BBC 6 Minute English – Tổng Hợp 33 Episodes Với Transcript & Từ Vựng

BBC 6 MINUTE ENGLISH

COMPREHENSIVE STUDY GUIDE

33 Episodes with Transcripts, Vocabulary & Vietnamese Translations

BBC Learning English
bbclearningenglish.com

Episode 1: Dealing with boredom (21 August 2014)

Episode 2: Brazilian music (29 May 2014)

Episode 3: Cinema etiquette (6 March 2014)

Episode 4: Men’s body image

Episode 5: Coffee addiction (22 May 2014)

Episode 6: Odd job interviews (27 February 2014)

Episode 7: Purple tomatoes (7 August 2014)

Episode 8: Grown up and living at home (15 May 2014)

Episode 9: Drinking around the world (20 February 2014)

Episode 10: Chill and lose weight!

Episode 11: What is dark tourism?

Episode 12: Technology at the Winter Olympics (13 February 2014)

Episode 13: Eid Mubarak! (24 July 2014)

Episode 14: Modern offices (1 May 2014)

Episode 15: Learn a thousand foreign words (6 February 2014)

Episode 16: Star signs (17 July 2014)

Episode 17: Young, British and sober (24 April 2014)

Episode 18: Brazilian economy (10 July 2014)

Episode 19: Air pollution in China (17 April 2014)

Episode 20: When does adulthood start? (30 January 2014)

Episode 21: Are faster cyclists more attractive? (3 July 2014)

Episode 22: Is there more of the world to explore? (10 April 2014)

Episode 23: Glass half full (23 January 2014)

Episode 24: Brazilian food (26 June 2014)

Episode 25: Scottish independence

Episode 26: Business English: Misunderstandings

Episode 27: Deleting memories

Episode 28: What is freedom? (27 March 2014)

Episode 29: Brazilian football (12 June 2014)

Episode 29: Downsizing for Italy’s Casanovas (9 January 2014)

Episode 30: The male brain, the female brain (20 March 2014)

Episode 31: Showrooming and shopping (2 January 2014)

Episode 32: Are you a winner? (13 March 2014)

This study guide is compiled from BBC Learning English’s ‘6 Minute English’ series. Each episode chapter contains the following sections:

– Episode title and topic overview

– Tom tat noi dung (Vietnamese summary) to help you understand the context before listening

– Full English transcript of the dialogue between presenters

– Key Vocabulary table with English definitions and Vietnamese translations

– Discussion questions to practise speaking about the topic

Study Tips:

– Read the Vietnamese summary first to understand the topic context

– Listen to the audio while following the transcript

– Study the vocabulary table and try to use each word in a sentence

– Discuss the questions with a study partner or write your answers

– Review the Master Vocabulary List at the end for revision

21 August 2014

🔹 Tom tat noi dung (Vietnamese Summary)

Bai hoc nay ban ve su nham chan va cach doi pho voi no. Cac nguoi dan chuong trinh thao luan ve nhung ly do khien nguoi ta cam thay nham chan, va cach su nham chan co the thuc day sang tao.

🔹 Transcript

NB: This is not a word for word transcript Finn.

Finn: Hi Rob. You know, I’m happy you called me to present this programme with

you because I was there by my desk feeling a bit bored (yawns loudly).

Rob: Great yawn, Finn! A yawn, of course, is that typical reaction of someone who

is bored.

Finn: Yeah, it’s when you open your mouth wide and take some air in and slowly

out.

Rob: Okay. Let’s make this a programme all about boredom, shall we? And I’ll start

by stimulating your imagination.

Finn: Thank you, but how are you going to make me excited and interested in

something, Rob?

Rob: How about I challenge you to a question you might not know the answer to?

Finn: Okay, well, you can try. Go on then.

Rob: Well, I know you like the theatre.

Finn: I do. But it has to be an exciting play or I get restless.

Rob: Restless, you mean unable to sit still because you get bored or worried even.

Okay. I wonder how you’d feel watching the longest continuous play recorded?

Finn: That’s quite an offer. What do you mean?

Rob: According to the Guinness Book of Records, the longest continuous dramatic

performance was held in New Jersey, in the US, in 2010. But do you know how long the cast for The Bald Soprano by Eugene Ionesco, was on stage for? Was it for about: a) 8 hours b) 17 hours c) 23 hours

Finn: Wow! They’re all pretty long. I’ll say b) 17 hours, Rob.

Rob: Goodness! Right. Okay. I’ll let you know the answer by the end of the

programme. Now, let’s talk more about boredom. I think this is a feeling we have to learn how to cope with.

Finn: Yes, we have to learn to deal with this situation successfully – to cope with it.

But people often feel they want to change their life, to change their job. They might feel stuck in a rut.

Rob: That’s a good phrase – stuck in a rut. So you mean you’ve become too fixed in

one kind of job?

Finn: Yes. You know Rob, even I sometimes dream of something a bit more exciting

like being a professional diver or maybe even a pilot of a really fast plane.

Rob: Well, guess what: even pilots get bored, you know?

Finn: Not when they are flying anyway.

Rob: Wrong. When they’re up in the air!

Finn: No way! Really? I don’t believe you!

Rob: Well, Missy Cummings, an American, was a fighter pilot. Listen to the phrasal

verb she uses meaning to stop being bored, at least for a while. Is there ever time for a fighter pilot to get bored? Missy Cummings , former fighter pilot: Oh my gosh, sure, for the same reasons that commercial pilots get bored. These fighter jets are very automated when it comes to just holding altitude and heading. So you turn everything in autopilot and I probably listened to more Oprah Winfrey TV shows on the high- frequency radios… And so you get good about using the technology to figure out how to stave off that boredom.

Finn: Ah, so she listened to a show hosted by the American presenter Oprah

Winfrey on the radio to stave off her boredom. Now, to stave off means to stop or to keep an unpleasant feeling away. In this case she means boredom.

Rob: Yes, indeed.

Rob: But some experts think there’s something good about feeling bored.

Finn: Really?

Rob: Let’s hear what Tiffany Watt-Smith has to say. She works for the Centre for

the History of Emotions at the Queen Mary University of London. Pay attention to the word she uses to describe what boredom does to people. Tiffany Watt-Smith, Queen Mary University of London: On the one hand people are worried about being under-occupied and bored. On the other there’s a set of anxieties about us having any more downtime, you know. We can constantly check our phones at the bus stop. Everything is to be filled and what does that do to our minds? I think boredom is a very useful emotion. It’s an emotion which spurs people on to change something about their environment. If you’re bored that gives rise to creativity.

Finn: So boredom spurs people on to change something. To spur on means to

stimulate or to encourage someone to do something.

Rob: So what are you going to do, Finn? How will you change your life?

Finn: Change my life? Okay. Two things. The first one is: I want to know if I got that

question right!

Rob: Well I said at the beginning of the programme that the longest continuous

dramatic performance was held in New Jersey, US, in 2010. And I asked you how long was the cast on stage for to play The Bald Soprano by Eugene Ionesco.

Finn: Yes. The options were 8 hours, 17 hours and 23 hours, I think. And I said 17.

Was I right?

Rob: You were not!

Finn: Oh, no!

Rob: It was even longer.

Finn: Wow! 23!

Rob: According to the Guinness Book of Records, the play lasted 23 hours, 33

minutes and 54 seconds. It was achieved by The 27 O’Clock Players who performed The Bald Soprano at Belmar, New Jersey, USA, on 27 July 2010. Anyway Finn, what’s the second thing you’re going to do to stave off your boredom?

Finn: You know what, Rob? I’m going to book myself a fantastic holiday! Maybe I

could start with a visit to Patagonia in Argentina to see the penguins…

Rob: Yeah, it sounds very exciting. But before you head off to Patagonia, could you

remind us of some of the English words we’ve heard today?

Finn: We heard:

yawn stimulating restless to cope with stuck in a rut to stave off to spur on

Rob: Thanks Finn. That’s it for this programme. I hope you didn’t find it boring.

Finn: Not at all. I loved it!

Both: Bye.

🔹 Tu vung quan trong (Key Vocabulary)

🔹 Cau hoi thao luan (Discussion Questions)

1. Do you often feel bored? What do you do to deal with boredom?

2. Do you think boredom can lead to creativity? Why or why not?

3. What is the most boring thing you have ever had to do?

29 May 2014

🔹 Tom tat noi dung (Vietnamese Summary)

Bai hoc kham pha am nhac Brazil, tu samba soi dong den bossa nova nhe nhang. Nguoi nghe se hoc ve su khac biet giua cac the loai nhac va anh huong cua toan cau hoa len am nhac dia phuong.

🔹 Transcript

NB: This is not a word-for-word transcript about… Monica Vasconcelos, Brazilian singer: (Samba beat sounds)

Rob: …Brazilian music! Ah… the samba…! And I’m joined today by Grace, from

Brazil. Hi Grace.

Grace: Hi Rob. Can you sing well? Or do you usually sing, let’s say, out of tune

like me?

Rob: Out of tune, so you mean singing or playing notes that are at the wrong

pitch. Yes, I definitely sing out of tune.

Grace: Well, that was the voice of the Brazilian recording artist Monica

Vasconcelos.

Rob: A recording artist – so that’s a singer or musician who creates and

releases music either through a record label or independently. She does indeed have a very beautiful voice.

Grace: And she sings many types of music including samba, jazz and bossa nova.

Talking about bossa nova, Rob, I have a question for you.

Rob: OK.

Grace: One of the most famous bossa nova tunes is ‘The Girl from Ipanema’. It

was composed by Antonio Carlos Jobim and Vinicius de Moraes. Do you know the song, Rob?

Rob: I know it very well. Even Frank Sinatra recorded it, didn’t he?

Grace: Yes. So when was the song ‘The Girl from Ipanema’ recorded

commercially for the first time? Was it… a) in 1955 b) in 1962 c) or in 1969

Rob: OK, well, I know it’s quite old so I’m going to go for 1962. You know, I’ve

always wanted to know more about the bossa nova. How different is it from the famous Brazilian samba music?

Grace: Let’s listen to the expert, Monica Vasconcelos. Which two words does she

use to compare these musical styles? Monica Vasconcelos, Brazilian singer: Samba is very energetic and full of life… and bossa nova is… It’s a little smoother; it’s more understated. Bossa is a combination of complex harmonies, coming from… particularly Europe and this very cool bossa groove that comes from samba. In addition to that, you have some particular themes: the sea, love… The bossa nova composers, they were into beauty.

Rob: So smoother – that means calmer – and understated, meaning more

controlled, more discreet.

Grace: And it’s easy to understand the themes of these songs…

Rob: Yes, she says the composers – the writers – of bossa nova were into

beauty – to be into something means to be interested in something. They were interested in the beautiful things in life.

