Episode 09

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? I’m from Keswick, in the Lake District, you know, but I’ve lived in London for about twenty years.

Tess: Keswick? Really? I’m 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. We’re getting the train up from London on Friday morning then cycling to Keswick, spending a night there then we’re going to do a really long ride on the Saturday ..

Ravi: You’re not going to camp, are you? Isn’t it a bit cold?

Tess: No, we’re not – it is a bit cold. We’re staying in youth hostels, you know.

Ravi: Oh right, I haven’t 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, they’re not like five star hotels or anything but they’re really comfortable and you meet some really interesting people in them.

Ravi: Hmm. Sounds OK, better than I remember. It’s the cycling I don’t want to do. How far are you going to ride each day?

Tess: About fifty miles or so. It depends. It’s more difficult with all the hills and stuff. We haven’t booked the youth hostels – they won’t be really busy at this time of year. So we’ll just stay at the nearest place if we get really tired.

Ravi: Ah OK. Sounds great. When are you coming back?

Tess: We’re getting a train on Sunday afternoon so we’ll get back to London in the evening, about six o’clock, I think.

Ravi: Do you know what I’m going to do this weekend?

Tess: No? What are you up to?

Ravi: Absolutely nothing. I’m going to sit on my sofa all weekend and watch TV. I’ve got loads of DVDs I want to watch. I’ll think of you on your bicycle though.

Tess: I don’t know how you can do nothing all weekend Ravi. I’d get so bored.

Ravi: I know, I know. I’m going to start going to the gym soon, honest. I can never find the time.

Section 2 – I’d like to meet

Ravi: Anyway, it’s time now to move on. As usual we’re 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 they’d like to meet. We’ve got Sean here with us today so let’s start by finding out something about you.

Sean: Well, my name’s Sean, I’m seventeen, and I’m from Brighton.

Ravi: That’s where my mum and dad live. I go down there a lot. Great place.

Sean: Yeah, it’s good. There’s plenty to do – good shops. I’d rather live in London though.

Ravi: I bet if you lived in London, you’d 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 that’s true. Yeah, live in London, have family in Brighton – perfect really.

Tess: And who are you going to talk about today Sean. Who’s the famous person you’d 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 isn’t, it rhymes with ‘raining’ – Matt Groening.

Tess: OK, That’s the name sorted out. Tell us a bit about him Sean.

Sean: Well, as you know, he’s 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: You’re 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 don’t know much about him as a person – I know he’s really old – he must be fifty or something – at least.

Tess: I’m not sure fifty is really old Sean. My mother wouldn’t be very happy to hear that. 

Sean: Well you know, whatever. He’s older than my dad anyway. That’s why I’d like to meet him – he must be really funny and really smart, but he’s old. Um, what else do I know? Um - and I know he’s 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 dad’s 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 I’d like to meet him too.

Ravi: When did the show start?

Sean: In the 1980s – I’m not sure of the year. But it’s about twenty years old. But the characters never get any older - I like that. Oh, and another thing I’ve just remembered – “Doh!” – you know Homer Simpsons’ famous “Doh!” - is now in the Oxford English Dictionary. I think that’s pretty amazing. And I can’t remember anything else. Doh!

Ravi: Don’t worry about it – that was really interesting

Tess: Thanks Sean , another good one there. Ravi, I don’t why I haven’t 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. That’s a tough one. There’s so many. Matt Groening’s a good one – I’d love to meet him. Peter Jackson who directed the Lord of the Rings films – he’d be really interesting. Erm … J.K. Rowling who wrote the Harry Potter books. Yeah, maybe her – she seems quite an interesting character.

Tess: Yeah, I’d like to meet her too. And remember, listeners, that we’re always interested to hear about people that you’d like to meet. Or even cartoon characters!

Ravi: That’s a good one! Which cartoon character would you like to meet and why. Brilliant idea!

Tess: So send your thoughts to us at learnenglishpodcast@britishcouncil.org, that’s learnenglishpodcast - all one word – at britishcouncil – all one word dot org, that’s 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 we’ve got Ethan. Hi Ethan.

