Elementary Podcast

Elementary Podcast Series 01 Episode 01
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Transcript

Download the LearnEnglish Elementary podcast.
Youll find all the details on this page:
http://www.learnenglish.britishcouncil.org/eleme
ntary-podcasts

Section 1 - Susan, this is Paul introducing
your friends

Ravi: Hello, and welcome to LearnEnglish
elementary podcast number one. My names
Ravi
Tess: and Im Tess. Were your presenters and
weve got lots of things for you to listen to today,
but before we start, I think we should introduce
ourselves. Ravi?
Ravi: OK erm Im Ravi.
Tess: Or, I tell you what, Ill introduce you and you
can introduce me. How about that?
Ravi: Well, OK then. Erm, this is Tess. Shes from
London. Shes how old are you?
Tess: None of your business, Ravi!
Ravi: And she loves dancing and riding her
mountain bike. OK?
Tess: OK. And this is Ravi. He comes from
Manchester. Hes 23. Oh arent you?
Ravi: Oh yes.
Tess: He likes football, and hes a great cook.
Ravi: Thanks! And theres one more person for
you to meet. Id like to introduce our producer,
Gordon. Say hello to everyone Gordon!
Gordon: Hello! Pleased to meet you!
Ravi and Tess: Hi Gordon
Tess: And how are you today?
Gordon: Very well thank you Tess.

Section 2: Id like to meet

Tess: Good! Well speak to Gordon again later in
the show but now its time to get on with our
programme. Weve got an excellent show for you
today, and lets start with our first section, called
Id like to meet. We ask people a simple question
which famous person, dead or alive would you
like to meet? And of course, we ask them to
explain why. Our guest today on Id like to meet
is Zara Heller from Bristol. Hello Zara and
welcome to the show.
Zara: Hello.
Ravi: Hi Zara.
Tess: And what do you do Zara?
Zara: Im a student, Im in my last year at school,
Im 16.
Tess: Right. Now lets ask the question. So Zara,
like to meet?
Zara: Id like to meet Angelina J olie.
Ravi: Angelina J olie. Great - good choice! Tell us
a bit about her.
Zara: Shes an American film actress, she was in
Tomb Raider, and shes an ambassador for the
United Nations too.
Tess: And why did you choose her to talk about
today?
Zara: Well, because I really admire her. Shes a
famous film star with a lot of money and a famous
celebrity film star husband, but she really cares
about helping people and she uses her money
and her fame to help children and people who are
very poor or have a difficult life. I saw a film about
her on MTV the music channel it was a video
diary of her visiting Africa and talking about how
to stop poverty, and they were really simple
things, and I thought it was really cool because
MTV doesnt usually show programmes like that,
its usually just music videos and things, but
because shes famous and beautiful then people
want to see her so she can get a lot of attention
for the things that she wants to change.
Tess: Do you like her films? Do you think shes a
good actress?
Zara: Yes I do. I dont think shes a great actress,
but shes a good actress, and shes so beautiful
that you just want to look at her all the time.
Ravi: Yeah.
Zara: I think shes one of the most beautiful
women in the world. I love watching her, I love all
her films.
Ravi: And what would you like to talk to her about
Zara?
Zara: Id like to talk about her trips to different
places all around the world, and about Hollywood,
and her family and about what people like me can
do to help poor children.
Tess: Well thank you very much Zara. That was
really interesting. Personally, Id like to talk to her
about her husband, Brad Pitt. I think hes
gorgeous.
Ravi: OK Tess, calm down. Erm, for all of you
listening, wed like to hear from you. Which
famous person, dead or alive, would you like to
meet? And why? Email us at
learnenglishpodcast@britishcouncil.org, thats
learnenglishpodcast - all one word AT -
britishcouncil all one word DOT org, thats o-r-g.
Let us know which famous person you would like
to meet and why.


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Section 3: Quiz

Tess: OK. Now its quiz time. Every week well
have a little quiz to get you thinking. This week its
the ten second quiz. Its very easy. We give you a
topic and you give as many answers as you can -
in 10 seconds. Our two players today are Daniel
Daniels 16 and comes from London. Hello Daniel.
Daniel: Hi
Tess: And Alice Alice is also 16 and she comes
from Liverpool. Hi Alice.
Alice: Hello
Tess: Do you both know what to do? OK. We give
you a topic, and you have to write down all the
words you can think of. For example, we say
bathroom, and you write a list, bath, soap,
shampoo, and so on. As quick as you can. Got
the idea?
Alice: Yeah
Tess: Good. Okay. Lets play. Youve got ten
seconds to write down things you can find in a
kitchen. OK? So, for example you could say
microwave oven. OK? Things you can find in a
kitchen. Go! (sound of clock ticking) OK, Daniel.
How many?
Daniel: Erm, five, Tess.
Tess: How about you, Alice?
Alice: Erm, seven, I think.
Tess: OK, lets hear your seven words, Alice.
Things you find in a kitchen.
Alice: Erm, fridge. Cooker. Pans. Plates. Knife,
fork, spoon.
Tess: Thats seven. Well done, Alice. How many
did you get, Ravi?
Ravi: Oh, the clock makes me nervous I cant
think when the clocks ticking like that. Maybe the
question next week will be about football.
Tess: Thanks Daniel, thanks Alice. And if any of
you listening have a good game we can play in
quiz time, write to us and let us know. The
address is
learnenglishpodcast@britishcouncil.org. Wed
love to hear your ideas for games we can play.
Whats next, Ravi?

Section 4: Our person in...

Ravi: The next part of the show is called Our
person in. Well listen to people in interesting
places all over the world telling us something
about life in the country theyre in. Today, well
hear from Mike Southern. Mike is Our man in
New York.
Mike: New York. What do you think of?
Skyscrapers. Taxis. Noise. People. J ohn Lennon
said that New York is the capital city of the world
and it certainly feels that way.
But in the centre of this exciting, noisy, polluted
city there is a place to find peace and quiet. A
short walk from busy Fifth Avenue in Manhattan
youll find Central Park. Central Park is the green
heart of New York City and over 25 million people
come here each year to escape the city. People
run, swim, climb or simply sit and read a book in
the huge parks different scenery. And its not just
for people. Lots of rare birds have made their
home in the park and there are legends of big
cats hiding in the dark trees.
Although it looks completely natural, the park is
man made, created over 150 years ago. Frederick
Law Olmsted and Calvert Vaux designed the park
at a time when the city was a very crowded, dirty
and unhealthy place to live. They wanted to make
a place where rich and poor people could find
fresh air in the dirty city.
It does the same job today. As a friend of mine
always tells me, Life in New York would be
impossible without Central Park
Tess: Wow! Really interesting. Well hear from
another one of our people next time. Or if youd
like to write in and tell us something interesting
about your city or town, wed love to hear from
you. You can send it to us at
learnenglishpodcast@britishcouncil.org

Section 5: Your turn

Tess: Now were going out into the street to listen
to Your Turn
Ravi: In this part of the show, we go out into the
street to find out what people think about our
question of the day. And today were going to ask
a question about celebrities - like film stars,
actors, singers who promote charities and ask
people to give them money or aid. At the
beginning of the show, we listened to Zara from
Bristol talking about Angelina J olie. Zara talked
about Angelina J olies work for charity. And
nowadays, lots of famous people celebrities - do
the same. But is it a good idea? So todays
question is Is it a good idea for celebrities to
do work for charity?
Tess: Hmm. Is it a good idea for celebrities to do
work for charity? Interesting question. Lets listen
to the answers.

Voice 1: I think its a good thing. People dont
want to listen to boring politicians but everyone
likes celebrities so they listen to what they have to
say. When Bob Geldof and Bono organised Live8
a few years ago, everybody was talking about


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how to end poverty in Africa. My little brother was
only twelve years old, but he was talking about it.
That cant be bad.

Voice 2: I hate it. The celebrities only want
publicity, and they want us to think that theyre
really nice people, you know, they care about the
world, they care about poverty, so they can sell
more records. But its a big lie. Theyre not
interested in poor people or the charities at all.

Voice 3: Why is it a problem? The charities need
money, and if celebrities can help them to get
more, then whats wrong with that? I think that
some celebrities only want publicity, but, well, who
cares! The charities get some money, thats the
really important thing.

Voice 4: If you think for example, Angelina J olie or
George Clooney is really cool, then you want to
do the same things that they do. So you might
give to charity too because you want to copy your
favourite star. I think its a good thing. Helping
people is cool nowadays.

Voice 5: I think the celebrities do it because they
copy other celebrities. Everyones doing it
nowadays its the fashion to do work for charity.
I hate it. These film stars make millions of dollars
for a film and live in houses that cost millions of
dollars, and travel in private planes and stay in
expensive hotels. And then they go and visit some
poor people. Its ridiculous.

Ravi: OK, some interesting answers there.
Tess: Hmm. Do you have an opinion about this
question? Wed love to know what you think. Is it
a good idea for celebrities to do work for charity?
Or do you have an idea for a question that we
could ask on Your Turn? Send us an email at
learnenglishpodcast@britishcouncil.org - and we
can take your question into the street.

Section 6: Carolina

Ravi: OK. Now its time to meet Carolina.
Carolina is from Venezuela and shes visiting
Britain for the first time. Its a big adventure for her
shes going to live, study and she hopes, have a
good time here in the UK and were going with
her!
Tess: Carolinas going to study in Newcastle in
the north-east of England. She speaks very good
English but this is her first visit to Britain, so some
things are very strange for her. Were going to
follow Carolina in our podcasts and listen to some
of the conversations that she has in lots of
different situations. Today were going to hear
what happened when she first arrived in Britain
from Venezuela. Heres Carolina at Heathrow
airport in London. Lets listen to her conversation
at Immigration Control.

Carolina: Excuse me. Am I in the right line for
immigration?
Woman: Erm, I dont know dear. It depends. What
nationality are you?
Carolina: Venezuelan.
Woman: No, no, this queues for British and
European Union members. You need to go
over there where it says Other passport
holders. Can you see?
Carolina: Oh, yes, OK, thank you.

Immigration Officer: Good evening.
Carolina: Good evening.
Immigration Officer: Where have you travelled
from today?
Carolina: From Venezuela, from Caracas.
Immigration Officer: Can I see your passport
please? Thank you. Is this your first visit to the
UK?
Carolina: Yes it is.
Immigration Officer: And what are you going to do
here?
Carolina: Im a student. Im going to study at the
University of Newcastle.
Immigration Officer: Is it a full-time course or a
part-time course?
Carolina: Erm, full-time, its a full-time course.
Immigration Officer: Hmm.
Carolina: Ive got my letter from the university
here. Do you want to see it?
Immigration Officer: Yes please.
Carolina: Here you are.
Immigration Officer: Thank you. And how long is
the course? How long do you intend to stay in the
country?
Carolina: Three years.
Immigration Officer: Three years. Hmm.
Carolina: Yes, thats right.
Immigration Officer: Do you intend to work in this
country?
Carolina: Oh, no, no, Im not going to work, well
maybe in the university holidays, but the British
Embassy in Caracas said that was OK.
Immigration Officer: Yes, thats correct. Students
can work in the holidays.
Carolina: Is everything OK?
Immigration Officer: Yes, everything seems to be
in order. I just need to stamp your passport


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with todays date. Here you are. Passport and
letter.
Carolina: Thank you.
Immigration Officer: I hope you enjoy your stay.
Newcastles a very nice place. Go down the stairs
and turn left to collect your baggage.
Carolina: Thank you very much.
Immigration Officer: Good evening sir. And where
have you travelled .

Tess: Hmm. Carolina did really well there. Airports
can be so difficult.
Ravi: I think she did really well, too. I hope she
can come and join us in the studio soon. Id like to
meet her.

Section 7 - The joke

Ravi:
Well, thats almost the end
Tess: Wait a minute Ravi. Dont forget Gordon.
Ravi: Gordon? What do you mean?
Tess: He wants to tell a joke.
Ravi: Oh no
Tess: Dont be horrible. Gordon! J oke time! Come
on Gordon! Are you ready?
Gordon: Yes, Im here.
Ravi: I hope this is good Gordon.
Gordon: How long have I got?
Ravi: One minute at the most.
Gordon: OK then. Erm, right. A chicken walks into
a library
Ravi: A chicken?
Gordon: Yeah. A chicken walks into a library,
walks up to the counter and says to the librarian
Book, book. The librarian gives the chicken two
books she puts the books on the chickens head
and the chicken walks out of the library.
One hour later, the chicken walks back into the
library. It walks up to the counter and says to the
librarian Book, book. The librarian gives the
chicken two books and the chicken walks out of
the library.
An hour later, this happens again. Book, book,
and the chicken walks out of the library with two
books on its head. But this time the librarian
thinks, Hmm, this is strange so she decides to
follow the chicken. She goes out of the library and
follows the chicken. The chicken crosses the
road, walks along the street, turns the corner, until
it comes to the lake. Sitting by the lake is a big, fat
frog. The chicken gives the books to the frog and
the frog looks at them and says Read it, Read it.
Tess: Oh Gordon, thats terrible.
Ravi: And thats the end of this part of the show.
We have to go now but dont go away. After this
little break youre going to hear Tom, our English
teacher. After every show, Tom talks about the
language you heard and gives you ideas to help
you learn. So, dont go away, but well say
goodbye now. See you next time.
Tess: Bye! Dont forget to send us your emails!
Heres that address one more time. Its
learnenglishpodcast2britishcouncil.org.

Tom the teacher

Tom: Hi, Im Tom. At the end of every podcast
youll hear from me. Im going to talk about some
of the language you heard in the programmes and
talk about ways to help you learn English.
Remember Carolina in the airport? Listen to part
of her conversation again.

Immigration Officer: Is this your first visit to the
UK?
Carolina: Yes it is.
Immigration Officer: And what are you going to do
here?
Carolina: Im a student. Im going to study at the
University of Newcastle.

Tom: Carolina and the Immigration Officer are
talking about the future Carolinas time in
Britain. To talk about the future they both use
going to. The Immigration Officer says And what
are you going to do here? and Carolina says Im
going to study at the University of Newcastle.
They both used going to to talk about the future
because they are talking about plans. When the
Immigration Officer says What are you going to
do here? hes asking Carolina what her plan is.
And she says Im going to study because thats
her plan she decided it before she left
Venezuela.
So, we use going to to talk about future plans.
But listen to another part of Carolinas
conversation.

Immigration Officer: Thank you. And how long is
the course? How long do you intend to stay in the
country?
Carolina: Three years.
Immigration Officer: Three years. Hmm.
Immigration Officer: Do you intend to work in this
country?
Carolina: Oh no, no, Im not going to work, well
maybe in the university holidays, but the British
Embassy in Caracas said that was OK.


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Tom: The Immigration Officer said How long do
you intend to stay in the country? and Do you
intend to work in this country? Again he was
asking about Carolinas future plans but he said
Do you intend. Intend is a formal way to talk or
ask about plans. You might hear this verb,
intend, at an airport immigration desk or on an
immigration form. Its another way to ask about
your plans. One more thing. Did you notice that
when Carolina arrived at the desk the Immigration
Officer said Good evening? He didnt say
Goodnight. Do you know why not? We only say
goodnight when we say goodbye or when we go
to bed. When we meet someone after around 5
oclock in the afternoon we say Good evening
and we only say goodnight to people before we
go home or before we go to bed.
OK. In another part of the show we heard Daniel
and Alice playing a game. Listen to part of it
again.

Tess: Youve got ten seconds to write down things
you can find in a kitchen. OK, Daniel how
many?
Daniel: Erm, five, Tess.
Tess: How about you, Alice?
Alice: Erm, seven, I think.
Tess: OK, lets hear your seven words, Alice.
Things you find in a kitchen.
Alice: Erm fridge. Cooker. Pans. Plates. Knife,
fork, spoon.

Tom: I hope all of you have a notebook where you
keep new words a vocabulary notebook. Think
about how you put new words into your notebook.
Do you put them in alphabetically? All the words
beginning with A, then all the words beginning
with B? Or do you organise your new words
another way? Some people put words into their
notebooks in word families. They put words
together that are connected in some way. For
example, you could have a page in your
vocabulary notebook called kitchen and you
could keep all the words from the game fridge,
cooker, pan all of those words on the kitchen
page of your notebook. You could have pages for,
say, sports football, tennis bowling and so on.
And you can write more than just the words you
can write the verbs that go with the words play
football but go bowling or go ski-ing. Theres no
right way or wrong way to keep your new
vocabulary. You have to find the way that helps
you remember the new words.

OK. Oh, erm, by the way, if there are any words
from the game that you dont know remember that
you can find them on the website. You can read
all of the podcast and if you click on a word itll
take you to a dictionary that tells you what the
word means. Well give you that address again at
the end so go and find a pen to write it down!
Right, finally, after every podcast Ill try to show
you something that you can try to use in your own
English. This week I heard this interesting
expression:

Carolina: Excuse me. Am I in the right line for
immigration?
Woman: Erm, I dont know dear. It depends. What
nationality are you?

Tom: Now. There are two things there I want to
talk about. Firstly, the old lady called Carolina
dear she said I dont know dear. Sometimes,
older people might call you dear. Its a friendly,
affectionate thing to do. But be careful! It might
sound a bit strange if you try to use it yourself.
The other thing I noticed was that the old lady
said It depends. She didnt know the answer
because she needed more information. Can you
translate it depends into your language? Try to
use it in English this week.
OK. Im going to stop there. Ill talk to you all again
next time. Remember you can send your
questions to me at
learnenglishpodcast@britishcouncil.org. Ill be
happy to answer your questions! In a moment
youll hear the address for the website where you
can read everything youve heard in this podcast.
Right. Thats all for this time. Bye for now! See
you next time.


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Transcript

http://www.learnenglish.britishcouncil.org/elemen
tary-podcasts

Section 1 - Where did you go? a weekend
away

Tess: Hello and welcome to LearnEnglish
Elementary podcast number two. Im Tess.
Ravi: And Im Ravi. Were the presenters and
were here in the studio with our producer, Gordon.
Hi Gordon!
Gordon: Hello!
Ravi: And hell be back later with another one of
his . erm, jokes. Now, last week I told you that
Tess loved riding her mountain bike and youve
been away riding your bike this week, havent you.
Tess: I have, yes.
Ravi: Where did you go?
Tess: We went to the Lake District, in the North
West.
Ravi: Oh. Beautiful. For our listeners who dont
know, the Lake District is in the north west of
England and its a really beautiful part of the
country. I went there last year, you know. Its a
difficult place to ride a bike though lots of hills.
Tess: I like riding up hills!
Ravi: I prefer riding down them. Did you stay in
hotels?
Tess: No, we were camping. We took two small
tents with us and at the end of every day we just
put the tents up on a camp site. It was great.
Really relaxing.
Ravi: What was the weather like? Campings great
when the weathers OK but when its raining . its
horrible.
Tess: Yeah, we were really lucky. It was really
sunny. Well, it rained one day but that was OK.
Ravi: Sounds great I need a holiday! But, well, I
think I prefer to spend my holidays on the beach. It
sounds like a lot of hard work Tess.
Tess: I love it! Im going again next year. I cant
wait! But its time to move on to the rest of the
show I know weve got lots of interesting people
to hear from.

Section 2: Id like to meet

Ravi: So, lets start with our Id like to meet
section. In this part of the show we ask people a
simple question which famous person, dead or
alive would you like to meet? And of course, we
ask them to explain why. Our guest today on Id
like to meet is Yasmin from Cardiff. Hello Yasmin
and welcome to the show.
Yasmin: Hello. Its nice to be here.
Tess: Hello Yasmin. Can you tell us something
about yourself?
Yasmin: Well, erm, my names Yasmin, Im 18
years old, I live in Cardiff - thats in Wales - and Im
training to be a beauty therapist.
Tess: Hmm. A beauty therapist! Thats a great
job. Now Im going to ask the question. So Yasmin,
which famous person, dead or alive would you like
to meet?
Yasmin: Oh, Id like to meet Shakira.
Ravi: Shakira. Thisll be interesting. Can you tell
us something about her?
Yasmin: Sure. Shes a singer and a dancer too
shes from Colombia and she sings in Spanish and
English.
Tess: And why did you choose Shakira to talk
about today?
Yasmin: Erm, for quite a lot of reasons. First, I
think shes a fantastic singer. I just fell in love with
her voice the first time I heard her sing. Its so
different. And then, she writes her own songs
she wrote her first song when she was only 8 I
think. I love singing and I write my own songs too,
so I understand how difficult it is and Id love to sit
down with her and write a song together. Im sure
she could teach me a lot.
Tess: Can you play any musical instruments?
Yasmin: The guitar and the piano. In the
beginning she wrote songs and sang in Spanish,
and she was very famous in Latin America, but she
didnt speak English, so she had to learn it. And I
think she learnt it really well. I admire her because
she didnt just translate her old songs from Spanish
to English she wrote new ones in English. It isnt
easy to write songs in a foreign language, but her
words are great I think. She still sings in Spanish
too she records two versions of her songs, one in
English and one in Spanish. Another reason I like
her is because shes a mixture of different cultures,
and that makes her music interesting. Her mother
is from Colombia but her father is Lebanese, so
theres a lot of Arabic influence in her music and
not only Arabic theres Indian, Brazilian, Iranian -
shes interested in all sorts of music. And I think
shes a nice person too. Her videos are very, well
you know, sexy, but I dont think shes really like
that shes got four dogs and she likes working in
her garden, and she doesnt drink alcohol and she
doesnt smoke.
Ravi: Thanks Yasmin. Erm, one more question.
What would you like to talk to Shakira about, if you
could meet her?


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Yasmin: Oh, lots of things. Like I said before, Id
like to ask her about how she writes her songs.
And Id like her to teach me how to dance. Shes
an incredible dancer.
Tess: She certainly is!
Ravi: Thanks Yasmin, that was great. I think Id
really like to meet Shakira too.
Tess: Mmm. Im sure you would, Ravi. Have you
ever met anyone famous?
Ravi: No, I dont think so. Only you, Tess.
Tess: Right, listeners, remember that wed like to
hear from you. Which famous person, dead or
alive , would you like to meet? And why? Email us
at learnenglishpodcastATbritishcouncilDOT org,
thats learnenglishpodcast - all one word - at-
britishcouncil all one word DOT org, thats o-r-g.
Let us know which famous person you would like to
meet and you could appear on the programme.

Section 3: Quiz
Ravi: OK, now its quiz time. This week were
going to play Hot Seat, and here to play are Ben
and Poppy. Hi!
Ben & Poppy: Hello.
Ravi: Youre brother and sister, arent you? Whos
the oldest?
Ben: I am. Im 15.
Poppy: And Im 14.
Ravi: OK, great. Now, Ill explain how to play Hot
Seat and then we can start. OK? These cards
have all got words on. One of you has to explain
the words and the other one has to guess them, but
remember, you cant use the word on the card.
You have to guess as many words as you can in
one minute. OK? So, whos going to be in the Hot
Seat?
Poppy: I am. Ill guess and Ben will explain the
words.
Ravi: OK. Youve got one minute. Are you ready
Ben?
Ben: Ready
Ravi: Ready Poppy?
Poppy: Ready
Ravi: Go!
Ben: Its yellow, its a fruit.
Poppy: Banana
Ben: Erm. Its got four wheels. You drive it.
Poppy: Car?
Ben: Yes. Erm. You eat it. You make sandwiches
with it.
Poppy: Bread!
Ben: You write in it.
Poppy: Diary
Ben: No, you use it in school and you write in it.
Poppy: Is it exercise book?
Ben: Yes! Its a sport.
Poppy: Football
Ben: No. You hit the ball over the net.
Wimbledon!
Poppy: Tennis!
Ben: It tells the time. Its got two hands.
Poppy: A watch
Ben: No. Its on the wall.
Poppy: A clock.
Ben: A big shop. You do all the shopping there.
You buy food there.
Poppy: Supermarket
Ben: Yes! Its an animal. Its a pet. It says
Woof!
Poppy: Dog!
Ben: Its green. It
Ravi: Stop! Wow! Well done. Lets count them.
How many was that? I think it was eight. Yes
eight. Well done you two.
Tess: Well done. And if any of you listening have
a good game we can play in quiz time, write to us
and let us know. The address is
learnenglishpodcastATbritishcouncilDOT org. Wed

Section 4: Our person in...

Ravi: OK, now its time for Our Person In. This is
the part of the show where we hear from people in
different countries around the world. This week
were going to listen to Rachel Glover Rachel is
Our Woman in Argentina.

Rachel: I came to live in Buenos Aires, the capital
city of Argentina, in 1998. On my first night in this
beautiful city I went for a walk in the streets near
my new flat. In a small square, close to my home, I
heard music. I went to have a look, and for the first
time I saw people dancing the tango.
The tango is a dance that Argentina gave to the
world but no-one knows exactly when or where
people first danced the tango or even where the
word tango comes from.
At the start of the twentieth century the population
of Buenos Aires got much bigger as people arrived
from all over the world to start a new life in South
America. More than a million people came from
Africa and from Europe Spain, Italy, France,
Russia, Poland. The tango began around this time.
For me, the dance shows both the sadness of
these people who had said goodbye to their homes
and also the hope of new start in Argentina.
An Argentinian friend told me that you have to learn
the tango if you want to understand Argentina. I
decided to learn this beautiful dance.


page 20 of 22

I went to a tango school in the centre of Buenos
Aires and joined a class. I was very surprised to
find that my teacher was not Argentinian but
Scottish. Her name was Claire Flanagan she
came to Buenos Aires 15 years ago because of
her love for tango. I fell in love with the tango and
now Ive fallen in love with Buenos Aires she says.
Ravi: Great. Can you dance the tango, Tess?
Tess: No I cant. Id love to learn.
Ravi: We can learn together.


Tess: OK then. And dont forget that you can write
in and tell us something interesting about your city
or town. You can send it to us at
learnenglishpodcastATbritishcouncilDOT org.
Right. Earlier, we listened to Yasmin talking about
Shakira. Remember Yasmin told us that Shakira
records two versions of her songs one in Spanish
and one in English. For this weeks Your Turn we
asked some students in London this question
What do you prefer songs in English or songs in
your language?
Ravi: Good one. Songs in English or songs in your
own language. Lets hear what they said.

Voice 1: I prefer songs in English because I watch
MTV all the time and the songs I like are always in
English. Russian songs I come from Russia
are not as good to dance to as songs in English.
And it can help me learn English too!

Voice 2: I like some songs in English and some
songs in Japanese but I think I like songs in
Japanese best because the words are very
important to me. In English songs you cant always
hear all the words or you dont understand some
words but when I listen to Japanese songs I can
really understand the meaning of the song.

Voice 3: I really like rap music so I listen to a lot of
music in English mostly American music. There
are some singers in Germany who rap in German
but it doesnt sound very good to me. I dont think
German is a good language for rapping. I learn
some new English words from rap music but I think
some of them are words I cant say in the
classroom!
Voice 4: I come from Mexico and I like songs in
Spanish best because I think a lot of the songs I
hear in English are a bit stupid I mean its only I
love you, baby, or I wannna dance with you baby.
The songs I listen to in Spanish are better because
the words are about real things and feelings.

Voice 5: Well, I think its a strange question. Its
too difficult to answer. It depends. Sometimes I
like to listen to songs in English and I study the
words and learn some new things but sometimes I
just listen to songs in Greek where I understand all
the words. I like some songs in English and some
songs in Greek. If the musics good I like it!

Ravi: Interesting. What sort of music do you like,
Tess?
Tess: Oh, I listen to all kinds of music, but I love
music I can dance to.
Ravi: And always in English?
Tess: Usually, yeah.
Ravi: How about you, listeners? Do you prefer
songs in English or songs in your own language?
Why not send us an email and let us know? You
can send your emails to us at
learnenglishpodcastATbritishcouncilDOT org - wed
love to hear from you.

Section 6: Carolina

Tess: Right, now its time to meet Carolina again.
Remember that Carolina is from Venezuela. Shes
come to Britain to live, study and, she hopes, have
a good time and were going with her!
Ravi: She speaks very good English, but this is her
first visit to Britain, so some things are very strange
for her. Last time we heard Carolina at the
immigration desk at the airport where they checked
her passport. Next, Carolina went to collect her
suitcase but, unfortunately, her suitcase didnt
appear.

Carolina: Oh. Excuse me. Can you tell me where
the Lost Luggage Office is please?
Airport worker: Its over there. That desk over
there, near the exit.
Carolina: Thank you.

Carolina: Hello. Erm.. My bag hasnt arrived.
What do I have to do?
Lost luggage clerk: OK. Where have you arrived
from?
Carolina: From Venezuela. Caracas.
Lost luggage clerk: And youre sure that your bag
isnt on the carousel?
Carolina: Im sure. Ive waited for an hour. All the
other people on my flight have gone. There are no
more bags coming out.
Lost luggage clerk: Hmm. OK. Well need to fill in
a report. Can I have your name please?
Carolina: Its Carolina. And my surname is.


page 21 of 22

Lost luggage clerk: OK. Now we need a
description of the bag. Can you tell me what it
looks like?
Carolina: Erm, its a black suitcase. Quite big.
Lost luggage clerk: Look at these pictures. Which
one looks most like your suitcase?
Carolina: Erm, this one, I think.
Lost luggage clerk: The biggest one?
Carolina: Yes, I think so.
Lost luggage clerk: And is it all black? The handle
as well?
Carolina: Yes, everything. A black suitcase and a
black handle.
Lost luggage clerk: OK. Anything else?
Carolina: Yes. There was a label on it. With my
name. And theres a little white star on the top,
next to the handle. So I can see that its mine.
Lost luggage clerk: Little ..white star. OK.
Anything else?
Carolina: No. I think thats everything.
Lost luggage clerk: OK. Dont worry. Im sure well
find it. Can you wait a few minutes while I make
some calls?
Carolina: OK. Thank you.

Tess: Oh! Poor Carolina. I hope they found her
bag.
Ravi: Me too.

Section 7 - The joke
Ravi: Well hear more next time but thats almost
everything for today before we listen to Tom, our
English teacher.
Tess: Just time for one more thing. (raises voice)
Gordon!
Gordon: Yes, here I am.
Ravi: OK then Gordon, lets hear your joke for
today.
Gordon: OK. Its a camping joke. Tess, youll love
it.
Ravi: Come on then.
Gordon: Well, Sherlock Holmes and Doctor
Watson are on a camping trip in the countryside.
Late at night, Holmes and Watson are lying on their
backs looking up at all the stars in the sky.
Sherlock Holmes says, Doctor Watson, look at all
the stars and tell me what important question we
have to ask. Doctor Watson says, Well, OK.
There are millions and millions of stars in the sky.
No-one knows exactly how many. There are
planets out there that no-one has seen with a
telescope. Maybe there is a planet somewhere that
is just like earth. I think the question we have to
ask is, Is there life in another part of our universe?
And Sherlock Holmes says, Watson, you idiot!
The question we have to ask is WHERE IS OUR
TENT?
Ravi: Thats quite good, actually Gordon. Not bad.

Tess: Well that really is all weve got time for. We
have to go now but dont go away. After this little
break youre going to hear Tom, our studio English
teacher. After every podcast, Tom talks about the
language you heard and gives you ideas to help
you learn. So, dont go away, but well say
goodbye now. See you next time.
Ravi: Bye! Dont forget to send us your emails!
learnenglishpodcastATbritishcouncilDOT org.

Tom the teacher

Tom: Hello again. Im Tom. At the end of every
programme Ill talk about some of the language you
heard in the programmes and talk about ways to
help you learn English.

Lets start by looking at something Carolina said.
Listen to how she asked for directions.

Carolina: Oh. Excuse me. Can you tell me where
the Lost Luggage Office is please?
Airport worker: Its over there. That desk over
there, near the exit.

Tom: When she asked for directions Carolina said
Can you tell me where the Lost Luggage Office is,
please?. But that isnt the only way to ask for
directions. Can you think of other ways? Carolina
could also say Can you tell me the way to the lost
luggage office, please? or Can you tell me how to
get to the lost luggage office, please?. There are
different ways to ask for directions you might
know some other ways.

One thing though thats very important is that
Carolina asked politely.

Carolina: Excuse me. Can you tell me where the
Lost Luggage Office is please?

Tom: Carolina said Excuse me and please
when she asked. In Britain we say please and
thank you a lot. Were very polite! Some people
might not be very happy if you forget to say please
and thank you so try to remember it.
Now, Carolina used Can you tell me to ask for
directions but we heard can in other parts of the
programme too. Listen.


page 22 of 22

Ravi: Great. Can you dance the tango Tess?
Tess: No I cant. Id love to learn.

Tom: And Tess asked Yasmin

Tess: Can you play any musical instruments?

Tom: Ravi said Can you dance the tango? and
Tess asked Can you play any musical
instruments? In these questions can is used to
talk about ability I can swim, I can play the
piano. When Carolina asked for directions Can
you tell me?, can is used as a request when you
ask someone to do something. We use can to talk
about ability and we also use it to make a request.
Lets listen again to how Ravi introduced the Hot
Seat game.

Ravi: OK, great. Now, Ill explain how to play Hot
Seat and then we can start. OK? These cards
have all got words on. One of you has to explain
the words and the other one has to guess them.

Tom: Ravi had a pile of cards and each card had a
word on it. Now maybe you dont have anyone
around to play hot seat with but writing words on
cards can still be useful. When I learnt Russian I
got a pile of cards and I wrote a Russian word on
one side of the card and the English translation on
the other side. I put the cards in my coat pocket
and everyday on the bus to work I read the cards to
see how many I remembered. Every time I learnt a
new word in my Russian class I made a card for it
so there were always new cards in my pocket. It
really helped me remember new words you
should try it. And if youve got a friend to play hot
seat with thats even better!

OK. I want to have a quick look at something else.
After every podcast Ill show you something that
you can try to use in your own English an
expression or something like that. This week it was
something that Carolina heard in the airport. Listen
again to Carolina describing her bag to the man.
Listen to the questions that the man asks.

Lost luggage clerk: Look at these pictures. Which
one looks most like your suitcase?
Carolina: Erm, this one, I think.
Lost luggage clerk: The biggest one?
Carolina: Yes, I think so.
Lost luggage clerk: And is it all black? The handle
as well?
Carolina: Yes, everything. A black suitcase and a
black handle.
Lost luggage clerk: OK. Anything else?
Carolina: Yes. There was a label on it. With my
name. And theres a little white star on the top,
next to the handle. So I can see that its mine.
Lost luggage clerk: Little .. white star. OK.
Anything else?
Carolina: No. I think thats everything.
Lost luggage clerk: OK. Dont worry. Im sure
well find it.

Tom: When Carolina described her bag the man
said Anything else? Carolina said No, thats
everything.

Anything else is something you hear quite a lot.
You hear it in shops and restaurants when you
ask for something the shop assistant or waiter may
say Anything else? to check if your order is
finished. You can reply Thats everything or, of
course, you can ask for something else! Thats
why the question is Anything else? Try to use
Anything else? before the next podcast!
OK. Im going to stop there. Ill talk to you all again
next time. Remember you can send your questions
to me at learnenglishpodcastAT
britishcouncilDOT org. Ill be happy to answer
them.

In a moment youll hear the address for the website
where you can read everything youve heard in this
podcast. Right. Thats all for this time. Bye for now!
See you next time.


page 17 of 22

Transcript

ntary-podcasts

Section 1 " Is that a new shirt?" Making
comments on a friend's clothes

Elementary podcast number three. My names
Ravi.
Tess: And Im Tess. Im from London and Ravis
from Manchester and were your presenters.
Ravi: And theres one more important person for
you to meet our producer, Gordon. Say hello to
everyone Gordon!
Gordon: Hello!
Tess: And how are you today Gordon?
Gordon: Very well Tess. And you?
Tess: Im fine! Good. Well speak to Gordon again
later in the show. Youre very smart today Ravi. Is
that a new shirt youre wearing?
Ravi: Yes - lovely isnt it.
Tess: But you told me youre trying to save
money. You said no more new clothes.
Ravi: Well, I know, but, well, you know me Tess. I
saw it in the shop and I liked it, so I had a look at
it, but they didnt have my size, so I thought oh
well, never mind and then I looked again and they
did have my size, so I thought, well Ill try it on but
I wont buy it, and then I tried it on and of course it
looked fantastic, and the shop assistant said it
looked really good, and I still thought no, I wont
buy it, and then I looked at the price, and it was
quite expensive so I thought, no I cant buy it, and
then the shop assistant said that it was in the sale
last week it was eighty pounds, but this week it
was only forty pounds, thats half price so I
bought it.
Tess: Forty pounds!! For a shirt!!
Ravi: But look at it - its a great shirt. We have to
dress well now Tess were celebrities.
Tess: This is a podcast Ravi! It isnt MTV! Nobody
can see you.
Ravi: Ah thats true, but I feel well-dressed,
thats the important thing.

Section 2 Id like to meet

Ravi: Now lets move on to our Id like to meet
section. In this part of the podcast we ask people
a simple question which famous person, dead
or alive would you like to meet? And we ask them
to explain why. And today on Id like to meet
weve got Martin with us. Hello Martin. Welcome
to the podcast.
Martin: Hello Ravi. Hello Tess.
Tess: Hi Martin. And where are you from?
Martin: Im from Glasgow the biggest city in
Scotland.
Tess: But Glasgow isnt the capital city, is it.
Martin: No, Edinburghs the capital city, but
Glasgows a lot bigger. And we call it the
shopping capital of Scotland - weve got great
shops in Glasgow. Its a great city.
Ravi: Id like to visit sometime. Im the king of
shopping ask Tess, she knows.
Tess: Its true.
Ravi: Now its time for the question. So Martin,
like to meet?
Martin: Id like to meet J onathan Ive.
Ravi: J onathan Ive? I dont know who he is.
Martin: Not very many people know his name
hes English but he works for Apple, the computer
company - he joined the company in 1992 hes
a vice president now I think - and hes the man
who designed the iMac and the iPod.
Ravi: Wow. The man who invented the iPod!
Martin: No, he didnt invent it hes a designer, he
designed it. Hes designed other things too, of
course, but the iMac and the iPod are my
favourites theyre design classics.
Tess: OK. And why did you choose J onathan
Martin: Ive. J onathan Ive.
Tess: J onathan Ive to talk about today?
Martin: Well, Im a student and I study design
industrial design. And for anyone who studies
industrial design, well, J onathan Ive is the king,
you know, hes a genius, hes the most important
industrial designer in the world. The most
important thing for industrial designers is function
- you know what something is used for, what it
can do. And with computers speed was the most
important thing. Nobody cared what they looked
like, people just wanted them to be fast, really
fast. But when J onathan Ive designed the iMac for
Apple, he designed something beautiful, and
people loved it. It was still a good computer and
very easy to use, but they also loved the way it
looked the round shape, the colours and they
all bought it, it was very, very popular. I got my
first iMac in 1999 - it was orange, bright orange
it was beautiful - and I think that was the moment
when I first decided to be a designer.
Ravi: And what about the iPod?
Martin: Well, the iPod looks fantastic too. Its
another example of perfect design. First, its a
fantastic idea it changed the way that millions of
people listen to music even the Queens got an


page 18 of 22

iPod. And then, its really easy to use, and finally,
its incredibly beautiful, its beautiful to look at -
thats what perfect design is. And thats why hes
my hero.
Tess: And is there a special question that youd
like to ask J onathan Ive?
Martin: Id like to know why he doesnt want to be
famous, why he doesnt like publicity. Perhaps
hes shy - but he never talks about his personal
life, he never goes to social events, you never see
his picture in magazines. Everyone in the world
knows the iMac and the iPod, but nobody knows
the name J onathan Ive. I suppose Id like to ask
him how he feels about that.
Ravi: Well, Ive learnt something today.
Tess: So have I. Thank you very much Martin.
Martin: Youre welcome.
Ravi: Id like to know what the Queen listens to on
her iPod! And dont forget, wed like to hear from
you, our listeners. Tell us which famous person,
dead or alive, youd like to meet and why. Email
us at learnenglishpodcast@britishcouncil.org,
thats learnenglishpodcast - all one word at -
britishcouncil all one word DOT org, thats o-r-g

Section 3 Quiz

Tess: OK. Now its quiz time. Every week well
have a little quiz to make you think. This week its
another Ten Second Quiz. Its very easy - we give
you a topic and you give as many answers as you
can - in ten seconds. For example, if we say
things that are blue you can write down the sky
or the sea as many words as you can think of
in ten seconds. Our two players today are Marina
hello Marina
Marina: Hello.
Tess: and Ricky. Hi Ricky.
Ricky: Hello.
Tess: And could you tell us a little bit about
yourselves?
Ricky: Erm, Im Ricky, you know that and Im
from Croydon, south of London, and Im erm
seventeen.
Marina: And Im Marina, Im 16 and a half and Im
from Croydon too. Were at the same school.
Tess: And now for the game. Do you both
understand what to do?
Marina and Ricky: Yeah,
Tess: OK. Lets start. Youve got ten seconds to
write down things that are yellow. OK? So, for
example you could say banana. OK? A banana
is yellow. So things that are yellow. Go!
Tess: OK. Marina, how many have you got?
Marina: Six.
Tess: And how about you, Ricky?
Ricky: Only five.
Tess: OK, so lets hear your six words, Marina.
Things that are yellow.
Marina: The sun, lemons, cheese the moon
sometimes, butter - and my hair.
Tess: Your hair? Can we allow that Ravi?
Ravi: I think so. Her hairs blonde I suppose
thats yellow. Do you agree Gordon? Yes? OK,
youre the winner Marina. Well done. Sorry Ricky.
Tess: Actually, yellow things is really difficult.
Can you think of any more Ravi?
Ravi: Well, when Marina said butter I thought of
margarine but, yes a very difficult quiz.
Tess: So - well done to both of you, but
congratulations to Marina, our winner.
Marina: Thanks Tess. Bye
Ricky: Bye.
Ravi: Thanks Marina and Ricky. And as usual, if
any of you listening have a good game we can
play in quiz time, write to us and let us know. The
address is
learnenglishpodcast@britishcouncil.org. Dont
forget - wed love to hear your ideas for games we
can play. Whats next, Tess?

Section 4 Our person in

Tess: The next part of the podcast is called Our
person in. Every week we listen to people in
interesting places all over the world tell us
something about life in the country theyre in.
Today its Bob Harrisons turn. Bob lives in South
Africa and hes going to tell us about a very
unusual musical instrument. Bob is Our Man in
South Africa.
Bob: If youre a football fan youll know that the
World Cup in 2010 will take place here in South
Africa. When the famous names and the big stars
walk out into the stadiums in 2010 they will hear a
sound theyve never heard before the
vuvuzela.
The vuvuzela is almost a musical instrument
but not quite and you hear it at every football
match in South Africa. Its about a metre long and
it sounds a bit like an angry elephant. When you
hear a stadium full of fans blowing their
vuvuzelas the sound is something youll never
forget.
Football is very popular in South Africa. The
stadiums fill up early with fans especially when
the South African national team called the
Bafana Bafana by their fans are playing. The
smell of food is everywhere barbecued chicken
or beef are very popular choices for football
matches. And everywhere the sound of
vuvuzelas.


page 19 of 22

Not everyone loves this strange music. Some fans
say theyve stopped going to matches because
the noise is so awful and so, well, noisy. But as
for me, well, I like it. I think it makes football
matches in South Africa different from anywhere
else in the world. The only thing is I cant play
the vuvuzela! When I blow it doesnt sound like
an angry elephant so much as a bored bee. I
need to practise before 2010!
Tess: So, itll soon be World Cup time again Ravi.
Are you looking forward to it? Youre a football fan
arent you?
Ravi: Am I looking forward to it? I cant wait! And
Id love to go to South Africa to watch it. Those
vuvuzelas sound amazing! And barbecued
chicken!
Tess: Hmm. Youd better start saving your money
then.
Ravi: What money? I havent got any.
Tess: Exactly!
Ravi: But you like my shirt admit it. Anyway,
well hear from another one of our people in the
next podcast. Or if youd like to write in and tell us
something interesting about your city or town,
wed love to hear from you. You can send it to us
at learnenglishpodcast@britishcouncil.org.

Section 5 Your turn

Tess: Now its time for Your turn. In this part of
the show, we go outside to find out what people
think. And today were going to stay on the
subject of football. Weve just heard about the
World Cup in 2010, but how many people know
about another World Cup in 2007? - the womens
world cup. Do you watch womens football? Or
maybe play it? Do you like it? Is it better than
mens football? Why dont more people watch or
play womens football? Why is mens football so
much more popular than womens football? So
heres the question for today Why dont more
people watch womens football?
Ravi: Good question Tess. Why dont more
people watch womens football? Lets listen to the
answers.

Voice 1: Well, I dont watch womens football
because I dont like football, and thats that. All the
football fans I know are men so of course they
like to watch men play. Theyd only want to watch
women if they were, you know, attractive -
wearing little tight T-shirts and very small shorts
thats most mens attitude. I cant understand why
women want to play football anyway, its a
ridiculous game dont they have anything better
to do with their time?

Voice 2: I think its just traditional in a lot of
countries that football is a mans game. I used to
play football we call it soccer - at home in the
States actually. Its really big there - girls and boys
play together at school. There are about 7 million
women who play regularly in the States. I think its
because your football is quite new as a sport in
the States so we dont really see it as a mans
game we dont have the same tradition. Its a
game for everybody.

Voice 3: I love watching womens football. I play
at school, lots of girls do. My mum says Im
football crazy. Im in the school team and I want to
play professionally one day. Girls play better than
boys they dont lie down on the ground and cry
and pretend theyre hurt and they dont argue with
the referee all the time. And they arent violent,
they dont try to hurt each other.

Voice 4: People dont watch it because they dont
know about it. Lots of girls and women play
football nowadays the problem is getting people
to pay to watch it. We need to take womens
football more seriously, we need advertising and
companies to sponsor games and teams, we
need a proper professional womens league with
good pay and conditions, we need to see more
games on television, then people might be more
interested.

Voice 5: People dont watch it because it isnt very
good its as simple as that. Ive watched some
womens football, and to be honest, they dont
play very well. Theyre slower than men - they
arent as good technically, the games are boring.
Mens football is good to watch, womens isnt.
Maybe that ll change in the future, but at the
moment, well, I certainly dont want to watch it.

Tess: Interesting. What do you think Ravi?
Ravi: Well, to be honest, Ive never watched a
womens football game, but now I think I will just
to see what its like.
Tess: Me too. I agree. And what about you? Do
you have an opinion about this question? Wed
love to know what you think. Why dont more
people watch womens football? Or do you have
an idea for a different question that we could ask
on Your Turn. Send us an email at
learnenglishpodcast@britishcouncil.org - and we
can ask your question.

Section 6 Carolina


page 20 of 22

Ravi: OK. Now, its time to meet Carolina again.
Carolina is from Venezuela and shes visiting
Britain for the first time. Its a big adventure for her
shes going to live, study and, she hopes, have
a good time here in the UK and were going with
her! In the last podcast we listened to a
conversation that Carolina had at Heathrow
airport in London. Do you remember what
happened Tess?
Tess: Yep - she lost her luggage. She was waiting
at the Lost Luggage desk to see if they could find
it.
Ravi: Thats right. Lets listen to what happened
next.
Lost luggage clerk: Yes, thats right, from erm,
Caracas, a blue bag.
Carolina: No, no it isnt blue, its black.
Lost luggage clerk: Oh, erm, sorry, black, not
blue. Hes looking for it now. Yeah
yeah yeah, yeah thats the name. Yeah thats
right. OK, thanks Ben.
Carolina: Have you found it? Is it my bag?
Lost luggage clerk: Yes - this is your lucky day.
One of the baggage handlers is bringing it up
now, so you can identify it.
Carolina: Oh thank you so much. .. Erm, I have
to get to Kings Cross station to get the train to
Newcastle at eight oclock. How long does it take?
Have I got enough time?
Lost luggage clerk: By tube or train?
Carolina: Tube? I dont understand.
Lost luggage clerk: The underground, you know,
the metro. We call it the tube here.
Carolina: Yes, on the tube.
Lost luggage clerk: Youve got plenty of time. The
tube takes about an hour probably less at this
time of the evening. Dont worry - its very easy to
find the station - just follow the signs.
Baggage handler: Here you are love - one black
bag from Caracas.
Carolina: Yes, thats mine. Thank you.
Lost luggage clerk: Could you sign your name
here
Carolina: Excuse me. Could you tell me which
train goes to Kings Cross station please?
Tube worker: Piccadilly line miss - the dark blue
one on the map. J ust follow the signs to the
platform. You want an eastbound train youre
going east.
Carolina: And do I need to change trains?
Tube worker: No, Heathrow and Kings Cross are
both on the Piccadilly line. You dont need to
change.
Carolina: Thank you
Tube worker: Miss! You need to buy a ticket first!
You cant go into the station without a ticket.
Carolina: Oh, OK.
Tube worker: The ticket machines are over there.
Carolina: Oh, thank you but I havent got any
English money yet I didnt have time to change
any in the airport.
Tube worker: The machines take Visa or
MasterCard.
Carolina: Oh good. Ive got a Visa card. Thank
you.
Tube worker: Then you just put your ticket into the
slot to go through the turnstile over there. Put your
ticket in and youll see a green light then you
can go through. And look after your ticket dont
lose it youll need to put it into the slot again
when you leave the tube station at Kings Cross.
Carolina: OK. Thank you for your help.
Ravi: So Carolina found her luggage in the end.
Lucky girl. I lost a suitcase once and I had to wait
ten days to get it back.
Tess: You? No clothes for ten days? How did you
live?
Ravi: I had to buy some new ones of course.
Tess: Ha ha! So it wasnt a completely terrible
experience then?
Ravi: No, not really.

Section 7 The Joke

Gordon: Are you ready for me?
Tess: OK Gordon! Right, its time for Gordons
joke. What have you got for us today Gordon?
Gordon: A good one, as usual. Ha ha. Are you
ready?
Ravi: Go ahead Gordon
Gordon: A man went into a pet shop one day. Id
like a parrot that talks, he said. The shop
assistant said Im sorry sir, but you have to teach
your parrot to speak. So the man bought a parrot
and took it home with him. A week later he went
back to the pet shop. My parrot still doesnt
speak, he said. Oh, really? Well, perhaps hes
bored. You should buy this little swimming pool.
He can have a swim and then he might talk,
explained the shop assistant. So, he bought the
swimming pool and went home. The next week
the man came back again. Hes still not talking
he said. Oh dear. Buy this mirror. Hell swim in
the pool, get out and look at himself, then talk.
So the man bought the mirror and went away. A
week later he came back a final time. My parrot
is dead, he said. Oh, dear! Im very sorry about
that, sir but tell me, before he died, did he say
anything? Yes he did. But only one thing.
Really? What was that? Give me food!
Tess: Gordon! Thats horrible! He didnt give it
any food! Oh, poor parrot!


page 21 of 22

Ravi: And thats the end of this part of the show.
Were going now, but please dont go away. After
this little break youre going to hear Tom, our
English teacher on the podcast. After every show,
Tom talks about the language you heard and
gives you ideas to help you learn. So, stay with
us, but Ill say goodbye now. See you next time.
Tess: Bye! And dont forget to send us your
emails! Heres that address one more time. Its

Tom the teacher

Tom: Hi, my names Tom youll hear from me at
the end of every podcast. Im going to talk about
some of the language that you heard in the
podcast, and talk about ways to help you learn
English. In the last podcast, we talked about using
can you? for a request to ask someone to do
something. Listen.