Grace: The lyrics – the words of the songs – were about boats sailing away, a

beautiful woman walking by the beach…

Rob: A beautiful view and beautiful lyrics. And bossa nova has a very special

kind of groove, meaning the feel and style of the music – and the bossa nova groove is cool, funky and smooth! And what about rock and pop music – do Brazilians like these music styles?

Grace: Yes, we do like rock and pop, but a common complaint is that our radio

stations play too many songs from Britain and America. Monica explains. What phrase does she use to describe the effect of globalisation on local music? Monica Vasconcelos, Brazilian singer: You take a traditional rock rhythm… and then take a samba groove… The first example is simpler, so what happens in the process of globalisation where you have rock and pop coming into different markets all over the world… you have a flattening of the local grooves which may be a bit more complex, so the simpler ideas end up taking over.

Rob: Monica talks about a flattening of the local grooves – a simplifying of

more complex local music that has happened as a result of rock and pop influence coming in through globalisation.

Grace: I know you like travelling a lot, Rob. Would you like to go abroad and find

only the very same things you have here in Britain?

Rob: Absolutely not! No! Travelling is all about discovering, hearing local music,

discovering local foods – things that are different from things that are back at home.

Grace: Well, now let’s see how much you know about bossa nova. I asked when

the song ‘The Girl from Ipanema’ was recorded commercially for the first time? The options were: 1955, 1962 and 1969.

Rob: And I had a guess and said 1962.

Grace: Oh you got it right, Rob! Yeah, you got it right! The first commercial

recording of ‘The Girl from Ipanema’ was by Brazilian singer Pery Ribeiro.

Rob: Well, I love talking about music and other cultures but our time is running

out.

Grace: So let’s recall the words we heard today.

Rob: Yes, we heard:

out of tune recording artist smoother understated groove to be into lyrics flattened

Grace: Thanks, Rob. And as we’ve been talking about music, shall we say

goodbye in the rhythm of samba? BBC Learning English. Monica Vasconcelos, Brazilian singer: (Samba beat sounds)

Rob: You’re doing it better than me!

Both: Bye.

🔹 Tu vung quan trong (Key Vocabulary)

🔹 Cau hoi thao luan (Discussion Questions)

1. What kind of music do you enjoy listening to?

2. Do you think globalisation is changing local music in your country?

3. Have you ever tried to play a musical instrument?

6 March 2014

🔹 Tom tat noi dung (Vietnamese Summary)

Bai hoc ban ve phep lich su khi di xem phim tai rap. Tu viec su dung dien thoai den an uong gay tieng on, chuong trinh dua ra nhung quy tac ung xu khi o rap chieu phim.

🔹 Transcript

NB: This is not a word-for-word transcript

Neil: And I’m Neil.

Rob: Today we’re talking about something we must all have an opinion on – it’s

cinema etiquette. In other words, what is the right way to behave when you go to see a film at the cinema?

Neil: Yes, the cinema, the movies or the multiplex. How we behave there is

different from how we behave when we’re watching a film at home – but some people seem to forget that, don’t they Rob?

Rob: Yes, some people treat the cinema like their own homes. They forget

other people are sitting around them. But I’ll save my moaning for later when I’ll also be explaining some behaviour and cinema-related vocabulary.

Neil: How about a question first Rob?

Rob: A good idea. This question is for you Neil. Most of like to take a box of

popcorn into the cinema, but according to the Guinness World Records, which country was the biggest ever box of popcorn served in? Was it in: a) Finland b) Croatia c) The USA

Neil: I don’t know but I’m going to guess that it’s the USA because they like

things to be big in America!

Rob: They do don’t they. I’ll reveal the answer at the end of programme. Now

back to our discussion about cinema etiquette. When I go to see a film, all I want is a comfortable seat and to be able to see and hear the film. I don’t want distractions!

Neil: You mean people who disturb your enjoyment of the film – by talking or

moving about? People eating really annoys me – I hate the rustle of sweet wrappers and the crackle of a crisp packet. It’s messy too.

Rob: And what’s worse is people who turn the auditorium – the place where

we all sit – into their own personal dining room!

Neil: Of course your munching popcorn is fine, isn’t it Rob?! But to really

appreciate the surround-sound and clear digital projection you need a well-behaved audience. Not like the audience that one radio presenter complained about on his show.

Rob: This was the BBC radio presenter Simon Mayo. Here he is telling film

critic, Mark Kermode, about an annoying moment at a film screening he went to. Can you hear what happened? BBC presenters, Simon Mayo and Mark Kermode:

Simon: A new low was reached, as the women in front of me gets the phone out,

standard thing, so sending messages that kind of stuff, and then has an app on her phone which turns her phone into a mirror, OK. And then with her colleague or member of family’s torch app on their phone, proceeds to do her makeup during the movie!

Mark: That, my friend, is extraordinary.

Neil: Unbelievable! So Simon said that he sat behind a woman who, during the

film, got her mobile phone out.

Rob: Well that’s quite common – lots of people now use their phones while

watching a film – we call it ‘dual screening’ – looking at two screens at the same time.

Neil: But the phone wasn’t for texting or checking messages – but to use an

app to turn the phone into a mirror. Then, using the torch on her friend’s phone, she used the mirror to do her makeup!

Rob: A ‘new low’ in cinema etiquette! It’s bad manners and I wonder why she

even bothered going to the cinema. I don’t think mobile phones at the cinema are a good idea.

Neil: The radio presenters would agree. They have already drawn up a code of

conduct for moviegoers – a list of rules on how people should behave at the cinema.

Rob: Well, according to this code, there’s one disgusting thing that really

shouldn’t be done. See if you can hear what it is… BBC presenter, Simon Mayo: No shoe removal. You are not in your own front room. A cinema is a public space, keep your bodily odours to yourself!

Rob: Well said! Simon says don’t take off your shoes – keep your odours –

that’s your smells – to yourself. He says you are not at home! Amongst their other big bugbears – or annoying things – are slurping drinks – that’s drinking noisily – arriving late, and talking during the film.

Neil: Yes, that’s a big no-no for me – I really don’t like that. It really breaks

my concentration. And then there are parents who bring their noisy kids.

Rob: Well that’s OK if it’s a special child-friendly screening but not if the film is

unsuitable for children – the parents are just using the cinema as a babysitter!

Neil: There is one chain of cinemas in the UK that is offering child-free cinema-

going, and another is trying out a ban on popcorn. Sounds like a good idea to me.

Rob: Yes, especially if the box of popcorn is as big as the one I asked you about

earlier. According to the Guinness World Records, which country was the biggest box of popcorn ever served in? Was it: a) Finland b) Croatia c) The USA

Neil: And I said the USA.

Rob: You are wrong actually. The largest box of popcorn was made in Croatia

with a volume of 52.59m³ (cubic metres). It was filled in 1 hour and 57 minutes at an event to mark the opening of a new multiplex cinema. OK Neil, before this Oscar-winning programme ends, there’s just time to remind us of some of the vocabulary that we’ve heard today:

Neil: Yes, we heard:

etiquette multiplex distractions auditorium surround-sound film critic dual screening bad manners code of conduct bugbears slurping a big no-no

Rob: Thanks Neil, wonderful. Well, we hope you’ve enjoyed today’s programme.

Now, do you fancy some popcorn?

Neil: Yeah I do actually. And this drink’s great! (slurping his drink)

Both: Bye.

🔹 Tu vung quan trong (Key Vocabulary)

🔹 Cau hoi thao luan (Discussion Questions)

1. What annoys you most when you go to the cinema?

2. Do you prefer watching films at the cinema or at home? Why?

3. Should cinemas ban mobile phones during screenings?

🔹 Tom tat noi dung (Vietnamese Summary)

Bai hoc thao luan ve hinh anh co the nam gioi va ap luc xa hoi ve ngoai hinh. Chuong trinh kham pha su phu phiem va cac cach nguoi ta co gang cai thien ngoai hinh.

🔹 Transcript

NB: This is not a word for word transcript

Finn: Hello Rob.

Rob: Today we’re talking about men’s body image – that means how men feel

about their physical appearance.

Finn: So it’s not about fashion – the style of clothes they wear – it’s about how they

look physically and how they think other people view them. So come on Rob, how do you think I look?

Rob: Hmm… You want me to be honest?! You’re a handsome chap really but you’re

a little skinny, maybe, you don’t look like you ‘work out’ – you know, go to the gym – but look at me, I can’t talk – I don’t look too good either!

Finn: Oh come on Rob, I’m sure your wife thinks you look very handsome!

Rob: You’ll have to ask her. Well before we explore this subject more and look at

some related vocabulary, let’s ‘work out’ with a question. It’s about a survey on men’s body image. In a survey by the University of the West of England, what percentage of men said they were unhappy about their body? a) 20% b) 55% c) 80%

Finn: Well I think men are quite concerned about their body image so I’m going to

say 80%.

Rob: We’ll find out if you are right or wrong later. So let’s talk more about body

image. We probably know more about women worrying about things like their weight, size, and body shape.

Finn: But men also have bodily expectations – in other words, a view on how they

think they should look. But where does this vanity come from?

Rob: Vanity – a good word, that’s when you are too interested in yourself and

especially interested in how you look – spending a lot of time in front of a mirror. I suppose it’s from pressure or influence from people we see on TV or in magazines. People have a perception – or a belief – of what the perfect body should look like.

Finn: Yes, TV and magazines are full of pictures of men with perfect pecs – that’s

chest muscles – perfect hair and dazzling white teeth. A bit like Arnold Schwarzenegger?

Rob: Not my type! Whilst I like to look fit and healthy, big muscles don’t suit me!

The biggest thing I have at the moment is my beer belly – my stomach is getting a bit too fat – and that’s something I’m not too proud of.

Finn: It’s very impressive, Rob. Well some men cheat to try and achieve the perfect

physique. They either take certain drugs or drink protein drinks.

Rob: And then there’s a muscle-enhancing shirt – that’s a padded shirt that you

wear under your clothes that make you look more of a hunk – strong and muscly. Come on Finn, you must have one of those?

Finn: I’m wearing one right now, Rob. Not really! And Joe Warner, an author and

former editor of Men’s Fitness Magazine, thinks they are a waste of time. What word does he use to describe wearing a padded shirt – and what does he suggest men should really be doing to improve body image? Joe Warner, author and former editor of Men’s Fitness Magazine: A lot of people now are obese, they are overweight – it’s a real issue in the UK. And it’s another one of these fitness and health gimmicks we see so much of, I think it’s just a real shame people still want shortcuts when it doesn’t take an awful lot of effort to get to the gym or go for a walk and men do need to take more exercise.

Rob: So Joe says many people in the UK are obese – they are too fat and it’s

dangerous to their health. But he describes trying to pretend to look good by wearing a padded shirt as a ‘health and fitness gimmick’.

Finn: Yes, a gimmick is something that looks good, but is not really useful. And he

says these health and fitness gimmicks are shortcuts to looking healthy. What’s the real solution Rob?

