black ones?
Jamie: They’re both nice.
Carolina: But tell me which ones you like best.

Jamie: OK then, the grey ones.
Carolina: What’s wrong with the black ones?

Jamie: Nothing’s wrong with the black ones. I said I liked them both.

Carolina: I think I prefer the black ones.
Jamie: OK, if I say I prefer the black ones, can we just buy them and get out of here?
Carolina: Yes, I think I’ll get the black ones. Do you like them? Or do you prefer the grey ones?

Jamie: Aaaargh!
Carolina: Excuse me,

Shop assistant 2: Yes?

Carolina: I’ll take these please.
Shop assistant 2: The black ones?
Carolina: Yes, the black ones. Now where do I pay?
Shop assistant 2: Over here love.
Carolina: Come on Jamie – why are you being so difficult today? …
Ravi: Poor old Jamie. I think he was a bit bored. Do you like buying shoes Tess?
Tess: Well, yes, I do. I like shoes. Don’t you?

Ravi: Well yes, of course I do, but …., usually I know what shoes I want and I go to the shop and I buy them. I don’t go round lots of shops trying them on. I think men and women are different about shoes. OK. I won’t say any more. I don’t want to upset anybody.

Tess: Good! Anyway, did you hear Carolina say that they’re going to visit Jamie’s parents?

Ravi: Yes.

Tess: So…

Ravi: So what?
Tess: So… they must be together… you know – a couple.
Ravi: Well yes. Men don’t go to shoe shops with women if they’re not serious.
Tess: Don’t start the shoe thing again.

Ravi: Sorry.

Section 6: The End

Tess: So that’s the end of this podcast. You might remember in series one, we always finished with a joke from Gordon. Well, Gordon isn’t with us any more. He’s got a new job.
Ravi: Yes, and we hope everything goes well for him. Hey Tess, I’ve got a little surprise for you.

Tess: Really?
Ravi: Here you are. Happy birthday.

Tess: Oh thank you! What is it?

Ravi: Well open it and see.

{sound of present being opened}

Tess: A French cookery book! Thank you Ravi. That’s really great.
Ravi: Well, I thought French food was your favourite, but now…
Tess: Oh, silly, I love French food – and I love cooking. It’s a lovely present. Thank you. Come here.

{sound of a kiss}

Ravi: So do you want to say the last bit, birthday girl? Before we go and get that cake?
Tess: OK. Well, that’s the end of our part of the podcast, and remember, the address for anything that you want to send us is learnenglishpodcast@britishcouncil.org. In a moment you can listen to Tom, our English teacher. He’s going to talk about some of the language you heard in this podcast and things to help you learn. So, stay around to listen to Tom but we’ll say goodbye for now.
Tess & Ravi: Bye!

Tom the teacher

Tom: Hi, I’m Tom. At the end of every podcast you’ll hear from me. I’m going to talk about some of the language you heard in the programmes and talk about ways to help you learn English. The first thing I want to talk about is the word ‘one’. Listen to Ravi at the beginning of the podcast.

Ravi: Hello and welcome to the Second series of the LearnEnglish Elementary podcast. This is podcast number one.

Tom: OK. No problem there. Ravi says ‘this is podcast number one’. He uses ‘one’ as a number. One, two, three, four, five etcetera. Now listen to Tess and Ravi. Listen for ‘one’.

Ravi: Well, I’ll get you a coffee when we finish here, OK?

Tess: OK. And a cake?

Ravi: Oh go on then. A small one.

Tom: ‘One’ isn’t a number here. Ravi isn’t saying ‘a small one, a small two’. ‘One’ here is a pronoun – it’s used in place of a noun – a thing. Listen again. What does ‘one’ refer to?

Ravi: {oblivious} Well, I’ll get you a coffee when we finish here, OK?

Tess: OK. And a cake?

Ravi: Oh go on then. A small one 

Tom: Yes, that’s right. ‘One’ refers to the cake. Ravi doesn’t repeat the word ‘cake’ – he uses ‘one’ instead. Tess said ‘cake’, so Ravi doesn’t need to say it again – they both know what they’re talking about. So he can use ‘one’. We do this a lot in English. We can also use ‘ones’ when we’re talking about something that’s plural. Listen to Jamie and Carolina in the shoe shop. What does ‘ones’ refer to?

Carolina: {fade in} So which ones do you like best – the grey ones or the black ones?

Jamie: They’re both nice.

Carolina: But tell me which ones you like best. Jamie: OK then, the grey ones.

Carolina: What’s wrong with the black ones? Jamie: Nothing’s wrong with the black ones. I said I liked them both.

Tom: Yes, they both use ‘ones’ to refer to the shoes. ‘Shoes’ is plural, so they use ‘ones’, not ‘one’. They can use ‘ones’ because they’re standing in the shoe shop looking at the shoes and so they both know what they’re talking about. In some languages you can make adjectives plural – you can say ‘I like the blacks’ or ‘I prefer the greys’, but you can’t do that in English. We say ‘I like the black ones’ or ‘I prefer the grey ones’. ‘One’ is very common with ‘this’ or ‘that’. We can say ‘Do you prefer this one or that one?’. And of course, we use it a lot with ‘which’. ‘Which one do you like best?’ or ‘Which ones do you prefer?’ or for example, in a car park with a friend, we can ask ‘Which one is yours?’ – we both know that we’re talking about a car. And if you’re eating chocolates you can say to a friend ‘Would you like one?’ There are lots of words in English that we use to refer to things or people. Words like ‘it’ or ‘her’ or ’them’ or ‘mine’ – pronouns. Also words like ‘this’ or ‘that’ or ‘these’ or ‘those’. Listen to Tess talking to Esther about knitting. Notice the words that refer to other people or things.

Tess: Did you make that jumper you’re wearing?

Esther: Yes, I did. Tess: It’s really nice.

Esther: Thank you. It took me ages.

Tess: I could never make something like that.

It’s important that you notice these words when you’re listening or reading, and that you know what they refer to – if you don’t, then you won’t be able to understand exactly what people are talking about. A good way to practise this is to take a piece of English, for example, a part of the tapescript of the podcast, and draw a circle around all the words that refer to something else. Then draw a line from the word to the thing that it refers to. So, for example, you draw a circle around the word ‘him’ and then draw a line to connect ‘him’ to what it refers to – maybe ‘John’ or ‘Ravi’. I’ll put an example on the site for you to see if you don’t understand what I mean. But please try it. It really will help you to understand things better. Now I’d like to talk about something different. Listen to this. What does ‘poor’ mean?

Tess: So women didn’t knit?

Esther: Well poor women did of course.

Tom: Yes, ‘poor’ means someone who hasn’t got very much money. It’s the opposite of ‘rich’. Now listen to this. What does ‘old’ mean?

Esther: You can take an old jumper that you don’t like any more and make something new. It’s a cheap way to get clothes.

Tom: Right again. An old jumper is a jumper that you’ve had for a long time. It’s the opposite of ‘new’. But now listen to what Ravi says after he listens to Carolina and Jamie in the shoe shop.

Ravi: Poor old Jamie. I think he was a bit bored.

Tom: It’s interesting, isn’t it? ‘Poor old Jamie’. Ravi doesn’t mean that Jamie hasn’t got any money. And he doesn’t mean that Jamie is old – he’s a young man. Ravi uses ‘poor’ because he feels sorry for Jamie because he was bored in the shoe shop. We use ‘poor’ in this way a lot – to show sympathy. You can say ‘look at that poor dog – it’s hungry’. Or ‘poor Susan hates her new job’. You can use ‘poor’ in formal or informal situations. But Ravi says ‘Poor old Jamie’. The ‘old’ makes it more informal – you would only say it to friends or people that you know well. If a friend has a problem you can say ‘Oh poor you’ or ‘Oh poor old you’ to show that you sympathise – that you feel sorry for them. And sometimes we say ‘you poor thing’ or ‘you poor old thing’ too. See if you notice it in any English films or songs that you listen to. And now for a simple phrase that you can use this week. Listen to Tess at the end of the quiz.

Tess: Neighbour. Niece. Classmate. Father-in- law. Colleague. Boss and cousin. Seven. Well done Mark. And Ravi.

Tom: She says ‘Well done Mark’ because he got seven words in the quiz. We say ‘well done’ when someone does something well – when we want to congratulate them. Use it this week when you’re speaking English. Say ‘well done’ to someone. OK. I’m going to stop there. I’ll talk to you all again next time. Remember you can write to me about any language that you noticed in this podcast. The address is learnenglishpodcastATbritishcouncilDOT org. In a moment you’ll hear the address for the website where you can read everything you’ve heard in this podcast. You can also find some practice exercises to do online and a support pack that you can print. Right. That’s all for this time. Bye for now! See you next time.

  • 13 آبان 1402

Episode 02

در این قسمت تس و راوی در مورد رستوران ها صحبت می کنند و مهمانان آنها در مورد آلبرت انیشتین و خرید صحبت می کنند. شما همچنین می توانید کارولینا را در هنگام ملاقات با معلم دوره خود دنبال کنید. آیا او بازخورد خوبی در مورد مقاله خود دریافت خواهد کرد؟ به پادکست گوش دهید سپس اولین تمرین را انجام دهید تا درک خود را بررسی کنید. اگر زمان بیشتری دارید برخی از تمرین های تمرین زبان را انتخاب کنید.

Section 1: "You know that restaurant you went to?"

Tess: Hello! And welcome back to the second series of the LearnEnglish Elementary podcast. This is podcast number two of this series and we’re your presenters. I’m Tess …
Ravi: … and I’m Ravi, hello.
Tess: Right, then. Today we’ve got .. what have we got Ravi?
Ravi: Hang on a minute, I’ve remembered what I wanted to ask you. How was your birthday? Tess: Oh, well, it was great, thanks, Ravi: . We had a nice meal.
Ravi: Good, good. Well, you know that restaurant you went to? The French one? Tess: Yeah.
Ravi: Was it any good?

Tess: Yeah, it was. Yeah. Really good. Bit expensive, but the food was excellent, you know.
Ravi: You’d recommend it then?

Tess: Are you thinking of going?
Ravi: Yeah, I might. I thought I might take someone.
Tess: Oh yeah? Anyone I know?
Ravi: Hmm? No, I don’t think so. When you say ‘expensive’ , was it , like, really expensive or just expensive expensive.
Tess: It was quite a lot actually. I think we paid about sixty pounds each – including the wine. Ravi: Sixty quid! Erm. That is a bit more than I wanted to pay. Hmm.
Tess: Well, it was my birthday. I’ll tell you what though. There’s an Italian restaurant just around the corner – people say that's quite good. Can't remember the name, but…
Ravi: Oh, that one. I know it. I don't fancy that, though. I went there once and the pasta was worse than the stuff I cook at home…
Tess: Well, you are a great cook, Ravi …
Ravi: Well, thanks, Tess. But this was bad. The pasta was awful and the meat was really tough. Over-cooked. Tasted like rubber. Horrible. And I didn't feel too good the next day…my stomach – you know…
Tess: Say no more.
Ravi: Any more ideas? I wanted somewhere a bit special this time, a bit different
Tess: Well, there's a new Japanese place round the corner. It looks nice…
Ravi: I'm still a bit of a beginner with Japanese food. I'm never sure what to order – I don’t know what it all is. I feel a bit stupid in Japanese restaurants…

Tess: I know what you mean. And you don't want to look stupid in front of… Who did you say you were taking?

Ravi: I didn’t.
Tess: Should I just get on with the podcast?

Ravi: Yes.
Tess: OK then, I’ll do that shall I? Right. what have we got? There’s the quiz, ….
Ravi: Oh, hang on a moment. I forgot something. You know in the last podcast we told everyone that Gordon’s gone – got a new job - and taken his fantastic jokes with him?
Tess: I’m not sure about fantastic.

Ravi: Well, loads of people wrote to say they wanted Gordon back! Imagine! They loved the jokes! Anyway, I'm afraid Gordon's definitely gone, but the good news is … dada dada da daa – I'm taking over

Tess: Oh no…
Ravi: Yes, as from today, I'll be telling the jokes. And some of them don't have animals in them!

Tess: Great. Something to really look forward to. Anyway, let's get back to what we have on today's show. As I said, we’ll have our quiz, ….as usual, we’ll hear what people think in ‘Your Turn’ – what’s the question this time?

Ravi: It’s about shopping.

Section 2: I’d like to talk about…

Tess: And there’ll be Carolina too, of course, we’ll see how she’s getting on, but, as usual, we’ll start with ‘I’d like to talk about’. This is the part of our show when someone tells us about something important to them - a hobby, a person, a place, a thing – whatever.
Ravi: Yes, something that you know a bit about and would like to share with all of us. And today we’ve got Liam: here in the studio – Hi Liam.

Liam: Hi Ravi, hi Tess.
Tess: Hi Liam
Ravi: Just introduce yourself first, you know, tell us a bit about yourself before we start.

Liam: OK. I’m Irish, I’m from Dublin, I’m twenty- two, and I’m training to be a teacher.
Tess: Dublin’s a long way away from London!

Liam: Yes, I’m in London for a while, visiting family. So I thought I’d come into the studio and talk about Albert Einstein.
Ravi: Wow. Albert Einstein. E equals mc squared. Are you a scientist by any chance?

Liam: No, I’m not. I love science though – and that’s what I want to do in a way - I’m training to be a physics teacher. That’s why I love Einstein – I think he’s a brilliant example for kids, he really shows them that science isn’t boring. It’s about using your imagination. Einstein was a real ‘artist’ – he was a science superstar. Everyone has this image of him as an old man with grey hair, but he was young when he made his most important discoveries – he was in his twenties. Not much older than me in fact.
Tess: I heard he was a really bad student at school. Is that true?

Liam: I’m not sure it is. I think he was a clever student – he always got good marks, but he hated school as a teenager. He thought the lessons were boring – he used to skip school and study the things that he wanted to learn about. He thought that he didn’t learn anything at school and I think that a lot of kids today will understand how he felt.
Ravi: And are you going to explain relativity and e equals mc squared?
Liam: Ha! How long is the podcast? No, I don’t think so.
Ravi: Oh go on!
Liam: Well …. the most interesting thing for me about Einstein’s theories is the stuff about time. Time isn’t always the same – it goes faster or slower in different situations – it’s relative. For example, if you put a clock on a spaceship that’s travelling very fast, then the clock goes more slowly than a clock on earth.
Ravi: So, if I travel on a spaceship for thirty years, when I come back Tess will be an old woman and I’ll still be young and gorgeous?

Liam: Well yes.
Tess: He’s not sure about the ‘gorgeous’ part Ravi.
Liam: So time depends on speed. And it also depends on gravity. Time passes more slowly on the planet Jupiter for example, because the gravity there is much stronger than the gravity on Earth.
Tess: Wow! So time is different everywhere in the universe!
Liam: That’s right. It’s relative. It isn’t just a crazy theory – space engineers nowadays have to use it when they send ships out into space. They have to use it in their calculations. It’s complicated, but I hope I’ve explained it a bit.

Ravi: You certainly have Liam. I can see you’ve got a great future as a teacher.
Liam: Well thanks. I hope so.
Tess: Yes, I’d like to learn a bit more about it now. Do you know any good websites with simple explanations Liam? Perhaps we could put a couple of links on the site for people who’d like to read some more?
Liam: I can try and find some for you Tess.

Tess: Great.
Ravi: Yes, great. Thanks a lot Liam, and good luck in your future career.
Liam: Thanks Ravi. Thanks Tess. I’ve enjoyed being here.
Ravi: OK, let’s move on with the podcast.
Tess: Young and gorgeous indeed.

Ravi: And of course listeners, we’d like to hear your thoughts on Einstein and relativity, or any other topic that you’d like to talk about. You can write something or record something and send it to us at learn English podcast at British Council dot org, that’s learnenglishpodcast - all one word – at - britishcouncil – all one word DOT org, that’s o-r-g. Send it to us and we’ll put the most interesting ones on the site.

Section 3 – Quiz

Tess: Right. Now, it’s time for the quiz. Hello, Eva.
Eva: {on phone} Eva {Ey-va}
Tess: Sorry – Eva. Sorry.
Eva: That’s OK, everyone says it wrong.

Tess: Is it French?
Eva: No, it’s from Slovakia. My mum’s Slovak.

Tess: Ah, OK. But you’re in Scotland now, right?
Eva: That’s right. In Coatbridge. Near Glasgow.
Tess: OK. What do you do there?

Eva: I’m doing my A levels.
Tess: Right. You’re still at school then. What subjects are you doing? Is it hard work?
Eva: I’m doing English, French and History. Yeah, it is hard work, yeah.
Tess: But do you enjoy it?

Eva: Yeah, I suppose so. It’s OK {nervous laugh}
Tess: Good. OK then, are you ready to play? We’re going to play ‘10 things’. It’s a new one but I’ll tell you what you have to do, OK.
Eva: OK
Tess: Right. I’ll give you a word – a verb – and you have to try to think of ten things that go with that word. For example, if I say ‘play’, you have to say ten things you can play – the piano, golf, a game … like that. You’ve got a minute and you have to try to get ten things. You get the idea?
Eva: Yep.
Tess: OK then, let’s go. Eva you’ve got one minute to tell us ten things you can tell
Eva: Tell a story. ... Tell the truth. Tell a lie. ... Tell the time. ... Tell the difference between two things. ... Tell someone …. erm … tell someone a story … oh no, I’ve already said
that, erm….tell someone….. tell someone off. ... Tell…. tell….tell ..ah tell right from wrong? erm tell apart – like tell two people apart.

Tess: That’s eight. Come on, two more.

Eva: Argh! Tell, tell, tell …. tell someone to do something?

{buzzer sounds}

Tess: Ahhh. Nine. Bad luck Eva. That’s a really tricky one. You did really well.
Eva: {laughing} Argh. It’s really stressful.

Tess: I know! Thank you for playing. You did do really well. Let’s check them: Tell a story, tell the truth, tell a lie, tell the time, tell the difference, tell someone off, tell right from wrong, tell apart and tell someone to do something. Nine. Good stuff, Eva. We’ll send you something nice.
Eva: Thanks. Bye!
Ravi: Bye! Right. Don’t go away anyone. We’ve got your thoughts on shopping and we’ve got more from Carolina right after this.

Section 4: Your turn

Tess: Right. Now it’s time for Your Turn. This is the part of the podcast when we go out and ask different people what they think about something. We ask a different question in every podcast.
Ravi: Yes. And this time the question is ‘Shopping – love it? Hate it?’ or ‘It depends’?. Let’s hear what people said.
Voice 1: I hate shopping. I hate shopping in supermarkets, I hate shopping in the market, and I hate shopping for clothes, I especially hate shopping in the sales. In fact, I would prefer to do all my shopping online.
Voice 2: I love it if I’m in the right mood for shopping, but I can’t stand shopping in really busy places and I hate it when the music’s on too loud, and I also hate pushy shop assistants.

Voice 3: Well, it depends on the kind of shopping, really, if it’s clothes shopping or buying a gift for someone I quite enjoy it. If it’s shopping just for daily foodstuffs I do find that a bit boring, in fact lately I’ve taken to using the Internet and just doing online shopping. I find that much easier.
Voice 4: I love shopping. I love when shopping happens, you know you didn’t plan it but then you just see the perfect thing and you just have to buy it. I love it when it just happens. I love shopping and spending money.
Voice 5: Shopping – love it or hate it? I don’t understand it. You should only go shopping when you need to go shopping to buy food or clothes, for example, but shopping for pleasure is just beyond my understanding. I can’t possibly understand why people could possibly enjoy such an activity.
Tess: What do you think Ravi? We do call you ‘the king of shopping’.
Ravi: You know I love shopping Tess. Clothes, CDs, DVDs, buying presents for people, stuff for the house. Everything really.
Tess: Even the supermarket?
Ravi: Ah, well, perhaps not so much. But I don’t mind it. What about you?
Tess: I hate supermarkets. No, I’m not a big shopping fan really. And what about our listeners? Why don’t you write in and tell us what you think about shopping?

Section 5: Carolina

Ravi: OK then, time to catch up with Carolina: again. Remember that Carolina is a student from Venezuela who’s come to England to study at university. We’ve been following her on the podcast as she studies – and relaxes – in Newcastle. Last time she was shoe shopping – let’s see what she’s up to this time.
{knock on a door}

Emily: Hello?
Carolina: Hi, Emily. Can I come in?

Emily: Yeah, come in, it’s open.
Carolina: Hi. Can I ask you about something?

Emily: Of course you can. What’s up? Here, I’ll just move this so you can sit down.
Carolina: It’s this. You know that essay I did? The environment and land resources one? I just got it back.
Emily: OK
Carolina: Oh Emily. Fifty five percent. That’s really terrible isn’t it? I don’t know what I should do.
Emily: Whaddya mean?. I mean it’s not great but, you know, it’s not awful. It’s your first essay and it’s in your second language. Are there any comments on it?
Carolina: Yeah, she’s written loads. I got the bit about the land use patterns completely wrong. I don’t think I really answered the question. Oh, Emily, I feel terrible.
Emily: Oh come on, it’s not that bad, it’s a pass, you know. It’s not a disaster.
Carolina: It is! Fifty five percent! I never got fifty-five percent in Venezuela. I’ve never had less than eighty percent for anything.
Emily: Really? Look, I got sixty two for my first essay and I’m quite pleased with that.
Carolina: Really?
Emily: Yeah, I mean, it’s not brilliant but it’s fine. You never get eighty percent or something like that unless you’re, like, a total genius or something.
Carolina: Is that true? I don't know – it's all very different here. I feel a bit confused. At home, we had to learn more things – remember them. Here you have to do lots of research and read things and say what you think in front of lots of other students.
Emily: Yeah, that can be scary, can’t it? And then they all ask questions - with the tutor listening. It makes you feel a bit stupid sometimes, doesn't it? You think all the others are geniuses, and you’re the worst in the group!

Carolina: So you feel stupid too? Oh, that makes me feel much better!
Emily: Well, thanks! But yes, it's just as difficult, even if English is your first language! Don’t forget it’s the first year for everybody – and it’s really different from school. Listen, who’s your tutor? Why don’t you have a chat with him?

Carolina: Her. Stafford. Helen Stafford.

Emily: Well let’s have a look. I’m already logged in. Stafford with two ‘f’s? You’re allowed to go and see your tutor you know. It tells you on here what times they’ll be around. ... Right, here she is.

{knock on a door}

Helen Stafford: Come in. Ah, Carolina. How are you?
Carolina: Fine, thanks. Have you got a minute?

Helen Stafford: Yes, sure. Have a seat. What can I do for you?
Carolina: Could I ask you about the essay you sent back to me?
Helen Stafford: Ah, OK. You got it? Good. Yes, have you got it there? OK. Right. Let me have a look. Oh, yes. Well, generally I thought this was quite good. There were one or two things ...
Carolina: …yes, yes it does. I should have said that, I know. Oh dear.
Helen Stafford: Well, with those parts changed it would be a really good essay.
Carolina: Right. Thank you.
Helen Stafford: But as it is, it’s a good start. You need to think about the other things as well – the bibliography mainly – but I think you’re on the right lines with this. Carolina: OK. Thank you very much for your time.
Helen Stafford: That’s alright. I hope you feel a bit better about it now.
Carolina: I do, thank you. It’s a really big help.

Helen Stafford: And how are things in general? Are you settling in okay?
Carolina: Settling in…?
Helen Stafford: Well, it must be a bit strange: different country, new people, different language, different study system. It must take time to – er – get comfortable with all those changes.
Carolina: Well, I was a bit upset this week – about the essay and everything, but I have ‘settled in’ all right. I’ve made friends… things are going well.
Helen Stafford: Good. Well, you know where I am. Just check on the site to see when I’m here if you need to come and have a chat again.
Carolina: OK, I will. Thank you.
Helen Stafford: Bye.

Carolina: Bye.

Ravi: You went to university. I bet you were one of the total genius students getting eighty five percent for everything.
Tess: I wish. God, I hated writing essays. I’m really glad I don’t have to do that anymore.
Ravi: Well, if any of our listeners want to write to us, they ….
Tess: Gah, terrible link Ravi:
Ravi: {laughs} You think so? I thought that was pretty good. Anyway, remember you can send things to us here at the podcast.
Tess: Yeah, go on. We’d love to hear from you – you can record yourself and send it to us too. If we like it, we’ll put it on the site. Well, I think that’s it from us….

Section 6: Joke

Ravi: {cough} Haven’t you forgotten something? ... Like my joke? I’ve been practising all day.

Tess: Go on then.
Ravi: A duck goes into a bar….

Tess: You said they weren’t about animals.

Ravi: I said some of them weren’t about animals. This one’s about a duck. So, a duck goes into a pub and says “I’d like a pint of beer please.” And the barman is a bit surprised to see a duck that can talk, but he gives him the beer. So the duck comes into the pub for a beer the next day, and the next day, and the next day, and he chats to the barman, and after a few weeks they get quite friendly. So one day the barman says “You know, you really are a very unusual duck. Did you know there’s a
circus in town at the moment? Why don’t you go and see if they can give you a job? I’m sure they’d be very interested”. And the duck says “Well OK. But are you sure they need a computer programmer?”
Tess: {laughing} Actually, that’s quite funny Ravi. Better than some of Gordon’s!

Ravi: Well thank you very much Tess.
Tess: Not at all. Now that really is time for us to say goodbye. Remember, the address for anything that you want to send us is learnenglishpodcast@britishcouncil.org. But don’t go away because Tom the teacher will be here to talk about learning English and some of the language that you’ve heard in today’s podcast. So I’ll say goodbye…
Ravi: Me too. Bye!

Tom the teacher

Tom: Hi, I’m Tom. I’m here at the end of every podcast to talk about some of the language you heard in the programme, and to talk about ways to help you learn English. The first thing I want to look at today is the word ‘tell’. A lot of learners want to know the difference between the verbs ‘tell’ and ‘say’. This is quite difficult to explain! ‘Say’ and ‘tell’ are almost the same in meaning – they’re both connected with speaking. ‘Say’ can be used in lots of situations, but when we are giving information to someone, we usually use ‘tell’. But let’s look at ‘say’ first. Listen to the first line of Ravi’s joke about the talking duck.

Ravi: So, a duck goes into a pub and says “I’d like a pint of beer please.”

Tom: Listen to another example. 

Ravi: And this time the question is ‘Shopping – love it? Hate it?’ or ‘It depends’?. Let’s hear what people said.

Tom: Yes, the past form of ‘say’ is ‘said’. ‘Say’ and ‘said’ are very common words in English. Listen to Tess at the end of the podcast.
Tess: Now that really is time for us to say goodbye. Remember, the address for anything that you want to send us is learnenglishpodcast@britishcouncil.org.
Tom: Tess said ‘It’s time for us to say goodbye’. You can say goodbye, say hello, say thank you, say happy birthday. If we want to say who we’re speaking to, then we use ‘to’. Tess can say ‘goodbye’ to us, or Ravi can say ‘Happy birthday’ to Tess. We can’t say ‘Tess said me goodbye’ or ‘Ravi said Tess happy birthday’, or
‘Ravi said her happy birthday’. We can’t use ‘say’ with words like ‘us’ or ‘her’, or a name – we can’t use ‘say’ with an object. Now listen to an example of ‘tell’. How is it different?

Ravi: Just introduce yourself first, you know, tell us a bit about yourself before we start.