Carolina: Excuse me. Can you tell me where the
Lost Luggage Office is please?

Today we listened to Carolina at the underground
station asking someone to help her. Listen to what
she said.

Carolina: Excuse me. Could you tell me which
train goes to Kings Cross station please?
Tube worker: Piccadilly line miss.

Tom: Carolina says could you?. We use can
you? or could you? when were talking to friends
or people that we know well. But we often use
could you? with people that we dont know very
well, when we want to be very polite. Heres
another example at the airport.

Baggage handler: Here you are love. One black
bag from Caracas.
here

Tom: The man at the lost luggage desk uses
could you? to Carolina because he is being
polite. Listen to the pronunciation could
could. You spell it C-O-U-L-D, but the letter L is
silent. Could. Now listen to the words together.
Could you . The individual words are could and
you but when we say them together we say
could you. We do this a lot in English. Heres
another example. When we ask a question in the
past we can use did you? The individual words
are did and you but together we say did you. A
good learners dictionary will tell you how to
pronounce individual words like could it uses
special symbols. But it doesnt tell you how words
sound when we put them together. Its a good
idea to make a note of the pronunciation of
common phrases like could you? or did you?.
You can use words and sounds from your own
language. This will help you to remember how to
say them.

Theres another thing I noticed in the same
dialogue. Listen to it again, and notice what the
man says when he gives Carolina her bag.

Baggage handler: Here you are love. One black
bag from Caracas.
here

Tom: He called her love. Do you remember the
old lady at the airport who called Carolina dear?
Love is very similar. Older people might call you
love sometimes, even if they dont know you.
Theyre just being friendly, so dont think its
strange.

Now, lets talk about something different the
verb look. Listen to Ravi and Tess.

Tess: Forty pounds!! For a shirt!!
Ravi: But look at it - its a great shirt.

Tom: Ravi is using look in the usual way. He
wants Tess to look at his shirt carefully to see how
nice it is. Now listen to look in this section about
Carolinas lost bag.

Lost luggage clerk: Oh, erm, sorry, black, not
blue. Hes looking for it now.

Tom: The man used look for. He isnt looking at
Carolinas bag he doesnt know where it is
hes trying to find it. Thats what look for means
to try to find something. The meaning of look
changes because of for. Now listen to another
section about Carolinas ticket. How is look
used here?

Tube worker: And look after your ticket dont
lose it youll need to put it into the slot again
when you leave the tube station at Kings Cross.
Tom: The man tells Carolina to look after her
ticket. He means take care of it, dont lose it.
The meaning of look changes because of after.


page 22 of 22

So, look at, look for and look after, all have
different meanings. There are lots and lots of
verbs like this in English - verbs that change their
meanings. Look is just one example. Some
people call them phrasal verbs and some people
call them multi-word verbs. In the first podcast I
talked about keeping a vocabulary notebook. Use
your notebook to make a note of any multi-word
verbs that you notice. You can usually understand
their meaning in a sentence, or you can use a
learners dictionary. For example, you can keep a
page of your vocabulary book just for look and
make new pages for other verbs when you come
across them. There you are! Another example!
Come across means to find something
accidentally - when you arent trying to find it. So
now you can start another page for come.

Now for something different. Do you remember
the name of the strange musical instrument that
they play at football matches in South Africa?
Listen.

Bob: When the famous names and the big stars
walk out into the stadiums in 2010 they will hear a
sound theyve never heard before the
vuvuzela. The vuvuzela is almost a musical
instrument but not quite and you hear it at
every football match in South Africa.

Tom: Yes, its the vuvuzela. But Im not really
interested in the name. I want you to notice that
he says the vuvuzela. In English we use the
with the names of musical instruments. So we say
I can play the piano or can you play the guitar?
This may be different in your language, so try to
remember it.

Thats nearly the end. J ust one more thing before
I go. Heres a phrase that Id like you to try and
use this week. Its another multi-word verb with
look, so you can add it to your look page in your
vocabulary notebook. Listen to Ravi and Tess
talking about the 2010 World Cup.

Tess: So, itll soon be World Cup time again Ravi.
Are you looking forward to it? Youre a football fan
arent you?
Ravi: Am I looking forward to it? I cant wait!

Tom: Ravi is looking forward to the World Cup.
Hes excited about it. He loves football and hes
going to really enjoy watching it. Can you
translate look forward to into your language? Try
to use it this week. If someone says to you Are
you coming to the party on Saturday you can say
Yes, Im really looking forward to it.

OK. Thats all from me. Ill talk to you all again
next time Im looking forward to it. Remember
you can send your questions to me at
So bye for now! See you next time.


page 18 of 23

Transcript

ntary-podcasts

Section 1 How are you feeling?
being sympathetic

Ravi: Hello again and welcome to LearnEnglish
Elementary podcast number four. Im Ravi from
Manchester
Tess: And Im Tess from London. Hi. Now, as
usual weve got loads of great stuff for you to
listen to but before we tell you about that - Ravi, I
have to ask you, are you feeling better now?
Ravi: Oh, a lot better now thank you.
Tess: On Saturday morning Ravi called me and
he sounded terrible. Oh Tess, I feel really bad.
Ravi: Yeah, OK. I did feel terrible. I had a really
bad cold, a headache, ugh! I had a football match
on Saturday afternoon too.
Tess: You didnt play football, did you?
Ravi: No, I felt too bad. Do you know what I did?
Tess: What?
Ravi: A friend came over and we watched all of
the Lord of the Rings films all three of them. Ten
hours of DVDs!
Tess: Youre joking. I cant watch TV for that long.
I get bored. Anyway, I didnt really like Lord of the
Rings. I liked the book. The films never as good
as the book, I think.
Ravi: I havent read the book so I dont know but,
believe it or not, thats exactly the question we
asked people in Your Turn this week Which do
you prefer the book or the film?
Tess: Really? I bet everyone says that books are
better.
Ravi: Im not so sure. Anyway, thats for later.


Ravi: Now its time for Id like to meet. In this part
of the podcast we ask people a simple question
like to meet? And we ask them to explain why.
So lets say hello to this weeks guest, Marcus,
from London. Welcome to Id like to meet
Marcus.
Marcus: Thank you Ravi.
Tess: Hello Marcus.
Marcus: Hi Tess.
Tess: And youre from London Marcus. Thats
where Im from.
Marcus: Thats right. I was born here - and Ive
lived here all my life.
Tess: And what do you do?
Marcus: I work in a supermarket, but I want to be
a professional musician thats my ambition for
the future.
Tess: We all need ambitions Marcus and thats
a good one. Now Im going to ask the question.
So Marcus, which famous person, dead or alive
would you like to meet? I think I can guess
youre going to talk about a musician arent you?
Marcus: Youre right Tess.
Ravi: Hmm. Shes always right!
Marcus: Id like to meet Bob Marley.
Tess: Bob Marley! Hes one of my heroes. Im
sure all our listeners know Bob Marley, but could
you explain who he is for us?
Marcus: Bob Marley was J amaican and he was
the man who gave reggae music to the world
the world outside J amaica of course. And the
Rastafarian religion too he was also famous for
his religious beliefs. He was born in 1945 and
died in 1981. So, he died very young he was
only in his thirties.
Tess: Hmm.
Ravi: How did he die?
Marcus: He had cancer.
Ravi: And why did you choose him to talk about
today?
Marcus: Bob Marley never wrote a bad song. My
father was a big Bob Marley fan so I grew up
listening to his music at home when I was a kid I
used to listen to it when I was sad - its impossible
to listen to Bob Marley and feel unhappy - that
was his message to the world Dont worry, be
happy. He wasnt interested in negative things
his music was always positive. Hes a legend. He
was the first superstar from a poor country and
thats why people from poor countries all over the
world love him so much his music speaks to
them. Everywhere you go, everywhere in the
world, people know and love Bob Marley
everywhere. He was poor, he grew up in an area
called Trench Town - a very poor area in J amaica,
with gang problems and drug problems. He left
school when he was fourteen and started work.
His message is universal its a protest really. Its
about how human beings are all the same, black
or white, rich or poor, and his religion helped him
to understand that. He once said I dont stand for
the black mans side, I dont stand for the white
mans side I stand for Gods side. God was
very important to him - he was a very spiritual
man. Im a musician and I want my music to have
a message I want to make people feel good.
Like in the song One love, one heart, lets get


page 19 of 23

together and feel all right thats the message -
its so simple.
Tess: And is there a special question that youd
like to ask him Marcus?
Marcus: Thousands! But no, not really, not one
special question. Id like to sit and talk to him for a
long time all night if I could - but no, not one
special question.
Ravi: I enjoyed that Marcus. Thanks a lot.
Tess: Me too. Thank you.
Marcus: Thank you
Ravi: And remember listeners, that wed like to
hear from you. Which famous person, dead or
alive, would you like to meet? And why? Email
us at learnenglishpodcast@britishcouncil.org -
thats learnenglishpodcast - all one word - AT-
britishcouncil all one word - DOT org, thats o-r-
g. Let us know which famous person you would
like to meet.
Tess: Oh, I feel like listening to some Bob Marley
now.

Section 3 Quiz

Ravi: No time for that Tess, its time for our quiz.
Every week we have a little quiz to make you
think. This week were going to play Hot Seat
again. Here to play are Hannah and Max. Hi
Hannah.
Hannah: Hello
Ravi: Hi Max
Max: Hello.
Ravi: Youre both from Sheffield, is that right?
Max: Yeah
Ravi: And how old are you?
Max: Im seventeen
Hannah: And Im sixteen. We go to the same
school. St J osephs.
Ravi: Are you in the same class?
Hannah: We are, yeah.
Ravi: OK. And whos doing what? Whos going to
explain the words and whos going to be in the
Hot Seat?
Hannah: Ill explain and Maxll guess.
Ravi: OK. OK, Max?
Max: OK.
Ravi: Right. Remember how to play? These
cards have all got words on. Hannah has to
explain the words and Max has to guess them.
But remember Hannah, you cant use the words
on the card. Max, you have to guess as many
words as you can in one minute. OK?
Hannah and Max: OK
Ravi: Then lets go. Youve got one minute
starting now!
Hannah: Erm .. big thing. On the sea. You sail in
it.
Max: Boat? Ship.
Hannah: Ship! An animal. Small. Big ears.
Max: Elephant.
Hannah: No. Its small. Carrots! It eats carrots.
Max: Rabbit.
Hannah: Yes, yes! Erm .. you do it at the disco.
Max: Dance.
Hannah: Yes! Its a fruit I think. Its very hard. Its
got milk inside. You can eat part of it but not the
outside.
Max:Coconut!
Hannah: Yes! Erm, you go there when youre sick.
Max: Hospital. Doctors.
Hannah: Hospital. Its white. Comes from a cow.
You drink it.
Max: Milk.
Hannah: It goes across the river. You cross it.
Max: A bridge
Hannah: You stand under it in the morning and
you wash yourself.
Max: Shower!
Hannah: Its a day. Erm youll be eighteen
Max: Birthday.
Ravi: Well give you birthday. Fantastic. How
many was that? I make it nine. Is that right? Yes,
nine. Brilliant. Well done Hannah and Max!
Tess: Well done! And if any of you listening have
a good game we can play in quiz time, write to us
and let us know. The address is
Phew! It makes me tired just listening to Hot Seat
so now well have something a bit more relaxed.


Its time for Our Person In. This is the part of the
podcast where we listen to people in interesting
places all over the world telling us something
about life in the country theyre in. This week
Robert Watson is Our Man in Hong Kong.
Robert: In the centre of Hong Kong everything is
new, modern and busy. Its difficult to think what
the city was like a hundred years ago. But only
forty-five minutes away from the centre, on the
small island of Cheung Chau we can see another
side of Hong Kong a side that is not very
different from how it was centuries ago.
Every year, in May, Cheung Chau celebrates its
Bun Festival. The buns are small, white, bread
rolls and huge towers made of bamboo are
covered in the sweet buns in the festival, which
lasts for a week. No-one knows exactly why the
festival started but there is a procession to honour


page 20 of 23

Pak Tai the sea god. In this procession, children
in fantastic costumes are carried through the
village. The costumes hide the seats that the
children are sitting on and it looks like they are
flying.
For three days before the festival no-one on the
island eats meat. The butchers shop is closed
and restaurants serve only vegetarian dishes.
Even the small McDonalds on the island sells
only vegetarian food for these three days.
Perhaps, for three days, this quiet corner of one of
the busiest places on earth is the only place
where you cant buy a Big Mac at McDonalds!
Tess: No Big Macs. Sounds great.
Ravi: Oh come on Tess, everybody eats a Big
Mac now and then.
Tess: I dont. Ugh!
Ravi: You never eat fast food?
Tess: I try not to. Horrible stuff!
Ravi: Actually, fast food might be a good idea for
Your Turn but not this week. Your Turn,
listeners, is when we go into the street
Tess: Oh, you forgot to give the address.
Ravi: Oh right. Yes. Sorry. If youd like to write in
and tell us something interesting about your city
or town, wed love to hear from you. You can send
it to us at learnenglishpodcast@britishcouncil.org.

Section 5 Your turn

Ravi: OK. Now we can move on to Your Turn. We
went out into the street to find out what people
think about this question: Which do you prefer
the book or the film?
Tess: Book or film? For me, the book, but lets
hear what people said.

Voice 1: I definitely prefer the book. I love going to
the cinema but if theres a book and Ive read it,
then I never go to see the film. Reading books is
all about imagination and the film spoils that. Like
when you read a book and you cant imagine the
character because you keep thinking of, say, Brad
Pitts face.

Voice 2: The film definitely. Look at Lord of the
Rings. Its a really long book. In fact its three long
books it takes months to read and with the film
you get all the special effects and it looks fantastic
much more exciting than the books.

Voice 3: It depends. It depends on the book. If its
a serious book by a good writer then the book is
always better than the film but if its not a great
book a thriller or something like that the film
can be better than the book.
Voice 4: Uh, the book, for me. You have to work
harder with a book you have to make the
pictures in your head but when its a good writer
its like watching a film you make the book into
your own film, in your head, and everyone has a
different film thats much better!

Voice 5: I think I prefer films. You get more from a
film. In a book you only get the story and you
have to imagine how things look. In a film you get
the story and you get the actors and music and
everything. For example, if a film is set in J apan
you get to see J apan. Ive never been to J apan I
cant imagine it! A film shows you more.

Tess: Well, I disagree with him but there were
some interesting opinions there.
Ravi: Remember that wed love to know what you
think. Which do you prefer the book or the film?
Or do you have an idea for a question that we
could ask on Your Turn? Send us an email at
learnenglishpodcast@britishcouncil.org and we
can ask your question in another podcast.

Section 6 Carolina

Tess: Now its time to meet Carolina again. As
you probably remember, Carolina is a Venezuelan
student and shes visiting Britain for the first time.
Shes going to Newcastle, in the north east of
England. Shes going to live and study there, and
of course, have a lot of fun we hope! In the last
podcast we listened to Carolinas conversation at
the underground station. She was going to Kings
Cross station to get the train to Newcastle.
Ravi: Thats right. And she was worried that she
didnt have time to get to the station to catch her
train.
Tess: But everything was all right. Carolina caught
her train with only a few minutes to spare. So
lets listen now to what happened on the train to
Newcastle.

Carolina: Excuse me, is anyone sitting here?
J amie: No, its free. Sorry, Ill move my bag.
Voice over PA system: situated towards the
front of the train. We would like to remind
passengers that coach F, at the rear of the train,
is the Quiet Coach. If you are sitting in coach F,
please use all electronic equipment quietly and
switch mobile phones to silent mode. Please be
considerate to other passengers. Thank you.
Carolina: Coach F?
J amie: Yeah, this is a Quiet Coach. Theres a sign
- look. No mobile phone conversations. No noise.


page 21 of 23

Its cool. I hate listening to other peoples
conversations.
Carolina: Oh, OK. I didnt know. Its a good idea.
J amie: Yeah. Where are you going?
Carolina: Newcastle.
J amie: Me too. Do you live there?
Carolina: No, Im going to study there at the
university. What about you? Do you live there?
J amie: Yeah. Im at the university too. Its a great
city. You arent English are you.
Carolina: No, Im Venezuelan.
J amie: Cool. You speak really good English.
Carolina: Thank you. My mothers English, but
Ive never been to Britain before. Its all a bit
strange.
Man on train: Hello? Dan? Yes, hi, hows it
going? Yes, Im on the train. Yeah? Yeah it
finished at six oclock more or less.
Woman on train: Excuse me! This is a quiet
coach. Could you have your conversation in the
corridor?
Man on train: What? Uh? Yeah, OK, sorry. Yeah,
Dan, sorry, what did you say? I didnt hear you,
Im in the quiet coach - some woman was
complaining about
J amie: Im going to get a coffee or something.
Dyou want anything?
Carolina: Erm, I dont know, what have they got?
J amie: Come with me then, you can have a look.
Theyve got sandwiches and stuff too.
Carolina: OK.

J amie: There you go theres the list on the wall.
What dyou fancy?
Carolina: Fancy? What do you mean?
J amie: Sorry. What would you like. What do you
fancy means what would you like.
Carolina: Do you think I can pay with my visa
card? I still havent got any English money I lost
my bag, and then I nearly missed the train
J amie: Dont worry about it. This ones on me. Ill
pay. Have a toasted sandwich theyre good.
Cheese and tomato?
Carolina: Cheese with tomato? In a toasted
sandwich?
J amie: Delicious!
Carolina: Oh no!
J amie: What about cheese and ham then?
Carolina: Yes, cheese and ham please
J amie: And to drink? Coke? Orange juice? A
beer?
Carolina: Erm, orange juice please.
Assistant: Can I help you?
J amie: Yes, erm two toasted sandwiches please -
one cheese and tomato, one cheese and ham -
an orange juice and a coke. How much is that?
Assistant: Two toasted sandwiches, three forty-
five each, coke ninety p, orange juice one pound
forty, thats nine pounds twenty please.
J amie: Here you are.
Assistant: And thats eighty p change. Thank you.
Carolina:Thats very kind of you. Its a lot of
money. Thats nearly ten pounds.
J amie: Dont worry about it. Im a real gentleman.
Tell you what, you can take me out for lunch one
day in Newcastle. You can pay for me. Ill give
you my phone number. Is that a deal?
Carolina: OK. Its a deal.
J amie: Good. Now lets sit down and eat these.
Carolina: OK

Tess: Hmm. J amie sounds nice.
Ravi: Uh, honestly, you women!
Tess: What?!
Ravi: Never mind.

Section 7 The Joke

Ravi: Right, thats almost the end but we cant go
before we hear from Gordon, our producer. Hey,
Gordon, Ive got a joke for you this week.
Gordon: Oh yes? Erm, come on then, lets hear
it.
Ravi: OK. Whats red and invisible?
Gordon: Erm, I dont know. Whats red and
invisible?
Ravi: No tomatoes!
Gordon: Ho, ho, ho! Thats worse than mine.
Leave the jokes to me Ravi.
Ravi: Come on then, lets hear it for this week.
Gordon: Right. Ive got the perfect joke for this
weeks podcast. Ready?
Ravi: OK.
Gordon: OK then. A man goes into a cinema to
watch a film. He sits down and in front of him
theres a man and a dog.
Ravi: You cant take dogs into a cinema, can you?
Gordon: You can in this cinema. Anyway, the
films a romantic comedy. After a little while
theres a funny part in the film, and amazing
the dog starts laughing at the film.
Ravi: Uh-huh.
Gordon: Yeah. A little while after that theres a
very sad scene. The dog starts crying its eyes out.
This goes on for the whole film the dog laughs
at the funny parts and cries at the sad parts.
Well, at the end of the film, the man waits outside
the cinema until the man with the dog comes out.
Excuse me he says, I watched your dog crying
and laughing all through the film. Its absolutely
amazing. I know says the man with the dog. It
is amazing. He hated the book.


page 22 of 23

Tess: Are all your jokes about funny animals
Gordon?
Gordon: Ah well, most of them, yes.
Ravi: OK. We have to go now but dont go away.
After this little break youre going to hear Tom, our
English teacher. After every show, Tom talks
about the language you heard and gives you
ideas to help you learn. So, dont go away, but
well say goodbye now. See you next time.

Tess
Bye! Dont forget to send us your emails! Heres
that address one more time. Its
learnenglishpodcast@britishcouncil.org.

Tom the teacher

Tom: Hi, my names Tom youll hear from me at
the end of every podcast. Im going to talk about
some of the language that you heard, and talk
about ways to help you learn English. The first
thing I want to talk about today is British money.
British money is pounds and pence. One pound
is one hundred pence - there are a hundred
pence in a pound. Listen to Carolina and J amie
buying food on the train. Listen to how much
everything costs.

Assistant: Can I help you?
Jamie: Yes, erm two toasted sandwiches please -
one cheese and tomato, one cheese and ham -
an orange juice and a coke. How much is that?

Tom: Did you notice that she didnt say three
pounds and forty-five pence? She said three
forty-five. British people often say prices like this.
Sometimes they say pounds and sometimes they
dont. The woman said nine pounds twenty for
the total. You will hear people say prices in both
ways. But its important to remember that if the
price is only pounds when there are no pence in
the price, then we always say pounds. For
example, we can say three pounds forty-five, or
three forty-five but we must always say three
pounds. Now lets think about the pence. Listen
again to the prices.


Tom: Did you notice that she didnt say pence?
British people dont usually say pence. If the
price has pounds first, then we understand that
the second number is pence. We dont need to
say anything, just the number. But J amies coke
was ninety p. If the price is only pence, then we
say p. Its a short way of saying pence. p means
pence.

Id like to say something else about Carolina and
J amies conversation. J amie uses a lot of phrases
that are probably new for you. They are phrases
that you dont often read in coursebooks or learn
in classes. But theyre phrases that British people
use a lot. Heres an example.

Jamie: There you go theres the list on the wall.
What dyou fancy?
Carolina: Fancy? What do you mean?
Jamie: Sorry. What would you like. What do you
fancy means what would you like.

Tom: What do you fancy? is very informal.
Carolina doesnt understand so she asks J amie.
She says What do you mean?. Then J amie
explains that What do you fancy means What
would you like?

Heres another example, from J amie again. Listen
for a phrase thats new for you.

Carolina: Do you think I can pay with my visa
card? I still havent got any English money I lost
my bag, and then I nearly missed the train
Jamie: Dont worry about it. This ones on me. Ill
pay. Have a toasted sandwich theyre good.
Cheese and tomato?
Carolina: Cheese with tomato? In a toasted
sandwich?

Tom: J amie says This ones on me, which is an
informal way of saying Its OK, Im going to pay
for this. Try to remember phrases like this when
you notice them. And do what Carolina did ask
What do you mean? if you dont understand.

Now, Ive got an interesting word to talk about
next. The word is stuff. Listen to Tess speaking
and see if you can understand what stuff means.

Tess: And Im Tess from London. Hi. Now, as
usual weve got loads of great stuff for you to
listen to but before we tell you about that; Ravi, I
have to ask you, are you feeling better now?


page 23 of 23

Tom: Stuff just means things. British people use
it a lot when theyre speaking. Heres another
example.

Jamie: Im going to get a coffee or something.
Dyou want anything?
Carolina: Erm, I dont know, what have they got?
Jamie: Come with me then, you can have a look.
Theyve got sandwiches and stuff too.
Carolina: OK.

Tom: J amie doesnt want to tell Carolina all of the
things that she can buy, so he just says
sandwiches and stuff all the other things that
they can buy to eat on the train. The next time you
listen to a film or a TV programme in English,
listen for people saying stuff. Im sure youll
notice it a lot now.

Its nearly time for me to go, but first, I want to
give you a phrase for you to try and use this
week. Do you remember the question in todays
Your Turn? It was Which do you prefer the
book or the film? Listen to one of the answers.

Voice 3: It depends. It depends on the book. If its
a serious book by a good writer then the book is
always better than the film but if its not a great
book a thriller or something like that the film
can be better than the book

Tom: He says It depends. We talked about it
depends in the first podcast. This time it
depends means Im not sure because sometimes
I have one opinion and sometimes I have a
different opinion. Lets look at how to use it in a
sentence. The man says it depends on the book.

Notice the preposition. We say it depends on
something. So if someone asks you a question,
like Do you like dogs? you can say Well, it
depends on the dog I like small dogs, but I dont
like big ones. Try to use it this week.

OK. Thats all from me today. Ill talk to you all
again on the next podcast. Remember you can
send your questions to me at
So bye for now! See you next time.


page 18 of 23

Transcript

tary-podcasts

Section 1 - I didn't know you had a dog!
talking about pets

Ravi: Hello again and welcome to LearnEnglish
Elementary podcast number five. Im Ravi from
Manchester
Tess: And Im Tess from London. Were here with
Gordon our producer. Hello Gordon.
Gordon: Hello!
Tess: . and, as usual, weve got lots of interesting
things for you to listen to. But first of all, do you
want to know my big news for this week, Ravi?
Ravi: Let me guess. Youre going to be the star of a
brand new Hollywood movie? Youve won the
lottery?
Tess: Not quite, Ravi. Ive got a cat!
Ravi: Really?
Tess: Well, its just a baby cat a kitten, but yes, I
got him yesterday. Hes gorgeous.
Ravi: Its a boy cat then? Where did you get him?
Tess: Well, my friend Kate found him in the street.
And Kates already got two cats so I said Id take
this one.
Ravi: What colour is he?
Tess: Well, hes only small but hes a brown tabby.
Ravi: Whats a tabby again? Is that the stripy one?
Tess: Thats it tabbies are the ones with sort of
dark stripes like a tiger. Hes really lovely.
Ravi: What are you going to call him?
Tess: Dyou know, I just dont know. Ive got lots of
ideas for names but I cant decide. I thought maybe
you could help me. What would you call a cat?
Ravi: Hmm. Thats a difficult question. To be
honest, Tess, Im more of a dog person. Ive never
really thought about names for cats.
Tess: You dont like cats?
Ravi: Well, its not that I dont like cats. I just prefer
dogs, thats all. Anyway, Ive got an idea, why dont
you call your cat Gordon.
Tess: Hmm. I dont think so. I need to think of a
name soon though, really. Anyway, lets move on.


Tess: Lets start with Id Like to Meet. If youre
listening for the first time, Id Like to Meet is the part
of the show where someone tells us about the
famous person alive or dead that theyd like to
meet and why. This time round weve got Olu with
us. Hi Olu.
Olu: Hi Tess.
Tess: Where are you calling from Olu?
Olu: From West London.
Olu: Im still at school. In Year 12
Tess: OK. And who would you like to meet, Olu?
Who are you going to talk to us about?
Olu: Id like to meet Didier Drogba.
Ravi: Drogba? The footballer? Chelsea? You do
know Im from Manchester, dont you, Olu? You
know, Manchester United?
Olu: Yeah, well, its not just because hes Chelsea.
Tess: Come on Olu dont listen to him. Why
would you like to meet Didier Drogba? Tell us
something about him.
Olu: Well, hes a footballer you already know that
and hes from Ivory Coast, in West Africa, and he
plays great football.
Tess: And do you like him because hes a good
footballer?
Olu: Well, I do, I like the way he plays and he
scores some great goals and all that, but theres
more than that. He was born in Ivory Coast but he
moved to France when he was five he went on
his own to live with his uncle. Imagine that a five
year-old boy moving to a new country by himself?
Tess: Wow.
Olu: And then he went back to Ivory Coast but
moved back to France a bit after that. His family
were really poor, you know, and they had to move
around to look for work and that.
Tess: So did he start playing football in Ivory
Coast?
Olu: No in France. And this is another thing I like
about him, see, most players at the really big clubs
go there when theyre quite young but Drogba
played for a few years with small teams and worked
his way up, through hard work. He was 26, I think,
when he went to Chelsea. But anyway, what I like
him for most is that even though hes made it now
and hes got loads of money and that he really
hasnt forgotten where he came from. He does
loads of work for Unicef hes like an ambassador
or something for them so he does all this charity
work. Ysee, my dad came here from Nigeria when
he was really small and, Ive never been to Africa
but all you see on TV is about problems in Africa all
the time so its really good to see someone who
comes from somewhere like Ivory Coast doing
good things, you know.
Ravi: And Ivory Coast were in the World Cup in
Germany, werent they?


page 19 of 23

Olu: Yeah. Its the first time theyve got to the World
Cup Finals, and they did OK. Drogba was African
footballer of the year as well.
Tess: And what would you like to say to Didier
Drogba if you met him, Olu?
Olu: Erm, I guess Id say thank you to him for the
work he does for Africa and for showing people
something good from Africa. And for scoring all
those goals for Chelsea!
Ravi: Hmmm. I dont know about that. But that was
great Olu, thank you.
Tess: And dont forget, wed like to hear from you,
our listeners. Tell us which famous person, dead or
alive, youd like to meet and why. Email us at
learnenglishpodcast@britishcouncil.org., thats
learnenglishpodcast - all one word at -
britishcouncil all one word dot org, thats o-r-g.
Ravi: Ill tell you what Tess, why dont you call your
cat Didier? Thats a great name for a cat.
Tess: Hmm. I dont think so, really.

Section 3 Quiz

Tess: OK. Now its quiz time. What is it this time
Ravi?
Ravi: Its something a bit different today weve got
our two players joining us on the telephone I hope
Hello Vineeta?
Vineeta: (on phone) Hi Ravi
Ravi: And hello J ason.
J ason: (on phone) Hello
Ravi: J ason where are you from and how old are
you?
J ason: Erm .. Im 15 and Im from Durham.
Ravi: Near Newcastle? Thats where Carolina is.
Whats the weather like in Durham today J ason?
J ason: Not great, really. Its a bit cloudy.
Ravi: Oh dear. How are things where you are
Vineeta? Where are you?
Vineeta: Im in Plymouth.
Ravi: OK Plymouth weve got opposite ends of
the country here, Durham and Plymouth. Its north
against south. Sorry, Vineeta, whats the weather
like in Plymouth?
Vineeta: Not too bad. Quite sunny.
Ravi: OK. Better than Durham. Right. Do you both
know what you have to do? Ill explain for our
listeners. Im going to ask J ason and Vineeta some
questions. To answer, they press any button on
their phone and well hear a buzzer. Lets hear
yours J ason.
(sound of J asons buzzer)
Ravi: And yours Vineeta
(sound of Vineetas buzzer)
Ravi: Great. Now, the quiz is called Beginning
With .. your answer has to begin with the letter I
give you so if I say, for example, a sport
beginning with 'F you could say football. Lets
have a practice run to begin with. Fingers ready?
An animal beginning with P
(J asons buzzer)
Ravi: J ason?
J ason: Polar bear
Ravi: Yes. OK then, lets play. First one to three is
the winner. Ready?
J ason & Vineeta: Ready
Ravi: OK then, lets go. A vegetable beginning with
L
(J asons buzzer)
Ravi: J ason!
J ason: Lettuce
Ravi: Right. One nil to J ason. A colour beginning
with Y.
(J asons buzzer)
Ravi: J ason again.
J ason: Yellow
Ravi: Right. Two nil. Come on Vineeta. A bird
beginning with E.
(Vineetas buzzer)
Ravi: Vineeta.
Vineeta: Eagle.
Ravi: Yes. Well done Vineeta. Two one. OK. A
sport beginning with G
(J asons buzzer)
Ravi: J ason.
J ason: Golf
Ravi: Yes! Thats three for J ason so youre the
winner. Well done J ason. And bad luck Vineeta. He
was just a bit quicker than you.
Vineeta: Yeah.
Ravi: But never mind. Well done to both of you and
thank you both for playing. Now, Tess, a cats
name beginning with ..
Tess: I wish I could decide. Remember listeners
that if youve got any ideas for games we can play,
wed love to hear them. You can send them to the
usual address..


Tess: Right, now then. The next part of our podcast
is Our Person In the part of the show where we
hear from different people around the world. Youll
like it this time Ravi you like Lord of the Rings.
Graham Baxter is Our Man in New Zealand.

Graham: When I was a boy and I first read Lord of
the Rings, I dreamt of visiting the places Tolkien,
the author of the Lord of the Rings trilogy, created.
Hobbiton, Middle Earth, Mount Doom. Now, finally,
I have found all of these places, here, in New
Zealand.


page 20 of 23

Peter J ackson, who directed the Lord of the Rings
films, was born in Wellington the capital city of
New Zealand. When he was looking for places to
make the fantastic worlds he needed for his films
he knew where to look. New Zealand has all kinds
of scenery and you can see a lot of it in the three
films. The green hills of Matamata became
Hobbiton and the Queenstown area became the
Eregion Hills and lots of other places all with a
little bit of help from computer magic.

People in New Zealand are proud of their countrys
star role in the films but they are also happy at what
Lord of the Rings has done to bring tourists to New
Zealand. After the third film in the trilogy, The
Return of the King, won 11 Oscars the number of
tourists who visited New Zealand went up by 8%.
More than a billion people have visited the Lord of
the Rings website fantastic publicity for this small
country.

For me, this is my boyhood dream come true a
tour of the amazing worlds of Lord of the Rings
and all right here in New Zealand.

Ravi: Great. Id love to go to New Zealand. Ive
always wanted to go.
Tess: Me too. The scenery sounds amazing. And it
always looks so green in pictures.
Ravi: Yeah. It looks fantastic. Dont forget listeners
that wed love to hear about the scenery or
countryside in your country. Is there a special place
you like to go or some especially famous
countryside? You can write and tell us about it. As
usual the address is
learnenglishpodcast@britishcouncil.org. Go on,
why not write, were always happy to hear from our
listeners?

Section 5 Your turn

Tess: Now, for Your Turn this time, since Ive got a
new cat, we decided to ask people a very important
question Which do you prefer - cats or dogs?
Its a very simple question but people have very
strong opinions. Lets hear what they said.

Voice 1: Dogs. Definitely. Why? Look if youve got
a dog it really loves you. All cats care about is who
feeds them. You can think a cat loves you but if
someone else gives it food itll be gone.

Voice 2: Well, Ive got two cats so I think you know
what my answer will be. But cats are just so much
easier to look after. With dogs youve got to take
them for walks all the time and all of that and you
have to clean up their poo yeuch.

Voice 3: Thats easy. Dogs are noisy, smelly and
stupid; cats are much more intelligent. If youre
sitting on your sofa, right, its lovely when a cat
comes and sits on you and purrs. Would you want
a big daft dog to come and sit on you?

Voice 4: Cats are just so boring. All they do is sit
around and sleep all day. Theyre selfish, basically.
Dogs play with you and stuff. Theyre fun, you
know.

Voice 5: Well, to be honest, Im not really an animal
lover. I think its cruel to keep dogs in the city they
should be in the country. Cats make me sneeze
and theyre a real problem if you want to go on
holiday. If I had to have a pet Id probably have a
goldfish.

Ravi: Interesting. What about you Tess? Why do
you prefer cats?
Tess: I just do. Cats are so much more intelligent
than dogs, I think. I like dogs too but, you know, like
the last person said, I think its a bit cruel to keep a
dog in a small flat like mine.
Ravi: OK. What about you listeners? Cats or dogs
which do you prefer? You can write and let us
know. Its learnenglishpodcast@britishcouncil.org.
Wed love to hear from you.

Section 6 Carolina

Tess: Right. Now its time to meet Carolina again.
Carolina is from Venezuela and shes come to the
UK to live and study and have fun! Last time we
listened Carolina was on the train from London to
Newcastle in the north of England, where shes
going to study at university. Lets see what
happened when she arrived in Newcastle. Another
student is showing her round the student
accommodation.

Gemma: ... and if you get lost just ask someone.
Anyway, this is the kitchen. Like I said, there are
five of you in this flat and this is the kitchen for your
flat. The other flats have all got their own kitchens.
Right I think thats everything, Im going to get
back. Im sure you want some time to unpack your
stuff. Some of the other girls in your flat are here
already. Youll probably meet them here in the
kitchen a bit later.
Carolina: OK. Thanks Gemma. Thanks for showing
me around.


page 21 of 23

Gemma: No problem. Ill probably see you around.
OK. See you. Im sure youll have a great time in
Newcastle.
Carolina: Thanks. Bye

(in the shared kitchen )

Carolina: Erm. Hello.
Charlotte: Hi. Oh! Are you in Room 4? Hi! Come in!
Carolina: Hi. Yes, Im in Room 4. Im Carolina.
Charlotte: Hi Carolina. Im Charlotte. Nice to meet
you. Im in Room 2. Were neighbours.
Carolina: Oh, right. Nice to meet you.
Emily: Im Emily. Im in number 1.
Carolina: Nice to meet you.
Emily: Nice to meet you.
J enny: And Im J enny. Hi.
Carolina: Hi J enny. Do you all know each other?
J enny: No we just met this afternoon. Theres
another girl, Beth, but shes not here at the
moment. Have you just arrived? Im sorry I didnt
catch your name.
Carolina: Carolina. Yes, erm, I arrived about an
hour ago.
Charlotte: Did you fly to Newcastle?
Carolina: No, erm, I got the train to Newcastle. I
flew to London to Heathrow.
Charlotte: Ah, OK. Where are you from?
Carolina: Im from Venezuela.
Emily: Really? Wow! Have you flown from
Venezuela today? You must be exhausted.
Carolina: Yes. I am actually. I just wanted to meet
you all before I went to bed.
J enny: Whats the time difference between here
and Venezuela?
Carolina: Its four hours behind here. So its seven
oclock in the evening in Venezuela now.
Charlotte: Do you want a cup of tea Carolina?
Carolina: Erm. .. No thanks. Im going to go to bed.
Erm. Do any of you know where we have to go to
register tomorrow?
Emily: I do. I went there today. I can go with you if
you want?
Carolina: Really? That would be great.
J enny: Can I come too? I need to register as well.
What course are you doing Carolina?
Carolina: Erm Environmental Science. How
about you?
J enny: French and Politics. I think we have to
register in the same place.
Emily: You do. Its all in the same building. Shall we
go at about nine tomorrow morning? Is that too
early for you Carolina?
Carolina: No. Nine oclock is OK. If thats OK with
you, sorry, erm J enny?
J enny: Nines fine. Its a date! Now, you get
yourself to bed Carolina you look exhausted.
Carolina: OK. I am. Nice to meet you all. See you in
the morning.
Charlotte/J enny/Emily: Goodnight/See you
tomorrow/See you in the morning.

Tess: Right. Carolina seems to be OK in
Newcastle. Her flatmates sound nice.
Ravi: Yeah. How does it work? She doesnt share a
room with anyone, does she?
Tess: I dont think so. I didnt. Usually a flat has
four or five rooms single rooms and then those
four or five people have a shared kitchen and
maybe a shared bathroom too.
Ravi: Oh, OK. I see. Anyway, well hear more about
Carolina next time.

Section 7 The Joke

Ravi: Now its time for da-dah! Gordon and his
amazing jokes. So what have you got for us today
Gordon? Parrots? Talking dogs?
Gordon: Chickens. They cant talk though.
Ravi: OK. Come on then. Lets hear it.

Gordon: OK. A man is driving slowly down a
country road when he sees a chicken run in front of
his car. Nothing strange about that but then, he
notices that the chicken has three legs. "How
strange" he thinks, "a three-legged chicken". He
starts to drive a bit faster 40 kilometres an hour -
but the chicken goes faster too. He drives a bit
faster 70 kilometres an hour but the three-
legged chicken just runs faster too. The man goes
faster and faster but the chicken keeps running.
When they are both doing over one hundred
kilometres an hour, the chicken turns a corner into
a farm.

Quickly, the man stops his car. The farmyard is full
of three-legged chickens. There are three-legged
chickens everywhere. So, he sees the farmer in the
farmyard and he asks him, Where do all of these
three-legged chickens come from? This is
amazing. I breed them says the farmer. There
are three of us, me, my wife and our son. We all
like chicken legs, so I made a three-legged
chicken, so we can all have a leg at dinner time.
Amazing says the man, Hows the meat? Does it
taste good?
Well, says the farmer, I dont know. We havent
caught one of them yet.

Tess: I dont get it.


page 22 of 23

Ravi: Oh, Tess. They cant catch the chickens
because theyre so fast.
Tess: So do they taste good or not?
Ravi: Never mind Tess, never mind. Right. Thats
all weve got time for this time but dont go away.
After this little break youre going to hear Tom, our
English teacher. After every show, Tom talks about
the language you heard and gives you ideas to help
you learn. So, dont go away, but Ill say goodbye
now. See you next time.

Tom the teacher

Tom:
Hi, my names Tom youll hear from me at the
end of every podcast. Im going to talk about some
of the language that you heard, and talk about
ways to help you learn English. Today I want to talk
about verbs. You probably know that most verbs in
English are regular. That means that the forms are
very easy to remember. For all regular verbs, we
make the past form in the same way. We add E, D
(or just D if the verb already ends in E). For
example, the verb look. The verb is look and to
make the past form we just add E,D. Looked. And
the verb like. It already ends in E so we just add
D to make the past. Liked.

So far so good. But the bad news is that a lot of the
most common English verbs, verbs that you need
to use all the time, are irregular. This means that
they dont follow the same rule. Have is an
irregular verb. You already know that the past of
have isnt haved its had. But there are a lot
more of them.

Listen to part of Carolinas conversation with her
new flatmates. Can you hear the three different
forms of the verb fly?

Charlotte: Ah, OK. Where are you from?

Did you hear the three forms? They were fly, flew
and flown. If you use a coursebook, or have a
grammar book to study, it probably has a list of
irregular verbs. And the list is organised in three
columns. If you look for the verb fly you will see
fly in the first column, flew in the second column
and flown in the third. Listen again.


Fly is the base form of the verb some people call
it the infinitive. We use it in lots of different ways.
For example we use it with going to to talk about
the future. Hes going to fly to London next week.
We use it with do and did to make questions, Did
you fly to Newcastle?

Remember that this first column is not the present
tense. It might look the same we say I fly to
London every week', but remember that we say he
or she flies.

The second column is flew. This column is easy -
its the past simple form. Flew is the past simple of
fly. Carolina flew to London and then she got the
train to Newcastle.

Now lets look at the third column. Listen again.


The third column is flown. Some people call it the
past participle. We never use this form alone we
use it with other verbs. We often use it with have
or has to make the present perfect, like Emily did
Have you flown from Venezuela today?. Or we
can say Ive never flown in a helicopter.

We also use the third column with the verb be in
sentences like Nissan cars are made in J apan or
My bag was stolen on the bus. So, thats the three
columns in an irregular verb list.

Now we need to think about the best way to learn
these irregular forms. It probably isnt a very good
idea to sit down with a list of irregular verbs and try
to learn all of them. There are a lot of irregular
verbs in English, and some of them will be verbs
that are new to you. The important thing is to learn
the three forms of the verbs that you already know,
so that you can use those verbs correctly.

Make a page in your notebook for irregular verbs
make three columns and fill in the verbs that you
already know. Verbs like make, do, meet, have
and go for example. Then write a sentence with


page 23 of 23

each form as an example. Example sentences will
help you to remember the forms. Then when you
find a new verb you can add it to your list. You can
find a link to a list of irregular verbs on our website
use it to check the forms of the verbs that you
know and add them to your notebook.

Now lets talk about something different. The
weather. Listen to Ravi talking to the people who
are going to do the quiz.

Ravi: Whats the weather like in Durham today
Jason?
Jason: (on phone) Not great, really. Its a bit cloudy.
Ravi: Oh dear. How are things where you are
Vineeta? Where are you?
Vineeta: (on phone) Im in Plymouth.
Ravi: OK Plymouth weve got opposite ends of
the country here, Durham and Plymouth. Its north
against south. Sorry, Vineeta, whats the weather
like in Plymouth?
Vineeta: Not too bad. Quite sunny.

Now, some people say that the British talk about
the weather all the time. Well, we dont talk about it
all the time, but it is true that we talk about it a lot. I
think one reason for that is that the weather here
changes a lot. You can never be sure of the
weather in Britain its often a surprise - so there is
always something to say about it.

But we dont often have long conversations about
the weather. Its a very useful way of starting a
conversation with someone, especially someone
that you dont know very well, in a shop for
example. You can say Nice weather isnt it? or
What terrible weather were having, or What a
lovely day. The person will respond and then
probably move the conversation on to another
topic.

One more thing about the weather. A lot of people
think that the British use the phrase Its raining
cats and dogs. Now, this phrase does exist in
English, but I must say that Ive never used it in my
life, and I dont remember anyone saying it to me
either. It really isnt very common, and its probably
best not to use it yourself. It really isnt very natural.

Before I go, Id like to tell you about a useful phrase
that I noticed in this podcast. Listen to this extract.
Gemma has just shown Carolina her new flat.
Listen to the phrases she uses when she says
goodbye.

Gemma: Right I think thats everything, Im going
to get back. Im sure you want some time to unpack
your stuff. Some of the other girls in your flat are
here already. Youll probably meet them here in the
kitchen a bit later.
Carolina: OK. Thanks Gemma. Thanks for showing
me around.
Gemma: No problem. Ill probably see you around.
OK. See you. Im sure youll have a great time in
Newcastle.

Did you notice that Gemma says Ill probably see
you around? Gemma hasnt made any
arrangements to see Carolina again, and they
arent doing the same course, but because they
both study at the same university, they might meet
one day in the caf or in a corridor. So she says Ill
probably see you around. Try to use Ill probably
see you around when you say goodbye to
someone this week.

happy to answer your questions! In a moment youll
hear the address for the website where you can
read everything youve heard in this podcast. So
bye for now! See you next time..


page 18 of 23

Transcript

tary-podcasts

Section 1 I've had a nightmare
journey arriving late

Tess: Hello again and welcome to LearnEnglish
Elementary podcast number six. Im Tess from
London. And hes Ravi, from Manchester.
Ravi: Hello.
Tess: And I have to say to the listeners, Ravi has
just arrived. What happened Ravi? Oversleep?
Ravi: Oh, Ive had a nightmare journey. The
underground was closed for some reason so I had
to get a bus and of course the bus was absolutely
packed because the underground was closed and
the traffic was awful. What a nightmare. Still, I got
here. J ust in time. What about you? Was your
journey OK?
Tess: Well, I came in the car this morning. It was
busy, but not too bad, you know.
Ravi: Ah well, you see. I was nearly late but you
know I use public transport because I care about
the planet and the environment, but if you want to
take your car ..
Tess: You use public transport because you
havent got a driving licence. You wont want a lift
home then in my terrible car, will you?
Ravi: Oh, very kind, thanks thatll be lovely. Hey
I know what I wanted to ask you your cat has
it got a name yet?
Tess: Yes. Yes, he has. Hes called Oscar.
Ravi: Oscar? Hmm. I quite like that. Why Oscar?
Tess: I dont know, to be honest. He just looks like
an Oscar. Hes so cute Ravi.
Ravi: Hmm. I still think you should have called him
Gordon. How are you today Gordon?
Gordon: Fine, thanks Ravi.
Ravi: Gordons our producer - and king of the
terrible jokes. Well hear from him again later. But
now, on with the show. Tess, what have we got?
Tess: Weve got all sorts. Weve got the quiz, weve
got Kazakhstan, weve got Carolinas new flatmates
and weve got Id Like to Meet. Do you want to tell
us about it?


Ravi: OK. In this part of the podcast we ask people
a simple question which famous person, dead or
alive would you like to meet? And we ask them to
explain why. So lets say hello to this weeks guest,
Vanessa, from Cambridge.
Tess and Ravi: Hi Vanessa.
Vanessa: Hello. Its great to meet you both.
Tess: Its nice to meet you too. And what do you do
Vanessa?
Vanessa: Im a student. I study law.
Ravi: Law? So youre going to be a lawyer thats
a good job to have.
Vanessa: Well, yes, I hope so.
Tess: Were you born in Cambridge or do you study
there?
Vanessa: Both actually. Ive lived there all my life, -
and now I study there too.
Ravi: So you live at home with your parents right?
Vanessa: No, I live in university accommodation I
think its better.
Tess: Well, you probably have a lot more fun.
Vanessa: Yes, its good.
Tess: Now its time to answer the question. So
Vanessa, which famous person, dead or alive
would you like to meet?
Vanessa: Frida Kahlo, the painter.
Ravi: OK. Ive heard the name there was a film
wasnt there? But I dont know anything about her.
Vanessa: Yeah, It was a good film with Salma
Hayek she was Frida.
Tess: Yeah, great film. Loved it.
Vanessa: Frida Kahlo was Mexican, she was born
at the beginning of the century and she died in the
1950s. When she was nineteen she was in a
horrible bus accident. She had terrible injuries I
wont describe them all, but she had to have a lot of
operations, and she was in bed for a long time. She
liked painting, so her mother bought a mirror and
put it over her bed. So she started painting pictures
of herself self portraits. And she never stopped
painting after that.
Tess: The pictures are a bit strange though arent
they. Im not sure Id like one in my living room.
Vanessa: Well yes and no. Some people think
that she was a surrealist, like Salvador Dali that
she painted dreams but that isnt true. She
painted her life all the things that happened to
her. And her life was a bit strange or lets say
unusual so the pictures are unusual too.
Theyre her life her paintings tell her story.
Because of the accident she couldnt have children
and you see that in her pictures too. I love her.
Madonna collects her paintings she once said
that she couldnt be friends with anyone who
doesnt like Frida Kahlo. Shes incredibly famous
now one of her paintings Roots I think it was
was sold in 2006 for five and a half million dollars.
Ravi: Five and a half million dollars! I wouldnt mind
that in my living room.


page 19 of 23

Vanessa: Well yes I think Frida would be very
surprised too. Thats what Id like to tell her if I
could meet her how famous she is now, and how
much people especially women love her work.
Tess: Shed probably like to see the film too.
Vanessa: Yes thats true. It would be really
interesting to hear what she thinks of it.
Ravi: I think Im going to look at some of her
pictures on the internet. Youve got me interested
now.
Vanessa: And try and see the film if you get the
chance its called Frida.
Ravi: I will. Thanks a lot for that Vanessa and
good luck with your law course.
Vanessa: It was a pleasure. Thanks a lot.
Tess: Yes, thanks Vanessa. That was great. And
dont forget that wed like to hear from you. Why not
write and tell us about who youd like to meet? You
can send your own or you can look at what other
people have sent in by checking out our website.

