BBC LEARNING ENGLISH 6 Minute English How do you like your coffee?

Transcription

1 BBC LEARNING ENGLISH 6 Minute English How do you like your coffee? NB: This is not a word-for-word transcript Hello, I'm. Welcome to Six Minute English where we engage in some lively debate and discuss six stimulating items of vocabulary! And let's start. Here's your cup of coffee,. Thanks! But what took you so long,? Sorry. I bumped into somebody I knew in the café and stopped for a chat. OK, well, that fits well with today's show where we're talking about cafés or coffee houses. Did you know,, that coffee houses were originally a meeting place for lively debate and intellectual discussion? Really. I didn't know that,. A debate, by the way, means a discussion that a lot of people take part in. So how long ago was this debating society? The first coffee house was set up in Oxford in But they quickly became popular and soon they were all over London too. You paid a penny to get in, and this included access to newspapers and stimulating conversation! If something is stimulating it encourages ideas and enthusiasm. I expect the coffee helped with that a bit did it? It certainly helps me first thing in the morning. bbclearningenglish.com Page 1 of 4

2 Which brings me on to today's question,! How many cups of coffee do we consume in coffee shops or stores in the UK every year? Consume, by the way, is another word for eat or drink. Is it a) 2.3 million b) 23 million or c) 23 billion? Oh I don't know but it's got to be a lot so I'm going to go for c) 23 billion? That sounds like a lot of coffee, but I buy several cups a week and I expect you do too,? I do indeed. But I have to say, while I was getting our coffees earlier, there was nobody else in the café talking except me and my friend. Everybody was sitting on their own, tapping away on their laptops. Let's listen now to Douglas Fraser, BBC Scotland's Business and Economy Editor, describing the vibe or atmosphere in a typical 21 st century café Douglas Fraser, BBC Scotland's Business and Economy Editor Ten or so in the morning, the café has five people at tables with their backs to the wall, each staring into a screen, plugged in, ears plugged. The flow of bytes through this coffee shop's free wifi is transporting these customers to diverse destinations far from the person beside them. Collaborative working, a research grant application, a potential blockbuster novel, and inevitably, someone distracted by kitten pictures on social media. So the spirit of those 17 th century coffee houses has disappeared then? No more lively debate and intellectual discussion? It seems so. As Douglas Fraser says, many people sit alone plugged into their laptops and they're all doing different things working, writing, messing about on social media. I think the café owners should turn off the free wifi and force these café squatters to move on! I don't think people should be allowed to sit all day using the internet hogging tables and not talking to anybody! Especially when some of them don't even buy a coffee! That's a bit extreme,. Café owners need customers and they encourage people to stay by having comfy sofas and newspapers to read and the free wifi! A squatter, by the way, is someone who lives in an empty building without paying rent. And if you hog something you use most or all of it in a selfish way. bbclearningenglish.com Page 2 of 4

3 I suppose you're right. Now, how about telling us the answer to today's question then? I asked: How many cups of coffee do we consume in cafés or stores in the UK every year? Is it a) 2.3 million b) 23 million or c) 23 billion? I could sit in a cafe and use their free wifi to research the answer but I had a guess and said 23 billion. Well you didn't need that free wifi because you were absolutely right! 23 billion coffees per year works out on average as 45 cups per adult in the UK. OK, I think it's time we looked back at the words we learned today. Our first word is 'debate' a discussion that a lot of people take part in. For example, 'I took part in a number of stimulating debates at school.' Number two if something is 'stimulating', it encourages new ideas and enthusiasm. For example, 'It's hard to have a stimulating conversation with someone who's looking at their phone all the time.' That's very true let me just slide my phone into my pocket there! Our next word is 'consume' another word for eating or drinking but it can also mean 'to use'. For example, 'My car consumes a lot of petrol.' Or, 'How do I calculate my car's fuel consumption?' So 'consumption' there is the noun. Number four is 'vibe' which means the mood or atmosphere in a place. For example, 'Oxford is a city but it has a small-town vibe.' I'm getting bad vibes from our next word which is 'squatter' that's someone who lives in an empty building without paying rent. The building is called a 'squat' so for example, 'I lived in a squat for two years.' Really? You squatted in a squat,? bbclearningenglish.com Page 3 of 4

4 No, it was just an example. I'm not a squatter. You've never squatted? No I haven't. Look we're wasting time here! We need to move on to our final word hog. If you 'hog' something, you use all or most of it in a selfish way. For example, '! You've hogged the only comfy chair! That is so selfish!' I admit it,. I'm a chair hog. That's the noun. OK, before we head off for another cup of coffee please remember to check out our Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube pages. / Bye! bbclearningenglish.com Page 4 of 4

5 BBC LEARNING ENGLISH 6 Minute English Is man flu real? NB: This is not a word-for-word transcript Hello and welcome to 6 Minute English. I'm, and joining me today is. Hi,. Hi, everyone! Bless you! Are you ok? I think I m coming down with something serious. It s just a case of the sniffles. The sniffles is an informal way of saying a cold or flu. It comes from the sniffing sound people make when they have a runny nose. And a runny nose is when liquid mucus keeps leaking from our nose usually when we are sick. I m afraid you ll just have to soldier on. To soldier on means to continue despite difficulty. I m dying! What s it about anyway? It s about man flu, and whether it s actually real, or just something men like to complain about. We'll give you 6 words and expressions and, of course, our quiz question. Alright, fire away. bbclearningenglish.com Page 1 of 5