Tom: Ravi said ‘tell us a bit about yourself’. He used the object – ‘us’ after ‘tell’. ‘Tell us’. Listen to another example. It’s Tess at the beginning of the quiz. What’s the object word this time?

Tess: We’re going to play ‘10 things’. It’s a new one but I’ll tell you what you have to do, OK.

Tom: Yes, that’s right. She said ‘I’ll tell you what you have to do’. This is the big difference between ‘say’ and ‘tell’. We use an object immediately after ‘tell’ but not after ‘say’. One more example. Listen to Ravi.

Ravi: Oh, hang on a moment. I forgot something. You know in the last podcast we told everyone that Gordon’s gone – got a new job - and taken his fantastic jokes with him?

Tom: Ravi said ‘we told everyone that Gordon’s gone’. ‘Told’ is the past form of ‘tell’. ‘We told everyone’. ‘Everyone’ is the object. Ravi can’t say ‘we said everyone that Gordon’s gone’. We just can’t use ‘say’ in that way. Try to notice examples of ‘say’ and ‘tell’ in the English that you read or listen to. A good learners’ dictionary will help you. Remember that a dictionary isn’t only about meanings and definitions. A learners’ dictionary will give you examples of the word used in sentences, so you can see exactly how to use the word. Try it when you’ve finished listening to the podcast. Find ‘say’ and ‘tell’ in your dictionary and see what the example sentences are. Make a note of them in your vocabulary book. Add more examples when you notice them. ... A dictionary can help in another way too. Listen to Tess at the end of the quiz. She’s repeating Eva’s answers for things that you can ‘tell’.

Tess: You did do really well. Let’s check them: Tell a story, tell the truth, tell a lie, tell the time, tell the difference, tell someone off, tell right from wrong, tell apart and tell someone to do something. Nine. Good stuff, Eva.

Tom: These are all phrases where we use ‘tell’. You can tell the children a story or tell your mother a lie. You don’t ‘say a story’ or ‘say a lie’. Sometimes it can be difficult to remember if you should use ‘say’ or ‘tell’. So use your dictionary again to help you. Find the word ‘story’ and look at the example sentences. You will find the verb ‘tell’ in the examples, so you’ll know that ‘tell’ is the verb to use with ‘story’. A good learners’ dictionary really is a very good friend!
Tom: Now for something different - words that British people use for money. You probably have a lot of different words for money in your language too. Listen to Ravi and Tess. They’re talking about the restaurant that Tess went to for her birthday. Listen to the word that Ravi uses for ‘pounds’

Ravi: When you say ‘expensive’ , was it , like, really expensive or just expensive expensive.

Tess: It was quite a lot actually. I think we paid about sixty pounds each – including the wine.

Ravi: Sixty quid! Erm. That is a bit more than I wanted to pay. Hmm.

Tom: Yes, he said ‘quid’ – ‘sixty quid’. ‘Quid’ is a very common word for ‘pounds’ in English. You don’t have to say ‘quid’ – you can say ‘pounds’, but you need to understand the word if someone says it to you. Let me tell you some more common words for money so that you can understand them when you hear them. British people often say ‘a fiver’ for five pounds, and ‘a tenner’ for ten pounds. So you can say ‘How much did the coffees cost?’ and the person might say ‘Only a fiver’. Another common word is ‘grand’. ‘A grand’ is a thousand pounds. So a car can cost ‘twelve grand’ or a house might cost ‘two hundred grand’ or someone’s salary can be ‘twenty grand a year.
Tom: Now I want to talk about the word ‘right’. I noticed it a lot in this podcast. Listen to Carolina and her tutor. What does ‘right’ mean here?

Helen Stafford: Well, with those parts changed it would be a really good essay.

Carolina: Right. Thank you.

Tom: Yes, Carolina uses ‘right’ to mean ‘OK’. Now listen to Tess and Liam talking about Einstein’s theory of relativity. Why does Liam use ‘right’?

Tess: Wow! So time is different everywhere in the universe!

Liam: That’s right. It’s relative. It isn’t just a crazy theory – space engineers nowadays have to use it.

Tom: That’s right. I say this all the time! We use ‘that’s right’ when we agree with what someone says, when their answer is ‘right’ not ‘wrong’. We can also use ‘right’ in another way – to ask a question. Listen to Tess and Eva.

Eva: My mum’s Slovak.

Tess: Ah, OK. But you’re in Scotland now, right?

Eva: That’s right. In Coatbridge. Near Glasgow. 

Tom: Tess says ‘right’ to check that what she says about Eva is true. ‘You’re in Scotland now, right? And Eva says ‘That’s right’ – yes, she is in Scotland now. Try to use ‘right’ or ‘that’s right’ – to say OK, or when you agree with someone, or to ask a question. Try to use it this week when you’re speaking English. OK. That’s enough from me for today. I’ll talk to you all again next time. Remember you can write to me about any language that you noticed in this podcast. The address is learnenglishpodcastATbritishcouncilDOT org. In a moment you’ll hear the address for the website where you can read everything you’ve heard in this podcast. You can also find some practice exercises to do online and a support pack that you can print. Right. That’s all for this time. Bye for now! See you next time.

  • 13 آبان 1402

Episode 03

در این قسمت راوی از تس راهنمایی می خواهد و مهمانان آنها در مورد مراقبه و اکتشاف فضا صحبت می کنند. شما همچنین می توانید کارولینا را در حالی که برای اولین بار با خانواده یکی از دوستان ملاقات می کند دنبال کنید. آیا او با آنها رابطه خوبی خواهد داشت؟ به پادکست گوش دهید سپس اولین تمرین را انجام دهید تا درک خود را بررسی کنید. اگر زمان بیشتری دارید برخی از تمرین های تمرین زبان را انتخاب کنید.

Section 1: "Sometimes I think I spend too much time on the computer."

Tess: Hello Welcome to the second series of the Learn English Elementary podcast. this is number three. I’m Tess.
Ravi: And I’m Ravi. It’s a bright sunny morning here in London but the great thing about a podcast is that you can listen whenever you want, so, good morning! Good afternoon! Good evening!

Tess: That’s true. Why not write and tell us when and where you listen to our podcasts? We’ll give you the email address a little later. Do you listen at your computer or do you download us and listen on the bus, in the car, at the gym? Let us know. Do you listen to any podcasts Ravi?
Ravi: I do, actually, yeah. I listen to a couple of things. There’s a football podcast I really like and there’s quite a good comedy one that I listen to as well. I listen to them when I go out running.
Tess: You go out running?
Ravi: Well, I listened to one once when I was running. I usually listen at home. How about you?
Tess: No, not really. I’m too busy with my social networking site to have time for podcasts. Honestly, sometimes I think I spend too much time on the computer.
Ravi: I know what you mean. It’s easy to spend hours and hours on the internet just looking at different things. Surfing the net. Oh, that reminds me – I wanted to ask you about something. You know I’m on Facebook, right?
Tess: Right.
Ravi: Well, I know you’re not on Facebook but you’re on a few other networking sites - you know how it works, don’t you? People send you invitations to be their ‘friend’
Tess: Yeah, OK. I know what you mean.
Ravi: Well, yesterday I got a message from someone inviting me to be ‘friends’ and the thing is, I just don’t know who she is. I don’t recognise her name at all.
Tess: So, someone wants to be your friend online and you don’t know who she is? You’re just so popular Ravi.
Ravi: Well she knows me – she wrote something about Manchester but I really can’t think who she is. I mean, it’s not a really big problem but what do you think I should do Tess?

Tess: Well, you could just not reply.

Ravi: But I don’t want to be rude to her.

Tess: Or you could ask her where you met.

Ravi: Hmm. That’s a bit embarrassing.
Tess: Well, why don’t you say, yes, you’ll be her friend? You don’t have to write to her, do you?
Ravi: That’s true. I’ll just say ‘yes, let’s be friends’ and then maybe I’ll remember who she is.
Tess: She’s probably a friend of a friend or something. Do you often forget people’s names, then, erm ….. what’s your name again?
Ravi: Very good, Tess. No I’m usually quite good with names. Like today I can tell you we’ve got Sameena on I’d Like to talk about, we’ve got Davis doing the quiz and we’ve got Carolina and Jamie later. And Tom the teacher of course.
Tess: Well done. Shall we get on with it, then?

Section 2: I’d like to talk about…

Ravi: OK then. As usual, listeners, we’ll start with I’d Like to Talk About. This is the part of our podcast when we ask someone to tell us about something that’s important to them. It could be a person, a hobby – anything. And today we’ve got Sameena in the studio. And she’s going to talk about meditation. Hi Sameena.
Sameena: Hi
Tess: Hi Sameena. Before you start, why don’t you tell us a bit about yourself.
Sameena: Well, my name’s Sameena – as you know. Um, I’m twenty, and I’m a student at the London School of Economics.
Ravi: Are you from London?
Sameena: No, Leeds. I go back there in the holidays.
Ravi: Great place, Leeds. OK. So why did you decide to talk about meditation Sameena?

Sameena: Well I started doing it about three years ago. I was very stressed with exams and I was working too hard. So a friend told me about meditation – he taught me how to do it actually, in the beginning – and it worked. It made me a lot calmer and less stressed out. So I got really interested in it and started reading about it, and, well, I just think everyone should try it!
Tess: And how do you do it? Give us an idea of what you do. I always think of old men with long, white beards when I think of meditation.
Sameena: Well, it’s very simple really. I sit still, somewhere quiet. You can sit in any position, on the floor, or on a hard chair, but you need to keep your back straight and you must be comfortable. I sit on a chair, close my eyes, and then I relax and try to be conscious of now, of the present moment. And my mind becomes calm. That’s it really.
Tess: And you stop thinking?
Sameena: No, no. A lot of people think that, but it isn’t true. It’s more about watching your thoughts, just sitting and being conscious of what’s going through your mind. You let the thoughts come and go, but you don’t follow them, you just watch them so your mind stays calm and peaceful.
Tess: But how do you do that – keep your mind calm and peaceful?
Sameena: Well, I use a mantra – that helps me.

Tess: A mantra?
Sameena: Yes, it just means a phrase that you concentrate on – you repeat it over and over again to yourself. But you don’t have to use a mantra - there are lots of different ways of doing it. You can concentrate on your breathing – count your breaths for example, or you can try to imagine the energy moving around in your body, you know, try to see it.
Ravi: It’s getting very popular nowadays isn’t it? Oprah Winfrey was talking about meditation on TV the other day.
Sameena: Yes, it’s getting more popular in the west, that’s true. But it started as a Hindu tradition more than five thousand years ago – it’s really old. And some form of meditation is involved in nearly all religions. 

Tess: So is it always a religious thing?

Sameena: No, it doesn’t have to have any religious meaning. A lot of people meditate just because it’s good for the mind and good for the body. It’s a really healthy thing to do.
Tess: I can see why it can be good for the mind, but how does it help the body?
Sameena: Meditation can help your blood pressure, your heart, your breathing - all sorts of things. Scientists have done tests – it’s all been proved. So, as I said at the beginning, I think everyone should try it!
Tess: Well thanks for that Sameena. That was really interesting.
Sameena: Not at all. I enjoyed talking about it. Bye.
Tess: Bye Sameena.
Ravi: Bye Sameena, and thanks again.
Tess: So, are you going to give it a try Ravi? Might help you deal with some of that stress?
Ravi: It’s not a bad idea you know. My dad meditates, well he used to anyway – I remember seeing him when I was a kid. I don’t know if he still does though. I’ll have to ask him. I might ask him to give me some lessons next time I see him! That’ll be a big surprise for him.

Tess: Well yes. A calm, peaceful Ravi would be a big surprise for all of us.
Ravi: Ommmmm
Tess: OK. What about you listeners? Do any of you meditate? Or what would you like to tell us about? Write – or record – what you think and send it to us at learn English podcast at British Council dot org, that’s learnenglishpodcast - all one word – at - britishcouncil – all one word DOT org, that’s o-r-g. If we like it, we’ll stick it on the website.
Ravi: We should put some stuff up about mediation, too. Will you do that?
Tess: Yeah, OK. Remind me to do that later.

Section 3 – Quiz

Tess: Right, then. What’s next? The quiz. Ravi: Yep. And today we’ve got Davis on the line. Hello, Davis.

Davis: Hi Ravi.

Tess: Hiya
Davis: Hi Tess.
Ravi: Tell us a bit about yourself Davis. Where are you calling from?
Davis: I’m in London.
Ravi: Are you from London?

Davis: Yes, that’s right.
Tess: Like me. Which part of London?

Davis: Tottenham
Tess: Ah, OK. I’m from south London. Wimbledon.
Ravi: Do you support Tottenham then, Davis? Which football team do you support?
Davis: Nah, man, I support Arsenal.
Ravi: Oh dear. Well, I’ll forgive you. What do you do Davis?
Davis: I work in a market. Selling kitchen things.

Ravi: No market today then?
Davis: No, not today.
Ravi: Right then. You know how to play Hot Seat, don’t you?

Davis: Yeah.
Ravi: Tess has got the cards with the words on. She’ll give them to me and I’ll explain them to you and we’ll see how many we can get in a minute , OK?
Davis: OK
Ravi: But I don’t know what the topic is. Tess?

Tess: Right, I’ve got the cards here. I’ll give them to Ravi and he has to explain the words without using the words on the card. Are you both ready?
Ravi: Ready
Davis: OK
Tess: OK then today’s topic is ….. Places in an airport. Different things and places in an airport. Here are the cards Ravi. You’ve got one minute starting from ….NOW
Ravi: Agh! It’s the long road that planes take off from. The really long straight road. They land on it as well.
Davis: Runway?
Ravi: Yes. Oh no. Erm. The place you go to just before you get on the plane … erm …

Davis: Departure lounge
Ravi: No. “Could passengers travelling to Paris on Flight three seven two please go to hnn twenty one”
Davis: Gate!
Ravi: Yes. The first place you go to when you get to the airport.
Davis: The shops?
Ravi: No. You go there to put your bags in and they check your passport and ticket…

Davis: Passport control?
Ravi: No, before that. Erm .. … “Did you pack this bag yourself, sir?”
Davis: Check-in!
Ravi: Yes. Now what you said before. The place where you wait to get on the plane but before you go to the gate.
Davis: Departure lounge
Ravi: Yes. It’s a place. Where you go to pick up your suitcase when you get off the plane.
Davis: Oh, the thing that goes round.
Ravi: Yeah, that, but what’s the room called?

{buzzer sounds}

Davis: I don’t know it.
Ravi: It was baggage reclaim. Oh dear, we haven’t done very well there, have we? Sorry Davis. How many was that?
Tess: Runway … gate … check-in … departure lounge. Four.
Ravi: Eek. Sorry Davis. That was tough, wasn’t it?
Davis: You just can’t think when the clock’s ticking.
Ravi: I know. Listen, thanks for playing – we’ll find some things to send you. Enjoy the rest of your day.
Davis: And you mate.
Tess: Bye Davis. And well done Ravi. Right. More to come. We’ll hear what some of you think about space exploration and we’ll catch up with Carolina after this.

Section 4: Your turn

Ravi: Right. Your Turn. This is the part of the podcast when we go out and ask different people what they think about something. Every podcast has a different question and this time it’s about space exploration – sending rockets and people into space. So, the big question is Do you think that space exploration is a waste of time and money?” Or is it a useful thing to do? Let’s hear what people think.
Voice 1: Er ... yeah, it’s a waste of time and money. There’s nothing out there ... er ... and that moon landing in the 60s, that was done in a studio in Hollywood.
Voice 2: I think that space exploration is a waste of money when you think about ... um ... poor people, climate change and disease.
Voice 3: Ah ... sometimes I think it’s a waste of money when, like, the big countries - America or Russia - they just compete for dominance of space, but when it’s used for scientific research that can improve ... um ... the equality of life on Earth, then I think it’s not money wasted.
Voice 4: No, I don’t think space exploration is a w… um ... we’d need to know what’s out there – we have to advance … there is obviously the argument though that mon... that money could be spent on cleaning up our own environment, and our own world, um ... but as I say we need to look forward, maybe our world won’t be here forever and we should be looking towards other places.
Voice 5: I don’t think space exploration is a waste of time and money ... um ... possibly in the future we might need space exploration and
the discoveries they’ve made more now than we ever realised ... new sources of energy or ... we don’t know where mankind is going to be in the future. I think space exploration is very
important.
Ravi: Do you know, when I was a kid, I wanted to be an astronaut. I’d love to explore space.
Tess: Did you? I wanted to be a train driver.

Ravi: Well, maybe when you’re older.

Tess: Yes. Maybe. And we’d like to know what you, the listeners think too. Send us your opinions.

Section 5: Carolina

Tess: Time now to see what’s happening with Carolina. You remember that Carolina is a student from Venezuela who’s studying in Newcastle in the north of England.
Ravi: It’s not just study though – we’ve heard about Carolina going shopping, cooking and enjoying university life with her new boyfriend, Jamie. Let’s find out what she’s doing this time…

Outside the house

Jamie: Well here we are then – My home. The family mansion.
Carolina: Oh, is this the house? I’m a bit nervous Jamie.

Jamie: Don’t be silly.

{doorbell – door opens}

Mary: Hellooo! {hugs and kisses Jamie}
Jamie: This is Carolina, mum …
Mary: Hello Carolina. It’s lovely to meet you.

Carolina: Hello. Um... it’s nice to meet you too. Mary: Did you have a good journey?
Carolina: Oh yes, thank you. The train was a bit late, but it was fine. We got a bus from the station. It was easy.
Mary: Doug! They’re here! Come on in before we die of cold. Doug! They’re here!

{dog barking}

Jamie: Hello Ernie! Hello, who’s a good boy then?
Doug: Hello, hello, hello. You’re here then. All right Jamie?
Jamie: Dad.
Doug: And this must be Carolina.

Carolina: Yes, hello, pleased to …… oh, …..
Mary: Get down Ernie! Ernie! I hope you like dogs Carolina.
Carolina: Well, I, um ….. . I don’t know really…
Mary: He won’t hurt you. He just wants to give you a kiss. Get down Ernie! Doug, put him in the kitchen.
Doug: Righty ho. Come on Ernie.
Mary: Now let me take your bags upstairs.

Carolina: Oh no, no. I can take mine. It isn’t heavy.
Jamie: I’ll take them. Go on mum. You lead the way. Carolina’s in the spare room I suppose?
…
Mary: And you’re in this room Carolina. Carolina: How nice. I love the colour. And what pretty curtains too.
Mary: I’m glad you like it. We don’t use this room very often.

Carolina: I think it’s lovely.

Mary: Now, I’ve put some towels out for you – here they are on the bed. And we turned the radiator on in here this morning so it should be nice and warm for you.
Carolina: Oh thank you. That’s very kind of you. I’m sure I’ll be very comfortable. Thank you very much for inviting me.
Mary: Not at all. It’s lovely to have you here. Now you unpack your bag and I’ll go down and put the kettle on for a nice cup of tea. The bathroom’s next door if you want to wash your hands…
…

{knock at door}

Jamie: Can I come in?

Carolina: Yes
Jamie: OK?
Carolina: Oh yes, I’m OK. Your mother’s really nice.
Jamie: Ready to go downstairs?

Carolina: Yes.
Jamie: Come on then. Mum’s making a cup of tea. My family drinks tea all the time.
Carolina: OK. So … let’s go then.
…
Mary: Here you are Carolina. A nice cup of tea.

Carolina: Thank you Mrs Lawrence.
Mary: Oh no. Call me Mary. Mary and Doug. We’re not formal in this house are we Jamie?
Jamie: Mum, Carolina drinks tea without milk.
Carolina: No, no, it’s OK Jamie. I can drink it with milk.
Doug: No, let’s get you another.
Carolina: Well OK, if it isn’t too much trouble. Thank you.
Mary: Don’t be silly. It’s no trouble at all. I’ll just go and get another cup.
Carolina: Aargh!
Doug: Get down Ernie! You let the dog in Mary! Ernie! Down! Leave her alone! He’s just being friendly.
Jamie: I’ll put him back in the kitchen.

Carolina: It’s OK. I don’t mind.
Jamie: Come on Ernie. Kitchen.
Doug: So Carolina. What do you think of this country of ours? A bit cold for you is it?
Carolina: I like it. It’s very different from Venezuela, but I like it here. And the people are very friendly.
Doug: Well that’s good.
Mary: Here you are Carolina.
Carolina: Thank you very much. … You’ve got a lovely house.
Mary: Well thank you. It’s nothing grand but we like it.
Carolina: How long have you lived here?
Mary: Since we got married, that’ll be what, twenty-five years nearly is it Doug?
Doug: Aye. Twenty-five years in April.
Carolina: So Jamie was born here?
Mary: That’s right. He’s lived here all his life, haven’t you love?
Jamie: Yep.
Mary: He’s still got some of his old toys in his room, hasn’t he Doug?
Carolina: Really?
Doug: Oh aye. Won’t let us throw them out. All his old toy cars. And Mr Potter the panda’s still there.
Mary: That’s right. Mr Potter the panda. But Jamie couldn’t say Mr Potter – he could only say Po Po – so it was Po Po panda. Do you remember Jamie?
Carolina: Mr Po Po panda?
Jamie: Oh god! Stop it all of you. Let’s change the subject. How’s work going dad? Been busy recently?

Ravi: Ah. What a nightmare. Poor Jamie. But, you know, it must be getting serious now. Carolina met Jamie’s parents.
Tess: Yes. Isn’t it nice? Ahhhh.

Section 6: The Joke

Tess: Well, I think that’s about all we’ve got time for on this podcast ..
Ravi: No, hang on a minute. I’ve got another joke for you.
Tess: I hoped you’d forget.
Ravi: I think you’ll like this one, Tess.

Tess: OK. Let’s hear it.
Ravi: OK. A man …..
Tess: A man? Oh? Not a dog? A duck? A frog?

Ravi: Definitely a man – I told you – not all of my jokes are animal jokes. Right. A man goes up to the ticket desk at the airport. The ticket clerk says ‘Good morning, sir. Can I help you?’ and the man says ‘Good morning. I’d like a ticket to Tokyo, please. And I’d like you to send my luggage to New York”. Well, the ticket clerk looks surprised and says “You want us to put you on a plane to Tokyo and send your luggage on a plane to New York?”. “Yes, that’s right” says the man. “I’m very sorry sir but we can’t do that – it’s impossible.” The man says “Well, I don’t understand why it’s so difficult. That’s exactly what you did last time”.

Tess: I lost my bag at an airport once you know.
Ravi: You’ll have to save that story for another time Tess. That’s all we’ve got time for today. Remember, the address for anything that you want to send us is learnenglishpodcast@britishcouncil.org. But don’t go away, listeners. Tom the teacher will be here in a moment to talk about learning English and some of the language you heard on the podcast – {pause} – and we’ll be back next time. Bye!

Tess: Bye!

Tom the teacher

Tom: Hi, I’m Tom. I’m here at the end of every podcast to talk about some of the language you heard in the programme, and to talk about ways to help you learn English. Today I want to talk about the word ‘too’. Listen to Carolina meeting Jamie’s mother, Mary. See how Carolina uses ‘too’.

Mary: Hello Carolina. It’s lovely to meet you. Carolina: Hello. Um… it’s nice to meet you too.

Tom: We can use ‘too’ to mean ‘as well’. I’m sure you know this already. If someone says “I really like chocolate”, you can say “Me too!” – you have the same opinion. This use of ‘too’ is easy. But some learners have problems with a different way to use ‘too’. Listen to Tess talking about why she doesn’t listen to podcasts. How
does she use ‘too’?

Tess: No, not really. I’m too busy with my social networking site to have time for podcasts. Honestly, sometimes I think I spend too much time on the computer.

Tom: She says “I’m too busy to have time for podcasts” and then she says “I think I spend too much time on the computer”. ‘Too’ here means more than you want – more than is good. If you say that you spend too much time on the computer, you mean that you think it’s a bad thing. You think that you should spend less time on the computer. Listen to another example. Sameena is talking about why she started doing meditation. Listen for ‘too’.

Sameena: Well I started doing it about three years ago. I was very stressed with exams and I was working too hard. So a friend told me about meditation. 

Tom: Yes, she says “I was working too hard”. She means she was working hard, more than was good for her.
Tom: Now let’s look at the difference between ‘too’ and ‘very’. Some learners find this difficult. Listen to Carolina talking to Jamie’s father about life in Britain. Listen to ‘very’.

Doug: So Carolina. What do you think of this country of ours? A bit cold for you is it?

Carolina: I like it. It’s very different from Venezuela, but I like it here.

Tom: She says Britain is very different from Venezuela – but she likes it. Now imagine she says “Britain is too different from Venezuela”. ‘Too’ gives the idea that she doesn’t like Britain – that she’s unhappy, because it’s ‘too different’ – the difference isn’t a good thing. And that isn’t what she wanted to say. Let me give you another example. I can say “My house is very small”. OK, my house is small, but maybe I like small houses! ‘Very’ can be good or bad. But if I say “My house is too small” then you know that I’m not happy with my house – that I’d like to have a bigger one. Listen to one more example. Jamie’s mother is going to get Carolina another cup of tea. Listen to what Carolina says.

Carolina: Well OK, if it isn’t too much trouble. Thank you.

Tom: We use ‘If it isn’t too much trouble’ a lot – when we want to be polite. You can use it when someone offers to help you. Now I want to talk about something to help you learn and remember vocabulary. Do you remember the quiz? All of the words were places in an airport. Listen.

Ravi: Erm. The place you go to just before you get on the plane … erm …

Davis: Departure lounge

Ravi: No. “Could passengers travelling to Paris on Flight three seven two please go to hnn twenty one”

Davis: Gate!

Ravi: Yes.

Tom: You can do this too. When you’re in a place, maybe an airport, or a train station, or a cinema, or a supermarket – try to name everything that you see in English. Or imagine that you’re in a place – and imagine what you can see around you. Make a note of the things that you don’t know and then try to find out how to say them in English. Ask your teacher, or a friend, or find the word in a bilingual dictionary. A bilingual dictionary is useful when you want to know the names of things. You can use the
internet for finding translations of words too. Or you can buy very good picture dictionaries nowadays. See what you can find. And if you’re in a place with a friend you can play a game together. At the airport you can say “I can see something beginning with ‘R’ – and your friend can say ‘runway!’. Try it – it’s good for your vocabulary. Now for something different. This isn’t really about language, but it’s important if you go to Britain. It’s about what we do when we meet people for the first time. What people do in Britain may be different from what you do in your country. Listen to Carolina when she meets Jamie's mother for the first time.

{doorbell – door opens}

Mary: Hellooo! {hugs and kisses Jamie}

Jamie: This is Carolina, mum …

Mary: Hello Carolina. It’s lovely to meet you.

Carolina: Hello. Um… it’s nice to meet you too.

Tom: Mary kisses Jamie, but she doesn’t kiss Carolina. In some countries, people kiss when they meet people for the first time. But we don’t usually do this in Britain. When you meet someone it’s polite to say “Hello” or “Nice to meet you”. In more formal situations, you can shake hands too. But most British people don’t kiss. Some British people kiss people that they know well – their friends and family – when they say “hello” or “goodbye”. But not all British people. So it’s probably better not to kiss until someone offers to kiss you! And now for a phrase that you can use this week. Listen again to Tess talking about spending too much time on her computer. Listen to Ravi’s answer.

Tess: Honestly, sometimes I think I spend too much time on the computer.

Ravi: I know what you mean. It’s easy to spend hours and hours on the internet just looking at different things.