Rob: Easy – do more exercise. Walk, run, cycle or go the gym. Of course body

image is about how you think you look and how you think you should look – I think the best approach is to accept how you look: we don’t want to all look the same anyway.

Finn: Wise words Rob. We shouldn’t forget that beauty is only skin deep. So your

character is much more important than your appearance.

Rob: A good idiom, but still men – and women – are concerned about their body

image. And earlier I asked you, according to a survey, what percentage of men are worried?

Finn: I said c) 80%. Was I right?

Rob: You were right. The study by the University of the West of England found that

80% of men who responded, said they regularly had conversations about one another’s bodies. And the biggest body issue for them was their beer bellies and lack of muscles. Well before I head off to the pub… I mean gym, could you remind us of some of the vocabulary we’ve heard today:

Finn: Yes, we heard:

body image workout handsome vanity perception pecs beer belly muscle-enhancing hunk obese gimmick beauty is only skin deep

Rob: Thanks. We hope you’ve enjoyed today’s programme. Please join us again

Both: Bye.

🔹 Tu vung quan trong (Key Vocabulary)

🔹 Cau hoi thao luan (Discussion Questions)

1. Do you think society puts too much pressure on people to look good?

2. What do you think is more important: physical appearance or personality?

3. Do you exercise regularly? What motivates you?

22 May 2014

🔹 Tom tat noi dung (Vietnamese Summary)

Bai hoc ban ve caffeine va tac dong cua no len suc khoe. Tu loi ich den nguy co, chuong trinh giup nguoi nghe hieu them ve thoi quen uong ca phe.

🔹 Transcript

NB: This is not a word-for-word transcript (Slurp of coffee)

Rob: Mmm! A quick sip of my coffee to get me in the mood for today’s

Rob.

Finn: And I’m Finn. Rob, you seem to be enjoying that cup of coffee…

Rob: Yes, indeed. I love all styles of coffee – that’s coffee made in different

ways – you could say I am a coffee addict.

Finn: An addict. That’s someone who likes doing a particular activity very much

and they can’t stop doing it. And if you have a strong need to keep drinking coffee then we could say you have an addiction.

Rob: That’s me! And that’s what we’re talking about today – coffee addiction –

and we’ll be talking about the dangers of drinking too much.

Finn: Another word for drinking here is consuming. We’ll look at some other

coffee-related language in today’s programme, too. But first, Rob, how about a question?

Rob: Yes, of course. I have a coffee-related question to ask you. Do you know

which country drinks the most coffee per person? Is it: a) Egypt b) Finland c) Italy

Finn: I think they’re all coffee-drinking countries but I’ll say b) Finland.

Rob: OK. As always, I will let you know the answer at the end of the

programme. OK Finn, I haven’t asked you yet if you drink coffee. So do you?

Finn: I do Rob, yes, but only in moderation – so that means not too much. I

love the taste and the smell especially – we could call that the aroma – but it’s the caffeine contained in the drink that can have a bad effect. If I drink too much it can give me headaches.

Rob: Right. Well, for me, it’s the caffeine that keeps me awake. It stimulates

my brain – it makes me more alert – that’s why we call caffeine a stimulant. Caffeine can also be found in energy and cola drinks and even in tea.

Finn: The New Scientist magazine says caffeine is a ‘psychoactive drug’ and

that 90% of people in the United States consume it every day.

Rob: Psychoactive drug – so what does that mean?

Finn: It’s a drug that affects how a person feels and sometimes how they

behave. The drug can be found in food like waffles and chewing gum, surprisingly – not just in drinks.

Rob: That’s why scientists who study public health are worried people don’t

know how much caffeine they are taking.

Finn: Indeed. Too much caffeine can lead to insomnia.

Rob: So that’s when you can’t sleep.

Finn: And indigestion.

Rob: So that’s a pain in your stomach when it can’t process the food that you’ve

just eaten.

Finn: And finally, high blood pressure.

Rob: So blood flowing around your body at a higher pressure than is normal.

That’s dangerous. Well, sometimes drinking coffee does stop me sleeping and sometimes I feel very alert and then very lethargic – you know, that’s not having any energy. But I still can’t give up!

Finn: And Rob, you’re not alone. We asked people on our BBC Learning English

Facebook page how they felt about coffee, and we had a lot of responses.

Rob: Yumiko says: “My happiest time is smelling coffee beans just after

grinding it. Fresh roasted coffee has a really good fragrance!” Fragrance is a word usually associated with perfume – but I think she just means the good smell.

Finn: Samuele says: “One cup of good espresso is the daily energy for my body

and mind”.

Rob: And Rasha claims: “A cup of coffee every day is useful for our health”.

Finn: Ahmed loves coffee too, but he says: “Be aware that too much coffee is

not good for your health”. So there seem to be some good effects and some bad – or negative – effects of drinking coffee, Rob.

Rob: Well, I find that if I try to give up drinking coffee, I’ll also get headaches

and feel tired.

Finn: And these are what we call withdrawal symptoms – the nasty physical

and mental effects of stopping.

Rob: Well, I may drink lots of coffee but not as much as people in another

country. Finn, earlier I asked you if you knew the people of which country drink the most coffee?

Finn: And I said b) Finland.

Rob: And guess what – you were right! Yes, the people of Finland consume an

incredible 12 kilograms of coffee per person every year. That compares with the average consumption of 1.3 kilograms per person. OK Finn, before we go, there’s just time for you to remind us of some of the words that we heard today.

Finn: We heard:

addict consuming in moderation aroma caffeine stimulant psychoactive drug insomnia indigestion high blood pressure lethargic withdrawal symptoms

Rob: Thanks, Finn.

Finn: Thank you, Rob.

English. Bye for now!

Finn: Bye!

🔹 Tu vung quan trong (Key Vocabulary)

🔹 Cau hoi thao luan (Discussion Questions)

1. How much coffee do you drink each day?

2. Do you think caffeine addiction is a serious problem?

3. What is your favourite hot drink and why?

27 February 2014

🔹 Tom tat noi dung (Vietnamese Summary)

Bai hoc nay ban ve chu de ‘Odd job interviews’. Cac nguoi dan chuong trinh thao luan, giai thich tu vung va chia se nhung thong tin thu vi lien quan den chu de.

🔹 Transcript

NB: This is not a word-for-word transcript

Finn: And me, Finn.

Rob: Finn, I’d like to start by asking you: How many job interviews have you

had?

Finn: That’s difficult. Maybe ten interviews in my life.

Rob: Ten. That’s quite a few – and do you enjoy going to job interviews?

Finn: I absolutely adore them! No, I’m joking! Who does? Nobody does.

Rob: Well, for me, they are torture! I hate being grilled by a panel – or group

– of people. I know I can do the job but I hate having to convince them! Today, we’ll be discussing some odd job interviews and looking at some related vocabulary. So Finn, are you ready for your first interview question?

Finn: Yes Rob, I am raring to go!

Rob: Good to hear. Well, it’s important to know what type of job you are being

interviewed for. Some job titles are a bit exaggerated. So, what type of job has been named a ‘Field Nourishment Consultant’? Is it: a) A waitress b) A school dinner lady c) A petrol station assistant

Finn: I think that it’s b) a school dinner lady.

Rob: An interesting choice. I’ll let you know if you are wrong or right later on.

Let’s talk more about job interviews. A traditional interview usually involves being asked a list of questions, and sometimes you have to give a short presentation.

Finn: Yes, questions like: “Why do you want this job?” or, “Where do you see

yourself in five years’ time?”

Rob: Yeah, that’s a tricky one to answer! But some interviewers – the people

who ask the questions – go a bit further and ask the interviewees – the people being interviewed – to do some inappropriate things.

Finn: You mean they are asked do things are not really relevant to the job.

Such as Alan Bacon, a university graduate, who last year was asked to do a dance as part of his interview.

Rob: Well, maybe the position – or job – was for a dancer or a children’s

entertainer?

Finn: No – it was actually for a job as a sales assistant in an electronics shop;

so, someone who works on the shop floor, giving advice to customers about what to buy. There’s no dancing involved.

Rob: Let’s hear from him now. What did he do at the interview to look positive?

And how did he really feel about doing a dance? Alan Bacon, university graduate: We all wanted the job, some of us are desperate, like myself, and the idea is just to keep smiling and go for it. On the surface I had to look positive, I was smiling, I was laughing along with it, but inside I felt degraded and humiliated especially.

Finn: Oh poor Alan. He felt degraded – so he lost respect from other people –

and he felt humiliated – so he felt embarrassed and ashamed.

Rob: So that’s how he felt on the inside but he wanted the job so he put on a

brave face – a positive attitude and a smile on his face; he even laughed.

Finn: Well, later on, he did complain and he got an apology.

Rob: But experts say there are now too many candidates chasing too few jobs

so companies are trying unorthodox – non-traditional ways of recruiting people – to see who stands out.

Finn: Yes, well, in any job interview it’s good to leave a lasting impression –

that means to get noticed and make people remember you. I suppose doing a dance is a good way of breaking the ice – making people feel relaxed – but being asked to do something outside your comfort zone also seems a bit unfair to me.

Rob: Yes, but I guess if you want that job, you’ll do anything.

Finn: Well, almost!

Rob: I’ve heard about people who have had to sing at an interview and also,

role playing – pretending to be someone else and acting out a situation.

Finn: I find just being asked odd or random questions in an interview can make

me feel uncomfortable. And a US employment website carried out a survey about this and discovered some strange questions…

Rob: Yes they did, such as: “How would you cure world hunger?” and: “If you

were a computer programme, which one would you be?” Here’s one for you Finn: “If you were a word in the English language, which word would you be?”

Finn: Which word would you be? Oh, come on, that’s unfair. Just asking like

that – that’s outside my comfort zone Rob!

Rob: Indeed, but I’m trying to break the ice here Finn! Never mind, I’ll give you

the job anyway! Seriously, there’s no perfect way to interview someone for a job. If you are having a job interview, my advice would be to keep calm, think before you speak and if you are asked to do something inappropriate, tell them how you feel about it!

Finn: And if all else fails you could use a bribe? What do you think? No?!

Rob: Not recommended. However you can bribe me to get the answer to

today’s question?

Finn: I don’t think I need to. I think I’ve got the answer right.

Rob: OK, let’s find out. Earlier I asked you if you knew what a ‘Field

Nourishment Consultant’ really is.

Finn: I said b) a school dinner lady – but it could be a man. Is it right?

Rob: It has something to do with food but it’s not school dinners. It’s actually a

waitress – or waiter. I wonder how we could describe our jobs – maybe we could be ‘Educational Dissemination Executives’?

Finn: Oh yes, very grand. I like that!

soon for another programme.

Both: Bye.