Ethan: (on phone) Hi Ravi

Ravi: And Abby. Hello Abby.

Abby: (on phone) Hi Ravi.

Ravi: Let’s 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, it’s lovely and warm today.

Ravi: And what do you do Abby?

Abby: I’ve just left school. I don’t know what I’m going to do now.

Ravi: Well, good luck with what you decide to do and good luck with today’s quiz. Now, Ethan.

Ethan: Hi Ravi.

Ravi: Where are you from, Ethan?

Ethan: South London.

Ravi: OK. Well I know that it’s sunny here in London too. What do you do Ethan?

Ethan: Nothing, at the moment Ravi. I finished school last year and I’m going to university in a couple of months time. I’ve 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. Today’s quiz is another ten second quiz, OK? I’m going to give you a topic and you’ve got ten seconds to think of as many things as you can. So, let’s 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. You’ve got ten seconds to write down things that you make. I’ll 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 – time’s up. How many Abby?

Abby: Five

Ravi: OK. How about you Ethan?

Ethan: Erm .. six, Ravi.

Ravi: OK then, let’s 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. That’s six. Well done. It’s not easy when the clock’s ticking. So, you win the book token Ethan, we’ll send that to you soon – and bad luck to you Abby but thank you for playing. 

Tess: And remember everyone that if you’ve got a brilliant idea for a game we can play then you can send it to us at learnenglishpodcast@britishcouncil.org

Section 4 – Our person in

Tess: Now though, it’s 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 doesn’t 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. It’s 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. They’re great fun.

Tess: Did you? Do you still watch them now?

Ravi: Not really. If I’m at my mum and dad’s I might. My mum still watches them quite a lot.

Tess: I’ve never seen a Bollywood film. They sound very … different.

Ravi: I’ll lend you a DVD. I’ll give you the address again if you’d like to tell us something about going to the cinema in your country. It’s learnenglishpodcast@britishcouncil.org.

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 I’m going away for the weekend, cycling. That’s a perfect holiday for me and that’s what we asked people for Your Turn – What’s your perfect holiday. Let’s 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. I’d rather be in the countryside – or just somewhere where there aren’t any crowds. The beach is always so crowded.

Voice 3: What I really like about a holiday is when I don’t have any plan, y’know? I like travelling about and if I like somewhere I stay there for a few days and if I don’t I just get on a train and go somewhere different. That’s what I really like – when I don’t have to worry about timetables and all that stuff.

Voice 4: I would really love to go on a cruise. Y’know? 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. Everything’s planned for you so you don’t have to worry about anything at all. Lovely.

Voice 5: My perfect holiday would be a trip to China. I’ve always wanted to go there. It just seems so fascinating – so different, y’know. And there’d be so much to see. I’d 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 learnenglishpodcast@britishcouncil.org.

Section 6 – Carolina 

Tess: Now let’s join Carolina again. Carolina is a student from Venezuela who’s come to Britain to live, study – and have fun. She’s 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

Emily: Hi. How’s it going? Everything under control?

Carolina: Oh - I’m beginning to panic a bit. The rice and beans are done, they’re cooking now, that’s for Jamie – he’s vegetarian. I need to grill the meat - and I need to make the guasacaca - oh dear, and I wanted to have a shower – I’m so hot.

Emily: What time are they coming?

Carolina: I told them eight o’clock. I hope they’re late!

Emily: Don’t panic. You’ve got plenty of time. What can I do to help? What’s gwuh ….. whatever it was?

Carolina: Guasacaca. It’s like a salad sort of thing, with avocadoes and herbs. It goes with the meat.

Emily: Well, why don’t you tell me what to do and I’ll make it while you have a shower.

Carolina: OK thanks. You’re 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. It’s all here look.

Emily: OK. I’ll 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 that’s 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 it’s like a paste, and the other one you just chop, so it’s 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

Jamie: 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. We’ve brought a bottle of wine – it’s white, it probably needs to go in the fridge.

