British Council-02-07

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
umbrellas…I hate it.
Tess: Oh come on, you can't complain about a
little bit of rain. Honestly, you complain when it's
too hot, you complain when it's too cold…
Ravi: I don't complain that much. … Well, I do a
bit, but, honestly, my trousers are wet and I've
got to wear them all day and my feet are wet, so
now they're freezing cold. I only bought these
shoes last week and now look at them - ruined.
I look ridiculous.
Tess: You're such a fashion victim, Ravi. It's a
podcast. No-one can see your shoes. Anyway,
at least it isn't cold. I'd rather have rain than be
freezing cold.
Ravi: I wouldn't. And I'm cold now! I'd rather be
cold and dry then cold and wet.
Tess: Well it's bad news for you then. The
weather forecast says it's going to be like this
for the next week.
Ravi: Really? Nightmare. You know, I don't
mind rain when I'm at home. I quite like seeing it
out of the window. But when I have to go to
work … no. Anyway, that journey was really
stressful – but I feel better now. Seeing you
always cheers me up Tess.
Tess: Awww.
Ravi: Shall we get on with it? What have we got
today?
Tess: Well, there's Rita, talking about Bath
Ravi: The bath?
Tess: Bath – the city
Ravi: Ah. OK.
Tess: And there's Darryl for the quiz. The 'Your
Turn' today is a big one – 'What's the biggest
problem facing humanity today - and why?' -
and there's Carolina, too.
Ravi: Don't forget my joke.
Tess: I wish I could.
Ravi: I know you enjoy them really.
Tess: Mmm.
Ravi: Hey Tess. A horse goes into a bar and
says "An orange juice please" And the barman
says "Certainly sir. But why the long face". Ha!
Geddit? Long face! He's a horse!
Tess: Is that it? Is that the joke?
Ravi: Oh no, you just wait for the big one!

Section 2: I'd like to talk about…

Tess: Shall we move on to 'I'd like to talk
about'?
Ravi: OK.
Tess: I'd like to Talk About, listeners, is the part
of the podcast when someone tells us about
something – something that they're interested in
or something that's important to them – a
person, a place, a hobby - anything really.

Ravi: Yes, absolutely anything. And today we've
got Rita with us in the studio. Rita's twenty-one
years old - that's right isn't it Rita?
Rita: Yep, that's right.
Ravi: And what do you do?
Rita: I've got a shop – a small shop. I sell
second hand clothes. You know, old clothes –
mostly from the 1940s and 50s.
Tess: Great. I love the dress you're wearing. Is
that from your shop?
Rita: Yeah. This is a dress from the 50s – 1956
to be exact. I love it.
Tess: It's beautiful. I love the colour.
Ravi: Yeah, it's lovely
Rita: Thank you
Ravi: And you're going to talk to us about Bath,
right?
Rita: That's right. It's my home town.
Tess: Cool. It's a great place.
Rita: Yeah, um, I was born in Bath, and, … I
don't know, I've never wanted to live anywhere
else.
Ravi: Remember we've got listeners from all
over the world – perhaps it's a good idea to
explain where Bath is.
Rita: Yes, of course. Bath is in the south west of
England, about a hundred miles from London I
guess – a couple of hours on the train. It's near
Bristol – that's the biggest city in the south west.
Bath is a city, but it's quite small. I think the
population's about, oh I don't know – about
ninety thousand people probably.
Ravi: OK. Good. And I guess you think it's a
great place to live….?
Rita: It's a fantastic place to live. Great
restaurants, theatres, shops, lovely old pubs,
beautiful buildings, music festivals. And a
fantastic nightlife – but it's quite quiet at the
same time, if you know what I mean. It's a safe
city. And the countryside around is beautiful –
lots of great places to go at the weekend.
Tess: Tell us a bit about the history.
Rita: Well I don't know a lot... but it was a
Roman city, um about two thousand years ago.
The Romans liked it because of the hot springs
– hot water that comes up from the ground. It's
the only place in Britain with hot springs. The
city is actually built on top of an old volcano –
not active of course. So they built baths there,
you know, public baths, using the hot water.
That's where the name 'Bath' comes from of
course. The Roman baths are still there – you
can visit them. You can't swim, but you can
drink the water.
Ravi: {a little appalled} Drink it?
Rita: Yes. Drink it. It's good for you – it's got
loads of minerals and stuff in it.
Ravi: What does it taste like?
Rita: Absolutely disgusting. Anyway, then in the
eighteenth century Bath became really popular.
People went there for holidays. And then later
Jane Austen wrote about it – she lived there for
a while - if you've ever read any Jane Austen?
Tess: Oh yes. 'Pride and Prejudice' is one of my
favourite books.
Rita: It's interesting - as I said, the Romans built
Bath, so there's loads of Roman houses and
stuff, all under the city. But the archaeologists
can't really explore it because they don't want to
destroy the beautiful eighteenth century
buildings on the top. It's a World Heritage site –
and I think it's the most beautiful city in Britain. I
love it. I even love the tourists – we get loads of
tourists, and you know, it makes me feel proud.
I live in a city that people come miles and miles
to see.
Ravi: Well - is there anything you don't like
about Bath?
Rita: No. … Well, I suppose the only thing is
that it's really, really difficult to park in the centre
and the traffic can be terrible. But that really isn't
the end of the world, is it?
Tess: Certainly not. Thanks Rita. You've made
me want to go to Bath again. I haven't been
there for years.