Tom: Ravi says “I know what you mean”. He sometimes does the same thing himself so he understands what she’s saying. He agrees with her. If someone says “I didn’t enjoy the English class today”, you can say “I know what you mean. It was a bit boring wasn’t it?“ But of course, I hope you don’t think your English classes are boring! Anyway, try to use “I know what you mean” this week.

OK. I’m going to stop there. I’ll talk to you all again next time. Remember you can write to me about any language that you noticed in this podcast. The address is learnenglishpodcastATbritishcouncilDOT org. In a moment you’ll hear the address for the website where you can read everything you’ve heard in this podcast. You can also find some practice exercises to do online and a support pack that you can print. Right. That’s all for this time. Bye for now! See you next time.

  • 13 آبان 1402

Episode 04

در این قسمت تس از از دست دادن گربه اش ناراحت است و راوی حمایت می کند. مهمانان آنها در مورد شکلات و راه های اتلاف وقت صحبت می کنند. شما همچنین می توانید کارولینا را در حالی که او غذاهای خانگی انگلیسی را امتحان می کند دنبال کنید. آیا او آن را دوست خواهد داشت؟

Section 1: " A pretty quiet weekend really "

Ravi: Hello again everyone and welcome back to the Learn English Elementary Podcast. I’m Ravi, one of your presenters.
Tess: … and I’m Tess, the other one. This is Podcast number 4 in this series.
Ravi: Blimey, Tess. Are you OK? You sound a bit miserable.
Tess: Yeah, I am a bit, actually.

Ravi: Oh dear. What’s up?

Tess: You remember Oscar?

Ravi: Your cat?
Tess: Yeah. He’s gone missing.

Ravi: Eh?
Tess: I don’t know where he is. I haven’t seen him for 3 days now. I’m really worried that something’s happened to him.
Ravi: Hmm. Oh dear, Tess, I’m sorry. You never know though. Cats do that sometimes, don’t they? They go away for a bit.
Tess: He’s never done it before.
Ravi: I’m sure he’ll be fine. I bet he’s out looking for mice or something. Or maybe he’s found a girlfriend.
Tess: Hmm. Maybe. When I was a kid we had a cat that used to have dinner at our house then go to another house down the street and have dinner again. Maybe I should ask my neighbours if they’ve seen Oscar.
Ravi: Yeah, you should. You could make some posters as well, like, ‘Have you seen this cat?’ Have you got a picture of Oscar?
Tess: I’ve got hundreds. I might do that. I’ll ask my neighbours first though.
Ravi: Good plan.
Tess: Anyway, sorry about that. I’m not really miserable, you know, just a bit worried. What about you? What have you been up to?
Ravi: Not much actually. I went to a football match on Saturday and I played football on Sunday. A pretty quiet weekend really.
Tess: Did you win?
Ravi: No. Oh, and I’ll tell you what else I did. I went to see the new James Bond film. Have you seen it?
Tess: No, not yet.
Ravi: Go and see it, it’s excellent.
Tess: Is it very violent? I don’t like really violent films?
Ravi: No, not really. There’s a great car chase but it’s not really violent.
Tess: Hmm. I’ll see. It doesn’t sound like my kind of thing.

Section 2: I’d like to talk about…

Tess: You know what though? Today’s I’d Like to Talk About really is my kind of thing. Shall we get started?
Ravi: OK then. Ready listeners? We’ve got the usual mix for you today – our quiz, Carolina, ‘your turn’, Tom the teacher - and I might even tell you another joke. But, as usual, we’ll start with I’d Like to Talk About. Tess?
Tess: Yes. I’d like to Talk About is the part of the podcast for you, our listeners to tell everyone about something that you’re interested in.
Ravi: Anything that you’d like to talk about.
Tess: Today we’ve got Stacey with us in the studio. Hi Stacey.
Stacey: Hi Tess. Hi Ravi.
Ravi: Hi there. Tell us a bit about yourself Stacey.
Stacey: Well, I’m twenty-two, I work in a bank, um, I’ve got a little boy, Ben, he’s two, and we live in Crawley.
Tess: Ah Crawley, near Gatwick airport.
Stacey: Yeah, that’s right. Not far from London.

Tess: And I think Stacey’s going to talk about something that a lot of people like – is that right Stacey?
Stacey: Yes. I’m going to talk about chocolate.

Ravi: Oh, I love chocolate.
Stacey: Most people do.
Tess: It’s funny isn’t it – why do you think it’s so popular?
Stacey: Well I don’t know really. It just tastes good I suppose. I eat it all the time. I’m a bit of a chocoholic.
Ravi: Chocoholic. I love that word.
Stacey: Well, it’s true – I eat chocolate every day, usually more than once.
Ravi: Now I think I know a bit about this. Chocolate came from Mexico didn’t it?
Stacey: That’s right - from the Ancient Aztecs, a few thousand years ago. The word ‘chocolate’ comes from an Aztec word. But they didn’t eat it – it was a drink, made with water. They didn’t put milk or sugar in it.
Ravi: Yeuk.
Stacey: And they used it as a medicine. It was very important to them - they used it in their religious ceremonies too.
Tess: So when did chocolate come to the rest of the world?
Stacey: Well it was after the Spanish went to South America, and conquered the Aztecs, so that was what, the sixteenth century?
Tess: Yeah, fifteen hundred and something I think.
Stacey: So the Spanish brought it back to Europe and then to the rest of the world. And everybody loved it. But I think people still drank it. They had ‘chocolate houses’ in London where you could only drink chocolate, you know, like ‘tea houses’ where you only drink tea.
Ravi: What’s your favourite kind of chocolate Stacey?
Stacey: Absolutely anything. If it’s chocolate I like it. But I suppose my favourite is the really dark chocolate – you know, without milk. It’s got lots of good things in it. It’s the sugar in chocolate that makes you fat - if it hasn’t got too much sugar, it’s good for you.
Ravi: That’s good to know. Well, thanks Stacey. I’m feeling hungry now.
Stacey: Me too.
Ravi: Well you can go and get some chocolate now. There’s a great shop just down the road from the studio. They’ve got all sorts.
Stacey: Really? OK. I’ll go and have a look.

Ravi: OK. Bye Stacey, and thanks again.

Stacey: Bye
Tess: Bye. Do you know chocolate is poisonous for dogs and cats?

Ravi: No, is it?

Tess: Yes. If they eat too much they can get really ill, sometimes die.
Ravi: But dogs love chocolate.
Tess: I know, but you shouldn’t give it to them. It’s really bad for them.
Ravi: Are you sure?
Tess: Yep. Look it up on the internet if you don’t believe me.
Ravi: I didn’t say I didn’t believe you – I’m just surprised that’s all. Well, we live and learn.
Tess: Yup. You learn something new every day.
Ravi: Yeah. And if any of you, listeners, are chocoholics like Stacey, why not write and tell us how you feel about chocolate? You can write something or record something and send it to us at learn English podcast at British Council dot org, that’s learnenglishpodcast - all one word – at - britishcouncil – all one word DOT org, that’s o-r-g. If we like it, we’ll put it on the site.

Tess: Or you tell us what you’d like to talk about. Remember it can be anything – a person, a place, a thing, a hobby – anything.

Section 3 – Quiz

Ravi: Right, then. Next up, it’s time for our quiz. Today’s guest is Scott. Hello Scott!
Scott: Hello Ravi. Hi Tess.
Tess: Hi Scott. Where are you calling from? Scott: Erm . Little Witley. In Worcestershire.

Ravi: Little … ?
Scott: Witley. It’s quite small. It’s a village.
Ravi: Ah, OK. And what do you do in Little Witley, Scott?
Scott: I work with horses. At a stables.

Tess: Ah, great. Do you enjoy it?
Scott: I love it.
Tess: Excellent. And are you ready for our game today?

Scott: I suppose so.

Tess: Right. Well, Ravi did it last time so it’s my turn this time. Have you got the cards Ravi?
Ravi: Yep.
Tess: OK, Scott, Ravi will give the cards to me and I’ll try to explain the words to you. When you know the word, you say it. OK?
Scott: OK
Tess: And we try to get as many as we can in a minute .
Ravi: And all the words are on the same topic. Ready?
Tess & Scott: Yes / OK
Ravi: And the topic is… dum dum dum ‘Places in the city’. All the answers are places you find in a city. Take the cards Tess. Ready? One minute starting from NOW.
Tess: Right. OK. Where you go to send a letter, buy stamps erm …
Scott: Post office.
Tess: Yes. You get money out or put money in. Big buildings. With cashpoints ….
Scott: Bank.
Tess: Yes. Where you go to catch a train. Scott: Station.
Tess: What kind of station?

Scott: Railway station.
Tess: Yes. Where you go to learn things. Children go there. Erm .. teachers …
Scott: School
Tess: Right. Um, a big place. Lots of… can I say that word Ravi?

Ravi: No.
Tess: Agh. OK. You go there to buy things.

Scott: Supermarket.
Tess: No. All kinds of different things – clothes, erm, books, CDs, shoes, erm … agh! Ravi – it’s not fair!
Scott: Shopping mall? 

Ravi: Shopping centre. Yes, you can have that one.
Tess: Eh? This isn’t in every city. Right then. Across a river. You go across it.
Scott: Bridge.
Tess: Yes. You get books from it. You don’t buy them. You borrow books.
Scott: Library.
Tess: Yes. Not a school but you learn there – adults ………

{buzzer sounds}

Tess: Agghhh. It was university. How many did we get?
Ravi: Post office, bank, railway station, school, shopping centre, bridge, library. Seven. Pretty good.
Tess: Yes! Well done Scott! That’s better than you did last time Ravi.
Ravi: Yeah, but I had a really difficult one – I had places in an airport. This was a bit easier, wasn’t it?

Tess: Oh, I don’t know. I think Scott and I are just a great team, don’t you Scott?
Scott: Yeah, well done Tess.
Tess: And well done to you. We’ll see what we can find to send you. Thanks for playing – enjoy the rest of your day.
Scott: Thanks. You too.
Ravi: See you, Scott. … Right. We’ve still got Your Turn and Carolina to come – after this…

Section 4: Your turn

Tess: OK. And now for ‘Your turn’ when we go out of the studio to talk to different people and ask their opinions about a question.
Ravi: And the question this time is “If you've got some work to do, but don't want to do it, what do you do to put off working?” So, what things do you do to waste time?
Tess: You mean like playing solitaire on the computer?

Ravi: Yeah.

Tess: Or checking your Facebook account every five minutes?
Ravi: Oh that’s me. But let’s hear what some other people said.
Voice 1: If I’ve got work to do and I don’t want to do it I spend a lot of time on my computer, looking at different websites and looking at funny pictures on the Internet and funny videos and things like this, I also ... after that I probably will clean my flat before doing my work, ... um ... so if I have a lot of work to do I have a very clean flat and I know a lot about what’s happening on the Internet.
Voice 2: So, normally ... um ... if I was at work I would probably spent more time looking at my e-mails and writing emails, and then probably taking the work home to do at home in the evening … and if I was at home and I didn’t want to do the work, well it depends what kind of work it is, but I would probably telephone somebody, telephone home, or watch a film.
Voice 3: If I want to put off working I make coffee, constantly, every 15 minutes and I check my Facebook. 

Voice 4: Well if it’s work at home, like housework and things, I would try to do something like look after the children, play with the children, or I’d go and listen to music or get distracted watching something on television. If I’m in work in the office I would likely do the emailing and do the easier tasks and put off the main work that I was supposed to be doing.
Voice 5: So, if I’ve go some work to do but don’t want to do it there’s a variety of things that I do ... um ... one of them is go and make a cup of tea ... um ... so often in a day I can drink four or five cups of tea ... um ... another thing I do is switch on the TV and just channel surf and see if I can find something interesting to watch. The other thing I do is go onto the internet and surf around, check my email, check my Facebook, things like that.

Tess: It’s funny isn’t it? Everybody has something – I mean something that they do when they don’t want to work.
Ravi: Yeah. I thought I was the only one. What about our listeners? Why don’t you write and tell us what you do to waste time when you should be working.

Section 5: Carolina

Tess: And now it’s time now to catch up again with Carolina. Carolina’s from Venezuela and she’s come to the UK to study at Newcastle University.
Ravi: In the last podcast, Carolina and her boyfriend, Jamie, were at Jamie's family home visiting his parents – Mary and Doug. And they’re still there this time. Let's see how they're getting on…

…

Carolina: Good morning.

Mary: Good morning Carolina. Did you sleep well?
Carolina: Yes, very well thank you. The bed was really comfortable.
Mary: Now, what would you like for breakfast love? I’m doing bacon and eggs for Doug.
Carolina: Um…
Mary: Or we’ve got cereal … or I can make you some toast... or would you like a boiled egg?
Carolina: Oh no, I’ll just have some cereal please.
Mary: Right you are.
Doug: Good morning! Something smells good!

Carolina: Good morning Mr.. erm, Doug.
Doug: Did you sleep well Carolina? Bed comfortable?
Carolina: Oh yes thank you. Very.
Doug: Now what are the plans for this morning?

Carolina: Um, I’m not really sure. I don’t think we have any.

Mary: Well, I’m cooking the dinner – I’m doing a nice Sunday roast. Have you ever had an English roast dinner Carolina?
Carolina: No, no I haven’t.
Doug: Best food in the world. You can’t beat a good English roast.
Jamie: Good morning all. Sleep well?

Doug: Morning, son.
Mary: Hi Jamie
Carolina: Hi Jamie. Yes thanks. Very well.

Jamie: So what are we all doing this morning?
Doug: Well, your mother’s cooking the roast dinner, I’m taking Ernie for a long walk along the river, and I’ll probably call in to the Hat and Feathers for a pint on the way back. You two can join me if you like.
Jamie: Carolina? It’s a pretty walk along the river and the Hat and Feathers is a nice old pub.
Carolina: Well perhaps I can stay here and help your mother?
Mary: Don’t be silly. You go out and enjoy yourself.
Carolina: Well yes, OK then. That sounds nice. I’d like a walk.
Doug: That’s that, then.
…
Doug: I hope that dinner’s on the table. I could eat a horse.
Carolina: Dinner? But it’s only one o’clock.

Doug: Do you eat later in Venezuela?
Carolina: Yes… well no… I mean … I thought dinner was in the evening.
Jamie: Ahh, yes. I didn’t think …. I suppose it is a bit strange for you. Some people say ‘dinner’ and not ‘lunch’. It’s always Sunday dinner in this house.
Carolina: So what do you have in the evening? Lunch?
Doug: No, we’ll have tea tonight.
Carolina: A cup of tea?

Jamie: No, ‘Tea’. A salad, or a sandwich, or toast or something. Don’t worry about it. Come on.
…
Mary: Oh good, you’re back. It’ll be ready in about ten minutes. It’s roast lamb and I’ve got some veggie burgers for you Jamie. (to Carolina) He’s a vegetarian you know.
Carolina: Yes, I know. But I’m not. The lamb smells delicious!
Mary: Well I hope you’re all hungry. Jamie: Starving!
Carolina: Is there anything I can do to help?
Mary: No, I don’t think so. Erm… you can lay the table if you like. Jamie, help Carolina lay the table – show her where the knives and forks are. And use the best glasses – we’ve got a nice bottle of wine today. It’s a special occasion after all.
…

Doug: So what do you think of the lamb?

Carolina: It’s really good.
Doug: Try a bit of mint sauce with it. You can’t have roast lamb without mint sauce.
Jamie: It’s nice. It’s made with mint and vinegar.
Carolina: Vinegar! … OK, I’ll try some, but just a tiny bit.
Mary: More potatoes anyone. Jamie? Carolina? Come on, finish them up.
Carolina: Oh no thank you.
Doug: Go on, have another potato, and a bit more lamb.
Carolina: No, no, no. No thank you. It’s all delicious but I couldn’t possibly eat any more.
Jamie: Yeah, leave some room for pudding. Mum’s made apple crumble. It’s her specialty.
Carolina: Pudding!
…
Doug: Well that was delicious Mary.

Carolina: Yes, it was lovely.

Jamie: Fantastic mum.

Carolina: Can I help with the washing up?
Mary: Certainly not. You’re a guest. You stay there.
Carolina: No really, I’d like to help. Please let me do something.
Doug: I’ll do the washing up. Jamie and Carolina can dry.
Mary: Well all right then. I’ll put the kettle on for a nice cup of tea.
Carolina: Hmm. A nice cup of tea.
…
Tess: It’s difficult, isn’t it, meeting your boyfriend’s parents?
Ravi: Especially in another language, I guess. They seem OK though. I’ll tell you what, I could just eat a Sunday dinner now. Mmmmm.

Section 6: The Joke

Tess: Well we’ve nearly finished the podcast. You can go and get something to eat. Unless you’ve got another one of your ‘jokes’ for us?
Ravi: I have, I have. Ready?

Tess: Go on.
Ravi: Do you know what a Trappist monk is?

Tess: Is that the joke?
Ravi: No – it’s a question. Trappist monks are in a religious order. They live together in a monastery or somewhere and they don’t speak.
Tess: Why not?
Ravi: I don’t know. They spend their time praying and meditating, I guess. Anyway, this Trappist monk joins a monastery where the monks are not allowed to speak. Once a year they can go to speak to the head of the monastery – but they are only allowed to say three words. So, at the end of the first year, the new monk has his chance to speak. He goes to see the head monk and says “Food... not…good”. At the end of the second year he goes to see the head monk again and says “Bed…not…comfortable”. At the end of the third year he goes to see the head monk again and says “Room…too…cold”. And at the end of the next year he goes to see the head monk again, but this time he says “I…want…leave”. And the head monk says “Well I’m not surprised. For four years now, all you’ve done is complain, complain, complain.”
Tess: But that’s more than three words.
Ravi: Yeah, but he’s the head monk Tess. Never mind. Right everyone, that’s all we’ve got time for today. Remember you can write to us here at the podcast. The address is learnenglishpodcast@britishcouncil.org. We’d love to hear from you. Tom the teacher will be here in a minute to talk about some of the language in the podcast, but that’s all from us until next time. Bye!
Tess: Bye!

Tom the teacher

Tom: Hi, I’m Tom. You’ll hear from me at the end of every podcast. I always talk about some of the language you heard in the programmes and ways to help you learn English. Today I want to talk about a verb form. Listen to Mary - Jamie’s mother, and Carolina. What is Mary doing at the moment? What does she say?

Mary: Good morning Carolina. Did you sleep well?

Carolina: Yes, very well thank you. The bed was really comfortable.

Mary: Now, what would you like for breakfast love? I’m doing bacon and eggs for Doug.
Tom: Mary is cooking the breakfast. She says “I’m doing bacon and eggs for Doug”. I’m sure you know this verb form – it’s called the ‘present progressive’ – or the ‘present continuous’. You’ll see both names in grammar books. The present progressive is made with the verb to be - “I am” and the ‘ing’ form of the verb - “doing”. Mary says “I’m doing bacon and eggs for Doug”. We can use this verb form to talk about what we’re doing now. And at the moment, Mary is cooking breakfast for her husband, Doug.
Now listen to the next part of the same conversation. Remember, Mary is cooking the breakfast at the moment. What does she say about her plans for later in the day?

Doug: Now what are the plans for this morning?

Carolina: Um, I’m not really sure. I don’t think we have any.

Mary: Well, I’m cooking the dinner – I’m doing a nice Sunday roast.

Tom: Yes. Mary says “I’m cooking the dinner”. But she isn’t cooking the dinner at the moment. She uses the present progressive to talk about her future plans. Maybe this seems strange to you! But it’s very common in English. We often use the present progressive when we have definite plans for the future, when we already know what we’re going to do. Listen to another example – again from the same conversation. Jamie gets up and asks everyone about their plans. Listen for the present progressive verb forms.

Jamie: So what are we all doing this morning? Doug: Well, your mother’s cooking the roast dinner, I’m taking Ernie for a long walk along the river, and I’ll probably call in to the Hat and Feathers for a pint on the way back.

Tom: Did you hear them? Jamie says “What are we all doing this morning?”. He uses the present progressive to ask a question about future plans. And Doug says “Your mother’s cooking the dinner” and “I’m taking Ernie for a walk”. Both of these things are already decided. But listen again. What does Doug say about the pub – the Hat and Feathers?

Jamie: So what are we all doing this morning?

Doug: Well, your mother’s cooking the roast dinner, I’m taking Ernie for a long walk along the river, and I’ll probably call in to the Hat and Feathers for a pint on the way back.

Tom: Yes, Doug says “I’ll probably call in to the Hat and Feathers”. He might go for a drink in the pub, but he isn’t sure. He hasn’t really decided yet. So he doesn’t use the present progressive – he uses ‘will’. He says “I’ll probably”. We use lots different forms in English to talk about the future. It can be quite difficult for learners. The best thing you can do is listen to, or read, lots of English and notice what people say. Now let’s talk about something different. Last time I talked about something you can do to improve your vocabulary – try to name all the things that you can see when you’re in different places. Another thing you can do is look for the English that you see around you. In most countries, you can see a lot of English. For example, in advertisements, or even just names of British or American products – drinks, chocolates, clothes. Notice it. And try to understand what it means. You can make a note of all the English you see for example, on your way to work or to school. Now, I want to talk about something else. Listen to Ravi and Stacey talking about chocolate. Stacey uses an unusual word – What is it?

Stacey: Well I don’t know really. It just tastes good I suppose. I eat it all the time. I’m a bit of a chocoholic.

Ravi: Chocoholic. I love that word.

Stacey: Well, it’s true – I eat chocolate every day, usually more than once.

Tom: She says ‘chocoholic’. You probably know what an ‘alcoholic’ is – someone who is addicted to alcohol – who has to drink it every day. And Stacey means that she’s like an alcoholic – but with chocolate. ‘Chocoholic’ is an invented word – it’s the first part of ‘chocolate’ – ‘choc’ and the last part of ‘alcoholic’ – ‘oholic’. We also talk about ‘shopaholics’ – people who can’t stop shopping, and ‘workaholics’ – people who are always working – they can’t stop. We do this a lot in English – we put parts of two words together to make a new one. Another example is ‘brunch’. ‘Brunch’ is a meal that you eat in the middle of the morning, maybe because you get up very late. It comes from
‘breakfast’ – the ‘br’, and ‘lunch’ – the ‘unch’. So you get a new word - ‘brunch’ - that means a meal that is breakfast and lunch together. It’s fun to create new words! I noticed another example recently. Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie are a very famous couple. And people have started calling them ‘Brangelina’. ‘Bra’ from Brad and ‘gelina’ from Angelina. It’s a joke of course – we don’t usually do that with people’s names – but it’s another example of how we invent new words all the time. Do you do the same thing in your language? Do you put parts of words together to make new ones? I’d be interested to hear if you do. Write and let me know.
Tom: OK. Let’s move on. Do you remember that Carolina got confused about ‘lunch’ and ‘dinner’ when she was at Jamie’s parents house? Listen.

Doug: I hope that dinner’s on the table. I could eat a horse.

Carolina: Dinner? But it’s only one o’clock.

Doug: Do you eat later in Venezuela?

Carolina: Yes… well no… I mean … I thought dinner was in the evening.

Jamie: Ahh, yes. I didn’t think …. I suppose it is a bit strange for you. Some people say ‘dinner’ and not ‘lunch’. It’s always Sunday dinner in this house.

Tom: This can be very difficult when you visit Britain. You learn that ‘lunch’ is in the middle of the day and ‘dinner’ is in the evening. Then you go to Britain and you find that different people say different things! And it’s very complicated to explain. Most people say ‘lunch’ for the meal in the middle of the day. But, if it’s a big, cooked meal in the middle of the day, then some people say ‘dinner’ – like Jamie’s parents. It isn’t easy, and sometimes even native speakers get confused! If someone invites me for dinner on Sunday, then I sometimes have to ask if they mean at one o’clock or in the evening. So the best thing is to always ask if you’re not sure. People will understand that names of meals can be very confusing. Now for a phrase that you can use this week. Listen to Tess and Ravi at the beginning of the podcast. Tess isn’t very happy. What does Ravi ask her?

Ravi: You sound a bit miserable.

Tess: Yeah, I am a bit, actually.

Ravi: Oh dear. What’s up?

Tom: Yes, he asks “What’s up?” "What’s up?" means "What’s the problem?", "What’s the matter?". See if you can use it this week. If someone isn’t very happy, ask them "What’s up?"

Tom: OK. That’s enough from me for this time. I’ll talk to you all again next time. Remember you can write to me about any language that you noticed in this podcast. The address is learnenglishpodcastATbritishcouncilDOT org. In a moment you’ll hear the address for the website where you can read everything you’ve heard in this podcast. You can also find some practice exercises to do online and a support pack that you can print. Right. That’s all for this time. Bye for now! See you next time.

  • 13 آبان 1402

Episode 05

در این قسمت تس چند خبر خوب با راوی به اشتراک می گذارد و مهمانان آنها در مورد فرمول 1 و گفتن حقیقت صحبت می کنند. شما همچنین می توانید کارولینا را دنبال کنید که او چیزی را به مغازه برمی گرداند. آیا او پول خود را پس خواهد گرفت؟

Section 1: "Well, that's good news"

Ravi: Hello and welcome back to the second series of the Learn English Elementary podcast. This is podcast number five, and I'm Ravi.
Tess: And I'm Tess. Hi.
Ravi: Well, Tess, is he back?

Tess: Hm?
Ravi: Oscar. Did he come back?
Tess: Ohh, Oscar! Yes! Sorry, I'd forgotten about that.
Ravi: The last time we were here, listeners, Tess was upset because Oscar was missing. Sorry – Oscar is Tess's cat. He was missing. Three days wasn't it Tess? When did he come back?
Tess: Well, it was quite strange. After the last podcast, I went home and he was there, waiting for me. It was like he'd never been away.
Ravi: Well, that's good news! Where'd he been?
Tess: I really don't know. He just came back and acted like everything was completely normal.
Ravi: I told you he'd come back. How long was he gone for?
Tess: Well, four days, really. I looked at some internet sites and there are lots of stories about cats disappearing for a few days or even a few weeks and then coming home.
Ravi: Why do they do it?
Tess: Because they can. I don't know. Nobody really knows.
Ravi: Well, I'm glad he's come back. I bet you were really happy to see him. Is he OK and everything?
Tess: He seems fine. I took him to the vet for a check up but he seems absolutely fine.
Ravi: You see, that's the thing about cats. You never know what they're thinking. Dogs are much easier to understand. Dogs don't disappear for a few days then come back.
Tess: That's because dogs aren't as clever as cats. Anyway, I went to see that film you recommended.
Ravi: The James Bond film?

Tess: Yeah.
Ravi: And?
Tess: It was OK. I quite enjoyed it but it was a bit too violent for me.
Ravi: It's not really violent.
Tess: I know, I know but I'm … I don't know. I can't watch anything with guns and explosions and everything.
Ravi: Oh, Tess.
Tess: I know, I know. Right. Are we ready to have a look at what we've got on the podcast today. We've got Carolina – she met Jamie's parents last time, we've got Alison doing our quiz, we've got Your Turn about telling the truth. Have we got a joke from you, Ravi?
Ravi: We have.

Section 2: I’d like to talk about…

Tess: And to start with, as usual, we've got I'd Like to Talk About. This is the part of the podcast when we ask someone to come in and talk about something that's important for them – a person, a place, a thing, a hobby – anything.
Ravi: And today we've got Rafael with us in the studio. Hi Rafael.
Rafael: Hi Ravi. Hi Tess. And, um call me Raffa – that's what my friends call me.
Tess: OK. So, where are you from Raffa?