6 In a survey conducted by Nuts magazine that asked its readers how long they took to recover from a cold or flu, where women put an average of 1.5 days, what did men put? a) 1 day b) 2 days c) 3 days I m going to say 3 days. The threat of man flu is real. Well, we ll find out later, but let s clarify. Man flu is the tendency that many people believe men have to complain about a minor illness, such as a cold or flu, and act as if they were suffering from something a lot more serious. Yes. But science cannot say whether men do actually suffer more than women, or if men just tend to complain more. Well, let s hear from this British couple about whether they think man flu is real or not. INSERT: Vox British Man Men definitely do suffer a lot more, I think, than women do when we get flu. British Woman Yeah, I m not so convinced. I feel like they just complain more. British Man It wipes me out. British Woman I was ill recently and I just carried on and went to work and everything. And when Chris had got sick recently he was on the sofa and couldn t really do anything, so And it seems that it s not just in the UK. Listen to this BBC Journalist interviewing a woman from Europe. INSERT: Vox BBC Journalist You re from the Netherlands. Have you ever accused your boyfriend of having man flu? bbclearningenglish.com Page 2 of 5

7 Dutch woman Oh, absolutely yes. Yeah. BBC Journalist What have you accused him of doing? Dutch woman whining? Whining is when someone complains repeatedly and often in an annoying way about something. So, there certainly seems to be something there but nothing has been proven, right? Well, a recent scientific study has indicated that there could be something to man flu after all. Doctor Kyle Sue, an assistant professor of family medicine at Memorial University of Newfoundland in Canada, has suggested that there could be a difference between men and women when it comes to respiratory diseases. Respiratory meaning related to breathing. He says that there was already a lot of evidence from existing studies suggesting men experience worse, longer-lasting symptoms. Symptoms are the feelings of illness caused by a disease. Listen to him explain why this is. Doctor Kyle Sue, Memorial University, Newfoundland It seems that the higher the testosterone levels, the lower the immune response to these types of infections, whereas the higher the oestrogen level, the stronger the immune response. Testosterone and oestrogen are hormones that exist in both men and women. Testosterone is higher in males and oestrogen is higher in females. Dr. Sue s research suggests that the more oestrogen a person has, the better able they are to fight off the infection. That s it then! Man flu is real! Hold your horses,. There are two problems. First of all, the Royal college of GPs in the UK says that there is no such thing as man flu. And secondly, even Dr Sue admits that these results, including his own, are only suggestive and are not definitive. bbclearningenglish.com Page 3 of 5

8 So, basically he s saying that there is a suggestion that man flu exists, but the evidence so far cannot say for sure. Exactly. More studies need to be done. But you know what we can be sure about? The answer to this week s quiz question. I asked you in a survey conducted by Nuts magazine that asked its readers how long they took to recover from a cold or flu, where women put an average of 1.5 days, what did men put? a) 1 day b) 2 days c) 3 days And I said 3 days. And you were right! Good! The men said they took twice as long to recover! It must be all that manly testosterone. Let s review our vocabulary, shall we? Before I have to have a lie down? Our first was the sniffles. If you have the sniffles, you have a cold, informally speaking. What's the best cure for the sniffles? Stay in bed and sweat it out, my mum always said. Just make sure you have lots of tissues to deal with your runny nose. That s when a person s nose leaks mucus, usually because they are ill. Yuck! Next we had soldier on. This phrasal verb means to continue despite difficulty. When was the last time you had to soldier on,? A few days ago when I went the whole day without eating any lunch! Then we had man bbclearningenglish.com Page 4 of 5

9 flu. That s is the name given to the situation where a person, often a man, tends to complain and exaggerate a small illness such as a cold. Do you do that,? I m sure my wife would say I do! Next we had whining. If you whine, you complain repeatedly and often in an annoying way. Like my children did last time I didn t buy them ice-cream. And finally we had symptoms. These are the feelings of illness caused by a disease. What are the symptoms of flu,? A headache, aching muscles, and a fever. And that s the end of this 6 Minute English! Don t forget to check out our YouTube, Facebook, Twitter and Instagram pages. There you made it. You can collapse now. Bye. Bye! bbclearningenglish.com Page 5 of 5

10 BBC LEARNING ENGLISH 6 Minute English The rise of the machines This is not a word-for-word transcript Hello and welcome to 6 Minute English. I'm and joining me today is. Hi. Hi. What s with the protective gear and helmet? I m just getting ready for the inevitable rise of the machines. That s the takeover of the world by artificial intelligence, or AI, which some people predict will happen. Inevitable means cannot be avoided or stopped. Rise of the machines? What do you mean? It s our topic in this 6 Minute English. We ll be talking about that, giving you six related pieces of vocabulary and, of course, our regular quiz question. That s the first thing you ve said that makes any sense. What s the question? The word robot as we use it today was first used in a 1920 s Czech play Rossum s Universal ots. But before this, what was its original meaning? a) forced labour b) metal man c) heartless thing I will go for a) forced labour We ll find out if you were right or not later in the show. 6 Minute English British Broadcasting Corporation 2018 bbclearningenglish.com Page 1 of 4