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

Section 3 – Quiz

Ravi: Right – speaking of computers – it's time
for the quiz. We've got Darryl waiting to play.
Hello Darryl.
Darryl: Hello Ravi
Ravi: Where are you today, Darryl?
Darryl: I'm in Skipton. In North Yorkshire.
Ravi: I know it. I've got an uncle who lives in
Skipton. Is it raining there as much as it is here
today?
Darryl: It is pretty wet, yeah. But I don't mind the
rain. I'm going to go for a walk later with my
dogs.
Ravi: Lucky you. Are you not working today?
Darryl: Not today, no.
Ravi: What do you do?
Darryl: I work at a golf course. I'm a
groundsman.
Ravi: OK. So what does a groundsman do?
Darryl: We look after the golf course – make
sure the grass is OK and all of that. It's like
being a gardener.
Ravi: I see. Do you know anything about
computers?
Darryl: Erm …
Tess: Ravi! You're not supposed to tell people
what the quiz is about before we start. That's
the second time you've said it.
Ravi: Oops. Well, let's get on with it. We're
going to play Hot Seat, Darryl. I've got these
cards with some words on them and I'm going
to give them to Tess and she has to explain the
words to you and you have to guess what the
words are. OK?
Darryl: OK.
Ravi: And all the words are on the same topic.
Tess: And I think we all know what that is, Ravi.
Ravi: And the topic today is ….. computers and
computing. … Computers and computing.
You've got one minute starting from …. now
Tess: OK. This one is the thing you hold to
move around the screen. Small thing. It's an
animal as well.
Darryl: Mouse.
Tess: Yes. Next one. The thing you type on.
Darryl: Keyboard.
Tess: Yes. Well done. Oh gosh. The thing with
the picture on it. Erm – the screen!
Darryl: Monitor?
Tess: Yes. Erm. This is something on the
computer that does something. … Sorry – that's
a terrible clue. Erm you have these on your
computer and they make it do things. You might
have one for editing photos one for sending
email erm ..
Darryl: I don't know
Tess: You have them on TV too.
Darryl: Oh. Programme!
Tess: OK. Right. OK, the computer and the
monitor and everything are all … Programs and

things are software but the other things are …
Darryl: Hardware.
Tess: That's right. Ah. OK. The little thing you
move around the screen.
Darryl: Mouse?
Tess: No, you use the mouse to move it – the
little arrow or whatever, you know?
Darryl: Oh, the … erm … I know it ……what do
you call it … cursor!
Tess: Right. This one's a bad thing. You don't
want your computer to get one of these, it
makes everything go …
Darryl: A Trojan? A virus!
Tess: Virus, yes. Erm ..
{buzzer sounds}
Ravi: Time's up. Well done you two. How many
was that? Hang on. Mouse, keyboard, monitor,
programme, hardware, cursor, virus. One two
three four five six seven.
Tess: Well done Darryl – sorry – I wasn't very
good at that.
Darryl: That's OK Tess, thank you.
Ravi: OK Darryl, thanks for playing. We'll send
you some bits and pieces. Enjoy your walk!
Darryl: Thanks Ravi. Bye.
Tess & Ravi: Bye.
Tess: OK. Still to come we've got Your Turn and
we've got Carolina.
Ravi: And the joke.
Tess: And the joke – after this...

Section 4: Your turn

Ravi: Your Turn is the part of the podcast when
we ask people what they think about a topic –
sometimes serious, sometimes not so serious.
It's quite a serious one today because we asked
people, 'What's the biggest problem facing
humanity today - and why?' So let's hear what
they said.
Voice 1: I think the biggest problem facing
humanity today is ... um ... selfishness. Um,
everybody sits around and talks about
environmental issues and problems but very
few people as individuals are actually prepared
to give up ... ah ... their cars or their way of life
to do anything about it.