🔹 Tu vung quan trong (Key Vocabulary)

🔹 Cau hoi thao luan (Discussion Questions)

1. What was the strangest job interview you have ever had?

2. How do you prepare for a job interview?

3. Do you think it is fair for interviewers to ask unusual questions?

7 August 2014

🔹 Tom tat noi dung (Vietnamese Summary)

Bai hoc ban ve thuc pham bien doi gen (GMO), dac biet la ca chua tim. Chuong trinh thao luan ve loi ich va nguy co cua cong nghe sinh hoc trong nong nghiep.

🔹 Transcript

NB: This is not a word-for-word transcript Finn.

Finn: Hello Rob.

Rob: Now Finn, I’d like to start by asking you a question. Would you eat a purple

coloured tomato?

Finn: Purple? Well, that depends. Is it a naturally coloured tomato? Where does it

come from? Is this an artificial tomato? Rob, tell me more.

Rob: Artificial – yes, you mean is it man-made and trying to copy something that

is natural? Well, in a way – yes. Because scientists have developed a genetically modified purple tomato; they took red tomato plants and changed their genetic patterns so that they now produce new, purple tomatoes.

Finn: Yes, so this would be an example of GM – genetically modified – food. It’s

something we’ll be discussing more soon and, of course, looking at some related vocabulary.

Rob: But here’s another question for you Finn that hasn’t been modified – or

changed – in any way! GM food has been researched and experimented with for many years but do you know when the first genetically modified food was first sold commercially? Was it in: a) 1974 b) 1984 c) 1994

Finn: Well, we think of GM food as a recent thing so I’ll say the opposite, a) 1974.

Rob: OK, we’ll find out if you’re right later on. Let’s talk more now about

genetically modified food – or GM food. It’s called this because the food’s genes have been changed. This means the way it grows is different from the way it grows when it isn’t touched by humans.

Finn: Yes, so, growing GM food – or crops – is controversial. Some scientists think

it’s needed to meet the world’s growing demand for food.

Rob: Yes, GM food can resist – or stop the effects of – some pests or bad

weather. It can grow more quickly, meaning even more crops can be cultivated – or grown.

Finn: But opponents of GM food – people who argue against it – say we don’t know

enough about its effect on the environment.

Rob: And then there are the fears about who controls what’s grown.

Finn: Yes, but despite this, GM food has become an important part of food

production. Crops like sweetcorn, rape plants, wheat and tomatoes have all been genetically modified.

Rob: Yes, like the purple tomato, which was recently developed in the UK. It has a

dark pigment – or colour – which gives it the same potential health benefits as blueberries.

Finn: Well, that sounds like a good thing. And not only that, it has an antioxidant

– that’s a substance that stops the decaying process – which tests show could help fight cancer.

Rob: One day we could see these purple tomatoes on pizzas or in our tomato

ketchup. Let’s hear from Professor Cathie Martin who is a plant biologist from The John Innes Centre who developed this tomato. What does she say is good about this new food? Professor Cathie Martin, Plant Biologist, John Innes Centre: With these purple tomatoes, you can get the same compounds that are present in blueberries and cranberries that give them their health benefits but you can apply them to foods that people actually eat in significant amounts and that are reasonably affordable.

Rob: So she says the good thing about this development is we can get health

benefits from something we eat significant amounts of – so lots of – and they will be reasonably affordable – so it will be cheap.

Finn: Yes but there’s still maybe a problem with the colour. We are affected by the

colour of stuff we put in our mouths. I mean, who eats blue food?!

Rob: That’s true. And also because the European Union has restrictions on growing

GM food, this tomato has to be grown in Canada where rules are more supportive of GM foods.

Finn: OK. Well, Professor Nick Pidgeon, who is an Environmental Psychologist, says

in the UK there is some distrust of GM food.

Rob: He says some people are concerned all this is messing with nature – it’s not

natural – and maybe we don’t know what the long-term consequences are.

Finn: And a big concern is that large corporations will have control over the

technology. And this could mean they control food prices too. You know Rob, I think this is a debate that will go on and on and on.

Rob: Indeed. But it’s now time to reveal the answer to today’s question. Earlier I

asked you if you knew when the first genetically modified food was first sold commercially.

Finn: I said a) 1974.

Rob: Interesting. The answer is actually 1994. A company called Calgene sold a

product that delayed the ripening of tomatoes.

Finn: OK, well, I guess that means the fruit could last longer and it would stop it

going soft?

Rob: That was the idea. Now, before we go, Finn, could you remind us of some of

the vocabulary that we’ve heard today?

Finn: Yes, I will.

artificial genetically modified genes resist pests cultivated pigment antioxidant significant affordable distrust ripening enjoyed today’s programme. Please join us again soon.

Both: Bye.

🔹 Tu vung quan trong (Key Vocabulary)

🔹 Cau hoi thao luan (Discussion Questions)

1. Would you eat genetically modified food? Why or why not?

2. Do you think GM food can help solve world hunger?

3. How important is it to you that your food is natural and organic?

15 May 2014

🔹 Tom tat noi dung (Vietnamese Summary)

Bai hoc ban ve xu huong nguoi tre o cung bo me lau hon. Chuong trinh kham pha ly do kinh te va xa hoi dang sau hien tuong nay.

🔹 Transcript

NB: This is not a word for word transcript

Finn: Hi Rob.

Rob: Today we’re talking about a subject that many of us have experienced – it’s

living at home, particularly when we’re grown up and in our twenties. Finn, what age were you when you left home?

Finn: I was 18 and I’d just finished school, I was really, really excited to see the

world! So I left home quite young.

Rob: Well, I left home at the age of 18 too, to go to university, and I never looked

back!

Finn: Of course, not everyone leaves home when they’re that young and we’ll be

discussing the reasons why – and discovering why more young people in the UK are staying at the ‘hotel of mum and dad’.

Rob: Yes, we’ll explain some related vocabulary too but first I have a question for

you Finn. According to the UK’s Office for National Statistics, in 2013, what percentage of 20 to 34 year-olds were living at home with their parents? Was it: a) 16% b) 26% c) 36%

Finn: I’ll say 36%.

Rob: I’ll tell you the answer later. Back to our discussion about living at home.

Residing with – or living with – your parents is not that unusual in some countries. Economic conditions, culture, or family tradition means that some young people stay at home until they get hitched – or get married.

Finn: Even then, it may be too expensive to rent or buy a house and the married

couple continue to live at one of their parents’ homes. But living conditions can be a bit cramped.

Rob: But in the UK, it has been more common to leave home at a fairly young age

and get your own place to live – maybe sharing it with other people – like a flatshare.

Finn: Many people may have to move to another city to take up a job – to get a job

– or they may be going to university. But all this comes at a price – there are bills to pay, there’s food to buy, plus the cost of accommodation.

Rob: That’s why there has been an increase in young people living with their

parents for longer. The recent economic downturn is the biggest factor. It’s harder for them to get on the property ladder – to buy a house. But what’s it like to be 27 and still living under the same roof as mum?

Finn: Luke Sibson knows. He’s 27 and still lives with his mum. What does he say is

the biggest difficulty?

Luke Sibson:

I had set plans to own a house, and a car and have a family by the time I’m 30. I’m now 27 and I’m not any closer to achieving that. There’s something very difficult about being a 27- year-old man living at home with your mum. There’s something very difficult about being an adult living in an environment where you’re still a child. It limits me socially; sometimes I feel it limits me professionally.

Finn: Oh dear, he had big plans for what he wanted by the time he was 30. But he’s

still at home and finds it difficult being an adult in an environment – or a place where you live – where you’re a child.

Rob: So he feels like a child because he’s being looked after and doesn’t have much

independence. This limits him in what he can do socially. I suppose he can’t bring lots of friends home or leave the house in a mess!

Finn: He thinks it also limits him professionally – so it can affect his career. I have

to admit, living at home now would drive me mad.

Rob: Well not everyone has a choice and some might feel the benefits – the good

things – are greater than the bad things. Alberto Baragan is 29 and lives near Madrid in Spain, a country where unemployment amongst the young is high. He says home living is not all bad. Can you hear what his reasons are?

Alberto Baragan:

Basically I don’t have to wash my clothes, I don’t have to make my bed, I don’t have to buy anything for me, ‘cos my mum does all these things for me. You don’t have to worry about paying taxes, or paying electricity, any bills; you are living basically for free.

Finn: He says you are ‘living for free’ – that is quite a big incentive. There’s

nothing to buy, no bed to make, no washing to do. You need quite a generous and kind and generous mother or father to live like that!

Rob: Indeed. The type of parents you have may influence your decision to stay at

home too! Alberto also mentioned there were no taxes or bills to pay, which is great if you’re not earning any money.

Finn: Yes and this is of course the reality for many young people in Spain. But if you

have no choice about living at home, hopefully you at least have a good relationship with your parents. This means accepting their virtues – their good points – and their faults.

Rob: Yes, after all, it is their home!

Finn: Spoken like a true parent Rob!

Rob: Behave Finn, and let’s see if you answered today’s question correctly. I asked

you according to the UK’s Office for National Statistics, in 2013, what percentage of 20 to 34 year-olds were living at home with their parents? Was it: a) 16% b) 26% c) 36%

Finn: I said 36%.

Rob: You’re wrong. The answer is 26%. That’s 3.3 million adults. That’s an

increase of about 25% since 1996. Well that’s it for this programme. Please

Both: Bye.

🔹 Tu vung quan trong (Key Vocabulary)

🔹 Cau hoi thao luan (Discussion Questions)

1. What did you find most interesting about the topic of ‘Grown up and living at home’?

2. Which new vocabulary words from this episode do you think will be most useful?

3. Can you summarise the main points discussed in this episode?

20 February 2014

🔹 Tom tat noi dung (Vietnamese Summary)

Bai hoc kham pha van hoa uong ruou bia tren the gioi, dac biet la cac quan pub cua Anh. Chuong trinh gioi thieu tu vung lien quan den do uong co con.

🔹 Transcript

NB: This is not a word-for-word transcript

Neil: Hi Rob.

Rob: Today we’re talking about something many of us are familiar with – drinking

in a bar or a pub. Now Neil, do you have a favourite bar or pub?

Neil: Well, I have a few favourites. One in particular is a pub I used to go to after

work with friends and colleagues where you got personal service – they brought the drink to you, which is very unusual in this country.

Rob: It certainly is! I like the old-fashioned-style English pubs, with plenty of ale on

offer, cosy little corners to sit in and a roaring log fire. I’m not so keen on those bright, loud and modern bars – and the drinks are expensive there too!

Neil: You’re very traditional, aren’t you, Rob? Well, let’s talk more about places to

drink around the world soon and highlight some drinking-related vocabulary. But first, how about a question?

Rob: Of course. In the UK the word ‘pub’ is short for public house – and there are

over 50,000 of them with many different historical names. But do you know which name is the most popular pub name? Is it… a) The Red Lion b) The Crown c) The Royal Oak

Neil: That’s difficult. There are lots of pubs with those names but I’m going to

guess c) The Royal Oak.