11 OK. Tell me what s going on. I saw a news article written by BBC technology correspondent Rory Cellan-Jones about the recent CES technology show in Las Vegas. He interviewed David Hanson, founder of Hanson otics, who said it was his ambition to achieve an AI that can beat humans at any intellectual task. Surely it s a good thing! Better AI and robotics could take over many of the jobs that we don t want to do, or that are so important to get 100% right like air traffic control. We d never have another plane crash. It would be infallible because it would be so clever. Infallible means never failing. And that s what bothers me. What happens when its intelligence surpasses ours? Why should it do what we want it to do? To surpass something is to do or be better than it., you ve been watching too many movies. ots fighting humanity is a popular theme. Guess what humanity often wins. And besides, we would programme the computer to be benevolent. Benevolent means kind and helpful. But that s just it, once the intelligence becomes sentient, or able to think for itself, who knows what it will do. We humans are not exactly perfect, you know. What happens if it decides that it is better than us and wants us out of the way? Don t worry. Asimov thought of that. Isaac Asimov was an American science fiction writer who, among other things, wrote about robots. He came up with three laws that every robot would have to follow to stop it from acting against humanity. So we re safe! I m not so sure. A sentient robot could make up its own mind about how to interpret the laws. For example, imagine if we created an AI system to protect all of humanity. Well, that s great! No more war. No more murder. No more fighting. Do you really think that humans can stop fighting? What if the AI decides that the only way to stop us from hurting ourselves and each other is to control everything we do, so it takes over to protect us. Then we would lose our freedom to a thing that we created that is 6 Minute English British Broadcasting Corporation 2018 bbclearningenglish.com Page 2 of 4

12 infallible and more intelligent than we are! That s the end,! I think that s a little far-fetched, which means difficult to believe. I m sure others don t think that way. OK. Let s hear what the Learning English team say when I ask them if they are worried that AI and robots could take over the world. Insert Phil Well, it s possible, but unlikely. There will come a point where our technology will be limited probably before real AI is achieved. Sam Never in a million years. First of all we d programme them so that they couldn t, and secondly we d beat them anyway. Haven t you ever seen a movie? Kee I totally think it could happen. We only have to make a robot that s smart enough to start thinking for itself. After that, who knows what it might do. A mixed bag of opinions there,. It seems you aren t alone. Nope. But I don t exactly have an army of support either. I guess we ll just have to wait and see. Speak for yourself. I ve waited long enough for our quiz question that is. Oh yeah! I asked you what the original meaning of the word robot was before it was used in its modern form. a) forced labour b) metal man c) heartless thing And I said a) forced labour And you were right! 6 Minute English British Broadcasting Corporation 2018 bbclearningenglish.com Page 3 of 4

13 Shall we take a look at the vocabulary then? OK. First we had inevitable. If something is inevitable then it cannot be avoided or stopped. Can you think of something inevitable,? It is inevitable that one day the Sun will stop burning. Then we had infallible, which means never failing. Give us an example,. The vaccine for small pox is infallible. The natural spread of that disease has been completely stopped. After that was surpasses. If something surpasses something else then it becomes better than it. Many parents across the world hope that their children will surpass them in wealth, status or achievement. After that we heard benevolent, which means kind and helpful. Name a person famous for being benevolent,. Father Christmas is a benevolent character. After that we heard sentient. If something is sentient, it is able to think for itself. Indeed. Many people wonder about the possibility of sentient life on other planets. Finally we heard far-fetched, which means difficult to believe. Like that far-fetched story you told me the other day about being late because of a dragon,. I swear it was real! It had big sharp teeth and everything! Yeah, yeah, yeah. And that s the end of this 6 Minute English. Don t forget to check out our Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube pages. See you next time! Bye! Bye. 6 Minute English British Broadcasting Corporation 2018 bbclearningenglish.com Page 4 of 4

14 BBC LEARNING ENGLISH 6 Minute English Should schoolchildren have jobs? NB: This is not a word-for-word transcript Hello and welcome to 6 Minute English. I'm and joining me today is who is a producer at BBC Learning English that's his job. Hi everyone Yes that is my job, obviously why are we discussing that now,? Well you haven't always been a producer at BBC Learning English, have you? No I used to be a teacher. And before that? Way back your first ever job? Ah, I had a paper round when I was 14. A paper round is a job the job of delivering newspapers to people's homes. It's often done by teenagers. 14 seems very young to be at work. And that's the topic of this 6 Minute English: Should schoolchildren have jobs? It seems fewer and fewer are these days, according to the statistics. We'll give you 6 job-related words and expressions and, of course, our quiz question. You Ready? You bet! What is the youngest age at which children are allowed to work in the UK? a) 12 bbclearningenglish.com Page 1 of 5

15 b) 13 c) 14 Well, I'm going to say 14 just because that's how old I was and it seems a long time ago! We'll find out at the end of the programme. Let's start by hearing some British teenagers talking about their Saturday jobs. A Saturday job is the name we give to part-time work that teenagers do for extra money. As the name suggests, these jobs often take place on Saturdays but not always. That's right - 'Saturday job' is general term we use to describe part-time work done by teenagers. The work might take place on Sundays or any day of the week, in fact! Let's hear from these British children about their Saturday jobs. Insert Vox We have to face all the stuff on the shelves and make it look organised and show customers where products are if they need to know. On the average week I work nine hours, so two hours for two school nights and then I work four hours on a Saturday and two hours on a Sunday. And then in the school holidays I can work more. The first kid said the work involves making the shelves look organised. Shop work is a very typical Saturday job. Oh yes, I spent many a weekend and evening stacking shelves! The second teenager's Saturday job takes place Saturdays, Sundays and evenings. As we said A Saturday job's not just for Saturdays. A Saturday job is seen almost as a rite of passage in the UK. A rite of passage is the name we give to events or ceremonies that form an important stage in a person's life. That's right like graduating from school, or having children. But according to the latest statistics in the UK, that is all changing. Listen to this BBC report. bbclearningenglish.com Page 2 of 5