Jamie: And we brought these too, for you.

Carolina: Oh that’s very kind of you. I love chocolate. Thanks.

Jamie: Can we put our coats somewhere?

Carolina: You can put them in my room.

Emily: Here, I’ll take them.

Carolina: Well, sit down. Make yourselves at home

Henry: Thanks. It’s a nice place you’ve got here. Great kitchen. Really big.

Carolina: Thanks. Yes, we’re very lucky. Now what would you all like to drink? We’ve got….

Later

Carolina: So, here it is. Just help yourselves.

Jamie: It looks delicious.

Carolina: I hope so.

Jamie: Mmm, this is good. What’s 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, it’s a traditional meal, nearly. We should have fried …I don’t know the word – they’re like bananas – big, hard bananas.

Henry: Plantains? They look like bananas.

Carolina: Yes, maybe, plantains. Anyway, I couldn’t find any, but everything else is traditional.

Emily: Hey, we forgot the music! Henry, do you want to come and choose something? I’ll show you where the CDs are.

Henry: Sure.

Emily: My rooms just through here on the……

Jamie: Well. Here we are then. Just the two of us.

Tess: Awww.

Ravi: What?

Tess: Oh nothing Ravi. I really want to know what’s going to happen next.

Ravi: To Carolina?

Tess: And Jamie. Never mind.

Section 7 – The Joke

Tess: Right. It’s 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, you’ll love Gordon. 

Gordon: Thanks Tess. Right – I’ve 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 magician’s act hundreds of times and knew all the tricks. So whenever the magician did his act the parrot just sat there looking really bored because he’d worked out how the magician made things disappear.

Anyway, one night, during the magician’s 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 didn’t 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 didn’t 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, that’s 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, who’ll 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 we’ll say goodbye for now.

Tess & Ravi: Bye!

Tom the teacher

Tom: Hello again. My name’s 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 it’s ‘do’. So it can be very difficult for Portuguese learners to know when to use ‘make’ and when to use ‘do’.

So what’s the difference between them? Well, it isn’t an easy question to answer. Most of the time there isn’t really any difference in meaning at all. It’s 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 – I’m so hot.

Tom: She says ‘I need to make the guasacaca’. We often use ‘make’ when we’re talking about food – dishes that we’ve created from other things. We don’t ‘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 don’t you tell me what to do and I’ll make it while you have a shower.

Tom: Emily uses ‘make’ too. She’s 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, let’s 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 don’t 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. There’s no reason for using ‘make’ – it isn’t because of the meaning of the phrases. It’s just what we say.

It’s 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 “I’m sorry I didn’t 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 I’m going to university in a couple of months time. I’ve had a gap year and done some travelling.

Tom: Ethan had a gap-year after he finished school. It means that he didn’t 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 doesn’t know. Listen to what she says when she doesn’t know the word.

Emily: OK. I’ll 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 that’s right.

Tom: OK – she asks Emily “what do you call them?” – she asks Emily. But she also tries to describe the thing that she doesn’t know. She says “the small parts of garlic”. This is very important when you don’t know a word. Don’t just stop! Try to describe what you want to say. Listen to Carolina again.

Carolina: But yes, it’s a traditional meal, nearly. We should have fried …. I don’t know the word – they’re like bananas – big, hard bananas.

Henry: Plantains? They look like bananas.

Carolina: Yes, maybe, plantains.

Tom: She doesn’t know the word ‘plantains’ so she says “They’re like bananas – big hard bananas”. And Henry understands what she wants to say. Try to do the same thing when you don’t know a word. Don’t 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 Jamie and Henry.

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

Tom: Yes, it’s 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 you’re 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. That’s all from me today. Remember you can send your questions to me at learnenglishpodcast@britishcouncil.org. I’ll be happy to answer your questions! Or write to me about any interesting language that you noticed. In a moment you’ll hear the address for the website where you can read everything you’ve heard in this podcast. So bye for now!