Rafael: Well, actually I was born in Spain, in Madrid. We lived there till I was ten, then we came to London. My dad's Spanish and my mum's English.
Ravi: Cool. So you're bilingual then Raffa?
Rafael: Yeah, I guess so. My English is probably better then my Spanish though, now anyway.
Tess: And what do you do?
Rafael: I work for my dad. He's got a small business, selling books, mostly on the Internet. So I work with him and I'm learning the business.
Tess: So don't tell me - you're going to talk about your favourite book.
Rafael: Well no actually. I'm going to talk about Formula 1.
Ravi: Formula 1? Great stuff.

Rafael: When I was a kid, my dad used to take me to see Formula 1 and I really, really loved it. The noise, the smells, the people. It was so exciting. Then when I got a bit older, I wasn't so interested. In those years, Michael Schumacher was always the World Champion, and I got bored with seeing Ferrari win all the time. Then Fernando Alonso won in 2005, and suddenly, hey, it was interesting again.
Ravi: And is that because Fernando Alonso is Spanish … by any chance?
Rafael: Well yeah, of course. But the races are a lot more fun to watch as well. It's funny, my favourite drivers are Alonso and Lewis Hamilton – one's Spanish and the other's British, so that's pretty good for me – I don't mind who wins.
Ravi: I bet they do. Alonso and Hamilton don't like each other very much do they?
Rafael: Well, no, that's true.
Tess: Do you travel for Formula 1?

Rafael: Travel?
Tess: Sorry, bad question. I mean, do you go abroad to watch the big races?
Rafael: No, unfortunately. I usually watch them on the telly with my dad. Now if I was rich……..my dream is to go and see the Monaco Grand Prix.
Tess: Ah yes, that's a famous one. I don't know much about Formula 1, but I've heard of Monaco.
Rafael: Yeah. It's a really cool race around the city, round the streets, with loads of corners and turns – it's totally different from racing around a track. If you're really rich you can sit on your hotel balcony and watch the race. I forget who it was, but somebody, one of the drivers, once said that racing in Monaco is just like riding a bicycle around your living room. And there's a Spanish one now - in Valencia – a street race I mean. I'm hoping my dad will go next year.
Tess: And take you with him. Rafael: That's the plan.
Tess: But seriously, is it safe? I don't like watching it in case someone has a crash and gets killed.
Rafael: Well, it's as safe as it can be I guess. It's a big question at the moment, what the rules should be and so on. Obviously, nobody wants to see drivers getting killed, but at the same time, everybody wants the races to be exciting – that's why people watch it – and it isn't exciting if it isn't dangerous – it can't be completely safe.
Tess: And what about the environment? It isn't a very green sport is it?
Rafael: That's another good question. Some people think that that will be the future of Formula 1, that they'll start making the cars more friendly to the environment, - remember these people spend millions and millions of pounds on designing new cars, so they might find some technology that can then be used in normal cars, so that would be good.
Ravi: Well thanks Rafael. And I hope you get to Monaco one day.
Rafael: Thanks Ravi. Ok bye, everybody.

Tess and Ravi: Bye
Tess: And thanks again.
Ravi: Hey Tess, what does a cat say?

Tess: A cat says miaow, Ravi.
Ravi: And what does a Formula 1 cat say?
Tess: I don't know Ravi. What does a Formula 1 cat say?
Ravi: Meeeeeeeeeowwwwwwwwwmmmmmm.

Tess: Very funny. Was that your joke for today?

Ravi: Oh no. The best is yet to come.
Tess: Hmm. OK. Remember, listeners, that if there's something you'd like to tell us about you can send it to us at learn English podcast at British Council dot org, that's learnenglishpodcast - all one word – at - britishcouncil – all one word DOT org, that's o-r- g. If we like it, we'll put it on the site.
Ravi: You can write something or record yourself, if you want.

Section 3 – Quiz

Tess: OK. Time now for our quiz. We've got Alison waiting to talk to us. Alison?

Alison: Hi Tess.

Tess: Hi Alison.
Ravi: Hi Alison. Where are you from?

Alison: From Aberystwyth.
Ravi: In Wales?
Alison: That's right, but I live in Norwich now.

Tess: Ah, East Anglia. Beautiful part of the country. That's where I went to university. I love Norwich. What do you do Alison?
Alison: I work in a bank but I want to go to university next year.
Tess: In Norwich?
Alison: Erm... I don't know yet. Probably not in Norwich though.
Ravi: You want to get away from home?

Alison: No, it's not that. I mean, … it's nice to see new places isn't it?
Tess: What do you want to study?

Alison: Probably Film Studies.
Tess: Great. OK. Are you ready for the quiz?

Alison: I hope so.
Tess: Well, we're going to do 'ten things' again. I'll give you the topic and you've got one minute to name ten things on that topic. So, for example, if I say 'ten musical instruments' you can say 'piano, guitar, saxophone ..'. You get the idea?
Alison: Yes, OK.
Tess: Right. The topic this time is ….ten ball games. Ten games you play with a ball. You've got one minute starting from now.
Alison: Football. Basketball. Golf. Tennis. Erm … cricket. … Ice hockey.
Ravi: That isn't a ball.
Alison: No, of course not. Oh, um. Squash. … Rugby.
Tess: That's seven. Three more.
Alison: … Handball. … Have I said basketball?

Tess: Yes
Alison: Baseball! 

Tess: One more.
Alison: Argh! Erm, hockey!

Tess: Yes! Well done Alison.
Alison: That was more difficult than I thought.
Tess: I know – you think it's going to be really easy. Let's go over them again – football, basketball, golf, tennis, cricket, squash, rugby, handball, baseball and hockey. That's ten.
Ravi: Well done Alison. We'll find something to send to you. And good luck with university.
Alison: Thanks Ravi.

Tess: Bye, Alison.
Tess: Bye Tess, bye Ravi.
Ravi: Bye. … Right, Your Turn and Carolina coming up next after this

Section 4: Your turn

Ravi: Hello again. Now it's time for 'Your Turn'. This is the part of the podcast when we go out to ask some different people a question and find out what they think. And this time the question is 'Is it always best to tell the truth?' In other words, is honesty always the best policy?
Tess: Good question. Is it better to tell the truth or is it sometimes better to tell a lie? Let's see what people have to say about it.
Voice 1: I think it’s probably best to tell the truth most of the time. Um ... I think if you ... if you ... if you’re dishonest or if you tell a lie there’s often a very good chance that ... um ... you’ll be found out or it will come back ... um ... to hurt you, so I think on the whole I think it’s better to tell the truth although I have to say that sometimes ... um ... just so as not to hurt other people’s feelings or for other particular reasons it’s probably ok to tell a small lie or to be a little bit dishonest.

Voice 2: Um, no. I don’t think it’s always best to tell the truth ... I think it’s sometimes a good idea to tell the truth, for example, if you have done something wrong … if you just tell the truth then usually your problem is easy to solve but if you lie about it, it can become more difficult to solve your problem … but I think if you are thinking about somebody’s feelings, for example, if someone has their hair cut and it looks terrible and they ask you about it, it might be best to tell a small lie and tell them that it looks ok so that you don’t hurt their feelings.
Voice 3: Yes, it is always best to tell the truth because if you don’t tell the truth your conscience is going to haunt you forever.
Voice 4: It depends, I think that ... err ... if you ... um ... want to have a good relationship with someone who you ... err ... think is a ... could be a good partner you have to be honest … ah ... but in general with friends or a person that you don’t know very much it’s not that good to be honest.
Voice 5: Yes ...err ... it’s hard thing ... it’s a hard thing to do but ... definitely because in the end if you start lying you have to make lies to cover
the lies and in the end it’s just easier for everyone if you just says what’s on your mind.
Tess: That was interesting. You know, I think it's usually best to tell the truth. Lies always cause more problems in the end. What do you think Ravi?
Ravi: Oh, I don't know Tess. That's a bit too simple. I bet if you think about the last week, you've told loads of lies. We do it all the time – we just don't notice it.
Tess: Hmm. Does it count as a lie when I laugh at one of your jokes?

Ravi: Well – yes. That's exactly what I mean about lies. … Are you saying my jokes aren't funny?

Tess: Nooo. I always tell the truth. 

Ravi: I'm getting confused now.
Tess: Never mind Ravi. And listeners, please send us your opinions about telling the truth – we'd love to know what you think. You can write to us or send us a recording.

Section 5: Carolina

Tess: But now it's time to find out how Carolina's getting on. Carolina, you'll remember, is from Venezuela but she's studying at Newcastle University – and finding out about life in Britain. Last time we heard from her she was visiting Jamie's parents…
Ravi: Jamie's her boyfriend
Tess: … so let's see where she is today.
…
Emily: Are you ready Carolina?
Carolina: Sorry, Emily. I wanted to wear that new jacket I bought, you know, the green one. But…
Emily: What's wrong with it? It's really nice.
Carolina: Well, I wore it yesterday, and now look. The zip's broken. Look, it won't move up or down. I don't know what happened to it. I didn't notice it last night.
Emily: Let me have a look. … Yep, that's broken alright – it won't move at all.
Carolina: Oh dear. It was quite expensive. Do you think I should take it back to the shop?
Emily: Well yes, I do. The zip shouldn't break on a new jacket. It obviously isn't very well made. Have you still got the receipt?
Carolina: The receipt? The piece of paper they gave me when I bought it? Oh dear, I'll have to look for it. It must be in my bag somewhere. Oh, will you come with me Emily? To the shop?
Emily: What for? You can speak English.
Carolina: But it's really difficult in another language. To complain. I don't like doing it in Spanish but in English….!
Emily: OK, I'll come with you. But you have to do the talking. I'll tell you what to say – you can practice before we go.
Carolina: OK. Thanks Emily.

[In the shop]

Carolina: {practising } I bought this jacket here last week and now the zip is broken.
Emily: Don't worry. You'll be fine.
Shop Assistant: Good morning. Can I help you?

Carolina: Um, yes, I bought this jacket here last week and now the zip is broken. Here's the receipt.
Shop Assistant: Hmmm. Have you worn this jacket?
Carolina: Once. I was wearing it when the zip broke.
Shop Assistant: If you'd like to leave the jacket with us, we can put in a new zip. It will be ready in a week.
Carolina: No thank you, I don't want a new zip. I don't want to wait for a week. I'd like my money back please.
Shop Assistant: I'm afraid I can't give you your money back. The company doesn't give refunds for clothes that have been worn.
Carolina: I only weared… Emily: …wore…
Carolina: …wore the jacket once, and the zip broke. That shouldn't happen.
Shop Assistant: Just wait for one moment and I'll check if we have another jacket of the same size in stock.
Carolina: I'm sorry. I don't want another jacket - the same thing might happen again. I've already explained that I want my money back.
Shop Assistant: Well …

Emily: {whispers} Manager.
Carolina: Yes, um, could I speak to the manager please?

Shop Assistant: Certainly. I'll call him. Mr Parker? Could you come over here please?
Emily: You're doing really well.
Shop Assistant: …but the lady doesn't want another jacket. She says that she wants her money back.
Mr. Parker: Good morning madam.

Carolina: Good morning.
Mr. Parker: Is this the jacket?

Carolina: Yes
Mr. Parker: And you bought this last week?
Carolina: Yes, that's right. And I'd like to say that I'm very disappointed with your shop.
Mr. Parker: I think in the circumstances we can give you a refund. The zip is obviously faulty. Mrs Johnson, the receipt is for twenty-nine ninety-nine I believe. Could you give her the money please?
Shop Assistant: Certainly Mr Parker.

Carolina: Thank you very much.

Emily: Phew. Well done.
…
Tess: Well done Carolina. The shop assistant wasn't very helpful, was she?
Ravi: No, I know. It depends on the shop though. They all have different policies.
Tess: The voice of experience?
Ravi: Well yes, you know I do a lot of shopping. And let me tell you, it's always a good idea to speak to the manager.

Tess: Yes, I think Carolina did really well. …

Section 6: The Joke

Tess: That's almost the end of this podcast. Ravi?

Ravi: Yes! This is a good one. A man goes into a library. Lots of people are sitting at tables, reading and studying. He walks up to the desk and says to the woman {in a loud voice} "I'd like a train ticket to Manchester please". The woman behind the desk looks shocked and says "I'm sorry sir. This is a library!" The man looks a bit confused for a few seconds and then says "Oh, I'm terribly sorry. … {whispering} "I'd like a train ticket to Manchester please".
Tess: Very good. OK – that really is the end for this podcast. Remember, the address for anything that you want to send us is learnenglishpodcast@britishcouncil.org. Don't go away because Tom the teacher will be here in a moment to talk about some of the language that you heard in the podcast. But now it's goodbye from Ravi and me. See you next time! Bye!
Ravi: Bye!

Tom the teacher

Tom: Hi, I’m Tom. I’m here at the end of every podcast to talk about some of the language you heard in the programme, and to talk about ways to help you learn English. Today I want to talk about the words ‘everybody’ and ‘nobody’. I’m sure you know what they mean. Listen to Rafael saying goodbye at the end of ‘I’d like to talk about.

Ravi: Well thanks Rafael. And I hope you get to Monaco one day.

Rafael: Thanks Ravi. Ok bye, everybody.

Tom: He says “Bye everybody”. He’s saying goodbye to all the people that can hear him – not just Tess and Ravi. He could also say “Bye everyone”. ‘Everybody’ and ‘everyone’ mean exactly the same in English. There’s no difference. Now listen to ‘nobody’. Tess and Ravi are talking about cats that disappear for a few days and then come home again. 

Tess: I looked at some internet sites and there are lots of stories about cats disappearing for a few days or even a few weeks and then coming home.

Ravi: Why do they do it?

Tess: Because they can. I don’t know. Nobody really knows.

Tom: Tess says “Nobody really knows”. There isn’t a person who knows the answer. She could also say “No-one really knows”. ‘Nobody’ and ‘no-one’ are the same. There’s no difference between them. So far, so good. But what about the verb? Is ‘nobody’ singular or plural? Do we use a singular verb or a plural verb? Listen again. Listen for ‘nobody’ and the form of the verb. 

Tess: I looked at some internet sites and there are lots of stories about cats disappearing for a few days or even a few weeks and then coming home.

Ravi: Why do they do it?

Tess: Because they can. I don’t know. Nobody really knows.

Tom: That’s right. “Nobody knows.” Tess uses the third person singular form of the verb – the form that has an ‘s’ in the present simple, the form that we use with ‘he’, ‘she’ or ‘it’. Here’s another example. Raffa is talking about Formula One. Listen for ‘nobody’ and the verb.

Rafael: Well, it’s as safe as it can be I guess. It’s a big question at the moment, what the rules should be and so on. Obviously, nobody wants to see drivers getting killed. 

Tom: Yes, he says ‘nobody wants’. So try to remember to use the third person singular verb form with ‘nobody’ or ‘no-one’. Now listen to Raffa again, but this time, listen for ‘everybody’. What form of the verb does he use?

Rafael: Well, it’s as safe as it can be I guess. It’s a big question at the moment, what the rules should be and so on. Obviously, nobody wants to see drivers getting killed, but at the same time, everybody wants the races to be exciting – that’s why people watch it.

Tom: Yes, he says ‘everybody wants’. He uses the third person singular form of the verb – with an ‘s’. This probably seems strange to you. ‘Everybody’ means ‘all of the people’ but we use the singular verb form. Well yes, it is strange. But the word ‘everybody’ is singular grammatically, so we use the singular verb form. Try to remember – with ‘everybody’ and ‘everyone’ we use the singular verb form. Now for something different. If you visit Britain, or another English-speaking country, you might have to speak English in difficult situations – like Carolina when she had to take her jacket back to the shop and complain about the broken zip. Listen to Carolina and Emily. What does Emily tell Carolina to do?

Carolina: Oh, will you come with me Emily? To the shop?

Emily: What for? You can speak English.

Carolina: But it’s really difficult in another language. To complain. I don’t like doing it in Spanish but in English….!

Emily: OK, I’ll come with you. But you have to do the talking. I’ll tell you what to say – you can practice before we go.
Tom: Yes. She says “You can practice before we go”. That really is very good advice. If you know that you have to speak English in a difficult situation, then take some time and plan what you are going to say. Then you can use a dictionary to find the words that you need to use. Write it down on a piece of paper if you want - and learn it. Or practice the dialogue with a friend. You’ll feel much more confident about what you’re going to say. Just like Carolina. She did really well in the shop – the manager gave her her money back! Now I want to look at another word – the word ‘actually’. Listen to Tess and Raffa. What does Raffa mean when he uses ‘actually’?

Rafael: I work for my dad. He’s got a small business, selling books, mostly on the Internet. So I work with him and I’m learning the business.

Tess: So don’t tell me - you’re going to talk about your favourite book.

Rafael: Well no actually. I’m going to talk about Formula 1.

Tom: Did you hear it? Raffa sells books so Tess thinks he’s going to talk about a book – and Raffa says “Well no actually. I’m going to talk about Formula One.” He says ‘actually’ because he’s saying something different from what Tess expected. Listen to another example – from Tess and Raffa again.

Tess: OK. So, where are you from Raffa?

Rafael: Well, actually I was born in Spain, in Madrid. We lived there till I was ten, then we came to London.

Tom: Raffa says “Well, actually I was born in Spain. He says that because he knows that Tess thinks he’s probably British – that he comes from somewhere in Britain. He knows that she’ll be surprised that he was born in Spain. In some languages - Portuguese, Spanish and French for example, ‘actually’ is a false friend. That means that the word in English has a different meaning to the word in Portuguese. ‘Actually’ in English means ‘in reality’ – it means that you’re giving the true information about something. It doesn’t mean ‘at the moment’ or ‘nowadays’. I talked about false friends in series one, in podcast number seven – and there’s an exercise in the support materials too. If someone says “You’re Spanish aren’t you?”, you can say “Well actually, I’m Mexican”. Try to notice ‘actually’ in the English that you read and hear this week. Now for a phrase that you can use this week in English. Listen to Ravi talking to Alison at the end of the quiz.

Ravi: Well done Alison. We’ll find something to send to you. And good luck with university.

Alison: Thanks Ravi.

Tom: Ravi says “Good luck with university”. He hopes that everything goes well for Alison when she goes to university. So if someone has an exam the next day, or is going to start a new job, you can say “Good luck with the exam”, or “Good luck with the new job”. Say “Good luck” to someone this week. OK. I’m going to stop there. I’ll talk to you all again next time. Remember you can write to me about any language that you noticed in this podcast. I’ll be happy to answer your questions! The address is learnenglishpodcastATbritishcouncilDOT org. In a moment you’ll hear the address for the website where you can read everything you’ve heard in this podcast. You
can also find some practice exercises to do online and a support pack that you can print. Right. That’s all for this time. Bye for now! See you next time.

  • 13 آبان 1402

Episode 06

در این قسمت راوی پایش را زخمی کرده و تس او را متقاعد می کند که به دکتر برود. مهمانان آنها در مورد معمار زاها حدید صحبت می کنند و از خدمات بد شکایت می کنند. شما همچنین می توانید کارولینا را در حین رفتن به آرایشگاه دنبال کنید. آیا او ظاهر جدیدی پیدا خواهد کرد؟

Section 1: "But you really must…"

Tess: Hello everyone and welcome back to the Learn English Elementary podcast. It's series two, this is podcast number 6 and I'm Tess.
Ravi: Good morning. Or good afternoon, or good evening. I'm Ravi. And we're you're present-AAH…
Tess: Ravi? What's up? Are you OK? Ravi: Ah. Yeah, sorry. Yeah. I'm OK. Tess: What's up?
Ravi: It's alright. … I've really hurt my leg. Just there. When I do that it really hurts. AAGGH.
Tess: Well don't do it again, silly. What have you done.

Ravi: I think it was playing football on Saturday. It was OK after the match – well, it hurt a bit but it's getting worse I think.
Tess: Have you been to the doctor's?
Ravi: What? Er … no. … No. It'll be OK in a couple of days, I'm sure.
Tess: Ravi! If it's really hurting you, you have to go to the doctor. Can you walk OK?
Ravi: Yes, Tess, it's fine. I can walk OK, as long as I don't do this … AAGGHH.
Tess: Don't be so silly Ravi. It might be something serious. Go to the doctor's after we've finished the podcast, OK?
Ravi: I'm sure it's nothing serious but OK. Tess: I'll give you a lift, if you want.
Ravi: Thanks, Tess. It's OK though.
Tess: It's no problem. I'll give you a lift. It won't take long.
Ravi: Thanks Tess. … Tess?
Tess: Yes?
Ravi: Could you get me a glass of water? My leg, you know …
Tess: Don't push your luck, Ravi. … Shall we get on with the podcast and then I'll take you to the doctor's – if I still feel like it.
Ravi: He he. OK then. If you heard us before, listeners, you'll know what we have for you. As usual, we've got our quiz – Natalie's going to play this week. There's 'Your Turn' when we hear what some of you think about a big question. Erm … what else … Carolina – it should be a good Carolina today – she's at the hairdresser's apparently.
Tess: That's really difficult – going to the hairdresser in a foreign language. I had my haircut once in France. It was a disaster.
Ravi: I didn't know you spoke French. Tess: Exactly.
Ravi: Right. Oh – I've got a great joke for you today.
Tess: Hmm.

Section 2: I'd like to talk about…

Ravi: But first of all, as usual, we'll start with 'I'd Like to Talk About'.
Tess: OK. This is the part of our show when someone tells us about something important to them - a hobby, a person, a place, a thing – anything that they're interested in.
Ravi: Yes, anything that you know a bit about and would like to share with all of us. And today we've got Stephen here in the studio – hi Stephen.
Steve: Steve
Ravi: OK. Steve. So, where are you from Steve?
Steve: I'm from Essex, from a small village - on the coast, but I've lived in London for a few years now.
Tess: And what do you do here in London? Study?
Steve: No, I've finished my course – it was in Mathematics, but actually I'm a DJ now.
Ravi: A DJ? Wow. A professional DJ? You don't have another job?
Steve: Well no. I make enough money DJing to live. Not always in the clubs of course, but I do some parties – you know, weddings, birthdays, that sort of thing. Yeah, I don't need to do anything else.
Tess: And what do you want to talk about Steve? Music?
Steve: No. I'm going to talk about Zaha Hadid. Tess: Ah, interesting.
Ravi: She's an architect isn't she?
Steve: Yeah, that's right. A really cool architect. Her buildings are fantastic. Do you know much about her?
Ravi: No not really. But I know the name. Is she British?

Steve: She was born in Iraq, in Baghdad, but she's lived in London for a long time. I'm not sure if she's got British nationality. She was the first woman ever to win the Pritzer Prize – in 2004. That's the biggest prize in architecture, like the Nobel Prize. And it's pretty amazing for a woman to win it. Architecture is still a man's world really.
Tess: Yeah, I bet.
Steve: She says that she wanted to be an architect when her father took her to Sumer, in the south of Iraq, when she was a kid. And of course, Sumer was where the first cities were ever built, thousands of years ago – the oldest architecture in the world.
Ravi: You studied Maths and now you're a DJ. What's the interest in architecture?
Steve: Well I'm not really into all architecture. But there's something about Zaha Hadid that I love. She's a very, well, intellectual architect. She studied Maths too – she's got a Maths degree, and her buildings are so – complicated. I'm really interested in technology, and nowadays well, you can draw something crazy on a piece of paper and now we've got the technology to actually build it. Anything's possible. You should look at her design for the Dancing Towers.
Tess: Dancing Towers? Great name.
Steve: Yeah, it's gonna be built in Dubai – or anyway, I hope it's gonna be built in Dubai. It's a really crazy building. It's really organic – you know, it looks like a plant or something. And I think my favourite is the one she's doing in Abu Dhabi – the Performing Arts Centre. It's gonna be beautiful. It's all round shapes – just like nature. Really beautiful.
Tess: She must be a busy woman!
Steve: Well, a few years ago people said that her buildings were just not practical – they were too complicated and expensive to build. But now as I said, anything's possible. She's got buildings and projects all over the world, North America, Asia, Europe, you name it. Yeah, her designs are expensive to build, but she does other things too.
Tess: Like what?
Steve: She designs all sorts of things – furniture, things for the home, handbags, shoes.

Tess: I'd like to see a pair of Zaha Hadid shoes.
Steve: They're fantastic. They're made of plastic, so they're soft – they kind of move to the shape of your foot, and of course they can be recycled. And her stuff isn't too expensive either.
Ravi: How old is she?
Steve: You shouldn't ask a woman's age Ravi. But seriously, I'm not sure. In her fifties?
Tess: Well thanks for that Steve. We really must get some pictures of her buildings up on the website – especially the ones that you talked about. I want to see the Dancing Towers.
Ravi: And the shoes. I want to see the shoes.
Steve: Sure. I'll give you some links. There's loads of stuff.
Tess: That'd be great. Thanks again, and bye. Steve: Bye.
Ravi: Bye. ... Do you think she does men's shoes?
Tess: I don't know Ravi. Interested?
Ravi: You bet. Imagine telling people your shoes were designed by a famous architect. Cool or what?
Tess: You're such a fashion victim, Ravi.
Ravi: I know, I know. But, really, remember to put those sites up on our blog. I really want to see the shoes.
Tess: OK. I will, I will. ... And if you're listening, why don't you tell us what you think about architecture or what you'd like to tell us about. You can write something or record something – in audio or video - and send it to us at learnenglishpodcast@britishcouncil.org, that's learnenglishpodcast - all one word – at - britishcouncil – all one word DOT org, that's o-r- g. Send it to us and we'll put the most interesting ones on the site. Right, that's that.

Section 3 – Quiz

Tess: Now it's quiz time so let me introduce Natalie. Natalie?

Natalie: Hi Tess.
Tess: Hi Natalie. Where are you calling from?

Natalie: I'm in Buxton.
Ravi: Oh, in the Peak district? You know, I've never been to Buxton. It's daft because it's quite close to Manchester, really. Oh, I'm Ravi, by the way.
Natalie: Hi Ravi
Ravi: So, is it nice, Buxton?
Natalie: Well, it's a bit quiet for me but, yeah, the countryside's nice.
Ravi: Yeah, I've heard that. It's a spa town isn't it? People go there to drink the water and get better when they're ill, right?
Natalie: Well, it was, a long time ago. Not really any more.
Tess: Maybe you can go there for your leg, Ravi.
Ravi: That's not how it works, Tess. Anyway, Natalie, what do you do?
Natalie: Not much, really, I'm having a year out before I go to university.
Tess: A gap year?

Natalie: Yeah.
Tess: I thought people usually went abroad or travelled round the world in their gap year.
Natalie: Well, I want to go travelling – but I need to get some money together first.
Tess: OK – well, good luck with that. And good luck with our quiz. Are you ready to play?
Natalie: Yep.
Tess: OK then. We're going to try a new one this time. How's your general knowledge, Natalie?
Natalie: Erm .. it's OK, I suppose.
Tess: Because the quiz this time is a comparatives quiz. I'm going to ask you five questions. All you have to do is choose the right answer.
Natalie: OK
Tess: I'll give you an example. What's bigger – a cow or a sheep?

Natalie: A cow!
Tess: Right. That was an easy one – the real questions are a bit tougher than that. Shall we start?
Natalie: OK then.
Tess: First question then. What's longer – the River Nile or the Yangtze River?
Natalie: Oh god. I don't know. The Yangtse?