16 Insert BBC reporter In order to work, they need a permit from the local authority and our data shows the number being issued has fallen from nearly 30,000 permits in 2012 to just 23,000 in Employers frequently bemoan the lack of work experience young people have. But teenagers are also facing pressure not to take up part-time jobs and to concentrate on their studies instead. So, it seems that fewer teenagers are taking Saturday jobs. But there's a conflict here. Yes, on the one hand, employers bemoan the lack of work experience young people have. Bemoan, meaning complain about. It's a rather formal word. But on the other hand, teenagers are facing pressure not to take part-time jobs and to concentrate on their studies. Some people think working could be detrimental to a schoolchild's academic progress. Detrimental - which means causing harm. It's a tricky one, isn't it? I think my Saturdays spend stacking shelves and serving fish 'n' chips taught me valuable lessons about working with adults and also managing my money. I don't think it was detrimental to my education. Well, you managed to get a job at BBC Learning English! As for me, my paper round taught me the value of hard work. It didn't hinder me. Hinder means to stop someone or something from making progress. Well let's not talk too much in case we hinder our students On to the answer to our quiz question. I asked this: What is the youngest age at which children are allowed to work in the UK? a) 12 b) 13 c) 14 I said c) 14. bbclearningenglish.com Page 3 of 5

17 And I'm afraid you are wrong. You are allowed to work from the age of 13 in the UK. Exceptions to this rule include TV, theatre and modelling. Oh well I guess I should have spent more time at school. Shall we have a recap of the vocabulary? Did you have a paper round as a kid,? No I didn't, but I did help my best friend James deliver newspapers - in return for a pound. Big money back in the 80s! Did you supplement your earnings with a Saturday job? I did. I had a Saturday job in a supermarket and also in a fish 'n' chip shop but it wasn't always on a Saturday. Free chips! is that a wedding ring on your finger? Yes it is. Marriage is a rite of passage in many cultures. It is an important stage in a person's life talking of which, are those your kids on your screensaver? Yep having children is another example of a rite of passage. See how tired I look! Do not bemoan your lack of sleep! Bemoan's a quite formal way of saying 'complain about'. I think it's OK to bemoan my lack of sleep it can have a detrimental effect on my health. Detrimental meaning harmful. As long as your tiredness doesn't hinder your work on 6 Minute English Well, I'd never let anything hinder meaning stop from making progress 6 Minute English. bbclearningenglish.com Page 4 of 5

18 I admire your dedication! Goodbye! See ya! bbclearningenglish.com Page 5 of 5

19 BBC LEARNING ENGLISH 6 Minute English The perfect Santa NB: This is not a word-for-word transcript Hello and welcome to 6 Minute English. I'm and joining me today is who is looking very jolly. Of course I'm looking jolly meaning happy and smiley; it's my favourite time of the year. Ah yes, all that food, all those presents, all that fun. Forget the food and fun Christmas is all about the presents! I'm not sure that's quite the spirit the real meaning of something. Well,, I was actually talking about giving presents, not getting them. Ah sorry,, I misjudged you. As you enjoy giving presents so much, I'm very pleased to have you with me in this 6 Minute English Our topic What makes the perfect Santa? We'll have 6 items of vocabulary for you and, of course, our quiz question. Ready? Hit me. How many Santas are there in the world? a) 1,500 b) 15,000 c) 15 million bbclearningenglish.com Page 1 of 5

20 1 know there are a lot but 15 million must be wrong; 1,500 seems too few, so I'll go for 15,000. We'll see if you're right at the end of the programme., you seem like a strong candidate for a job as Santa. Ever considered it? I'd love to! A candidate is a person competing for a job. And what do you think is a key part of being Santa or Father Christmas as we also call him in the UK? You've already mentioned being jolly I have. Let's listen to James Lovell, who runs a Santa school at his company Ministry of Fun in London. What does he say is the key? Insert James Lovell A perfect 'ho ho ho!' is a key part of being a Father Christmas. It's a ho ho ho! And it needs to just reinforce the fact that you are the jolliest person on the planet. So I like to reach down into my tummy, tap it and with a big smile on my face go ho ho hoooo! The perfect ho ho ho! You need that to reinforce the fact you are the jolliest person in the world. To reinforce means to make something stronger. Ho ho ho! Wow,! You're very convincing. Are you sure you've never done this before? I haven't but I want to. It feels good! Ho ho ho! I could be the ideal career move for you,. But I bet it's not all fun. bbclearningenglish.com Page 2 of 5