Section 3 Quiz

Ravi: So, as usual, its quiz time next. Tess? What
have we got?
Tess: Were going to play Beginning With again.
And, I hope, weve got our two players ready on the
telephone. Hello? Will?
Will: (on phone) Hi Tess.
Tess: and J odie.
J odie: (on phone) Hello
Tess: Lets start with you J odie. Where are you
calling from?
J odie: From Cardiff.
Tess: In Wales. Do you like it?
J odie: Yeah, its great. Its a capital city, you know,
so theres quite a lot to do.
Tess: And what do you do J odie?
J odie: Im still at school. Im 16 so Im doing my
GCSE exams this year.
Tess: OK. Well good luck with them and good luck
with the game today. Now, Will. Where are you?
Will: In Peterborough.
Tess: Ah, OK. I know where that is. And whats it
like?
Will: Erm, its a bit boring really. Like, there isnt
really anything to do for people my age.
Tess: Oh dear. Im sure its not that bad. How old
are you?
Will: Im 16 as well. Im at school, like J odie.
Tess: OK. Well, good luck to you too Will. I know
you both know what to do but Ill quickly remind
you. Ill ask the questions and to answer you press
any button on your phone and well hear a buzzer.
Lets hear your buzzers. Will. (sound of Wills
buzzer). OK. J odie. (sound of Jodies buzzer). OK.
The questions tell you what letter the answer starts
with. So, I might say A form of transport beginning
with T and you can say train or tram or
another transport that begins with T. OK? Ready?
Will / J odie: Yep.
Tess: Then lets go. Remember its first one to
three. Fingers on buzzers. Can you name . a fruit
beginning with P.
(Jodies buzzer)
Tess: J odie.
J odie: Pear
Tess: Yes. One nil to J odie. A colour beginning with
P
(Wills buzzer)
Tess: Will.
Will: Purple.
Tess: Yes. One one. An animal beginning with W.
(Wills buzzer)
Tess: Will again.
Will: Wolf.
Tess: Right. Two one to Will. A country beginning
with A.
(Wills buzzer)
Tess: Will.
Will: Africa. No. Sorry.
Tess: No. A country, not a continent. J odie?
J odie: Argentina.
Tess: Yes. Two two. So the next one is the decider.
Ready? A sport beginning with B (Jodies buzzer)
Tess: J odie!
J odie: Badminton
Tess: Yes! Well done J odie. And bad luck Will.
J odie wins this weeks LearnEnglish book token to
buy any book you want. What kind of book are you
going to buy J odie?
J odie: Oh, I dont know. Ill have to think. Probably
like, a novel or something.
Tess: OK, well enjoy it, whatever it is the book
token will be in the post on its way to you today.
Thank you both for playing and remember, if youre
listening, wed like to hear your ideas for games we
can play. Send them to us at
Ravi: You know wed love to hear them.


Ravi: Right. Its time for Our Person In. Im looking
forward to this. In this part of the podcast we hear
from different people around the world and this
time, Rebecca Dalton is Our Woman in
Kazakhstan.

Rebecca: On a cold winters morning, with thick
snow on the ground around us, I watched the
magnificent golden eagle fly high into the sky above


page 20 of 23

us before returning to the arm of the berkutchy and
sit on his thick leather glove.

I had travelled for over 6 hours on difficult roads to
meet this man the name berkutchy means the
eagle king. The journey gave me an idea of just
how big and how empty Kazakhstan is. It is the
ninth biggest country in the world, bigger than all of
western Europe, yet it has a population of only
fifteen million so most of the country is almost
empty. And this empty countryside has everything;
a major mountain range on the border with China,
great lakes and rivers, deserts and plains. Most
importantly for Kazahstan, it also has oil perhaps
twenty per cent of the worlds supply and many
valuable metals can be found here.

Over ten years ago, Kazakhstan moved its capital
city. The new capital, Astana, is full of new
buildings designed by famous international
architects a thoroughly modern city. Yet it is out
here on the empty plains watching the golden eagle
fly that you get a true feeling of this little known
country.

The oil and valuable metals will bring changes to
Kazakhstan in the years to come but you feel and
hope that the berkutchy will continue to fly his
eagles in this wonderful, lonely space.

Tess: Its amazing isnt it? Kazakhstan is absolutely
huge but most of us dont know anything at all
about it.
Ravi: Yeah. It sounds fantastic though, doesnt it?
Tess: You say that about everywhere New
Zealand, South Africa
Ravi: Its true, I know. Id love to travel round the
world one day and see all of these places.
Tess: By public transport?
Ravi: OK. But I really do want to travel. But the next
best thing, listeners, is hearing about your countries
so do remember that you can send your texts to us
at learnenglishpodcast@britishcouncil.org. Tell us
something interesting about your city or your
country.
Tess: That would be great.

Section 5 Your turn

Tess: Now its time for Your Turn. Your Turn is
when we go out in the street to find out what people
think. This time the question was .. "How green
are you?"
Ravi: Nice one. How green are you? what do
you do to help save the planet? Like use public
transport.
Tess: OK. Lets hear what people said.

Voice 1: What do I do to help save the planet? Not
enough. I hate to say it, but its true, I mean, I
always try to remember not to use plastic bags or
recycle or whatever but I always forget. I really
have to try to do more.

Voice 2: Well, we recycle pretty much everything
we can, you know, bottles, cans, newspapers and
all that but to be honest we dont do much else.

Voice 3: I do as much as I can. You have to, you
know? We all have to. I dont take short-haul flights
anymore I used to fly down to London quite a lot
and of course I recycle and everything else I can.

Voice 4: I know Im not going to make myself
popular saying this but I dont really do very much.
Look there are factories all over the world putting
out loads and loads of pollution every single day
and I dont see how saving your old newspapers is
going to help apart from making people feel good
about themselves.

Voice 5: Ill tell you the greenest thing I do I grow
almost all my own vegetables. Ive really started
thinking about where my food comes from and the
food miles and that you know, like I wont buy
food thats been flown here from Australia or
something.

Tess: They make me feel a bit guilty. Some people
do so much. I feel like the first woman who said she
didnt do enough. I dont think I do enough. I do
recycle things though.
Ravi: Me too. Its difficult though, isnt it? Anyway,
remember, listeners, that wed love to know what
you think. How green are you? What do you do to
help save the planet? You can write and tell us at

Section 6 Carolina

Tess: Right. Now its time to join Carolina again in
Newcastle. Carolina is from Venezuela and shes
come to Britain to live, study and have fun. Shes at
Newcastle University in the north east of England,
studying Environmental Science. Last time we
listened Carolina had just arrived and met her new
flatmates at the university. Lets see where she is
this time.


page 21 of 23

Carolina: ... and it starts on Friday afternoon.
Anyway, thank you Emily that would have been
really difficult without you.
Emily: No problem. Are you coming to the Societies
Bazaar?
Carolina: The what?
Emily: Oh, sorry, the Societies Bazaar. The
meeting for all the different student clubs at the
university.
Carolina: Oh, yes, I know. I read about it. Its a bit
different from universities at home but I think I
understand. All the different clubs come to this
bazaar is that right? and all the first year
students join the clubs they want to.
Emily: But remember that the first year students are
called freshers all of this is important Carolina!
Carolina: Freshers! Thats right. Because were
fresh, I suppose. Can you join as many clubs as
you like?
Emily: Yeah, as many as you want. But you have to
pay, remember. Its in there over there. It looks
quite crowded. Shall we go in?
Emily: ... I dont know really its a bit too crowded
for me. Listen, Im going to go and join the queue
for the basketball club. Do you want to meet back
here in about 20 minutes?
Carolina: OK. I want to join the International
Students Society but the queue is too big. Im going
to have a look round and wait for the queue to get
smaller.
Emily: OK. Ill see you back here, yeah? In about
20 minutes?
Carolina: OK. See you later.

Student: ... Conservation Society just five pounds
membership. Come and join us.
Carolina: Erm, hi. Erm. Im not quite sure what the
Conservation Society is. Can you tell me a bit about
it?

Student: Definitely. We go out into the countryside
and we do things to help the environment sort of
countryside management you know, erm
looking after forests erm .. making the countryside
better for animals and birds and things erm.. its
quite hard to explain really. Ah, look, here comes
the society president. Im sure he can tell you about
it better than me.
Carolina: J amie. Hi. We met on the train,
remember?
J amie: Carolina! Hi. How are you? Did you find
your room OK and everything?
Carolina: Yes. Thank you. And youre the president
of the Conservation Society? Your friend was telling
me about it.
J amie: Yes. Are you going to join? Remember I
was telling you about the countryside in
Northumbria? North of Newcastle. Its really
beautiful. You should join and come and see it with
us. Im sure its a bit different from Venezuela.
Carolina: OK. Youve persuaded me. What do I
have to do to join?
J amie: Excellent. You just have to fill in this form. Ill
fill it in for you. Carolina. Whats your surname?
Carolina: Del Barco Do you want me to spell it?
J amie: Yeah, please. Is it one word or two words?
Carolina: Two words. d-e-l .. small d , then capital
B, a-r-c-o
J amie: And have you got your email address yet?
Carolina: My university email? No, not yet. But you
can use another address. Its caro del b eighty eight
@ ready net .V-Z.
J amie: Can you spell that for me?
Carolina: OK. Its Caro del B c-a-r-o-d-e-l-b all
one word. Eighty eight. At. Ready Net r-e-a-d-y-n-
e-t dot v-z.
J amie: ... net dot v z. OK, great. And have you got
a mobile number yet?
Carolina: Yes. Oh, just a moment, Ill have to look
at my phone. I havent learnt it yet. Here it is. Oh
double three four seven four six one oh three
seven.
J amie: Oh double three...
Carolina: Oh double three four seven four six one
oh three seven.
J amie: ...four seven four six one oh three seven.
Right. Thanks. What department are you in
Carolina? I can send you our booklet. I havent
finished writing it yet.
Carolina: Environmental Science. In the Daish
building. Can you send it there?
J amie: Yeah. No problem. The booklets got all the
information in it. We usually meet on Sundays and
talk about what were going to do and things. Were
all going out to the pub this Thursday, if you want to
come. Ill give you a ring and let you know where
were going, if thats OK?
Carolina: Yeah. Great.
J amie: Right. Thats everything. Actually, theres
one more thing. I seem to remember that you said
youd take me to lunch. Do you want to go and get
a sandwich somewhere?
Carolina: Yes, I did, didnt I? OK. Erm I just need
to talk to my friend...

Ravi: Were you in any societies at university Tess?
Tess: Loads. Well, I joined lots of societies in my
first year but I didnt really do a lot. I was in the
cycling society. And I used to play volleyball.
Anyway, what about J amie and Carolina going out
for lunch, eh?


page 22 of 23

Ravi: What about it? Oh, I see what you mean.
Hmm.

Section 7 The Joke

Ravi: Well, thats almost everything for today but a
podcast wouldnt be a podcast without a joke from
Gordon. Are you ready Gordon?
Gordon: I am, Ravi. Another special one for you
today.
Ravi: Im sure it is Gordon. All of your jokes are
special. In their own way. Lets hear it.
Gordon: Anyway, a rabbit walks into a butchers
shop and says Have you got any carrots?. And
the butcher says No. This is a butchers shop we
dont sell carrots, and the rabbit says OK and
goes out of the shop.
An hour later, the rabbit comes back. Have you got
any carrots? And the butcher says No, I told you,
this is a butchers shop we havent got any
carrots.

An hour later it happens again, and an hour after
that, it happens again. Well, the butchers getting
really annoyed. Next time the rabbit comes in
Have you got any carrots? the butcher says
Look, Ive told you we dont have any carrots
here. If you come back to this shop one more time
Im going to take a hammer, take some nails and
Im going to nail your ears to the floor! OK?

So, the rabbit goes away. But, guess what, an hour
later, the rabbit comes back and walks into the
shop. Have you got any nails? No says the
butcher.
Have you got any carrots?

Ravi: Actually Gordon, I think thats the best one so
far. Youre getting better. Right. We have to go now
but dont go away. After this little break youre going
to hear Tom, our English teacher. After every show,
Tom talks about the language you heard and gives
you ideas to help you learn. So, dont go away, but
Ill say goodbye now. See you next time.

Tom the teacher

Tom: Hi, my names Tom. At the end of every
podcast, I talk about some of the language that you
heard, and some ways to help you learn English.
The first thing I want to talk about today is the word
like. Like can be used in lots of different ways in
English. Listen to Tess talking to J odie at the
beginning of the quiz. Listen for the word like.

Tess: Lets start with you Jodie. Where are you
calling from?
Jodie: (on phone) From Cardiff.
Tess: In Wales. Do you like it?
Jodie: Yeah, its great. Its a capital city, you know,
so theres quite a lot to do.

Tom: This is the use of like that Im sure you
already know. Its being used as a verb. Tess asks
J odie if she enjoys living in Cardiff. Now listen to
Tess again, talking to Will this time. Listen for the
word like. Is it a verb here?

Tess: Now, Will. Where are you?
Will: (on phone) In Peterborough.
Tess: Ah, OK. I know where that is. And whats it
like?
Will: Erm, its a bit boring really.

Tom: Tess asks Will "What is it like?". Shes asking
him to describe Peterborough. Will could say "Its
very big" or "Its very quiet" or "Its got a lot of
shops". In the question "Whats it like?", like is a
preposition, not a verb. The meaning isnt
connected to the meaning of like as a verb. Its a
very common question in English when we want
someone to describe something to us, we often use
"Whats it like?". A good example is "Whats the
weather like in London?". We want the person to
tell us if its raining or sunny, if the weathers good
or bad. Or "Whats your teacher like?". We want
you to describe your teacher. Maybe "Shes young"
or "Shes blonde with blue eyes" or "Shes very
friendly" or even "Shes terrible!" any answer that
describes her in some way.

Now listen to Tess and J odie again. Listen to how
J odie uses like.

Tess: Yes! Well done Jodie. And bad luck Will.
Jodie wins this weeks Learn English book token to
buy any book you want. What kind of book are you
going to buy Jodie?
Jodie: Oh, I dont know. Ill have to think. Probably
like, a novel or something.

Tom: Hmmm. J odies going to buy probably like, a
novel or something. She isnt using like as a verb
or a preposition here. Shes using it as a filler.

A filler is something that we say to give us more
time to think, for example erm or uh, or I dont
know. You will hear young native English speakers


page 23 of 23

use like a lot in this way. Youll hear for example
Yeah, its like, really cool. Remember that this is a
very informal way to speak. If you want to use like
in this way, then only do it with groups of young
friends and not in more formal situations, with
your teacher for example. Next time you watch a
teenage film in English, listen for like used in this
way. Im sure youll notice it a lot.

It can be difficult to know which words and phrases
are informal in English. You may hear a new
phrase in a film or a song and want to use it. But
can you be sure that youll use it in the right
situations with the right people? A good learners
dictionary can help you with this. It will tell you
when a word is informal. Most dictionaries use the
letters infml, next to the word. This means
informal, so then you can make a note in your
vocabulary notebook so that you wont forget.

Let me give you an example. The word children
isnt formal or informal. You can use children in
any situation, with your friends or even if you are
talking to the Queen!. Its never wrong. Its what we
call a neutral word. But the word kids which
can mean exactly the same as children is a lot
more informal. It would sound strange to talk about
kids at a formal party for example. Check the word
kids in your dictionary now and see if it tells you
that its an informal word.

Now lets talk about something different. When
someone tells you their phone number or address,
it can be difficult to remember it and write it down at
the same time. It can be difficult for native
speakers, but may be more difficult if English isnt
your first language. Of course, you can say Im
sorry could you say that again? or Could you
repeat that please?. But listen to what J amie does
when Carolina tells him her phone number.

Carolina: Here it is. Oh double three four seven four
six one oh three seven.
Jamie: Oh double three...
Carolina: Oh double three four seven four six one
oh three seven.
Jamie: ...four seven four six one oh three seven.
Right. Thanks.

Tom: J amie can only remember the first three
numbers. So he repeats them Oh double three
and then he pauses. He stops and waits. This
shows Carolina that he wants her to repeat the rest
of the numbers for him. He doesnt need to ask. We
do this a lot in English maybe you do it in your
language too - or maybe not. We do it with
telephone numbers, addresses and even names if
someone is spelling them out for us. If your English
teacher says, The homework is workbook, page
65, exercises 1, 3 and 7 and you cant remember
and write it down at the same time, you can say
Workbook page 65.. and stop. Your teacher will
then repeat Exercises 1, 3 and 7.

Heres another thing that I noticed in this podcast.
Listen to Will and J odie introducing themselves at
the beginning of the quiz. Theyre both sixteen
years old, so listen to what J odie says.

Will: Im still at school. Im 16 so Im doing my
GCSE exams this year.
...
Jodie: Im 16 as well.

Tom: Yes, she says "Im sixteen as well". As well
means the same as too in this phrase. You can
say "Im sixteen too" or you can say "Im sixteen as
well".

But be careful. You can say "Me too" but we dont
say "Me as well". If your friend says "Im going to
Anas party tomorrow", you can say, "Me too" or
you can say "Im going too" or you can say "Im
going as well". Try to use as well when youre
speaking English this week.

happy to answer your questions! In a moment youll
read everything youve heard in this podcast. So
bye for now! See you next time.


page 16 of 21

Transcript

tary-podcasts

Section 1 " Your mum and dad live in
Brighton now, dont they?" Talking about
family

Ravi: Hello hello and welcome to the LearnEnglish
Elementary podcast number seven. Im Ravi, from
Manchester
Tess: And Im Tess, from London. As usual weve
got lots of interesting stuff for you to listen to
weve got the quiz, weve got Carolina and ..
weve got our producer Gordon, as usual. Hello
Gordon.
Gordon: Hi Tess. Hi Ravi.
Tess: Hiya. Have you had your hair cut Ravi?
Ravi: I have, yeah, do you like it?
Tess: Yeah, I do, its nice. Its quite short for you.
Shorter than usual. Are you changing your image?
Ravi: No, not really. I just fancied a change, you
know. And Ive got a big family party this weekend
so I thought Id get my hair cut for that.
Tess: You want to look smart. Fair enough. Whats
the party?
Ravi: Its my dads fiftieth birthday. My mums
organised a surprise party for him.
Tess: Oh, brilliant. What a nice idea. Your mum and
dad live in Brighton now, dont they?
Ravi: Yes. They moved down there a couple of
years ago. My big sisters still in Manchester
though.
Tess: How many brothers and sisters have you got
again? I can never remember.
Ravi: Ive got one older sister and two younger
brothers. Hang on a sec. Thats them there.
Tess: You keep a picture of your family in your
wallet? How sweet.
Ravi: Yeah. Course I do. Thats Asha, my big sister,
there. Shes 3 years older than me.
Tess: Shes really pretty. Its a shame our listeners
cant see this. You do realise that Ravi, dont you.
Ravi: I know I know but itll only take a minute.
That ones Deepak hes at university in Bristol
and thats Vikram. Hes still at school.
Tess: Hey, your brothers are both really good-
looking. What happened to you?
Ravi: I knew you were going to say that.
Tess: Only joking Ravi. Anyway, wed better move
on weve got a lot to get through.


Ravi: Right. So lets start with Id Like to Meet.
Tess: OK. In this part of the podcast we ask people
a simple question which famous person, dead or
alive would you like to meet? And we ask them to
explain why. So lets say hello to this weeks guest,
Muhammed from Manchester. Hi Muhammed.
Welcome to Id like to meet.
Muhammed: Hi Tess and Ravi
Ravi: Hi Muhammed. So youre a Manchester boy
like me. Good football team eh.
Muhammed: Which one?
Ravi: Which one!? No dont tell me youre a
Manchester City supporter! Noooo!
Muhammed: Im afraid so. Sorry Ravi.
Tess: Ravi cant speak so Ill continue. What do
you do Muhammed?
Muhammed: Im at college at the moment - but
when I finish I want to join the police.
Tess: You want to be a policeman. What made you
decide to do that?
Muhammed: My uncles a policeman. I dont know
really its just something Ive always wanted to do.
Tess: OK. Now, who are you going to talk about
today Muhammed whos the person that youd
like to meet if you had the chance?
Muhammed: I want to talk about Muhammed
Yunus.
Tess: OK. Off you go.
Muhammed: Well, hes from Bangladesh from
Chittagong actually thats where my dads family
came from weve still got relations living there.
And I think everyone knows his name now since
he won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2006 well he
won it with his bank.
Ravi: A bank won the Nobel peace prize?
Muhammed: Yes. The Grameen Bank?
Microcredit?
Ravi: Well, yeah, it sounds familiar.
Muhammed: Its a bank for poor people.
Tess: Perhaps youd better explain how it works
Muhammed.
Muhammed: Well, it all started when he - Dr Yunus
hes a professor of economics - he visited a
village outside Chittagong, and he talked to a very
poor woman and he realised that she only
needed a small amount of money just a couple of
dollars and then she could buy materials to make
things and sell them and earn money. She couldnt
borrow money from the bank because they didnt
believe that she would pay it back. He found more
people in the same situation - think it was forty-two
people in the village and all of them together only
needed twenty-seven dollars -- thats all they
needed to be able to start making money for
themselves. So he lent them the money - and they


page 17 of 21

all paid it back to him later. Then he went to other
villages and did the same thing. So he started his
own bank the Grameen Bank to lend small
amounts of money to poor people, mostly women
actually. Thats what microcredit means.
Tess: What kinds of things do they use the money
for?
Muhammed: Well, a woman can buy a cow, and
then she can sell the milk and pay to send her
children to school. Or she could buy a mobile
phone the villages dont have telephones and
then people can pay to use her phone. They arent
expensive things it just means that poor people
can start to earn money. And now the Grameen
Bank lends millions and millions of dollars to
people.
Ravi: And they all pay it back?
Muhammed: Most of them yes something like 99
per cent. And now countries like the United States
and Britain are using the idea too, its all over the
world - so well, I think hes brilliant a real hero.
Thats what Id like to say to him.
Tess: Well thank you Muhammed. That was really
interesting.
Muhammed: Thanks.
Ravi: Theres an old joke isnt there something
about a bank will only lend you money if you can
prove that you dont need it.
Tess: Well yes its true isnt it! Id never really
thought about it before.
Ravi: No, nor me.

Section 3 Quiz

Ravi: OK. Lets move on now to quiz time. A little
game to make you think. Lets see who weve got
on the phone today. Hello?
Niall: (on phone) Hi Ravi.
Ravi: Niall? Hello Niall, where are you calling from?
Niall: From Belfast.
Ravi: Ah, Northern Ireland. Lovely. And what do
you do Niall?
Niall: Well, I work in a shop but Im going to
university soon.
Ravi: OK. What are you going to study?
Niall: Spanish
Ravi: Ah. Buenos dias!
Niall: Buenos dias, Ravi
Ravi: Actually, thats all the Spanish I know. OK, so
weve got Niall from Belfast and Nikki. Hi Nikki.
Nikki: (on phone) Hi Ravi
Ravi: And where are you from Nikki?
Nikki: From Luton. North of London.
Ravi: I know it well. My uncle lives there. And what
do you do Nikki?
Nikki: I work in a garden centre.
Ravi: Very nice. Right. Were going to play
Something Beginning with again. Im sure you
both know how to play but Ill explain the rules. Im
going to ask the questions and when you know the
answer you press any button on your phone. Lets
hear your buzzer, Niall. (Nialls buzzer). And yours
Nikki (Nikkis buzzer). Right. I ask the questions
and give you a letter. So, I might say for example
"A sport beginning with F'" and when you think of a
sport beginning with F you press your buzzer. Can
either of you think of a sport beginning with F?
(Nialls buzzer)
Niall: Football
Ravi: Exactly. The winner is the first person to get
three answers right. Are you both ready?
Niall/Nikki: Ready/OK
Ravi: Then lets go. Can you tell me a fruit
beginning with C?
(Nikkis buzzer)
Ravi: Nikki
Nikki: Cherry
Ravi: Yes. One nil to Nikki. Can you tell me a
means of transport beginning with T?
(Nialls buzzer)
Ravi: Niall.
Niall: Train.
Ravi: Yes. One one. Next one. Can you tell me an
animal beginning with F?
(Nialls buzzer)
Ravi: Niall.
Niall: Fox.
Ravi: Yes. Two one to Niall. Can you tell me an
item of clothing beginning with S
(Nikkis buzzer)
Ravi: Nikki.
Nikki: Socks
Ravi: Yes. Two two. So this one is the decider.
Ready? Can you tell me a vegetable beginning
with C?
(Nialls buzzer)
Ravi: Niall!
Niall: Cauliflower.
Ravi: Cauliflower. Yes. So Niall is todays winner.
Well done Niall. Bad luck Nikki. The podcast book
token will be on its way to you soon to buy any
book you want. You can get a Spanish book.
Niall: I might do that Ravi.
Ravi: OK. Thanks to both of you for playing and the
rest of you, remember you can send your ideas for
games to us at


Tess: Right. Lets move on now to Our Person In.
This is the part of the podcast when we hear from


page 18 of 21

different people all over the world. This time, Susan
Harold is Our Woman in Egypt.

Susan: When I first arrived in Cairo, the capital of
Egypt, 10 years ago, I was working as a teacher. I
had lessons in different parts of the city and I had to
take a lot of taxis the underground in Cairo
doesnt cover many areas of this huge city. Black
and white taxis are a familiar sight here and its a
cheap way to travel but I found it very difficult.

The big question was how much do I have to
pay? I watched my Egyptian friends in taxis. They
didnt ask the driver how much? at the start of the
journey, there was no meter in the car to say how
much and they didnt ask how much? at the end of
the journey they just handed over the correct
amount of money and walked away. But how do
you know how much to pay? I would ask. A shrug
of the shoulders, We just know.

Gradually, over the years, I have started to
understand the payment system in Cairo taxis.
There are several things to think about. How far are
you going? How long will you spend in the car?
What time of day is it? How many people are in the
car? My Egyptian friends can make all the
calculations and know exactly how much to pay
without a word being spoken.

Unfortunately, the rules can be different for tourists.
You might have to pay more if you travel to or from
one of the big international hotels in the city. In fact,
you might have to pay a little bit just because youre
a tourist. But dont let that stop you taking taxis in
Cairo. In my opinion, theres no better way to really
see the life of this amazing city.

Ravi: I went to Cairo on holiday a couple of years
ago and it was unbelievable. I mean, its a fantastic
city, the pyramids are just incredible and everything
but its just so big and the traffic oof!
Tess: Did you take a taxi?
Ravi: I didnt. I was too scared to cross the road
most of the time. Id love to go back though.
Tess: Well. listeners, remember that you have the
chance to join in too. This time wed like to hear
about taking a taxi in your country. You can send it
to us at learnenglishpodcast@britishcouncil.org.
Actually, taxi might be one of the answers in the
next part of the podcast.

Section 5 Your turn

Tess: Its time for Your Turn when we go out into
the street to find out what people think. And the
question this time was Whats the best way to
travel?
Ravi: Actually, thats quite a difficult question.
Erm .. I think Id say flying. Except its really bad for
the planet.
Tess: Well, lets hear what our people said.

Voice 1: Oh, by train. Definitely. You know, you can
get up and walk around and you cant really do that
in a plane or a car. And you can just sit and watch
the world go by. Not too fast, not too slow. J ust
right.

Voice 2: Well, I shouldnt really say this but I love
driving. It gives you that feeling of independence
that you dont get with any other transport. You can
just go wherever you want. The worlds your oyster.
Id love to drive all the way across America one
day.

Voice 3: I know lots of people dont like it but I really
like flying. I still think its amazing that we can do it.
When you stop to think about it, its incredible. And
I love the view from up there. Mind you, its really
bad for the planet, I suppose.

Voice 4: Well Ive travelled on the underground
today but if I had to say what the best way to travel
is Id say bicycle. I think its the satisfaction of
getting around by your own effort. And its good for
you.

Voice 5: Id probably say on foot, really. I mean, it
depends. I love walking in the countryside its not
so much fun in the city, I guess. Ill tell you what
isnt the best way to travel. Flying. I hate it. Im
terrified.

Ravi: Nah, I disagree, I really like flying. What about
you Tess?
Tess: Im surprised that nobody said boat. I love
travelling by boat. We went on a boat holiday when
I was a kid I loved it.
Ravi: And wed love to hear what all of you out
there think. What do you think is the best way to
travel? Write and let us know.

Section 6 Carolina

Tess: OK. Time now to find out how Carolinas
getting on in Newcastle. Carolina, you might
remember, is a student from Venezuela whos
come to Britain to live, study and have fun. Last
time we listened, Carolina joined some societies at


page 19 of 21

the university but this time shes not feeling too
well.

In the shared residence kitchen

Carolina: Hi Emily.
Emily: Hi. What are you doing here? I thought you
had a seminar at 10 oclock.
Carolina: I did, but Im not feeling very well. (she
sneezes)
Emily: Bless you! You sound terrible. Youd better
go to bed. Did you tell your tutor that you were ill?
Carolina: No, I was early, he wasnt there, but I left
a note on the door. I said I was sorry, but I was very
constipated.
Emily: Constipated? Why did you tell him you were
constipated?
Carolina: Well, because I am. (she sneezes) See, I
cant stop sneezing.
Emily: You dont sneeze when youre constipated.
Constipated means that you cant go to the toilet,
you know, youre blocked .. , you know, you try
and try but you cant . well you know.
Carolina: Oh no! I was thinking in Spanish! In
Spanish we say Im constipada! (she sneezes)
Emily: Well in English its a cold. You say Ive got a
cold a bad cold.
Carolina: I knew that! Ive got a cold! What a stupid
mistake! Its because Im ill my head feels like its
full of, I dont know, .. cake.
Emily: Cake?!
Carolina: And I left a note on the door. Everyones
going to laugh at me.
Emily: No they wont. Dont be silly. Everyone
knows English isnt your first language you made
a mistake thats all.
Carolina: But they wont know its a mistake. (she
sneezes) Theyll think I wanted to tell everyone that
I was constipated, that I couldnt go to the toilet.
Oh, I want to go home to Venezuela.
Emily: Look, its not ten oclock yet. Ill go the room
and take the note off the door and explain to.
who?
Carolina: Professor Grogan. Room 102. Itll be too
late.
Emily: And you can go to the chemists and get
yourself something to take. Then come back here
and go to bed. You look awful. Have some hot
lemon and honey thats what my mother always
gives me.
Carolina: (she sneezes) OK, thanks a lot Emily.

At the chemists

Chemist: Good morning. Can I help you?
Carolina: (she sneezes) Yes please. I cant stop
sneezing. (she sneezes) Have you got anything I
can take?
Chemist: Is it a cold or an allergy?
Carolina: Its a cold. I dont have any allergies, at
least I dont think so.
Chemist: Have you got any other symptoms?
(Carolina sneezes) A sore throat? A headache? A
cough?
Carolina: Yes, my throat hurts it hurts when I eat
or drink, and my head hurts too.
Chemist: Have you got a temperature?
Carolina: A temperature? (she sneezes) Whats
that? Im sorry, my English is terrible today.
Chemist: You know, have you got a high
temperature, do you feel hot? Is your face hot?
Carolina: You mean a fever? Yes, yes, I think so,
my face is hot but my body feels cold.
Chemist: OK. It sounds like a bad cold. Lets
see ... this should help. Are you allergic to any
medicines?
Carolina: No, no Im not. How often do I have to
take it?
Chemist: Two spoonfuls, four times a day. The
instructions are on the bottle. Dont take it if youre
driving, it might make you sleepy.
Carolina: Thats OK. I just want to go to bed.
Should I take anything else?
Chemist: Vitamin C will help. Here you are. Take
one of these three times a day. And drink plenty of
water. Where are you from, if you dont mind me
asking?
Carolina: Venezuela. Ive only been here a few
weeks.
Chemist: Ah. Venezuela. I expect our English
weather is a bit too cold for you then. Spend the
rest of the day in bed and keep warm. Youll feel a
lot better tomorrow.
Carolina: I hope so.
Chemist: If you still feel terrible in two or three days
then you should go and see a doctor.
Carolina: Thank you very much. And how much is
that for the medicines?

Tess: Poor Carolina. Its terrible when you feel ill in
a foreign country.
Ravi: "I am constipated."
Tess: Oh, stop it Ravi.
Ravi: Yeah, youre right. It is quite funny though.
And she got some medicine so Im sure shes OK.

Section 7 The Joke

Ravi: Anyway, thats almost the end of another
podcast but, as usual, before we go, were going to


page 20 of 21

hear from Gordon with another one of his amazing
jokes. Gordon?
Gordon: Yep.
Ravi: What have you got for us?
Gordon: Another dog, Ravi.
Ravi: Come on then, lets hear it.
Gordon:
Right. A dog goes to put an advert in a newspaper.
In the lonely hearts column, you know.
Ravi: To find a girlfriend?
Gordon: Right. Anyway, the assistant at the
newspaper says "Thats fine, just fill in your name
and address on this form and then write your advert
in the box underneath." OK, says the dog.

He fills in the form and then he stops to think for a
bit and then he writes in the box "woof, woof,
woof. Woof, woof. Woof, woof, woof, woof." He
gives the paper to the assistant and she has a look
at it and says to the dog, You know youve got nine
woofs here you can have an extra one for no
extra charge its ten words for 5. Why dont you
add another woof?

The dog looks really confused. Another woof?
That wouldnt make any sense at all.

Ravi: I quite like that one. Your dog jokes are the
best ones Gordon. You should concentrate on
them. What do you think Tess?
Tess: Quite funny but dont look for work as a
comedian just yet Gordon. Anyway. Thats
everything from us for this time. After this little
break youll hear from Tom, our English teacher
wholl talk about the language you heard and give
you ideas to help you learn. So well say goodbye
but dont go away.
Ravi: And remember to keep your emails coming to
us at learnenglishpodcast@britishcouncil.org.
Tess & Ravi: Bye!.

Tom the teacher

podcast, I talk about some of the language that you
heard, and some ways to help you learn English.
Today I want to look at some verbs that we use to
describe things or to describe the idea that we
have about them. Listen to Emily and Carolina
talking. Remember, Carolina is ill. What phrase
does Emily use to describe her?

sneezes)
Emily: Bless you! You sound terrible.

Tom: Emily says You sound terrible! We use the
verb sound when we are talking about something
we can hear. Emily can hear that Carolina is ill from
her voice, and also from her sneezes. So she uses
sound. If your friend tells you all about her new
boyfriend, but you havent met him yet, you can say
He sounds nice. You have the idea that he is nice
from what she has said about him, from what
youve heard. So you can use sound. Now listen to
Emily again. How does she describe Carolina this
time?

yourself something to take. Then come back here
and go to bed. You look awful. Have some hot
lemon and honey thats what my mother always
gives me.

Tom: This time Emily says You look awful. This
time, she can see that Carolina is ill - it isnt just her
voice now. Her eyes are probably red, and she
might be very pale. So this time Emily says You
look awful. If your friend shows you a photograph
of her new boyfriend, and you havent met him yet,
you can say He looks nice. You have the idea that
he is nice from the photo from what you can see.
So you can use look. A lot of languages use words
that translate as seem or appear in all of these
situations, so using look and sound might be a bit
strange for you. Try to notice people using look
and sound in the English that you read and hear,
and try to use those phrases yourself.

Now I want to talk about something thats very
important when you learn a new language. Do you
remember Carolinas problem with the word
constipated?

Emily: Constipated? Why did you tell him you were
constipated?
Carolina: Well, because I am. (she sneezes) See, I
cant stop sneezing.
Emily: You dont sneeze when youre constipated.
Constipated means that you cant go to the toilet,
you know, youre blocked .. , you know, you try
and try but you cant . well you know.


page 21 of 21

This is a very common problem. It depends what
language you speak, but sometimes there are
words in your language that are very similar to a
word in English. And very often they have the same
meaning too. For example, arriver in French is
similar to arrive in English, and the meaning is the
same. These words can help you a lot.

But be careful! As we just heard with Carolina,
sometimes the words dont have the same meaning
at all! The word constipada in Spanish looks and
sounds the same as the English word constipated.
But the meaning is completely different. We call
these words false friends. They look or sound the
same as a word in another language so you think
they are friends - but they dont have the same
meaning. The German word for poison sounds the
same as the English word gift which means a
present. In Finnish, the word for cat can sound
like the English word kiss. False friends can be
very dangerous!

When you hear a word in English that sounds or
looks the same as a word in your language, the first
thing to do is notice the context the situation
where you heard or saw the word, what the people
were talking about. This will help you to understand
the meaning of the word. Then, if youre still not
sure, check the word in your English learners
dictionary. And finally, if it is a false friend, then
make a note of it on a special page in your
vocabulary notebook and make a really special
effort to learn it and remember it. It isnt easy -
even people who speak English very well still make
mistakes with false friends just like Carolina did
when theyre tired or not concentrating.

Now lets look at a useful phrase that we use in
English when we want to ask a personal question.
Listen to Carolina and the chemist. What phrase
does he use when he asks her a personal
question?

Chemist: Vitamin C will help. Here you are. Take
one of these three times a day. And drink plenty of
water. Where are you from, if you dont mind me
asking?
weeks.

Tom: He says Where are you from, if you dont
mind me asking? Of course, in a different situation,
with your new classmates for example, Where are
you from? isnt a very personal question, but the
chemist doesnt know Carolina, and in this situation
Carolina is buying some medicine for her cold
Carolina might be offended she might think the
question isnt appropriate. So he adds if you dont
mind me asking. This makes the question more
polite. If you want to ask someone a question but
you arent sure if its polite to ask, then use if you
dont mind me asking.

J ust before I go, let me give you a phrase from the
podcast that you can use. Listen to what we say in
English when someone sneezes atchoo!.

sneezes)
Emily: Bless you! You sound terrible. Youd better
go to bed. Did you tell your professor that you were
ill?

Tom: Yes, we say Bless you!. Some learners
think that we say God bless you well maybe that
was the original phrase that people used a long
time ago, but nowadays its just Bless you!. Use it
the next time someone sneezes near you!

happy to answer your questions! Or write to me
about any interesting language that you noticed. In
a moment youll hear the address for the website
podcast. So bye for now! See you next time.


page 17 of 23

Transcript

tary-podcasts

Section 1 I wanted to ask you something
asking for a favour

Tess: Hello again and welcome to the
LearnEnglish Elementary podcast number eight.
Im Tess, from London.
Ravi: And Im Ravi, from Manchester. Youre
looking great as usual Tess, how are you?
Tess: Thanks, Ravi. Im very well thanks. How
are you?
Ravi: Im fine thanks. Actually, Im very well. You
know I told you I was looking for a new flat?
Tess: Yes.
Ravi: Well, I found a new place over on Carswell
Road near the swimming pool. Its really nice.
Much bigger than the one Im in now.
Tess: Whats the rent like?
Ravi: Well, it is quite expensive, quite a bit more
than I pay now. But its a lot nicer.
Tess: Great. When are you moving.
Ravi: Well, I wanted to ask you about that. What
are you doing on Saturday?
Tess: Nothing special. Why?
Ravi: Well, do you think you could help me move
some stuff to my new place? Can you spare two
or three hours in the afternoon?
Tess: Yeah, I suppose so.
Ravi: You can say no if you want to you know.
Tess: No, its OK, I dont mind.
Ravi: Thats brilliant. Thank you. Ill tell you what,
Ill make dinner for you at the new flat after weve
moved my things. Does that sound OK?
Tess: Ooh. Thatll be lovely, thanks.
Ravi: Great. Have a think about what you want to
eat. Right. Well, wed better get on. Lots of things
for you, as usual. Weve got Gordon hello
Gordon
Gordon: Hello
Ravi: Gordons our producer and king of the bad
jokes. Weve got the quiz, weve got fish in the
bath weve got good and bad TV but first of all
weve got Id Like to Meet.


Ravi: And joining us today is Megan. Hello
Megan.

Megan: Hi Ravi.
Ravi: Where are you today Megan?
Megan: Im at home. In Reading.
Ravi: Oh yeah, I know it. Do you like it?
Megan: Its OK. I quite like it, yeah.
Ravi: OK then Megan, tell us, who would you like
to meet?
Megan: Id like to meet David Attenborough.
Ravi: Great choice. I know who David
Attenborough is I think anyone who watches
television in Britain will know who he is but
maybe you can explain to people who dont
watch television in Britain who David
Attenborough is and what hes well known for.
Megan: Well actually Ravi, David Attenboroughs
wildlife programmes have been seen by more
than one billion people all over the world so I
think people will know who he is. They might not
know his name but I think theyll recognise him.
Erm, hes a TV presenter and he makes
programmes about nature and wildlife and the
natural world and they are just fantastic. Erm .. Ill
say the names of some of the programmes in
case anyone recognises them, erm, there was
Life on Earth, the Life of Birds, the Blue Planet,
Planet Earth theres been so many of them.
Ravi: And what is it about David Attenborough
that you like?
Megan: Oh, everything. Hes getting quite old
now hes over 80 now, but he looks great
hes got really white hair. And I love his voice
he just sounds so interested in the animals that
hes talking about and sometimes he gets really
close to them and hes almost whispering but you
can just see how interested and excited he is. I
think the programmes are brilliant. But the other
thing is that the programmes are always about
the animals not about him. Y know some
presenters just talk about themselves all the time.
I think his programmes are the best things on TV.
Ravi: So, you like animals then Megan?
Megan: I love them. I want to be a vet.
Ravi: And what would you say to David
Attenborough if you met him?
Megan: Well, Id like to say "thank you" I think for
his programmes and tell him that I think theyve
been really important in telling people about
climate change and global warming and the real
things that are happening to animals because of
what people do. I think his programmes have


page 18 of 23

made a lot of people realise the problems
animals have to face. And Id like to ask him what
he thinks will happen in the future, yknow, if its
too late to save the planet, kind of thing.
Ravi: Yknow. I think Id really like to meet David
Attenborough as well. I really love those
programmes. Do you know what he said about
TV advertisements Megan?
Megan: No?
Ravi: He said he will never do an advertisement
on TV. He says if people know you will take
money to say you like something then they cant
trust you anymore or believe what you say.
Megan: Yeah. You really do trust him when you
listen to him.
Ravi: Well, thanks Megan that was great. And
remember that were always happy to hear from
you so if youd like to tell us about a TV presenter
in your country you can send it to us at
learnenglish - all one word - at- britishcouncil all
one word DOT org, thats o-r-g.

Section 3 Quiz

Tess: OK now. Its time for our quiz, as usual.
Our players this time are Amy. Hi Amy.
Amy: (on phone) Hello
Tess: And Brandon. Hello Brandon.
Brandon: (on phone) Hi Tess.
Tess: Lets start with you Amy. Where are you
calling from?
Amy: From Leeds. Im from Yorkshire.
Amy: Im studying to be a nurse. Ive just started.
Tess: Oh. Are you enjoying it?
Amy: Yeah, its great so far.
Tess: OK. Great. Now how about you Brandon.
Where are you calling from?
Brandon: Im in Penzance in Cornwall.
Tess: Wow the very tip of the country. I used to
go to Cornwall on holiday when I was a kid.
Brandon: We still get loads of holidaymakers
every year.
Tess: Well, its such a beautiful area. Anyway,
weve got a new quiz for you this time a
numbers quiz. How are you with numbers Amy?
Amy: Well, Ill do my best.
Tess: OK. Heres what you have to do. Youre
going to work together to answer some riddles.
Ill give you an example. There are 7 D in a W.
Can you tell me what the D and the W stand
for?
Brandon: Is it 7 days in a week?
Tess: OK, so you get the idea. Now, either of you
can answer and if, together, you can get five
correct answers, you both win a prize. OK you
two?
Brandon & Amy: OK / Yes
Tess: So, heres the first one. There are twelve M
in a Y.
Amy: Twelve months in a year?
Tess: Well done! One out of one. Next one.
Twenty-four H in a D.
Brandon: Twenty-four hours in a day.
Tess: Thats it. Two out of two. Three more to
get. Next one. Sixty S in an M.
Brandon: Its sixty seconds in a minute, isnt it?
Tess: It is. Two more to get. Normally, there are
30 or 31 D in an M.
Amy: Days in a month?
Tess: Right! Four out of four. One more to get.
Sixty M in an H.
Brandon: Sixty minutes in an hour!
Tess: Yes Well done you two! Five out of five.
OK youve both won a book token and well be
sending them to you very soon. Thanks for
playing and well done. Ravi Ive got one for
you. Eleven P in an F T.
Ravi: Easy. Eleven players in a football team.
Good game though. Remember if youre listening
that you can send your ideas for games we can
play to learnenglishpodcast@britishcouncil.org.


Ravi:
OK. Time now for Our Person In. At the start of
the podcast I promised you fish in the bath and
here they come. Bill Steadman is our man in
Prague.

Bill: When the huge fish tanks appear outside
supermarkets here in Prague you know that it
must be almost Christmas. The tanks are full of
carp the fish traditionally eaten at Christmas
here in the Czech Republic and in other central
European countries.

For my first Christmas in the Czech Republic I
found this tradition a little strange. Carp isnt
usually eaten in Britain its a fish that is often
full of small bones and the flavour is a little, well,
different. But what I found really strange about
the Czech habit of eating carp at Christmas is
how they do it.


page 19 of 23

People usually buy the fish from tanks outside
supermarkets and take them home alive and
put them in the bath. Spending a few days in
clean bath water cleans the carp and makes it
taste better when it is eaten on Christmas Eve. A
friend of mine told me that when her son was
four years old he asked why they were keeping
the carp in the bath. To clean it she told him.
Later that day my friend went to look at the carp
in the bath and saw, to her horror, a bath full of
bubbles. Her helpful son had added a generous
handful of soap powder to the bath to make sure
their carp was lovely and clean. That was one
family that didnt eat carp that year.

All my friends with children tell me that there is
one golden rule never give your carp a name.
When Christmas Eve arrives youll find it very
difficult to explain to your children why their pet
has suddenly disappeared.

Tess: Ahh. So the poor children think theyve got
a fish as a pet and then it disappears and they
have to eat it for Christmas. Poor things.
Ravi: What I want to know is how do they have a
bath when the fish is in the bath? Do they just
have a bath with the fish? Very strange. But
anyway, if any of you has something interesting
to tell us about what you eat at festivals in your
country then write and let us know. The address
is learnenglishpodcast@britishcouncil.org.

Section 5 Your turn

Tess: Now, lets move on to Your Turn, the part
of our podcast when we find out what you think.
This time round we asked a two part question
what are the best and worst things on TV.
Lets hear some answers.

Voice 1: Best thing sport. I know people
complain about it but its all I watch, really. Worst
thing reality TV shows definitely. There are
hundreds of them and they are all completely
stupid.

Voice 2: Well, I like soap operas. I watch two or
three of them, you know. You really feel like you
know the characters. Ive watched them for
years. What do I always switch off? Probably the
weather forecast. Its never right so whats the
point in watching it?

Voice 3: I dont watch much TV but I do like the
nature documentaries. I saw one about whales
and it was just amazing. I dont know how they
do it. But apart from that, I dont know. Theres
too much sport on television. I just turn it off
straight away.

Voice 4: I cant really go to the cinema very often
now Ive got children so I like to watch films on
TV. They dont have the most recent films but,
you know, its OK. Thats what I watch mostly. I
cant stand all the sport on TV though. It never
ends!
Voice 5: Erm.. what do I like? Have you seen
Silver Fox? I love action programmes like that,
you know, exciting things. Its better than the
news and the political programmes and that. Bo-
ring!.

Tess: How about you Ravi. What would you say?
Ravi: Sport, Im afraid. Thats pretty much all I
watch on TV. I watch DVDs most of the time. Let
us know what you think what are the best
and worst things on TV? Send your answers to

Section 6 Carolina

Ravi:
OK. Its time now to catch up with Carolina.
Carolina, youll remember, is from Venezuela and
shes come to England to live, study and have
fun. She wasnt having much fun last time
because she had a really bad cold but shes
feeling better now and shes going out to the pub
with some friends.

In the pub

J amie: Carolina! Hi! Were over here!
Carolina: Oh hi! I couldnt see you!

Voice: ... And the man says I know. It is
amazing. He hated the book.

J amie: Come and sit down. Theres a space next
to Henry.
Carolina: Excuse me, sorry. Hello Henry.
Henry: Hi.
J amie: And this is Helen, and Nigel, and Gemma
and J ake.
All: hi, hello, hi Carolina etc


page 20 of 23

Carolina: Hello everybody.
J ake: Right. Its my round.
Carolina: Round? I dont understand.
J amie: Havent you ever been to a pub before?
Carolina: No, its the first time.
J amie: We take it in turns to buy a round thats
what you do in a pub. Everyone buys a round.
Carolina: But is a round a drink?
J amie: No. One person buys a drink for everyone
at the table thats called a round. Then next
time someone else buys one. Henry bought the
first one and now J akes buying the next one, so
its his round. But you dont have to. not if you
dont want to.if you dont want a drink or
something.

Carolina: Oh no, thats OK. Ill buy a round
later.
J ake: So, same again everybody?
All: yes, yes please, yep, same again, same for
me please.
J ake: Carolina? What are you drinking?
Carolina: Oh dear I dont know. What is everyone
else having?
J amie: Im having Newcastle Brown. Its a really
good beer. From Newcastle of course.
Carolina: Ugh! It doesnt look like the beer I
know. Its very dark!
J amie: No, probably not. You probably drink
lager thats the pale beer, you know the light
coloured one. We call it lager. Would you like
one?
Carolina: No, I dont think so. Ill have a fruit juice
what have they got?
J ake: Well, pineapple thats what Helens
drinking, but besides that, Im not sure. Come up
to the bar with me and well ask. You can give
me a hand with the drinks. OK, so thats two
bottles of Newcastle Brown, a pint of lager, a half
of lager, a Diet Coke, a pineapple juice and
whatever Carolina wants.

At the bar

J ake: So, are you enjoying Newcastle?
Carolina: Yes I am. I havent seen much of it yet.
Ive just started classes and I had a really bad
cold for a few days. But I like what Ive seen.
Barman: Y being served?
J ake: No. Um, two bottles of Newcastle Brown, a
pint and a half of lager, a Diet Coke and a
pineapple juice please. And what other fruit
juices have you got?
Barman: Pineapple, cranberry, mango, apple,
and orange.
Carolina: Um, mango please.
J ake: And a packet of crisps please cheese
and onion.
Barman: Right you are.
J ake: And how long have you known J amie?
Carolina: We met on the train coming up from
London.
J ake: Well he seems to like you.
Carolina: Oh, does he?, Well I .
Barman: Thats eleven pounds fifty please.
J ake: Here you are.
Barman: And thats eight fifty change.
J ake: Thanks. OK, lets get these back to the
table. Ill take the lagers if you can bring the ..

Tess: Oooh. J amie seems to like Carolina. Well,
well.
Ravi: I knew youd say that. Do you buy rounds if
you go to the pub, Tess?

Tess: I dont usually. It can be really expensive,
cant it? Anyway, at least Carolina knows what a
round is now. I dont really go to the pub much
anyway. I prefer to be outdoors.
Ravi: Gordon. I bet youre often in the pub.
Surrounded by people laughing at your jokes.
Gordon: Thats right Ravi.