Tess: The Nile. Number two. Which has more people – Russia or Canada? Natalie: It must be Russia. Russia.

Tess: Yes, Russia. Number three. Which is taller – the Empire State Building in New York or the Petronas Towers in Kuala Lumpur?
Natalie: Erm. I think that must be the second one. The Petro…
Tess: Petronas. Yes. Two out of three. Number four. Which is further north – London or Moscow?
Natalie: Erm .. Moscow, I think.
Tess: That's right. Three out of four. Last one now. Which can run faster – a horse or an elephant?
Natalie: Oh. ... Is it a trick question? I'm going to say 'elephant'.
Tess: No, it was horse. Elephants are faster than you think – but they're not that fast. ... Three out of five, Natalie. Not bad.
Natalie: Yeah.
Tess: Thanks for playing though. We'll send you some bits and pieces very soon.
Ravi: Yep, bye Natalie.

Natalie: Bye.

Tess: OK. We'll have a little break but don't go away – we've got 'your turn' and we've got Carolina, straight after this.

Section 4: Your turn

Ravi: Right. Time for Your Turn. This is when we ask some of our listeners to tell us what they think. Now, in the last podcast, we heard Carolina take a jacket back to a shop because the zip was broken, so, for this time's Your Turn we asked you "Do you complain when you get bad service?" For example, in a restaurant, or in a shop, when something is wrong. Do you complain? Or just keep quiet? Let's hear what people said.
Voice 1: If I get bad service in a restaurant or a shop I often get angry but I rarely complain because I don't like getting into situations where I might have an argument with somebody. Usually, if I have a bad service experience I just don't go back to the same restaurant or the same shop in the future.
Voice 2: I complain if I get bad service when the service is rude or unfriendly …but when the service is just bad or slow in general, I usually find it quite funny and I don't really complain. I might never go back to the restaurant again, but unless the person is actually rude to me I don't really bother about it.
Voice 3: Always! Because I hate having bad service and people should be told when they're not doing their job properly ...
Voice 4: Um, I don't complain, I don't shout or get angry but I probably ... I'll make a noise to show that I'm waiting … I'll clear my throat or I'll say "Excuse me!", but I won't get really angry, I won't complain as such.

Voice 5: Ah, yeah, this is a new thing for me … especially being British we're not very good at complaining, but since I've lived in Italy I've become braver and yes, I don't hesitate now to complain.
Ravi: What about you Tess? I bet you complain if you get bad service.
Tess: You know me, Ravi.
Ravi: Hmm. Right. ... What about you, listeners? Do you complain when you get bad service? Write in and let us know – and we'll put the best ones on the website.

Section 5: Carolina

Tess: OK. Let's go straight to Carolina. Remember that Carolina is a student from Venezuela who's come to England to study at university in Newcastle. We've been following her on the podcast. And today she's with her best friend, Emily – and they're going to ... the hairdresser's!
Ravi: Let's see how they get on.

{at the hairdresser's}

Hairdresser 1: Good morning.
Emily: Good morning. I've got an appointment for eleven thirty. My name's Emily Granger.
Carolina: And I'm Carolina del Barco. Eleven thirty too.
Hairdresser 1: Emily Granger – cut and colour – is that right?
Emily: Yes. I'm having lowlights
Hairdresser 1: Have you been here before?

Emily: No, it's the first time.
Hairdresser 1: And Carolina del Barco…. cut, no colour.
Carolina: That's right, just a cut.
Hairdresser 1: Just take a seat for a few minutes please.
Carolina and Emily: OK.
Carolina: What did you ask for Emily? Lowlights? What's that?
Emily: Lowlights are like highlights but a different colour.
Carolina: What?
Emily: Highlights are blonde, you know little blonde bits in your hair, and lowlights are any other colour - like red or brown. Just little bits of colour.
Carolina: OK. Oh dear, I'm a bit nervous. I hope I understand what they say to me. I don't know the vocabulary for hair and hairdressers.
Emily: Well what do you want? A new style?
Carolina: Oh no. I want to keep it the same – just a bit shorter.
Emily: So you say you just want a trim.

Carolina: A trim? A trim. I want a trim. I just want a trim please.
Emily: Very good. ... How's Jamie?

Carolina: He's OK. Why?
Emily: Well, he used to come round all the time to see you, but recently, well, I haven't seen him. You used to be together all the time. Is everything OK?
Carolina: Yes, it's fine. ... Oh I don't know Emily. I mean – I really like Jamie – and I think, well that he really likes me – or I thought. But, recently, well, he's always busy. I know he's got other friends – of course. But I didn't see him at all last week.
Emily: Perhaps he's studying.

Carolina: Mmm.
Hairdresser 2: Emily Granger? Hi. Are you ready? I'll start your colour first, then I'll come back to cut your hair, Miss del Barco.
Emily: Here we go. Wish me luck.
Hairdresser 1: And if you'd like to come with me now, I'll wash your hair.

Carolina: Oh, yes, OK.

…

Hairdresser 2: Right. Comfortable? Now what can I do for you today?
Carolina: I just want a trim please.
Hairdresser 2: OK. How much d'you want off?

Carolina: Want off?
Hairdresser 2: How much hair shall I cut off? Half an inch? An inch? Two inches?
Carolina: Oh, um, about an inch I think.

Hairdresser 2: Hmm. Your hair's very thick.

Carolina: Oh. Is that bad?
Hairdresser 2: No, you've just got a lot of hair. Isn't it a bit difficult to control?
Carolina: Well yes, sometimes.

Hairdresser 2: What about a few layers?
Carolina: Layers? I'm sorry – my English isn't very good….
Hairdresser 2: I can cut some bits of it shorter – so it isn't all the same. We call them layers. Maybe just a few … here….. and here…
Carolina: Well OK then.
Hairdresser 2: And what about the fringe?

Carolina: The fringe? I'm sorry…
Hairdresser 2: This bit here, the part above your eyes. Do you want it long or short?
Carolina: Um, quite long please. Just cut a little bit off – not too much
Hairdresser 2: Right. So where are you from then?
Carolina: Venezuela.
Hairdresser 2: Venezuela. I've got a friend who went to Venezuela once. He said it was lovely. Can't remember where he went. On the coast somewhere I think.
Carolina: Oh yes, the coast is lovely.
Hairdresser 2: And how are you enjoying Newcastle?
Carolina: I like it.
Hairdresser 2: Not too cold for you?

Carolina: Well yes, it's a bit cold, colder than Venezuela anyway. But I'm getting used to it.

Hairdresser 2: Made a lot of friends?
Carolina: Oh yes, some. I share a flat with some people.
Hairdresser 2: Whereabouts?

Carolina: At the university.

Hairdresser 2: Ah, you're a student.

Carolina: Yes that's right.
Hairdresser 2: Just bend your head forward a bit please.
Carolina: Sorry?
Hairdresser 2: Just put your head forward … down… like this. I want to cut the back. So what are your plans for the holiday? Going back to Venezuela? Or staying here?
Carolina: Oh, I'm going …
…
Hairdresser 2: Right. There you are. I'll just get a mirror and show you the back. ... OK?
Carolina: Yes, it's lovely. Thank you very much.
Hairdresser 2: Good. Are you going to wait for your friend?
Carolina: I think so. How long is she going to be?
Hairdresser 2: About half an hour. Carolina: Oh OK. Yes I'll wait.

…

Emily: Thank you very much. {whispers to Carolina} Come on, let's get out of here. Quick.

Carolina: OK.

…
Carolina: What's the matter?

Emily: Look at me!
Carolina: It looks nice. It's a bit short but…
Emily: A bit short!! I look like a … I don't know .. a baby bird.
Carolina: No, you don't. It looks nice. And anyway, it'll soon grow.
Emily: It'll soon grow! That's OK then. I'll wear a paper bag on my head for a month.
Carolina: Well you could wear a hat … or a scarf.
Emily: Do you know what Carolina? You're not helping!! ... Oh, come on. Let's go home…
…
Tess: Poor Emily - a disaster at the hairdresser's. Like that time in France for me. Has that ever happened to you Ravi?
Ravi: No thank goodness. But there was once when I was a kid and my mum cut my hair at home. It looked awful! I didn't want to leave the house, but she made me go to school and all the other kids laughed at me. It was horrible.
Tess: Poor thing.
Ravi: I know AAAGGH.
Tess: Your leg again? Come on then, let's finish off here and I'll take you to the doctor's.

Ravi: OK.

Section 6: The Joke

Ravi: Hang on though. I've got a joke for you.

Tess: Typical! Come on then.
Ravi: So there's a man and he's lost in the desert.
Tess: Lost in the desert?
Ravi: Yeah. His plane crashed or something – in the desert. And he hasn't got any water. So he's walking and walking, and he's really thirsty. After a while he meets a man who's selling ties.
Tess: Ties?
Ravi: Yes Tess. Ties. The things that men wear round their necks. ... So this man has got hundreds of ties – black ones, pink ones,striped ones. "Do you want to buy a tie sir? Lovely ties, very cheap." So the man who's lost says "No, I don't want a tie – I want water." "Sorry sir, no water, only ties." So the man walks on in the desert. And he's getting more and more thirsty. Then he meets another man. "Want to buy a tie sir? Lovely ties. Special price for you sir." And he says "No!! I don't want a tie. I want water." "Sorry sir – no water, but very beautiful ties". So he walks on again. It's very hot and he's really desperate for water now. And he sees another man "Give me water!" "No water sir. But beautiful ties. Pink ones, red ones, striped ones. Very good price". So the poor mans walks on. And then, right in front of him he sees a beautiful luxury hotel in the middle of the desert. He thinks he must be imagining things, but no, it really is a hotel. He goes up to the door, crying with happiness and the man at the door of the hotel says ... " Sorry sir. You can't come in here if you aren't wearing a tie."
Tess: {groans}
Ravi: What? It's funny!
Tess: Let's just say it isn't one of your best Ravi.

Ravi: Well I thought it was …. AAAGHGHH.

Tess: Come on then, let's get you to the doctor. OK, everyone, thanks for listening. Remember that if you want to send us anything you can send it to learnenglishpodcast@britishcouncil.org. Tom the Teacher will be here in a moment so don't go away – but it's goodbye from me and Ravi. See you next time!
Ravi: Bye!

Tom the teacher

Tom: Hi, I'm Tom. I'm here at the end of every podcast to talk about some of the language you heard in the programme, and to talk about ways to help you learn English. Today I want to talk about how we compare things in English. I'm sure that you know that we often use 'more' to compare things. We can say 'A car is more expensive than a bicycle', or 'A book is more interesting than a film'. But we don't always use 'more'. Do you remember the quiz? It was all about comparing things. Listen to Tess explaining the quiz to Natalie. What question does she ask?

Tess: I'm going to ask you five questions. All you have to do is choose the right answer.

Natalie: OK

Tess: I'll give you an example. What's bigger – a cow or a sheep? Natalie: A cow!

Tom: Yes. The question was "What's bigger – a cow or a sheep?" But Tess doesn't use 'more'. We don't use 'more' with short adjectives – words like 'hot', 'cold', 'big' or 'small' – adjectives that only have one syllable. We add "-er" to the end of the adjective to make the comparative form. So Tess says "What's bigger – a cow or a sheep?" Listen to another question.

Tess: What's longer – the River Nile or the Yangtze River?

Natalie: Oh god. I don't know. The Yangtze?

Tom: Did you hear? "What's longer – The River Nile or the Yangtze River?". The adjective 'long' only has one syllable. 'Long'. So the comparative form of 'long' is 'longer'. Listen to one more example.

Tess: Number three. Which is taller – the Empire State Building in New York or the Petronas Towers in Kuala Lumpur?

Natalie: Erm. I think that must be the second one. The Petro…

Tess: Petronas. Yes.

Tom: Yes. "Which is taller – the Empire State Building or the Petronas Towers?" The comparative form of 'tall' is 'taller'. 'Big – bigger', 'long' – 'longer', 'tall – taller'. Easy isn't it? ... But some short adjectives are irregular – they don't follow the normal rules. Listen to another question from the quiz. What's the comparative form of 'far'?

Tess: Petronas. Yes. Two out of three. Number four. Which is further north – London or Moscow?

Natalie: Erm .. Moscow, I think.

Tom: That's right. "Which is further north – London or Moscow?". This one is a bit different. The comparative form of 'far' is 'further'. Some people say 'farther'. You'll hear both. 'Further' and 'farther' are both comparative forms of 'far'. Now listen to Tess and Ravi talking about his bad leg. What's the comparative form of 'bad'?

Tess: What have you done?

Ravi: I think it was playing football on Saturday. It was OK after the match – well, it hurt a bit but it's getting worse I think.

Tom: That's right. Ravi says his leg is getting worse. The comparative form of 'bad' is 'worse'. We don't add "-er" at all. We change the word completely. 'Worse'. And 'good' is irregular too. The comparative form of 'good' is 'better'. Now let's look at how we use a comparative form in a sentence. Listen to Carolina talking to the hairdresser. She compares Newcastle with Venezuela. What does she say?

Hairdresser 2: And how are you enjoying Newcastle?

Carolina: I like it.

Hairdresser 2: Not too cold for you?

Carolina: Well yes, it's a bit cold, colder than Venezuela anyway.

Tom: She says that Newcastle is colder than Venezuela. 'Colder than'. We use 'than' to compare things. So we can say 'a cow is bigger than a sheep or 'The River Nile is longer than the Yangtze'. 'Ravi's leg is worse now than it was this morning'. Try to notice comparative forms in the English that you hear and read this week. Now let's talk about telling the time in English. You probably learnt to say "It's four o'clock" or 'It's half past six". Yes, that's how we tell the time in English. But British people don't always say that. Listen to Emily at the hairdresser's. What time is her appointment?

Hairdresser 1: Good morning.

Emily: Good morning. I've got an appointment for eleven thirty. My name's Emily Granger.

Tom: She says "eleven thirty". 'Eleven thirty' is exactly the same as 'half past eleven'. You can say 'My train leaves at half past two" or "my train leaves at two thirty". It's the same. It's the same for all the other times too. You can say "quarter past three' or 'three fifteen'. You can say twenty-five past six' or 'six twenty-five'. And 'quarter to four' or 'three forty-five'. Sometimes 'three forty-five' is easier for learners than 'quarter to four' so don't be afraid to say it – British people do! ... Now, last time I talked about practising what you're going to say in English before you say it. Do you remember? It's a good idea. Carolina practised what she was going to say when she took her jacket back to the shop. She does the same thing this time at the hairdresser's. Listen.

Emily: Well what do you want? A new style?

Carolina: Oh no. I want to keep it the same – just a bit shorter.

Emily: So you say you just want a trim.

Carolina: A trim? A trim. I want a trim. I just want a trim please. 

Tom: She practises "I just want a trim please". And she says it to the hairdresser. But listen to what happens next.

Hairdresser 2: Now what can I do for you today?

Carolina: I just want a trim please.

Hairdresser 2: OK. How much d'you want off? Carolina: Want off?

Hairdresser 2: How much hair shall I cut off? Half an inch? An inch? Two inches?

Tom: Hmm. She says "I just want a trim please" beautifully, but then she doesn't understand what the hairdresser says next. This can happen when you're speaking English. Listen again. What does Carolina do to show that she doesn't understand?

Hairdresser 2: OK. How much d'you want off?

Carolina: Want off?

Hairdresser 2: How much hair shall I cut off? Half an inch? An inch? Two inches?

Tom: That's right. She just repeats the words that she doesn't understand as a question. "Want off?" And the hairdresser explains. She does the same thing several times at the hairdressers. Listen.

Hairdresser 2: What about a few layers?

Carolina: Layers? I'm sorry – my English isn't very good….

Tom: And again.
Hairdresser 2: And what about the fringe? Carolina: The fringe? I'm sorry…

Tom: So that's what you can do when you don't understand a word or a phrase - repeat it as a question. Now let's look at a word that you can use this week. The hairdresser asks Carolina where she lives, but he doesn't use the word 'where?". Listen. What does he use?

Carolina: I share a flat with some people.

Hairdresser 2: Whereabouts?

Carolina: At the university.

Tom: He says "whereabouts?". He doesn't want to know exactly where she lives – he doesn't want to know her address. We use 'whereabouts' when we want to ask more or less where – in what area of the city for example. So if someone says "I live in London" you can say "Oh really! Whereabouts?" Try to use 'whereabouts' this week. OK. I'm going to stop there. I'll talk to you all again next time. Remember you can write to me about any language that you noticed in this podcast. The address is learnenglishpodcast@britishcouncil.org. In a moment you'll hear the address for the website where you can read everything you've heard in this podcast. You can also find some practice exercises to do online and a support pack that you can print. Right. That's all for this time. Bye for now! See you next time.

  • 13 آبان 1402

Episode 07

در این قسمت راوی روز بدی را سپری می کند و همه چیز را به تس می گوید. مهمانان آنها در مورد شهر باث انگلیس و مشکلات جهانی پیش روی بشر صحبت می کنند. شما همچنین می توانید کارولینا را دنبال کنید که او برای آخر هفته با انجمن حفاظت از محیط زیست می رود. آیا آنها سفر خوبی خواهند داشت؟

Section 1: "I've had a really awful day "

Ravi: Hello again listeners and welcome back to the Learn English Elementary podcast. This is number seven in series two. My name's Ravi …
Tess: And my name's Tess. We're your presenters with lots of interesting things for you to listen to today. But first of all, listeners, I have to tell you, Ravi is sitting here with a very long face – you look really upset, Ravi. Do you want to tell the listeners what's up?
Ravi: Tess is just teasing me because I don't like the weather today.
Tess: Ravi has been complaining since he arrived at the studio.
Ravi: Well, I know, but really Tess I've had an awful journey here. It's OK for you because you come in the car but I come on the underground and it is just awful when it's raining. I got wet walking to the station and then everybody was on the train with their wet coats and wet umbrellas…I hate it.
Tess: Oh come on, you can't complain about a little bit of rain. Honestly, you complain when it's too hot, you complain when it's too cold…
Ravi: I don't complain that much. … Well, I do a bit, but, honestly, my trousers are wet and I've got to wear them all day and my feet are wet, so now they're freezing cold. I only bought these shoes last week and now look at them - ruined. I look ridiculous.
Tess: You're such a fashion victim, Ravi. It's a podcast. No-one can see your shoes. Anyway, at least it isn't cold. I'd rather have rain than be freezing cold.
Ravi: I wouldn't. And I'm cold now! I'd rather be cold and dry then cold and wet.
Tess: Well it's bad news for you then. The weather forecast says it's going to be like this for the next week.
Ravi: Really? Nightmare. You know, I don't mind rain when I'm at home. I quite like seeing it out of the window. But when I have to go to
work … no. Anyway, that journey was really stressful – but I feel better now. Seeing you always cheers me up Tess.
Tess: Awww.
Ravi: Shall we get on with it? What have we got today?
Tess: Well, there's Rita, talking about Bath
Ravi: The bath? Tess: Bath – the city Ravi: Ah. OK.
Tess: And there's Darryl for the quiz. The 'Your Turn' today is a big one – 'What's the biggest problem facing humanity today - and why?' - and there's Carolina, too.

Ravi: Don't forget my joke.

Tess: I wish I could.

Ravi: I know you enjoy them really.

Tess: Mmm.
Ravi: Hey Tess. A horse goes into a bar and says "An orange juice please" And the barman says "Certainly sir. But why the long face". Ha! Geddit? Long face! He's a horse!
Tess: Is that it? Is that the joke?
Ravi: Oh no, you just wait for the big one!

Section 2: I'd like to talk about…

Tess: Shall we move on to 'I'd like to talk about'?
Ravi: OK.
Tess: I'd like to Talk About, listeners, is the part of the podcast when someone tells us about something – something that they're interested in or something that's important to them – a person, a place, a hobby - anything really.
Ravi: Yes, absolutely anything. And today we've got Rita with us in the studio. Rita's twenty-one years old - that's right isn't it Rita?
Rita: Yep, that's right.
Ravi: And what do you do?
Rita: I've got a shop – a small shop. I sell second hand clothes. You know, old clothes – mostly from the 1940s and 50s.
Tess: Great. I love the dress you're wearing. Is that from your shop?
Rita: Yeah. This is a dress from the 50s – 1956 to be exact. I love it.
Tess: It's beautiful. I love the colour. Ravi: Yeah, it's lovely
Rita: Thank you
Ravi: And you're going to talk to us about Bath, right?
Rita: That's right. It's my home town. Tess: Cool. It's a great place.
Rita: Yeah, um, I was born in Bath, and, … I don't know, I've never wanted to live anywhere else.
Ravi: Remember we've got listeners from all over the world – perhaps it's a good idea to explain where Bath is.
Rita: Yes, of course. Bath is in the south west of England, about a hundred miles from London I guess – a couple of hours on the train. It's near Bristol – that's the biggest city in the south west. Bath is a city, but it's quite small. I think the population's about, oh I don't know – about ninety thousand people probably.
Ravi: OK. Good. And I guess you think it's a great place to live….?
Rita: It's a fantastic place to live. Great restaurants, theatres, shops, lovely old pubs, beautiful buildings, music festivals. And a fantastic nightlife – but it's quite quiet at the same time, if you know what I mean. It's a safe city. And the countryside around is beautiful – lots of great places to go at the weekend.
Tess: Tell us a bit about the history.
Rita: Well I don't know a lot... but it was a Roman city, um about two thousand years ago. The Romans liked it because of the hot springs – hot water that comes up from the ground. It's the only place in Britain with hot springs. The city is actually built on top of an old volcano – not active of course. So they built baths there, you know, public baths, using the hot water. That's where the name 'Bath' comes from of course. The Roman baths are still there – you can visit them. You can't swim, but you can drink the water.
Ravi: {a little appalled} Drink it?
Rita: Yes. Drink it. It's good for you – it's got loads of minerals and stuff in it.
Ravi: What does it taste like?
Rita: Absolutely disgusting. Anyway, then in the eighteenth century Bath became really popular. People went there for holidays. And then later Jane Austen wrote about it – she lived there for a while - if you've ever read any Jane Austen?

Tess: Oh yes. 'Pride and Prejudice' is one of my favourite books.

Rita: It's interesting - as I said, the Romans built Bath, so there's loads of Roman houses and stuff, all under the city. But the archaeologists can't really explore it because they don't want to destroy the beautiful eighteenth century buildings on the top. It's a World Heritage site – and I think it's the most beautiful city in Britain. I love it. I even love the tourists – we get loads of tourists, and you know, it makes me feel proud. I live in a city that people come miles and miles to see.
Ravi: Well - is there anything you don't like about Bath?
Rita: No. … Well, I suppose the only thing is that it's really, really difficult to park in the centre and the traffic can be terrible. But that really isn't the end of the world, is it?
Tess: Certainly not. Thanks Rita. You've made me want to go to Bath again. I haven't been there for years.
Ravi: Yeah, me too. Thanks Rita
Rita: Thank you. I enjoyed talking about it.

Ravi: What about it then Tess? A weekend away together in Bath?
Tess: Hmm. Let me think about it. … That was a really good idea for I'd Like to Talk About, wasn't it? It would be really interesting to hear about other people's home towns. If you're listening and you want to write – or record – on audio or video - something about your home town you can send it to us at British Council dot org, that's learnenglishpodcast - all one word – at - britishcouncil – all one word DOT org, that's o-r-g. If we like it, we'll put it up on the site.
Ravi: Can we put some pictures of Bath up too?

Tess: Definitely.
Ravi: Will you do that?
Tess: OK. I'm going to have to teach you how to do it, Ravi.
Ravi: I know.

Section 3 – Quiz

Ravi: Right – speaking of computers – it's time for the quiz. We've got Darryl waiting to play. Hello Darryl.
Darryl: Hello Ravi
Ravi: Where are you today, Darryl?

Darryl: I'm in Skipton. In North Yorkshire.
Ravi: I know it. I've got an uncle who lives in Skipton. Is it raining there as much as it is here today?
Darryl: It is pretty wet, yeah. But I don't mind the rain. I'm going to go for a walk later with my dogs.
Ravi: Lucky you. Are you not working today?

Darryl: Not today, no.
Ravi: What do you do?
Darryl: I work at a golf course. I'm a groundsman.
Ravi: OK. So what does a groundsman do?
Darryl: We look after the golf course – make sure the grass is OK and all of that. It's like being a gardener.
Ravi: I see. Do you know anything about computers?
Darryl: Erm …
Tess: Ravi! You're not supposed to tell people what the quiz is about before we start. That's the second time you've said it.
Ravi: Oops. Well, let's get on with it. We're going to play Hot Seat, Darryl. I've got these cards with some words on them and I'm going to give them to Tess and she has to explain the words to you and you have to guess what the words are. OK?
Darryl: OK.
Ravi: And all the words are on the same topic.

Tess: And I think we all know what that is, Ravi.
Ravi: And the topic today is ….. computers and computing. … Computers and computing. You've got one minute starting from …. now 

Tess: OK. This one is the thing you hold to move around the screen. Small thing. It's an animal as well.
Darryl: Mouse.
Tess: Yes. Next one. The thing you type on.

Darryl: Keyboard.
Tess: Yes. Well done. Oh gosh. The thing with the picture on it. Erm – the screen!
Darryl: Monitor?
Tess: Yes. Erm. This is something on the computer that does something. … Sorry – that's a terrible clue. Erm you have these on your computer and they make it do things. You might have one for editing photos one for sending email erm ..
Darryl: I don't know
Tess: You have them on TV too.

Darryl: Oh. Programme!
Tess: OK. Right. OK, the computer and the monitor and everything are all … Programs and things are software but the other things are …

Darryl: Hardware.
Tess: That's right. Ah. OK. The little thing you move around the screen.
Darryl: Mouse?
Tess: No, you use the mouse to move it – the little arrow or whatever, you know?
Darryl: Oh, the … erm … I know it ……what do you call it … cursor!
Tess: Right. This one's a bad thing. You don't want your computer to get one of these, it makes everything go …
Darryl: A Trojan? A virus!

Tess: Virus, yes. Erm ..

{buzzer sounds}

Ravi: Time's up. Well done you two. How many was that? Hang on. Mouse, keyboard, monitor, programme, hardware, cursor, virus. One two three four five six seven.
Tess: Well done Darryl – sorry – I wasn't very good at that.
Darryl: That's OK Tess, thank you.
Ravi: OK Darryl, thanks for playing. We'll send you some bits and pieces. Enjoy your walk!
Darryl: Thanks Ravi. Bye.

Tess & Ravi: Bye.
Tess: OK. Still to come we've got Your Turn and we've got Carolina.
Ravi: And the joke.
Tess: And the joke – after this...