21 Hmm, maybe. I think there would be a lot of pressure to perform. Pressure is the feeling of worry you can get when you are expected to deal with a difficult situation. Yes, think of all the children you have to impress. Pressure indeed. Let's hear from James Lovell again, who runs a Santa school in London. Insert James Lovell Portraying Father Christmas is not an easy job because when you're dressed as Father Christmas, you have a huge responsibility to recreate the magic of the real Santa in every way. You need to look good, you need to have lots to say and you need to be incredibly jolly and you need to have magical eyes. So it seems I was right: portraying Father Christmas is not an easy job. Portraying meaning playing the part of like an actor does. He says there's a huge responsibility to recreate the magic of the real Santa. To recreate means to make something exist again. All those kids expecting that magical moment and it's all down to you as Santa! Hmm I'm beginning to have second thoughts about this career change Could you handle the pressure? I'm not sure I could! Portraying Father Christmas might be a challenge too far despite my ho ho ho! Now it's time to find out the answer to our quiz question. I asked how many Santas there are in the world? a) 1,500 b) 15,000 c) 15 million I said b) 15,000 bbclearningenglish.com Page 3 of 5

22 And you were wrong! I'm afraid it was a trick question there is, of course, only one Santa! Ahhh that's not fair! Sorry! Shall we have a recap of the vocabulary? Yes please that would make me jolly again. Jolly, meaning happy and smiley. What makes you jolly,? Christmas of course! Now, I have to say, cheating me out of that quiz question was really not in the spirit of 6 Minute English. We are always nice to each other. Ah yes, you're probably right. Spirt here has the sense of something's real meaning. The spirit of 6 Minute English is friendly educational fun not cheating your colleagues! Glad we've got that straight. Our next word is candidate. Until you made me think about how hard it is to be a good Santa, I thought I'd be a strong candidate for the job. A candidate is a person competing for a job. Next we had reinforce. Reinforce means to make something stronger. Repeating the vocabulary in 6 Minute English reinforces your ability to remember it! That's right and it puts you under less pressure when you're speaking English if you have a good range of vocabulary. Pressure is the feeling of worry you can get when you are expected to deal with a difficult situation like pretending to be Santa! Yes there's a lot of pressure involved in portraying someone else. bbclearningenglish.com Page 4 of 5

23 Portraying, meaning playing the part of someone like an actor does. It can be very difficult to get it right. Yep, it's a real skill to be able to recreate the look and character of another person. Recreate meaning to make something exist again. Well we'll try our best to recreate a positive learning experience for you all next time on 6 Minute English. Until then don't forget to check out our YouTube, Facebook, Twitter and Instagram pages. Goodbye! Goodbye! bbclearningenglish.com Page 5 of 5

24 BBC LEARNING ENGLISH 6 Minute English What do you buy when you're sad? NB: This is not a word-for-word transcript Hello and welcome to Six Minute English. I'm and joining me today is who is weighed down with shopping bags and wearing something very strange. What's going on,? Hi everyone. Well, I was feeling a bit miserable so I decided to cheer myself up by going shopping! Well that's lucky because the link between shopping and mood is what we're looking at in this 6 Minute English and of course we'll be giving you six mood and shopping-related vocabulary items. But first, our quiz: Online shoppers in which country spend more per household than consumers in any other country, according to a report from the UK Cards Association? a) The USA b) Norway c) The UK Norway seems to come top of lots of lists, so for that reason alone I'm going to say Norway. We'll find out at the end of the show. Now,, you said just now that you went shopping because you were feeling down. That's right I like a bit of retail therapy. bbclearningenglish.com Page 1 of 4

25 Retail therapy is a humorous expression which means going shopping to make yourself feel better. Oh I do that all the time. Yes, I can see. And you're not alone. According to some research done by the website moneysupermarket.com, people are more likely to buy things they'll later regret when they're feeling sad, bored or stressed. Well I was feeling a bit down in the dumps. And that's a way of saying 'sad'. Oh dear,. Sorry to hear you've been down in the dumps. I only hope you don't also get a pang of regret about your purchases when you get them home the research suggests that you will. A pang is a sharp pain. We often hear it used figuratively to talk about strong emotions like guilt, regret and remorse. You're making me feel worse, Sorry it's all for educational purposes! Our audience will learn from your pain! Remorse is like regret and there's a good expression to describe exactly that bad feeling you get when you realise you don't really need or want the thing you've bought. Buyer's remorse. OK, OK, OK enough about me. Let's hear from Sam, Phil and from the Learning English team to see if their mood affects the shopping choices they make. Listen carefully. Can you hear the three types of things they say that they buy when they're down in the dumps? Insert Sam Honestly, I tend to buy food. Anything that will bring me comfort, so it can be any sort of warm drink, hot drink but also anything kind of warm and cosy so like a nice jumper. Phil Definitely, if I've had a bad day at work, or for whatever reason or I feel terrible, tired, I am more likely to buy something on the way home. bbclearningenglish.com Page 2 of 4

26 Oh when I'm feeling sad, I probably buy a little bit of wine and often something to wear. I find that a bit of retail therapy when I'm sad usually does the trick at the time, so it makes me feel better. But I do find that when I look in my wardrobe, the things that I bought when I was sad I never wear them. Sam, Phil and there from the BBC Learning English team talking about what kind of things they buy when they're feeling down. What were they? Food, drink and clothes. That's right. Sam mentioned she buys food, warm drinks and a nice jumper to keep her cosy. That's the feeling of being warm, comfortable and relaxed. also mentioned drinks this time wine. And she also said that buying clothes does the trick. That means achieves the result she intended. She feels down, she buys clothes, she feels better it does the trick. But what's interesting is that said she never wears the clothes she buys when she's feeling sad. That's exactly what the survey found people regret the purchases they make when they're sad, bored or stressed. Sounds like a case of buyer's remorse. Indeed. Well, time now for the answer to our quiz question. I asked this: Online shoppers in which country spend more per household than consumers in any other country, according to a report from the UK Cards Association? Is it: a) The USA b) Norway c) The UK I said b) Norway. bbclearningenglish.com Page 3 of 4