Section 7 The Joke

Ravi: Is it time for your joke now? Come on then.
I hope its a good one.
Gordon: Theyre all good, Ravi. Ready for it?
Ravi: Go on.

Gordon: OK then. There were these two married
couples, OK? And one couple invited the other
for dinner one night. So, they have a lovely meal
and after dinner the two men were in the kitchen
doing the washing up and chatting and the two
women were in the living room, having a chat.

One of the men says to the other, We went to a
great restaurant last week had a fantastic meal.
The best Indian food Ive had in ages. Excellent.
And really cheap too.

And the other man says Sounds great. I love
Indian food. What was the restaurant called?


page 21 of 23

And the first man says, Oh gosh. My memorys
terrible. Now, let me think for a minute. You know
that flower? Its red smells nice. Romantic
you give it to people you love on Valentines Day.
What do you call it?

A rose says the other man.

Yes! Thats it! and he shouts into the living
room, Rose! What was the name of the Indian
restaurant we went to last Saturday?

Tess: My dads like that. His memorys awful.
Ravi: Yeah, mine too. Actually I forget things as
well. Thanks for the joke erm whats his
name again?
Tess: Very funny Ravi. Thanks Gordon. And
thats all from us for today but dont go away
because our English teacher, Tom, will be here
in a little while talking about what you heard and
ways to help you learn. So, its goodbye from me
and Ravi
Ravi: Bye
Tess: but dont go away and keep sending
your emails to
learnenglishpodcast@britishcouncil.org. Bye!

Tom the teacher

podcast, I talk about some of the language that
you heard, and some ways to help you learn
English.

Today I want to talk about prepositions words
like on, at and in. Its very difficult for learners
to use these words correctly in English. We use
prepositions all the time in lots of different
ways. But today Im only going to talk about one
situation using prepositions in time phrases
with words like Saturday, Christmas or
December.

Listen to Ravi. Which preposition does he use
before Saturday?

Ravi
Well, I wanted to ask you about that. What are
you doing on Saturday?

Tom: Thats right he uses on. We say on
Saturday or on any other day of the week.
On Sunday, on Monday, on Tuesday all of
the days. Now listen to part of Gordons joke. The
man in the joke is trying to explain what a rose
is. Listen to the preposition with Valentines
Day.

Gordon: Romantic you give it to people you
love on Valentines Day.

Tom: He said on Valentines Day. Valentines
Day isnt a day of the week, but it is a day a
single day. So we use on again. Now listen to
one more. This is Bill in Prague talking about the
fish that they eat. Listen for the time phrase.

Bill: Spending a few days in clean bath water
cleans the carp and makes it taste better when it
is eaten on Christmas Eve.

Tom: Yes, it was on again. He said "on
Christmas Eve". Can you guess why? Christmas
Eve is what we call the day before Christmas day
the 24
th
of December. So, Christmas Eve is a
single day. So we use on. So when were
talking about a single day, we use on. We can
say "on my birthday" or "on the first of
December" or "on the day I met you".

And we use it for dates too because theyre
single days 'on the first of J anuary, on the
twenty-fifth of April, on the tenth of J uly. Theres
just one more thing I need to tell you about using
(or not using!) on in time phrases. Listen to this
line from Gordons joke.

Gordon: What was the name of the Indian
restaurant we went to last Saturday?

Tom: Hmm. He said "last Saturday" he didnt
use on. The reason is simple. We dont use a
preposition when we use last. We just say last
Saturday. No on. And its the same with next
and this. We just say "What are you doing next
Saturday?" or "Lets have dinner this Saturday".
No on. So now you know how to use on in time
phrases!

In other time phrases we might use at or in
for example we say "at the weekend" or "at
Christmas", and we say "in December" or "in the
afternoon". Its quite difficult to remember them
all. But if you can remember that we use on for
single days, it will make life a lot easier for you!


page 22 of 23

People often make mistakes with prepositions
because they arent thinking in English. They
think in their own language and then translate the
words into English. And thats when they make
mistakes and not only with prepositions with
lots of different things.

When youre writing you have time to think you
can look at grammar books, or your notebook, for
help. But speaking is different you often dont
have time to think. If you want to speak English
well you have to start trying to think in English.
You can do this with practise. Look at things that
you see around you at home or in the street
and say the words in English. You can say them
out loud if youre alone if not just think them.
Then start trying to say or think sentences Im
going to the kitchen now. Im going to make my
lunch. Talk to yourself about what youre doing
in English out loud or in your head. Try to do
this for a short time at first then you can
increase the time. Try to do it for an hour every
day it will soon get easier. And your brain will
learn to think in English. Try it. Im sure youll
notice the difference after a while.

And now for something different. In this podcast
we heard Carolina meeting some people in a
pub. She learnt a new word. Listen.

Carolina: But is a round a drink?
Jamie: No. One person buys a drink for everyone
at the table thats called a round. Then next
time someone else buys one. Henry bought the
first one and now Jakes buying the next one, so
its his round. But you dont have to. not if you
dont want to.if you dont want a drink or
something.

Tom: Pubs are a big part of British culture. British
people often go to the pub, and you will often be
invited to go too. This doesnt mean that you
have to drink alcohol. You can drink lots of
different things in a pub and you can do a lot of
different things too. You can have a meal for
example. A lot of pubs serve very good food at
lunchtime or in the evening and its usually
cheaper than eating in a restaurant. A lot of pubs
have live music, or maybe karaoke evenings.
Another popular thing is a pub quiz. Teams of
people try to answer questions to win a prize.
Thats a good way to practise your English! So,
its good to know some phrases in English that
you need to use in a pub. In this podcast
Carolina learnt what to buy a round means. Now
listen to J ake. Can you understand all of the
drinks that hes going to buy?

Jake: Come up to the bar with me and well ask.
You can give me a hand with the drinks. OK, so
thats two bottles of Newcastle Brown, a pint of
lager, a half of lager, a Diet Coke, a pineapple
juice and whatever Carolina wants.

Tom: The word pint is probably new for you.
J ake is going to buy a pint of lager. A pint is a
British measurement its a little bit more than
half a litre point five seven of a litre in fact. We
use it informally to mean a pint of beer. And a
half means half a pint of beer so thats more or
less a quarter of a litre. Now one more useful
phrase. Listen.

Jake: So, same again everybody?
All: yes, yes please, yep, same again, same for
me please

Tom: Youll hear same again a lot in the pub,
especially when people are buying rounds. It
means another of the same drink that you had
before. If someone says What would you like to
drink? you can say Same again please.

Now, just before I go, I noticed a useful phrase
that you can try and use this week. Its a phrase
that means Im sure. Listen and see if you can
hear it.

Ravi: Gordon. I bet youre often in the pub.
Surrounded by people laughing at your jokes.
Gordon: Thats right Ravi.

Tom: The phrase is I bet. We use it informally
and it means Im sure. For example, we can say
"I bet its going to rain tomorrow" or "I bet Ana
forgot her homework again". Try and use I bet in
your conversations in English.

about any interesting language that you noticed.
In a moment youll hear the address for the


page 23 of 23

website where you can read everything youve
heard in this podcast. So bye for now! See you
next time.


page 18 of 23

Transcript

tary-podcasts

Section 1 A weekend away talking about
short breaks

Ravi: Hello once again and welcome to the
LearnEnglish Elementary podcast number 9 with
me, Ravi, from Manchester.
Tess: And me Tess, from London. And Gordon, our
producer, from where are you from Gordon?
Gordon_ Me? Im from Keswick, in the Lake
District, you know, but Ive lived in London for about
twenty years.
Tess: Keswick? Really? Im going there this
weekend.
Gordon: Really? What for? Having a weekend
away?
Ravi: Are you going cycling again?
Tess: Yeah, we are, six of us. Were getting the
train up from London on Friday morning then
cycling to Keswick, spending a night there then
were going to do a really long ride on the
Saturday ..
Ravi: Youre not going to camp, are you? Isnt it a
bit cold?
Tess: No, were not it is a bit cold. Were staying
in youth hostels, you know.
Ravi: Oh right, I havent been in a youth hostel
since I was a kid. Are they still really cold and
uncomfortable?
Tess: No, not at all. Some of them are fantastic. I
mean, theyre not like five star hotels or anything
but theyre really comfortable and you meet some
really interesting people in them.
Ravi: Hmm. Sounds OK, better than I remember.
Its the cycling I dont want to do. How far are you
going to ride each day?
Tess: About fifty miles or so. It depends. Its more
difficult with all the hills and stuff. We havent
booked the youth hostels they wont be really
busy at this time of year. So well just stay at the
nearest place if we get really tired.
Ravi: Ah OK. Sounds great. When are you coming
back?
Tess: Were getting a train on Sunday afternoon so
well get back to London in the evening, about six
oclock, I think.
Ravi: Do you know what Im going to do this
weekend?

Tess: No? What are you up to?
Ravi: Absolutely nothing. Im going to sit on my sofa
all weekend and watch TV. Ive got loads of DVDs I
want to watch. Ill think of you on your bicycle
though.
Tess: I dont know how you can do nothing all
weekend Ravi. Id get so bored.
Ravi: I know, I know. Im going to start going to the
gym soon, honest. I can never find the time.


Ravi: Anyway, its time now to move on. As usual
were going to start with Would Like to Meet. In
every podcast someone comes to the studio and
tells us about a famous person alive or dead -
that theyd like to meet. Weve got Sean here with
us today so lets start by finding out something
about you.
Sean: Well, my names Sean, Im seventeen, and
Im from Brighton.
Ravi: Thats where my mum and dad live. I go
down there a lot. Great place.
Sean: Yeah, its good. Theres plenty to do good
shops. Id rather live in London though.
Ravi: I bet if you lived in London, youd want to go
back to Brighton. Get some fresh air, see the sea.
Sean: Maybe but then I could visit my mum and
dad, like you do Ravi.
Ravi: Well thats true. Yeah, live in London, have
family in Brighton perfect really.
Tess: And who are you going to talk about today
Sean. Whos the famous person youd like to meet?
Sean: Matt Groening.
Tess: The Simpsons guy?
Ravi: The Simpsons guy? I always thought it was
pronounced groaning.
Sean: Well I did too, for a long time. But no it isnt, it
rhymes with raining Matt Groening.
Tess: OK, Thats the name sorted out. Tell us a bit
about him Sean.
Sean: Well, as you know, hes the guy who created
the Simpsons which is probably the best show on
TV anywhere in the world. Ever. And a great film
too.
Tess: Youre a fan then.
Sean: Ever since I can remember. And I just think
that the man who created something so brilliant
must be a really funny guy. To be honest, I dont
know much about him as a person I know hes
really old he must be fifty or something at least.
Tess: Im not sure fifty is really old Sean. My
mother wouldnt be very happy to hear that.

Sean: Well you know, whatever. Hes older than my
dad anyway. Thats why Id like to meet him he
must be really funny and really smart, but hes old.


page 19 of 23

Um, what else do I know? Um - and I know hes got
kids two kids called Abraham and Homer.
Tess: He called his son Homer! After Homer
Simpson!
Sean.: Well maybe maybe not. Homer was his
dads name too he got all the names from his own
family. His mum and dad were Homer and
Margaret Marge for short. And his little sisters are
Lisa and Maggie. Bart was going to be called Matt
at first but then he changed his mind. But I read
somewhere that the character of Bart Simpson was
based on his older brother. I guess Id like to meet
him too.
Ravi: When did the show start?
Sean: In the 1980s Im not sure of the year. But
its about twenty years old. But the characters
never get any older - I like that. Oh, and another
thing Ive just remembered Doh! you know
Homer Simpsons famous Doh! - is now in the
Oxford English Dictionary. I think thats pretty
amazing. And I cant remember anything else. Doh!
Ravi: Dont worry about it that was really
interesting
Tess: Thanks Sean , another good one there. Ravi,
I dont why I havent asked you this before who
would you like to meet? Who would you talk about
if you were our guest on the podcast?
Ravi: Oof. Thats a tough one. Theres so many.
Matt Groenings a good one Id love to meet him.
Peter J ackson who directed the Lord of the Rings
films hed be really interesting. Erm J .K.
Rowling who wrote the Harry Potter books. Yeah,
maybe her she seems quite an interesting
character.
Tess:
Yeah, Id like to meet her too. And remember,
listeners, that were always interested to hear about
people that youd like to meet. Or even cartoon
characters!
Ravi: Thats a good one! Which cartoon character
would you like to meet and why. Brilliant idea!
Tess: So send your thoughts to us at
learnenglishpodcast - all one word at
britishcouncil all one word dot org, thats o-r-g.

Section 3 Quiz

Ravi: Right. Shall we meet the players for our quiz
today then? We have a little quiz now with two of
our listeners and this time weve got Ethan. Hi
Ethan.
Ethan: (on phone) Hi Ravi
Ravi: And Abby. Hello Abby.
Abby: (on phone) Hi Ravi.
Ravi: Lets start with you, Abby. Where are you
calling from?
Abby: From Margate.
Ravi: Ah, at the seaside. Is it sunny down there
today?
Abby: It is, its lovely and warm today.
Ravi: And what do you do Abby?
Abby: Ive just left school. I dont know what Im
going to do now.
Ravi: Well, good luck with what you decide to do
and good luck with todays quiz. Now, Ethan.
Ethan: Hi Ravi.
Ravi: Where are you from, Ethan?
Ethan: South London.
Ravi: OK. Well I know that its sunny here in
London too. What do you do Ethan?
Ethan: Nothing, at the moment Ravi. I finished
school last year and Im going to university in a
couple of months time. Ive had a gap year and
done some travelling.
Ravi: Ah, fantastic. Where have you been?
Ethan: I went to South America for 4 months.
Ravi: Brilliant. Did you have a good time?
Ethan: Unbelievable. It was so cool.
Ravi: Right. Todays quiz is another ten second
quiz, OK? Im going to give you a topic and youve
got ten seconds to think of as many things as you
can. So, lets say, I say things that you play you
have to think of as many things as you can. You
might say football, the piano, volleyball, you
know. All things that you play. The winner is the
person who gets the most in ten seconds, OK?
Abby/Ethan: OK
Ravi: OK then. Youve got ten seconds to write
down things that you make. Ill give you one to start
with make the bed. Go on then, ten seconds,
things that you make. Go!
[countdown, followed by bell]
Ravi: OK times up. How many Abby?
Abby: Five
Ravi: OK. How about you Ethan?
Ethan: Erm .. six, Ravi.
Ravi: OK then, lets hear your six Ethan.
Ethan: Erm .. Make a decision, make a mistake,
make a mess, make friends, make progress and
make an appointment.
Ravi: Yep. Thats six. Well done. Its not easy when
the clocks ticking. So, you win the book token
Ethan, well send that to you soon and bad luck to
you Abby but thank you for playing.

Tess: And remember everyone that if youve got a
brilliant idea for a game we can play then you can
send it to us at


page 20 of 23


Tess: Now though, its time for Our Person In the
part of the podcast when we hear from different
people around the world telling us something
interesting about where they live. This time round
Bridget Keenan is Our Woman in India.

Bridget: India is a nation of cinema-lovers almost
40 million people go to the cinema each month and
India produces almost twice as many films each
year as the USA. The Indian film industry is known
as Bollywood and you never feel like you are far
from its influence. In cities, giant hand-painted
images of Bollywood stars look down at the passing
traffic and in parts of India film stars have used their
popularity to start careers as politicians.
Bollywood films are quite different to Hollywood
films. Although the plots can be similar, the Indian
films feature a lot more singing and dancing there
are usually six songs and at least two huge dance
scenes. In fact, the stories are often very
predictable and always have a happy ending but
that doesnt stop people going to see them.
And going to see films is a special experience too -
much noisier and livelier than British cinemas. The
crowd will cheer on the hero through all the action
scenes, whistle through the songs and offer advice
and support throughout the film. The audience can
be as much fun as the film.
That audience seems to be almost everyone in
India from the very old to the very young. In the
countryside there are touring cinemas a lorry
travelling with all the equipment to make a
temporary cinema in a village for one night before
moving on to the next place. Its a love of cinema
shared by the whole, huge country unlike anywhere
else in the world.

Ravi: Hehe. That brings back some memories. We
used to watch loads of Bollywood films when I was
a kid. Theyre great fun.
Tess: Did you? Do you still watch them now?
Ravi: Not really. If Im at my mum and dads I might.
My mum still watches them quite a lot.
Tess: Ive never seen a Bollywood film. They sound
very different.

Ravi: Ill lend you a DVD. Ill give you the address
again if youd like to tell us something about going
to the cinema in your country. Its

Section 5 Your turn

Tess: And that takes us into Your Turn the part of
the show where we ask you what you think. I told
you earlier that Im going away for the weekend,
cycling. Thats a perfect holiday for me and thats
what we asked people for Your Turn Whats your
perfect holiday. Lets hear what they said.

Voice 1: Ooh what a lovely idea, I love holidays.
The beach for me. Sitting in the sun, with a cold
drink and doing absolutely nothing. That would be
perfect. Bah, my next holiday seems ages away.

Voice 2: Hmm. I just get really bored sitting on a
beach all day with all that sand getting everywhere.
Id rather be in the countryside or just somewhere
where there arent any crowds. The beach is
always so crowded.

Voice 3: What I really like about a holiday is when I
dont have any plan, yknow? I like travelling about
and if I like somewhere I stay there for a few days
and if I dont I just get on a train and go somewhere
different. Thats what I really like when I dont
have to worry about timetables and all that stuff.

Voice 4: I would really love to go on a cruise.
Yknow? A holiday on a boat where you travel to
different cities. My aunt and uncle went on one last
year and said it was great. Everythings planned for
you so you dont have to worry about anything at
all. Lovely.

Voice 5: My perfect holiday would be a trip to
China. Ive always wanted to go there. It just seems
so fascinating so different, yknow. And thered be
so much to see. Id love to tour the whole country
but I guess that would take years.

Tess: Ravi? Your perfect holiday?
Ravi: I really want to go to Australia. A couple of my
friends went there last year and said it was brilliant.
Tess: Yeah, I really like the sound of Australia too.
Let us know what your perfect holiday would be.
You can send it to us at

Section 6 Carolina
Tess: Now lets join Carolina again. Carolina is a
student from Venezuela whos come to Britain to
live, study and have fun. Shes really settled in in
Newcastle. Last time we listened she was in the
pub with her friends from the Conservation Society.
This time, Carolina is preparing a special meal for
her friends.

In the shared kitchen


page 21 of 23

Emily: Hi. Hows it going? Everything under
control?
Carolina: Oh - Im beginning to panic a bit. The rice
and beans are done, theyre cooking now, thats for
J amie hes vegetarian. I need to grill the meat -
and I need to make the guasacaca - oh dear, and
I wanted to have a shower Im so hot.
Emily: What time are they coming?
Carolina: I told them eight oclock. I hope theyre
late!
Emily: Dont panic. Youve got plenty of time. What
can I do to help? Whats gwuh .. whatever it
was?
Carolina: Guasacaca. Its like a salad sort of thing,
with avocadoes and herbs. It goes with the meat.
Emily: Well, why dont you tell me what to do and Ill
make it while you have a shower.
Carolina: OK thanks. Youre an angel. Um, you
need an onion, some green pepper, some red
pepper, some garlic, um some parsley and you
chop it all up in quite small pieces and put
everything in a bowl. Its all here look.
Emily: OK. Ill start chopping. How much garlic?
Carolina: Um, three of those what do you call
them? The small parts of garlic.
Emily: Cloves? You mean cloves. Three of these?
Carolina: Yes thats right.
Emily: Then what?
Carolina: Then you put it in a bowl with olive oil,
vinegar, a little sugar and some chilli powder. Oh
and some salt.
Emily: And what about the avocado?
Carolina: You add that at the end. There are two
avocadoes in the fridge. You mash one, you know,
with a fork so its like a paste, and the other one
you just chop, so its in pieces.
Emily: I think I can manage that. And then I add the
avocadoes to the stuff in the bowl?
Carolina: Yes. And put it in the fridge.
Emily: Right. No problem. You go and make
yourself look beautiful.

Later

J amie: Hi. Here we are
Carolina: Oh hi. Hi Henry.
Henry: Hi. Hi Emily.
Emily: Hi. Did you find it OK?
Henry: Yeah, it was easy. Weve brought a bottle of
wine its white, it probably needs to go in the
fridge.
J amie: And we brought these too, for you.
Carolina: Oh thats very kind of you. I love
chocolate. Thanks.
J amie: Can we put our coats somewhere?
Carolina: You can put them in my room.
Emily: Here, Ill take them.
Carolina: Well, sit down. Make yourselves at home
Henry: Thanks. Its a nice place youve got here.
Great kitchen. Really big.
Carolina: Thanks. Yes, were very lucky. Now what
would you all like to drink? Weve got.

Later

Carolina: So, here it is. J ust help yourselves.
J amie: It looks delicious.
J amie: Mmm, this is good. Whats in it?
Carolina: Rice and black beans, and um onion and
pepper and some spices
Emily: Delicious. Is this a traditional Venezuelan
dinner then?
Carolina: Well, in Venezuela we usually eat a big
meal for lunch, and have a smaller meal in the
evening. But yes, its a traditional meal, nearly. We
should have fried I dont know the word theyre
like bananas big, hard bananas.
Henry: Plantains? They look like bananas.
Carolina: Yes, maybe, plantains. Anyway, I couldnt
find any, but everything else is traditional.
Emily: Hey, we forgot the music! Henry, do you
want to come and choose something? Ill show you
where the CDs are.
Henry: Sure.
Emily: My rooms just through here on the
J amie: Well. Here we are then. J ust the two of us.

Tess: Awww.
Ravi: What?
Tess: Oh nothing Ravi. I really want to know whats
going to happen next.
Ravi: To Carolina?
Tess: And J amie. Never mind.

Section 7 The Joke

Tess: Right. Its time for Gordon. Are you ready
there Gordon?
Gordon: Ready.
Tess: For new listeners, Gordon tells us a joke
every week. If you like bad jokes, youll love
Gordon.
Gordon: Thanks Tess. Right Ive got a parrot for
you this week.
Tess: Another parrot?

Gordon: Yes a parrot and a magician. A magician
who worked on a cruise ship you know, the big
ships that people have holidays on had a parrot.

But the parrot had seen the magicians act
hundreds of times and knew all the tricks. So
whenever the magician did his act the parrot just


page 22 of 23

sat there looking really bored because hed worked
out how the magician made things disappear.

Anyway, one night, during the magicians show, the
ship hit an iceberg and sank. The only survivors
were the magician and the parrot. The magician
managed to climb into a lifeboat and immediately
fell into a deep deep sleep. A little bit after that the
parrot came and sat on the edge of the lifeboat and
stared at the magician.

The magician slept for three days and the parrot
didnt take his eyes off him. It just stared and stared
and stared. Finally, the magician opened his eyes
and the first thing he saw was the parrot watching
him like a well, like a parrot.

Another hour went past and the parrot didnt take
his eyes off the magician. Then the parrot opened
its beak and squawked Alright. I give up. What did
you do with the ship?

Ravi: No, thats terrible Gordon. I still prefer the
jokes about dogs. Actually, maybe some of our
listeners could send you some new jokes. The
address for jokes or anything else you want to send
to us is learnenglishpodcast@britishcouncil.org.
Tess: We have to go now but in a moment you can
listen to Tom, our English teacher, wholl be talking
about some of the language you heard in this
podcast and things to help you learn. So, stick
around to listen to Tom but well say goodbye for
now.
Tess & Ravi: Bye!

Tom the teacher

Tom: Hello again. My names Tom. And at the end
of every podcast, I talk about some of the language
that you heard, and some ways to help you learn
English.
Today I want to talk about the verbs make and
do. This is a big problem for learners of English. A
lot of languages only have one word for make and
do. For example, in Portuguese, the verb fazer is
sometimes make in English, and sometimes its
do. So it can be very difficult for Portuguese
learners to know when to use make and when to
use do.

So whats the difference between them? Well, it
isnt an easy question to answer. Most of the time
there isnt really any difference in meaning at all.
Its just that in some phrases we use make and in
other phrases we use do.

Some grammar books tell you that we use make
when we are creating something something that
we can touch. This is sometimes true. Listen to
Carolina talking about the guasacaca. Which verb
does she use?

Carolina: I need to grill the meat - and I need to
make the guasacaca - oh dear, and I wanted to
have a shower Im so hot.

Tom: She says I need to make the guasacaca. We
often use make when were talking about food
dishes that weve created from other things. We
dont make meat that comes from an animal
already made! we just cook it. Now listen to Emily
offering to help with the guasacaca.

Emily: Well, why dont you tell me what to do and Ill
make it while you have a shower.

Tom: Emily uses make too. Shes going to make
the guasacaca for Carolina. So try to remember this
use of make with food. You can say to your friend
Mmm, this soup is delicious! You must tell me
how to make it. Or This cake is very good. Did
you make it yourself?.

But there are lots of other phrases with make. The
quiz in this podcast was about things that you can
make. Listen to the last part.

Ravi: OK then, lets hear your six Ethan.
Ethan: Erm .. Make a decision, make a mistake,
make a mess, make friends, make progress and
make an appointment.

Tom: Ethan gives six examples of phrases with
make.
You make the bed when you get up in the
morning,
you can make an important decision,
you can make a mistake not do we dont
say do a mistake.
You can make a mess if you drop things all
over the floor for example,
you can make friends, just like Carolina has in
Newcastle, and
you can make an appointment to see the doctor
or the dentist.

We always use make in these phrases. Theres no
reason for using make it isnt because of the
meaning of the phrases. Its just what we say.


page 23 of 23

Its a good idea to keep a page in your notebook for
phrases with make and do and try to learn
them. Start with the ones from this podcast and
then add to them when you find more.

Here are two phrases with do that you can add
too. We say do your homework do not make.
Say Im sorry I didnt do the homework to your
teacher. And we also say do an exam or do a
test. Never make.

OK. Now for something different. I noticed a phrase
in this podcast that might be useful for you to
understand. Listen to Ravi talking to Ethan in the
quiz. What did Ethan do after he left school?

Ravi: What do you do Ethan?
Ethan: Nothing, at the moment Ravi. I finished
school last year and Im going to university in a
couple of months time. Ive had a gap year and
done some travelling.

Tom: Ethan had a gap-year after he finished
school. It means that he didnt start university
immediately after he finished school. He waited for
a year. Lots of British students have gap-years.
Sometimes they work for a few months to get some
money and then they go travelling to see the
world. Sometimes they go and do voluntary work
for a year. The universities are usually very happy
about this. They think it gives the students
experience of the real world before they start
studying hard again. So now you know what a gap-
year is if you hear anyone say it.

Now I want you to listen to Carolina again. Carolina
speaks very good English but sometimes there
are words that she doesnt know. Listen to what
she says when she doesnt know the word.

Emily: OK. Ill start chopping. How much garlic?
Carolina: Um, three of those what do you call
them? The small parts of garlic.
Emily: Cloves? You mean cloves. Three of these?
Carolina: Yes thats right.

Tom: OK she asks Emily what do you call
them? she asks Emily. But she also tries to
describe the thing that she doesnt know. She says
the small parts of garlic. This is very important
when you dont know a word. Dont just stop! Try to
describe what you want to say. Listen to Carolina
again.

Carolina:
But yes, its a traditional meal, nearly. We should
have fried . I dont know the word theyre like
bananas big, hard bananas.
Henry: Plantains? They look like bananas.
Carolina: Yes, maybe, plantains.

Tom: She doesnt know the word plantains so she
says Theyre like bananas big hard bananas.
And Henry understands what she wants to say. Try
to do the same thing when you dont know a word.
Dont stop keep talking. Use different words to
describe what you want to say. people will
understand and give you the word that you need.

Before I go, as usual, I want to give you a useful
phrase from the podcast a phrase for you to use.
Listen to what Carolina says to J amie and Henry.

Carolina: Well, sit down. Make yourselves at home.

Tom: Yes, its another phrase with make. She
says Make yourselves at home. She wants them
to be relaxed and comfortable as if they were in
their own homes. Yourselves is plural Carolina is
speaking to two people. If youre talking to one
person then you say Make yourself at home. So
try to use the phrase when someone comes to visit
you in your house. Say Make yourself at home.

OK. Thats all from me today. Remember you can
about any interesting language that you noticed. In
a moment youll hear the address for the website
podcast. So bye for now!


Page 1 of 6


Download the LearnEnglish Elementary podcast. Youll find all the details on this page:
http://www.learnenglish.britishcouncil.org/elementary-podcasts

Because this episode contains highlights of episodes 1-9 there is no support pack. To do activities
related to each of the different sections you will have to download the following support packs:

Section 1 Conversations in English: Support Pack from Episode 01
Section 2 Id like to meet: Support Pack from Episode 07
Section 3 Quiz: Support Pack from Episode 04
Section 4 Our person in: Support Pack from Episode 09
Section 5 Your turn: Support Pack from Episode 06
Section 6 Carolina: Support Pack from Episode 07
Section 7 The J oke: Support Pack from Episodes 01 and 02

Transcript

Ravi: Hello. Im Ravi - and I want to say
welcome to a special Learn English elementary
podcast number ten. This is the last podcast in
the first series {pause}so today were going to
do something a bit different. Weve had lots of
emails from you, the listeners, and lots of great
comments on the site, saying how much
youve enjoyed all of the podcasts in this
series. So Gordon, our producer, has put
together some of your favourite parts from the
first nine podcasts for you to hear again or
maybe for you to hear for the first time. Any
way, listen again, or for the first time, and we
hope you enjoy it! Especially for any new
listeners out there, our first section is from
podcast one and its the part when you get to
meet me, Tess and Gordon.

Section 1 Conversations in English:
Susan, this is Paul introducing your
friends

elementary podcast number one. My names
Ravi
Tess: and Im Tess. Were your presenters
and weve got lots of things for you to listen to
today, but before we start, I think we should
introduce ourselves. Ravi?
Ravi: OK erm Im Ravi
Tess: (interrupting) or, I tell you what, Ill
introduce you and you can introduce me. How
about that?
Ravi: Well, OK then. Erm, this is Tess. Shes
from London. Shes (pause) how old are you?
Tess: (joking) None of your business, Ravi!
Rav: i(laughs) and she loves dancing and
riding her mountain bike. OK?
Tess: OK. And this is Ravi. He comes from
Manchester. Hes 23. Oh, arent you?
(checking)
Ravi: Oh yes.
Tess: He likes football and (pause) hes a
great cook.
Ravi: Thanks! And theres one more person
for you to meet. Id like to introduce our
producer, Gordon. (raised voice) Say hello to
everyone Gordon!
Gordon: (distant voice) Hello! Pleased to meet
you!
Ravi & Tess (together): Hi Gordon
Tess: And how are you today?
Gordon: (distant) Very well thank you Tess.
Tess: Good! Well speak to Gordon again later
in the show but now its time to get on with our
programme.


Ravi: Right, so thats us. The next section is
Id like to meet, when we talk to people about
a famous person that theyd like to meet. A lot
of you thought that this one was very
interesting. Its from podcast number seven
and its Muhammed from Manchester, talking
about a very important man.

Tess: So lets say hello to this weeks guest,
Muhammed from Manchester. Hi Muhammed.
Welcome to Id like to meet.
Muhammed: Hi Tess and Ravi
Ravi: Hi Muhammed. So youre a Manchester
boy like me. Good football team eh.
Muhammed: Which one?


Page 2 of 6


Ravi: Which one!? No dont tell me youre a
Manchester City supporter! Noooo!
Muhammed: Im afraid so. Sorry Ravi.
Tess: Ravi cant speak so Ill continue. What
do you do Muhammed?
Muhammed: Im at college at the moment - but
when I finish I want to join the police.
Tess: You want to be a policeman. What made
you decide to do that?
Muhammed: My uncles a policeman. I dont
know really its just something Ive always
wanted to do.
Tess: OK. Now, who are you going to talk
about today Muhammed whos the person
that youd like to meet if you had the chance?
Muhammed: I want to talk about Muhammed
Yunus.
Tess: OK. Off you go.
Muhammed: Well, hes from Bangladesh
from Chittagong actually thats where my
dads family came from weve still got
relations living there. And I think everyone
knows his name now since he won the Nobel
Peace Prize in 2006 well he won it with his
bank.
Ravi: A bank won the Nobel peace prize?
Muhammed: Yes. The Grameen Bank?
Microcredit?
Ravi: Well, yeah, it sounds familiar.
Muhammed: Its a bank for poor people.
Tess: Perhaps youd better explain how it
works Muhammed.
Muhammed: Well, it all started when he - Dr
Yunus hes a professor of economics - he
visited a village outside Chittagong, and he
talked to a very poor woman and he realised
that she only needed a small amount of money
just a couple of dollars and then she could
buy materials to make things and sell them and
earn money. She couldnt borrow money from
the bank because they didnt believe that she
would pay it back. He found more people in the
same situation - think it was forty-two people in
the village and all of them together only
needed twenty-seven dollars -- thats all they
needed to be able to start making money for
themselves. So he lent them the money - and
they all paid it back to him later. Then he went
to other villages and did the same thing. So he
started his own bank the Grameen Bank to
lend small amounts of money to poor people,
mostly women actually. Thats what microcredit
means.
Tess: What kinds of things do they use the
money for?
Muhammed: Well, a woman can buy a cow,
and then she can sell the milk and pay to send
her children to school. Or she could buy a
mobile phone the villages dont have
telephones and then people can pay to use
her phone. They arent expensive things it
just means that poor people can start to earn
money. And now the Grameen Bank lends
millions and millions of dollars to people.
Ravi: And they all pay it back?
Muhammed: Most of them yes something
like 99 per cent. And now countries like the
United States and Britain are using the idea
too, its all over the world - so well, I think
hes brilliant a real hero. Thats what Id like
to say to him.
Tess: Well thank you Muhammed. That was
really interesting.
Muhammed: Thanks.
Ravi: Theres an old joke isnt there
something about a bank will only lend you
money if you can prove that you dont need it.
Tess: Well yes its true isnt it! Id never really
thought about it before.
Ravi: No, nor me.

Section 3 Quiz

Ravi: So that was Muhammed talking about
Muhammed Yunus. I learnt some interesting
things that day. {pause}And now the quiz.
Weve played lots of different games in the
quiz section words beginning with letters of
the alphabet, things that are different colours, -
but this game is one of your favourites. Hot
Seat. And this ones from podcast number four.

Ravi: Every week we have a little quiz to make
you think. This week were going to play Hot
Seat again. Here to play are Hannah and Max.
Hi Hannah.
Hannah: Hello
Ravi: Hi Max
Max: Hello.
Ravi: Youre both from Sheffield, is that right?
Max: Yeah
Ravi: And how old are you?
Max: Im seventeen
Hannah: And Im sixteen. We go to the same
school. St J osephs.
Ravi: Are you in the same class?


Page 3 of 6


Hannah: We are, yeah.
Ravi: OK. And whos doing what? Whos going
to explain the words and whos going to be in
the Hot Seat?
Hannah: Ill explain and Maxll guess.
Ravi: OK. OK, Max?
Max: OK.
Ravi: Right. Remember how to play? These
cards have all got words on. Hannah has to
explain the words and Max has to guess them.
But remember Hannah, you cant use the
words on the card. Max, you have to guess as
many words as you can in one minute. OK?
Hannah and Max: OK
Ravi: Then lets go. Youve got one minute
starting now!
Hannah: Erm .. big thing. On the sea. You sail
in it.
Max: Boat? Ship.
Hannah: Ship! An animal. Small. Big ears.
Max: Elephant.
Hannah: No. Its small. Carrots! It eats carrots.
Max: Rabbit.
Hannah: Yes, yes! Erm .. you do it at the disco.
Max: Dance.
Hannah: Yes! Its a fruit I think. Its very hard.
Its got milk inside. You can eat part of it but
not the outside.
Max:Coconut!
Hannah: Yes! Erm, you go there when youre
sick.
Max: Hospital. Doctors.
Hannah: Hospital. Its white. Comes from a
cow. You drink it.
Max: Milk.
Hannah: It goes across the river. You cross it.
Max: A bridge
Hannah: You stand under it in the morning and
you wash yourself.
Max: Shower!
Hannah: Its a day. Erm youll be eighteen
Max: Birthday.
Ravi: Well give you birthday. Fantastic. How
many was that? I make it nine. Is that right?
Yes, nine. Brilliant. Well done Hannah and
Max!


Ravi: Yes, well done Hannah and Max. {pause}
And now the next thing weve got for you is
Our person in... when people around the
world tell us something interesting about where
they live. And this time its something that I do
know about - the Indian film industry. Bridget
Keenan lives in India and shes talking about
Bollywood and it comes from podcast
number nine.

Bridget: India is a nation of cinema-lovers
almost 40 million people go to the cinema each
month and India produces almost twice as
many films each year as the USA. The Indian
film industry is known as Bollywood and you
never feel like you are far from its influence. In
cities, giant hand-painted images of Bollywood
stars look down at the passing traffic and in
parts of India film stars have used their
popularity to start careers as politicians.
Bollywood films are quite different to
Hollywood films. Although the plots can be
similar, the Indian films feature a lot more
singing and dancing there are usually six
songs and at least two huge dance scenes. In
fact, the stories are often very predictable and
always have a happy ending but that doesnt
stop people going to see them. And going to
see films is a special experience too - much
noisier and livelier than British cinemas. The
crowd will cheer on the hero through all the
action scenes, whistle through the songs and
offer advice and support throughout the film.
The audience can be as much fun as the film.
That audience seems to be almost everyone in
India from the very old to the very young. In
the countryside there are touring cinemas a
lorry travelling with all the equipment to make a
temporary cinema in a village for one night
before moving on to the next place. Its a love
of cinema shared by the whole, huge country
unlike anywhere else in the world.
Ravi: Hehe. That brings back some memories.
We used to watch loads of Bollywood films
when I was a kid. Theyre great fun.
Tess: Did you? Do you still watch them now?
Ravi: Not really. If Im at my mum and dads I
might. My mum still watches them quite a lot.
Tess: Ive never seen a Bollywood film. They
sound very different.
Ravi: Ill lend you a DVD.

Section 5 Your turn

Ravi: And thats reminded me - I never did lend
Tess that Bollywood DVD. Something to
remember next time I see her. Now, a lot of


Page 4 of 6


you enjoy the next section Your turn. And a
lot of you wrote to us to tell us what you think
about all the questions that we talked about in
this series. But now, lets listen to Your turn
from podcast number six.

Tess: Now its time for Your Turn. Your Turn is
when we go out in the street to find out what
people think. This time the question was ..
"How green are you?"
Ravi: Nice one. How green are you? what
do you do to help save the planet? Like use
public transport.
Tess: OK. Lets hear what people said.
Voice 1: What do I do to help save the planet?
Not enough. I hate to say it, but its true, I
mean, I always try to remember not to use
plastic bags or recycle or whatever but I
always forget. I really have to try to do more.
Voice 2: Well, we recycle pretty much
everything we can, you know, bottles, cans,
newspapers and all that but to be honest we
dont do much else.
Voice 3: I do as much as I can. You have to,
you know? We all have to. I dont take short-
haul flights anymore I used to fly down to
London quite a lot and of course I recycle
and everything else I can.
Voice 4: I know Im not going to make myself
popular saying this but I dont really do very
much. Look there are factories all over the
world putting out loads and loads of pollution
every single day and I dont see how saving
your old newspapers is going to help apart
from making people feel good about
themselves.
Voice 5: Ill tell you the greenest thing I do I
grow almost all my own vegetables. Ive really
started thinking about where my food comes
from and the food miles and that you know,
like I wont buy food thats been flown here
from Australia or something.
Tess: They make me feel a bit guilty. Some
people do so much. I feel like the first woman
who said she didnt do enough. I dont think I
do enough. I do recycle things though.
Ravi: Me too. Its difficult though, isnt it?
Anyway, remember, listeners, that wed love to
know what you think. How green are you?
What do you do to help save the planet? You
can write and tell us at

Section 6 Carolina

Ravi: An interesting question. And dont forget,
it isnt too late for you to send us your opinion
about this, or any of the other Your turn
questions in series one. We always enjoy
hearing from you. {pause}Now for my favourite
part of the podcast the adventures of
Carolina. A lot of you said that you liked this
one the best. Carolina makes a mistake with
her English and its from podcast number
seven.

Tess: OK. Time now to find out how Carolinas
getting on in Newcastle. Carolina, you might
remember, is a student from Venezuela whos
come to Britain to live, study and have fun.
Last time we listened, Carolina joined some
societies at the university but this time shes
not feeling too well.

In the shared residence kitchen

Carolina: Hi Emily.
Emily: Hi. What are you doing here? I thought
you had a seminar at 10 oclock.
Carolina: I did, but Im not feeling very well.
(she sneezes)
Emily: Bless you! You sound terrible. Youd
better go to bed. Did you tell your tutor that you
were ill?
Carolina: No, I was early, he wasnt there, but I
left a note on the door. I said I was sorry, but I
was very constipated.
Emily: Constipated? Why did you tell him you
were constipated?
Carolina: Well, because I am. (she sneezes)
See, I cant stop sneezing.
Emily: You dont sneeze when youre
constipated. Constipated means that you cant
go to the toilet, you know, youre blocked .. ,
you know, you try and try but you cant . well
you know.
Emily: Well in English its a cold. You say Ive
got a cold a bad cold.
Carolina: I knew that! Ive got a cold! What a
stupid mistake! Its because Im ill my head
feels like its full of, I dont know, .. cake.
Emily: Cake?!
Carolina: And I left a note on the door.
Everyones going to laugh at me.


Page 5 of 6


Emily: No they wont. Dont be silly. Everyone
knows English isnt your first language you
made a mistake thats all.
Carolina: But they wont know its a mistake.
(she sneezes) Theyll think I wanted to tell
everyone that I was constipated, that I couldnt
go to the toilet. Oh, I want to go home to
Venezuela.
Emily: Look, its not ten oclock yet. Ill go the
room and take the note off the door and
explain to. who?
Carolina: Professor Grogan. Room 102. Itll be
too late.
yourself something to take. Then come back
here and go to bed. You look awful. Have
some hot lemon and honey thats what my
mother always gives me.
Carolina: (she sneezes) OK, thanks a lot
Emily.

At the chemists

Chemist: Good morning. Can I help you?
Carolina: (she sneezes) Yes please. I cant
stop sneezing. (she sneezes) Have you got
anything I can take?
Chemist: Is it a cold or an allergy?
Carolina: Its a cold. I dont have any allergies,
at least I dont think so.
Chemist: Have you got any other symptoms?
(Carolina sneezes) A sore throat? A
headache? A cough?
Carolina: Yes, my throat hurts it hurts when I
eat or drink, and my head hurts too.
Chemist: Have you got a temperature?
Carolina: A temperature? (she sneezes)
Whats that? Im sorry, my English is terrible
today.
Chemist: You know, have you got a high
temperature, do you feel hot? Is your face hot?
Carolina: You mean a fever? Yes, yes, I think
so, my face is hot but my body feels cold.
Chemist: OK. It sounds like a bad cold. Lets
see ... this should help. Are you allergic to
any medicines?
Carolina: No, no Im not. How often do I have
to take it?
Chemist: Two spoonfuls, four times a day. The
instructions are on the bottle. Dont take it if
youre driving, it might make you sleepy.
Carolina: Thats OK. I just want to go to bed.
Should I take anything else?
Chemist: Vitamin C will help. Here you are.
Take one of these three times a day. And drink
plenty of water. Where are you from, if you
dont mind me asking?
weeks.
Chemist: Ah. Venezuela. I expect our English
weather is a bit too cold for you then. Spend
the rest of the day in bed and keep warm.
Youll feel a lot better tomorrow.
Chemist: If you still feel terrible in two or three
days then you should go and see a doctor.
Carolina: Thank you very much. And how
much is that for the medicines?

Tess: Poor Carolina. Its terrible when you feel
ill in a foreign country.
Ravi: "I am constipated."
Tess: Oh, stop it Ravi.
Ravi: Yeah, youre right. It is quite funny
though. And she got some medicine so Im
sure shes OK.

Section 7 The Joke (1)

Ravi: Ah, Im constipated. I thought that was
really funny when I first heard it. And it still
makes me laugh now. Poor Carolina her
English is usually so good. And talking about
funny at the end of every podcast, Gordon,
our producer, tells a joke. Sometimes good,
sometimes well, terrible. But a lot of you
wrote to tell us that you really liked Gordons
jokes. And there were two favourites. So lets
listen to them both. This one comes from
podcast number one.

Tess: Come on Gordon! Are you ready?
Gordon: Im ready.
Ravi: I hope this is good Gordon.
Gordon: How long have I got?
Ravi: One minute at the most.
Gordon: OK then. Right. A chicken walks into
a library (is interrupted)
Ravi: (laughing) A chicken?
Gordon: Yeah. A chicken walks into a library,
walks up to the counter and says to the
librarian Book, book (like a chicken). The
librarian gives the chicken 2 books she puts
the books on the chickens head and the
chicken walks out of the library.
One hour later, the chicken walks back into the


Page 6 of 6


library. It walks up to the counter and says to
the librarian Book, book (like a chicken). The
librarian gives the chicken 2 books and the
chicken walks out of the library.
An hour later, this happens again. Book,
book, and the chicken walks out of the library
with 2 books on its head. But this time the
librarian thinks, Hmm, this is strange so she
decides to follow the chicken. She goes out of
the library and follows the chicken. The
chicken crosses the road, walks along the
street, turns the corner, until it comes to the
lake. Sitting by the lake is a big, fat frog. The
chicken gives the books to the frog and the
frog looks at them and says Read it, Read it.
(like a frog - past tense of read)
Tess: (laughing) Oh Gordon, thats terrible.

Section 7 The Joke (2)

Ravi: Dont worry about Tess she always
says Gordons jokes are terrible. And heres
your other favourite. Its from podcast number
two.

Ravi: OK then Gordon, lets hear your joke for
today.
Gordon: OK. Its a camping joke. Tess, youll
love it.
Ravi: (sceptical) Come on then.
Gordon: Well, Sherlock Holmes and Doctor
Watson are on a camping trip in the
countryside. Late at night, Holmes and
Watson are lying on their backs looking up at
all the stars in the sky. Sherlock Holmes says,
Doctor Watson, look at the stars and tell me
what important question we have to ask.
Doctor Watson says, Well, OK. There are
millions and millions of stars in the sky. No-
one knows exactly how many. There are
planets out there that no-one has seen with a
telescope. Maybe there is a planet
somewhere that is just like earth. I think the
question we have to ask is, Is there life in
another part of our universe?
And Sherlock Holmes says, Watson, you idiot!
The question we have to ask is WHERE IS
OUR TENT?
Ravi: (laughing) Thats quite good, actually
Gordon. Not bad.

Ravi: I think thats my favourite actually. And I
hope you liked it too. {pause}Well, thats all for
today. Usually, Tom the teacher comes along
to talk about the language that youve heard in
the podcasts, but this podcast is a little bit
different. I hope youve enjoyed our Learn
English elementary podcast greatest hits and
I hope youll go back and listen to more of
them again. You can go to the previous
podcasts section on the website and listen to
any of them and you can hear Tom the
teachers comments and advice there. So
thats all from me! See you next time, in series
two. Bye!

Elementary Podcast Series 02 Episode 01 - Transcript

Page 1 of 7


Transcript

Download the LearnEnglish Elementary
podcast. Youll find all the details on this page:
http://learnenglish.britishcouncil.org/elementary-
podcasts/series-02-episode-01

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 youll remember I hope that my
names Ravi
Tess: and Im Tess. Yes, were back again. I
hope you didnt miss us too much. Weve had a
little break did you go anywhere nice Ravi?
Ravi: No.
Tess: and now were back with more good
stuff for you to listen to. Weve got
Ravi: Arent you going to tell them, Tess? Ill tell
them if you dont. Weve chosen a special day
to come back its Tesss birthday today, isnt
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, Im going out for dinner with some
friends tonight and then we might go to a club.
Im not really sure.
Ravi: Sounds good. Where are you going to
eat? Is it somewhere a bit special or
Tess: Yeah, its a French place. Ive heard its
really good but I havent been there.
Ravi: Im sure itll be great. Any good presents?
Tess: Well, I got some money from my mum
and dad to buy myself something nice so Im
going to get some new boots with that. And
thats it, so far .
Ravi: Well, Ill get you a coffee when we finish
here, OK?
Tess: OK. And a cake?
Ravi: Oh go on then. A small one. But lets get
on with it. What have we got today?
Tess
Weve got our quiz, then weve got people
telling us about their favourite food. And
Carolinas back again.
Ravi: Right. If youre listening and you dont
remember Carolina, shes a student from
Venezuela whos come to Britain to study and
we follow her in every podcast to hear how
shes getting on.

Section 2: Id like to talk about

Tess: But to start with, weve got something
new. This section is called Id like to talk
about In every podcast, well talk to someone
who wants to tell us about something that
theyre 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 Id like to talk
about weve got Esther here with us. Esther.
Hello.
Esther: Good morning.
Ravi: Hi Esther. Welcome to the podcast.
Youre a student arent you?
Esther: Hello Ravi. Yes, thats right.
Ravi: Here in London? What are you studying?
Esther: Yeah. Chemistry. Im doing a Masters.
Ravi: Blimey. Is that what youre going to tell us
about? Im lost already.
Esther: No, actually. Id like to talk about
knitting.
Ravi: Knitting?
Esther: Yeah, knitting. Its really popular
nowadays you know. Lots of young people are
doing it. Theres a university knitting club that
Im in.
Ravi: But why do people want to knit?
Tess: To make things Ravi! To make things to
wear! Youre wearing a jumper its made of
wool well, its knitted, isnt it? You get the wool
from a sheep and you knit a jumper! Or socks!
Or a scarf!
Ravi: OK, OK, OK, dont go crazy - it was a
stupid question. Sorry Esther.
Esther: Thats OK. But you know, there are
some men in our knitting club too, and some of
them are really good at it. Knittings really quite
fashionable now. There are celebrity knitters
and everything.
Ravi: Yeah?
Esther: Yeah. Theres Madonna, and erm
J ulia 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 knittings perfect. You
can take an old jumper that you dont like any
more and make something new. Its a cheap
way to get clothes.


Page 2 of 7


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 thats the oldest thing I know.
Ravi: Thats interesting.
Esther: Remember that they didnt 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 didnt 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 youre
wearing?
Esther: Yes, I did.
Tess: Its 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 its
not that difficult. Thats 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, thats 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 dont know it doesnt matter Tess. The
jokes just what do you get if you cross a sheep
with a kangaroo?.
Tess: Go on
Ravi: A woolly jumper.
Tess: Youve been waiting to say that, havent
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, didnt you? Why dont
you try and knit something?
Tess: I could, couldnt I? I could make you a
scarf for your birthday. When is your birthday?
Is it in J une?
Ravi: Yeah, the fifteenth. Youve 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, thats
britishcouncil all one word DOT org, thats 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 well put the best
answers on the site.