Section 4: Your turn

Ravi: Your Turn is the part of the podcast when we ask people what they think about a topic – sometimes serious, sometimes not so serious. It's quite a serious one today because we asked people, 'What's the biggest problem facing humanity today - and why?' So let's hear what they said.
Voice 1: I think the biggest problem facing humanity today is ... um ... selfishness. Um, everybody sits around and talks about environmental issues and problems but very few people as individuals are actually prepared to give up ... ah ... their cars or their way of life to do anything about it.
Voice 2: I think the biggest problem is th... the divide between the western world ... those of us that have money, have wealth, have resources, and the poor people that don't have enough to live and are starving and they have ... drink dirty water and things like that. I think we should spread the wealth more.
Voice 3: I think the biggest problem facing humanity today is that people don't listen to each other and they don't get to know each other and to understand each other's opinions. All the people that I have met from all the different countries I've been to all want more or less the same things – they want to be happy and healthy and to be able to look after their families and get a good education for their children and I think that war and political problems and disagreements are all because we don't listen to each other and we don't try and understand each other.
Voice 4: The biggest problem facing humanity today is climate change. It's a massive problem because I don't think people understand the effects completely and therefore will not act.
Voice 5: That's such a big question … um ... probably the biggest thing for our future's I think is the environment and protecting what we
have ... um ... I think that everybody needs to look around them and see what they can do on a very small scale to stop wasting things and to try and protect the nature we have around us … before it's too late.
Tess: Interesting answers. I agree with the people who talked about climate change. I think that's the biggest problem today.
Ravi: What about you, listeners? Write in and tell us what you think.

Section 5: Carolina

Ravi: But now it's time to find out what's happening to Carolina. Carolina is from Venezuela and she's studying at Newcastle University in Britain.
Tess: Yes. If you listened to the first series, you'll remember that Carolina and her boyfriend Jamie are members of a society at the university – the Conservation Society.
Ravi: Jamie's the society president isn't he?

Tess: Yeah, that's right. He's really into saving the environment – we should have asked him what he thought in Your Turn.
Ravi: Last time, when Carolina was at the hairdresser's, remember? – she said she was a bit worried about Jamie. Things weren't going very well between them. What do you think's happening?
Tess: I don't know. Let's see what happens this time. Carolina and Jamie are going on a Conservation Society weekend away together.
Ravi: I can't imagine what they do on Conservation Society trips.
Tess: Well let's listen and find out Ravi.

Ravi: OK.

…

Carolina: Good morning Henry! What a nice car! Henry: Hi Carolina. Thanks. Right - in you get. Carolina: Hello.
Jamie: Hi. Move over Layla, make room for Carolina. I'll stay in the middle.

Jamie: Carolina, this is Layla.

Layla: Hi 

Carolina: Hello
Jamie: And that's lucky old Ivan in the front – he's got long legs.

Ivan: Hello

Carolina: Hi Ivan.
Henry: Right. Let's get going. Have you got the map Ivan?
Ivan: Yep.
Henry: Right. Here we go. Put some music on Ivan. There are some CDs in the …
…
Jamie: I can't wait to see the black grouse.

Carolina: The black grouse? The whiskey? With a bird on the front?
Layla: {laughs} No, that's called Famous Grouse – The black grouse is a bird, but it's black.
Jamie: Yeah. The black grouse is disappearing in England. There aren't very many of them left. That's what they're trying to do at the nature reserve – save the black grouse.
Carolina: But what exactly are we going to do?

Layla: Plant hedges
Carolina: Hedges?
Jamie: Hedges are the lines of plants and trees that divide the fields. You know, you can have wooden or metal fences – or you can have hedges. And the black grouse prefers hedges. So we're going to take away some of the old fences and plant new hedges.
Layla: Yeah, it's really cool. We went there last year didn't we Jamie? Had a great time.
Carolina: Oh.
…
Henry: Ivan, there's a sign saying Brampton two miles. Don't we need to turn left before Brampton?
Ivan: Um, yeah, um, Just a minute. Um, I'm not quite sure where we are. Have we passed Denton?
Layla: Ages ago. …. Ivan - you've got the map upside down.
Ivan: It isn't upside down, I've just turned it round a bit – I can't follow a map if I don't turn it round.
Carolina: Why don't we stop and ask someone?

Jamie: Look, there's a petrol station. Pull over.
…
Jamie: You ask Carolina. You're next to the window. Ask for Hallbankgate.
Carolina: Oh. Um, excuse me. Can you tell us the way to Hallbankgate please?
Man: Hallbankgate. You're miles away.

Carolina: Yes, but are we on the right road?

Man: No, it's not this road.
Ivan: So which road should we take?
Man: Go back the way you came, about five miles, then take a right. Follow the signs to Milton.
Carolina: Thank you very much.

Layla: I'm hungry.

Carolina: Me too
Jamie: Me too. Where did you put the sandwiches Henry?
Henry: They're in the plastic bag – in the back somewhere.
Jamie: Henry, this is a bag of rubbish. Henry: What?
Jamie: This bag is full of rubbish. … Don't tell me. You put the bag of sandwiches in the rubbish and put the bag of rubbish in the car.
Carolina and Layla: Oh no.
Henry: Well I'm sorry. It's an easy mistake to make.
Carolina: Are we nearly there Henry? Henry: Ivan?
Ivan: Well, - I'm not quite sure where we are to be honest. If we're on this road here, look, this yellow one, well, - we should be there by now.

{chorus of complaint}

Layla: Stop and ask someone Henry.

Henry: Excuse me.
Woman: Yes?
Henry: We're trying to get to Hallbankgate. Is this the right way?
Woman: Hallbankgate? No dear, this is the road to Farlam. Hallbankgate's in the other direction.
Henry: Oh no. How far is it?
Woman: Not far. Go back the way you came, for about two miles, then turn right – there's a pub on the corner called the Old Duke. Then go straight on till you come to the main road, then turn right again. You'll see the sign to Hallbankgate – you can't miss it.
Henry: Thank you very much. … Won't be long now.
Jamie: Hmmm. I just hope the black grouse appreciates what we're doing for it. That's all I can say.

Tess: Oh dear. Not a very good start to the Conservation Society weekend away. I hope they find it.
Ravi: Hmm. What a nightmare. It's funny though – imagine throwing away the sandwiches and bringing a bag of rubbish instead. … I hate asking for directions though.
Tess: Men always hate asking for directions. Anyway, we'll have to wait for next time to find out how the rest of the weekend goes. Hope things get better.

Section 6: The Joke

Ravi: Yeah. OK. I'm going to tell my joke, then, I think, that's it for today.
Tess: Come on then, let's hear it.
Ravi: Right. There's this baby polar bear, sitting on an iceberg with his mum.
Tess: Ah. I love polar bears.
Ravi: Anyway, the baby polar bear says to his mum, "Mum, are you sure I'm a polar bear?" So his mum says, "Yes, darling, of course you are". And then "Mum, are you sure I'm not a brown bear?" "No dear, you're not a brown bear". "Well, what about a black bear then? Maybe I'm a black bear." "No dear. You're not a black bear either. Look at your fur – it's white." "Well, what about a grizzly bear, Mum? Perhaps I'm a grizzly bear, then?" "No, dear, you're not a grizzly bear. Look - your dad's a polar bear, I'm a polar bear, your sister's a polar bear. Of course you're a polar bear." "Mum, but am I a real polar bear?" "Look. I keep telling you, you're a polar bear. We're all polar bears. We all live here together in the snow. Why do you keep on asking these stupid questions? "Mum - I'm freezing"

Tess: Polar bears are so cute. Did you see that programme about them?
Ravi: Yeah, they are cool, aren't they? Right everyone. That's all we've got time for but Tom the Teacher will be here in a moment so don't go away. Remember that you can write to us at learnenglishpodcast@britishcouncil.org. We'll see you next time. Bye!
Tess: Bye!

Tom the teacher

Tom: Hi, I'm Tom. I'm here at the end of every podcast to talk about some of the language you heard in the programme, and to talk about ways to help you learn English. Today I want to talk about the phrase 'I'd rather'. At the beginning of the podcast Ravi is unhappy because it's raining and his shoes are wet. Listen to what Tess says to him. Listen for 'I'd rather'. What does it mean?

Tess: You're such a fashion victim, Ravi. It's a podcast. No-one can see your shoes. Anyway, at least it isn't cold. I'd rather have rain than be freezing cold.

Tom: 'I'd rather' means the same as 'I prefer'. Tess is saying that rain is better than cold – she prefers rainy weather to cold weather. She says "I'd rather have rain than be freezing cold". … 'I'd rather' – can you hear the 'd'? 'I'd rather'. The 'd' is a contraction of 'would'. Instead of 'I would' we say 'I'd'. Listen again to Tess and Ravi. Listen for 'I'd' and then listen for 'would'.

Tess: You're such a fashion victim, Ravi. It's a podcast. No-one can see your shoes. Anyway, at least it isn't cold. I'd rather have rain than be freezing cold.

Ravi: I wouldn't. And I'm cold now! I'd rather be cold and dry than cold and wet.

Tom: Did you hear it? Tess said "I'd rather have rain than be freezing cold" and Ravi disagreed with her and said "I wouldn't". Now, I want you to listen to Tess and Ravi one more time. But this time I want you to notice the form of the verb that comes after 'I'd rather'. Is it the infinitive or the 'ing' form? Listen.

Tess: Anyway, at least it isn't cold. I'd rather have rain than be freezing cold.

Ravi: I wouldn't. And I'm cold now! I'd rather be cold and dry than cold and wet.
Tom: Yes, 'I'd rather' is always followed by a verb, and it's always the infinitive form of the verb, but without 'to' - 'I'd rather have rain' and 'I'd rather be cold'. 'I'd rather' is a more complicated phrase than 'I prefer' isn't it? But you know, as a learner, it isn't always a good idea to worry about all of the separate words in a phrase – 'what does 'rather' mean? Why is it the verb without 'to'? Why is it 'would'? Well, sometimes it's better to learn things as a phrase and not worry about all of the questions. Make a note of the phrase, and a note of what it means and how to use it in a sentence. So for 'I'd rather' you could write:

• 'I'd rather' means the same as 'I prefer', but it is used differently.

• It always has a verb after it,

• and the verb is the infinitive without 'to'.

Then you can write some examples, maybe –

• 'I'd rather have rain than cold'

• 'I'd rather stay up late than go to bed early'

• 'I'd rather eat fish than meat'.

And add more examples every time you see or hear the new phrase. Now that you know the phrase, you'll hear it a lot in the English that you read and listen to this week. Make a list if all of the examples that you find. Now for something different. At the beginning of the quiz, Tess was a bit angry with Ravi because he told Darryl what the quiz was going to be about – computers. Listen to what Ravi says after Tess is angry with him.

Ravi: I see. Do you know anything about computers?

Darryl: Erm …

Tess: Ravi! You're not supposed to tell people what the quiz is about before we start. That's the second time you've said it.

Ravi: Oops. Well, let's get on with it.

Tom: Did you hear it? 'Oops'. Ravi didn't intend to say the word 'computers', he didn't want to say it – he made a mistake. So he said 'oops'. This word is very, very common in English. It means 'Oh dear, what a silly thing to do!'. 'Oops' is informal – we only use it with people that we know well. We use 'oops' when we make a mistake, or when we have a small accident – when we drop something for example. We can use 'oops' when we're sorry we did something, or when we're not sorry at all – like Ravi.
We also use it in informal emails. If you send someone an email, but you forget to attach the document that you wanted them to see (that's something that I do all the time!) you can send another email just saying 'Oops', with the document that you wanted to send. Everyone will understand what 'Oops' means – 'Silly me – I forgot to attach the document the first time!'. Now let's look at another very common word in English – 'about'. 'You will hear the word 'about' all the time because we use it in lots of different ways. Listen to Tess asking Rita about her home city, Bath.

Tess: Tell us a bit about the history.

Tom: Yes, Tess uses 'about' as a preposition. We tell people 'about' something, or we talk 'about' something. Now listen to Rita's answer. She uses 'about' – but not in the same way. Listen.

Tess: Tell us a bit about the history.

Rita: Well I don't know a lot .. but it was a Roman city, um about two thousand years ago.

Tom: Rita doesn't know exactly when Bath was a Roman city, but she has an idea – she knows it was more or less two thousand years ago. So she says "about two thousand years ago'". In this situation 'about' means 'more or less' or 'approximately'. Listen to another example, Rita isn't sure exactly how far Bath is from London and she isn't sure what the population is either. Can you guess what she says? Listen.

Rita: Bath is in the south west of England, about a hundred miles from London I guess – a couple of hours on the train. It's near Bristol – that's the biggest city in the south west. Bath is a city, but it's quite small. I think the population's about, oh I don't know – about ninety thousand people probably. 

Tom: Did you hear the 'abouts'? She says Bath is "about a hundred miles from London" and she says the population is "about ninety thousand people probably'. Because she isn't sure. 'About' is a very useful word! People use it a lot when they're giving directions. Remember Carolina and her friends on the way to the
nature reserve? They got lost and had to ask for directions. Listen.

Ivan: So which road should we take?

Man: Go back the way you came, about five miles, then take a right. Follow the signs to Milton.

Tom: The man says "Go back the way you came, about five miles, then take a right".

Why don't you try and use 'about' to mean 'more or less' this week? OK. I think that's enough for this week, so I'll stop now. I'll talk to you all again next time. Remember you can write to me about any language that you noticed in this podcast. The address is learnenglishpodcast@britishcouncil.org. In a moment you'll hear the address for the website where you can read everything you've heard in this podcast. You can also find some practice exercises to do online and a Support Pack that you can print. Right. That's all for this time. Bye for now! See you next time.

  • 13 آبان 1402

Episode 08

در این قسمت راوی در حال برنامه ریزی برای تعطیلات خود است و همه چیز را به تس می گوید. مهمانان آنها در مورد دویدن در منطقه دریاچه و استعدادهای خاص صحبت می کنند. همچنین می‌توانید کارولینا را در سفر آخر هفته‌اش دنبال کنید. آیا همه چیز طبق برنامه پیش خواهد رفت؟

Section 1: "Have you ever been to...?”

Tess: Hello everyone and welcome once again to the Learn English Elementary podcast. This is series two and it’s now episode number … erm …
Ravi: Eight. I told you that two minutes ago. Hi everyone. This is series two episode number eight. I’m Ravi and this is …erm...
Tess: Stop it. I’m Tess and we’re your presenters. What’s new with you this week, Ravi?
Ravi: Not much, not much. I’m thinking about my holidays though. I can’t decide where to go.
Tess: Really? You’re going to Scotland, aren’t you?
Ravi: With Chris? Well, yeah, I was going to... Sorry, listeners, Chris is a good friend of mine and we were planning to go on holiday together. No, bad news. Chris has broken his leg so we can’t go to Scotland.
Tess: How did he break his leg?
Ravi: He fell off his bike. Hey, Tess, what should you do if you break your leg in two places?
Tess: I don’t know.
Ravi: Don’t go back to those two places. So, anyway …
Tess: So, what are your plans now?
Ravi: Well, that’s the thing. I’m not sure. I’m thinking of going to Barcelona but ...
Tess: Oh, fantastic. Have you ever been there? I love Spain.
Ravi: No, I haven’t. I’ve heard it’s pretty cool though. You’ve been to Barcelona then?
Tess: Yeah, I went there when I was a student. We had a great time. We did kind of a tour of Spain. We went to Barcelona then to Zaragoza, then Valencia and then all the way down to Granada – Granada’s fantastic – you’d love it.
Ravi: Sounds great but, you know, Tess, when I go on holiday I just want to stay in one place. I don’t want to be catching trains and all that. I want to relax. Do you know what I mean?
Tess: Well, there’s loads of things to do in Barcelona. The nightlife’s great. There are lots of good clothes shops for you. I think you’d really like it.
Ravi: How far is it from the beach?
Tess: Well, I don’t think you go to Barcelona to go to the beach but I think it’s pretty easy to get to the beach You could probably go to the beach for a day trip then go out in the city in the evening.
Ravi: Hmm. Right, I think I’ve decided. I’m going to go to Barcelona. Great. I love deciding where to go. I can start to get excited about my
holidays now.
Tess: Well before you do that, tell us what we’ve got today for the podcast.

Section 2: I'd like to talk about…

Ravi: OK then, let’s get started. We’ve got the quiz, as usual, we’ve got a problem for Carolina and her friends, we’ve got your turn – about talent , I might have a joke for you, lots of stuff – but to start with we’ve got Tim. Hello Tim.
Tim: Hi Ravi

Tess: Hi Tim

Tim: Hello Tess.

Ravi: Tim is here for our regular ‘I’d Like to Talk About’ section. This is where someone comes into the studio to talk about something that’s important to them. A place, a person, a thing, a hobby – it could be anything – anything that’s important to our guest. So, Tim, what are you going to tell us about?
Tim: I’d like to talk about fell running, Ravi.
Ravi: What running?
Tim: Fell running. It’s kind of …
Tess: A fell is a kind of hill, isn’t it. They call hills ‘fells’ in the Lake District.
Tim: Yeah, that’s right. And in other parts of the north of England too. But you can go fell running all over the country, really.
Ravi: So fell running is running up hills, right? I don’t like the sound of it already.
Tim: Well, yes, kind of. It’s a bit more than just running up hills though. It’s running in the countryside – through beautiful, open, mountain scenery – and finding your way and being prepared for the countryside and the weather and … But, yes, there is usually a lot of running uphill.
Tess: How did you get started?
Tim: Sorry – how did I get started or how did fell running get started?
Tess: Well, how did you get started first of all but I’d like to hear how fell running started too.
Tim: Well, people in the countryside have been running up hills for hundreds of years – for fun, for competition, just to see who was fastest, you know, then in the nineteenth century it got a bit more organised and people used to race for money and ….ooh, sorry, you said ‘how did I get started’.
Tess: That’s OK, carry on. You can tell us how you got started in a moment.
Tim: Right. Sorry. Anyway, yes, people used to race for money and people would gamble on it.
Ravi: Gambling? Really? Like betting on horses?
Tim: Yeah, people used to bet a lot of money on it. Anyway, lots of the fell races now were started more than a hundred years ago. For most of the twentieth century though, there were two, separate kinds of fell runners; professionals, who got paid for running, and amateurs, who didn’t get paid.
Tess: But you don’t get paid, do you? How did you start fell running?
Tim: No, I’m not good enough to get paid for it. I just do it because I enjoy it. See, I’d always liked running but only on roads and things, then four years ago I moved to the Lake District
Tess: Lucky you. It’s beautiful. We’ve talked about the Lake District in the podcast before. We should tell new listeners that it’s in the north west of England. Anyway, go on.
Tim: Well, the Lake District is kind of the home of fell running in Britain and, like you say, the scenery is so beautiful. I met some people who are fell runners and I started going out for a run with them. It just seemed like a fantastic way to see the countryside. I mean, it was quite hard at first, it’s quite hard work running up hills and, you know, usually there isn’t a road or a path or anything so it can be very wet and dirty, and in winter it can be freezing cold and ..
Ravi: Hang on, it’s cold, wet, dirty – it sounds like loads of fun.
Tim: I know. It’s not always cold and, the thing is, the views from the top of the mountains are so great that you don’t mind getting cold and wet. It’s so great to be out in the countryside without carrying a big backpack or anything and you can just go wherever you want to – you just feel really free.
Tess: And really fit. It sounds like really hard work.
Tim: Well, yes, it’s great exercise too. A great way to keep fit and spend time in the countryside. That’s why I love it.
Tess: You make it sound really nice. Great. Thanks Tim.
Ravi: Hmm. Nice, Tess? I’m not sure it sounds nice. It sounds a bit crazy to me. But, yeah, I can see why you enjoy it, Tim. Thanks for that.
Tim: That’s OK. Are you going to try it Ravi? Want to come for a run?
Ravi: Erm, no, thanks. Football and video games is enough exercise for me.
Tess: Oh, Ravi. Listeners – if you’d like to tell us about what you do to keep fit, why not write it down or record it and send it to us at LearnEnglishPodcast at British council dot org. I’ll say that again - LearnEnglishPodcast - all one word – at - BritishCouncil – all one word DOT org, that’s o-r-g. If we like it, we’ll put it up on the site.
Ravi: Got any fell running pictures we can put up, Tim?
Tim: Erm, yeah, I’m sure I can find some.
Ravi: Great. Thanks.

Section 3 – Quiz

Tess: Now, Ravi, you’re going to like this next one. It’s quiz time, and we’re going to talk to Lydia. Hello, Lydia?
Lydia: Hi.
Tess: Where are you calling from, Lydia? Lydia: I’m in Bournemouth.
Tess: On the south coast? I know it. What’s the weather like in Bournemouth today? Lydia: Really nice, actually. It’s sunny.
Tess: Great. Are you going to go out and enjoy the sunshine?
Lydia: No, unfortunately. I have to go to work later.
Tess: OK. Where do you work?
Lydia: I work in a hotel. I’m a waitress at the moment.
Tess: OK. Well, enjoy the rest of the morning. Are you ready to play Hot Seat?
Lydia: Yep.
Tess: OK then. I’ve got these cards with words on them – they’re all on the same topic – and I’m going to give the cards to Ravi and he’ll explain them to you. You have to guess as many words as you can in a minute, OK?
Lydia: OK – I get it. Tess: Ready, Ravi?
Ravi: Ready and waiting, Tess.
Tess: OK then – here are the cards – and especially for you Ravi, the topic today is holidays. Are you ready for some holiday words, Lydia?
Lydia: I think so.
Tess: Then let’s go. Ravi, you’ve got one minute starting from now.
Ravi: Hi Lydia, the first one – erm – the document …. the little book you need to go to another country, I always nearly forget it … with your photograph in it.
Lydia: Passport?
Ravi: That’s it. Next one. Erm, this is what you do on the beach … erm …
Lydia: Ice cream!
Ravi: Eh? No. Erm. Lying in the sun ..

Tess: You can’t say ‘sun’, Ravi.
Ravi: Shush. On the beach, Lydia, just lying there, reading a book or whatever. I love it. Tess hates it. Trying to get a suntan.
Lydia: Sunbathing.
Ravi: OK. Now, another thing you do on holiday … in a city … looking at the … erm, no, … erm ..visiting the famous places in a city or something … like in London, you’d go to Big Ben and Buckingham Palace and the London Eye and …
Lydia: Is it ‘sightseeing’?
Ravi: It is, well done. How long have we got? OK. Right. This is what you do before you go on holiday – when you put all your clothes and things in your suitcase.
Lydia: Pack.
Ravi: Right. Next one. This is something you wear to …
Lydia: T-shirt?
Ravi: Hang on – something you wear to keep the sun out of your eyes.
Lydia: Oh. Sunglasses.
Ravi: Yes. Now, if you go sightseeing, you have a book to tell you what’s what and it tells you where to stay and where to go and restaurants and things.
Lydia: Is it ‘guidebook’?
Ravi: It is. Next one, Ah.
Tess: Time’s up. Well done, Lydia. Let’s see how many that was. Passport, sunbathing – I’ll let you have sunbathing – erm, passport, sunbathing, sightseeing, pack, sunglasses, guidebook. Six.
Ravi: Is that all? I thought we did more than that.
Tess: Well you said ‘sun’ in ‘sunbathing’ and ‘book’ in guidebook but I’ll let you have six, Ravi.
Ravi: You can’t explain ‘guidebook’ without saying ‘book’. Anyway, well done, Lydia, thanks for playing.
Lydia: Thanks.
Tess: We’ll send you something – have a good day at work.
Lydia: Thanks, I will. Tess & Ravi: Bye, Lydia. Lydia: Bye.
Tess: Let’s move on now – Your Turn, Carolina and Ravi’s joke?
Ravi: Yep.
Tess: All coming up after this.

Section 4: Your turn

Tess: Your Turn is the part of the podcast where we ask people what they think about a topic. Sometimes it’s a serious question, sometimes not so serious but there are always some interesting opinions.
Ravi: This time, the question is …….. What talent would you like to have? Let’s hear what people said.
Voice 1: I would love to be able to dance very well, to dance all the styles, not just, sort of disco dancing, to be able to actually do prof…, more professional dancing, um, but I think I’ve got a long way to go from the stage I’m at now, I’d have to take a lot of lessons, um, but I think it would be fun.
Voice 2: I would like to be, ah, much better at some sort of sport like tennis and, you know, play for my country or win an Olympic gold medal.
Voice 3: I would like to have the talent of playing the piano because I think it’s a very difficult talent to learn … um, you have to, you know, look at the score, the music score, and then you have to control your right hand and at the same time you have to control your left hand and also your feet have to step on the pedals and is actually about, um, controlling your different parts of your body at the same time … and so I think it’s super difficult to do so … and I admire people who have this ability … and I just think that now I am an adult and is very difficult for an adult to learn this ability … and I didn’t learn it when I was little, so I hope that I have this ability now.
Voice 4: I’d like to be able to fly an aeroplane because I would feel very free up in the skies and I can fly to wherever I like.
Voice 5: I’d love to be able to sing, and then I’d go on something like X Factor – I think it’s an amazing journey, and, err, if you win, which I would because I’d have the amazing talent, I’d get a million pounds and be a friend of Simon Cowell.
Voice 6: Yes, if I’m given a chance I would like to have the talent be able to stand in front of large crowds and to move the crowd to, err, positive agenda, for example, moving their hearts so they could mobilize their resources to give to a good cause, for example, err, giving money to the poor in other countries, or to mobilize them to do the right things in their countries, to fight for the right cause.
Tess: What do you think, Ravi?
Ravi: Well, it’s difficult isn’t it when you’re already so talented to think of something .. Tess: I knew you’d say that.
Ravi: Yeah. Only joking. I don’t know really. I wish I could speak a foreign language really well. Maybe that’s the talent I’d like to have.
Tess: Yeah, that’s a good one. We’re interested to hear what you think, too. Why not send us an email or a recording and give us your opinion?

Section 5: Carolina

Ravi: Now though, we’re going to hear from Carolina again. Carolina is a student from Venezuela who’s come to Britain to study at Newcastle university. In every podcast, we find out a little about what she’s been doing.
Tess: Last time we listened, Carolina and Jamie, her boyfriend, and some other friends were going to the countryside to do some conservation work. They were planting hedges – the small trees between fields – to help protect a kind of bird.
Ravi: The black grouse.
Tess: Yeah, that’s it, the black grouse. Anyway, they got lost but found the place in the end. Let’s see what happened next.


Layla: Oh Jamie, that was really funny. You always make me laugh.
Ivan: Oh good – I can see the car. I’m exhausted. I’ve never worked so hard in my life. Every part of my body hurts. All my muscles. Even my teeth hurt.
Jamie: I don’t think you’ve got muscles in your teeth Ivan.
Henry: Yeah. I’m looking forward to getting home and a nice hot shower.
Jamie: And then down the pub for a couple of pints. You fancy that Layla? A drink a bit later tonight?
Layla: Oh yes. That’d be great.
Ivan: You’re very quiet Carolina – didn’t you enjoy it?
Carolina: What? Oh yes, yes, I enjoyed it. I’m just a bit tired that’s all.
Jamie: Uh oh! Henry, look at the car.

Henry: What? Oh no! I don’t believe it!

Carolina: What’s happened?
Henry: Look! Someone’s crashed into the car. Look!
Carolina and Layla: Oh no.
Ivan: But there aren’t any other cars here. This is the only car in the car park.
Henry: Doh! They didn’t stop Ivan! Someone crashed into the car and drove off. [beep]! What a [beep] thing to do.
Layla: Did they leave a note? On the car I mean. Maybe they left their phone number or something.
Henry: No …. nothing. I can’t see a piece of paper or anything. Oh god, what am I going to do?
Ivan: Is it OK to drive? Will it go?
Henry: I think so, but look, the light’s broken. And the side’s all smashed in. Oh god, it’s going to cost a fortune.
Jamie: What about your insurance?
Henry: Oh, I don’t know – I don’t know who the other person is – I don’t know if my insurance will pay. What if they don’t believe me?
Carolina: Well, we have to phone the police. You have to report the accident Henry. Then the police will give you a paper for your insurance.
Layla: That’s a good idea. Phone 999. Or 112. Henry: 999 or 112? Which is it? 999 or 112. Layla: Either. They both work.
Carolina: No – I don’t think so. 999 and 112 are emergency numbers aren’t they? This isn’t an emergency.
Henry: Hah!
Layla: But we need to call the police so….
Jamie: No Layla, Carolina’s right – we can’t phone an emergency number.