27 And I'm afraid you might need to go and buy some more stuff to cheer you up you're wrong! The correct answer is the UK. Apparently UK households spent the equivalent of $5,900 ( 4,611) using payment cards online in Well, I hope they were happy when they made those purchases or they may feel the pang of regret I'm scared I might get after today's discussion! Well, a good recap of the vocabulary from this programme might do the trick. Shall we start with the first word? Do you ever go in for a bit of retail therapy,? Actually I try to avoid it. Especially after reading this survey I don't think the happiness you feel after buying something lasts very long. In fact, you can end up feeling down in the dumps. Down in the dumps - meaning sad/unhappy. Yes and a pang of regret might follow once you realise you've spent a lot of money on something you don't really need. A pang is a stab used here figuratively to mean a sharp pain used to talk about strong emotions. And after the pang can come buyer's remorse. Hmm, I'm beginning to feel buyer's remorse from this leopard skin onesie. Seemed like such a good idea at the time. Well it does look cozy warm comfortable and relaxed, so I think if that's what you wanted, it does the trick. Does the trick, meaning achieves the result you wanted. OK before heads off to buy even more stuff he doesn't need, please remember to check out our Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube pages. / Bye! bbclearningenglish.com Page 4 of 4

28 BBC LEARNING ENGLISH 6 Minute English What s in a name? This is not a word-for-word transcript Hello and welcome to 6 Minute English. I'm and joining me today is. Hi. Hi there,. You're a married man,. When you were wed, did your wife change her family name? Yes she did. Was that her choice? Oh yes. She didn't like her old name, so for her it was a win-win. How about you? Well, my wife wanted to keep her surname, but was forced to adopt mine because that was the law where we got married. Would you have thought about taking her name? That's what we're talking about in this 6 Minute English. A husband taking a wife's name after marriage. All that, six related words and our quiz question. OK. Let's have the question. 6 Minute English British Broadcasting Corporation 2018 bbclearningenglish.com Page 1 of 5

29 In which country has it been forbidden since 1789 for a citizen to change their name legally, even after marriage? a) Japan b) France c) Turkey I'm going to go for b) France And we'll see if you're right later. Now, traditionally in the UK, when a man and a woman get married, the woman takes the man's family name. And this replaces her maiden name. A maiden name is the surname a woman had before she was married. This all dates back to the Norman invasion of England, back in They introduced the idea that when a woman married a man, she became his property. As a result of this, she took his name. These days, many women elect to keep their maiden name upon marriage or combine it with their new husband's in some way, sometimes by making the name double-barrelled. A double-barrelled name is two names that are connected by a hyphen, such as Jones-Smith. However, a growing number of couples in western culture are doing it differently. When they get married, the husband elects to take the wife's surname. In a BBC article about surnames and marriage, Rory Dearlove, formerly Rory Cook, talks about why he decided to take his wife's surname. He said that he wasn't really attached to his name anyway. To him it didn't make any difference. Well, he's not alone. A recent study of 2000 UK adults by Opinium, a strategic insight agency, suggested that one in ten millennial men, currently between 18 and 34 years old, fall into this category. Charlie Shaw, a Tibetan Buddhist meditation instructor, who took his wife's name when they married last year, said that it was an opportunity to acknowledge the unseen patriarchal bias and sexism in our society. 6 Minute English British Broadcasting Corporation 2018 bbclearningenglish.com Page 2 of 5

30 Patriarchal means 'controlled by men' and a bias is the unfair support or opposition to a person, thing or idea. Many traditional societies were patriarchal. But modern UK society is less like that. Everyone is meant to be equal. Ah yes, but that's the unseen part. And there's the social view of things too. Rachel nett, a researcher at the University of Nevada surveyed a number of people in the US and UK, and found that the husbands of women who keep their maiden names are viewed as 'feminine', while the women are believed to 'wear the trousers'. If you 'wear the trousers' in a relationship, it means you 'have the control and make the decisions for both people'. I wondered about that, so I went out into London and asked people what they thought about a man who took his wife's name when they got married. Here's what they said. INSERT Woman I don't think it's a bad idea at all. My dad's 55 and he took my mother's surname. If people want to do it, then all the power to them. Man It's each to their own really. It doesn't hurt anybody. And it's no different from a woman taking a man's name. Woman The only reason I think that anybody should take someone else's surname if just for the creation of a family unit. But if it's just out of principle, I don't agree. It seems that the people I talked to are comfortable with the idea. Yes. Most said that people are free to do what they want. One woman even mentioned the creation of a family unit. A unit is a group of people living or working together. A typical family unit would be two 6 Minute English British Broadcasting Corporation 2018 bbclearningenglish.com Page 3 of 5