Section 3 Quiz

Ravi: OK. Time now to go to the phone to talk to
todays quiz contestant, who is Mark from
Nottingham. Hello, Mark? No. Er ..OK ..
Mark: {on phone} Hello?
Ravi: Mark! Hi. How are you?
Mark: Im fine thanks, Ravi.
Ravi: What are you up to today?
Mark: Oh, nothing special. Its my day off so Im
not doing very much.
Ravi: What do you do?
Mark: I work in a clothes shop in Nottingham.
Ravi: Ah. OK. Its not Paul Smith is it? Hes from
Nottingham isnt he? Great designer.
Mark: No, its 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, its OK, yeah. Its good.
Ravi: Great. Right. Were going to play Hot
Seat , OK? Tess?
Tess
Yes. So youre going to play with Ravi today
Mark. Im going to give Ravi some words he
doesnt know what they are and hes going to
try to explain them so that you can guess the
words. All right?
Mark: OK.
Tess: And well 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. Lets do one to practise.


Page 3 of 7


So, for example, if I say, erm , its your fathers
brother. Or your mothers brother, who is it?
Mark: Uncle.
Tess: Right. Youve got the idea. Are you ready
to go?
Mark: Ready.
Tess: OK then. Ready Ravi? Lets start. Here
are the words. Youve 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 brothers
daughter. Or your sisters daughter. Its
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 theyre
Mark: Pupil?
Ravi: No. Theyve got the same teacher as you
and you sit next to them or something. Theyre
your ?
Mark: Classmate?
Ravi: Yes! Phew! I couldnt say class Erm,
come on then if youre married this is, like,
your wifes 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 thats not what I mean.
We work together so were ?
Mark: Erm .. I dont know.
Ravi: We
Mark: Oh. Colleagues.
Ravi: Colleague, yes. Hows the time? Erm ..
this person is another word for manager.
The person whos in charge at work is your ..?
Mark: Boss?
Ravi: Yes. Boss. Your uncles children are
your ?
Buzzer sounds
Mark: Cousins?
Ravi: Yes. OK, Ill 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. Well send you a
book token and anything else we can find lying
around the studio. Thanks Mark.
Tess: Right. Weve got more to come. Well
hear what some of our listeners say about their
favourite food and well catch up with Carolina
again after this .


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
countrys food is your favourite? and of
course, Why?.
Tess: OK, lets hear what people said.
Voice 1: That would be Vietnamese food,
especially southern Vietnamese food around
the city of Ho Chi Minh. Ive 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 thats 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 dont
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 Im 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 Id have to say France
ah cos French cooking is superb, so much
variety and they just take it so seriously.
Voice 5: Mmm, Im 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 Ive ever tried
from Mexico. Its always a little bit spicy, maybe
a little bit heavy, umm, but really, really good
food.


Page 4 of 7


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

Section 5: Carolina

Ravi: But now its time to find out whats
happening to Carolina. If you listened to the first
series of the podcast youll know that Carolina is
from Venezuela and shes just started a course
at Newcastle University in Britain.
Tess: Yes. In every podcast we hear what
Carolinas been doing. Shes 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 J amie.
Ravi: Yes, Tess likes J amie.
Tess: Thank you Ravi. Now lets hear about
Carolina
{In the street}
Carolina: So I told Emily that she .... . Oh, wait a
minute. Theyre nice.
J amie: Which ones? Those boots?
Carolina: No, those shoes at the back. The red
ones. Lets go in and have a look.
J amie: OK.
{In the first shoe shop}
Carolina: Here they are. Theyre beautiful.
J amie: What size are they?
Carolina: Um, five and a half. What does that
mean? Im a thirty-six in Venezuela.
J amie: Yeah, British sizes are different. Try
them on. See if they fit.
Carolina: No, theyre too big.
J amie: So try a five thats the next size down.
Excuse me, have you got these in a five?
Shop Assistant 1: The red ones? No sorry.
Weve only got the sizes on the shelf.
J amie: OK, thanks. Bad luck. Come on. Lets

{In the street}
Carolina: OK. But you know, I really do need
some shoes. If were going to stay with your
parents I need to look nice.
J amie: I dont think theyll care what shoes
youre wearing.
Carolina: You know what I mean. Lets have a
look in here.
J amie: OK.
{In the second shoe shop}
J amie: What about these red ones?
Carolina: Theyre horrible! And theyre too high.
I cant wear very high heels I cant walk.
J amie: Those brown ones then, theyre nice.
Carolina: No, I dont want brown - I havent got
any brown clothes.
J amie: These black ones then. Theyre a size 5.
Carolina: Mmm. Theyre quite nice. How much
are they?
J amie: Ninety-five pounds.
Carolina: Ninety-five pounds! Im not paying
ninety-five pounds for a pair of shoes! No, lets
go somewhere else. Come on J amie.
J amie: But if you like them why dont you

{In the street}
J amie: So what exactly do you want? What
colour?
Carolina: I dont know exactly, but Ill know
when I see them. Heres another shop. Come
on.
{In the third shoe shop}
Carolina: Now these are nice. Black. Not too
high. And not too expensive.
J amie: Why dont you try them on?
Carolina: Wait a minute. Theyve got them in
grey too. Maybe theyre nicer. What do you
think?
J amie: 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: Id like to try both of them please.
Shop Assistant 2: Ill just go and check.
J amie: Phew. Lets sit down. Shoe shops make
me tired

Carolina: so which ones do you like best the
grey ones or the black ones?
J amie: Theyre both nice.
Carolina: But tell me which ones you like best.
J amie: OK then, the grey ones.
Carolina: Whats wrong with the black ones?
J amie: Nothings wrong with the black ones. I


Page 5 of 7


said I liked them both.
Carolina: I think I prefer the black ones.
J amie: OK, if I say I prefer the black ones, can
we just buy them and get out of here?
Carolina: Yes, I think Ill get the black ones. Do
you like them? Or do you prefer the grey ones?
J amie: Aaaargh!
Carolina: Excuse me,
Shop assistant 2: Yes?
Carolina: Ill 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 J amie why are you being
so difficult today?

Ravi: Poor old J amie. I think he was a bit bored.
Do you like buying shoes Tess?
Tess: Well, yes, I do. I like shoes. Dont 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 dont go round lots of shops
trying them on. I think men and women are
different about shoes. OK. I wont say any more.
I dont want to upset anybody.
Tess: Good! Anyway, did you hear Carolina say
that theyre going to visit J amies parents?
Ravi: Yes.
Tess: So
Ravi: So what?
Tess: So they must be together you know
a couple.
Ravi: Well yes. Men dont go to shoe shops with
women if theyre not serious.
Tess: Dont start the shoe thing again.
Ravi: Sorry.

Section 6: The End

Tess: So thats the end of this podcast. You
might remember in series one, we always
finished with a joke from Gordon. Well, Gordon
isnt with us any more. Hes got a new job.
Ravi: Yes, and we hope everything goes well for
him. Hey Tess, Ive 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.
Thats really great.
Ravi: Well, I thought French food was your
favourite, but now
Tess: Oh, silly, I love French food and I love
cooking. Its 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, thats 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. Hes 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 well say goodbye for now.
Tess & Ravi: Bye!
----------------------------------------------------------------

Tom the teacher

Tom: Hi, Im Tom. At the end of every podcast
youll hear from me. Im 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, Ill get you a coffee when we finish
here, OK?
Ravi: Oh go on then. A small one.

Tom: One isnt a number here. Ravi isnt
saying a small one, a small two. One here is a
pronoun its used in place of a noun a thing.
Listen again. What does one refer to?

Ravi: {oblivious} Well, Ill get you a coffee when
we finish here, OK?
Ravi: Oh go on then. A small one


Page 6 of 7


Tom: Yes, thats right. One refers to the cake.
Ravi doesnt repeat the word cake he uses
one instead. Tess said cake, so Ravi doesnt
need to say it again they both know what
theyre talking about. So he can use one. We
do this a lot in English. We can also use ones
when were talking about something thats
plural. Listen to J amie 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: Theyre both nice.
Carolina: But tell me which ones you like best.
Jamie: OK then, the grey ones.
Carolina: Whats wrong with the black ones?
Jamie: Nothings 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 theyre
standing in the shoe shop looking at the shoes
and so they both know what theyre talking
about. In some languages you can make
adjectives plural you can say I like the blacks
or I prefer the greys, but you cant 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 were talking about a car. And if
youre 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 youre
wearing?
Esther: Yes, I did.
Tess: Its really nice.
Esther: Thank you. It took me ages.
Tess: I could never make something like that.

Its important that you notice these words when
youre listening or reading, and that you know
what they refer to if you dont, then you wont
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
J ohn or Ravi. Ill put an example on the site
for you to see if you dont understand what I
mean. But please try it. It really will help you to
understand things better.
Now Id like to talk about something different.
Listen to this. What does poor mean?

Tess: So women didnt knit?
Esther: Well poor women did of course.

Tom: Yes, poor means someone who hasnt
got very much money. Its the opposite of rich.
Now listen to this. What does old mean?

Esther: You can take an old jumper that you
dont like any more and make something new.
Its a cheap way to get clothes.
Tom: Right again. An old jumper is a jumper
that youve had for a long time. Its the opposite
of new. But now listen to what Ravi says after
he listens to Carolina and J amie in the shoe
shop.
Ravi: Poor old Jamie. I think he was a bit bored.
Tom: Its interesting, isnt it? Poor old J amie.
Ravi doesnt mean that J amie hasnt got any
money. And he doesnt mean that J amie is old
hes a young man. Ravi uses poor because he
feels sorry for J amie 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 its hungry. Or poor Susan hates
her new job. You can use poor in formal or
informal situations. But Ravi says Poor old
J amie. 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


Page 7 of 7


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 youre speaking English. Say well done
to someone.

OK. Im going to stop there. Ill 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 youll hear the address for the
heard in this podcast. You can also find some
practice exercises to do online and a support
pack that you can print. Right. Thats all for this
time. Bye for now! See you next time.


Page 1 of 7


Transcript


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
were your presenters. Im Tess
Ravi: and Im Ravi, hello.
Tess: Right, then. Today weve got .. what
have we got Ravi?
Ravi: Hang on a minute, Ive 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: Youd 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 dont 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. Ill tell you what
though. Theres 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 daymy 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 J apanese place round
the corner. It looks nice
Ravi: I'm still a bit of a beginner with J apanese
food. I'm never sure what to order I dont know
what it all is. I feel a bit stupid in J apanese
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 didnt.
Tess: Should I just get on with the podcast?
Ravi: Yes.
Tess: OK then, Ill do that shall I? Right. what
have we got? Theres the quiz, .
Ravi: Oh, hang on a moment. I forgot
something. You know in the last podcast we told
everyone that Gordons gone got a new job -
and taken his fantastic jokes with him?
Tess: Im 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 da
a 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, well have our quiz,
.as usual, well hear what people think in
Your Turn whats the question this time?
Ravi: Its about shopping.


Tess: And therell be Carolina too, of course,
well see how shes getting on, but, as usual,
well start with Id 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
weve got Liam: here in the studio Hi Liam: .
Liam: Hi Ravi, hi Tess.
Tess: Hi Liam
Ravi: J ust introduce yourself first, you know, tell
us a bit about yourself before we start.


Page 2 of 7


Liam: OK. Im Irish, Im from Dublin, Im twenty-
two, and Im training to be a teacher.
Tess: Dublins a long way away from London!
Liam: Yes, Im in London for a while, visiting
family. So I thought Id 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, Im not. I love science though and
thats what I want to do in a way - Im training to
be a physics teacher. Thats why I love Einstein
I think hes a brilliant example for kids, he
really shows them that science isnt boring. Its
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: Im 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 didnt 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 dont
think so.
Ravi: Oh go on!
Liam: Well . the most interesting thing for me
about Einsteins theories is the stuff about time.
Time isnt always the same it goes faster or
slower in different situations its relative. For
example, if you put a clock on a spaceship
thats 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 Ill still be young and gorgeous?
Liam: Well yes.
Tess: Hes 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 J upiter 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: Thats right. Its relative. It isnt 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. Its
complicated, but I hope Ive explained it a bit.
Ravi: You certainly have Liam. I can see youve
got a great future as a teacher.
Liam: Well thanks. I hope so.
Tess: Yes, Id 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 whod
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. Ive enjoyed
being here.
Ravi: OK, lets move on with the podcast.
Tess: Young and gorgeous indeed.
Ravi: And of course listeners, wed like to hear
your thoughts on Einstein and relativity, or any
other topic that youd 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, thats learnenglishpodcast - all one
word at - britishcouncil all one word DOT
org, thats o-r-g. Send it to us and well put the
most interesting ones on the site.

Section 3 Quiz

Tess: Right. Now, its time for the quiz. Hello,
Eva.
Eva: {on phone} Eva {Ey-va}
Tess: Sorry Eva. Sorry.
Eva: Thats OK, everyone says it wrong.
Tess: Is it French?
Eva: No, its from Slovakia. My mums Slovak.
Tess: Ah, OK. But youre in Scotland now,
right?
Eva: Thats right. In Coatbridge. Near
Glasgow.
Tess: OK. What do you do there?
Eva: Im doing my A levels.
Tess: Right. Youre still at school then. What
subjects are you doing? Is it hard work?
Eva: Im doing English, French and History.
Yeah, it is hard work, yeah.
Tess: But do you enjoy it?


Page 3 of 7


Eva: Yeah, I suppose so. Its OK {nervous
laugh}
Tess: Good. OK then, are you ready to play?
Were going to play 10 things. Its a new one
but Ill tell you what you have to do, OK.
Eva: OK
Tess: Right. Ill 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. Youve got a minute and
you have to try to get ten things. You get the
idea?
Eva: Yep.
Tess: OK then, lets go. Eva youve 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, Ive 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: Thats eight. Come on, two more.
Eva: Argh! Tell, tell, tell . tell someone to do
something?
{buzzer sounds}
Tess: Ahhh. Nine. Bad luck Eva. Thats a
really tricky one. You did really well.
Eva: {laughing} Argh. Its really stressful.
Tess: I know! Thank you for playing. You did
do really well. Lets 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. Well send
you something nice.
Eva: Thanks. Bye!
Ravi: Bye! Right. Dont go away anyone.
Weve got your thoughts on shopping and weve
got more from Carolina right after this.


Tess: Right. Now its 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?.
Lets 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 Im in the right mood for
shopping, but I cant stand shopping in really
busy places and I hate it when the musics on
too loud, and I also hate pushy shop assistants.
Voice 3: Well, it depends on the kind of
shopping, really, if its clothes shopping or
buying a gift for someone I quite enjoy it. If its
shopping just for daily foodstuffs I do find that a
bit boring, in fact lately Ive 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 didnt 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 dont
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 cant
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 dont
mind it. What about you?
Tess: I hate supermarkets. No, Im not a big
shopping fan really. And what about our
listeners? Why dont 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 whos come to England to
study at university. Weve been following her
on the podcast as she studies and relaxes
in Newcastle. Last time she was shoe shopping
lets see what shes up to this time.
{knock on a door}
Emily: Hello?
Carolina: Hi, Emily. Can I come in?


Page 4 of 7


Emily: Yeah, come in, its open.
Carolina: Hi. Can I ask you about something?
Emily: Of course you can. Whats up? Here, Ill
just move this so you can sit down.
Carolina: Its 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. Thats
really terrible isnt it? I dont know what I should
do.
Emily: Whaddya mean?. I mean its not great
but, you know, its not awful. Its your first essay
and its in your second language. Are there any
comments on it?
Carolina: Yeah, shes written loads. I got the bit
about the land use patterns completely wrong. I
dont think I really answered the question. Oh,
Emily, I feel terrible.
Emily: h come on, its not that bad, its a pass,
you know. Its not a disaster.
Carolina: It is! Fifty five percent! I never got
fifty-five percent in Venezuela. Ive never had
less than eighty percent for anything.
Emily: Really? Look, I got sixty two for my first
essay and Im quite pleased with that.
Carolina: Really?
Emily: Yeah, I mean, its not brilliant but its fine.
You never get eighty percent or something like
that unless youre, 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, cant 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 youre the worst in the group!
Carolina: So you feel stupid too? Oh, that
makes me feel much better!
Emily: ell, thanks! But yes, it's just as difficult,
even if English is your first language! Dont
forget its the first year for everybody and its
really different from school. Listen, whos your
tutor? Why dont you have a chat with him?
Carolina: Her. Stafford. Helen Stafford: .
Emily: Well lets have a look. Im already
logged in. Stafford with two fs? Youre allowed
to go and see your tutor you know. It tells you
on here what times theyll 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, its a good start.
You need to think about the other things as well
the bibliography mainly but I think youre on
the right lines with this.
Carolina: OK. Thank you very much for your
time.
Helen Stafford: Thats alright. I hope you feel a
bit better about it now.
Carolina: I do, thank you. Its 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. Ive made friends things
are going well.
Helen Stafford: Good. Well, you know where I
am. J ust check on the site to see when Im
here if you need to come and have a chat
again.
Carolina: OK, I will. Thank you.
Helen Stafford: Bye.
Carolina: Bye.


Page 5 of 7


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. Im
really glad I dont 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. Wed love to hear from you
you can record yourself and send it to us too.
If we like it, well put it on the site. Well, I think
thats it from us.

Section 6: Joke

Ravi: {cough} Havent you forgotten something?
... Like my joke? Ive been practising all day.
Tess: Go on then.
Ravi: A duck goes into a bar.
Tess:You said they werent about animals.
Ravi: I said some of them werent about
animals. This ones about a duck. So, a duck
goes into a pub and says Id 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 theres a
circus in town at the moment? Why dont you go
and see if they can give you a job? Im sure
theyd be very interested. And the duck says
Well OK. But are you sure they need a
computer programmer?
Tess: {laughing} Actually, thats quite funny
Ravi. Better than some of Gordons!
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
learnenglishpodcast@britishcouncil.org. But
dont go away because Tom the teacher will be
here to talk about learning English and some of
the language that youve heard in todays
podcast. So Ill say goodbye
Ravi: Me too. Bye!

----------------------------------------------------------------

Tom the teacher

Tom: Hi, Im Tom. Im 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 theyre 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 lets look at say first.
Listen to the first line of Ravis joke about the
talking duck.

Ravi: So, a duck goes into a pub and says Id
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?. Lets 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

Tom: Tess said Its time for us to say goodbye.
You can say goodbye, say hello, say thank you,
say happy birthday. If we want to say who were
speaking to, then we use to. Tess can say
goodbye to us, or Ravi can say Happy
birthday to Tess. We cant say Tess said me
goodbye or Ravi said Tess happy birthday, or
Ravi said her happy birthday. We cant use
say with words like us or her, or a name we
cant 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


Page 6 of 7


to another example. Its Tess at the beginning of
the quiz. Whats the object word this time?

Tess: Were going to play 10 things. Its a new
one but Ill tell you what you have to do, OK.

Tom: Yes, thats right. She said Ill 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 Gordons gone got a new job -
and taken his fantastic jokes with him?

Tom: Ravi said we told everyone that Gordons
gone. Told is the past form of tell. We told
everyone. Everyone is the object. Ravi cant
say we said everyone that Gordons gone. We
just cant 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 isnt
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 youve 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.
Shes repeating Evas answers for things that
you can tell.

Tess: You did do really well. Lets 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 dont 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 youll
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. Theyre
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
dont 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 someones 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
Einsteins theory of relativity. Why does Liam
use right?

Tess: Wow! So time is different everywhere in
the universe!
Liam: Thats right. Its relative. It isnt just a
crazy theory space engineers nowadays have
to use it.


Page 7 of 7


Tom: Thats right. I say this all the time! We use
thats 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 mums Slovak.
Tess: Ah, OK. But youre in Scotland now,
right?
Eva: Thats right. In Coatbridge. Near
Glasgow.

Tom: Tess says right to check that what she
says about Eva is true. Youre in Scotland now,
right? And Eva says Thats right yes, she is
in Scotland now. Try to use right or thats right
to say OK, or when you agree with someone,
or to ask a question. Try to use it this week
when youre speaking English.
OK. Thats enough from me for today. Ill 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

.

Elementary Podcast 2-3 Transcript

Page 1 of 9


Transcript
http://www.britishcouncil.org/learnenglish-
central-listening-downloads.htm

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. Im Tess.
Ravi: And Im Ravi. Its 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: Thats true. Why not write and tell us
when and where you listen to our podcasts?
Well 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. Theres a football podcast I really like
and theres 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. Im 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. Its 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 Im on Facebook, right?
Tess: Right.
Ravi: Well, I know youre not on Facebook but
youre on a few other networking sites - you
know how it works, dont 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 dont know who she is. I dont
recognise her name at all.
Tess: So, someone wants to be your friend
online and you dont know who she is? Youre
just so popular Ravi.
Ravi: Well she knows me she wrote
something about Manchester but I really cant
think who she is. I mean, its not a really big
problem but what do you think I should do
Tess?
Tess: Well, you could just not reply.
Ravi: But I dont want to be rude to her.
Tess: Or you could ask her where you met.
Ravi: Hmm. Thats a bit embarrassing.
Tess: Well, why dont you say, yes, youll be her
friend? You dont have to write to her, do you?
Ravi: Thats true. Ill just say yes, lets be
friends and then maybe Ill remember who she
is.
Tess: Shes probably a friend of a friend or
something. Do you often forget peoples names,
then, erm .. whats your name again?
Ravi: Very good, Tess. No Im usually quite
good with names. Like today I can tell you
weve got Sameena on Id Like to talk about,
weve got Davis doing the quiz and weve got
Carolina and J amie later. And Tom the teacher
of course.
Tess: Well done. Shall we get on with it, then?


Ravi: OK then. As usual, listeners, well start


Page 2 of 9


with Id Like to Talk About. This is the part of our
podcast when we ask someone to tell us about
something thats important to them. It could be a
person, a hobby anything. And today weve
got Sameena in the studio. And shes going to
talk about meditation. Hi Sameena.
Sameena: Hi
Tess: Hi Sameena. Before you start, why dont
you tell us a bit about yourself.
Sameena: Well, my names Sameena as you
know. Um, Im twenty, and Im 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, its 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. Thats it really.
Tess: And you stop thinking?
Sameena: No, no. A lot of people think that, but
it isnt true. Its more about watching your
thoughts, just sitting and being conscious of
whats going through your mind. You let the
thoughts come and go, but you dont 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 dont 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: Its getting very popular nowadays isnt it?
Oprah Winfrey was talking about meditation on
TV the other day.
Sameena: Yes, its getting more popular in the
west, thats true. But it started as a Hindu
tradition more than five thousand years ago
its really old. And some form of meditation is
involved in nearly all religions.
Tess: So is it always a religious thing?
Sameena: No, it doesnt have to have any
religious meaning. A lot of people meditate just
because its good for the mind and good for the
body. Its 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 its 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: Its not a bad idea you know. My dad


Page 3 of 9


meditates, well he used to anyway I
remember seeing him when I was a kid. I dont
know if he still does though. Ill have to ask him.
I might ask him to give me some lessons next
time I see him! Thatll 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, thats learnenglishpodcast - all
one word at - britishcouncil all one word
DOT org, thats o-r-g. If we like it, well 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. Whats next? The quiz.
Ravi: Yep. And today weve 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: Im in London.
Ravi: Are you from London?
Davis: Yes, thats right.
Tess: Like me. Which part of London?
Davis: Tottenham
Tess: Ah, OK. Im 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, Ill 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, dont you?
Davis: Yeah.
Ravi: Tess has got the cards with the words on.
Shell give them to me and Ill explain them to
you and well see how many we can get in a
minute , OK?
Davis: OK
Ravi: But I dont know what the topic is. Tess?
Tess: Right, Ive got the cards here. Ill 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 todays topic is .. Places in an
airport. Different things and places in an airport.
Here are the cards Ravi. Youve got one minute
starting from .NOW
Ravi: Agh! Its 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


Page 4 of 9


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.
Ravi: Yes. Its 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 whats the room called?
{buzzer sounds}
Davis: I dont know it.
Ravi: It was baggage reclaim. Oh dear, we
havent 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, wasnt
it?
Davis: You just cant think when the clocks
ticking.
Ravi: I know. Listen, thanks for playing well
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. Well hear what some of you
think about space exploration and well catch up
with Carolina after this.


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
its 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? Lets hear what people think.

Voice 1: Er ... yeah, its a waste of time and
money. Theres 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 its a waste of
money when, like, the big countries - America or
Russia - they just compete for dominance of
space, but when its used for scientific research
that can improve ... um ... the equality of life on
Earth, then I think its not money wasted.

Voice 4: No, I dont think space exploration is a
w um ... wed need to know whats 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 wont be here
forever and we should be looking towards other
places.

Voice 5: I dont think space exploration is a
waste of time and money ... um ... possibly in
the future we might need space exploration and
the discoveries theyve made more now than we
ever realised ... new sources of energy or ... we
dont 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. Id love to explore space.
Tess: Did you? I wanted to be a train driver.
Ravi: Well, maybe when youre older.


Page 5 of 9


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

Section 5: Carolina

Tess: Time now to see whats happening with
Carolina. You remember that Carolina is a
student from Venezuela whos studying in
Newcastle in the north of England.
Ravi: Its not just study though weve heard
about Carolina going shopping, cooking and
enjoying university life with her new boyfriend,
J amie. Lets find out what shes doing this
time

Outside the house
J amie: Well here we are then My home. The
family mansion.
Carolina: Oh, is this the house? Im a bit
nervous J amie.
J amie: Dont be silly.
{doorbell door opens}
Mary: Hellooo! {hugs and kisses Jamie}
J amie: This is Carolina, mum
Mary: Hello Carolina. Its lovely to meet you.
Carolina: Hello. Um... its 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! Theyre here! Come on in before
we die of cold. Doug! Theyre here!
{dog barking}
J amie: Hello Ernie! Hello, whos a good boy
then?
Doug: Hello, hello, hello. Youre here then. All
right J amie?
J amie: 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 dont know really
Mary: He wont 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 isnt
heavy.
J amie: Ill take them. Go on mum. You lead the
way. Carolinas in the spare room I suppose?

Mary: And youre in this room Carolina.
Carolina: How nice. I love the colour. And what
pretty curtains too.
Mary: Im glad you like it. We dont use this
room very often.
Carolina: I think its lovely.
Mary: Now, Ive 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. Thats very kind of you.
Im sure Ill be very comfortable. Thank you very
much for inviting me.
Mary: Not at all. Its lovely to have you here.
Now you unpack your bag and Ill go down and
put the kettle on for a nice cup of tea. The
bathrooms next door if you want to wash your
hands

{knock at door}
J amie: Can I come in?
Carolina: Yes
J amie: OK?
Carolina: Oh yes, Im OK. Your mothers really
nice.
J amie: Ready to go downstairs?


Page 6 of 9


Carolina: Yes.
J amie: Come on then. Mums making a cup of
tea. My family drinks tea all the time.
Carolina: OK. So lets 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.
Were not formal in this house are we J amie?
J amie: Mum, Carolina drinks tea without milk.
Carolina: No, no, its OK J amie. I can drink it
with milk.
Doug: No, lets get you another.
Carolina: Well OK, if it isnt too much trouble.
Thank you.
Mary: Dont be silly. Its no trouble at all. Ill just
go and get another cup.
Carolina: Aargh!
Doug: Get down Ernie! You let the dog in Mary!
Ernie! Down! Leave her alone! Hes just being
friendly.
J amie: Ill put him back in the kitchen.
Carolina: Its OK. I dont mind.
J amie: 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. Its very different from
Venezuela, but I like it here. And the people are
very friendly.
Doug: Well thats good.
Mary: Here you are Carolina.
Carolina: Thank you very much. Youve got a
lovely house.
Mary: Well thank you. Its nothing grand but we
like it.
Carolina: How long have you lived here?
Mary: Since we got married, thatll be what,
twenty-five years nearly is it Doug?
Doug: Aye. Twenty-five years in April.
Carolina: So J amie was born here?
Mary: Thats right. Hes lived here all his life,
havent you love?
J amie: Yep.
Mary: Hes still got some of his old toys in his
room, hasnt he Doug?
Carolina: Really?
Doug: Oh aye. Wont let us throw them out. All
his old toy cars. And Mr Potter the pandas still
there.
Mary: Thats right. Mr Potter the panda. But
J amie couldnt say Mr Potter he could only
say Po Po so it was Po Po panda. Do you
remember J amie?
Carolina: Mr Po Po panda?
J amie: Oh god! Stop it all of you. Lets change
the subject. Hows work going dad? Been busy
recently?

Ravi: Ah. What a nightmare. Poor J amie. But,
you know, it must be getting serious now.
Carolina met J amies parents.
Tess: Yes. Isnt it nice? Ahhhh.

Section 6: The Joke

Tess: Well, I think thats about all weve got time
for on this podcast ..
Ravi: No, hang on a minute. Ive got another
joke for you.
Tess: I hoped youd forget.
Ravi: I think youll like this one, Tess.
Tess: OK. Lets 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. Id like a


Page 7 of 9


ticket to Tokyo, please. And Id 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, thats right
says the man. Im very sorry sir but we cant do
that its impossible. The man says Well, I
dont understand why its so difficult. Thats
exactly what you did last time.
Tess: I lost my bag at an airport once you know.
Ravi: Youll have to save that story for another
time Tess. Thats all weve got time for today.
Remember, the address for anything that you
want to send us is
learnenglishpodcast@britishcouncil.org. But
dont 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 well be back next
time. Bye!
Tess: Bye!
----------------------------------------------------------------

Tom the teacher

to help you learn English. Today I want to talk
about the word too. Listen to Carolina meeting
J amies mother, Mary. See how Carolina uses
too.

Carolina: Hello. Um its nice to meet you too.

Tom: We can use too to mean as well. Im
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 doesnt listen to podcasts. How
does she use too?

Tess: No, not really. Im 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 Im 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 its 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 lets look at the difference between
too and very. Some learners find this difficult.
Listen to Carolina talking to J amies 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. Its 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 doesnt like Britain
that shes unhappy, because its too different


Page 8 of 9


the difference isnt a good thing. And that isnt
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
Im not happy with my house that Id like to
have a bigger one. Listen to one more example.
J amies mother is going to get Carolina another
cup of tea. Listen to what Carolina says.

Carolina: Well OK, if it isnt too much trouble.
Thank you.

Tom: We use If it isnt 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
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 youre 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 youre in a place and imagine what you
can see around you. Make a note of the things
that you dont 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 youre
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 its good for your
vocabulary.
Now for something different. This isnt really
about language, but its important if you go to
Britain. Its 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 J amie's mother for the first time.

{doorbell door opens}
Mary: Hellooo! {hugs and kisses Jamie}
Jamie: This is Carolina, mum
Carolina: Hello. Um its nice to meet you too.

Tom: Mary kisses J amie, but she doesnt kiss
Carolina. In some countries, people kiss when
they meet people for the first time. But we dont
usually do this in Britain. When you meet
someone its polite to say Hello or Nice to
meet you. In more formal situations, you can
shake hands too. But most British people dont
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 its 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 Ravis answer.

Tess: Honestly, sometimes I think I spend too
much time on the computer.
Ravi: I know what you mean. Its easy to spend
hours and hours on the internet just looking at
different things.


Page 9 of 9


Tom: Ravi says I know what you mean. He
sometimes does the same thing himself so he
understands what shes saying. He agrees with
her. If someone says I didnt enjoy the English
class today, you can say I know what you
mean. It was a bit boring wasnt it? But of
course, I hope you dont think your English
classes are boring! Anyway, try to use I know
what you mean this week.


Page 1 of 9


Transcript


Section 1: " A pretty quiet weekend really "

Ravi: Hello again everyone and welcome back
to the Learn English Elementary Podcast. Im
Ravi, one of your presenters.
Tess: and Im 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. Whats up?
Tess: You remember Oscar?
Ravi: Your cat?
Tess: Yeah. Hes gone missing.
Ravi: Eh?
Tess: I dont know where he is. I havent seen
him for 3 days now. Im really worried that
somethings happened to him.
Ravi: Hmm. Oh dear, Tess, Im sorry. You never
know though. Cats do that sometimes, dont
they? They go away for a bit.
Tess: Hes never done it before.
Ravi: Im sure hell be fine. I bet hes out looking
for mice or something. Or maybe hes 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 theyve 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: Ive got hundreds. I might do that. Ill ask
my neighbours first though.
Ravi: Good plan.
Tess: Anyway, sorry about that. Im 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 Ill tell you what else I did. I
went to see the new J ames Bond film. Have you
seen it?
Tess: No, not yet.
Ravi: Go and see it, its excellent.
Tess: Is it very violent? I dont like really violent
films?
Ravi: No, not really. Theres a great car chase
but its not really violent.
Tess: Hmm. Ill see. It doesnt sound like my
kind of thing.


Tess: You know what though? Todays Id Like
to Talk About really is my kind of thing. Shall we
get started?
Ravi: OK then. Ready listeners? Weve 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, well start
with Id Like to Talk About. Tess?
Tess: Yes. Id like to Talk About is the part of
the podcast for you, our listeners to tell
everyone about something that youre
interested in.
Ravi: Anything that youd like to talk about.
Tess: Today weve 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, Im twenty-two, I work in a bank,
um, Ive got a little boy, Ben, hes two, and we


Page 2 of 9


live in Crawley.
Tess: Ah Crawley, near Gatwick airport.
Stacey: Yeah, thats right. Not far from London.
Tess: And I think Staceys going to talk about
something that a lot of people like is that right
Stacey?
Stacey: Yes. Im going to talk about chocolate.
Ravi: Oh, I love chocolate.
Stacey: Most people do.
Tess: Its funny isnt it why do you think its so
popular?
Stacey: Well I dont know really. It just tastes
good I suppose. I eat it all the time. Im a bit of a
chocoholic.
Ravi: Chocoholic. I love that word.
Stacey: Well, its true I eat chocolate every
day, usually more than once.
Ravi: Now I think I know a bit about this.
Chocolate came from Mexico didnt it?
Stacey: Thats right - from the Ancient Aztecs, a
few thousand years ago. The word chocolate
comes from an Aztec word. But they didnt eat it
it was a drink, made with water. They didnt
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: Whats your favourite kind of chocolate
Stacey?
Stacey: Absolutely anything. If its chocolate I
like it. But I suppose my favourite is the really
dark chocolate you know, without milk. Its got
lots of good things in it. Its the sugar in
chocolate that makes you fat - if it hasnt got too
much sugar, its good for you.
Ravi: Thats good to know. Well, thanks Stacey.
Im feeling hungry now.
Stacey: Me too.
Ravi: Well you can go and get some chocolate
now. Theres a great shop just down the road
from the studio. Theyve got all sorts.
Stacey: Really? OK. Ill 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 shouldnt give it to them.
Its really bad for them.
Ravi: Are you sure?
Tess: Yep. Look it up on the internet if you dont
believe me.
Ravi: I didnt say I didnt believe you Im just
surprised thats 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, thats learnenglishpodcast - all one
word at - britishcouncil all one word DOT
org, thats o-r-g. If we like it, well put it on the
site.


Page 3 of 9


Tess: Or you tell us what youd 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, its time for our quiz.
Todays 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. Its quite small. Its 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 its my
turn this time. Have you got the cards Ravi?
Ravi: Yep.
Tess: OK, Scott, Ravi will give the cards to me
and Ill 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 its
not fair!
Scott: Shopping mall?
Ravi: Shopping centre. Yes, you can have that
one.
Tess: Eh? This isnt in every city. Right then.
Across a river. You go across it.
Scott: Bridge.
Tess: Yes. You get books from it. You dont 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! Thats 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,
wasnt it?


Page 4 of 9


Tess: Oh, I dont know. I think Scott and I are
just a great team, dont you Scott?
Scott: Yeah, well done Tess.
Tess: And well done to you. Well 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. Weve still got
Your Turn and Carolina to come after this


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 thats me. But lets hear what some
other people said.
Voice 1: If Ive got work to do and I dont 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 whats
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 didnt
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 its work at home, like
housework and things, I would try to do
something like look after the children, play with
the children, or Id go and listen to music or get
distracted watching something on television. If
Im 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 Ive go some work to do but dont
want to do it theres 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: Its funny isnt it? Everybody has
something I mean something that they do
when they dont want to work.
Ravi: Yeah. I thought I was the only one. What
about our listeners? Why dont you write and tell
us what you do to waste time when you should
be working.

Section 5: Carolina

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

Carolina: Good morning.


Page 5 of 9


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? Im doing bacon and eggs for Doug.
Carolina: Um
Mary: Or weve got cereal or I can make you
some toast... or would you like a boiled egg?
Carolina: Oh no, Ill 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, Im not really sure. I dont think
we have any.
Mary: Well, Im cooking the dinner Im doing a
nice Sunday roast. Have you ever had an
English roast dinner Carolina?
Carolina: No, no I havent.
Doug: Best food in the world. You cant beat a
good English roast.
J amie: Good morning all. Sleep well?
Doug: Morning, son.
Mary: Hi J amie
Carolina: Hi J amie. Yes thanks. Very well.
J amie: So what are we all doing this morning?
Doug: Well, your mothers cooking the roast
dinner, Im taking Ernie for a long walk along the
river, and Ill probably call in to the Hat and
Feathers for a pint on the way back. You two
can join me if you like.
J amie: Carolina? Its 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: Dont be silly. You go out and enjoy
yourself.
Carolina: Well yes, OK then. That sounds nice.
Id like a walk.
Doug: Thats that, then.

Doug: I hope that dinners on the table. I could
eat a horse.
Carolina: Dinner? But its only one oclock.
Doug: Do you eat later in Venezuela?
Carolina: Yes well no I mean I thought
dinner was in the evening.
J amie: Ahh, yes. I didnt think . I suppose it is
a bit strange for you. Some people say dinner
and not lunch. Its always Sunday dinner in this
house.
Carolina: So what do you have in the evening?
Lunch?
Doug: No, well have tea tonight.
Carolina: A cup of tea?
J amie: No, Tea. A salad, or a sandwich, or
toast or something. Dont worry about it. Come
on.

Mary: Oh good, youre back. Itll be ready in
about ten minutes. Its roast lamb and Ive got
some veggieburgers for you J amie. (to
Carolina) Hes a vegetarian you know.
Carolina: Yes, I know. But Im not. The lamb
smells delicious!
Mary: Well I hope youre all hungry.
J amie: Starving!
Carolina: Is there anything I can do to help?
Mary: No, I dont think so. Erm you can lay
the table if you like. J amie, help Carolina lay the
table show her where the knives and forks
are. And use the best glasses weve got a
nice bottle of wine today. Its a special occasion
after all.


Page 6 of 9


Doug: So what do you think of the lamb?
Carolina: Its really good.
Doug: Try a bit of mint sauce with it. You cant
have roast lamb without mint sauce.
J amie: Its nice. Its made with mint and vinegar.
Carolina: Vinegar! OK, Ill try some, but just a
tiny bit.
Mary: More potatoes anyone. J amie? 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. Its all
delicious but I couldnt possibly eat any more.
J amie: Yeah, leave some room for pudding.
Mums made apple crumble. Its her specialty.
Carolina: Pudding!

Doug: Well that was delicious Mary.
Carolina: Yes, it was lovely.
J amie: Fantastic mum.
Carolina: Can I help with the washing up?
Mary: Certainly not. Youre a guest. You stay
there.
Carolina: No really, Id like to help. Please let
me do something.
Doug: Ill do the washing up. J amie and
Carolina can dry.
Mary: Well all right then. Ill put the kettle on for
a nice cup of tea.
Carolina: Hmm. A nice cup of tea.

Tess: Its difficult, isnt it, meeting your
boyfriends parents?
Ravi: Especially in another language, I guess.
They seem OK though. Ill tell you what, I could
just eat a Sunday dinner now. Mmmmm.

Section 6: The Joke

Tess: Well weve nearly finished the podcast.
You can go and get something to eat. Unless
youve 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 its a question. Trappist monks are in
a religious order. They live together in a
monastery or somewhere and they dont speak.
Tess: Why not?
Ravi: I dont 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...
notgood. At the end of the second year he
goes to see the head monk again and says
Bednotcomfortable. At the end of the third
year he goes to see the head monk again and
says Roomtoocold. And at the end of the
next year he goes to see the head monk again,
but this time he says Iwantleave. And the
head monk says Well Im not surprised. For
four years now, all youve done is complain,
complain, complain.
Tess: But thats more than three words.
Ravi: Yeah, but hes the head monk Tess.
Never mind. Right everyone, thats all weve got
time for today. Remember you can write to us
here at the podcast. The address is
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 thats all from us
until next time. Bye!
Tess: Bye!
----------------------------------------------------------------


Page 7 of 9


Tom the teacher

Tom: Hi, Im Tom. Youll 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 -
J amies 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? Im doing bacon and eggs for Doug.

Tom: Mary is cooking the breakfast. She says
Im doing bacon and eggs for Doug. Im sure
you know this verb form its called the present
progressive or the present continuous. Youll
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 Im doing bacon and eggs for Doug. We
can use this verb form to talk about what were
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, Im not really sure. I dont think
we have any.
Mary: Well, Im cooking the dinner Im doing a
nice Sunday roast.

Tom: Yes. Mary says Im cooking the dinner.
But she isnt cooking the dinner at the moment.
She uses the present progressive to talk about
her future plans. Maybe this seems strange to
you! But its very common in English. We often
use the present progressive when we have
definite plans for the future, when we already
know what were going to do. Listen to another
example again from the same conversation.
J amie gets up and asks everyone about their
plans. Listen for the present progressive verb
forms.

Jamie: So what are we all doing this morning?
Feathers for a pint on the way back.

Tom: Did you hear them? J amie says What are
we all doing this morning?. He uses the
present progressive to ask a question about
future plans. And Doug says Your mothers
cooking the dinner and Im 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?
Feathers for a pint on the way back.

Tom: Yes, Doug says Ill probably call in to the
Hat and Feathers. He might go for a drink in
the pub, but he isnt sure. He hasnt really
decided yet. So he doesnt use the present
progressive he uses will. He says Ill
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.


Page 8 of 9


Now lets 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 youre 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 dont know really. It just tastes
good I suppose. I eat it all the time. Im a bit of a
chocoholic.
Ravi: Chocoholic. I love that word.
Stacey: Well, its 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 shes like an
alcoholic but with chocolate. Chocoholic is an
invented word its the first part of chocolate
choc and the last part of alcoholic oholic.
We also talk about shopaholics people who
cant stop shopping, and workaholics people
who are always working they cant 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. Its
fun to create new words! I noticed another
example recently. Brad Pitt and Angelina J olie
are a very famous couple. And people have
started calling them Brangelina. Bra from
Brad and gelina from Angelina. Its a joke of
course we dont usually do that with peoples
names but its 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? Id be
interested to hear if you do. Write and let me
know.

Tom: OK. Lets move on. Do you remember that
Carolina got confused about lunch and dinner
when she was at J amies parents house?
Listen.

Doug: I hope that dinners on the table. I could
eat a horse.
Carolina: Dinner? But its only one oclock.
Doug: Do you eat later in Venezuela?
Carolina: Yes well no I mean I thought
dinner was in the evening.
Jamie: Ahh, yes. I didnt think . I suppose it is
a bit strange for you. Some people say dinner
and not lunch. Its 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 its very complicated
to explain. Most people say lunch for the meal
in the middle of the day. But, if its a big, cooked
meal in the middle of the day, then some people
say dinner like J amies parents. It isnt 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 oclock or in the evening. So the
best thing is to always ask if youre not sure.


Page 9 of 9


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 isnt very happy. What does Ravi
ask her?

Ravi: You sound a bit miserable.
Tess: Yeah, I am a bit, actually.
Ravi: Oh dear. Whats up?

Tom: Yes, he asks Whats up? "Whats up?"
means "Whats the problem?", "Whats the
matter?". See if you can use it this week. If
someone isnt very happy, ask them "Whats
up?"

Tom: OK. Thats enough from me for this time.
Ill 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


Page 1 of 8


Transcript


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 J ames 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 J amie'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.


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


Page 2 of 8


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.
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?


Page 3 of 8


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
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


Ravi: Hello again. Now it's time for 'Your Turn'.


Page 4 of 8


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 its probably best to tell the truth
most of the time. Um ... I think if you ... if you ...
if youre dishonest or if you tell a lie theres often
a very good chance that ... um ... youll be found
out or it will come back ... um ... to hurt you, so I
think on the whole I think its better to tell the
truth although I have to say that sometimes ...
um ... just so as not to hurt other peoples
feelings or for other particular reasons its
probably ok to tell a small lie or to be a little bit
dishonest.

Voice 2: Um, no. I dont think its always best to
tell the truth ... I think its 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 somebodys 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 dont hurt their feelings.

Voice 3: Yes, it is always best to tell the truth
because if you dont 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
dont know very much its not that good to be
honest.

Voice 5: Yes ...err ... its hard thing ... its 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 its just easier for
everyone if you just says whats 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 J amie's parents
Ravi: J amie'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


Page 5 of 8


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: J ust 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.
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 J ohnson, the receipt is for twenty-nine
ninety-nine I believe. Could you give her the
money please?
Shop Assistant: Certainly Mr Parker.


Page 6 of 8


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
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
about the words everybody and nobody. Im
sure you know what they mean. Listen to Rafael
saying goodbye at the end of Id 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. Hes 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. Theres 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.
Tess: Because they can. I dont know. Nobody
really knows.

Tom: Tess says Nobody really knows. There
isnt a person who knows the answer. She could
also say No-one really knows. Nobody and
no-one are the same. Theres 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


Page 7 of 8


few days or even a few weeks and then coming
home.
Tess: Because they can. I dont know. Nobody
really knows.

Tom: Thats 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. Heres
another example. Raffa is talking about Formula
One. Listen for nobody and the verb.

Rafael: Well, its as safe as it can be I guess.
Its a big question at the moment, what the rules
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, its as safe as it can be I guess.
Its a big question at the moment, what the rules
to see drivers getting killed, but at the same
time, everybody wants the races to be exciting
thats 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 its really difficult in another
language. To complain. I dont like doing it in
Spanish but in English.!
Emily: OK, Ill come with you. But you have to
do the talking. Ill 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. Youll feel much more confident about
what youre going to say. J ust 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. Hes got a small
business, selling books, mostly on the Internet.
So I work with him and Im learning the
business.
Tess: So dont tell me - youre going to talk
about your favourite book.
Rafael: Well no actually. Im going to talk about
Formula 1.


Page 8 of 8


Tom: Did you hear it? Raffa sells books so Tess
thinks hes going to talk about a book and
Raffa says Well no actually. Im going to talk
about Formula One. He says actually
because hes 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 hes probably British that he
comes from somewhere in Britain. He knows
that shell 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 youre giving the true
information about something. It doesnt mean at
the moment or nowadays.

I talked about false friends in series one, in
podcast number seven and theres an
exercise in the support materials too. If
someone says Youre Spanish arent you?,
you can say Well actually, Im 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. Well 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.

again next time. Remember you can write to
me about any language that you noticed in this
podcast. Ill be happy to answer your questions!
The address is learnenglishpodcastAT
britishcouncilDOT org. In a moment youll hear
the address for the website where you can read
everything youve heard in this podcast. You
can also find some practice exercises to do
online and a support pack that you can print.
you next time.

Elementary Podcast Series 02 Episode 06 Transcript

Page 1 of 10

The United Kingdom's international organisation for educational opportunities and cultural relations. We are registered in England as a charity.

Transcript

podcast. You'll find all the details on this page:
http://learnenglish.britishcouncil.org/en/element
ary-podcasts/series-02-episode-06

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. J ust
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're 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.


Page 2 of 10


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 DJ ing 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


Page 3 of 10


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
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.


Page 4 of 10


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.


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


Page 5 of 10


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: J ust 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. J ust 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 J amie?
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 J amie 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


Page 6 of 10


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. J ust 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: J ust bend your head forward a
bit please.
Carolina: Sorry?
Hairdresser 2: J ust 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.


Page 7 of 10


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
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.


Page 8 of 10


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


Page 9 of 10


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.
Carolina: Want off?

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?
Carolina: Want off?

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.


Page 10 of 10


OK. I'm going to stop there. I'll talk to you all
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.


Page 1 of 9


Transcript

podcast. You'll find all the details on this page:
http://learnenglish.britishcouncil.org/en/element
ary-podcasts/series-02-episode-07

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
umbrellasI 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!


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.


Page 2 of 9


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
J ane Austen wrote about it she lived there for
a while - if you've ever read any J ane 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.


Page 3 of 9


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


Page 4 of 9


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...


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.


Page 5 of 9


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
J amie are members of a society at the
university the Conservation Society.
Ravi: J amie'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 J amie. 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 J amie 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.
J amie: Hi. Move over Layla, make room for
Carolina. I'll stay in the middle.
J amie: Carolina, this is Layla.
Layla: Hi
Carolina: Hello
J amie: 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

J amie: 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.
J amie: 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?
J amie: 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 J amie? 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, J ust a minute. Um, I'm not
quite sure where we are. Have we passed
Denton?
Layla: Ages ago. . Ivan - you've got the map


Page 6 of 9


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?
J amie: Look, there's a petrol station. Pull over.

J amie: 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.

Layla: I'm hungry.
Carolina: Me too
J amie: Me too. Where did you put the
sandwiches Henry?
Henry: They're in the plastic bag in the back
somewhere.
J amie: Henry, this is a bag of rubbish.
Henry: What?
J amie: 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.
J amie: 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.


Page 7 of 9


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
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?

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'.

freezing cold.
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.
cold and dry than cold and wet.


Page 8 of 9


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.


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.

Rita: Well I don't know a lot .. but it was a


Page 9 of 9


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
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.

Elementary Podcast Transcript Series 2 episode 8
http://learnenglish.BritishCouncil.org/elementary-podcasts/series-02-episode-08

The British Council, 2010 Page 1 of 9

Transcript
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 its now episode number
erm
Ravi: Eight. I told you that two minutes ago. Hi
everyone. This is series two episode number
eight. Im Ravi and this is erm...
Tess: Stop it. Im Tess and were your
presenters. Whats new with you this week,
Ravi?
Ravi: Not much, not much. Im thinking about
my holidays though. I cant decide where to go.
Tess: Really? Youre going to Scotland, arent
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
cant 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 dont know.
Ravi: Dont go back to those two places. So,
anyway
Tess: So, what are your plans now?
Ravi: Well, thats the thing. Im not sure. Im
thinking of going to Barcelona but ...
Tess: Oh, fantastic. Have you ever been
there? I love Spain.
Ravi: No, I havent. Ive heard its pretty cool
though. Youve 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 Granadas fantastic youd love it.
Ravi: Sounds great but, you know, Tess, when
I go on holiday I just want to stay in one place. I
dont want to be catching trains and all that. I
want to relax. Do you know what I mean?
Tess: Well, theres loads of things to do in
Barcelona. The nightlifes great. There are lots
of good clothes shops for you. I think youd
really like it.
Ravi: How far is it from the beach?
Tess: Well, I dont think you go to Barcelona to
go to the beach but I think its 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 Ive decided. Im 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
weve got today for the podcast.
Ravi: OK then, lets get started. Weve got the
quiz, as usual, weve got a problem for Carolina
and her friends, weve got your turn about
talent , I might have a joke for you, lots of stuff
but to start with weve got Tim. Hello Tim.
Tim: Hi Ravi
Tess: Hi Tim
Tim: Hello Tess.
Ravi:
Tim is here for our regular Id Like to Talk
About section. This is where someone comes
into the studio to talk about something thats
important to them. A place, a person, a thing, a
hobby it could be anything anything thats
important to our guest. So, Tim, what are you
going to tell us about?
Tim: Id like to talk about fell running, Ravi.