Voice 2: I think the biggest problem is th... the
divide between the western world ... those of us
that have money, have wealth, have resources,
and the poor people that don't have enough to
live and are starving and they have ... drink dirty
water and things like that. I think we should
spread the wealth more.

Voice 3: I think the biggest problem facing
humanity today is that people don't listen to
each other and they don't get to know each
other and to understand each other's opinions.
All the people that I have met from all the
different countries I've been to all want more or
less the same things – they want to be happy
and healthy and to be able to look after their
families and get a good education for their
children and I think that war and political
problems and disagreements are all because
we don't listen to each other and we don't try
and understand each other.

Voice 4: The biggest problem facing humanity
today is climate change. It's a massive problem
because I don't think people understand the
effects completely and therefore will not act.

Voice 5: That's such a big question … um ...
probably the biggest thing for our future's I think
is the environment and protecting what we
have ... um ... I think that everybody needs to
look around them and see what they can do on
a very small scale to stop wasting things and to
try and protect the nature we have around us …
before it's too late.


Tess: Interesting answers. I agree with the
people who talked about climate change. I think
that's the biggest problem today.
Ravi: What about you, listeners? Write in and
tell us what you think.

Section 5: Carolina

Ravi: But now it's time to find out what's
happening to Carolina. Carolina is from
Venezuela and she's studying at Newcastle
University in Britain.
Tess: Yes. If you listened to the first series,
you'll remember that Carolina and her boyfriend
Jamie are members of a society at the
university – the Conservation Society.
Ravi: Jamie's the society president isn't he?
Tess: Yeah, that's right. He's really into saving
the environment – we should have asked him
what he thought in Your Turn.
Ravi
Last time, when Carolina was at the
hairdresser's, remember? – she said she was a
bit worried about Jamie. Things weren't going
very well between them. What do you think's
happening?
Tess: I don't know. Let's see what happens this
time. Carolina and Jamie are going on a
Conservation Society weekend away together.
Ravi: I can't imagine what they do on
Conservation Society trips.
Tess: Well let's listen and find out Ravi.
Ravi: OK.
 …
Carolina: Good morning Henry! What a nice car!
Henry: Hi Carolina. Thanks. Right - in you get.
Carolina: Hello.
Jamie: Hi. Move over Layla, make room for
Carolina. I'll stay in the middle.
Jamie: Carolina, this is Layla.
Layla: Hi
Carolina: Hello
Jamie: And that's lucky old Ivan in the front –
he's got long legs.
Ivan: Hello
Carolina: Hi Ivan.
Henry: Right. Let's get going. Have you got the
map Ivan?
Ivan: Yep.
Henry: Right. Here we go. Put some music on
Ivan. There are some CDs in the …
…
Jamie: I can't wait to see the black grouse.
Carolina: The black grouse? The whiskey? With
a bird on the front?
Layla: {laughs} No, that's called Famous Grouse
– The black grouse is a bird, but it's black.
Jamie: Yeah. The black grouse is disappearing
in England. There aren't very many of them left.
That's what they're trying to do at the nature
reserve – save the black grouse.
Carolina: But what exactly are we going to do?
Layla: Plant hedges
Carolina: Hedges?
Jamie: Hedges are the lines of plants and trees
that divide the fields. You know, you can have
wooden or metal fences – or you can have
hedges. And the black grouse prefers hedges.
So we're going to take away some of the old
fences and plant new hedges.
Layla: Yeah, it's really cool. We went there last
year didn't we Jamie? Had a great time.
Carolina: Oh.
…
Henry: Ivan, there's a sign saying Brampton two
miles. Don't we need to turn left before
Brampton?
Ivan: Um, yeah, um, Just a minute. Um, I'm not
quite sure where we are. Have we passed
Denton?
Layla: Ages ago. …. Ivan - you've got the map