Layla: So what’s the number then?

Jamie: I don’t know.
Ivan: I don’t know where we are.
Henry: That’s no surprise Ivan.
Ivan: I mean, I don’t know which police force we should phone. They’ve all got different numbers haven’t they?
Henry: Oh god.
Carolina: Wait a minute. I’ve got a number for the Newcastle police on my phone …
Henry: Did you notice we aren’t in Newcastle?

Carolina: I know. Where’s the number….? They gave it to us at university. They had a session for the foreign students – about police and ambulances and things. Here it is. 03456 043 043.
Layla: But we aren’t in Newcastle
Carolina: I know that Layla. But we can phone them, tell, them where we are and ask them what number we should phone.
Jamie: Brilliant!
Ivan: Well go on then. Phone them Carolina.
Carolina: Oh no, I don’t want to. Can’t one of you do it? I might not understand what they say.

Jamie: I’ll do it. What’s the number?
Carolina: 03456 043 043.
Jamie: Oh hello. Um, someone has crashed into our car in a car park – they didn’t stop or leave a note or anything. My name’s Jamie – Jamie
Lawrence – but um, it’s not my car. Um, look the thing is we’re not in Newcastle, but we want to know the number of the local police. Can you give it to us? Where are we?
Henry: Geltsdale nature reserve car park. Near Hallbankgate.
Jamie: We’re in the car park at Geltsdale nature reserve. Near Hallbankgate. Thanks. OK thanks. Someone get ready to write it down – quick.
Henry: I haven’t got any paper

Layla: I’ve got a pen somewhere

Ivan: OK hang on a minute.

Carolina: Just a minute.
Jamie: 0845 3300 247 Thanks. Did one of you get that?
Carolina: 0845 3300 247. I keyed it into my phone.
Jamie: OK… yes …. yes, we’ll do that. Thank you very much. Phew. Right, you can do the next one Henry. It’s your car.
Henry: Right. Can I borrow your phone? What’s the number again Carolina? Carolina: 0845 3300 247
Henry: Hello? Um yes, I want to report an accident. My name’s Henry Miller. We’re in the car park at the Geltsdale nature reserve. I’m sorry? Oh no, no, no one’s hurt. Well, someone has crashed into my car in the car park and they didn’t stop or leave a note or anything, and the car’s smashed in the side and the light’s broken and we …
Ravi: Well, that’s a pain. Good job Carolina had that number. Do you know the non-emergency number for the police?
Tess: No. Don’t think so. I don’t think I’ve ever called the police. Have you?
Ravi: No, don’t think so, but I’ll tell you what, there’s a police dog in my joke today.
Tess: OK, come on then.

Section 6: The Joke

Ravi: Right, a man’s driving down the road when he sees a sign at the side of the road that says ‘Talking dog for sale – ten pounds’. Well, he thinks to himself, ‘a talking dog, hmm, sounds interesting’ So he stops the car and knocks and on the door and a man answers. ‘Erm, I saw the advertisement for the talking dog’ Yeah, he’s in the back garden. Go and talk to him if you want’. It’s a bit strange, you know, but he goes into the garden and there’s a big dog sitting there, looking quite sad. The man looks at the dog and the dog looks at him and says, ‘Please buy me sir. He’s a terrible owner. He never takes me for a walk, he buys me the cheapest dog food. He doesn’t know what a special dog I am. I used to be a police dog, you know, and I did some very dangerous work for the government that I can’t really talk about. There are lots of stories I could tell you.’ Well, the man, thinks, ‘This is fantastic’ and he goes back to the house to talk to the owner. ‘I’ll buy him’, he says, ‘’but, a talking dog, it’s amazing – why is he only ten pounds?’ ‘Because’, says the owner ‘I’m sick of his lies. He never tells the truth!’
Tess: I’d love to have a talking dog. Actually, a talking cat would be better.
Ravi: All a dog would say is I love you. Can you give me some food?’
Tess: Yeah. That’s true. Right. That’s all we’ve got time for today but Tom the Teacher will be here in a minute so don’t go away. Remember you can write to us at learn English podcast at British council dot org. See you next time. Bye!
Ravi: Bye!
 

Tom the teacher

Tom: Hi, I’m Tom. At the end of every podcast I talk about some of the language you heard in the programme, and, I hope, talk about ways you can improve your English. I’d like to start today by looking at the verb ‘think’. I’d like to start today by looking at the verb ‘think’. Listen to something Tess said to Ravi about Barcelona
Tess: Well, there’s loads of things to do in Barcelona. The nightlife’s great. There are lots of good clothes shops for you. I think you’d really like it.
Tom: Tess said ‘I think you’d really like it’. She’s giving her opinion. So that’s one way we can use ‘think’ – to give our opinion. Now, listen to something Ravi said a little bit after that.
Ravi: Hmm. Right, I think I’ve decided. I’m going to go to Barcelona.
Tom: Ravi says ‘I think I’ve decided’. He’s saying what his decision is about his holiday. That’s another way we often use ‘think’ – to tell people our decisions. Did you notice that in the examples we’ve just heard both Tess and Ravi used ‘think’ in the present simple tense? When we use ‘think’ to talk about our opinions or decisions, we don’t use progressive tenses (you might call them ‘continuous tenses – same thing). Listen to another example from the podcast.
Tess: Well, I don’t think you go to Barcelona to go to the beach but I think it’s pretty easy to get to the beach
Tom: Tess was giving her opinion and she used ‘think’ twice. The interesting thing is that if we use ‘think’ to talk about a negative idea, we usually make ‘think’ negative, not the other verb. Listen to Tess again.
Tess: Well, I don’t think you go to Barcelona to go to the beach but I think it’s pretty easy to get to the beach
Tom: She says ‘I don’t think you go to Barcelona to go to the beach’. She doesn’t say ‘I think you don’t go to Barcelona’. We make ‘think’ negative. In the Carolina section, we heard Henry say ‘I think so’. Listen.
Henry: I think so, but look, the light’s broken.
Tom: ‘I think so’ is a common expression – and just like Tess said ‘I don’t think you go’, the negative of ‘I think so’ is ‘I don’t think so’ – if you think something is not true. Listen out for it in other podcasts. Now, I want you to listen to one more thing about ‘think’. Listen to Ravi.
Ravi: Well, that’s the thing. I’m not sure. I’m thinking of going to Barcelona but ..
Tom: Now, that time Ravi did use the present progressive tense with ‘think’. He said, ‘I’m thinking of going to Barcelona’. So, what’s the rule? We’ve already said that when we use ‘think’ to talk about our opinions or decisions, we can’t use a progressive tense. But when we use ‘think’ to talk about our plans or our ideas or what’s in our head just at this moment, then we can use the progressive. Ravi’s talking about a plan – so he says, ‘I’m thinking of going to Barcelona’. Listen to another example:
Ravi: Not much, not much. I’m thinking about my holidays though. I can’t decide where to go.
Tom: Again, Ravi, isn’t giving his opinion – he’s talking about what’s in his head at the moment – so he uses the present progressive. Right. I think it’s time to move on to the next thing I want to talk about. Listen to the words that were in the quiz in this podcast:

Tess: Time’s up. Well done, Lydia. Let’s see how many that was. Passport, sunbathing – I’ll let you have sunbathing – erm, passport, sunbathing, sightseeing, pack, sunglasses, guidebook. Six.
Tom: Did you notice anything about some of the words? Four of them were what we call ‘compound words’ – sunbathing, sightseeing, sunglasses, guidebook. Compound words are words that are made up of two words put together. So sunglasses are glasses you wear in the sun, a guidebook is a book that you use as a guide, sightseeing means seeing the sights! There are lots of these compound words in English and they’re useful for learners because you can usually work out the meaning – if you know what glasses are and you know what sun is, you can guess what sunglasses are! It’s a good idea to keep these words together in your vocabulary notebook – sunglasses, sunbathing, sun hat, sun cream and so on. Be careful though – sometimes it’s one word, sometimes it’s two words and sometimes it has a hyphen – you need to remember how to write each new compound word you learn.
Now, usually, each time I talk to you, I tell you something from the podcast that you can try to use in your English. This time, though, I want to talk about something for you not to try for yourself. When Carolina and her friends were at the nature reserve, someone drove into Henry’s car then drove away. Listen to Henry’s reaction:
Henry: Look! Someone’s crashed into the car. Look!
Carolina and Layla: Oh no.
Ivan: But there aren’t any other cars here. This is the only car in the car park.
Henry: Doh! They didn’t stop Ivan! Someone crashed into the car and drove off. [beep]! What a [beep] thing to do.
Tom: Henry was quite upset and he used two words we had to beep out. You can guess what kind of words they were, though, I’m sure. We call this kind of word ‘swear words’ and, like most languages, English has several of them. You might know some of them already. My advice to people who are learning English though is don’t try to use swearwords in English. Some words are very strong and people will be upset to hear you use them. And it’s difficult to know which words are worse. Some people will think a word is OK but other people might be very upset to hear you use it. The safest thing is not to try to use swear words at all. If you do want something to try this week, how about this?
Tess: OK then. I’ve got these cards with words on them – they’re all on the same topic – and I’m going to give the cards to Ravi and he’ll explain them to you. You have to guess as many words as you can in a minute, OK?

Lydia: OK – I get it.
Tom: Lydia said ‘I get it’. She understood the rules of the game, so ‘I get it’ just means – ‘yes, I understand’. try it yourself this week. Right. I’m going to stop there. I’ll talk to you all again next time. Remember you can write to me about any language that you noticed in this podcast. The address is LearnEnglishPodcast AT BritishCouncil DOT org. In a moment you’ll hear the address for the website where you can read everything you’ve heard in this podcast. You can also find some practice exercises to do online and a Support Pack that you can print. Right. That’s all for this time. Bye for now! See you next time.

  • 13 آبان 1402

Episode 09

در این قسمت راوی به فکر رها کردن درس اسپانیایی خود است و مهمانان آنها در مورد ساعت ویژه و ماشین زمان صحبت می کنند. شما همچنین می توانید کارولینا را در حالی که او و جیمی برای شام بیرون می روند دنبال کنید. آیا آنها یک وعده غذایی خوب خواهند داشت؟

Section 1 – Ravi’s learning Spanish

Ravi: Hello again, welcome back to the LearnEnglish Elementary podcast.  Series two, episode nine. Hello!

Tess: We’re your presenters. He’s Ravi and I’m Tess.

Ravi: Si, yo soy Ravi. Vivo en Londres.  Erm ..

Tess: Ahh.  ¿Hablas español, Ravi?  ¡Bueno!  ¿Como estas?

Ravi: Erm …. erm …. I didn’t know you spoke Spanish, Tess.

Tess: Solo un poquito…

Ravi: OK, you can stop now.

Tess: Have you been taking Spanish lessons?

Ravi: Yeah, I have. You know, going to Barcelona and everything, I thought I’d have some lessons to help me when I get there but … well …

Tess: What?

Ravi: I think I might stop going to the lessons.

Tess: Oh dear. Why?

Ravi: Oh, I don’t know. I just don’t think I’m getting any better.

Tess: How many lessons have you had?

Ravi: Three.

Tess: Oh come on, Ravi. Three isn’t many.

Ravi: I know, I know.

Tess: And of course it’s difficult at first, but don’t give up. You really should give it longer than three lessons.

Ravi: It’s just that... well... everyone is better than me. I feel really stupid sometimes.

Tess: What’s your teacher like?

Ravi: She’s great.

Tess: Well why don’t you talk to her about it? I’m sure she’ll understand.

Ravi:  Well she doesn’t understand anything I say in Spanish.  But, yeah, you’re right.

Tess: And just think how good it’ll be in Barcelona when you can do things in Spanish – ordering meals, buying postcards, talking to girls …

Ravi: Well, two or three more lessons won’t hurt, will they? OK. I’ll talk to the teacher and I’ll carry on going to lessons. OK?

Tess: Good. Now, shall we start the podcast? What have we got today?

Ravi: We’ve got all of the usual things – Your Turn is about time machines, Carolina and Jamie are at a restaurant, Abbie’s going to do the quiz but first of all we’ve got I’d Like to Talk About and we’ve got Pete here in the studio. Hi Pete.

Section 2 – I’d like to talk about

Pete: Hi.

Ravi: I’d Like to Talk About is the part of the podcast when a guest tells us about something that’s important to them. It could be anything at all – a hobby, a person, a place, a thing – whatever you want. We’ve had loads of interesting topics – chocolate, fell running, Einstein, Bath – and today, Pete is with us – where are you from Pete?

Pete: From Birmingham.

Ravi: OK. And what do you do?

Pete: I’m a student. I’m studying Design.

Ravi: And what are you going to tell us about.

Pete: I’d like to talk about this watch.

Tess: OK, listeners, because you can’t see it, I’ll describe the watch that Pete has here. It’s a wristwatch; I’d say it’s quite old.

Pete: It’s nearly sixty years old.

Tess: It’s got a leather strap. The face of the watch is white – well it was white, as I say, it’s quite old – and it isn’t telling the right time. Why is this watch special, Pete?

Pete: It was my grandfather’s watch. He came to England more than fifty years ago and this is the watch he was wearing when he arrived here.

Ravi: Where did he come from?

Pete: From Hungary.

Ravi: To Birmingham?

Pete: Not at first. He was in Dover for a while. He met my grandma in Dover and they moved to Birmingham a couple of years later. When he came over here he didn’t have much – just a few pounds in his pocket, you know. But this watch was a present to him from his grandfather – his twenty first birthday present – so it was really special to him and now it’s special to me.

Tess: Is it very valuable? I mean, I know you don’t want to sell it or anything but it is it worth a lot of money?

Pete: No, not at all. It doesn’t even tell the right time! It’s just an ordinary watch but it’s special to me because it really reminds me of my granddad. I remember when I was really small I used to sit on my granddad’s knee and play with his watch and he used to let me wind it up.

Ravi: You have to wind it up? It hasn’t got a battery?

Pete: Yeah, it’s clockwork, yeah. You wind it up there, with that winder. You have to do it every day. I don’t do it usually now because it’s so old. In fact I don’t really wear this watch very often, but it’s important to me as a kind of heirloom, you know – something to give to my children, when I have them.

Tess: Is your granddad still alive?

Pete: No, he isn’t. He died 2 years ago. He left the watch to me in his will. He always said he was going to leave it to me, and he did. I really like that I have a connection to Hungary, where my granddad came from.

Tess: Have you ever been to Hungary?

Pete: No, I haven’t. I’d like to go though. I’d really like to see the place where my granddad used to live and all of that. The name of the shop where he bought this watch is on the back too, look. I wonder if the shop is still there.

Ravi: That would be great – if you took the watch back to the shop after sixty years and asked them to fix it.

Pete: I think the guarantee might have run out by now.

Tess: So you’d have to pay to have it fixed? Yes, I think it might. OK, then Pete, we’ll take a photo of your watch to put up on the website, if that’s OK?

Pete: That’s fine.

Tess: And thanks for coming in to talk about it.

Pete: My pleasure.

Tess: Thanks. If you’re listening, and there’s a special object you’d like to tell people about, you can write about it and send a picture or recording to us at LearnEnglishPodcast at British council dot org. That’s - LearnEnglishPodcast - all one word – at - BritishCouncil – all one word DOT org, that’s o-r-g.  If we like it, we’ll put it up on the site.

Ravi: Have you got any old things like that from your family, Tess?

Tess: Erm .. I’ve got a necklace that used to be my grandma’s. That’s quite old. I don’t really wear it very often. How about you?

Ravi: No, not really. Next time I go to visit my grandparents I might just ask them if they’ve got anything, you know, interesting.

Section 3 – Quiz

Tess:  Ravi! You’re terrible. Right then, let’s move onto the quiz. Who’s playing today?

Ravi: It should be Abbie. Hello, Abbie?

Abbie: Hi Ravi.  HIC

Tess: Hi Abbie

Abbie: Hi Tess

Ravi: Where are you calling from, Abbie?

Abbie: From Manchester.  HIC!  Sorry.

Ravi: Another Mancunian, like me. Great. Have you got hiccups, Abbie?

Abbie: Yes, sorry.

Ravi: That’s OK.

Tess: Do you want to go and …

Ravi: BOO!

Abbie: HIC!

Tess: What are you doing Ravi? Listen, Abbie, do you want to go and get a glass of water? We’ll wait for you.

Abbie: OK. Thanks. I’ll be back in a minute.

Tess: OK, go on. What was that about?

Ravi: Well, I thought when someone had hiccups you gave them a big shock like that.

Tess: I think a glass of water is a bit better, really. There are lots of ways though. Actually, maybe that’s an idea for Your Turn – How do you cu…

Abbie: Hello?

Ravi: Hi Abbie. Have they gone?

Abbie: Yes, I think so. Sorry about that.

Ravi: That’s OK. Where were we? Manchester. What do you do in Manchester, Abbie?

Abbie: I work in a nursery – looking after children.

Tess: Ahh.  How old are the children?

Abbie: Well the oldest ones are four and the youngest ones are … tiny. I work with the three and four year olds, mostly.

Ravi: Do you like it? I can’t think of anything worse than having lots of three year olds running around all day.

Abbie: I love it. The kids are really lovely. It’s great.

Ravi: That’s good then. It’s always good if you enjoy your work. Just like me and Tess. OK, then, Abbie, are you ready to play Hot Seat?

Abbie: OK then.

Ravi: You know what to do? I’ve got these cards and I’m going to give them to Tess and she’ll explain the words to you. They’re all on the same topic and Tess has to explain them without saying the word on the card. OK?

Abbie: OK.

Ravi: And we’ll see how many you can guess in a minute. Are you ready?

Abbie: Think so.

Ravi: OK. Here are the cards Tess, and the topic today is …means of transport … ah, that’s an easy one.

Tess:  No it isn’t.

Ravi: You’ve got one minute starting from … NOW!

Tess: Right. It’s got two wheels – and an engine.

Abbie: Motorbike.

Tess: Yes. Next one. … It flies – but it hasn’t got wings

Abbie: Aeroplane.

Tess: No, it hasn’t got wings. It goes round and round … the thing goes round and round like this.

Abbie: Helicopter.

Tess: Yes. OK. A big thing. Erm. Lots of people sit in it.

Abbie: Train?

Tess: No. On the road. With a driver. Four wheels. Double-decker!

Abbie: Bus.

Tess: OK. This one’s got two wheels but no engine... you pedal.

Abbie: Bike. Bicycle.

Tess: Yes. Erm … this one flies and it has got wings.

Abbie: Plane.

Tess: Yes. Right. It’s a car and you pay the driver to take you where you want to go.

Abbie: Taxi.

Tess: Yes. This one’s a ship. Erm .. cars can go on it, sometimes. It goes backwards and forwards between two places.

Abbie: A ferry.

Tess: That’s right. OK – the one we said before – big thing, lots of people. It runs on rails.

Abbie: Train?

Tess: Yes. This one’s like a train but in the city. It’s electric and it runs on rails in the city centre. A bit like a bus but on rails

Abbie: Tram?

Tess: Yes

Ravi: OK. I’ll let you have that one. Well done, you two that was pretty good. How many was that? Motorbike, helicopter – I liked the way you tried to show Abbie what a helicopter does with your hands Tess.

Tess: Well, it’s difficult to describe.

Ravi: I know, I know – but on the phone? Just teasing you. Motorbike, helicopter, bus, bicycle, aeroplane, taxi, ferry, train, tram. {quickly} One two three four five six seven eight nine. Nine. Well done. That’s a record, I think.

Tess: Well done, Abbie. We’ll send you something for playing.

Abbie: Thanks Tess. Well done to you, too.

Ravi: Yeah, well done, Abbie. See you.

Abbie: Bye!

Ravi: I told you it was an easy one.

Tess: No. We were just very good at it. Have you ever had nine right answers?

Ravi:  Moving on, we’ve got Your Turn, Carolina and my joke – after this.

Ravi: I’ve had a great idea for a joke to tell, Tess.

Section 4 – Your Turn

Tess: I can’t wait. Before we enjoy Ravi’s joke though, we’ve got Your Turn. This is the part of the podcast when we hear what people think about a question we ask them. A different topic each time and we always get some interesting answers. This time the question we asked was:  If you had a time machine, what ‘time’ would you visit? Why?  Let’s hear what people said.

Voice 1: For fun I’d go back to the 80s because I’m totally addict to that kind of fashion and, ah, of course I’d like to meet, ah, ah, Vivienne Westwood at the beginning of her career, with Sex Pistols and other people like that.

Voice 2: Um, I think I’d like to go back to the olden days, like the sixteenth or seventeenth century, but I’d have to be a rich person, living in a castle with lots of people to make the fires and cook my food and wash and dress me and things like that.

Voice 3: If I had a time machine I would like to visit, um, err, my childhood when I was, ah, three years old because my father passed away when I was four, and I don’t really remember how my father looks like, and, ah, I have only, like, five pieces of memory of him, so I would really like to go back in time and to get to know him better, and, you, ah, have a fatherly love from him.

Voice 4: I think I would like to go back to the time of Tang dynasty in China because I read so much about this era, the richness of their poetry and their art and their way of life, so I would really like to go back to that era to talk to the people in those times, talk to the famous poets such as Li Bei, and even meet the founder of that great dynasty, ah, there’s so much to learn about this culture, um, yeah, that is really the time I would like to go back to.

Voice 5: If I had a time machine I would like to go forward in the future, maybe to the year 3000, see what life was like, how we’d advanced, what our technology, um, how we traveled, what kind of strange transportation we’d have found, um, and how healthy we were and what the world looked like at that time.

Ravi: Interesting. What do you think Tess?

Tess: The 1960s, probably. Great music, great clothes – and I could see what my parents were doing. It’d be like that film … what do you call it?

Ravi: Back to the Future? Yeah. I’d go to the future, actually. See if it’s like it is in the films. Anyway, listeners – if you want to write or record where you’d like to go in a time machine you can send it to us at the usual email address.

Section 5 – Carolina

Tess: Now it’s time to see what’s happening with Carolina. If you’ve listened before you’ll know that Carolina is a student who’s come from Venezuela to study at Newcastle University. In every podcast we hear a little about what she, her boyfriend Jamie and their friends have been doing. Last time, they were all doing some conservation work at a nature reserve to the north of Newcastle. This time, Carolina and Jamie are in a restaurant.

Jamie: So, what are you going to have?

Carolina: Hmm. I’m not sure.

Jamie: Have the fish and chips. It’s traditional.

Carolina: Fish and chips! I don’t think so.

 Jamie: What’s the problem?

Carolina: I like fish and I like chips, but not like that. It’s so …. heavy.

Jamie: Well I don’t see why …

Carolina: British food is so strange sometimes.

Jamie: British food is very good actually – if you try it. You liked my mum’s cooking didn’t you? Um, let me see, I think I’ll have the vegetarian pasta.

Carolina: How long have you been a vegetarian?

Jamie: About five years now.

Carolina: Don’t you miss eating meat?

Jamie: Not at all. I don’t really like it any more.

Waiter: Are you ready to order?

Jamie: Well I am. Carolina?

Carolina: Oh um, yes. I’ll have the steak please.

Waiter: How would you like it done?

Carolina: Oh um, I like it pink, you know, still with some blood. ….

Jamie:  Uggghhh.

Carolina: ...not cooked too much. How do you say that?

Waiter: Rare. So that’s one steak, rare. And for you sir?

Jamie: The vegetarian pasta for me please.

Carolina: Um, what does the steak come with?

Waiter: Chips and a mixed salad.

Carolina: Oh, OK, that’s fine.

Waiter: And to drink?

Jamie: D’you want wine?

Carolina: Yes OK, – do you?

Jamie: Yeah, OK. Can we see the wine list please?  The wine’s expensive. It’s always the same in this country. The wine is the most expensive part of a meal. Let’s just have the house wine. Red or white?

Carolina: I’d prefer red.

Jamie: OK. Excuse me. Can we have a bottle of the house red please?

Waiter: Certainly.

Carolina: Is Layla a vegetarian?

Jamie: No. She eats fish. Why?

Carolina: I just wondered.

Jamie: You just wondered.

Carolina: Yes. I just wondered. You spend a lot of time with her Jamie.

Jamie:  Do I? Well I like her. She’s a good friend. That isn’t a problem is it?

Carolina: Oh no. No problem at all.

Jamie: So how’s the steak?

Carolina: It’s good. And how’s your pasta?

Jamie: Delicious.

Carolina: Oh Jamie. Let’s not be angry with each other. I don’t see you very often nowadays. You’re always busy.

Jamie: We were together all last weekend at the nature reserve.

Carolina: Well yes, I suppose so. With Henry and Ivan and Layla. But you know, I’m going home to Venezuela for the holidays soon…..

Jamie: Yeah. Holidays!

Carolina: ….. so I won’t see you for a while…. so I thought we could have dinner, and you know, talk a bit.

Jamie: Yeah. It was a good idea. It’s nice. We’re talking.

Carolina: Yes, but I meant... talk about…..

Jamie: What? Talk about what?

Carolina: Oh never mind. Forget it. Eat your vegetarian pasta.

Jamie: So, do you want another coffee?

Carolina: No thanks

Jamie: I’ll get the bill then. Can we have the bill please?

Waiter: Your bill.

Carolina: Give it to me. I’m going to pay for this.

Jamie: Don’t be daft - I don’t want you to pay for my dinner.

Carolina: I invited you, so let me pay. Please - I want to.

Jamie: OK then – well, thank you very much.

Carolina: How much should I leave? You know, for the waiter?

Jamie: For the tip?

Carolina: Yes, the tip.

Jamie: About ten per cent is usual I think. Let me put in the tip if you’re paying.

Carolina: Ten per cent….. No, it’s OK. I’ve got it. 

Jamie: So when are you leaving?

Carolina: Friday morning.

Jamie: Oh. Friday. Well, I’ll call you before you go. Perhaps we can have a drink or something.

Carolina: OK. That would be nice. Call me.

Tess: Oh dear. That didn’t sound very happy, did it?

Ravi: I’m sure it’ll be fine you know. Jamie should go to Venezuela to visit Carolina. That’s what I would do.

Section 6 – Joke

Tess: I’m sure you would. Have you got a joke for us?

Ravi: I have. I was going to tell you a different one but Abbie reminded me of this one.

Tess: Come on then, let’s hear it.

Ravi: Right, well. A man goes into a chemist’s shop and says to the pharmacist "Excuse me, but have you got anything for hiccups?” The pharmacist looks at him for a couple of seconds, and then suddenly reaches across the counter and "thwack" - slaps the man’s face really hard.  'Ow!', says the man. "What did you do that for?’ “Well," says the chemist, "you haven’t got hiccups now have you?” “No, I haven’t” says the man –“but my wife out there in the car has still got them.”

Tess: Very good. I like that. But, listeners, that’s all from me and Ravi for this podcast. Don’t go away because Tom the Teacher will be here in a moment

Ravi: And be sure to listen next time when we’ve got a very special guest with us. You can write to us at LearnEnglishPodcast @ BritishCouncil dot org, see you next time, bye!

Tess: Bye!