Ravi: What running?
Tim: Fell running. Its kind of
Tess: A fell is a kind of hill, isnt it. They call
hills fells in the Lake District.
Tim: Yeah, thats 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
dont like the sound of it already.
Tim: Well, yes, kind of. Its a bit more than just
running up hills though. Its 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 Id 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: Thats 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 didnt get paid.
Tess: But you dont get paid, do you? How did
you start fell running?
Tim: No, Im not good enough to get paid for it. I
just do it because I enjoy it. See, Id always
liked running but only on roads and things, then
four years ago I moved to the Lake District
Tess: Lucky you. Its beautiful. Weve talked
about the Lake District in the podcast before.
We should tell new listeners that its 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, its quite hard work running up hills and,
you know, usually there isnt 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, its cold, wet, dirty it sounds
like loads of fun.
Tim: I know. Its not always cold and, the thing
is, the views from the top of the mountains are
so great that you dont mind getting cold and
wet. Its 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, its great exercise too. A great
way to keep fit and spend time in the
countryside. Thats why I love it.
Tess: You make it sound really nice. Great.
Thanks Tim.
Ravi: Hmm. Nice, Tess? Im 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: Thats 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 youd 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.
Ill say that again - LearnEnglishPodcast - all
one word at - BritishCouncil all one word
DOT org, thats o-r-g. If we like it, well put it up
on the site.
Ravi: Got any fell running pictures we can put
up, Tim?
Tim: Erm, yeah, Im sure I can find some.
Ravi: Great. Thanks.
Section 3 Quiz
Tess: Now, Ravi, youre going to like this next
one. Its quiz time, and were going to talk to
Lydia. Hello, Lydia?
Lydia: Hi.
Tess: Where are you calling from, Lydia?
Lydia: Im in Bournemouth.
Tess: On the south coast? I know it. Whats the
weather like in Bournemouth today?
Lydia: Really nice, actually. Its 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. Im 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. Ive got these cards with words
on them theyre all on the same topic and
Im going to give the cards to Ravi and hell
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 lets go. Ravi, youve 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: Thats 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 cant 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, youd 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 whats 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: Times up. Well done, Lydia. Lets see
how many that was. Passport, sunbathing Ill
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 Ill let you have six,
Ravi.
Ravi: You cant explain guidebook without
saying book. Anyway, well done, Lydia, thanks
for playing.
Lydia: Thanks.
Tess: Well send you something have a good
day at work.
Lydia: Thanks, I will.
Tess & Ravi: Bye, Lydia.
Lydia: Bye.
Tess: Lets move on now Your Turn, Carolina
and Ravis joke?
Ravi: Yep.
Tess: All coming up after this.

Tess: Your Turn is the part of the podcast
where we ask people what they think about a
topic. Sometimes its 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? Lets 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 Ive
got a long way to go from the stage Im at now,
Id 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 its 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 its 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 didnt learn it
when I was little, so I hope that I have this ability
now.
Voice 4: Id 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: Id love to be able to sing, and then Id
go on something like X Factor I think its an
amazing journey, and, err, if you win, which I
would because Id have the amazing talent, Id



get a million pounds and be a friend of Simon
Cowell.
Voice 6: Yes, if Im 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, its difficult isnt it when youre
already so talented to think of something ..
Tess: I knew youd say that.
Ravi: Yeah. Only joking. I dont know really. I
wish I could speak a foreign language really
well. Maybe thats the talent Id like to have.
Tess: Yeah, thats a good one. Were 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, were going to hear from
Carolina again. Carolina is a student from
Venezuela whos come to Britain to study at
Newcastle university. In every podcast, we find
out a little about what shes 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, thats it, the black grouse. Anyway,
they got lost but found the place in the end.
Lets see what happened next.
Layla: Oh Jamie, that was really funny. You
always make me laugh.
Ivan: Oh good I can see the car. Im
exhausted. Ive never worked so hard in my life.
Every part of my body hurts. All my muscles.
Even my teeth hurt.
Jamie: I dont think youve got muscles in your
teeth Ivan.
Henry: Yeah. Im 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. Thatd be great.
Ivan: Youre very quiet Carolina didnt you
enjoy it?
Carolina: What? Oh yes, yes, I enjoyed it. Im
just a bit tired thats all.
Jamie: Uh oh! Henry, look at the car.
Henry: What? Oh no! I dont believe it!
Carolina: Whats happened?
Henry: Look! Someones crashed into the car.
Look!
Ivan: But there arent any other cars here. This
is the only car in the car park.
Henry: Doh! They didnt 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 cant 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 lights broken.
And the sides all smashed in. Oh god, its going
to cost a fortune.
Jamie: What about your insurance?



Henry: Oh, I dont know I dont know who the
other person is I dont know if my insurance
will pay. What if they dont 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: Thats 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 dont think so. 999 and 112 are
emergency numbers arent they? This isnt an
emergency.
Henry: Hah!
Layla: But we need to call the police so.
Jamie: No Layla, Carolinas right we cant
phone an emergency number.
Layla: So whats the number then?
Jamie: I dont know.
Ivan: I dont know where we are.
Henry: Thats no surprise Ivan.
Ivan: I mean, I dont know which police force we
should phone. Theyve all got different numbers
havent they?
Henry: Oh god.
Carolina: Wait a minute. Ive got a number for
the Newcastle police on my phone
Henry: Did you notice we arent in Newcastle?
Carolina: I know. Wheres 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 arent 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 dont want to. Cant one of
you do it? I might not understand what they say.
Jamie: Ill do it. Whats the number?
Carolina: 03456 043 043.
Jamie: Oh hello. Um, someone has crashed into
our car in a car park they didnt stop or leave
a note or anything. My names Jamie Jamie
Lawrence but um, its not my car. Um, look
the thing is were 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: Were in the car park at Geltsdale nature
reserve. Near Hallbankgate. Thanks. OK
thanks. Someone get ready to write it down
quick.
Henry: I havent got any paper
Layla: Ive 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, well do that. Thank
you very much. Phew. Right, you can do the
next one Henry. Its your car.
Henry: Right. Can I borrow your phone? Whats
the number again Carolina?
Carolina: 0845 3300 247
Henry: Hello? Um yes, I want to report an
accident. My names Henry Miller. Were in the
car park at the Geltsdale nature reserve. Im
sorry? Oh no, no, no ones hurt. Well, someone
has crashed into my car in the car park and they
didnt stop or leave a note or anything, and the



cars smashed in the side and the lights broken
and we
Ravi: Well, thats a pain. Good job Carolina had
that number. Do you know the non-emergency
number for the police?
Tess: No. Dont think so. I dont think Ive ever
called the police. Have you?
Ravi: No, dont think so, but Ill tell you what,
theres a police dog in my joke today.
Tess: OK, come on then.
Section 6: The Joke
Ravi: Right, a mans 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, hes in the back garden. Go and talk
to him if you want. Its a bit strange, you know,
but he goes into the garden and theres 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. Hes a terrible owner.
He never takes me for a walk, he buys me the
cheapest dog food. He doesnt 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 cant 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. Ill
buy him, he says, but, a talking dog, its
amazing why is he only ten pounds?
Because, says the owner Im sick of his lies.
He never tells the truth!
Tess: Id 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. Thats true. Right. Thats all weve
got time for today but Tom the Teacher will be
here in a minute so dont 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, Im 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. Id like to start
today by looking at the verb think. Id like to
start today by looking at the verb think. Listen
to something Tess said to Ravi about Barcelona
Tess: Well, theres loads of things to do
in Barcelona. The nightlifes great. There
are lots of good clothes shops for you. I
think youd really like it.
Tom: Tess said I think youd really like it. Shes
giving her opinion. So thats 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 Ive decided.
Im going to go to Barcelona.
Tom: Ravi says I think Ive decided. Hes
saying what his decision is about his holiday.
Thats another way we often use think to tell
people our decisions.
Did you notice that in the examples weve 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 dont
use progressive tenses (you might call them
continuous tenses same thing). Listen to
another example from the podcast.
Tess: Well, I dont think you go to
Barcelona to go to the beach but I think
its 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 dont think you go to
Barcelona to go to the beach but I think
its pretty easy to get to the beach
Tom: She says I dont think you go to
Barcelona to go to the beach. She doesnt say
I think you dont 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 lights
broken.
Tom: I think so is a common expression and
just like Tess said I dont think you go, the
negative of I think so is I dont 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, thats the thing. Im not sure.
Im thinking of going to Barcelona but ..
Tom: Now, that time Ravi did use the present
progressive tense with think. He said, Im
thinking of going to Barcelona. So, whats the
rule?
Weve already said that when we use think to
talk about our opinions or decisions, we cant
use a progressive tense. But when we use
think to talk about our plans or our ideas or
whats in our head just at this moment, then we
can use the progressive. Ravis talking about a
plan so he says, Im thinking of going to
Barcelona. Listen to another example:
Ravi: Not much, not much. Im thinking
about my holidays though. I cant decide
where to go.
Tom: Again, Ravi, isnt giving his opinion hes
talking about whats in his head at the moment
so he uses the present progressive.
Right. I think its 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: Times up. Well done, Lydia. Lets
see how many that was. Passport,
sunbathing Ill 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 theyre 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! Its 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 its
one word, sometimes its 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 Henrys
car then drove away. Listen to Henrys reaction:
Henry: Look! Someones crashed into
the car. Look!
Ivan: But there arent any other cars
here. This is the only car in the car park.
Henry: Doh! They didnt 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, Im 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 dont try to use swearwords in
English. Some words are very strong and
people will be upset to hear you use them. And
its 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. Ive got these cards with
words on them theyre all on the same
topic and Im going to give the cards to
Ravi and hell 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. Im going to stop there. Ill talk to you all
again next time. Remember you can write to
podcast. The address is LearnEnglishPodcast
AT BritishCouncil DOT org. In a moment youll
read everything youve heard in this podcast.
You can also find some practice exercises to do
you next time.

http://learnenglish.britishcouncil.org/elementary-podcasts/series-02-episode-09


Transcript
Section 1 Ravis learning Spanish
Ravi: Hello again, welcome back to the
LearnEnglish Elementary podcast. Series two,
episode nine. Hello!
Tess: Were your presenters. Hes Ravi and Im
Tess.
Ravi: Si, yo soy Ravi. Vivo en Londres. Erm ..
Tess: Ahh. Hablas espaol, Ravi? Bueno!
Como estas?
Ravi: Erm . erm . I didnt 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 Id 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 dont know. I just dont think Im
getting any better.
Tess: How many lessons have you had?
Ravi: Three.
Tess: Oh come on, Ravi. Three isnt many.
Ravi: I know, I know.
Tess: And of course its difficult at first, but dont
give up. You really should give it longer than
three lessons.
Ravi: Its just that... well... everyone is better
than me. I feel really stupid sometimes.
Tess: Whats your teacher like?
Ravi: Shes great.
Tess: Well why dont you talk to her about it?
Im sure shell understand.
Ravi: Well she doesnt understand anything I
say in Spanish. But, yeah, youre right.
Tess: And just think how good itll be in
Barcelona when you can do things in Spanish
ordering meals, buying postcards, talking to
girls
Ravi: Well, two or three more lessons wont
hurt, will they? OK. Ill talk to the teacher and Ill
carry on going to lessons. OK?
Tess: Good. Now, shall we start the podcast?
What have we got today?
Ravi: Weve got all of the usual things Your
Turn is about time machines, Carolina and
Jamie are at a restaurant, Abbies going to do
the quiz but first of all weve got Id Like to Talk
About and weve got Pete here in the studio. Hi
Pete.
Section 2 Id like to talk about
Pete: Hi.
Ravi: Id Like to Talk About is the part of the
podcast when a guest tells us about something
thats important to them. It could be anything at
all a hobby, a person, a place, a thing
whatever you want. Weve 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: Im a student. Im studying Design.
Ravi: And what are you going to tell us about.
Pete: Id like to talk about this watch.
Tess: OK, listeners, because you cant see it, Ill
describe the watch that Pete has here. Its a
wristwatch; Id say its quite old.
Pete: Its nearly sixty years old.



Tess: Its got a leather strap. The face of the
watch is white well it was white, as I say, its
quite old and it isnt telling the right time. Why
is this watch special, Pete?
Pete: It was my grandfathers 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 didnt 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 its special to me.
Tess: Is it very valuable? I mean, I know you
dont want to sell it or anything but it is it worth a
lot of money?
Pete: No, not at all. It doesnt even tell the right
time! Its just an ordinary watch but its special
to me because it really reminds me of my
granddad. I remember when I was really small I
used to sit on my granddads knee and play with
his watch and he used to let me wind it up.
Ravi: You have to wind it up? It hasnt got a
battery?
Pete: Yeah, its clockwork, yeah. You wind it up
there, with that winder. You have to do it every
day. I dont do it usually now because its so old.
In fact I dont really wear this watch very often,
but its 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 isnt. 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 havent. Id like to go though. Id
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 youd have to pay to have it fixed?
Yes, I think it might. OK, then Pete, well take a
photo of your watch to put up on the website, if
thats OK?
Pete: Thats fine.
Tess: And thanks for coming in to talk about it.
Pete: My pleasure.
Tess: Thanks. If youre listening, and theres a
special object youd 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. Thats -
LearnEnglishPodcast - all one word at -
BritishCouncil all one word DOT org, thats o-
r-g. If we like it, well put it up on the site.
Ravi: Have you got any old things like that from
your family, Tess?
Tess: Erm .. Ive got a necklace that used to be
my grandmas. Thats quite old. I dont 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 theyve got
anything, you know, interesting.
Section 3 Quiz
Tess: Ravi! Youre terrible. Right then, lets
move onto the quiz. Whos 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: Thats 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?
Well wait for you.
Abbie: OK. Thanks. Ill 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 thats 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: Thats 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 cant think of anything
worse than having lots of three year olds
running around all day.
Abbie: I love it. The kids are really lovely. Its
great.
Ravi: Thats good then. Its 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? Ive got these cards
and Im going to give them to Tess and shell
explain the words to you. Theyre all on the
same topic and Tess has to explain them
without saying the word on the card. OK?
Abbie: OK.
Ravi: And well 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, thats
an easy one.
Tess: No it isnt.
Ravi: Youve got one minute starting from
NOW!
Tess: Right. Its got two wheels and an
engine.
Abbie: Motorbike.
Tess: Yes. Next one. It flies but it hasnt got
wings
Abbie: Aeroplane.
Tess: No, it hasnt 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 ones 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. Its a car and you pay the
driver to take you where you want to go.
Abbie: Taxi.
Tess: Yes. This ones a ship. Erm .. cars can go
on it, sometimes. It goes backwards and
forwards between two places.
Abbie: A ferry.
Tess: Thats right. OK the one we said before
big thing, lots of people. It runs on rails.
Abbie: Train?
Tess: Yes. This ones like a train but in the city.
Its electric and it runs on rails in the city centre.
A bit like a bus but on rails
Abbie: Tram?
Tess: Yes
Ravi: OK. Ill 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, its 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. Thats a record, I think.
Tess: Well done, Abbie. Well 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, weve got Your Turn, Carolina
and my joke after this.
Ravi: Ive had a great idea for a joke to tell,
Tess.
Section 4 Your Turn
Tess: I cant wait. Before we enjoy Ravis joke
though, weve 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? Lets hear what people said.
Voice 1: For fun Id go back to the 80s because
Im totally addict to that kind of fashion and, ah,
of course Id 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 Id like to go back to the
olden days, like the sixteenth or seventeenth
century, but Id 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 dont 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, theres 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 wed
advanced, what our technology, um, how we
traveled, what kind of strange transportation
wed 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. Itd be like that film what do you call it?
Ravi: Back to the Future? Yeah. Id go to the
future, actually. See if its like it is in the films.
Anyway, listeners if you want to write or
record where youd like to go in a time machine
you can send it to us at the usual email
address.
Section 5 Carolina
Tess: Now its time to see whats happening
with Carolina. If youve listened before youll
know that Carolina is a student whos 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. Im not sure.
Jamie: Have the fish and chips. Its traditional.
Carolina: Fish and chips! I dont think so.
Jamie: Whats the problem?
Carolina: I like fish and I like chips, but not like
that. Its so . heavy.
Jamie: Well I dont see why
Carolina: British food is so strange sometimes.
Jamie: British food is very good actually if you
try it. You liked my mums cooking didnt you?
Um, let me see, I think Ill have the vegetarian
pasta.
Carolina: How long have you been a
vegetarian?
Jamie: About five years now.
Carolina: Dont you miss eating meat?
Jamie: Not at all. I dont really like it any more.
Waiter: Are you ready to order?
Jamie: Well I am. Carolina?
Carolina: Oh um, yes. Ill 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 thats 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, thats fine.
Waiter: And to drink?
Jamie: Dyou want wine?
Carolina: Yes OK, do you?
Jamie: Yeah, OK. Can we see the wine list
please? The wines expensive. Its always the
same in this country. The wine is the most
expensive part of a meal. Lets just have the
house wine. Red or white?



Carolina: Id 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. Shes a good
friend. That isnt a problem is it?
Carolina: Oh no. No problem at all.
Jamie: So hows the steak?
Carolina: Its good. And hows your pasta?
Jamie: Delicious.
Carolina: Oh Jamie. Lets not be angry with
each other. I dont see you very often
nowadays. Youre 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, Im going
home to Venezuela for the holidays soon..
Jamie: Yeah. Holidays!
Carolina: .. so I wont 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. Its nice. Were
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: Ill get the bill then. Can we have the bill
please?
Waiter: Your bill.
Carolina: Give it to me. Im going to pay for this.
Jamie: Dont be daft - I dont 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 youre paying.
Carolina: Ten per cent.. No, its OK. Ive got it.
Jamie: So when are you leaving?
Carolina: Friday morning.
Jamie: Oh. Friday. Well, Ill 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 didnt sound very happy,
did it?
Ravi: Im sure itll be fine you know. Jamie
should go to Venezuela to visit Carolina. Thats
what I would do.
Section 6 Joke
Tess: Im 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, lets hear it.
Ravi: Right, well. A man goes into a chemists
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 mans face
really hard. 'Ow!', says the man. "What did you
do that for? Well," says the chemist, "you
havent got hiccups now have you? No, I
havent says the man but my wife out there in
the car has still got them.
Tess: Very good. I like that. But, listeners, thats
all from me and Ravi for this podcast. Dont go
away because Tom the Teacher will be here in
a moment
Ravi: And be sure to listen next time when
weve 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
to help you learn English. Id 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 Ravis answer:
Ravi: Erm . erm . I didnt 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, Tesss question was a yes or no
question. Ravis 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 isnt. 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 isnt. 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 dont. Question tags, work in a similar
way to these short answers. Listen to this.
Tess: And just think how good itll be in
Barcelona when you can do things in
Spanish ordering meals, buying
postcards, talking to girls
Ravi: Well, two or three more lessons
wont hurt, will they? OK. Ill talk to the
teacher and Ill 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 dont
know the answer but in this example it wasnt
a real question. Ravi knows that two or three
more lessons wont hurt. Listen to another tag
question from Tess.
Tess: Oh dear. That didnt 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 didnt sound very
happy then the tag question is positive did
it?. Ravis tag question was the same, two or
three more lessons wont 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 havent got hiccups now have
you? No, I havent says the man.

Tom: Theres a tag question and a short answer
in that one, did you spot them? Now, lets 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. Ill 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 thats 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, thats 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 wont 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? Its 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: Thats 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 youre
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: Thats 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
Abbies 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. Thats all weve got time for. Ill talk to you
all again next time. Remember you can write to
podcast. The address is LearnEnglishPodcast
@ BritishCouncil DOT org. In a moment youll
read everything youve heard in this podcast.
You can also find some practice exercises to do
you next time.



Transcript
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. Were your
presenters Im Tess ..
Ravi: And Im Ravi. Im sorry to say that this is
the last podcast in this series ..
Tess: Awww
Ravi: But the good news is that its a very
special podcast today and weve got a special
guest with us in the studio today. If youve been
listening to our podcasts for a long time youll
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,
thats true. Anyway, at the start of this series of
the podcast, we told you that Gordon had a new
job. Well, today, hes back here in the studio
with us. Say hello, Gordon.
Gordon: Hi Ravi, hi Tess.
Tess: Hi Gordon. Its lovely to see you again.
How are you?
Gordon: Im very well, thank you, very well. How
are you both? OK?
Tess & Ravi: Yeah, Im fine, thanks. Im 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, Im going to tell you more about it a
little bit later so I wont tell you now. How are
you two? Have you managed to do the podcast
without me?
Tess: Well, its not the same Gordon, you know,
but, yeah, weve had lots of interesting people
on its been really good.
Gordon: Any jokes?
Ravi: Oh yes. Gordon used to tell a joke in
every podcast. At first we didnt have a joke in
this series but so many people said they really
liked your jokes its difficult to believe it, I
know so we decided to have more jokes.
Gordon: Well, Ive got a great one for you.
Tess: A joke and your whale stories its the
Gordon show today. But thats OK its lovely
to see you again.
Gordon: Its lovely to be here.
Section 2 Id like to talk about
Ravi: OK. Well, Im dying to hear about these
whales so lets move on. If you listen to our
podcasts regularly, youll know that we usually
start with Id Like to Talk About when
someone comes into the studio and tells us
about something thats important to them a
place, a thing, a person whatever. Well, as
weve got Gordon with us today, we thought it
would be nice to hear a little bit about what hes
been doing since we last saw him. Now,
Gordon, I know were 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. Wed just started
filming and none of us had ever seen a
humpback whale and well, listen and youll
hear what happened.



Narrator: Were 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 thats why were
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. Well 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 cant 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 Id
ever seen a whale and it was so close. Its
always special when you see whales but that
first time was extra special.
Tess: Why is it always special?
Gordon: Well, I think its 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 were lucky that there are any whales
left at all. And and this is the main reason it
feels special to see whales theyre 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, thats 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 were not absolutely sure exactly
how many species of whale there are. The
oceans are huge and we dont really know
much about them, as I said. There could be
species of whales that weve never seen. Its
another thing I like about them theres 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, youll have to wait until the
quiz to find that out.
Ravi: The quiz? Are you doing that as well?
Gordon: Well, Ive got one or two questions for
you two, yes.
Ravi: Me against Tess? Excellent.
Tess: Yeah? Youve got no chance, Ravi. That
all sounds great though Gordon. Im really
looking forward to seeing that when its on TV.
Gordon: Well, its being edited at the moment
but it should be ready in a couple of months.



Ravi: Ill definitely watch it. Now. Shall we have
this quiz?
Section 3 Quiz
Tess: Just a moment, Ravi. If youve listened
before, youll know that on each podcast we
have a quiz. Usually we ask the questions to
someone else but this time, because its a
special podcast, Gordons going to ask the
questions and Ravi and I are going to answer
them.
Gordon: OK Ive prepared some questions for
you. Youve both got buzzers lets 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. Lets 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. Whats the biggest species of whale?
Is it the humpback whale, the sperm whale
Ravi: Humpback whale
Gordon: No. Tess? Whats the biggest species
of whale? The humpback whale, the sperm
whale or the blue whale?
Tess: I know this. The blue whale.
Gordon: Thats 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: Thats 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: Im not going to buzz first Tess Im
waiting for you to get it wrong then Im going to
give my answer.
Tess: Erm, Ill say more than seventy years,
Gordon.
Gordon: Thats 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 whales heart weigh?
Ravi: Oh come on, no-one knows that.
Gordon: Is it five hundred kilograms, six
hundred kilograms or seven hundred
kilograms?
Tess: Ill have a guess. The middle one. Six
hundred kilos.
Gordon: Yes! Thats right. We have a winner!
Ravi: No way! I was going to say six hundred as
well. Five nil! I cant believe it.
Tess: Never mind, Ravi. I just know more about
whales than you, thats all.
Ravi: OK, lets pretend the quiz never happened
and move on. Whats next? Weve got Your
Turn listen to this one what superpower
would you like to have? great question
weve got Carolina and weve got a joke from
Gordon. I cant wait. Thats 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. Heres 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.
Lets hear what people said.
Voice 1: I would like to have a super power to
heal a broken heart because, ah, theres no
remedy for a broken heart its 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 Id like to be invisible, too, so I
can listen in and see what people are doing
when they dont know Im there.
Voice 3: If I could choose any super power I
would choose the ability to fly, um, because I
sometimes have dreams where Im flying and
its a very free feeling, its 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 Id 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, whats in the
mind and the heart of people.
Tess: Ravi? I know youll be dying to say
something on this.
Ravi: Hmm. I cant decide. Flyings a good one.
Invisibility would be great too. Hmm. I dont
know. What about you?
Tess: Would knowing a lot about whales be a
superpower? Oh, Ive got that one already.
Ravi: Very good.
Tess: Actually, I dont know. Its nice to say
something like mending a broken heart or
making peoples lives better, but, really, I think
flying is what Id like. Id 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 its time for Carolina. Remember
Carolina, Gordon?
Gordon: Oh yes.
Section 5 Carolina
Tess: Carolina is from Venezuela but shes
come to study at Newcastle University in the
north east of England. In every podcast we hear
something about what Carolinas been doing.
Last time, she went to a restaurant with her
boyfriend, Jamie although I dont think they
had a good time, really. This time, its the end of
term and Carolinas getting ready to go back to
Venezuela for the summer.
Carolina: OK Emily. I think Im ready.
Emily: Sure youve got everything?
Carolina: Oh I dont know. Ive probably
forgotten something. I hate travelling it makes
me really stressed.
Emily: Money, passport, tickets. Thats all you
really need.
Carolina: Yes Ive got money ... my
passport ... and my tickets. Oh dear. Well I
guess Im ready to go.
Emily: Why dont you phone him?
Carolina: Phone who?
Emily: Jamie of course. Youve been checking
your phone for messages every five minutes for
the last two days. Just phone him.
Carolina: I cant. He knows Im leaving today
he promised to phone. He hasnt called since



we had that horrible dinner together. He
obviously doesnt want to speak to me.
Emily: But you obviously want to speak to him.
You cant go away feeling miserable.
Carolina: Im not going to phone him Emily.
Emily: OK, its your decision. I think youre mad,
but its up to you. So are you going to phone a
taxi? The numbers on the table by the door.
Carolina: OK. Hello. Blueline taxis? Um, Id like
to order a taxi please. Im at Bowsden Hall. Yes,
thats right; the university residences. Its
number 36A. Yes thats right. I want to go to
the station Newcastle train station. Yes, thats
right Central Station. Ten minutes? OK . Cab
number 647? OK, Ill go downstairs and wait.
My mobile number is 033 474 61037. Thank
you very much.
Emily: You dont need to go downstairs we
can see him coming from the window.
Carolina: No, Id rather go down. Im a bit
nervous. I cant relax. I think Ill go down now
and wait.
Emily: OK. Ill help you with your bag.
Carolina: No its 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: Youve forgotten your handbag.
Carolina: Oh! Thanks.
Emily: Money, passport, tickets
Carolina: Money, passport, tickets
Taxi driver: Right. To the station isnt it love?
Carolina: Yes please. How long do you think itll
take?
Taxi driver: Not long at this time of day. What
times your train?
Carolina: Ten forty-five.
Taxi driver: No problem.
Taxi driver: Off home for the holidays then?
Taxi driver: Somewhere nice?
Carolina: Venezuela. Caracas.
Taxi driver: Venezuela! Thats a long way to go.
Been here in Newcastle long then?
Carolina: Since September.
Taxi driver: Is this your first trip home then?
Taxi driver: You must be looking forward to
seeing your family.
Carolina: Oh just a minute excuse me. Oh
hello Henry. Yes, yes, Im 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 weathers a bit cold for
you ...
Taxi driver: Here we are then. Twenty past ten.
Plenty of time.
Carolina: Yes, thank you.
Taxi driver: Thatll 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: Dont forget your handbag.
Carolina: Oh! Thank you.
Carolina: Hello Jamie. Yes, Im at the station.
Ive just got out of the taxi ..
Tess: Awwwww. Im so glad Jamie called. I
knew he would.



Ravi: Oh Tess. Well, listeners, thats all from
Carolina for now. Im sure that, like me, youve
all been waiting to hear from Gordon again.
Ready Gordon?
Section 6 Gordons Joke
Gordon: Ready.
Ravi: So, Gordons joke.
Gordon: Right. This is a story about a man
whose wife has a cat and this man, he hates
the cat. He cant stand it.
Tess: How can anyone hate cats? Cats are
lovely.
Gordon: Not this cat its 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
isnt 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 isnt 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 hes 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: Youve still got that old magic, Gordon.
Tess: Yeah, its been great to have you back on
the podcast, Gordon. But thats about all weve
got time for this time. Dont go away, listeners,
because Tom the Teacher will be here in a
minute but thats all from us and thats 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 wed 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. Well see you all
soon.
Tess: Yes, thanks Gordon. Bye everyone.
Gordon: Thanks for having me. Bye!
----------------------------------------------------------------

Tom the Teacher
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, Im going to tell
you more about it a little bit later so I
wont tell you now.
Tom: Im 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 cant 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 cant 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: Thats 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: Thats 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 cant
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, Im dying to hear about
these whales so lets 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 youll be dying to say
something on this.
Tom: If you are dying to do something, you
really want to do it youre really looking
forward to it. It takes an infinitive, so you might
say Im dying to know what happened at the
party or hes dying to meet you. See if you can
use it yourself this week.
OK, thats all weve got time for today. This is
the last podcast in series two so you wont hear
from me for a while. Remember some of the
things Ive talked about things you can do to
help you learn English. This series weve 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 youll hear the address for the
series. Bye for now!



Rob and Adam Welcome back!
Adam: Hello and welcome to the all new Learn
English podcast from the British Council. My
names Adam.
Rob: And Im Rob. In just a moment youll hear
from Tess and Ravi, but first Ill tell you
something about the new podcasts. Weve
changed the way we give the podcasts to you
and there are two important things. Firstly, the
podcasts are shorter, but there are more of
them. Were going to have a podcast every two
weeks. Secondly, there are more ways for you
to get in touch with us and we can answer your
questions or your comments. If you have a
question about English or about the podcast or
about Tess and Ravi, then send it to us. Heres
how you can do it.
Adam: You can leave a comment on
LearnEnglish at
www.britishcouncil.org/learnenglish. You can
follow us on Facebook look for Elementary
podcasts. And you can follow Tess and Ravi on
Twitter theyre tessandravi. Ask us a question
or tell us what you think and we can answer it in
the next podcast.
Rob: Now, were new presenters, so where are
Tess and Ravi? Well, weve given them
something new to do. In this series of podcasts
Tess and Ravi have a project and we hope
theyll help you learn.
Adam: Now, when you think about Britain, what
do you think about? Do you think about big red
buses? Cups of tea? Something else? We
asked that question to hundreds of our listeners
around the world what do you think about
when you think about Britain? And Tess and
Ravi have the answers. Theyre going to help
you find out more about some of the most
British things you can think of. So, lets find out
what the topic is this week.

Tess and Ravi
Ravi: Hi everyone, Im Ravi.
Tess: And Im Tess.
Ravi: And our job is to tell you about some of
the things you think are typically British. In this
series well tell you about British weather, the
royal family, British pets lots of typical British
things. But today were going to tell you about a
very famous British food a dish that lots of
people think is the typical British thing to eat. Do
you know what Im talking about? Its fish and
chips.
Tess: Mmm, nice. Its true that lots of people
think that fish and chips is what British people
eat all the time. My Spanish friends really
wanted to try fish and chips when they came to
visit. So, OK then Ravi tell us what youve
learnt.
Ravi: Well, first of all, Ill say a little bit about
what fish and chips are people dont always
know. Its a piece of fish, covered in batter and
deep fried.
Tess: Can you tell us what batter is?
Ravi: Its a mixture of flour and water, usually.
You cover the fish...
Tess: What kind of fish is it?
Ravi: Good question. It can be different kinds of
fish but the most popular are cod and haddock
two fish that were very common in the sea
around Britain.
Tess: Are they not so common now?
Ravi: No, they arent but Ill talk about that in
a minute. So, you cover the fish in batter and
then you deep fry it that means you cook it in
a deep pan of very hot oil, vegetable oil usually.
You cook the chips the same way, you deep fry
the potatoes in very hot oil.
Tess: And chips are chips, arent they?
Americans call them fries or French fries but
we call them chips.



Ravi: I think chips are sort of bigger and thicker
than French fries but yes, youre right. Anyway,
you deep fry the fish and the chips, then you
serve them with salt and vinegar.
Tess: Ugh, I hate vinegar.
Ravi: When I was a kid, fish and chips would
always be served in newspaper. They wrapped
your fish and chips up in a sheet of old
newspaper, but they dont do that anymore.
They use special paper, not newspaper.
Tess: Yeah, I remember the newspaper. But,
you know what, I hardly ever eat fish and chips
any more. All that oil and deep frying, its not
very healthy, is it?
Ravi: Its not, no. But once every now and then,
Tess, its OK to eat unhealthy things, you know.
Tess: How often do you eat fish and chips,
then?
Ravi: Well, I found some information about this.
Nowadays, fifty per cent of British people say
they eat fish and chips once a month and
fourteen per cent say they eat them once a
week. Id say Im about once a month.
Tess: Id say about once a year, for me. Are the
numbers of people eating fish and chips going
down? As I say, its not very healthy and people
are more concerned about healthy eating these
days.
Ravi: People are more concerned about healthy
eating but the British still eat a lot of fish and
chips. There are more than ten thousand fish
and chip shops in the country and they sold
more than two hundred and fifty thousand
meals last year. One thing is, having fish and
chips is cheaper than going to a restaurant so
sales are even going up when people havent
got a lot of money to spend on restaurant
meals.
Tess: What about the fish, though? You said
there werent so many fish any more.
Ravi: Thats right. Cod, the most popular fish for
making fish and chips, is not as common in the
sea around Britain any more numbers have
really gone down. And if the numbers go down,
the price goes up, so fish and chip shops now
sell lots of other kinds of fish as well but lots of
people think theyre not as nice Do you know,
Tess, I could talk about this for hours Ive not
even mentioned the history of fish and chips
yet, but were running out of time. Shall we go
and get some fish and chips?
Tess: OK, then, lets go.

Rob and Adam
Adam: That talk about fish and chips earlier has
made me really hungry. How often do you eat
fish and chips?
Rob: As often as I can, but not as often as
when I was young.
Adam: Mmm. Right, if youve listened to the
LearnEnglish podcast before, you might
remember Tom the Teacher. Tom talked about
the English you heard in the podcast. Toms not
around this time hes got a job teaching in
China but that doesnt mean we cant talk
about what you heard. Listen to this:
Ravi: So, you cover the fish in batter and then
you deep fry it that means you cook it in a
deep pan of very hot oil vegetable oil usually.
You cook the chips the same way you deep
fry the potatoes in very hot oil.
Rob: Ravi talked about how to cook fish and
chips. He said you cover the fish in batter and
you deep fry it. Frying is a way of cooking
something in oil olive oil, vegetable oil or
another kind of oil. What other ways of cooking
are there?
Adam: Well, you can boil things vegetables
usually in hot water. Errr You can grill
things. Umm and you can bake things, in an
oven. And how about the language of preparing
food?



Rob: You can chop meat or vegetables, slice
things, erm... grate things like cheese. Well put
a list on the website for you. And youll find
some other activities to help you learn and a
transcript of what Tess and Ravi said.
Adam: Ill tell you what would be great though.
Ravi told you how to cook fish and chips the
instructions on how to cook something are a
recipe and it would be great to hear some
recipes from you. If you send them to us we can
put them on LearnEnglish and on Tess and
Ravis Facebook page. Remember the ways
you can get in touch with us?
Rob: On LearnEnglish, thats
www.britishcouncil.org/learnenglish. On Twitter
- TessandRavi or on Facebook were
Elementary podcasts on Facebook. Just time
now to look at a couple of comments from
LearnEnglish and the Facebook page. Khalid Al
Busaidi said I miss Tess and Ravi so much
well, I hope youre happy youve got them back,
Khalid and lots of you saying you want to
improve your English Jinhee, Manjit, Abner
lots of you. Well, were here to help and I hope
well speak to you next week wed love to hear
from you. Thats all for now.
Both: Bye!

Elementary Podcast Support Pack Series 3 episode 02
Page 1 of 2


While you listen
Elementary Podcasts are suitable for learners
with different levels of English. Here are some
ways to make them easier (if you have a lower
level of English) or more difficult (if you have a
higher level of English). You can choose one or
two of these suggestions - you don't have to do
all of them!

Making it easier
Read all the exercises before you listen
to the podcast.
Look up the words in the exercises that
you don't know in a dictionary.
Play the podcast as many times as you
need.
Play each part of the podcast
separately.
Read the transcript after you have
listened to the podcast.

Making it harder
Listen to the podcast before you read
the exercises.
Only play the podcast once before
answering the questions.
Play the whole podcast without a break.
Don't read the transcript.

Activity 1 Who did what - Carolina or
Emily?

bought a lot of clothes.
got a Valentine's card.
makes a cup of tea.
spent a lot of money.
went on a study trip to France.
went to Venezuela.

Activity 2 Which words complete the
sentences?

unbelievable / unfriended / unhappy
unhealthy / unpack / unsure

1. First I'll __________ my suitcase then I'll
have a cup of tea.
2. Why do you look so ________? What's
the problem?
3. Your diet is really __________. All that
chocolate and sugar is really bad for
you.
4. I feel really __________ about it. I can't
decide what to do.
5. That can't be true! It sounds completely
__________.
6. She __________ me on Facebook. I've
no idea why.

Answers are at the end of this support pack.

Elementary Podcast Support Pack Series 3 episode 02

Page 2 of 2


Activity 3 - Which words go with which prefixes?

friendly honest perfect please polite
comfortable do possible trust

un-

dis-

im-

Activity 4 Leave a comment
How do you say hello to your friends? Do you shake hands? Kiss? Hug? Bow? Perhaps you wai like
people do in Thailand!
Leave a comment on http://learnenglish.britishcouncil.org/en/elementary-podcasts/series-03-episode-
02 and we'll discuss your answers in the next show.

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Adam
Adam: Hello and welcome! My name is Adam.
Rob is on holiday this week lucky man! Hell
be back for the next episode.
Thanks for your comments we love hearing
from you. It was really interesting to hear how
you greet each other. Adilson Santos sent us a
great message telling us the different ways to
greet people in Brazil. He said that people who
are not close friends just say hi. If they are
better friends, a girl might hug a boy and kiss
his cheek, but boys never kiss each other, they
only shake hands and boys who are very good
friends might hug quickly. He also said that
boys dont really shake hands, they slap their
hands together and that at church he kisses
men on the cheek and shakes hands with
women.
Isnt it interesting how complicated greetings
can be!
Langtucoiam from Vietnam said that when
meeting an old friend, people will normally
shake hands, but again it can be different
depending on how close you were, how old your
friend is and your friend's sex.
Finally, Hess in the Ivory Coast said that people
in his tribe always ask for news when they
meet, but they dont bow or shake hands. He
said that two people who slept in the same
room will even ask what the news is when they
wake up in the morning! I found that fascinating.
Do you remember what Tess and Ravi are
doing in this series? They are looking at all the
things that people think about when they think
about Britain. So, whats the topic today? Well,
its something that British people love to talk
about. Can you guess what it is?
Tess and Ravi
Ravi: Hi everyone, hi Tess!
Tess: Hi Ravi.
Ravi: Right. I think you know that Tess and I
are here to talk about some of the things you
think you know about Britain.
Tess: Things like drinking tea, the royal family
and fish and chips things you think are very
British.
Ravi: And what could be more British that
todays weather? It is horrible out there, Tess.
Tess: Is it raining?
Ravi: No, its not raining but its grey and cold
and miserable and its exactly what people
said about British weather. We asked our
listeners around the world what they think about
when they think about Britain and lots of people
said British weather
Tess: Do people think the weather here is bad?
Ravi: Well, they think it rains a lot and it does.
They think the summer is wet and it often is,
they say that
Tess: I dont think British weather is so bad
though, do you?
Ravi: I do today.
Tess: Its true that we dont have very hot
summers but, you know, we dont have very
cold winters either. Britains got a temperate
climate that means
Ravi: A what climate?
Tess: Temperate climate. It means that we
dont have extreme weather we dont have
very hot summers or very cold winters. But that
also means that the weather is quite
changeable the weather changes quite often.
Ravi: Yeah, it can be raining, then five minutes
later its sunny, then it starts raining again. You
never know what the weather is going to be like.



Tess: But thats a good thing, Ravi. I like that.
People sometimes say you can have four
seasons in one day in Britain and its true.
Ravi: But how can you decide what clothes to
wear, Tess? You dont know if its going to be
cold or hot or what...
Tess: Thats typical of you, Ravi. And, because
the weather does change quite a lot, thats why
British people seem to talk about the weather so
much. Its typical small talk, isnt it? The sort of
thing you say to people when youre waiting for
a bus or something. Nice day today or I think
its going to rain later. That kind of thing.
Ravi: Thats true. Its difficult to talk about the
weather if the weathers the same every day.
We say I think its going to rain later because it
usually is going to rain. It does rain a lot here.
Tess: Well, I dont know. I think its about the
same as other countries in the north of Europe.
Its just that we get rain all year round rather
than just in one season. Anyway, the rain
means that we have beautiful green
countryside. Lots of visitors love the countryside
because it looks so green and thats because
of the rain.
Ravi: Hmm. You know how I feel about the
countryside, Tess, but I suppose it does look
nice, if you like that kind of thing.
Tess: Lots of people do. I think the British
countryside is beautiful and so do lots of
visitors. And it wouldnt look so green if we
didnt have all that rain!
Ravi: Hmm.
Adam
Adam: Mmm, I agree with Tess. I grew up in
Scotland and the weather there can be very
changeable. You can have hot sun, snow, rain
and wind all in one day. People say "If you don't
like the weather in Scotland, dont worry - just
wait half an hour and it will change!"
Many people love talking about the weather and
there are lots of words about it. I think there are
a lot more words to describe bad weather than
good weather! Perhaps thats because when
the weather is good, people are too busy
enjoying themselves to discuss it.
If its dark, you can say that its a grey day,
perhaps because there are lots of clouds
covering all the sky which means that its
overcast. That probably means that the weather
is miserable and dull. If theres a very light rain
that doesnt stop, then you can say its drizzly
this sort of rain is called drizzle. If the clouds
look like they will rain hard soon, then you can
say there is an angry sky.
Oh, its so much fun complaining about the
weather! Now you know why we do it.
Write in and tell us about the climate in your
country. Is it always the same or does it change
a lot? What are the best times of year and the
worst? What temperature do you think is a hot
day and what temperature do you think is a cold
day?
You can leave your comments on LearnEnglish
which is at www.britishcouncil.org/learnenglish
or on Facebook - were at Elementary
Podcasts. Look out for the next episode with
more news about Carolina! Bye!



Adam and Rob
Both: Hello!
Adam: Welcome back, listeners and welcome
back, Rob! How was your holiday?
Rob: It was really nice, Adam, thanks. I went to
Slovenia and the weather was fantastic.
Adam: Sounds great. And the comments you
sent about the weather in your countries were
great too! Many of you have very hot weather.
Abuhekmat in Oman told us about weather that
reaches 49 degrees! I cant imagine being that
hot. Fazliddin12 in Uzbekistan sees
temperatures of 45 degrees and Saandari in
Mongolia told us about weather that was hot,
but not quite as hot as Oman, 35 degrees. The
big difference in Mongolia is that in winter it
reaches -35 degrees! Thats a huge difference
between summer and winter.
Rob: Thats very cold. Many of you also wrote
to us about cold weather in your countries.
Kosovac in Serbia says it can be -20 degrees.
ValiantSpirit in Pakistan says it can -15
degrees. But what is cold? In other countries,
maybe its a bit different. In El Salvador,
Daxrosales says 15 degrees is a cold day, while
in Malaysia, Shokmin says 24 degrees is a cold
day. You also told us about other weather
conditions in your countries. For example, in
China Diqiudashi told us about the typhoons
that come to the mainland and bring heavy
storms.
Adam: Tkazerooni in Iran told us about weather
called Wolf & Ewe. (A ewe is a female sheep.)
Wolf & Ewe weather is when dark clouds and
white clouds are in the sky at the same time.
The wolf (the dark clouds) chases the ewe
(the white clouds) and Iranians say that this is
very changeable weather, with a very high
chance of rain. Remember, you can write to us
at www.britishcouncil.org/learnenglish or via
Facebook look for Elementary Podcasts.
Rob: Now, do you remember what happened
last time with Carolina, the student from
Venezuela at Newcastle University? She
returned from her summer holiday and talked
with Emily about her new clothes, about missing
English and, of course, about her boyfriend
Jamie. Lets see whats happening this time!

Carolina
Carolina: Let me see. Oh, dear. No, that's not
right. Emily, what's seventy times twelve?
Emily: What?
Carolina: What's seventy times twelve?
Emily: Err, ten times seventy is seven hundred
and two times seventy is a hundred and forty,
so that makes erm, eight hundred and forty.
Carolina: What's seventy divided by fifty-two?
Emily: I don't know! I'm trying to read my book!
Haven't you got a calculator on your phone?
Carolina: Oh, yes. Oooh. Oh, dear!
Emily: What's the matter, Carolina?
Carolina: Nothing.
Emily: It doesn't sound like nothing. I can't read
my book with your {big sigh} and {big sigh}.
What's the problem?
Carolina: Well, I'm trying to work out my
money. My money for the year.
Emily: Your money for the year. Mmm
Carolina: And it's not very good.
Emily: It's not very good?
Carolina: Well, I haven't got enough.
Emily: You haven't got enough?
Carolina: Stop repeating everything I say!
Emily: Sorry.
Carolina: I don't know what I'm going to do.
Emily: Well, you did spend a lot of money in the
summer, didn't you? You bought a lot of clothes
and things.



Carolina: Yes. I did. And presents for my family
and friends in Venezuela.
Emily: Oh dear. So, how bad is it?
Carolina: A disaster. After I've paid my rent for
this room and the electricity and water, and my
phone, and my travel card, well - there isn't very
much left.
Emily: How much?
Carolina: About twenty pounds a week.
Emily: Twenty pounds a week!
Carolina: You're doing it again.
Emily: Sorry. But twenty pounds a week - you
can't live on that. You have to buy food and
books
Carolina: And go out sometimes.
Emily: Can you ask your parents for some
money?
Carolina: Oh, no. They've already given me a
lot. I can't do that.
Emily: What about
{doorbell}
Carolina: I'll go. It's probably Jamie.

Carolina: Its so good to see you.
Jamie: Its good to see you too. You been OK?
Oh, hi Emily!
Emily: Hi Jamie. How's it going?
Jamie: Good, thanks. And you?
Emily: Yep.
Carolina: I'm going to get a job.
Emily and Jamie: Get a job?
Carolina: Now you're both doing it. I have to do
something, Jamie. I can't live on the money that
I've got for this year.
Jamie: Are you allowed to work here? Don't you
need a special visa?
Carolina: No, I can work on my student visa -
part-time. I'll check but I think I can work up to
20 hours a week.
Jamie: I'm not sure about this. You need time to
study. And to go out and enjoy yourself - with
me.
Carolina: I can't go out and enjoy myself if I
haven't got any money, can I?
Jamie: Ive got some money, I can pay.
Carolina: That's it. I've decided. Tomorrow
morning I'm going to start looking for a job.

Adam and Rob
Adam: Oh, dear. I hope Carolina manages to
find a job or some other way to get more
money.
Rob: It will be a lot easier for her if she has
some experience, if she has done a job before.
What was your first job, Adam?
Adam: I worked as a paperboy. That means I
delivered newspapers to peoples houses early
in the morning. It was quite interesting, although
I didnt have time to read anything more than
the headlines. The real problem came when it
was raining. What about you?
Rob: I worked as a waiter in a restaurant. It was
quite hard work, but I didnt earn a lot of money,
unfortunately. Tell us about your first job. What
did you do? Remember, you can write to us at
www.britishcouncil.org/learnenglish or via
Facebook look for Elementary Podcasts.
Adam: Now, do you notice anything about
these sentences? Have a listen:
Emily: How much?
Carolina: About twenty pounds a week.
Emily: Twenty pounds a week!
Carolina: Youre doing it again!
Jamie: Are you allowed to work here? Don't you
need a special visa?