Rob: We’ll find out if you are right or wrong later. So let’s start talking about

boozing – an informal way of saying drinking alcohol. As you know, in the UK we have the pub as a place where we can socialise – or meet friends – and drink together. But all around the world people have places to come together and share a drink – and not necessarily an alcoholic drink.

Neil: A pub is also sometimes called a tavern or even a saloon – that’s the sort of

drinking den you would see in an old cowboy film! But a bar tends to be the most well-known word for describing a place to have a drink.

Rob: A bar is also the word to describe the long wooden counter that drinks are

put on when you order – or ask for – a drink. There are some amazing bars to drink in around the world. I drank in one in Sweden that was completely made of ice: even the glasses were made of ice!

Neil: I find wherever I go in the world there is always an Irish-themed pub where

you can usually get a pint of Guinness! In fact it’s claimed the highest pub in the world, on the route up Mount Everest, is an Irish pub!

Rob: Well, walking up there must be thirsty work. One of the remotest pubs in

the world is in a corner of Greenland. BBC correspondent Rob Crossan recently reported from there for the BBC. Let’s hear the words he uses to describe the pub and the customers… Rob Crossan, BBC correspondent: There’s only one pub, a windowless bunker where country and western music plays whilst local men and women, mostly dressed in tracksuits, woolly hats and hiking boots, sit almost silently around the sparse collection of ripped banquettes and wobbly wooden chairs.

Neil: A very lonely place. The only pub around. It has no windows and he compares

it to a bunker – that is a place that is usually underground and built to protect people from bullets or bombs.

Rob: Well, a pub is normally a place to have a good time – but this doesn’t sound

like a fun place, because nobody is talking and there is not much furniture to sit on – it’s sparse.

Neil: Yes, just a few ripped banquettes – these are small seating areas arranged

around a table. And some wobbly, wooden chairs. Not the place for a riotous evening.

Rob: Well, maybe it is. When the drink starts flowing and everyone comes together

on a dark, cold Greenland night, it could be fun. The only problem is that alcohol is a bit limited, as Rob Crossan explains: Rob Crossan, BBC correspondent: Only beer is available, the Danish brands – spirits were completely banned in this part of Greenland five years ago due to the quite astonishing levels of consumption by the local population.

Neil: So you can only drink beer. Consumption – or the drinking of – spirits has

been stopped, or banned, because people drank too much of it. Well Rob, you know you don’t have to drink to have a good time!

Rob: That’s true. It’s not good for your health and you get a terrible hangover –

you feel ill – the next day. Maybe I’ll have an orange juice next time I go to my local boozer – or pub.

Neil: So come on Rob, what is the most popular name for a British boozer?

Rob: Yes, is it:

a) The Red Lion b) The Crown c) The Royal Oak

Neil: I think it’s c) The Royal Oak.

Rob: You’ve probably drunk in a few Royal Oaks, haven’t you?

Neil: Yes, I have.

Rob: But you’re wrong. The answer is actually The Red Lion. There are 518 Red

Lion pubs in the UK. There are some more unusual names for British pubs too, such as The Axe and Compass, The Ferret and Trouser Leg, and The Slurping Toad! OK Neil, there’s just time to remind us of some of the vocabulary we’ve heard today:

Neil: Yes, we heard:

ale traditional boozing alcoholic drink drinking den a bar themed thirsty work riotous consumption hangover boozer

Rob: Thanks Neil. We hope you’ve enjoyed today’s programme. Please join us again

a pint now?

Neil: Absolutely, I’ll drink to that!

Both: Cheers!

🔹 Tu vung quan trong (Key Vocabulary)

🔹 Cau hoi thao luan (Discussion Questions)

1. What did you find most interesting about the topic of ‘Drinking around the world’?

2. Which new vocabulary words from this episode do you think will be most useful?

3. Can you summarise the main points discussed in this episode?

🔹 Tom tat noi dung (Vietnamese Summary)

Bai hoc ban ve nghien cuu cho thay viec giam nhiet do phong co the giup giam can. Chuong trinh giai thich ve mo nau va trao doi chat.

🔹 Transcript

NB: This is not a word for word transcript

Rob: Hello I’m Rob….

Finn: … and I’m Finn…

slimming – in other words, doing something to lose weight and get thinner. Not a problem for you Finn?

Finn: Well, I do have a small tyre of fat that is growing around my middle – so even

I don’t have a perfect body!

Rob: It doesn’t show and maybe you are what we call TOFI – that’s thin on the

outside and fat on the inside. But for people who perceive – or think they may be fat on the outside, there could be some good news.

Finn: Yes, this is to do with research about the temperature of your house. We’ll

explain more soon and we will look at some related vocabulary. But first Rob, have you got a question for me?

Rob: Of course. This is about calories – these are the units that measure how

much energy you get from food. People who want to lose weight try to eat food with fewer calories in them. But what is the recommended number of calories an average man needs each day to maintain a healthy weight? Is it: a) 2,000 calories b) 2,500 calories c) 3,000 calories

Finn: I should know this. I think it’s c) 3,000 calories.

Rob: We’ll find out if you are right later on. Let’s talk more now about a possible

new way to slim – or lose weight. New research has found that heating your house too much could make you fat!

Finn: And turning the central heating down could make you lose the pounds! This

is the claim from Dr Wouter van Marken Lichtenbelt, who is a biologist at Maastricht University Medical Centre.

Rob: That’s right. He got some brave volunteers to spend six hours every day for

ten days indoors, in temperatures of just 15 to 16 degrees Celsius whilst just wearing t-shirts and shorts. That’s not something I would normally do!

Finn: But these guinea pigs – a name for people who are used in experiments –

became accustomed to – or used – the cold, and their metabolism worked faster.

Rob: Metabolism is an important thing. This is the chemical process in your body

that causes you to burn food and turn it in to energy. So in this research, living in cooler conditions made people’s body’s burn food faster.

Finn: So they burnt off the calories and that means they lost weight. It sounds like

a simple and easy diet. I like the sound of a diet that doesn’t involve too much effort!

Rob: It doesn’t mean you can just be a couch potato – you still need to do some

exercise. But living in a cooler temperature could help to some extent and this is because of ‘brown fat’.

Finn: Brown fat! Let’s find out more about this from Dr Wouter van Marken

Lichtenbelt, who’s been speaking to the BBC’s Health Check programme. What happens to brown fat when it is activated? Dr Wouter van Marken Lichtenbelt, Biologist, Maastricht University Medical Centre: Brown fat cells are not really filled with fat, but with other particles that can increase energy metabolism a lot. So if brown fat gets activated it produces heat so it warms up the body.

Rob: So he says brown fat isn’t fat! It has particles that help to increase your

metabolism. When it is activated – or starts working – it makes heat and that warms up the body.

Finn: It’s interesting stuff – and brown fat actually increases after living in cold

conditions. It’s particularly found in animals that hibernate – the ones that sleep during the winter.

Rob: A similar experiment took place in Japan which led to people losing weight.

But I find if the temperature is colder, I want to eat more to warm me up – particulary unhealthy food or what we call, comfort food.

Finn: Well, the Doctor says we mustn’t – and he explains that losing weight this

way also depends on other lifestyle factors – so other ways we lead our life, such as exercise and what we eat.

Rob: But he does feel understanding environmental conditions – where we live and

work – could be useful in the future.

Finn: He thinks a factor like temperature has been neglected – or not thought

important. But he believes it should be thought about when designing heating and cooling systems for homes and offices. Does this mean I am going to be shivering when I’m at work?!

Rob: Well you will be producing extra brown fat instead of the other fat! But

seriously, the Doctor is just talking about turning the temperature down a few degrees, not turning the room into a freezer. It would certainly help reduce electricity and gas bills! Well it’s time now to reveal the answer to the question I set you earlier. I asked you what is the recommended number of calories an average man needs each day to maintain a healthy weight?

Finn: I said c) 3,000 calories.

Rob: The answer is 2,500 calories per day. And the recommended number calories

for an average woman is 2,000 per day. Well, that brings us to the end of

Both: Bye.

🔹 Tu vung quan trong (Key Vocabulary)

🔹 Cau hoi thao luan (Discussion Questions)

1. What did you find most interesting about the topic of ‘Chill and lose weight!’?

2. Which new vocabulary words from this episode do you think will be most useful?

3. Can you summarise the main points discussed in this episode?

🔹 Tom tat noi dung (Vietnamese Summary)

Bai hoc ban ve ‘du lich den’ – xu huong tham quan nhung dia diem lien quan den chet choc va tham hoa. Chuong trinh thao luan ve dao duc cua loai hinh du lich nay.

🔹 Transcript

NB: This is not a word for word transcript

Neil: And I’m Neil. Hello.

Rob: Today we’re talking about an unusual type of tourism. Tourism is the

business of providing services such as transport, places to stay, or entertainment for people who are on holiday.

Neil: But instead of providing sunny holidays in a nice hotel by the sea – this is

where tourists travel to sites of death, brutality and terror. It’s being called ‘dark tourism’. Rob, have you ever been to any dark tourist destination – or place?

Rob: Yes. I’ve visited Auschwitz in Poland – a fascinating trip to an obviously

depressing place. And next month I’m planning to go to Chernobyl – the site of a catastrophic nuclear accident in 1986.

Neil: So these are not your typical sightseeing trips but a visit to places that make

you curious because of their significance – their importance – in history?

Rob: Exactly. We’ll talk more about this soon but not before I set you today’s

question. Robben Island in South Africa is one dark tourism destination. It’s where Nelson Mandela was imprisoned for 18 years. Do you know in which year it finally closed as a prison? a) 1991 b) 1996 c) 1999

Neil: I don’t know but I’m going to guess a) 1991 because I think he was released

in 1989 and surely they would have shut it down pretty quickly after that.

Rob: I’ll reveal the answer later. So let’s talk more about ‘dark tourism’. The word

‘dark’ is used here because it relates to places that are connected with bad or sinister things or things that could be considered morally wrong.

Neil: It’s strange to want to visit places like these. There is what we call a morbid

fascination – that’s showing an interest in things connected with death and destruction. And these kinds of trips are on the increase.

Rob: Yes, there are organised tours to places like Ground Zero in New York, the

killing fields in Cambodia and the nuclear power station in Chernobyl.

Neil: And there are the battlefields of World War I and II – and the top security

prison of Alcatraz.

Rob: There are also plans to turn the disaster site of the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear

power plant in Japan into a tourist destination – once the radiation is reduced.

Neil: But why do people want to visit these macabre sites? Well I mentioned

curiosity and a chance to learn about history – but sometimes people just feel compelled to visit them.

Rob: But what about the ethics of dark tourism – is it wrong to make this trip? Are

we not just exploiting – making money or cashing in on someone’s suffering?