Tom the Teacher

Tom: Hi, I’m Tom.  I’m here at the end of every podcast to talk about some of the language you heard in the programme, and to talk about ways to help you learn English. I’d like to start today by listening to some questions we heard in the podcast. Listen to Tess ask Ravi a question here – and listen to Ravi’s answer:

Ravi: Erm …. erm …. I didn’t know you spoke Spanish, Tess.

Tess: Solo un poquito…

Ravi: OK, you can stop now.

Tess: Have you been taking Spanish lessons?

Ravi:  Yeah, I have.

Tom: Tess asked Ravi, ‘Have you been taking Spanish lessons?’ and Ravi answered, ‘Yes, I have’. Now, Tess’s question was a ‘yes’ or ‘no’ question. Ravi’s answer could be simply ‘yes’ or ‘no’. But he said ‘Yes, I have.’ We often answer ‘yes – no’ questions this way. Listen to another example.

Tess: Is your granddad still alive?

Pete: No, he isn’t. He died 2 years ago.

Tom: Did you notice the difference? Tess asked, ‘Is your granddad still alive?’ so Pete used the same verb in his short answer – ‘No, he isn’t’. In the first example we heard, Tess asked ‘Have you been taking Spanish lessons?’ so Ravi answered, ‘Yes, I have’ – You use the same verb as the question to make the short answer. So if the question is ‘Do you like football?’ your short answer can be ‘Yes, I do’, or ‘No, I don’t’. Question tags, work in a similar way to these short answers. Listen to this.

Tess: And just think how good it’ll be in Barcelona when you can do things in Spanish – ordering meals, buying postcards, talking to girls …

Ravi: Well, two or three more lessons won’t hurt, will they? OK. I’ll talk to the teacher and I’ll carry on going to lessons. OK?

Tom: Ravi asked a tag question. A tag question is a little question at the end of a sentence. They can be ‘real’ questions – where you don’t know the answer – but in this example it wasn’t a ‘real’ question. Ravi knows that two or three more lessons won’t hurt. Listen to another tag question from Tess.

Tess: Oh dear. That didn’t sound very happy, did it?

Tom: Like with the short answers to yes-no questions, the verb in the tag question depends on the verb in the first part of the sentence. If the verb is negative – like ‘that didn’t sound very happy’ – then the tag question is positive – ‘did it?’. Ravi’s tag question was the same, ‘two or three more lessons won’t hurt’ – negative – ‘will they?’ – positive. There was one more example, in the joke.

Ravi: 'Ow!', says the man. "What did you do that for?’ “Well," says the chemist, "you haven’t got hiccups now have you?” “No, I haven’t” says the man.

Tom: There’s a tag question and a short answer in that one, did you spot them?  Now, let’s move on. Carolina and Jamie were in a restaurant this time. Listen to a little bit of the conversation in the restaurant.

Waiter: Are you ready to order?

Jamie: Well I am. Carolina?

Carolina: Oh um, yes. I’ll have the steak please.

Waiter: How would you like it done?

Carolina: Oh um, I like it pink, you know, still with some blood. ….

Jamie: Uggghhh.

Carolina:..not cooked too much. How do you say that?

Waiter: Rare. So that’s one steak, rare. And for you sir?

Jamie: The vegetarian pasta for me please.

Carolina: Um, what does the steak come with?

Waiter: Chips and a mixed salad.

Carolina: Oh, OK, that’s fine.

Tom: There are some expressions that you almost always hear in restaurants. The waiter says ‘Are you ready to order?’ When Carolina orders steak, the waiter asks ‘How would you like it done?’ and he asks Jamie ‘And for you, sir?’ You probably won’t hear these expressions anywhere else. There are expressions for other places too. For example, in a clothes shop, you might say, ‘Have you got this in a size twelve?’ or ‘Can I try it on?’ It’s a good idea to learn some of these useful expressions for different situations. Do you remember, in another podcast, the way Carolina practised what she wanted to say before she went into a shop? If you keep these special expressions for different places together in your vocabulary notebook you can practise them when you need them.

Now, listen to Ravi talking to Abbie, who did the quiz.

Ravi: Where are you calling from, Abbie?

Abbie: From Manchester.  HIC!  Sorry.

Ravi: Another Mancunian, like me. Great. Have you got hiccups, Abbie?

Abbie: Yes, sorry.

Ravi: That’s OK.

Tess: Do you want to go and …

Ravi: BOO!

Abbie: HIC!

Tom: Ravi shouted ‘Boo!’ at Abbie because she had hiccups. Some people think that you can make hiccups go away by giving the person a shock. ‘Boo!’ is what we shout when we want to give people a surprise or a shock. Or if you’re playing with a baby you might hide your face and say ‘Boo!’ What do you say in your language?

Finally for today, I want to look at Ravi talking to Abbie again, a little bit after he shouted ‘boo’ at her.

Ravi: Hi Abbie. Have they gone?

Abbie: Yes, I think so. Sorry about that.

Ravi: That’s OK. Where were we? Manchester. What do you do in Manchester, Abbie?

Tom: Ravi said to Abbie, ‘where were we?’. They were talking, then they were interrupted by Abbie’s hiccups, then they started their conversation again. When Ravi said ‘where were we?’ he meant – what were we talking about before our conversation was interrupted?  See if you can use ‘where were we?’ this week. OK. That’s all we’ve got time for. I’ll talk to you all again next time.  Remember you can write to me about any language that you noticed in this podcast. The address is LearnEnglishPodcast @ BritishCouncil DOT org. In a moment you’ll hear the address for the website where you can read everything you’ve heard in this podcast. You can also find some practice exercises to do online and a Support Pack that you can print. Right.  That’s all for this time.  Bye for now!  See you next time.

  • 13 آبان 1402

Episode 10

در این قسمت تس و راوی با گوردون در مورد ماجراجویی های او در مورد ساخت یک مستند درباره نهنگ ها صحبت می کنند. مهمانان دیگر آنها در مورد ابرقدرت ها صحبت می کنند. همچنین می‌توانید کارولینا را در حالی دنبال کنید که او در حال آماده شدن برای بازگشت به ونزوئلا برای تعطیلات تابستانی است. آیا او هیجان زده است که برای ملاقات به خانه برود؟

Section 1 – Gordon has come back

Tess: Hello and welcome once again to the Learn English Elementary podcast. This is podcast number ten in series two. We’re your presenters – I’m Tess ..

Ravi: And I’m Ravi. I’m sorry to say that this is the last podcast in this series ..

Tess: Awww

Ravi: But the good news is that it’s a very special podcast today and we’ve got a special guest with us in the studio today. If you’ve been listening to our podcasts for a long time you’ll remember Gordon. Gordon was our producer for Series One of the podcast.

Tess: Producer and joke teller, Ravi.

Ravi: Yeah, Gordon told us some great jokes, that’s true. Anyway, at the start of this series of the podcast, we told you that Gordon had a new job. Well, today, he’s back here in the studio with us. Say hello, Gordon.

Gordon: Hi Ravi, hi Tess.

Tess: Hi Gordon. It’s lovely to see you again. How are you?

Gordon: I’m very well, thank you, very well. How are you both? OK?

Tess & Ravi: Yeah, I’m fine, thanks. I’m good, thanks.

Ravi: So, what have you been doing since we last saw you, Gordon?

Gordon: Well, after we did the last series of the podcast, I got a job working on a TV documentary programme about whales.

Ravi: The country?

Gordon: No, Ravi – whales in the sea.

Tess: Brilliant. What were you doing?

Gordon: I was working on the sound for the programme – we filmed a lot of it on a boat.

Ravi: So did you see a lot of whales?

Gordon: Hundreds. It was absolutely fantastic – but, listen, I’m going to tell you more about it a little bit later so I won’t tell you now. How are you two? Have you managed to do the podcast without me?

Tess: Well, it’s not the same Gordon, you know, but, yeah, we’ve had lots of interesting people on – it’s been really good.

Gordon: Any jokes?

Ravi: Oh yes. Gordon used to tell a joke in every podcast. At first we didn’t have a joke in this series but so many people said they really liked your jokes – it’s difficult to believe it, I know – so we decided to have more jokes.

Gordon: Well, I’ve got a great one for you.

Tess: A joke and your whale stories – it’s the Gordon show today. But that’s OK – it’s lovely to see you again.

Gordon: It’s lovely to be here.

Section 2 – I’d like to talk about

Ravi: OK. Well, I’m dying to hear about these whales so let’s move on. If you listen to our podcasts regularly, you’ll know that we usually start with ‘I’d Like to Talk About’ – when someone comes into the studio and tells us about something that’s important to them – a place, a thing, a person – whatever. Well, as we’ve got Gordon with us today, we thought it would be nice to hear a little bit about what he’s been doing since we last saw him. Now, Gordon, I know we’re going to listen to part of your documentary. Can you tell us what it is before we hear it?

Gordon: Well, this is from the first programme in the series. We were on a boat near Provincetown, in Massachusetts in the USA, looking for humpback whales. We’d just started filming and none of us had ever seen a humpback whale and … well, listen and you’ll hear what happened.

Narrator: We’re just coming out past the lighthouses now into the open waters of the Atlantic Ocean. One hundred and fifty years ago, thousands of ships made this same journey into the Atlantic because Cape Cod, back there, was the centre of the American whaling industry. Ships leaving this port killed thousands of whales all over the world. Now, ironically, Cape Cod is one of the best places in the world to see whales – and that’s why we’re here.

The seabirds we can see circling over there are a good sign. The birds often circle like that in places where whales are feeding. We’ll head in that direction.

There! That cloud of water in the air there tells us that there are humpback whales over there …… Another!   Any minute now we should see … WOW! Woohoo!  Amazing!

Tess: That sounds incredible.

Gordon: It was amazing. I know we can only hear it here, we can’t see it, but when that humpback whale came up then it was so close I could smell its breath – it was absolutely incredible.

Ravi: What did its breath smell like?

Gordon:  Pretty bad – quite fishy

Ravi: Yeah? I know someone like that.

Gordon: You know, that was the first time I’d ever seen a whale – and it was so close. It’s always special when you see whales but that first time was extra special.

Tess: Why is it always special?

Gordon: Well, I think it’s because whales are so special. We think we know something about them but they live in huge oceans and, really, we hardly know anything about them. We probably know more about the moon than we do about the oceans. And, you know, people spent hundreds of years hunting and killing whales – we’re lucky that there are any whales left at all. And – and this is the main reason it feels special to see whales – they’re such amazing creatures.

Ravi: Are people still hunting whales?

Gordon: They are, unfortunately, in some places. But what we found was that whale watching – people paying to go out to sea and look at whales – is a really big business now and, hopefully, some of that money can be used to help protect whales.

Tess: How many different kinds of whale did you see?

Gordon: Over the whole programme, I think we saw fifteen different kinds.

Ravi: How many different kinds are there?

Gordon: Well, that’s a good question. There are thirteen species that people usually think of as the ‘great whales’ but, altogether, there are about forty species of whale. The thing is, though, that we’re not absolutely sure exactly how many species of whale there are. The oceans are huge and we don’t really know much about them, as I said. There could be species of whales that we’ve never seen. It’s another thing I like about them – there’s still some mystery.

Ravi: Yeah. I know whales are big – everyone knows that – but how big are they, exactly?

Gordon: Well that depends on the species but … Actually, Ravi, you’ll have to wait until the quiz to find that out.

Ravi: The quiz? Are you doing that as well?

Gordon: Well, I’ve got one or two questions for you two, yes.

Ravi: Me against Tess? Excellent.

Tess: Yeah? You’ve got no chance, Ravi. That all sounds great though Gordon. I’m really looking forward to seeing that when it’s on TV.

Gordon: Well, it’s being edited at the moment but it should be ready in a couple of months.

Ravi: I’ll definitely watch it. Now. Shall we have this quiz?

Section 3 – Quiz

Tess: Just a moment, Ravi. If you’ve listened before, you’ll know that on each podcast we have a quiz. Usually we ask the questions to someone else but this time, because it’s a special podcast, Gordon’s going to ask the questions and Ravi and I are going to answer them.

Gordon: OK – I’ve prepared some questions for you. You’ve both got buzzers – let’s hear them. Ravi [buzz] Tess [buzz]. Good. You get one point for a correct answer. The winner is the first one to five points. OK?

Tess & Ravi: OK. Right.

Gordon: OK then. Let’s start. Fingers on the buzzers. Which is the deepest ocean in the world?  The Atlantic, the Pacific or the

Ravi: The Atlantic

Gordon: No. Tess?

Tess: What are the choices?

Gordon: The deepest ocean – the Atlantic, the Pacific or the Indian ocean.

Tess: The Pacific?

Gordon: Correct. One nil to Tess. Next question. What’s the biggest species of whale? Is it the humpback whale, the sperm whale

Ravi: Humpback whale

Gordon: No. Tess? What’s the biggest species of whale? The humpback whale, the sperm whale or the blue whale?

Tess: I know this. The blue whale.

Gordon: That’s right. Two nil to Tess. Question three. How big is the blue whale? Is it up to twenty five metres long, up to thirty five metres long or up to forty five metres long?

Ravi: Erm .. up to forty five metres long.

Gordon: Sorry Ravi. Tess?

Tess: Up to thirty five metres?

Gordon: That’s right. Three nil to Tess.

Ravi: This is a disaster. Right. Come on, ask us another.

Gordon: Question four. How long do sperm whales live? More than 70 years, more than 80 years or more than a hundred years?

Ravi: I’m not going to buzz first Tess – I’m waiting for you to get it wrong then I’m going to give my answer.

Tess: Erm, I’ll say ‘more than seventy years’, Gordon.

Gordon: That’s right. Four nil to Tess.

Ravi: AAAAGGGGH.

Gordon: Question five. We said that the blue whale is the biggest kind of whale. How much does a blue whale’s heart weigh?

Ravi: Oh come on, no-one knows that.

Gordon: Is it five hundred kilograms, six hundred kilograms or seven hundred kilograms?

Tess: I’ll have a guess. The middle one. Six hundred kilos.

Gordon: Yes! That’s right. We have a winner!

Ravi: No way! I was going to say six hundred as well. Five nil! I can’t believe it.

Tess: Never mind, Ravi. I just know more about whales than you, that’s all.

Ravi: OK, let’s pretend the quiz never happened and move on. What’s next? We’ve got Your Turn – listen to this one – what superpower would you like to have? – great question – we’ve got Carolina and we’ve got a joke from Gordon. I can’t wait. That’s all after this.

Section 4 – Your Turn

Tess: Time now for Your Turn. This is when we ask some people a question and listen to their answers. The topics are sometimes serious, sometimes not so serious but the answers are always interesting. Here’s the question this time:  “Superman can fly. The Hulk is very strong. The Invisible Man is invisible. What superpower would you like to have?” I like it. Let’s hear what people said.

Voice 1: I would like to have a super power to heal a broken heart because, ah, there’s no remedy for a broken heart – it’s not like, ah, if you have a cold or flu then you have the appropriate medicine for that, but if you have a broken heart then there is really no medicine, ah, people will say that, um, time heals a broken heart, but if I have this super power then I can speed up the process and to heal every, um, weeping soul.

Voice 2: I think I’d like to be invisible, too, so I can listen in and see what people are doing when they don’t know I’m there.

Voice 3: If I could choose any super power I would choose the ability to fly, um, because I sometimes have dreams where I’m flying and it’s a very free feeling, it’s a very good feeling to be able to go anywhere you want very quickly, and, um, enjoy the view of the Earth from above.

Voice 4: If I had a super power I’d like to be like the genie in the bottle and be able to grant other people wishes, because it would be so much fun every day to walk around giving people exactly what they want and making their lives better.

Voice 5: I would like to have a, ah, super power that can read and tell the minds, what’s in the mind and the heart of people.

Tess: Ravi? I know you’ll be dying to say something on this.

Ravi: Hmm. I can’t decide. Flying’s a good one. Invisibility would be great too. Hmm. I don’t know. What about you?

Tess: Would knowing a lot about whales be a superpower? Oh, I’ve got that one already.

Ravi: Very good.

Tess: Actually, I don’t know. It’s nice to say something like ‘mending a broken heart’ or ‘making people’s lives better’, but, really, I think flying is what I’d like. I’d love to be able to fly.

Ravi: Me too. Remember, listeners, you can tell us what you think about Your Turn by writing to us or recording yourself and sending it to us at LearnEnglishPodcast @ BritishCouncil dot org. What superpower would you like to have?

Tess: OK. Now it’s time for Carolina. Remember Carolina, Gordon?

Gordon: Oh yes.

Section 5 – Carolina

Tess: Carolina is from Venezuela but she’s come to study at Newcastle University in the north east of England. In every podcast we hear something about what Carolina’s been doing. Last time, she went to a restaurant with her boyfriend, Jamie – although I don’t think they had a good time, really. This time, it’s the end of term and Carolina’s getting ready to go back to Venezuela for the summer.

Carolina: OK Emily. I think I’m ready.

Emily: Sure you’ve got everything?

Carolina: Oh I don’t know. I’ve probably forgotten something. I hate travelling – it makes me really stressed.

Emily: Money, passport, tickets. That’s all you really need.

Carolina: Yes …I’ve got money ... my passport ... and my tickets.  Oh dear. Well – I guess I’m ready to go.

Emily: Why don’t you phone him?

Carolina: Phone who?

Emily: Jamie of course. You’ve been checking your phone for messages every five minutes for the last two days. Just phone him.

Carolina: I can’t. He knows I’m leaving today – he promised to phone. He hasn’t called since we had that horrible dinner together. He obviously doesn’t want to speak to me.

Emily: But you obviously want to speak to him. You can’t go away feeling miserable.

Carolina: I’m not going to phone him Emily.

Emily: OK, it’s your decision. I think you’re mad, but it’s up to you. So are you going to phone a taxi? The number’s on the table by the door.

Carolina: OK. Hello. Blueline taxis? Um, I’d like to order a taxi please. I’m at Bowsden Hall. Yes, that’s right; the university residences. It’s number 36A. Yes that’s right.  I want to go to the station – Newcastle train station. Yes, that’s right – Central Station. Ten minutes? OK . Cab number 647? OK, I’ll go downstairs and wait. My mobile number is 033 474 61037. Thank you very much.

Emily: You don’t need to go downstairs – we can see him coming from the window.

Carolina: No, I’d rather go down. I’m a bit nervous. I can’t relax. I think I’ll go down now and wait.

Emily: OK. I’ll help you with your bag.

Carolina: No it’s OK. I can manage. So, goodbye then Emily.

Emily: Bye bye. Have a lovely time – and see you when you get back.

Carolina: Yes OK. Have a good holiday too Emily.

Emily: You’ve forgotten your handbag.

Carolina: Oh! Thanks.

Emily: Money, passport, tickets

Carolina: Money, passport, tickets

Taxi driver: Right. To the station isn’t it love?

Carolina: Yes please. How long do you think it’ll take?

Taxi driver: Not long at this time of day. What time’s your train?

Carolina: Ten forty-five.

Taxi driver: No problem.

Taxi driver: Off home for the holidays then?

Carolina: Yes, that’s right.

Taxi driver: Somewhere nice?

Carolina: Venezuela. Caracas.

Taxi driver: Venezuela! That’s a long way to go. Been here in Newcastle long then?

Carolina: Since September.

Taxi driver: Is this your first trip home then?

Carolina: Yes, that’s right.

Taxi driver: You must be looking forward to seeing your family.

Carolina: Oh just a minute – excuse me. Oh hello Henry. Yes, yes, I’m in the taxi. Yes I will. And you have a good holiday too. Yes I will. OK. Thanks for calling. Bye.

Taxi driver: Boyfriend saying goodbye?

Carolina: No.

Taxi driver: What do you think of good old Newcastle then? Bet the weather’s a bit cold for you ...

Taxi driver: Here we are then. Twenty past ten. Plenty of time.

Carolina: Yes, thank you.

Taxi driver: That’ll be eight pounds ten please.

Carolina: Here you are. And um, keep the change.

Taxi driver: Thank you very much.  Enjoy your holiday.

Carolina: Oh I will. Thank you very much. Bye.

Taxi driver: Don’t forget your handbag.

Carolina: Oh! Thank you.

Carolina: Hello Jamie. Yes, I’m at the station. I’ve just got out of the taxi ……..

Tess: Awwwww. I’m so glad Jamie called. I knew he would.

Ravi: Oh Tess. Well, listeners, that’s all from Carolina for now. I’m sure that, like me, you’ve all been waiting to hear from Gordon again. Ready Gordon?

Section 6 – Gordon’s Joke

Gordon: Ready.

Ravi: So, Gordon’s joke.

Gordon: Right. This is a story about a man whose wife has a cat – and this man, he hates the cat. He can’t stand it.

Tess: How can anyone hate cats? Cats are lovely.

Gordon: Not this cat – it’s horrible – and this man hates the cat so much that he makes a plan to get rid of the cat. One day, when his wife isn’t at home, he takes the cat, puts it in the car and drives ten miles away from home. He throws the cat out of the car and drives away. When he gets home, who do you think is sitting on the doorstep waiting for him?

Tess: The cat.

Gordon: Exactly. ‘Right’, thinks the man. The next day – his wife isn’t there again – he takes the cat, puts it in the car and drives twenty miles. He throws the cat out of the car and drives away. When he gets home again, what do you think, the cat is sitting on the doorstep again. Well, by now he’s really annoyed about this. The next day, he takes the cat, covers its eyes, puts it in the car and drives fifty miles. He goes over hills, through tunnels – he turns left, turns right, he makes it impossible for the cat to know where they are and he throws it out of the car and drives away. Well, two hours later, the man calls his wife. ‘Hello?’, she says. ‘Is the cat there?’, says the man. ‘Yes’, she says. ‘Well can you put him on the phone, please? I need to ask him for directions’

Ravi: You’ve still got that old magic, Gordon.

Tess: Yeah, it’s been great to have you back on the podcast, Gordon.  But that’s about all we’ve got time for this time. Don’t go away, listeners, because Tom the Teacher will be here in a minute but that’s all from us and that’s the end of series 2.

Ravi: We hope you enjoyed the series. Thanks for all your emails and things.

Tess: And Ravi – just one thing before we go – I have to make a confession.

Ravi: Go on.

Tess: You know the quiz today? Well, I have to admit, Gordon gave me a little bit of help with the answers.

Ravi: I knew it! I knew you must have cheated.

Tess: You looked so funny though when I got everything right. I wish we’d taken a picture – we could put it on the website.

Ravi: Right. I think that makes me the real winner of the quiz. And that sounds like a good place to finish. Bye everyone. Thanks for coming in today, Gordon. We’ll see you all soon.

Tess: Yes, thanks Gordon. Bye everyone.

Gordon: Thanks for having me. Bye!

Tom the Teacher

Tom: Hi, I’m Tom.  I’m here at the end of every podcast to talk about some of the language you heard in the programme, and to talk about ways to help you learn English. This is the last podcast in Series 2 so I want to start today by looking at something absolutely fantastic. Listen to Gordon talking about his job on the whale documentary.

Tess: Brilliant. What were you doing?

Gordon: I was working on the sound for the programme – we filmed a lot of it on a boat.

Ravi: So did you see a lot of whales?

Gordon: Hundreds. It was absolutely fantastic – but, listen, I’m going to tell you more about it a little bit later so I won’t tell you now.

Tom: I’m interested in the adjectives Tess and Gordon used. Tess said ‘brilliant’ and Gordon said ‘fantastic’. Now, ‘brilliant’ and ‘fantastic’ are both quite strong adjectives. They both mean ‘very good’. Listen again to what Gordon said:

Gordon: Hundreds. It was absolutely fantastic

Tom: He said it was absolutely fantastic. We can only use ‘absolutely’ with strong adjectives like this. So we can say something is ‘very big’ or ‘very small’ but we can’t use ‘absolutely’ here. ‘Huge’ means ‘very big’ so we can say something was ‘absolutely huge’ and ‘tiny’ means ‘very small’ so we can say ‘it was absolutely tiny’. We only use ‘absolutely’ with ‘strong’ adjectives. Listen to another example.

Gordon: It was amazing. I know we can only hear it here, we can’t see it, but when that humpback whale came up then it was so close I could smell its breath – it was absolutely incredible.

Ravi: What did its breath smell like?

Gordon: Pretty bad – quite fishy

Tom: Gordon said that seeing the whale so close was ‘absolutely incredible’ but he said that its breath smelt ‘pretty bad’ and ‘quite fishy’. ‘Pretty’, when we use it like this means ‘quite’ and Gordon uses it with ‘bad’ because bad is just an ordinary adjective, not a strong one. One more thing though. Listen to another thing that Gordon said:

Ravi: Are people still hunting whales?

Gordon: They are, unfortunately, in some places. But what we found was that whale watching – people paying to go out to sea and look at whales – is a really big business now and, hopefully, some of that money can be used to help protect whales.

Tom: He said that whale watching is ‘a really big business’. ‘Really’ is a useful word because we can use it with strong adjectives like ‘incredible’ and with ‘ordinary’ adjectives like ‘big’. So we can say ‘It was really huge’ or ‘It was really big’. If you want to make an adjective stronger, ‘really’ is a good word to use. Now, I wonder if you noticed a little word when Tess and Ravi were playing the quiz against each other. Listen to how Gordon says what the score is in the quiz.

Tess: I know this. The blue whale.

Gordon: That’s right. Two nil to Tess. Question three. How big is the blue whale? Is it up to twenty five metres long, up to thirty five metres long or up to forty five metres long?

Ravi: Erm .. up to forty five metres long.

Gordon: Sorry Ravi. Tess?

Tess: Up to thirty five metres?

Gordon: That’s right. Three nil to Tess.

Tom: Gordon said ‘two nil to Tess’ and ‘Three nil to Tess’. What do you think ‘nil’ means? It means ‘nothing’ or ‘zero’ – but we only usually use it in some sports or things like quizzes. One place you often hear it is in football scores – you might say ‘My team won two nil’. But you can’t use it in every situation. When you give someone your telephone number for example you say ‘zero’ or ‘nought’ or even ‘oh’. There are different ways to say ‘zero’ and it can be difficult to remember them but ‘nil’ is usually used for team sports.

Now, something else. Listen to what Ravi said when he introduced Gordon talking about whales.

Ravi: OK. Well, I’m dying to hear about these whales so let’s move on.

Tom: Ravi said he was ‘dying to hear’ what Gordon had to say. A little late, when they were talking about superpowers, Tess used ‘dying to’ as well. Listen:

Tess: Ravi? I know you’ll be dying to say something on this.

Tom: If you are ‘dying to’ do something, you really want to do it – you’re really looking forward to it. It takes an infinitive, so you might say ‘I’m dying to know what happened at the party’ or ‘he’s dying to meet you’. See if you can use it yourself this week.

OK, that’s all we’ve got time for today. This is the last podcast in series two so you won’t hear from me for a while. Remember some of the things I’ve talked about – things you can do to help you learn English. This series we’ve talked about how important it is to have a good dictionary. We talked about ‘thinking in English’ – looking at things around you and thinking how to say it in English. And we also talked about looking out for English – you can probably see English every day – in the street, on TV or at the cinema – keep your eyes open for English!

And finally, remember you can write to me about any language that you noticed in this or the other podcasts. The address is LearnEnglishPodcast @ BritishCouncil DOT org. In a moment you’ll hear the address for the website where you can read everything you’ve heard in this podcast. You can also find some practice exercises to do online and a Support Pack that you can print. Right.  That’s all for this series.  Bye for now! 

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