Carolina: No, I can work on my student visa -
part-time. I'll check but I think I can work up to
20 hours a week.
Rob: Carolina says she has about twenty
pounds a week. She also says she thinks she
can work up to twenty hours a week. A week
means every week. We use a and an with
other words, too. For example, hour. I earned
three pounds an hour when I was a waiter.
Adam: And I see my family three or four times a
year. There will be some exercises about this
and other language areas on LearnEnglish.
Thats all weve got time for today remember
to write to us and tell us about your first job at
LearnEnglish or on Facebook.
Rob: Well be back next time with Tess & Ravi.
So, until then
Adam and Rob: Bye!
ElementaryPodcastTranscriptSeries3episode05
http://learnenglish.britishcouncil.org/elementarypodcasts/series03episode05
TheBritishCouncil,2011 Page1of3
TheUnitedKingdomsinternationalorganisationforeducationalopportunitiesandculturalrelations. WeareregisteredinEnglandasacharity.
Rob:Helloandwelcome.Itsjustmethis
week.Adamsonholidayluckyhim.But
dontworryhellbebacknexttime.
Now,thankyouforwritingwithyourstories
aboutyourfirstjob.Ilovedthem.Ithink
theyrethebestwevehadsofar.Andits
reallyinterestingtofindoutmoreaboutyou.
Andwhataneducatedlotofpeopleyouare
too.WevegotdentistslikeLellain
Lebanon,andsometeacherslikeSirjoeand
AngescainItaly.AndAliRezaand
TKazerooniinIranareteacherstoo.
Andsomanydifferentstoriesaswell.Iliked
Rasasstoryofusingthefirstmoneyshe
earnedinLithuaniatogoandseethesea.
AndMacinHongKonggavehisfirstsalary
tohismum.Anddoyouknowwhat,Mac?
ThatsexactlywhatIdidtoo.
Sothanksagainforyouranswers.Ihope
wehearasmanyinterestingstoriesthis
time.Remember,youcanwritetousatthe
website:www.britishcouncil.org/learnenglish
andonFacebooklookforElementary
podcasts.
NowitstimetolistentoTessandRavi.
TheyretalkingaboutsomethingBritish,as
usual.Butthistime,itsnotsuchgood
news.
Ravi
Helloagainfromme,Ravi
Tess
Andfromme,Tess.Werehereagaintotalk
aboutsomeofthethingsyouthinkyou
knowaboutBritain.
Ravi
Thingslikedrinkingteaandfishandchips
butnoteverythingyouthinkaboutBritain
isniceandpositiveandtodayweregoing
totalkaboutsomethinglotsofyou
mentionedfootballhooligans.
Tess
Youreafootballfan,Ravi.Areyoua
footballhooligan?
Ravi
Youknow,Tess,peopleoftenaskmethat
peoplefromothercountriesImean.
Tess
You,ahooligan?Idontthinkso.
Ravi
Iknow,Iknow.Butpeoplesometimesthink
thatbeingafootballfaninEnglandmeans
youmustbeahooliganfightingand
causingtroubleandstuff.
Tess
Thatsabitstrange.Whydotheythinkthat?
Ravi
Well,therewasaproblemhereabout
thirtyyearsagointhenineteenseventies
andnineteeneightiestherewasalotof
troubleandfightingandstuff.Therewerea
coupleofreallybadincidentsthatwerein
thenewsallovertheworldthatswhy
peoplesometimesthinkAh,English
footballhooligans.Butforthelasttwenty
yearsorsoitreallyisntaproblem.
Tess
SowhydopeoplestillthinkthatEnglish
footballfansarehooligans?{laughs}Ireally
cantimagineanyonethinkingofyouasa
footballhooligan,Ravi.
Ravi
Alright,Tess,youvealreadysaidthat.I
guesswhenyouvegotabadreputation
likeEnglishfootballfansitsdifficultto
changepeoplesminds.
Tess
Soitisntdangeroustogotoafootball
match?
Ravi
Comeon,Tess,youknowitisnt.You
shouldgotoagame.Therearelotsof
womenandchildrenatmatchesandthe
newfootballstadiumsaregreat
comfortableseats,greatviews,goodfood
itsnothinglikeitwastwentyyearsago.Its
afamilythingthesedays.
Tess
Butmostfansatthestadiumaremen,
arentthey?
Ravi
Yeah,mostofthefansaremenbutabout
twentypercentarewomen.
Tess
Howdoyouknowthat?
Ravi
Ilookeditupontheinternet.Moreand
morewomenaregoingtofootballmatches.
Isometimestakemyniece.
Tess
Ah,thatsnice.Howoldisshe?
Ravi
Shesnine.Shesreallyintofootballloves
it.
Tess
Ah.Sotheresneveranysortofcrowd
troubleoranything?Donttheyhavealotof
policeatfootballmatches?
Ravi
Notreally,notthesedays.Idontthinkyou
cansaytheresnotroubleatallbutnotin
thestadium Ialwaysfeelperfectlysafe
there.Whydontyoucometoamatchwith
me?Illtrytogetticketsforthegamenext
Saturday.Whatdoyousay?
Tess
Wellyeah,OK,whynot?Idontknow
anythingaboutfootballthough.
Ravi
ThatsOK.
Tess
Andwell,whatifpeoplethinkyourea
hooligan,Ravi?
Ravi
Stopit.
Rob:
So,whatdoyouthink?Didyouthink
Englishfootballfansarehooligans?Like
Ravi,Imafootballfan.Andpeopleoften
askmeifallfootballfansinEnglandare
hooligans.Andofcourse,myansweris
Theyrenot.
Englishfootballseemstobereallypopular
allovertheworld.MyteamareAstonVilla
andtheyreprobablynotasfamousas
someotherteamsinEnglandlike
ManchesterUnitedorChelseaorLiverpool.
Howaboutfootballteamsinyourcountry?
Doyousupportateam?Letusknowwhich
one.Andtellusaboutfootballfansinyour
countrytoo.Whatdotheydo?
AndifyoudontlikefootballandIknowa
lotofpeopledontwriteandtelluswhy
not.Rememberyoucanwritetousat
www.britishcouncil.org/learnenglishandon
Facebook.LookforElementaryPodcasts.
BeforeIgo,aquickwordaboutsomeofthe
thingsTessandRavitalkedaboutwhen
theytalkedaboutfootball.Ravitalkedabout
stadiumstheplaceswherefootball
matchesareplayed.Wetalkabouta
footballmatchbetweentwoteams.Imsure
youknowmorefootballwordslikescorea
goalforexample.Infact,theBritishCouncil
hasawebsiteallaboutfootballandEnglish.
ItscalledPremierSkills.Illgiveyouthe
addressforthat.Its
www.britishcouncil.org/premierskills.
Adam
Adam:HieveryoneImAdam.
It'sgoodtobebackwithyou.Myholidaywasin
Europe.IsawmyfamilyinScotland,butIalso
visitedBelgiumandGermanyforacoupleof
days.
Robisawaythisweek,buthe'snotonholiday.
He'stravellingforwork.
InthelastpodcastTess&Ravitalkedabout
footballhooligansandweaskedyoutotellus
whatyouthinkaboutfootball.Well,Imabit
surprisedbyyouranswerssomanyofyou
dontlikefootball!LyudmilainRussia,bookyin
Egypt,AngeloinItaly,AnainSpain,Lamaiin
ThailandandSankioinPoland.Guisouzarego
inBraziltalkedaboutfootballandmoney.He
saysitsthepoliticsofbreadandcircuses.
Oneofyouevensaidfootballisfordonkeys!Id
betternotsayhisname...
Notallofyouhatefootballthough.Wehadfans
ofFlamengoinBrazil,GalatasarayinTurkey,
SantiagoWanderersinChileand
WangmanhanginTaiwanisabigfanofArsenal
inEngland.
Thanksforallyourcommentsaboutfootball.
Therearesomanythatwecantmentionthem
allbutwelovereadingthem.Andwerehappy
toothatyourestilladdingcommentstothe
otherquestionsweaskedyou.Sunghun,whos
fromKoreabutlivesinAustralia,toldusavery
nicefirstjobstoryandadvisedus,Ihopethat
everyonecallstheirparentstodayandsays'I
loveyou'.
Itsreallygreattohearallyourcommentsand
remember,youcanjoininandaddyourown
commentsbygoingto
www.britishcouncil.org/learnenglish.Orfinding
usonFacebooklookfor'Elementary
Podcasts'.
Now,werebackwithCarolinathisweek.You
rememberthatCarolinawasworriedabout
moneyanddecidedtogetajob?Letsseewhat
happensnext.
Carolina
Emily:HiJamie.Iwasjustgoingout.
Jamie:HiEmily.IsCarolinain?
Emily:Yeah,goonin.She'sinthekitchen.But
she'sonthephone.She'sfoundajob.
Jamie:Already?
Emily:Yeah.Thatconveniencestoreatthe
university,youknow,theonethat'sopenallday
Sunday.Theywantparttimestaff.Well,she
hasn'tgotityetshe'sspeakingtothe
managernow.
Jamie:Hmm.
Emily:Anyway,Imustgo.Seeyou.
Carolina:Yesthat'sright.I'mastudent.From
Venezuela.Yes,IthinkmyEnglishisOK
Jamie:Sayit'sgoodverygood!
Carolina:Goodactually,um,it'sverygood.
Comeinandtalktoyou?Yes,ofcourseIcan.
I'mfreetomorrowmorning.Now?!Comeand
seeyounow?Um,I,um...
Jamie:Sayyes!What'sthematter?
Carolina:OK,um,yes,ofcourse.Now.Half
pastten.OK.Thankyouverymuch.Goodbye.
Oh,Jamiehewantsmetogoandtalktohim.
Now!
Jamie:Well,ofcoursehedoes.
Carolina:Well,yesofcourse.Butnow!? What
amIgoingtowear?IneedtoprintoutmyCV
ohdear,andIshouldwritealistofquestions.
Jamie:Whoa.Calmdown.Thisisn'tgoingtobe
aformaljobinterview.Hewon'twanttosee
yourCV.Heonlywantstoseeyouandtalkto
youbeforehedecides.
Carolina:Areyousure?
Jamie:Prettysure.Andwhatyou'rewearing
nowisfine.
Carolina:Shouldn'tIwearasuit?
Jamie:Carolina,it'stheconveniencestoreat
theuniversitynotaninternationalbank.
Carolina:OK.
Jamie:Howmanyhoursisthejob?
Carolina:Hesaidfifteenhoursaweek.
Jamie:Andwhichdays?Isitweekends?
Evenings?
Carolina:Idon'tknowyet.
Jamie:Thinkaboutthiscarefully,Carolina.If
you'reworkingintheeveningsandat
weekends,whenareyougoingtostudy?And
whenarewegoingtoseeeachother?
Carolina:IhavetogetajobJamie.Well,I'd
bettergo.Imustn'tbelate.
Jamie:OK.I'llwalktothebusstopwithyou.
Andgoodluck,OK?
Carolina:Thanks.
MrSpencer:So,MissdelBarco.You'venever
workedinashopbefore.
Carolina:No,noIhaven't.ButIknowIcando
it.
MrSpencer:Itisn'teasyinthisshop.Wesell
food,cigarettes,alcohol,newspapers
everything.Anditcangetverybusyyouneed
tobequick,thinkfast,beefficient.
Carolina:Oh,yes.Icandothat.Definitely.
MrSpencer:Areyougoodwithmoney?Good
withnumbers?
Carolina:Ohyes.Verygood.
MrSpencer:Andyourvisasaysyoucanwork
here?
Carolina:Yes.Icanshowyou.Hereitis.
MrSpencer:Ineedsomeonetostart
immediately.
Carolina:Yes.Ofcourse.
MrSpencer:OK.Thejob'syours.
Carolina:Oh!Thankyou!
MrSpencer:Thursdayevening,Fridayevening
andSaturdayfromfourtillmidnight.Seeyouon
Thursdayathalfpastsix.
Carolina:OK.I'llbehere.Thankyouvery
much.
Adam
Adam:So,Carolinagotthejob.Goodnews!
Whenwethinkaboutjobinterviewsweusually
thinkaboutsomethingquiteformal.Youhaveto
wearasuitorsmartclothesandanswerlotsof
questions.Butforthiskindofparttimejobyou
usuallydontneedtodoaformalinterview.The
managerjustaskedCarolinaoneortwo
questions.Hassheworkedinashopbefore?Is
shegoodwithmoney?Andthatwasenough,
shegotthejob.
TodayIwanttolookatprepositions,in
particularprepositionsoftime.Listentothese
bitsagain:
MrSpencer:Thursdayevening,Fridayevening
andSaturdayfromfourtillmidnight.Seeyouon
Thursdayathalfpastsix.
Carolina:OK,Illbehere.
Jamie:Thinkaboutthiscarefully,Carolina.If
you'reworkingintheeveningsandat
weekends,whenareyougoingtostudy?
Carolina:Comeinandtalktoyou?Yes,of
courseIcan.I'mfreetomorrowmorning.
Adam:ThemanagersaidSeeyouon
Thursdayat6oclockwhyisitonThursday,
butat6oclock?Andatweekendsandin
theevenings.Doesitseemabitconfusing?
Wellweuseatwithtimesat6oclock,
withtheweekendandwithnight.
WeuseonwithdaysonMonday,andwith
datesonthetwentyfifthofApril.
AndweuseinwithmonthsinSeptember
withseasonsinsummerandwithpartsof
thedayinthemorning.
Therearealsotimeswhenwedontusea
prepositionatallwithtomorrowand
yesterday'Illseeyoutomorrowmorning
andwithnextandlastseeyounexttime.
Ifyoufinditdifficult,trytheexerciseswiththis
podcasttheyllhelpyoupractise.
Youmightneedtousesomeofthese
prepositionswhenyouwritetousthistime.Id
likeyoutotellusaboutyourfavouritetimeof
day.Ilikegettinguplate,butnotinthe
afternoon!Idon'twanttohavebreakfastat
2pm.Ialsoliketostayuplateatnightwhenit's
quiet,butIdon'tthinkit'sveryhealthy.
Whataboutyou?Areyouhappiestinthe
morningoratnight?Ormaybeintheafternoon?
Writeandtellus,hereswhereyoucansend
youranswers:
www.britishcouncil.org/learnenglishoron
Facebook,lookforElementaryPodcasts.
Well,thatsallforthistime.Thanksforlistening.
WellbebackwithTessandRaviinthenext
podcast.Seeyousoon!



Adam and Rob
Both: Hello!
Adam: Im Adam.
Rob: And Im Rob.
Adam: Welcome back, Rob.
Rob: Thanks very much.
Adam: How was your trip?
Rob: It went very well, thank you. And welcome
listeners to Episode 7 of LearnEnglish
Elementary Podcasts. Once again, thanks for all
your comments great to read them as usual.
Adam: You remember that we asked you about
your favourite time of day. I said that my
favourite time was night. A few of you agreed:
Yakup in Turkey, Madera in Russia who likes to
go dancing at night and Sergio in Italy who said:
I love the night too, Adam, even though it's not
healthy... After spending a day working,
eventually the night is my own time in which,
when my wife and my daughter sweetly sleep, I
can read what I want, listen to my favourite
music, write my physics books, watch sci-fi
movies and so on... To wake up in the morning
become really tough, but this is the way I feel
alive!
Rob: Thats a very nice comment, Sergio. But
youre in the minority there are more people
who prefer the morning. Too many to mention
all of you, but lets have a look at some of them.
Emin in Turkey says:
Its the very early morning, when most people
are asleep and there is a soothing and peaceful
silence. It's a little difficult to wake up very early,
but I think there is no moment in the world that
makes me feel better than that.
Adam: Lamai in Thailand agrees:
My happiest time of the day is in the morning, I
get up at 5.30 am, with the singing of the birds
in the trees near my house and then with a cup
of coffee, I walk in my garden, fresh and at
peace.
Sounds lovely.
Rob: It does. FRG likes breakfast time, but I
think thats because he likes breakfast! Baijuka,
whos in the UK, likes mornings but not Monday
mornings when she starts work again.
Adam: Last word to Mohammed in Iraq:
You can see me happy at any time of the day
when I don't have something to worry about. For
example, when I'm off work, considering I'm a
junior doctor working in a public hospital in
Baghdad. I try to relax and enjoy each and
every minute I get because the next day I could
be staying in the emergency room or in the
ward looking after patients.
Rob: Thank you once again for all your
comments and remember you can join in and
add your own comments by going to
www.britishcouncil.org/learnenglish or by finding
us on Facebook look for Elementary
Podcasts.
Adam: OK! Tess and Ravi are back. Before you
listen to them, do you know what a queue is?
Its a line of people, one behind the other and
some people think its very British. Lets see
what Tess and Ravi think.

Tess and Ravi
Tess: Hello again. Im Tess.
Ravi: And Im Ravi and as usual were going to
talk about something you think you know about
Britain fish and chips, the British weather,
drinking tea all those typically British things
Tess: And well tell you just how typical they
are.
Ravi: Or arent.
Tess: All the things we talk about were
suggested by you, our listeners, and our topic



for today is something I think youll enjoy, Ravi
its queuing standing in line to wait for things.
Ravi: Aaargh. I hate queuing! I hate waiting for
things!
Tess: I knew you would hate it. But lots of
people said that they thought queuing was very
British and I think its true. Think about the
things we queue for; we form a queue when we
wait for a bus, we queue up in supermarkets, to
buy tickets for things, in the bank, were always
queuing.
Ravi: But people queue for things all over the
world, Tess. How can you say its typically
British?
Tess: True, but what we heard from our
listeners is that British people are very good at
queuing.
Ravi: How can you be good at queuing? All you
have to do is stand behind the person in front of
you.
Tess: Well, have you ever tried joining a queue
in No, I dont want to say a country, in case
some of our listeners get upset. Have you ever
tried joining a queue in another country?
Ravi: Erm yeah, I suppose I have.
Tess: People say British queues are more
polite than in some places. Like we almost
enjoy queuing.
Ravi: My grandma does. She joins a queue
whenever she sees one, even if she doesnt
know what its for.
Tess: I bet she never jumps the queue though,
does she?
Ravi: You dont know my grandma.
Tess: Jumping the queue is when you dont go
to the back of the queue but you try to push
your way to the front of the queue instead of
waiting for your turn. Do you ever jump the
queue, Ravi?
Ravi: Me? Im too polite to do that.
Tess: See? Thats what people think about the
British, that they like queuing and theyre very
polite so they make nice, tidy queues.
Ravi: Hmm.
Tess: I think its true, more or less. British
people do make very organized queues. What
about the queues for the winter sales, Ravi, or
to buy tickets for the tennis at Wimbledon? Its
almost a national tradition; its on the TV news
and everything. Every year, some people queue
up for days to get the best bargains at the start
of the winter sales in the shops after Christmas.
They sleep outside in the cold and they seem to
enjoy it thats a bit crazy, isnt it?
Ravi: It is a bit. Do people in other countries do
that sort of thing?
Tess: I dont know, actually. Maybe our
listeners can write in and tell us about queuing
in their country? I bet they dont queue like the
British do.
Ravi: OK. If youre listening, write and tell us
about queuing in your country. Do you think the
British queue differently?
Tess: Were looking forward to hearing from
you.

Adam and Rob
Adam: What do you think about queueing,
Rob?
Rob: I hate queuing. I cant stand it.
Adam: I dont mind it. And its interesting,
because when I go to a foreign country where
people have a different approach to queuing, I
find it very hard to change my style.
Rob: How do you feel about queuing? If youve
been to Britain, do you think its true what Tess
and Ravi said are the British good at queuing?
Adam: How about queues in your country? Do
people queue up politely or do they jump the
queue? Do you jump the queue? Wed love to



hear from you. Write and let us know at
www.britishcouncil.org/learnenglish
Rob: Right, lets look at some of the language
Tess & Ravi used:

Ravi: Aaargh. I hate queuing. I hate waiting for
things.
enjoy queuing.
British, that they like queuing and theyre very
polite...

Adam: Firstly, Tess and Ravi used different
ways to talk about liking and not liking things.
Ravi said he hates queuing and Tess said that
British people enjoy queuing. We can use
positive words like like love enjoy and
negative words like hate cant stand dislike.
How many more can you add to each list? Try
the exercise on the website.
Rob: Next, though listen to what comes after
the like and dislike words:

Ravi: Aaargh. I hate queuing. I hate waiting for
things.
enjoy queuing.
British that they like queuing and theyre very
polite...

Rob: I hate queuing we enjoy queuing they
like queuing. That ing form is the gerund and
we use it after some verbs like those verbs of
liking and disliking. We also use gerunds after
prepositions words like at on or in like in
this clip:
Tess: True but what we heard from our
listeners is that British people are very good at
queuing.

Rob: If you use a verb after a preposition use
a gerund the ing form. For example, good at
queueing, interested in learning English.
Adam: Were running out of time now, but there
are lots of exercises about this on the website,
so if you want to know more check it out
there.
Rob: Thats all for this time. Well be back with
Carolina next time.
Both: Bye.



Adam and Rob
Both: Hello!
Adam: Welcome back. Im Adam.
Rob: And Im Rob.
Adam: And welcome to Episode 8 of our
podcast.
Rob: This week well hear from Carolina again
and Jamies got some exciting news.
Adam: But first well take a look at your
comments from the last podcast. In it, Tess and
Ravi talked about queuing. Lots of people
around the world think that queuing is a very
British thing to do. And do you know what it
might be true!
Rob: We asked you to tell us about queuing in
your country and so many of your answers said
that queues in your country arent like queues in
Britain and you dont feel very happy about it!
We heard about problems with queues and
queue jumpers in Italy, China, Poland, Turkey,
France, Indonesia the list goes on. But none
of you said that you ever jumped the queue
none of you except one person: Kirankumar in
India, who admits that he used to jump the
queue when he was young. Very honest of you,
Kirankumar.
Adam: Very honest! Sylfide says that queuing
in Spain is almost a national sport, like football,
but she says she doesnt mind queuing so much
when she thinks of all the people who are
queuing to try to find jobs. Some other people
made serious points. MahmoudSaied talked
about long queues for bread in his country,
Egypt, and Uguisu tells about the very
organised queues in Japan, especially after the
terrible earthquake and tsunami there this year.
Rob: Finally though, lets look at Italy. Our old
podcast friend, Sergio, talked about new,
creative ways of queue jumping and Angelo
Scalisi talked about Italian people acting
differently when they are in Britain. He says, I
know people that queue up quietly when they
are in London, because in London they have to
queue for everything and its very polite so they
are very polite. But they try to jump the queue
when they are in Italy! This is extremely
impolite!
Adam: Thanks to all of you for your comments
they were really great. And sorry that we dont
have time to read them all out. Oh, I forgot
Laheziss comment about queues in Poland
during her childhood. She says they were a
great place to meet friends and neighbours.
See, I could read the comments out all day but
we have to move on. Remember you can read
what other people said and post your own
comments by going to
www.britishcouncil.org/learnenglish or on our
Facebook page. Look for Elementary
Podcasts.
Rob: Now, though, lets hear from Carolina.
You remember that she had money problems
and got a job in a convenience store. Today she
breaks the news to Jamie and he has some
news of his own.

Carolina
Carolina: Hi. Phew!
Jamie: What's up?
Carolina: Nothing's 'up'. I'm excited. I've got the
job. The one in the convenience store. I start on
Thursday. Oh Jamie, I'm so happy.
Jamie: Well done! That's great news.
Carolina: He said he wants someone who can
work hard and be efficient and I said I can, and
he said OK, and then he said "The job's yours
see you on Thursday".
Waitress: Yes?
Carolina: Oh, a coffee please. Black.
Jamie: Same for me please.
Waitress: Two coffees. Anything else?
Carolina and Jamie: No, thanks.



Carolina: I can't wait to tell Emily. I start on
Thursday.
Jamie: Yeah, you said that. What time on
Thursday?
Carolina: I start at half past six.
Jamie: Half past six? Until?
Carolina: Until ten o'clock.
Jamie: Until ten o'clock?
Carolina: Yes. Why? What's the matter?
Jamie: The conservation society? We meet in
the pub? Every Thursday at eight?
Carolina: Oh Jamie, I'm sorry. I wasn't thinking
about the meetings.
Jamie: Obviously.
Carolina: This job is very important, Jamie. You
can still go to the conservation meetings. You've
got friends there Ivan and Henry and the
others. And I'm sure Layla will be happy to keep
you company.
Jamie: Don't start with the Layla thing. Layla's a
friend, that's all. As you know.
Waitress: Two coffees.
Carolina and Jamie: Thanks.
Jamie: So what about the other days? What are
your working hours?
Carolina: Thursday evening, Friday evening
and Saturday from four till midnight.
Jamie: Until midnight on Saturday? That's
terrible. I'm never going to see you.
Carolina: We've got the other evenings. And all
day Sunday.
Jamie: Hmm. Well, I've got some news too.
We're starting a band.
Carolina: A band? A music band?
Jamie: Yes.
Carolina: A music band? Like playing guitars
and singing?
Jamie: Yes, that's the idea. What's so funny?
Carolina: Nothing. I'm sorry. I just didn't know
that you I mean, you've never said that you
could sing or anything.
Jamie: Well, I can. And I can play the guitar.
Well, I'm not brilliant. But it's something I really
want to do. And so do the others.
Carolina: Who are the others? Not Henry and
Ivan!
Jamie: No. You don't know them. There's a guy
from my course, and a guy who works in the
bookshop near my place and his brother. It's
gonna be really cool.
Carolina: Wow! That's great.
Jamie: Yeah. But the bad news is, our practice
day is Sunday. The bookshop's closed and we
can use the back room. So Sunday is the only
day that you're free and I'm busy.
Carolina: Well we can. perhaps I can come
and watch you practise sometimes. I'm happy
about the band. What are you going to call it?
Jamie: Haven't decided yet. Any suggestions
welcome. You never know, we might be rich
and famous one day.

Adam and Rob
Adam: So, Jamies started a band. Have you
ever been in a band Rob?
Rob: I have. I was in a band when I was young,
when I was at school.
Adam: What instrument did you play?
Rob: I played the drums. It was great, playing
the drums. But unfortunately, the first time we
played in front of people, I was so nervous my
hands were shaking and I couldnt play
normally. It was awful!
Adam: Oh, no! What about you, listeners, Im
sure you have some musical talents to share
with us? Have you ever been in a band? What



was the name of your band? What musical
instrument do you play? What style of music do
you play? Are you still playing? And, if not, why
did you stop?
Rob: Write and tell us what you think. Heres
our address again.
www.britishcouncil.org/learnenglish and, of
course, you can look for us on Facebook too.
Adam: Now, the exercises on our website for
this podcast are about days of the week and
about possessives. Listen to something
Carolina said:
Carolina: He said he wants someone who can
work hard and be efficient and I said I can, and
he said OK, and then he said "The job's yours
see you on Thursday".
Rob: He said, The jobs yours. Not the jobs
your, but the jobs yours. Do you know the
difference between my and mine and her
and hers? Theyre all possessives but some
are adjectives and some are pronouns.
Adam: Possessive adjectives my, your, his
her our and so on describe a noun, like
other adjectives. So we say this is my umbrella
Rob: Possessive pronouns mine, yours,
his hers ours and so on take the place of a
noun, like other pronouns. So we say This
umbrella is mine
Adam: There are lots of exercises about this on
the website, so why not give them a go?
Rob: Next time well hear from Tess and Ravi
again, talking about something that British
people like to drink now what could that be?
Adam: See you next time.
Adam and Rob: Bye!



Adam and Rob
Both: Hello!
Adam: Im Adam.
Rob: And Im Rob.
Adam: And welcome to Episode 9 of our
podcast. Were going to hear from Tess and
Ravi in a little while. Theyll be talking about a
very British drink any idea what it is?
Rob: But first lets have a look at some of your
comments on the last podcast where we
discovered some great new bands: Milky Way,
As Borbulhantes (thats 'The Bubble Girls' in
English), Hope, Dead Flowers and The Mixture.
Theyre all bands that our listeners have been
part of so remember those names!
Adam: Thats right, we asked you for your
musical memories and weve got lots of talented
musicians listening to the podcast. Weve got
guitarists like Mandana in Iran and Azeriboy in
Azerbaijan. We've got a trumpeter, Joao
Oliveira in Portugal. Esdras and Nat Viegas in
Brazil are both drummers and so is Flautas in
Mexico. Nana Adel in Egypt plays the accordion
and Guisouzarego in Brazil plays the
saxophone. I think we should put together an
Elementary podcast band.
Rob: We need a singer though. How about
Karlalara7 in Mexico? Karla says: A musician
told me that it is easier to play a guitar than to
be a good singer, because in order to have a
good voice you have to be born like that, and
when you use your voice it's like another string
that has to be in tune. Now I have the objective
to find a place where I can sing, because I
always liked it, but I didnt notice what a special
talent it is.
Adam: How about it, Karla? Do you want to
sing with the Elementary podcast band? There
were lots of other great comments too too
many to read out here. Kieu Trang even
mentioned a special song about his city, Hanoi,
in Vietnam. Check out the Hanoi Boogie on
YouTube. Is there a special song about your
city? Let us know at the usual address.
www.britishcouncil.org/learnenglish or look for
Elementary podcasts on Facebook.
Rob, Now, we dont have time to mention them
all, but we do keep reading your messages.
Navaho in China told us about people there who
make their living by queuing and we think we
found a place where people queue as politely
as they do in Britain - that's Kenya . Thanks for
that story, Kamore.
Adam: Now, last time we said that Tess and
Ravi were going to talk about something British
people like to drink and we asked what that
drink might be. Kieu Trang had the answer.
Listen and find out what it was.

Tess and Ravi
Ravi: Hi there, everyone. Im Ravi.
Tess: And Im Tess, and as usual, were going
to talk about something you think you know
about Britain.
Ravi: We asked our listeners what they think is
typically British and they said things like fish
and chips, London buses, the royal family and
lots of people mentioned a particular drink.
What do you think it is?
Tess: Tea. Lots of people said that they thought
British people drink a lot of tea - and its true. A
hundred and sixty five million cups of tea are
drunk every day in Britain.
Ravi: A hundred and sixty five million? Blimey.
Tess: I know. Thats more than sixty billion cups
a year.
Ravi: Unbelievable. Why do we drink so much
tea?
Tess: Well, actually, I dont drink tea at all but
British people have been...
Ravi: Hang on. You dont drink tea? What about
coffee?



Tess: I sometimes have a fruit tea but, no, I
dont drink tea or coffee.
Ravi: Dont you? I have a coffee in the morning
and then about six cups of tea during the day. Is
tea more popular than coffee?
Tess: Oh, yeah. We said a hundred and sixty
five million cups of tea every day. Well, the
number of cups of coffee is seventy million, so
we drink more than twice as much tea as
coffee.
Ravi: Do we? How come the British drink so
much tea? Is it because we used to have an
empire or something like that? And how do you
know all of this stuff, Tess? Are you just
inventing these numbers?
Tess: Its called research, Ravi. I looked it up
on the internet. The British have been drinking
lots of tea since the seventeenth century it
was mostly just rich people drinking tea at first
but by the nineteenth century everybody was
drinking it and that was when all the... rituals of
drinking tea started.
Ravi: What do you mean by rituals?
Tess: Well, things like making tea in a pot and
the way we make tea and serve it and things
like afternoon tea when we have a cup of tea
and cakes and sandwiches.
Ravi: About once a year
Tess: Well, yes, we dont do it every day, but
you know what I mean. You know that in other
countries people dont put milk in tea but in
Britain ninety eight per cent of tea is taken with
milk.
Ravi: Oh, you cant have a cup of tea without
milk, Tess. Not too much milk you dont want
it too milky - and put the tea in first, then the
milk, then the sugar.
Tess: See thats the kind of ritual Im talking
about. People have strong ideas about the best
way to make a cup of tea. Do you make your
tea in a teapot?
Ravi: Of course! You have to make tea in a
teapot. It tastes horrible if you make it in a cup.
If you want a good cup of tea, you have to make
it yourself.
Tess: Do you think so?
Ravi: Definitely. In fact, all this talking about tea
is making me thirsty. Do you want a cuppa? Oh,
you dont drink tea. I forgot.
Tess: I wonder if other languages have words
like that. Do you want a cuppa? or do you
want a brew? You know, the way we say a
cuppa and everyone knows you mean a cup of
tea.
Ravi: Didnt it tell you that on your internet site?
Right, Im going to make a brew. You cant beat
a nice cup of tea.

Adam and Rob
Rob: Im with Ravi you cant beat a nice cup
of tea. But it has to be right, not too much milk.
Adam: That's funny, because I'm the same as
Tess. I don't like tea.
Rob: What about you, listeners? Do you drink
tea? How do you usually make it? With milk or
without milk? Or is coffee the most popular drink
in your country? I used to live in the south of
Italy and the coffee there was fantastic the
best Ive ever had. And actually, a friend of mine
used to live in Argentina where they often drink
another hot drink mate. Id love to hear more
about that if anyone can tell me. So why not
write and tell us what you or people in your
country - like to drink? Write your comments at
Rob: Now, I want you to listen again to
something Tess said:
British people drink a lot of tea and its true. A



Rob: I want to look at the verb forms British
people drink a lot of tea but 165 million cups of
tea are drunk every day. Listen again.
British people drink a lot of tea and its true. A
Adam: Why is it British people drink tea, but
Lots of cups of tea are drunk every day? The
second one is passive. Who drinks all those
cups of tea? British people, I suppose, but the
sentence is about cups of tea, not British
people, so the verb is passive be with the
past participle. 'are drunk' Listen to another
example.
Tess: You know that in other countries people
dont put milk in tea, but in Britain ninety eight
per cent of tea is taken with milk.
Rob: People dont put milk in tea active, but
98% of tea is taken with milk'. Passive is
taken.
Adam: There are lots of activities on our
website to tell you more about the passive and
how we form it and use it. Give them a go.
Rob: And there are also exercises about short
questions like this:
Tess: I sometimes have a fruit tea but no, I
dont drink tea or coffee.
Ravi: Dont you?
Tess: So we drink more than twice as much tea
as coffee.
Ravi: Do we?
Adam: Tess said, I dont drink tea or coffee
and Ravi asked Dont you? Then she said We
drink twice as much tea as coffee and Ravi
asked Do we? Can you work out the rules for
short questions like this? The activities on our
website will help you. Youll find then at
www.britishcouncil.org/learnenglish Look for
Elementary Podcasts.
Rob: Well, thats all weve got time for. We'll be
back next time when well hear more about
Carolina and her job at the convenience store.
So until then, bye!
Adam: Bye!



Adam and Rob
Both: Hello!
Rob: Im Rob.
Adam: And Im Adam.
Rob: Welcome to Episode 10 of the podcast. In
a moment were going to hear from Carolina
again. Theres a new friend for her and Emily
today.
Adam: But first, as usual, were going to take a
look at some of your messages and comments.
Tess and Ravi talked about tea and the British
habit of drinking tea a lot of tea a hundred
and sixty five million cups of tea every day!
Rob: We asked what the most popular drink
was in your country. And for lots of you its tea
too. All over the world Indonesia, Libya,
China, Iran, Azerbaijan youre all drinking lots
of tea.
Adam: And so many different kinds of tea. We
heard about black tea and red tea in Tunisia,
green tea in Japan, mint tea in Egypt, lotus tea
and iced tea in Vietnam and how about this
from Shuvanjan in Nepal. He says:
Most people in Nepal are used to drinking milk
tea, which is made by mixing milk, sugar,
fermented tea leaf granules and spices. The
spices mostly include ginger, black pepper and
cardamom. However, people living in the
Himalaya region mostly take salty tea - tea
made with milk and butter.
Rob: Tea with milk and butter? Im not sure that
I like the sound of that.
Adam: Well, I've tried tea in a Nepali restaurant
and it was milky and sweet, not salty.
Rob: So, the English arent the only tea drinkers
you drink it everywhere. But youre also
drinking lots of coffee. In Italy, of course, but
also in Latin America: Mexico, Brazil and this is
Franklin from Colombia:
I am Franklin and I am from Colombia, the
country of coffee. A lot of people around the
world know that the best coffee is produced in
Colombia, and it is recognized for its flavor and
fragrance. Many cities around the world have
shops selling coffee from Colombia.
Adam: The best coffee in the world? Maybe
some of our Brazilian listeners disagree!
Rob: We also heard about mate in Argentina
thanks Wences lassi in India and Karla Lara
the singer in our podcast band told us about
champurrado and ponche in Mexico. Woul from
South Sudan told us that milk is the most
popular drink there.
Adam: Thanks everyone for all your comments
we love reading them and we hope you read
each others comments too. Remember that you
can send comments to us at
www.britishcouncil.org/learnenglish look for
Rob: Also, keep an eye on our Facebook page.
Tess and Ravi are answering your questions
there and also arranging times that they will be
online to answer questions you have for them.
Adam: Right, time to catch up with Carolina.
You remember that Carolina is a student from
Venezuela who is studying in Newcastle in the
north east of England. Last time we heard from
her, shed got a job in a shop at the university
and Jamie, her boyfriend, had started a band.
Lets hear how shes enjoying the job.

Carolina
Emily: Hello!
Carolina: Hello, Emily.
Emily: Well, this is strange! Look at you in your
uniform.
Carolina: I know. It's horrible, isn't it?
Emily: So how are you getting on? Are you
enjoying it?
Carolina: It's OK.



Emily: Just OK?
Carolina: Well, you know it can get really, really
busy, and if I'm here on my own Yesterday
was awful.
Emily: Are you here alone all the time?
Carolina: No. There's a woman called Alice
she's here sometimes. But she isn't very
friendly. She doesn't like me for some reason.
And Mr Spencer, the boss, comes in
sometimes, but I don't like it when he's here - it
makes me nervous.
Emily: So you prefer it when you're here alone?
Carolina: Well, I told you, I get nervous. I don't
like it when it gets busy.
Emily: It isn't busy now. I'm almost the only
customer in the shop.
Carolina: Then it's really boring. There's no-one
to talk to and nothing to do. And Mr Spencer
says I'm not allowed to read.
Emily: Gosh, Carolina. You are difficult to
please. You don't like being with Alice or Mr
Spencer, you don't like being alone, you don't
like it when it's busy and you don't like it when
it's quiet. What do you want? Do you really hate
this job?
Carolina: No, no, I don't hate it. I'm just not
enjoying it very much.
Emily: Cheer up. It'll get better. You just need a
bit more experience.
Carolina: Yes, I know.
Emily: Why don't we go to the cinema
tomorrow? You don't work on Sunday, do you?
Carolina: Actually I'm going to the cinema with
Jamie tomorrow, after his band practice.
Emily: Oh yeah the band. Have they got a
name yet?
Carolina: No, not yet. Let's all go to the cinema
together you come too. Jamie would like to
see you.
Emily: OK, I'd like to. If you're sure you don't
mind. What are you going to see?
Carolina: I don't know. Jamie said it's a great
film. It's on at the shopping centre, so we'll meet
there.
Emily: What time?
Carolina: About seven? Outside the cinema,
next to the ticket office.
Emily: OK. I have to go. I'll probably be in bed
when you get home.
Carolina: What time is it now?
Emily: Quarter past seven.
Carolina: Only five more hours to go.

Carolina: So then he asked me to give him
some... Oh hello, Jamie.
Jamie: Hi. Hi, Emily
Emily: Hi.
Jamie: Uh, this is Cameron. Cameron, this is
Carolina and this is Emily.
Cameron: Hello.
Emily and Carolina: Hi, nice to meet you.
Jamie: Cameron's in the band. He's the lead
singer.
Emily: Cool.
Cameron: Well I do my best.
Carolina: And are you at the university,
Cameron?
Cameron: No, I'm not. I work in First Page, the
bookshop.
Emily: Wow, what a great job!
Cameron: Yeah, it's OK.
Jamie: Not for much longer, Cameron. We're
gonna be rich and famous, remember?
Cameron: Yeah!
Carolina: Come on, let's go and get the tickets.



Adam and Rob
Rob: Thats an interesting laugh. Carolina
doesnt seem to be enjoying her job very much.
I used to work in a shop when I was a student
and it can be pretty boring. Im lucky these days
that I enjoy my job so much. I like meeting my
students, I like teaching, I love languages
Adam: I really like reading and answering
people's comments on the LearnEnglish
website.
Rob: What about you, listeners? Do you like
your job or your studies or your school? You all
told us about your first jobs, but now wed like to
hear what you like or what you dont like about
your job.
Adam: Is it interesting and exciting or is it
boring and badly paid? Write and let us know.
And dont worry we wont tell your boss what
you said!
Rob: Now, did you hear the conversation when
Carolina and Emily met Cameron? Listen again:
Carolina: So then he asked me to give him
some... Oh hello, Jamie.
Jamie: Hi. Hi, Emily
Emily: Hi.
Cameron: Hello.
Jamie: Cameron's in the band. He's the lead
singer.
Emily: Cool.
Cameron: Well I do my best.
Cameron?
bookshop.
Adam: Lots to listen out for there. What do we
say when we introduce people to each other?
Cameron: Hello.
Rob: We say This is... This is Adam... and
what do we say when we meet people for the
first time?
Cameron: Hello.
Adam: Nice to meet you we often say nice
to meet you when we meet someone for the
first time.
Rob: And did you notice what Carolina and
Emily did next? They asked questions.
Cameron?
bookshop.
Adam: These are questions to break the ice
to start finding out more about the person
youve just met. Weve put some exercises to
help you find out more about breaking the ice
on our website. Youll find them at
Rob: Well, I think thats all weve got time for
this time. Well be back soon with Tess and
Ravi again. Theyll be talking about something
British that you might think is really quite
horrible what could it be?
Adam: And thanks again for all your comments
we love hearing from you.
Rob and Adam: Bye!



Adam and Rob
Both: Hello!
Adam: Welcome to episode 11 of LearnEnglish
Rob: Youre going to hear from Tess and Ravi
again today. Theyre talking about something
British that lots of people around the world think
is bad.
Adam: Any idea what it might be? Youll find
out in a moment.
Rob: But first, lets take a look at your
comments. We heard Carolina complaining
about her job and we asked you about your
jobs.
Adam: And we got some really interesting
responses. Umi from Indonesia sent us this
message:
It's hard to say whether I like my job or not. I'm
working as a domestic helper in Hong Kong. My
duty is to look after two children, helping with
their school work if necessary and to do all the
household chores. Sometimes I like my job
because it has no real pressure. I don't like my
job because it's not a professional job, most of
the time others look down on us and I've no
freedom at all because I have to live with my
employer and I work 6 days a week. I also enjoy
it because my employer lets me study, that's
why I keep studying from one course to another.
I aim to take an online degree. Never lose hope,
its only a stepping stone for a better future.
Rob: Well, we definitely wish you luck. Thats a
really well written post, so we can see that your
English practice is working.
Adam: Yeah. Rony works in an import/export
company in Egypt and loves it although its
sometimes boring. Ronys advice is that at the
end we have to love what we do until we do
what we love
Rob: Alexman is also in Egypt and he does 2
jobs!
I work in two jobs in one, it's somehow like the
shampoo 2in1! I am a customer service agent
and also a cashier at the same time. I work a
full time shift, my day starts at 9AM and ends at
9PM. I will never forget one day after finishing
my work I looked at my report to find out that I'd
served 360 customers in a day.
Adam: 360 customers!
Rob: In one day!
Adam: Thanks to all of you who commented.
Im happy to hear that you so many of you seem
to like your jobs. I wonder how many of you use
English in your work.
Rob: Maybe thats why youre learning English.
Why not let us know? Remember that the
address for your comments is
www.britishcouncil.org/learnenglish and you can
find us on facebook too look for Elementary
Podcasts.
Adam: Now, lets hear from Tess and Ravi.
Weve already told you that theyre going to talk
about something British that lots of people think
isnt very good. Any idea what it is? Lets find
out.

Tess and Ravi
Ravi: Hello again, everyone. Im Ravi.
Tess: And Im Tess and once again were going
to talk about something you think you know
about Britain.
Ravi: We asked lots of our listeners what they
think about when they think about Britain. They
said things like drinking tea, queuing, Big
Ben, bad weather and lots of people
mentioned another thing they think is bad any
ideas, Tess?
Tess: Something else thats bad in Britain?
Erm what?
Ravi: British food. Lots of people think that the
food in Britain is terrible. And, do you know



what, Tess? I can understand why people think
that.
Tess: Really? I think its a bit unfair. I mean,
what is British food anyway? What do you mean
by British food?
Ravi: Well, I dont know... erm fish and chips,
roast beef, sausage and mash
Tess: Its difficult isnt it, to think of what British
food is exactly, but Im sure you can think of lots
of examples of French dishes or Italian or
Chinese or Indian dishes, of course.
Ravi: Yeah, lots of em.
Tess: And its definitely true that we dont have
the same tradition of food and cooking here in
Britain that lots of other countries France,
Italy, China have.
Ravi: Right.
Tess: But that doesnt mean you cant eat well
in Britain. I think one of the best things about
living in London is how many fantastic different
types of food you can eat. You can eat food
from anywhere in the world in London, cant
you? Greek, Lebanese, Japanese, Polish
Ravi: Hey I had a fantastic Thai meal on
Saturday, Tess, Ill have to take you to this
restaurant.
Tess: Thai food, mmm. Id forgotten that one.
There are just so many different great types of
food to eat in London.
Ravi: Its not just London, Tess. Other places
have loads of different restaurants too. There
are some brilliant Brazilian restaurants in
Manchester.
Tess: Thats true. Even really small places will
probably have a Chinese restaurant and an
Indian or Pakistani restaurant. I dont know
about you but I hardly ever eat British food.
Ravi: Me neither.
Tess: Thats restaurants, though. My Spanish
friend told me that she came here when she
was a teenager and stayed with a British family
and the food was terrible. She said they ate
frozen meals from the freezer every night and it
was just horrible.
Ravi: Its awful when you go to someones
house and the food is really, really bad and you
have to eat it. But I dont think everybody eats
really badly at home do they?
Tess: I think cooking has never been more
popular. Just look at all the cookery
programmes on TV.
Ravi: There are hundreds of cookery
programmes on TV. Terrible. I never watch
them.
Tess: You should. You might learn something.
Its true though, there are lots and lots of
cooking programmes on TV and lots of famous
chefs. People are really interested in cooking,
dont you think?
Ravi: I suppose so. Theyre not really cooking
British food though, are they?
Tess: They are sometimes. Theyre cooking all
kinds of food. Anyway, I think thats what we
have to say about British food. We dont have
the same kind of food traditions as other places,
but you can eat really well here. Agreed?
Ravi: Agreed.

Adam and Rob
Adam: So what do you think, Rob? Is British
food really bad?
Rob: Well, Im not sure about British food, but I
think eating in Britain is fantastic. Theres so
much variety. You can find Italian restaurants,
Thai restaurants, Chinese restaurants,
restaurants from lots of different countries.
Adam: Yeah, even in quite small towns.
Rob: But if I got to Italy, for example, I only
really find Italian restaurants. Im not sure about
British food, though.



Adam: Well, I think that one area that Britain
does really well is puddings and desserts. There
are so many great crumbles and puddings and
afters and pies, theyre all delicious.
Rob: Yeah, sticky toffee pudding!
Adam: Yummy!
Rob: As usual, wed like to hear what you think.
Have you ever tried British food? What did you
think of it? Or even if you havent tried it; what
do you think British food is?
Adam: And what about eating out in your
country? What sort of restaurants do you have?
Whats your favourite cuisine? Why? You can
leave your comments at
Rob: So, Tess and Ravi said that although
British food might not be the best in the world,
its possible to eat very well in Britain. And thats
what I want to take a look at next. Listen again
to something Tess and Ravi said:
Tess: But that doesnt mean you cant eat well
in Britain.
Ravi: Its awful when you go to someones
house and the food is really, really bad and you
have to eat it. But I dont think everybody eats
really badly at home, do they?
Tess said that it doesnt mean you cant eat well
in Britain and Ravi said he doesnt think
everyone eats badly. Well and badly are
Adam: adverbs! Well is the adverb, good is
the adjective. And remember that an adjective
describes a noun and an adverb describes a
verb. So, wed say you speak very good
English, but you speak English very well.
Rob: The adjective, good, describes the noun,
English and the adverb, well, describes the
verb speak. You see?
Adam: Weve put some exercises on the
website to help you with adverbs and
adjectives.
Rob: And there are also some exercises about
another thing you heard. Listen to this bit again:
Tess: Its difficult, isnt it, to think of what British
food is, exactly, but Im sure you can think of
lots of examples of French dishes or Italian or
Chinese or Indian dishes, of course.
Ravi: Yeah, lots of em.
Tess: And its definitely true that we dont have
the same tradition of food and cooking here in
Britain that lots of other countries France,
Italy, China have.
Ravi: Right.
Adam: We heard countries France, Italy,
China and the adjectives to describe things or
people from those countries French, Italian,
Chinese. The exercises on the website will help
you practice countries and adjectives have a
look.
Rob: Well, thats all weve got time for today.
Well be back soon when well hear how
Carolina and Emily are getting on with Jamies
new friend. Bye!
Adam: Bye!



Adam and Rob
Both: Hello!
Rob: Im Rob
Adam: And Im Adam.
Rob: Welcome to episode 12 of Learn English
Adam: Carolinas back today. Shes at the
cinema and love is in the air!
Rob: But first, as usual, lets have a look at
some of your comments. In the last podcast,
Tess and Ravi talked about British food. And we
asked you to tell us what you think is British
food really terrible? How about food in your
country?
Adam: Elena V in Russia is a big fan of British
food. She says:
I've never been to Britain, but when I say
"British food" or "British meals", I think of
porridge, puddings, fried eggs with bacon, toast
with jam, beans and, of course, saddle of lamb.
And a nice cup of black tea with milk. I don't
know where all of these associations come
from, but they are in my head! Almost every
morning I cook porridge, I sometimes fry eggs
with bacon and I prepare toast with jam. So it
seems to me I'm in Britain!
Rob: I think Elena is more British than me!
Adam: Yeah. It certainly seemed to be true that
people think British food is bad. JSSierra in
Mexico said I've never tried British food, I have
been told it is very bad though, and Wywy in
Egypt said that friends had told her the food in
London was terrible.
Rob: Oh dear! Braulio in Italy said a simple
way to evaluate whether a cuisine is good or not
is to look for it abroad. You can easily find
French restaurants outside France or Chinese
outside China or Thai outside Thailand but Ive
never found or even heard about an English
restaurant... not even in the UK!
Adam: Thats a good point, I suppose.
Rob: Several people mentioned that they like
food from Braulios country, Italy, and we also
heard about cuisine from Mexico, Brazil, Saudi
Arabia, Vietnam, Egypt, Sri Lanka and
Azerbaijan.
Adam: Yes, reading all your comments left us
feeling very hungry. Finally, FRG in Spain said:
I would like to say I completely disagree about
the general opinion of British food. Two years
ago, I had a meeting with another colleague in
Lincoln in the east of England. One day we
went to a restaurant and ate lamb and the food
was delicious. British food isn't only fish and
chips or roast beef.
Rob: So, some people really do like it.
Adam: Thanks for all your great comments
remember to send them to us at
us on Facebook.
Rob: OK, lets move on to Carolina. Carolina is
a Venezuelan student studying at university in
Newcastle in the north of England.
Adam: Last time we heard from her she had
started her part-time job in a convenience store
and her boyfriend Jamie had just started a
band. Carolina and her friend Emily are going to
the cinema with Jamie and his band-mater
Cameron, who has a very interesting laugh!



Carolina
Carolina: So which film are we going to see,
Jamie?
Jamie: The Crazy Future.
Emily: The Crazy Future? Ha! Good name for
your band.
Cashier: Next, please.
Jamie: Four tickets for The Crazy Future,
please.
Cashier: Four for The Crazy Future. That's
twenty-four pounds please.
Jamie: Thanks.
Cashier: And six pounds change. Screen six.
Next please.
Jamie: Thanks. Here you are Cameron,
Emily, Carolina. Anybody want popcorn? No?
OK, let's go in then. Follow me.
Carolina: Emily, you sit next to Cameron.
Emily: What? Why?
Carolina: You like him I can see. Sit next to
him.
Emily: Carolina!
Carolina: I hope the film isn't a comedy.
Emily: Why?
Carolina: You heard his laugh.
Jamie: What a great film. I'm really glad we
came to see it. What did you all think?
Emily: Well, it wasn't exactly what I was
expecting.
Jamie: In what way?
Emily: Well I wasn't expecting a documentary.
A documentary about the environment. I mean it
was good. I liked it. But you said it was about
the future and I thought it was science fiction
you know, not about global warming
Cameron: Do you like science fiction?
Emily: I love it. Do you?
Cameron: I'm a total fan. I'm reading this great
book at the moment, it's
Jamie: Did you like the film, Cameron?
Cameron: Hmm, it was OK. A bit depressing.
Not really my thing, Jamie.
Carolina: I really liked it. It made me cry. Those
poor orangutans!
Jamie: Yeah. That was terrible, wasn't it? But
you know, we can change things. The future
doesn't have to be so bad. We can all help.
All: Yes.
Emily: Well, time to go home, I guess.
Carolina: Yes, I've got to do some reading
before my seminar tomorrow.
Cameron: We're going to have a drink on the
way home. Sure you don't both want to join us?
Jamie: Yeah, just for half an hour. We're going
to The Green Man.
Emily: The Green Man. That's you, Jamie.
Good name for your band. Or maybe The
Green Men.
Carolina: No, I really have to go home.
Emily: Me too.
Cameron: Well, that's a pity. Anyway, it was
nice to meet you both.
Carolina: Yes, well, I'm sure we'll meet you
again now that you're in the band with Jamie.
Emily: Yes.
Jamie: OK. I'll call you tomorrow, Carolina. See
you Emily.
Emily: See you.
Jamie: Come on, Cameron.
Cameron: Bye
Emily and Carolina: Bye. Bye, nice to meet
you. See you again. Bye Jamie.