Neil: Doctor Phillip Stone is an expert in this subject. He’s director of the Institute

for Dark Tourism Research. He says this type of tourism isn’t new – people have been visiting these types of places for years. He says it’s always been there… Doctor Phillip Stone, Director of the Institute for Dark Tourism Research: It’s not new in the sense that we are fascinated by other death and people’s suffering. But it’s how it’s packaged up by the tourist industry.

Rob: So he says dark tourism isn’t new. In fact a medieval execution was an early

form of dark tourism. Maybe it’s just human nature that draws us to these places? Doctor Stone says it’s all about how these dark trips are packaged. So it depends how they are sold and how tasteful they are – are they sensitive to the horrors of what has taken place?

Neil: Yes, being able to walk around a historic site or visit a museum is one thing

but how about staying in a former prison in Latvia and paying to be treated like a prisoner? Or how about crawling around Vietnamese war tunnels whilst people fire guns outside?

Rob: Maybe that is taking the experience too far. Doctor Stone says there is a

“blurred line between memorialisation and tourism”. He means it is hard to separate going to remember an event and the people who’ve died with visiting somewhere as part of a holiday.

Neil: Another issue when visiting these places is how you remember your visit –

you must be respectful – perhaps taking photos, yes, but should you take a ‘selfie’? And should you buy a souvenir or send a postcard home?

Rob: Well you certainly wouldn’t write on your postcard ‘wish you were here’.

Anyway, let’s now reveal the answer to the question I set you earlier.

Neil: Yes, this was about the former prison on Robben Island which is now a

popular destination for dark tourism.

Rob: I asked you when it finally closed as a prison. Was it in:

a) 1991 b) 1996 c) 1999

Neil: I said 1991.

Rob: And you were wrong actually. It was in 1996. About 350,000 people now visit

the site every year – which shows how much interest there is in a place that you would have once never wanted to go near. Is it somewhere you would like to visit Neil?

Neil: I’m not sure about dark tourism to be honest.

Rob: Ok Neil, could you remind us of some of the vocabulary we’ve heard today:

Neil: Yes, we heard:

tourism depressing catastrophic curious morally wrong morbid fascination macabre compelled ethics exploiting human nature tasteful memorialisation respectful

Rob: Thanks. We hope you’ve enjoyed today’s programme. Please join us again

Both: Bye.

🔹 Tu vung quan trong (Key Vocabulary)

🔹 Cau hoi thao luan (Discussion Questions)

1. What did you find most interesting about the topic of ‘What is dark tourism?’?

2. Which new vocabulary words from this episode do you think will be most useful?

3. Can you summarise the main points discussed in this episode?

13 February 2014

🔹 Tom tat noi dung (Vietnamese Summary)

Bai hoc ban ve cong nghe tai The van hoi mua dong Sochi. Chuong trinh kham pha cach cong nghe giup van dong vien dat ket qua tot hon.

🔹 Transcript

NB: This is not a word-for-word transcript Hello Finn.

Finn: Hi Rob.

Rob: Today we’re talking about the biggest sporting event that’s taking place at

the moment – the Winter Olympics at Sochi in Russia.

Finn: Yes, it’s the 22nd Winter Games to take place but these ones are the most

expensive ever – they are reported to have cost around £32 billion.

Rob: And it was quite a surprise when the Games were awarded to Sochi back

in 2007 because the city is better known for palm trees than for ski slopes. But a lot of new technology has gone into making this competition possible.

Finn: Yes and a lot of technology has been used to make this year’s sportsmen

and sportswomen faster than ever – and that’s what we’ll be discussing today, as well as explaining some sports-related vocabulary.

Rob: But first Finn, let’s see if you can ‘go for gold’ and get this question right.

One winter sport event in this Olympics is the Biathlon. It involves competitors doing two things but what are they? Are they: a) Cross-country skiing and rifle shooting b) Downhill skiing and rifle shooting c) Cross-country skiing and swimming

Finn: I’m going to say cross-country skiing and rifle shooting, that’s a).

Rob: OK, we’ll find out if you are right or wrong later on. So Finn, are you a fan

of the Winter Olympics?

Finn: I must say I prefer the summer Olympics but I do enjoy watching the

skiing. What about you?

Rob: I particularly enjoy watching the bobsleigh racing – the speed is incredible

and it looks like a really fun thing to do.

Finn: And dangerous!

Rob: Yes. But of course, the athletes need a lot of skill to complete the course

in the fastest time and, of course, win the race.

Finn: Yes, they need to be very fit but technology can also give them a

helping hand. Behind the scenes, computer modelling helps to design the best wind-resistant bobsleighs – and the best techniques for the athletes to use.

Rob: This is true for another Olympic sport, speed skating. When there’s less

than a second between gold and silver medal, clothing can make a big difference – a newly-designed speed-skating suit, introduced in 2002, helped many skaters beat their personal best.

Finn: Yes, they improved their own fastest time. So materials used in the design

of sportswear can give competitors an advantage – and another factor is the technology in the equipment they use.

Rob: Such as in skiing, where skis are manufactured – or made – with

materials that increase durability – that’s staying in good condition for a long time despite constant use – and stability – keeping skis upright – and of course, speed.

Finn: Yes, and there are different designs for different types of skiing: some skis

are narrow and light to use for cross-country skiing while others are short with curved edges, to allow skiers to tackle sharp turns in a slalom race. Rob A slalom involves lots of tight turns. I tried that when I went skiing once and it was quite tricky, especially at speed, which is why I took my time, doing a snow-plough around every pole.

Finn: OK, so no gold medal for you! Ski design is constantly evolving – or

improving – which makes ski events some of the most varied and exciting of the Winter Games.

Rob: There are other types of skiing in the Winter Olympics such as, ski

jumping, freestyle skiing, skiing moguls and Nordic skiing. All these need one crucial – or essential thing:

Finn: Skis?

Rob: I was thinking more of snow! But as Sochi is known for its subtropical

climate, using natural snow is a little bit unreliable. That’s why loads of artificial – or fake snow is being made.

Finn: Yes, and snow guns are being used to do this. They eject cooled water and

compressed air to make man-made snow.

Rob: But the problem with this is it uses large quantities of water so it depletes

– or uses up – local resources. It’s believed the snowmaking system at Sochi could empty an Olympic-sized swimming pool in less than one hour.

Finn: Of course ice is another essential ingredient for many of the winter

games. Sports such as: curling, figure skating, ice hockey, luge and skeleton – that’s where competitors, known as sliders, hurtle head first down the 1.5km course on a sled not much bigger than a tea-tray!

Rob: That really does sound dangerous! And what about the biathlon Finn? I

asked you earlier which two sports that competition involves.

Finn: I really had no idea but I said a) cross-country skiing and rifle shooting.

Rob: Well, you’re quite knowledgeable actually, because the answer is a). It’s

cross-country skiing and rifle shooting. Did you know, the biathlon is also the sweatiest sport at the Winter Olympics? Male athletes typically produce 2.3 litres (or 4 pints) of perspiration in the 20km race.

Finn: Four pints? Wow! Well, it makes me sweat just thinking about doing

something like that.

Rob: That’s it for today, we hope you’ve enjoyed listening. Please join us again

Finn: Bye.

🔹 Tu vung quan trong (Key Vocabulary)

🔹 Cau hoi thao luan (Discussion Questions)

1. What did you find most interesting about the topic of ‘Technology at the Winter Olympics’?

2. Which new vocabulary words from this episode do you think will be most useful?

3. Can you summarise the main points discussed in this episode?

24 July 2014

🔹 Tom tat noi dung (Vietnamese Summary)

Bai hoc nay ban ve chu de ‘Eid Mubarak!’. Cac nguoi dan chuong trinh thao luan, giai thich tu vung va chia se nhung thong tin thu vi lien quan den chu de.

🔹 Transcript

NB: This is not a word-for-word transcript Neil.

Neil: Hi there Rob. And I’m sure you’ll join me in wishing our Muslim listeners Eid

Mubarak!

Rob: Yes, indeed, Eid Mubarak! The end of Ramadan is approaching and they will

be celebrating ‘Eid-ul-Fitr’, the Festival of the Breaking of Fast.

Neil: ‘Fast’ is the word for a period of time when you don’t eat. And when you eat

after a fast you break your fast.

Rob: Today we are going to talk about Ramadan. But first a question for you, Neil.

Neil: OK. What is it?

Rob: Well, many people around the world are celebrating Ramadan at the

moment. But how many people follow Islam? Is it about: a) 1.2 billion b) 1.5 billion or c) 1.8 billion people

Neil: Right. This is going to be a complete guess. I’ll go for the middle option, b)

1.5 billion.

Rob: OK, interesting guess. And do you know which country has the biggest

Muslim population? Do you want to risk a guess?

Neil: I think I know this. I’m going to say Indonesia.

Rob: OK, well, all will be revealed at the end of the programme. First, let’s

understand what this celebration is all about.

Neil: Muslims believe in a God called Allah. Eid is an occasion when they thank

Allah for helping them to have bettered themselves by giving up food.

Rob: It is. I asked Muna, our colleague from the Arabic Service at the BBC World

Service, to explain the main purpose of Ramadan. Listen out for the word which means the ability to control yourself. Muna, BBC World Service’s Arabic Section: Ramadan is the holy month when we fast. We begin the day with one meal after dawn. We finish our fast with another meal with the sunset. After this whole month comes Eid to reward ourselves for this worship. And it’s a kind of discipline, to discipline ourselves and to let us feel how people in need feel when they don’t have enough food. And every Muslim should give an amount of money to the people in need after this fasting.

Neil: Muna uses the word ‘discipline’. When you fast you resist the temptation of

eating.

Rob: And she also talks about reward. After a month of fasting and worship, which

means showing a strong admiration and respect for God – Allah in this case – the followers of Islam reward themselves with the festival called Eid.

Neil: She says people fast in order to understand the way others in need live.

Rob: People in need – poor people – don’t have enough food to eat and might feel

hungry for most of the time and this period of fasting helps Muslims to experience that.

Neil: And then every Muslim is required to donate – that’s give money or gifts – to

the poor. And what does Muna do during Eid?

Rob: Well, Muna, who is a Palestinian living in London, tells us. Listen out for what

she does in the mosque, or the Islamic temple. Muna, the BBC World Service’s Arabic Section: We go to the mosque after the sunset and we pray together. Then we have coffee and sweets together. We visit each other. We spend the whole night talking and celebrating and… in Saudi Arabia for example they can go to festivals, go to coffee shops… yes, (there are) different ways of celebrating Ramadan and Eid.

Neil: Pray – it’s when you speak to God privately or in a religious ceremony, when

you want to express love for God or ask for something or just say ‘thank you for helping me’. Ramadan and Eid also seem to be very social occasions.

Rob: Muna will go to the mosque and after she prays with other Muslims, they eat

together and talk a lot.

Neil: So, there’s a personal challenge of fasting, when you have to have discipline.