31 parents and some children. Well, that answers that question. People don't seem to mind who takes who's name. Speaking of questions. How about our quiz question? Oh yes, I asked you in which country it's been forbidden since 1789 for a citizen to change their name legally, even after marriage? a) Japan b) France c) Turkey And I said b) France. And you were spot on as usual,. Let's take a look at the vocabulary, shall we? First we had maiden name. This is a woman's family name before she is married. My mother refused to give up her maiden name to my father when she got married. Then we had double-barrelled. A double-barrelled name is two names that are joined by a hyphen. Can you think of any famous examples? Well, there's the Duchess of Cornwall Camilla Parker-Bowles for one. She's married to Prince Charles next in line to the English throne. Then we had patriarchal. If something is patriarchal, it is controlled by men. The feminine equivalent is matriarchal, controlled by women. Then we had bias. A bias is unfair support or opposition to a person, thing or idea. Many fans are biased in favour of their football team. Then we had wear the trousers. If you wear the trousers, you have the control and make the decisions for both people. Do you wear the trousers in your marriage,? 6 Minute English British Broadcasting Corporation 2018 bbclearningenglish.com Page 4 of 5

32 Oh, we both wear the trousers in my marriage, thank you. Then we had unit. A unit is a group of people living or working together. Like the BBC Learning English team or unit! And that's the end of this 6 Minute English. Don't forget to check out our Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube pages. And we'll see you next time. Bye! Bye! 6 Minute English British Broadcasting Corporation 2018 bbclearningenglish.com Page 5 of 5

33 BBC LEARNING ENGLISH 6 Minute English Why more of us are getting fitter together NB: This is not a word-for-word transcript Hello, I'm. Welcome to Six Minute English, where we get together to discuss an interesting topic along with six useful items of vocabulary to wrestle with. Yes, hello I'm. And today's topic is all about togetherness because we're talking about going to the gym and why gym membership is becoming increasingly popular. So do you head off to your local gym after work? No I hate group exercise. I prefer to go for a run on my own. It's free, and I enjoy being outdoors. How about you? I really like group exercise. I find it's very motivating. When something is motivating it makes us want to do something. So what motivates you to go to the gym,? Well I go because I really like the spin classes. Is that where you cycle on the spot while an instructor shouts at you? Well, yes that's the one! If I wasn't in a class, I don't think I would push myself so hard. I need someone to shout at me to make me go faster and get up those hills. Good and if you push yourself you force yourself to try harder you set yourself a challenge. OK, well you are part of a growing trend of people who like to bbclearningenglish.com Page 1 of 4

34 work out or exercise in a gym. So perhaps you can tell me, how many people are members of a gym, here in the UK? Is it a) 1 in 2, b) 1 in 7 or c) 1 in 10? I'm going to go for 1 in 10. Well we'll find out if you chose the right answer later on. Now let's listen to Philip Mills he runs the sports fitness company Les Mills named after his father, who was a track and field athlete who represented New Zealand for twenty years. Philip has a theory to explain why group exercise has become so popular in recent years. Philip Mills, CEO of Les Mills International As people have become more sedentary they've realised that they need to move for their health. We work about 35% more hours than we used to work in the 60s. And people are too busy to play sports. Society has become fragmented and a lot of the things that used to bring people together don't exist anymore. But, you know, we're tribal animals pack animals and the gym has been one of the things that helps people to commune. Yes our sedentary lifestyles! We do all spend too much time sitting down, don't we,? Yes, and according to Philip we're probably spending more time sitting down than we used to because we're working a lot more. And because we're busier with work, we have less time to take exercise. So why are we choosing to go to the gym these days, rather than heading down to the park to play football? Philip Mills thinks it's because society has become fragmented and we're losing the social connectedness that made it easy to get together and take exercise. And fragmented means broken up into small pieces, by the way. The thing is, we miss that social connectedness that feeling of belonging to a group because we are essentially tribal animals. And a tribe is a group of people who live together and they share the same language and the same culture. bbclearningenglish.com Page 2 of 4

35 So even now most of us have left tribal society behind, we still want to feel like we're part of a group that we can commune with which means to get close to someone or something. But the question is, does group exercise at the gym actually succeed in connecting us with other people? Well, Philip Mills thinks in the future we'll be cycling inside a video game using computer graphics you know, visiting other planets, travelling to different times Wow! But people will then be communing with a computer, not really with each other? I'm afraid so. And you won't even have a real instructor barking instructions at you! Well I suppose a computer will have a virtual instructor who will also be equally motivating! Yes, I expect so. Now, remember I asked you, : How many people are members of a gym, here in the UK? I do remember you asking me that and I said 1 in 10. And you were wrong, I'm afraid! Figures collected by Leisure Data Base, a company that has audited the fitness industry for fifteen years, show that one in seven of the UK population is a member of a gym. And more and more will be signing up. Total membership could soon exceed ten million for the first time. Wow! OK, now let's talk through the vocabulary items we heard today. Number one is 'motivating' meaning something that makes us want to do something 'I don't find the idea of cycling in a small room very motivating.' bbclearningenglish.com Page 3 of 4