Adam and Rob
Rob: So Emily and Cameron seem to get
along well together.
Adam: Do you think that.?
Rob: Hmm, maybe. Lets see what happens
next time.
Adam: Anyway, they seemed to have a good
time. Are you a fan of documentaries, Rob?
What sort of films do you like going to see?
Rob: I like documentaries, yes, but I also like
science fiction films. Star Wars is one of my
favourite films. I first saw it when I was a young
boy and I still love it today. I also like animations
and comedies. How about you?
Adam: I dont seem to go to the cinema as
much as I used to. Maybe Im just too busy. But
I do like foreign films. I used to watch action
films a lot, but I think Ive seen all the explosions
I need to!
Rob: How about you, listeners? Do you enjoy
going to the cinema? What sort of films do you
like watching? How about films from your
country? Are there any youd recommend to
other podcast listeners? Write and tell us at
www.britishcouncil.org.learnenglish
Adam: Now, listen to this again.
Jamie: Yeah, just for half an hour. We're going
to The Green Man.
Emily: The Green Man. That's you, Jamie.
Good name for your band. Or maybe The
Green Men.
Rob: The name of the pub was The Green Man
then Emily suggested that they call their band
The Green Men. Man men. Its an irregular
plural 1 man, two men. Can you think of any
other irregular plurals like that?
Adam: Well, women, of course one woman,
two women. And child one child, but two
children. And teeth! One tooth, but the plural is
teeth.
Rob: Yeah, there are quite a few irregular
plurals that you have to learn.
Adam: Mouse mice!
Rob: OK, so weve put a couple of exercises on
the website for you. There are also exercises
about saying hello and goodbye to people and
about the cinema and different types of film.
Why not give them a go?
Adam: Thats all weve got time for today.
Thanks again for all your lovely comments and
stories.
Rob: I wont be here next time. Im going to
London to make the next series of Word on the
Street. If you dont know Word on the Street,
have a look in the Listen & Watch section on the
LearnEnglish website. Its a video series to help
you improve your English.
Adam: So, Ill be back next time with Tess and
Ravi again to talk about something else you
think is very British. And Ill talk to you then.
Adam and Rob: Bye!



Adam
Adam: Hello and Happy New Year! Im Adam.
Rob is away this episode, but should be back
next time. Welcome to Episode 13 of the Learn
English Elementary podcast the first episode
of 2012. And, to start the new year, Tess and
Ravi will be here in a moment to talk about
something else thats very British.
But, before we get to that, lets take a look at
some of your comments from the last podcast.
We heard Carolina and her friends go to the
cinema and we asked you to tell us about what
kind of cinema you like and we got some great
responses. We found that all over the world,
people like the same kind of films: action
movies, thrillers, documentaries, animation,
horror films well, I dont like horror films
comedies Perhaps TKazerooni, our friend in
Iran, describes it best when he says Ill be
flown in my dreams when he goes to the
cinema. Sirjoe, in Italy, likes to sit at the front of
the cinema, right in front of the screen, so that
my sight is totally occupied by the images. I do
that too.
And we now have enough film
recommendations to start a Podcast film
festival! We dont have time to mention them all
but ibtissemdz and gladiator, both from Algeria,
mentioned The Battle of Algiers. TKazeroooni
recommends an Iranian film called Marmoolak
it means The Lizard. Both sheileng and
michelle in Brazil recommend Tropa de Elite
(Elite Squad) and Ill be looking out for a
Russian film called Vysotsky (Thank god Im
alive) recommended by Tanya Klimova. Oh,
and Umi from Indonesia says we should see a
film called Laskar Pelangi, which means The
Rainbow Troops, and she also offers some
good advice on learning English thanks Umi!
We must give a special mention to Langtucoiam
in Vietnam who remembers a very special
cinema visit. He says: I will never forget the film
"King Kong" because it was really fantastic and
after this film one of my classmates became my
girl-friend and now she is my wife. How
romantic!
Finally though, we mustnt forget that not
everybody likes the cinema. Christopher in
Brazil says it isnt good to be inside a dark
warm room with very loud noises, but maybe
the best advice is from j d trzsnyai in Romania:
I don't really like going to the cinema. I much
prefer reading a good book or studying English
with your podcasts.
Thats my favourite advice!
As usual, thank you all for all your great
comments and sorry we cant mention them all.
As usual, please let us know what you think by
writing to us at
us on Facebook.
Now its time to catch up with Tess and Ravi. In
these podcasts theyve been looking at things
that people think are typically British things
you think about when you think about Britain. I
wonder what theyll tell us today
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Tess and Ravi
Ravi: Excuse me. Could I possibly have a cup
of tea, please?
Tess: Certainly, sir, here you are.
Ravi: Ah, thank you. How much is that please?
Tess: Thank you. Two pounds please.
Ravi: Thank you. Here you are, five pounds.
Tess: Ah! Thank you. And heres three pounds
change, thank you.
Ravi: Ah, thank you!
Tess: Hi, its us, Tess and Ravi, and that little
conversation might give you an idea of what
were talking about today.
Ravi: As usual, were going to look at
something you, our listeners, think you know
about Britain some typically British things
and today, were going to talk about British
politeness.
Tess: Lots of people think that the British are
very polite. What do you think, Ravi?
Ravi: Hmm, I dont know. I think its quite old-
fashioned, dont you? London certainly doesnt
feel very polite in rush hour in the morning.
Tess: I think one thing that makes people think
were polite is that we say please and thank
you a lot like you and I did just then. I dont
think people say please and thank you so
much in other places.
Ravi: Really?
Tess: Yeah. My Spanish friend said that when
she first came to visit Britain, when she went to
a caf, shed say A coffee not a coffee,
please because in Spain, people dont say
please so often. For me, it feels quite rude,
quite impolite, if you dont say please when you
ask for something in a shop.
Ravi: Yeah, but it can get silly sometimes,
saying please and thank you all the time.
Anyway, just saying please and thank you a
lot doesnt mean youre polite. I think London
feels quite impolite; I think people in Manchester
are more polite than they are here in London.
Tess: Well, you would say that, youre from
Manchester, but you might be right capital
cities are often very different from the rest of the
country. The other thing my friend thought was
funny about English is our polite language, like,
Excuse me, Im very sorry, but I wonder if I
could ask you a question that kind of thing.
Ravi: Yeah, we seem to use a lot of words to
say things when we want to be polite. Could I
possibly use your telephone if you dont mind.
But thats polite language does that mean that
were really more polite than people in other
countries? I have to say, I dont really think we
are, actually.
Tess: To be honest, I dont either. I dont really
think the British are especially polite. Its
probably the same everywhere some people
are very polite and some people are not so
polite.
Ravi: Im very polite arent I?
Tess: Yes, Ravi.
Ravi: Thank you.
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Outro

So, Adam, if you dont mind my asking, would
you perhaps believe that its true? Are the
British very polite?
Thank you very much for asking, Adam. I think
there are different kinds of politeness. Theres
following rules, for example when you eat in a
particular way, and then theres politeness by
thinking about other people, for example when
you give your seat to someone else on the bus.
I think you can be kind to other people even if
you dont follow lots of rules about how to speak
and act.
But what do you think? Do you think British
people are polite or not tell us about your
experiences good or bad! And how about in
your country? Do you think people in your
country are polite or not? Wed love to hear
from you. As usual you can contact us at
www.britishcouncil.org/learnenglish.
You know, its true what Ravi said - we seem to
use a lot of words to say things when we want
to be polite. And we also use fixed expressions
when were being polite. Its useful to learn
these fixed expressions. For example, what do
you say when you want to get past someone if
you want to get off the train for example?
Excuse me
How about when someone says thank you to
you?
Youre welcome or thats all right.
Weve put some activities to help you with this
on the website.
Youll also see some activities about negative
prefixes: impolite, unimportant, incorrect. Theyll
help you remember which prefix goes with
which adjective.
OK, thats all weve got time for today. Ill be
back next time with Rob and with more from
Carolina. Thank you very much for listening
bye!
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Adam and Rob
Both: Hello!
Adam: Im Adam.
Rob: And Im Rob.
Adam: And welcome to episode 14 of the Learn
English Elementary Podcast.
Rob: In a few minutes well be hearing the latest
news from Carolina and her friends Carolina
and Emily are at the seaside today.
Adam: But first, as usual, lets take a look at
some of your comments from the last podcast.
We asked you to tell us what you think about
British politeness. Are British people really very
polite? And how about people in your country?
Are they polite or not?
Rob: You know, one of the things we love about
reading your comments is seeing answers from
so many different countries and this time we
had answers from all over the world:
Madagascar, Colombia, Georgia, Djibouti,
Nepal, Vietnam Its always really interesting
to hear so many different opinions.
Adam: And we were surprised to hear how
many of you do think that British people are
very polite. Negrota in Colombia, Angelo in Italy,
Sakine in Turkey and Zineb Zineb in Algeria to
name but a few all said that its true that
British people are really polite. Were you
surprised by that, Rob?
Rob: You know I was, yes, and another
interesting thing I noticed was that several of
you said that young people in your country are
not as polite as they were in the past. Osmide in
Spain said Nowadays young people are
impolite, and they almost never say thanks or
sorry. And Awatefromdhani in Tunisia says
Personally, I think people are no longer as
polite as in the old days and its the same story
in Vietnam.
Adam: Wywy in Egypt makes an interesting
point. She says I think Egyptians in the past
were more polite than now but Ive noticed that
some of us have become more polite after the
25
th
of January revolution. Thats an interesting
idea, dont you think?
Rob: It is. We did hear too about polite people
in different countries. Malagasy people are very
polite and respectful says Tianakely and
tankamani tells us that the culture of politeness
in Nepal is similar to that in Britain namaste!
Adam: But I think we need to give the last word
to two comments. Sirinel in Algeria says I think
its not fair to judge any country for being rude
or polite. It depends on the people themselves.
Rob: And Felix in Spain says:
I don't believe in stereotypes. There are polite
people from everywhere. We must not believe
in stereotypes because normally they aren't
totally true.
Adam: You know, Sirinel and Felix, I agree with
you. Ive met very polite people in every country
Ive ever visited and some not so polite
people!
Rob: Thanks for all your great comments,
please do keep sending them. Ill remind you of
the address. You can write to us at
Adam: Now, time again to listen to Carolina. If
youre new to the podcast, Ill tell you that
Carolina is from Venezuela, but shes studying
at Newcastle University in the north-east of
England. Last time we listened, Carolina went to
the cinema with her boyfriend, Jamie, her friend
Emily and Jamies friend Cameron. And Emily is
quite interested in Cameron. Lets see what
happens this time.
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Carolina
Carolina: Brrr. It's cold.
Emily: That's the sea air Carolina. It's good! It
clears your head. You work too hard. You need
to relax sometimes.
Carolina: I know. But brrrrrr. But it is beautiful
here. It's nice to see the sea. Ha! 'see the sea'. I
like that.
Emily: My grandfather used to sing a song. I
can't remember it all, but it was "And what did
we see? We saw the sea."
Carolina: "And what did we see? We saw the
sea". What a silly song. I'm going to find it on
the internet when we get home.
Emily: Yeah. Perhaps Jamie and Cameron's
band could play it. A cover version.
Carolina: Talking of Cameron
Emily: Yes?
Carolina: You know. Do you like him?
Emily: Well, I don't not like him, if you know
what I mean. He's very attractive, and he's a
singer that's cool and he works in a
bookshop, he likes books, he likes science
fiction
Carolina: But?
Emily: Well, that laugh! He's got the most awful
laugh I've ever heard.
Carolina: Oh dear. I know. But he seems like a
nice guy, and he is attractive and he likes you.
Just don't tell him any jokes.
Emily: Actually, he sent me a friend request on
Facebook yesterday.
Carolina: Did he? No!
Emily: Calm down. It was just a friend request.
Like 'friend'.
Carolina: Oh no, he likes you. 'Friend' doesn't
mean 'friend'. That's it. So did you accept?
Emily: 'Friend' means 'friend'. And I accepted.
Carolina: Yippee!
Emily: Stop it. I think he's a nice guy it's no
big deal. Look at that ship. Isn't it beautiful? I
wonder where it's going.
Carolina: Why don't you phone him?
Emily: I'm not going to phone him. Stop it. Now.
Carolina: Hello Jamie. We're at the coast,
having a walk. Really! That's great! She's here.
With me. Wait a minute. Emily, Cameron has
asked Jamie for your phone number. Emily!
Can Jamie give Cameron your phone number?
I'll call you back Jamie.
Emily: Eeeek!
Carolina: Ha ha! Told you so. "Friend means
friend". I don't think so. Not now.
Emily: Stop it. You're making me nervous.
Carolina: There's nothing to be nervous about.
Just give the guy your phone number! Emily!
You're always saying that your love life is a
disaster. This guy likes you, you like him. Give
him your phone number!
Emily: OK.
Carolina: Ill tell Jamie to give it to him.
Emily: OK.
Carolina: Phew. That was hard work. Listen!
Emily: What?
Carolina: I can hear Cameron.
Emily: What are you talking about?
Carolina: See?
Emily: You're terrible!

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Adam and Rob
Rob: Thats a bit unfair to say that Camerons
laugh sounds like a foghorn. He does have a
slightly strange laugh but its not that bad.
Adam: No Anyway, so now Cameron has
Emilys phone number. And theyre friends on
Facebook. Are you on Facebook Rob?
Rob: I am actually.
Adam: Got many Facebook friends?
Rob: No, unfortunately.
Adam: And what do you think about what
Carolina said about social networking friend
doesnt mean friend? Are your friends on
Facebook people you know in real life?
Rob: No, not all of them. Actually, some of them
Ive only met once. Thats something Im not
sure I like about Facebook.
Adam: Im not on Facebook, so I sort of have
the opposite problem. I dont have anyone
following me that I dont know, but sometimes
its a bit hard to keep in touch with everyone I
want to keep in touch with.
Rob: I see. What about you, listeners? Do you
have lots of online friends? And do you know all
of those friends in real life? Is online friendship
different from real life?
Adam: Wed love to hear what you think. Why
not write and tell us at
www.britishcouncil.org/learnenglish and if youre
on Facebook, remember to look for Tess and
Ravi there. They sometimes answer your
questions there, so watch out for that.
Rob: Now, did you hear Emily sing a little song
today? Listen again.
Emily: My grandfather used to sing a song I
can't remember it all, but it was "And what did
we see? We saw the sea."
Carolina: "And what did we see? We saw the
sea".
Adam: What did we see? We saw the sea
See the verb and sea the big area of water,
sound exactly the same: they are homophones.
Two words that have different spellings and
different meanings but sound exactly the same
are homophones and there are lots of them in
English.
Rob: Sun in the sky and son a boy
theyre homophones for example piece and
peace, week and weak but of course they
sound exactly the same so you need to see
them in writing to understand better or
understand the context. So youll find some
activities on the website to tell you more about
homophones.
Adam: Youll also find an exercise on some of
the strange noises we make in English. Listen
to this:
Carolina: Brrr. Its cold.
Adam: Carolina said Brrr its cold. Brrr is a
noise we make when were cold. And there are
other noises do you know what these noises
mean?
Rob: Hmmm.
Adam: Ow!
Rob: Oops Any ideas? Check the website to
find out the answers. And thats all weve got
time for today.
Adam: Were looking forward to hearing from
you and well be back next time with more from
Tess and Ravi talking about a famous British
city. Any ideas? See you next time.
Both: Bye!

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Adam and Rob

Rob and Adam: Hello!
Adam: Welcome to Episode 15 of the
LearnEnglish Elementary Podcast. Im Adam.
Rob: And Im Rob and its nice to be back here
with you.
Adam: Were going to hear from Tess & Ravi
today; theyll be talking about a city the
biggest and most famous city in Britain Im
sure you know where were talking about.
Rob: First though, as usual, well look at some
of your comments on the last podcast. In that
podcast we talked about social networking and
online friends. We asked you to tell us about
your online friends and how you feel about
social networking and, as usual, you gave us
some very interesting answers.
Adam: The first thing that interested me was
how many of you live in different countries not
the country that youre from. So, for example,
Ladna is from Somalia, but she lives in Alaska
in America. And Mariami is from Georgia but
she lives in Germany. Or Tonya shes
Russian but she lives in Germany too. Im
interested in what takes you to other countries.
Are you working? Studying? Something else? If
youre living in a different country, why not write
and tell us what youre doing there.
Rob: Anyway, someone else who lives in a
country that isnt where shes from is Umi, whos
from Indonesia but lives in Hong Kong, and she
had a lot to say this time about social
networking. Shes not a fan. She says:
Firstly, since we can make new friends very
easily on networking sites, it makes us lazy
about making an effort to socialise in real life.
Secondly, we spend extra time on the computer
and it eventually leads to a lack of movement,
which also leads to obesity.
Adam: Umi also mentions risks to our
relationships and our privacy. Some of you
disagreed with Umi and some of you agreed. It
was a really interesting discussion and we
enjoyed reading it.
Rob: Now, weve already mentioned Tonya
from Russia who lives in Germany. She says:
There are not so many Russian people in
Germany I can communicate with. I talk online
with my internet friends, some of them Ive know
for many years and these friends know me
better than some of my real friends in Germany.
With some of my internet friends I have an
intense relationship and we write almost every
week.
Adam: So, online friends can help you when
youre away from home. And they can help you
get in touch with people all over the world
Amanda Clemente from Brazil has friends from
Argentina to Kazakhstan. It's awesome how
knowledge of other languages, especially
English, can connect you to different people.
Rob: Thats true. Some of you did mention that
you have online friends that you dont know in
real life. Laia in Spain (whose username is
ahappylearner - nice user name, Laia!) says I
have lots of "friends" on Facebook, but I don't
even know half of them. I know most of them
only by sight, I see them around high school but
at the most we say hello, hows it going and
bye! And then with some of them on Facebook
we talk for hours, but face to face we only greet
each other!
Adam: Thats strange, isnt it? In real life you
just say hello, how are you?, but online you
chat like old friends. Maybe its a difference
between younger people and older people.
Rob: Anyway, thanks for all your great
comments. Sorry we dont have time to read out
more of them. Its always good to hear what you
think so remember you can write to us at
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Adam: I also noticed this week that we have a
listener called Ravi!
Rob: Welcome Ravi, and now lets listen to the
original Ravi, along with Tess, talking about a
special British city.

London

Tess: Hello again, everyone. Im Tess.
Ravi: And Im Ravi.
Tess: And were here again to talk about the
things you think you know about Britain and the
things that you think are very British.
Ravi: Weve talked about British food, British
weather, drinking tea and lots of other things,
but today is a little bit different. We noticed that
lots of you, when you talked about British
things, talked about places in London places
youve visited or would like to visit or just places
that you think are very British and were going
to take a look at some of them. What do you
think people chose, Tess?
Tess: Big Ben?
Ravi: Good guess. Yep, the first one was Big
Ben. If you dont know it, Big Ben is the name
given to the really big clock tower right in the
centre of London next to the Houses of
Parliament. It was finished in 18...
Tess: How do you know that? Have you been
studying?
Ravi: Research, Tess, research. It was finished
in 1859 and its over ninety-six metres high.
Actually, Big Ben is really the name of the bell
that rings every hour to tell you what time it is,
but everyone says Big Ben for the clock and the
tower as well.
Tess: Why do you think its so famous?
Ravi: Well, its sort of the symbol of London,
isnt it? New York has the Statue of Liberty,
Paris has the Eiffel Tower and London has
Big Ben.
Tess: Its nice, isnt it, when you hear the bells
ringing for the hour, because you hear them on
TV or the radio, on the BBC? What other places
did people talk about in London?
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Ravi: Well, Buckingham Palace is another
place lots of people mentioned.
Tess: Ah, the Queens home. Yeah, thats a
really popular place for tourists to visit and see
the changing of the guard and things. What
have you learned about Buckingham Palace?
How old is it?
Ravi: The oldest part was built in 1705, but new
bits were added after that. Its got two hundred
and forty bedrooms, I think, and seventy eight
bathrooms and ..
Tess: Do you know what it means when you
see the flag flying above Buckingham Palace? It
means that the Queen is there, in the palace.
Shes got lots of different homes, hasnt she?
Ravi: Hmm. Are you sure, Tess? I dont think it
does. I think the flag is flying all the time these
days. Anyway, when was the last time you went
to Buckingham Palace?
Tess: Inside the palace? Never. Actually, its a
real tourist attraction, isnt it? Lots of tourists go
there, but if you live in Britain you dont go there
very often.
Ravi: No, not really. Theres always a big crowd
there though for big royal events, like a wedding
in the royal family or Princess Dianas funeral,
isnt there?
Tess: Yeah. Its sort of a symbol, isnt it? A
symbol of the royal family.
Ravi: Yeah. Actually, the royal family is another
thing on our list another thing that people said
is typical of Britain. Lets talk about that next
time.
Tess: OK. What other things in London did
people say were typically British?
Ravi: Lets have a look. The London Eye,
shopping in Oxford Street, the Houses of
Parliament, the London underground I think
we might have to come back to this one another
time, OK?
Tess: OK, then, lets do that.
Adam and Rob

Adam: Its true that Big Ben is sort of a symbol
of London, isnt it? Ravi said that Paris has the
Eiffel Tower, New York has the statue of liberty
and London has Big Ben. How about you Rob -
do you have a favourite sight in London? Or
somewhere you take visitors when youre
there?
Rob: I do like Big Ben, I think its a great symbol
for London. But when I go there with friends, I
usually take them to a place called Borough
Market. Its just in the centre, south of the river.
Adam: Why do you like it?
Rob: Well, its a really authentic place with lots
of great, great food from all over the world. And
you can have something to eat, you can have
something to drink; its just got a really good
atmosphere.
Adam: Sounds great. Ill have to go there next
time Im in London. How about you, listeners?
Have you been to London? Did you like it?
Write and tell us what you know or think about
London. We love hearing from you and you can
contact us at
Rob: Right, thats almost all weve got time for.
But first, well remind you about the exercises
youll find on our website. As usual, there are
some useful tips to help you with your English.
Listen to this:
Ravi: It was finished in 18
Tess: How do you know that? Have you been
studying?
Ravi: Research, Tess, research. It was finished
in 1859 and its over 96 metres high.
Adam: Ravi gave two years: 1850 and 1859. If
you ever have problems saying the year in
English, then the exercises on the LearnEnglish
site will help.
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Rob: Youll also find exercises on the different
kinds of sights you can see in cities, on passive
sentences, heights, weights and measures and
lots, lots more.
Adam: Do go to the website and try the
exercises and write and tell us what you think.
Were going to meet our LearnEnglish
colleagues in London next week, so well be
back in three weeks with more from Carolina.
Until then
Rob and Adam: Bye!
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Adam
Welcome to episode 16 of the Learn
English Elementary Podcast. Im Adam.

Rob is on a business trip at the moment, but
its nice to be back. First of all, Id like to say
sorry that there hasnt been a podcast for a
while. Rob and I both had to travel for work
this month and we havent been around. But
one of us is back now with another great
podcast for you.

Later on, well be catching up with Carolina
and Im afraid she isnt very happy this
week.

But first, lets have a look at some of your
comments on the last podcast, when we
asked you for your thoughts on London.

Tess and Ravi talked about Big Ben and
Buckingham Palace but you, listeners,
mentioned loads of other things in London:
Tower Bridge, Madame Tussauds, the
British Museum, Hyde Park, Camden
Market, the changing of the guards,
Trafalgar Square even those of you who
havent been to London seem to know a lot
about it.

And it wasnt just London. You also
mentioned Oxford University and
Stonehenge and the city of Bath - other
places youd like to visit in England. A few
of you are fans of English football like
Mohammed in J ordan who really wants to
visit Wembley Stadium.

Sora from Korea is lucky; shes going to
study in London in September. Write and
tell us how you find it, Sora.

And theres good news too for Tanya in
Russia and Angelo in Italy. Tanya
mentioned Sherlock Holmes and Angelo
talked about seeing the famous double-
decker buses in London. Well, both of those
things will be in a future podcast so keep
listening out!

So many great comments, as usual too
many to read out all the good ones but I
do want to look at just one more. Its from
Raviha in Pakistan and it says Rob, I love
your Word on the Street series.

Now, if you dont know, Word on the Street
is a TV programme made by the BBC and
the British Council and you can find it on the
LearnEnglish website. Go to:
www.britishcouncil.org/wordonthestreet

And thats almost the same address to send
your comments to. We love hearing from
you, so keep the comments coming to

Right, time now to catch up with Carolina
again. Carolina is from Venezuela and is
studying at Newcastle University. Weve
been following her life. Last time there was
good news for Carolinas friend Emily, but
this time things arent going too well for
Carolina
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Carolina

At the shop
Carolina: That's four pounds please. Thank
you. Would you like a bag? OK. Who's next?
Man: I am.
Carolina: Oh, yes. OK, that's two pounds
nineteen please.
Man: How much?
Carolina: Two pounds nineteen.
Man: Ninety or nineteen? I can't understand
you.
Carolina: Nineteen. Two pounds nineteen
pence.
Man: "Two pounds nineteen pence". Why don't
you learn to speak English?
Carolina: I I do I I'm sorry

At University
Mrs Greenwood: So that's it for today. I'll see
you next week. If anyone wants to talk about
their essay, I'll be in my office from two to five
tomorrow afternoon. And don't forget, the
deadline for the essay is Monday morning. And
that's the absolute final deadline. I will not
accept any essays after that time. Is that
understood?
Students: Yes, Mrs Greenwood.
Mrs Greenwood: I'm looking forward to reading
them. Right, OK. Have a good week.
Students: Thank you, Mrs Greenwood / Bye
Mrs Greenwood
Carolina: Oh no!
Student: What's up?
Carolina: The deadline. Monday morning. Is
she really serious? She really won't accept any
essays after Monday?
Student: Oh yes, she's serious. I did a course
with her last year. Two people failed because
they didn't do their essays on time.
Carolina: Oh, God!

At the Post Office
Voice through microphone: Cashier number
five, please.
Clerk: Good morning.
Carolina: I want to collect a parcel. It's from
Venezuela, for Carolina del Barco. Here's the
card.
Clerk: Can I see some identification?
Carolina: I'm sorry?
Clerk: You need to show me some
identification.
Carolina: I need to...?
Clerk: I'm sorry, but I can't give you the parcel if
you don't show me some identification.
Carolina: I'm very sorry but I don't understand.
Can you speak more slowly?
Clerk: I-den-ti-fi-ca-tion. Pass-port.
Carolina: Oh yes identification, passport...
yes, of course. I'm sorry. Here you are.

At home
Carolina: It's me, Emily. I'm tired. I'm going to
go straight to bed.
Emily: OK. Night. See you tomorrow.
Carolina: Goodnight. Hola mam. I oh

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Adam

Oh dear! Carolina sounds really miserable,
really homesick.

It happens sometimes when youre a long
way from home. It just takes a few small
things to go wrong, and it can make you feel
really unhappy. I remember the first time I
went to church camp. My parents weren't
there, and I was 10, but I was OK until I put
ten pence in the payphone and heard my
parents' voices. Then I ran away to cry
where the other boys couldn't see me.

How about you, listeners? A lot of you dont
live at home or you lived away from home in
the past. Do you ever feel homesick? If you
do, what do you do to make yourself feel
better? Even if youve never felt homesick,
what advice would you give to Carolina to
make herself feel better?

Write and tell us what you think at:

Now, one thing that went wrong for poor
Carolina was making a mistake with her
English listen to this bit again:

Carolina: Oh, yes. OK, that's two
pounds nineteen please.
Man: How much?
Carolina: Two pounds nineteen.
Man: Ninety or nineteen? I can't
understand you.
Carolina: Nineteen. Two pounds
nineteen pence.
Man: "Two pounds nineteen pence".
Why don't you learn to speak English?
Carolina: I... I do I I'm sorry

Carolina got confused about the stress of
nineteen and ninety its an easy mistake
to make. In nineteen we stress the second
syllable teen and in ninety we stress the
first syllable nine. It makes a big
difference.

However, if we are giving a date, like
nineteen eighty-nine, we stress the first
syllable of nineteen. English can be really
difficult sometimes!

If you want help with syllables and stress
weve put some exercises on the website
for you. Theyll help you recognise how
many syllables you hear and which
syllables are stressed.

Youll find lots of other exercises there too
so do go and look at the website, and send
us your comments its always great to
hear from you.

Well be back next time with more from
Tess and Ravi, talking about a famous
British family who could that be?

Thats all for now. See you next time bye!
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Adam
Hello! Welcome to Episode 17 of the
LearnEnglish Elementary Podcast. Im
Adam. Rob is on another business trip this
week. I think Im going to have to find a new
presenter if hes never here!

Today were going to hear from Tess & Ravi
again and, as usual, theyll be talking about
something British - a famous British family -
and I'm sure you've got a pretty good idea
who that's going to be.

But first, let's talk about some of your
comments on the last podcast. We're
following the story of Carolina, a student
from Venezuela who's studying in
Newcastle in Britain. And in the last podcast
Carolina had a very bad day - so we asked
you to tell us about your experiences of
being homesick and what you did to make
yourself feel better. A lot of you felt very
sorry for Carolina and talked about times
when you feel (or felt) the same. And you
had a lot of good advice for Carolina and
other people in the same situation.

Elaheh, who is from Iran but studying in
Germany, says she feels very homesick,
especially when the weather is cold and
rainy! But she can make herself feel better
by listening to Persian music, watching
Persian films or going to a Persian
restaurant. I like Persian restaurants, too.

And our friend Umi, who has lived away
from home since she was thirteen, has a lot
of suggestions. For example, she says
"explore a new place visit some
interesting places in your second home
go out if you feel a bit down". She also talks
about how easy it is to keep in touch with
your family and friends at home with
modern technology, like mobile phones,
Skype or sites like Facebook.

And Ahmed from Algeria says Carolina
should talk to a friend - "ideally someone
who's going through the same experience -
she might feel better when she can cheer
up someone else". That's good advice.

Some of you are feeling a bit nervous about
going abroad in the future, like ewcielinka
from Poland and D-life from Turkey. And the
good news is that most of you said that
feelings of sadness and being homesick
don't last for ever. Aigerim from Kazakhstan
says she cried a lot when she first left
home, but she says "this world is not
without kind people and they helped me".

And some of you told Carolina not to worry
about her English. J ulia from Hong Kong
said "It's natural for you to have difficulty
speaking English fluently." J ulia told
Carolina to remember that she can speak in
English, but the rude man in the shop
probably doesn't speak any Spanish at all.

And to really cheer Carolina up, both
J ohnny from Brazil and Manasset from
Cameroon said how much they liked her
voice and her Venezuelan accent.

A big thanks to everyone who wrote in with
comments and suggestions. There might be
a lot of people around the world feeling
homesick and sad, and your messages can
be a great help - so keep them coming at
www.britishcouncil.org/learnenglish or look
for us on Facebook.

We'll be finding out how Carolina's getting
on next time. But now it's time to hear from
Tess and Ravi, talking about that famous
British family.
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Tess and Ravi
Ravi: Hello there, were back again to talk
about the things you think you know about
Britain. Im Ravi.
Tess: And Im Tess. And todays topic from
the things you chose is the royal family.
Were going to tell you something about the
Queen and her family the British royal
family. What could be more British than
that?
Ravi: Lets take turns, Tess. Ill start with
the Queen. Well, shes Queen Elizabeth the
Second and shes been queen for a really
long time, since 1952. Her father was King
George VI and he died when she was 26,
so she was quite young when she became
Queen and shes quite old now. Shes
married to Tess?
Tess: Shes married to Prince Philip. Hes
five years older than her and hes Greek; he
was part of the Greek royal family. Hes also
known as the Duke of Edinburgh and hes
also known for being quite down to earth,
he speaks his mind
Ravi: OK, Tess, I know what you mean.
The Queen and Prince Philip have got three
children
Tess: Four!
Ravi: Yes four children. The oldest one is
Princess Anne
Tess: No she isnt. Charles is the oldest.
Ravi: Is he? Are you sure?
Tess: Certain.
Ravi: Really? OK then, Princess Anne is
the second oldest
Tess: Yes.
Ravi: And shes also called the Princess
Royal. Its tricky this when everyone seems
to have two names. Members of the royal
family usually have a title, like The Duke of
Edinburgh or the Princess Royal. Anyway,
Annes the second oldest
Tess: And the Queens oldest child is
Prince Charles. That means hes the heir to
the throne, the next one to be king, after the
Queen. His title is the Prince of Wales, so
Prince Charles, the Prince of Wales, is the
heir to the throne. Hes married to Camilla.
Ravi: Whats her title Duchess of
Cornwall, isnt it?
Tess: Thats right.
Ravi: But everyone knows he used to be
married to Princess Diana, who died in
1997. Now, Charles and Diana had two
children.
Tess: Hang on! We said the Queen and
Prince Philip had four children. We havent
done all of them yet. The other two are
Andrew and Edward.
Ravi: Oh yeah, thats right. Prince Andrew
hes the Duke of York used to be married
to Sarah Ferguson - and Prince Edward,
hes the erm, Tess?
Tess: The Earl of Wessex. I looked it up.
Ravi: Hes the youngest of the Queens
children. Anyway, as I said, Charles and
Diana had two children, two boys, Prince
William and Prince Harry. Williams the
oldest, so hell be king after Prince Charles.
Charles will be King Charles the Third and
after that William will be King William the
Fifth, wont he?
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Tess: Yeah, William the Fifth. Hes second
in line to the throne after his dad, Prince
Charles.
Ravi: And hes just got married to Kate
Middleton. Right, I hope youve
remembered all that - lots of names and
titles! I think its important to say that the
Queen isnt in charge of the country; she
doesnt have any real political power. The
Prime Minister is the most important person
politically in the country but the Queen is
important as a sort of symbol, dont you
think?
Tess: Yeah. I mean, you know, some
people dont think we should have a King or
Queen but I think the royal family are quite
popular, dont you? People like them.
Ravi: Yeah, I agree. And I wouldnt like to
be a member of the royal family. They dont
get any privacy cameras and journalists
everywhere! It must be terrible.
Tess: Dont worry Ravi. I dont think youll
ever be a prince.
Ravi: You never know, Tess, I might meet a
princess.
Tess: Yes, Ravi.

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Adam

It isn't easy to explain all the names and
titles for the British Royal family, especially
when everyone has two names. At school, it
was hard to remember the names of the
kings and queens, because so many have
the same name! There are 8 Henrys, for
example, and you have to remember the
number. And to make it worse, you write the
number with old Roman numbers, so I is
one and V is five so Henry VIII is actually
Henry the Eighth!

Did any of you have to learn kings and
queens at school? And how many of you
live in countries which still have kings and
queens? Write, and let us know.

Another thing is I noticed when I was
listening to Tess and Ravi is how difficult it
can be to describe your family in English -
how people are related to you and to each
other, who's the oldest and who's the
youngest. It can be especially complicated
when people get divorced and then get
married again. For example, one of my
friends has two mothers, two fathers, and
three brothers. His parents got divorced and
then they both remarried. So now he has a
mother, a father, a stepmother, a stepfather,
a brother, and two stepbrothers! Thats
complicated!

I know in some languages, all the family
relationships are very clear. In some Asian
languages, you have different words for
your uncle on your mother's side and on
your father's side, as well as different words
for older and younger brothers, sisters, and
cousins, but in English, you have to explain
everything! Is that true in your language?

There are some exercises on the website to
help you with the vocabulary and grammar
that you need to talk about families. We've
got some exercises to practice the different
words for family relationships, and some to
help you explain who is older and younger.
There's even a puzzle to test your logic
skills! And if you're as confused as Ravi
about the British Royal family, don't worry.
There are comprehension exercises to help
you with that, too.

Don't forget you can do them online or
download the pdf file and print them.

Remember to write and tell us about your
families or your Royal families. You know
we really like getting to know more about
you. The address is
We always enjoy reading your messages.

And, unfortunately, thats all weve got time
for today. But we'll be back soon, with more
news about Carolina. So see you next time.
Bye!
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Adam
Hello. Welcome to episode 18 of the Learn
English Elementary podcast. I'm Adam. Rob
is away again, but he promised me that hell
be back soon.

We're going to hear from Carolina today.
She wasn't very happy last time, so let's
hope things are a bit better now.

But first, your comments on the last
podcast. Tess and Ravi talked about the
complicated British royal family. It was quite
difficult for them to explain all the names
and titles and the family relationships. S
Kumar from India wrote "I got confused
when Tess and Ravi talked about the
names of the royal family. I had to repeat
the recording to remember them, but it was
fun."

Some of you told us about royal families in
your countries from the past and the
present. Isabelle described the Belgian
royal family: King Albert II and his family.
Sylfide wrote from Spain about the royal
family there and her opinions about them.
And, from the past, our old podcast friend
tkazerooni from Iran told us about the last
Iranian royal family. David Mahi and
Kirankumar both talked about the old kings
and queens of India, like Ashoka the Great.
And Leonnidaz and Shahrazed both wrote
about the ancient kingdom of Numidia in the
north of Africa. Very interesting.

Other users like Michelle from Brazil,
Bigoak from South Korea and DiR from
Romania wrote about the political systems
in their countries, which dont have royal
families. We learned a lot, so please keep
on writing your comments.

You also told us about your families. Some
of you have small families that aren't very
complicated to describe, like Mariam from
Egypt and Damoskhan from Iran, for
example.

Bigoak talked about describing families in
Korean. He says "We have different words
for a boy who is the son of the sister of my
mother, or a boy who is the son of the
brother of my mother". Right

And he says "We have different words for a
girl who is the daughter of the brother of my
father, or the daughter of the brother of my
mother. Very complicated isn't it?" Well,
yes, Bigoak, it is. But Bigoak explains that it
doesn't matter if he forgets the words for his
family members because everyone is very
busy and so they don't meet very often!

Angelo from Italy sent in a logic puzzle like
exercise 6 in the last podcast - thanks
Angelo. "Sean is looking at a photo of a
boy. Albert asks him Who is the boy in this
picture?" Sean answers I haven't got any
brothers or sisters, but the father of this boy
is the son of my father. So who's the boy in
the photo?"

Think about it! I'll tell you the answer at the
end of the podcast.

Now it's time to find out how Carolina is
doing. Carolina is from Venezuela and she's
studying at Newcastle University in Britain.
She lives with her friend Emily in a student
house. Last time, Carolina was feeling
homesick. You sent in lots of very good
advice. You said she should talk to a friend,
go out, talk to her family, listen to
Venezuelan music Let's see what
happened.
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Emily: Carolina? Carolina! It's two o'clock in
the afternoon. Are you going to stay in bed
all day? Are you ill? Come on Carolina! I'm
worried about you.
Carolina: Come in, Emily.
Emily: What's the matter? You look terrible.
You've been crying.
Carolina: Oh Emily!
Emily: What?
Carolina: I'm feeling so unhappy.
Emily: Why? Whatever's wrong? Tell me.
Carolina: It isn't one thing. Yesterday was a
terrible day. There was a horrible man in the
shop he said I should learn to speak
English.
Emily: No! That's terrible. But you know
that's just one person, Carolina. Most
people are friendly, aren't they?
Carolina: Yes. But then I couldn't
understand the man in the post office I
couldn't understand what he said. It was
horrible. I felt so stupid.
Emily: You're not stupid. I don't understand
people sometimes.
Carolina: But I'm a foreigner here this
isn't my country. It's difficult for me - I'm
tired, Emily. I miss Venezuela. I miss my
family. I want to go home. I just want to go
home. My mother phoned last night and I
just started crying when I heard her voice. It
was horrible.
Emily: Oh Carolina. I don't know what to
say.
Carolina: You can't say anything.
Emily: You know there's a student
counsellor at the university don't you?
Carolina: A student counsellor?
Emily: For students who have problems.
You can go and see him and talk. About
your problems. Maybe he can help.
Carolina: No. I don't think so.
Emily: Are you sure? I can phone and
make an appointment for you?
Carolina: I'm sure. Thanks Emily. I'll be OK.
Emily: Look, why don't we go out for the
day on Sunday? Do something different?
Carolina: I cant. I have to finish my essay.
That's another thing. My university work.
Last year everything was OK, but this year,
I don't know, I can't do things on time.
Everything's late.
Emily: You're working too hard you never
have time to relax that's why you're
depressed. We'll go out on Sunday, I'll invite
J amie too. I know you don't have much time
to see him.
Carolina: It's Sunday. He has his band
practice.
Emily: Not this Sunday. They're not
practicing tomorrow.
Carolina: How do you know?
Emily: Cameron told me.
Carolina: Cameron told you?
Emily: Yes. Now get out of bed, have a
shower, sit down, and finish that essay.
You've got three hours before you have to
go to work.
Carolina: OK.
Emily: Then, on Sunday, we'll go to the city
farm.
Carolina: City farm? OK, I've never been. If
I finish my essay.
Emily: You will. Come on. Shower. I'll make
you some coffee.
Carolina: Thank you, Emily.

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Adam

Oh, good. Emily is organizing Carolina and
shes going to get up, have a shower, and
write her essay before work. And on
Sunday, they're going to the city farm; that
will cheer her up. In case you don't know, a
city farm is a farm, with animals like cows
and goats and chickens, but in a city, so
that children (and adults, of course) can visit
and learn about nature and where milk and
eggs and meat come from. What contact do
people have with nature where you live?

I don't live near a city farm, but when I'm
feeling a bit down, I always go cycling in the
forest. What about you? Write and tell us
about a place you go when you want to
cheer up. Somewhere that always makes
you feel better. Write and tell us at
www.britishcouncil.org/learnenglish or join
us on Facebook.

Now, let's talk about some of the language
you heard. What forms of the verbs does
Emily use?

Emily: Yes. Now get out of bed, have
a shower, sit down, and finish that
essay. You've got three hours before
you have to go to work.
Carolina: OK.

'Get out of bed, have a shower, sit down,
and finish that essay'. Emily used the
imperative form of the verbs. She was
giving Carolina instructions - telling her what
to do. The important thing for you to
remember is that she didn't say 'you get out
of bed', 'you have a shower'. We don't use a
subject in the imperative. And the negative
is 'don't'. 'Don't get out of bed', 'don't have a
shower'. The imperative form is quite strong
in English, and can sound very rude, so you
can use 'please' to make it more polite:
'Pass me that book, please' or 'Please sit
down.'

And sometimes we can say 'always' or
'never' with an imperative. For example, you
can say 'Always tell the truth!' or 'Never tell
lies!'

There are some exercise using imperatives
on the website and other exercises on
different topics in the podcast, too. You can
do the exercises online or download them
and do them on paper. And don't forget to
send us your comments - we really enjoy
reading them.

We'll be back next time with Tess and Ravi,
talking about a very famous animal. She's
very big and she lives in Scotland. Any
ideas?

Oh, and the logic puzzle? Who's the boy in
the photo?

Ah yes. He's Sean's son of course. Simple!

That's all for now See you next time. Bye!

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Adam and Rob

Both: Hello!
Adam: Welcome to episode 19 of the Learn
English Elementary podcast. I'm Adam and
what's... what's your name?
Rob: Yes, I hope you remember. I'm Rob,
and it's great to be back with you again. I've
been quite busy recently, and sadly, this is
my last podcast, but I hope you're going to
enjoy it today.
Adam: OK. And today we're going to hear
from Tess and Ravi again. As usual, they're
talking about something that you think is
typically British. An animal this time. A
famous animal. Any ideas what it could be?
Rob: But first let's hear some of your
comments on the last podcast. Last time we
heard about Carolina. If you remember, she
was very depressed and didn't want to get
out of bed.
Adam: But her friend, Emily, took control of
the situation. And a lot of you commented
on what a good friend Emily is to Carolina.
Thiosko from Mali said that it's important to
have a friend who helps you, and Emily is
one of the best friends that anyone could
have.
Rob: And Manasset from Cameroon said
"Poor Carolina, but great Emily! You helped
Carolina to get up and to restore her hope".
And he says that from now, when he needs
to cheer up, he'll call Emily and ask her
advice!
Adam: Last time we asked you to write and
tell us about places where you go when you
want to cheer up. And some of you like to
spend time with nature when you're feeling
a bit down. For example, Anacla from
France goes to a little park near her house.
Rob: Pure Girl talks about Hammah park in
Algiers and Yulia from J apan says "When I
feel sad I go to the nearest park by the sea
in my city. There I lie on the grass listening
to birds chirping and watching airplanes
cross the sky leaving their white tracks. And
I begin to think how beautiful the world is".
Adam: Yulia also does exercise when she
feels depressed. She goes to the gym and
she rides her bicycle. Maviduman from
Turkey goes running, and a lot of you go for
a walk.
Rob: Pure Girl also says that she reads the
Koran when she feels down. Ahmed J alilou
from Algeria and promise93 from Libya do
the same. It always helps them to feel
happy. And xiaxiap1202 - I like that name -
also finds her religion helps her. She's a
Chinese girl living in Singapore and she
was depressed when she first arrived - but
then she found a church and met some
friendly people there. She says "The service
also helped me to have positive thoughts,
so I like to go to church".
Adam: Our podcast regular Tkazerooni
from Iran sent us a long message with a lot
of good advice. Liya from China has the
most unusual solution when she feels
depressed; she goes to a karaoke bar. She
says she can let her feelings out when she
sings songs - loudly!
Rob: Wow! But now, let's listen to Tess and
Ravi and find out about that famous animal.

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Tess and Ravi

Tess: Hi everybody, Im Tess!
Ravi: And Im Ravi.
Tess: And as usual were going to talk
about something you think you know about
Britain. Ravi, if I say to you Loch Ness,
what do you think about?
Ravi: The monster: the Loch Ness monster.
Hey, Tess, do you think it really exists? Im
sure
Tess: Right, the Loch Ness monster is
another thing that listeners around the world
said was a very British thing. Well, a very
Scottish thing. First of all, for people who
dont know about it, lets tell the story. Loch
Ness is a big lake in the north of Scotland
and some people lots of people believe
that some strange animal the Loch Ness
monster lives in the lake. What do you
think, Ravi?
Ravi: I think it would be fantastic if there
really was a monster in Loch Ness but, well,
I dont really think there is. Sorry.
Tess: I know what you mean. Its a great
story. There have been stories for hundreds
of years about a big animal living in the lake
its a really big lake but things got really
interesting in 1933 when someone saw the
monster. The newspapers wrote about it
and everyone went crazy about Nessie.
Thats another name for the Loch Ness
monster: Nessie.
Ravi: There are lots of different
photographs and videos of the monster, but
are any of them real, do you think, Tess?
Tess: None of the photographs or videos
really prove that theres a monster. And
there have been lots of different
explanations: a dinosaur, a dolphin,
different types of sea creatures, but no-one
can really prove it.
Ravi: You know, Im sure that if there really
was a monster then someone would have
found it by now. I cant believe there really
is a monster and no-one can find anything
to prove it.
Tess: Well, its a big lake you know and its
difficult to watch all of it all of the time.
Ravi: But still, Tess, come on!
Tess: I know, it is a bit unbelievable, isnt it?
You know some people think that there was
a monster but it died. Thats why no-ones
seen it for a while.
Ravi: Do you know what I think? I think that
the Loch Ness monster is a very good way
to get tourists to go to the north of Scotland.
Tess: Youre right that Loch Ness is one of
the most important tourist attractions in
Scotland. It gets hundreds of thousands of
visitors every year.
Ravi: And imagine if they didnt have the
Loch Ness monster. No-one would go there.
Tess: Well, its still a really beautiful place,
Ravi. I would go there. But, yeah, youre
right, the Loch Ness monster is very good
for tourism. Everyone who goes there
hopes they see the monster and there are
films and books and everything. I think it will
be really sad if they ever say there definitely
isnt a monster.
Ravi: Youre right. Its better not to know for
sure.

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Adam and Rob

Rob: So what do you think? Do you believe
that the Loch Ness monster really exists?
Have you ever visited Loch Ness? Would
you like to go? Write and tell us at
www.britishcouncil.org/learnenglish or leave
us a message on Facebook.
Adam: And tell us about any stories of
strange monsters that you know about from
your country, in the water or on the land.
We love reading your messages and finding
out more about your countries.
Rob: Now let's look at some of the
language from the podcast. Listen. What's
Ravi talking about?
Tess: Youre right that Loch Ness is one of
the most important tourist attractions in
Scotland. It gets hundreds of thousands of
visitors every year.
Adam: Lots of visitors go to Loch Ness
every year because of the monster. Ravi is
imagining Loch Ness without the monster.
And the result? No tourists either. It isn't a
real situation; he's imagining it. Listen again
to the verb forms that Ravi uses.
Rob: He says "Imagine if they didn't have
the Loch Ness monster. No-one would go
there." If they 'didn't have' the Loch Ness
monster no-one 'would go' there. The first
verb, after 'if', is in the past simple - didn't
have, and the second verb is a conditional
form - would go.
Adam: This is the structure that we use to
talk about imaginary situations in the
present or in the future with 'if'. For
example, "If I worked harder, I would get
better marks." Or, "If I had a lot of money I'd
buy a fast car."
Rob: A fast car? You can't drive! If I had a
lot of money, I'd buy a speedboat!
Adam: Actually, I agree. I wouldn't buy a
fast car; I'd buy a boat, too.
Rob: A lot of grammar books call it the
'second conditional' or the 'hypothetical'
conditional. There are some exercises on
the website to practice this type of
conditional and to practice other language
from the podcast, too. And don't forget to
send us your comments. We're looking
forward to hearing what you think about
Nessie and your stories about strange
monsters and animals around the world!
Adam: And, talking of animals, next week
we'll see how Carolina gets on at the city
farm, and hear from some of her new four-
legged friends.
But now, it's time to say goodbye, Rob. It's
been great working with you, and I hope
that we can hear from you again one day.
Rob: I hope so, yes. Thank you. It's been a
pleasure. And thank you all, too, for your
comments. So, it's goodbye from me.
Adam: And it's goodbye from him.
Both: Bye!
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Elementary Podcast

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Elementary Podcast Series 01 Episode 01

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