And also the social aspect of making donations to the poor and sharing a meal with friends and fellow Muslims.

Rob: And there’s another Eid coming up, Neil. It’s called ‘Eid-ul-Adha’. It’s going to

be celebrated in October. Let’s listen to what Muna has to say. What happens before that other Eid is celebrated? Muna, the BBC World Service’s Arabic Section: The other Eid comes after (the) pilgrimage to the holy places in Saudi Arabia and in this Eid also the other worship we do is to slaughter sheep or cow or camel and give this meat to people in need.

Neil: Ah, a pilgrimage – it means a visit to a special place to show respect. In this

case, it is a visit to holy places in Saudi Arabia. It’s after the ‘Hajj”, the journey to Mecca.

Rob: And again there’s a concern about the poor. Muna said the meat of an animal

is offered to those who haven’t got enough to eat.

Neil: And now I’m very keen to know how many Muslims there are in the world,

Rob. Was I right at the beginning of the programme?

Rob: Well, the options were a) 1.2 billion; b) 1.5 billion; and c) 1.8 billion people.

Neil: And I said b) 1.5 billion.

Rob: You did, didn’t you? And you were right. According to a 2010 study by the

Pew Research Center in the US, Islam is followed by 1.57 billion people, making up over 23% of the world population. The largest Muslim population in a country is in Indonesia, a secular nation home to 12.7% of the world’s Muslims. Well done! You got both questions right, Neil.

Neil: Fantastic!

Rob: Unfortunately, we’re running out of time but before we go, could you please

remind us of some of the English words we’ve heard today?

Neil: We heard:

fast breaking (a fast) reward worship discipline in need to donate mosque pray pilgrimage

Rob: Thank you, Neil. Well that’s it for this programme. Please join us soon again

Both: Bye and Eid Mubarak!

🔹 Tu vung quan trong (Key Vocabulary)

🔹 Cau hoi thao luan (Discussion Questions)

1. What did you find most interesting about the topic of ‘Eid Mubarak!’?

2. Which new vocabulary words from this episode do you think will be most useful?

3. Can you summarise the main points discussed in this episode?

1 May 2014

🔹 Tom tat noi dung (Vietnamese Summary)

Bai hoc ban ve van phong mo va anh huong cua no den nang suat lam viec. Chuong trinh thao luan ve tieng on va kha nang tap trung.

🔹 Transcript

NB: This is not a word for word transcript Hello Finn.

Finn: Hi Rob, how’s it going?

Rob: All right. You might notice it’s a bit noisier than usual – that’s because we’re in

our open-plan office.

Finn: Yes, it’s a big room full of desks with no walls between them and, as I look

around, I can see maybe about 50 colleagues working very hard at their computers!

Rob: And today we’re talking about open-plan offices – and learning some language

related to office life.

Finn: That’s right. Rob, shall we just go back into the studio where it’s a bit quieter?

Rob: Good idea. Let’s go. (in the studio) Right, come in here.

Finn: That’s better. That’s good, isn’t it?

Rob: Lovely.

Finn: Rob – a question? You know a lot about sound, don’t you?

Rob: Well, a bit.

Finn: What do we call a kind of noise that contains the full range of sounds that

humans can hear? Is it… a) white noise b) green noise c) pink noise

Rob: Good question. I’m only familiar with the term ‘white noise’, so I’ll go for a)

white noise.

Finn: Well, we’ll see if you’re right at the end of the programme. So shall we

continue talking about offices?

Rob: Yes, millions of people like us work in open-plan offices these days, but

they’re not new. Do you remember Henry Ford, the American industrialist from the late 19th Century and early 20th Century?

Finn: Yes, he owned factories and he made the famous Ford cars.

Rob: He’s also one of the main names in the story of open-plan offices.

Finn: Yes, Henry Ford was really concerned with efficiency, wasn’t he?

Rob: Yes. Efficiency is one of main reasons for open-plan offices – they increase

communication and collaboration among staff.

Finn: Now, a company’s staff – its employees – work together for the same goals –

they collaborate, exchanging information and ideas. This can be nice, but there can be too many of us in a small space!

Rob: Franklin Becker, social psychologist at Cornell University in the US, thinks the

reason open-plan offices have become acceptable and popular, or as he says – the reason they have taken root – is different. What reason does he give? Franklin Becker, social psychologist at Cornell University, US: The fundamental reason why open plan has taken root has nothing to do really with communication or collaboration or even flexibility. It has to do with the fact that you can reduce the amount of space per person in an open-plan versus any kind of a closed cellular office.

Finn: Well, it’s all about saving space and money. He says it takes less space per

person in an open-plan office than it does in a cellular office – that’s an office which is made up of lots of small, closed rooms.

Rob: In those offices, the space for each individual – per person – is limited. Which

is why open-plan offices have taken root.

Finn: So some very good reasons for open-plan offices. But what about the noise?

Rob: The noise! Yes! Although open-plan offices can save a company money, they

have hidden costs. Sound expert Julian Treasure explains what they are. He uses a very important word for business. Which word is it? Julian Treasure, chairman of the Sound Agency: Nobody can understand two people talking at the same time. We have bandwidth for about 1.6 people talking. Now that’s key when we are talking about open-plan offices because if I’m trying to do work it requires me to listen to a voice in my head to organise symbols, to organise a flow of words and put them on paper, for example. And if you’re talking at the same time, then you’re taking up one of my 1.6. I’m left with 0.6 in my head. That doesn’t work very well – it reduces my productivity dramatically.

Finn: The word, right at the end there, was productivity. Workers in open-plan

offices get distracted when others speak, and their ability to produce work – their productivity – is reduced.

Rob: The expert says we can concentrate on 1.6 voices saying different things at

the same time. That’s not even two people!

Finn: No, not really. He says one voice is in your own head, to organise the flow,

the movement, of words and ideas when you think and write.

Rob: And the other is… well, people like you on the phone all the time!

Finn: Oh, come on Rob. I suppose I do speak on the phone quite a lot but I didn’t

know I was disturbing your work.

Rob: You are.

Finn: Oh, sorry. Shall we go back to the question I asked earlier?

Rob: Okay.

Finn: I asked you about the colour of noise that contains the full range of sounds

that humans can hear. Was it white, green or pink noise?

Rob: Yes. And I went for white noise.

Finn: The answer is, in fact, pink noise. That’s the name scientists give noise…

Rob: Interesting colour.

Finn: … the full range of audio frequencies or sounds that humans can hear.

Rob: Okay. Well, it’s almost time to go but could you remind us of some of the

English words we heard today?

Finn: Of course. We heard:

open-plan office industrialist collaboration staff to take root per person flow productivity

Rob: Thanks Finn. Well that’s it for this programme. Please join us soon again for 6

Minute English from BBC Learning English.

Both: Bye.

🔹 Tu vung quan trong (Key Vocabulary)

🔹 Cau hoi thao luan (Discussion Questions)

1. What did you find most interesting about the topic of ‘Modern offices’?

2. Which new vocabulary words from this episode do you think will be most useful?

3. Can you summarise the main points discussed in this episode?

6 February 2014

🔹 Tom tat noi dung (Vietnamese Summary)

Bai hoc nay ban ve chu de ‘Learn a thousand foreign words’. Cac nguoi dan chuong trinh thao luan, giai thich tu vung va chia se nhung thong tin thu vi lien quan den chu de.

🔹 Transcript

NB: This is not a word-for-word transcript Finn.

Finn: Hi Rob – or should I say ‘ni hao’ Rob?

Rob: Your Chinese is very good Finn but I wonder how many more Chinese

words you know? 1,000 perhaps?

Finn: (In Chinese: “Not really, I just know a little…”)

Rob: Now you’re just showing off! Not being able to speak a foreign language is

a bit of a British trait – or a particular British characteristic. We’re not very good at it although Finn is an exception, he can speak many foreign languages, can’t you?

Finn: Not that many – a bit of German, some French, Polish a little, Chinese of

course, Hokkien, a bit of Japanese… That’s about it.

Rob: I’m impressed Finn. Well, now the rest of us Brits are being encouraged to

learn at least 1,000 words of another language. We’ll talk more about that soon but before I start learning my new words, how about a question Finn?

Finn: Très bien!

Rob: Do you know which is the second most spoken language in England? Is it:

a) Polish b) Urdu c) French

Finn: I think I know this one, Rob. I’m going to say a) Polish.

Rob: OK, well, as always I’ll let you know the answer at the end of programme.

So, as I mentioned, the British are generally considered to be lazy linguists – they just don’t bother to learn another language.

Finn: I guess the main reason is that when British people travel around the

world they find that English is spoken almost everywhere – so they get by – they survive on just using their native language.

Rob: I think, in the past, the education system was also to blame. Learning a

foreign language was not compulsory – it didn’t have to be studied – when I went to school, we didn’t have to study languages to exam level – so I took the easy option and studied photography instead of French! But of course I regret it now. But that wasn’t the same for you Finn?

Finn: At first I didn’t really like it but you know, I love words, and then one day

I discovered the Chinese language and thought this was fascinating, and it’s a key to a whole new culture.

Rob: Well, recently a campaign was launched for those of us who didn’t share

your enthusiasm or have the opportunity to learn another language. The 1,000 Words campaign is encouraging everyone in the UK to learn at least 1,000 words of another language. It hopes to help Britain increase international trade.

Finn: The group says that a vocabulary of 1,000 words would allow a speaker to

hold a simple conversation. It sounds like a good idea.

Rob: Si! Well, let’s hear from the former England footballer and TV presenter,

Gary Lineker, who is supporting the campaign. Can you hear what three things he says learning another language gives you?

Gary Lineker:

I think it gives you self-satisfaction and self-esteem if you can speak another language when you’re travelling. I think it also gives you an edge in a lot of different areas in the workplace, not just football.

Finn: So Gary Lineker says there are three things it gives you; it gives you self-

satisfaction, firstly. He means you feel good about learning a new skill. But it can have negative meaning – self-satisfaction – that you are smug or pleased with yourself. I don’t think he means that here though.

Rob: He also says it improves self-esteem – so you feel good about yourself

and it boosts your confidence. Imagine going on holiday to Spain and being able to converse with – or speak to – the locals.

Finn: It feels good! And he also mentioned the economic benefits of speaking

another language; it gives you the edge in the workplace. That means it gives you an advantage, especially if you are dealing with foreign companies.

Rob: And it also shows politeness and respect for other people by showing you

have made an effort.

Finn: It’s something another footballer, Gareth Bale, has tried to do. Last year

he signed for Real Madrid so he tried to master – or to be very good at – speaking Spanish so he could talk to his fans. This is how he got on:

Gareth Bale:

(In Spanish: Hello. It is a dream to play for Real Madrid. Thank you.)

Rob: Muy bien! Impressive – I think he was saying it was his dream to play for

Real Madrid.