36 Now number two If you push yourself, you force yourself to try harder 'It's important to push yourself if you want to do well in your exams.' Good advice there,. Next up is 'work out' which means to exercise in order to improve your health and fitness. For example, ' works out three times a week by cycling on the spot.' Our fourth word is 'fragmented' or broken up into small pieces. For example, 'I suffer from fragmented sleep. I wake up five or six times a night.' Poor you! Alright, number four is 'tribal' and the noun is 'tribe' a group of people who live together and share the same language and culture. 'Football fans often wear the tribal colours of the team they support some paint their faces too.' And finally we heard 'commune', which means to get close to someone or something. For example, likes to commune with nature when he goes running. He enjoys the way the landscape changes with the seasons.' Well said,. Now, that's all we have time for today. But if you would like to commune with us via our Facebook, Twitter or YouTube pages, please do so. / Bye! bbclearningenglish.com Page 4 of 4

37 BBC LEARNING ENGLISH 6 Minute English Bitcoin: digital crypto-currency NB: This is not a word-for-word transcript Hello and welcome to 6 Minute English. I'm and joining me today is. Hey. Hello. What s on the agenda today? Well, I ll give you a clue. It s something that makes the world go round, but it doesn t really exist. In fact, if we all stopped believing in it, it would have no use at all! What is it? I haven t got a clue! Ok...how about this? Money! Yep! And not just any money, we re talking about crypto-currency. Currency is the money that s being used in a given country at a certain time. But what about the crypto part? Well, crypto is a prefix meaning hidden or secret it comes from the word cryptic which means mysterious or difficult to understand. You may have heard about the most popular crypto-currency at the moment, the Bitcoin. Well I ve certainly heard the name, but I can t say I know what it is. 6 Minute English British Broadcasting Corporation 2018 bbclearningenglish.com Page 1 of 5

38 First our quiz question. When was the Bitcoin crypto-currency first created? a) 2004 b) 2009 c) 2013 Well, I think 2004 may have been a little early, and I think 2013 could be a little late, so the smart money s on We ll see if you re right later on in the show. So Bitcoin, what do you know about it? Well, I know it s a digital currency so presumably you can use it online to buy things? You are right on the money, which means correct, both times. Bitcoin is just like any other currency except for two things. First, it s not printed by governments or banks, which means that it s not legal tender. Legal tender means the official money that can be used within a country. So that means we can t use it to pay taxes or settle debts, right? Exactly. Governments won t recognise it as an official currency, although it acts just like one. You can use it to buy items from anyone who will accept it, and its value fluctuates. Fluctuates means changes in level or amount. And what s the second thing? The second thing is that bitcoin is a digital currency, meaning that with the exception of a few tokens, it largely exists online only. You can t carry a load of bitcoins around in your pocket! Well, that makes a nice change! Oh dear,. Was that a money pun? Terrible! 6 Minute English British Broadcasting Corporation 2018 bbclearningenglish.com Page 2 of 5

39 So, if it s a digital only currency, where do new ones come from? Can t I just say that I ve got a million of them and make myself rich!? Well, no. You see, even though Bitcoin is not regulated by a bank or government, it still has a process that stops people from cheating. There are only two ways to get bitcoins. You either trade them from someone, or you go mining. Oh wait, I ve heard about this. This is when you use your computer to run calculations which verify other Bitcoin transactions. You get rewarded for this work by earning bitcoins. Yep! It s money for old rope, which means it s an easy way to earn money. Wow! I m going to start mining immediately! Well, you wouldn t be the only one! Bitcoin s value has recently gone up quite a lot and this has caused a lot of interest. In fact, one stock exchange in Chicago has begun trading in Bitcoin futures contracts. A futures contract? What s that? I ll let BBC correspondent Rory Cellan-Jones explain that. INSERT Rory Cellan-Jones, BBC correspondent The futures contract, a bet on where the currency will be a month from now, soared above 18,000 dollars. That means investors believe Bitcoin, which started the year worth under 1000 dollars will continue to rise in value, albeit at a slower rate. But at the big banks there s still plenty of scepticism about the currency. Soared in this context means increased very quickly. So, now big investors are betting on the value of Bitcoin in the future. Yes. But he also mentioned that the banks have a lot of scepticism. That's a doubt that 6 Minute English British Broadcasting Corporation 2018 bbclearningenglish.com Page 3 of 5

40 something is real or true. In this case, whether Bitcoin is reliable or not. Maybe it s best I don t get involved then. After all, a fool and his money are soon parted. Well, you don t have to be sceptical about the answer to our quiz. We know that for a fact. I asked you when the Bitcoin crypto-currency was first created. a) 2004 b) 2009 c) 2013 And I said And you were right! Well done. Shall we go over the vocabulary again? First we had currency. That s the money being used in a given country at a certain time. Name three currencies and their countries,. OK. Baht for Thailand. Rupee for India, and my favourite, Metical for Mozambique. Next we had cryptic. Something which is cryptic is mysterious or difficult to understand. For example, what do rich people need, poor people have and if you eat it, you die? A cryptic riddle indeed! I ll have to think about that. Then we had legal tender, that s the official money that can be used within a country. The Euro is legal tender within Spain, but what was the legal tender before that? Wasn t it the Peseta? Then we had fluctuates. If something fluctuates, it changes in amount or level. The stock market fluctuates. But my love for my family never does. Then we had soared, which means increased very quickly. It s used with this meaning in the context of money, prices and statistics. Finally, we had scepticism. Scepticism is doubt that something is real or true. What sort of things are people sceptical about,? 6 Minute English British Broadcasting Corporation 2018 bbclearningenglish.com Page 4 of 5