upside down.
Ivan: It isn't upside down, I've just turned it
round a bit – I can't follow a map if I don't turn it
round.
Carolina: Why don't we stop and ask someone?
Jamie: Look, there's a petrol station. Pull over.
 …
Jamie: You ask Carolina. You're next to the
window. Ask for Hallbankgate.
Carolina: Oh. Um, excuse me. Can you tell us
the way to Hallbankgate please?
Man: Hallbankgate. You're miles away.
Carolina: Yes, but are we on the right road?
Man: No, it's not this road.
Ivan: So which road should we take?
Man: Go back the way you came, about five
miles, then take a right. Follow the signs to
Milton.
Carolina: Thank you very much.
…
Layla: I'm hungry.
Carolina: Me too
Jamie: Me too. Where did you put the
sandwiches Henry?
Henry: They're in the plastic bag – in the back
somewhere.
Jamie: Henry, this is a bag of rubbish.
Henry: What?
Jamie: This bag is full of rubbish. … Don't tell
me. You put the bag of sandwiches in the
rubbish and put the bag of rubbish in the car.
Carolina and Layla: Oh no.
Henry: Well I'm sorry. It's an easy mistake to
make.
Carolina: Are we nearly there Henry?
Henry: Ivan?
Ivan: Well, - I'm not quite sure where we are to
be honest. If we're on this road here, look, this
yellow one, well, - we should be there by now.
{chorus of complaint}
Layla: Stop and ask someone Henry.
Henry: Excuse me.
Woman: Yes?
Henry: We're trying to get to Hallbankgate. Is
this the right way?
Woman: Hallbankgate? No dear, this is the road
to Farlam. Hallbankgate's in the other direction.
Henry: Oh no. How far is it?
Woman: Not far. Go back the way you came, for
about two miles, then turn right – there's a pub
on the corner called the Old Duke. Then go
straight on till you come to the main road, then
turn right again. You'll see the sign to
Hallbankgate – you can't miss it.
Henry: Thank you very much. … Won't be long
now.
Jamie: Hmmm. I just hope the black grouse
appreciates what we're doing for it. That's all I
can say.
…

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

Section 6: The Joke

Ravi: Yeah. OK. I'm going to tell my joke, then, I
think, that's it for today.
Tess: Come on then, let's hear it.
Ravi: Right. There's this baby polar bear, sitting
on an iceberg with his mum.

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

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

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

Tom the teacher

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

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

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

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

Tom: Did you hear it? Tess said "I'd rather have
rain than be freezing cold" and Ravi disagreed
with her and said "I wouldn't".

Now, I want you to listen to Tess and Ravi one
more time. But this time I want you to notice the
form of the verb that comes after 'I'd rather'. Is it
the infinitive or the 'ing' form? Listen.

Tess: Anyway, at least it isn't cold. I'd rather
have rain than be freezing cold.
Ravi: I wouldn't. And I'm cold now! I'd rather be
cold and dry than cold and wet.


Tom: Yes, 'I'd rather' is always followed by a
verb, and it's always the infinitive form of the
verb, but without 'to' - 'I'd rather have rain' and
'I'd rather be cold'.

'I'd rather' is a more complicated phrase than 'I
prefer' isn't it? But you know, as a learner, it isn't
always a good idea to worry about all of the
separate words in a phrase – 'what does 'rather'
mean? Why is it the verb without 'to'? Why is it
'would'? Well, sometimes it's better to learn
things as a phrase and not worry about all of the
questions. Make a note of the phrase, and a
note of what it means and how to use it in a
sentence.
So for 'I'd rather' you could write:

• "'I'd rather' means the same as 'I prefer', but
it is used differently.
• It always has a verb after it,
• and the verb is the infinitive without 'to'.


Then you can write some examples, maybe –

• 'I'd rather have rain than cold'
• 'I'd rather stay up late than go to bed early'
• 'I'd rather eat fish than meat'.


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

Ravi: I see. Do you know anything about
computers?
Darryl: Erm …
Tess: Ravi! You're not supposed to tell people
what the quiz is about before we start. That's
the second time you've said it.
Ravi: Oops. Well, let's get on with it.

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

Now let's look at another very common word in
English – 'about'. 'You will hear the word 'about'
all the time because we use it in lots of different
ways. Listen to Tess asking Rita about her
home city, Bath.

Tess: Tell us a bit about the history.

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

Tess: Tell us a bit about the history.
Rita: Well I don't know a lot .. but it was a

Roman city, um about two thousand years ago.

Tom: Rita doesn't know exactly when Bath was
a Roman city, but she has an idea – she knows
it was more or less two thousand years ago. So
she says "about two thousand years ago'". In
this situation 'about' means 'more or less' or
'approximately'.

Listen to another example, Rita isn't sure
exactly how far Bath is from London and she
isn't sure what the population is either. Can you
guess what she says? Listen.

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

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

Ivan: So which road should we take?
Man: Go back the way you came, about five
miles, then take a right. Follow the signs to
Milton.
Tom: The man says "Go back the way you
came, about five miles, then take a right".

Why don't you try and use 'about' to mean 'more
or less' this week?

OK. I think that's enough for this week, so I'll
stop now. I'll talk to you all again next time.
Remember you can write to me about any
language that you noticed in this podcast. The
address is
learnenglishpodcast@britishcouncil.org. In a
moment you'll hear the address for the website
where you can read everything you've heard in
this podcast. You can also find some practice
exercises to do online and a support pack that
you can print.

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