Finn: Rob, your Spanish is very impressive too there. For Gareth Bale, speaking

Spanish will help him fit in – perhaps make him more accepted by his teammates and his fans.

Rob: But Finn, I have a dilemma. There are so many languages in the world,

which one should I learn first?

Finn: Maybe you could start with the UK’s second most spoken language?

Rob: Yes, that’s the question I posed earlier: what is Britain’s second most

spoken language.

Finn: I said Polish. Polski.

Rob: Yes, of course you are right. According to the 2011 census, the answer is

Polish. The census also found over 104 different languages are spoken in the UK. Before we go, could you remind us of some of the English words we’ve heard today?

Finn: Yes, we heard:

trait linguists native language to get by compulsory self-esteem to converse with to give you the edge to master to fit in

Rob: Danke schön, Finn.

Finn: Bitte schön!

Rob: OK, well that’s it for this programme. Please join us soon again for 6

Minute English from BBC Learning English.

Both: Bye.

🔹 Tu vung quan trong (Key Vocabulary)

🔹 Cau hoi thao luan (Discussion Questions)

1. What did you find most interesting about the topic of ‘Learn a thousand foreign words’?

2. Which new vocabulary words from this episode do you think will be most useful?

3. Can you summarise the main points discussed in this episode?

17 July 2014

🔹 Tom tat noi dung (Vietnamese Summary)

Bai hoc ban ve chiem tinh hoc va cung hoang dao. Chuong trinh thao luan ve khoa hoc dang sau niem tin ve tu vi.

🔹 Transcript

NB: This is not a word-for-word transcript Neil.

Neil: Hi Rob. I’m a Virgo. So, what does that say about my personality? That’s

the group of thoughts, feelings and behaviours which make you who you are. It means I am supposed to be independent and observant!

Rob: Really? OK, observant – in other words, quick at noticing things. Well, as a

Gemini, I’m supposed to be witty and adaptable!

Neil: I think that’s true. You are adaptable, Rob. You get used to new things and

situations very easily, I think.

Rob: Well, these characteristics we’ve mentioned are based on what astrologers

say. And astrology is today’s theme.

Neil: Astrologers are people who say they can find out about your personality, and

maybe your future, by analysing the position of stars and planets the day you were born.

Rob: It’s controversial. Many astronomers – the scientists who study the stars

and planets – don’t believe it’s true, but some well-known people believe it’s a very serious business. And I’ll put a question to you about that.

Neil: People born under the sign of Virgo are said to be very precise. Hmm, I’m

not so sure about that… But I’d better make sure everything I say today is very accurate so I fit the description!

Rob: OK. Let’s see if you can answer this question accurately. Which of these

famous people were publicly criticised when it came to light that they relied too much on horoscopes to take decisions? Was it: a) Margaret Thatcher b) Nancy Reagan or c) Michael Jackson

Neil: I think… I can remember this. I think it’s Nancy Reagan, b.

Rob: OK. Are you sure?

Neil: I am.

Rob: OK. Well, you’ll have to be patient because you won’t get the answer until

the end of the programme.

Neil: Now, let me read my horoscope for today…

Rob: Oh, you and your horoscopes, honestly, Neil! Do you know when newspapers

and magazines started to offer horoscopes to their readers?

Neil: No, I don’t.

Rob: Well, let’s hear from Nicholas Campion, who teaches the cultural history of

astrology at the University of Wales. What does he have to say about it? Campion, a Pisces, uses one particular word when he describes how people feel about their place in the universe. Which word is it? Nicholas Campion, University of Wales: The newspaper horoscope was invented about 1930. There’s a parallel between what was happening in astronomy at the time. In the late 20s, the idea that the universe is huge and expanding was discovered and popularised by the astronomer Edwin Hubble. This became a metaphor for the idea that we live on the edge of a distant corner of the universe and we are all very insignificant. At the same time we suddenly get these horoscope columns appearing which I see as a kind of domestication of astrology.

Neil: Insignificant! It means of very little importance. He says that’s how people

felt when astronomer Edwin Hubble discovered how huge the universe is…

Rob: And this academic thinks astrology tried to bring this idea under control; it

domesticated it. It brought it to our personal level, and made it all about routine, everyday events.

Neil: How interesting. It makes us think that the stars are all about us. Astrology

tells us that the stars are all about me! I want to read my horoscope now!

Rob: Well, before you do that, you have to listen to what another specialist, this

time a psychologist, has to say. Paul Rogers, a Sagittarius, teaches at the University of Central Lancashire, in the north of England.

Neil: A Sagittarius – he might be independent like me. Yes, go ahead!

Rob: OK. Well, he might spoil the fun you’re having with your newspaper. Here he

is: Paul Rogers, University of Central Lancashire, England: People are misperceiving these generalised statements as being unique to their own personality. There are other counter biases that people fall prey to, for example, the confirmation bias. If you believe in something, you’ll look for evidence to support that belief and you’ll ignore evidence that rejects that belief.

Neil: He talks about belief! Something which you think is true without much proof.

He says that people who think horoscopes are true do so because the predictions seem to confirm what they already think about themselves.

Rob: Yes, people look for evidence – an indication that something they believe is

true. But it’s all in their mind and not in the stars themselves. People believe what they want to believe. They need some sense of control over life.

Neil: You know what? This is true. Believe in horoscopes or not, it’s very

comforting to have this sense of direction in life.

Rob: Everything seems so unpredictable! Here’s something predictable: our quiz.

Let’s go back to it and see if you got the question right. I asked you which of these famous people were publicly criticised when it came to light that they relied too much on horoscopes. Was it Margaret Thatcher, Nancy Reagan or Michael Jackson?

Neil: I said Nancy Reagan.

Rob: And you were right. Nancy Reagan, wife of the late president Ronald Reagan,

has long been interested in astrology. In 1988, she was criticised and ridiculed when it was revealed that she had consulted astrologers during her time at the White House.

Neil: I knew I was right because I’m always accurate!

Rob: Of course. Well done! Right, well, before we go, could you remind us of some

of the English words we’ve heard today?

Neil: personality

observant adaptable astrologers astronomers insignificant domestication evidence belief

Rob: Thank you, Neil. Well, that’s it for this programme. Please join us soon again

Neil: Here’s one thing you can predict: we’ll be back! Bye.

Rob: Bye bye.

🔹 Tu vung quan trong (Key Vocabulary)

🔹 Cau hoi thao luan (Discussion Questions)

1. What did you find most interesting about the topic of ‘Star signs’?

2. Which new vocabulary words from this episode do you think will be most useful?

3. Can you summarise the main points discussed in this episode?

24 April 2014

🔹 Tom tat noi dung (Vietnamese Summary)

Bai hoc ban ve xu huong gioi tre Anh uong it ruou bia hon. Chuong trinh kham pha nhung ly do dang sau su thay doi nay.

🔹 Transcript

NB: This is not a word-for-word transcript

Neil: …and hello, I’m Neil.

Rob: Hello Neil. Today we’re talking about the increase in the number of young

people who have decided not to drink alcohol.

Neil: We’re particularly talking about young people in the UK – teenagers and

people in their early twenties. In some countries, drinking is not a big issue, but in Britain, we’re seeing a change in attitude – in other words, a change in people’s beliefs and behaviour.

Rob: Now, I started to drink alcohol in my mid-teens. It made me feel grown-

up and helped me let my hair down at parties. It didn’t always taste good though! What about you Neil – when did you start drinking?

Neil: Just like you Rob, I started drinking in my mid-teens, I’d say. It’s a big

part of the British social life I would say.

Rob: Yes, and you’ve never stopped?

Neil: Not to this minute!

Rob: Well, teenagers in the UK may have had a reputation – they were known

for binge drinking. That means drinking lots of alcohol and very quickly. But as we’ll hear, that image is changing. And we’ll be looking at some vocabulary around the topic of drinking – but not before I give you Neil a question to stew over.

Neil: ‘To stew over’! You mean to think about – so go on, let’s have it.

Rob: OK, well, alcoholic drinks can be measured in units. This gives drinkers a

guide to how much they’ve consumed – or drunk. Drinking too many units of alcohol can be bad for your health. So how well do you know your units Neil? Do you know how many units there are in a typical bottle of wine? Is it: a) 8 b) 10 c) 13

Neil: I am going to go for 13. I’m pretty confident about this one.

Rob: Unlucky for some, but we’ll find out if you are right or wrong later on. Did

you know the UK National Health Service recommends that a man should not drink more than 3 or 4 units of alcohol a day, and for women it’s 2 or 3 units?

Neil: But we know some young people in the UK who drink far more than that

and get intoxicated – another word for getting drunk. And this often leads to a hangover – feeling tired and ill the day after drinking – or worse.

Rob: Well, a report earlier this year by the BBC’s Asian Network, found this

picture is changing. Young people are drinking less, or not at all – they are abstaining.

Neil: That’s good news. I find, even at my age, cutting back on drinking is a

hard thing to do. It takes willpower – that’s the ability to control my own behaviour.

Rob: Yes, of course this is not an issue for people from certain cultures, who

don’t drink alcohol because of their religious beliefs. But for others, there are a number of changes that have encouraged younger people to remain sober – or not get drunk.

Neil: Well, there have been awareness campaigns – that’s when organised

publicity in the media has shown the benefits of not drinking. Also, British pubs and clubs have been stricter when stopping underage drinkers from buying alcohol.

Rob: Yes, because officially you have to be 18 years old before you can buy

alcohol. Another reason is the recession – people can’t afford to go out and drink.

Neil: But Jonathan Birdwell, who’s a senior researcher at the think-tank Demos,

has another reason. A think-tank, by the way, is a group of experts brought together, usually by a government, to develop ideas on a particular subject and to make suggestions for action. See if you can hear what his reason is… Jonathan Birdwell, Senior Researcher for Demos: Around 2004 we see the rise of awareness campaigns around units to consume, and daily guidelines, we see the arrival of ‘drink aware’ labels on alcohol. We also see the rise of negative media stories around binge drinking culture. I think also significant, is the rise of social media technologies, smartphones, iPads. You know we have not only new ways of interacting with our friends, which takes up time, but we also have multiple forms of entertainment that didn’t exist, say ten years ago.

Rob: Interesting! One factor for the change is the rise – the increase – in

people using social media technology. He calls this significant – so it’s important.

Neil: Yes, all this interaction with our friends takes up time. And time is also

taken up using what he calls multiple forms of entertainment – things like gaming and watching films online. There’s more of it now.

Rob: So maybe one way to cut down on drinking is to keep busy! But does this

mean going out boozing – or drinking alcohol – is a thing of the past?

Neil: Not yet, Rob. Although there are more coffee shops and ice cream

parlours now, to spend time in – alcohol abuse still remains a problem among the young in the UK.

Rob: Well, on that sobering thought, let me reveal the answer to the question I

set you earlier. I asked if you knew how many units there are in a typical bottle of wine. Is it: a) 8 b) 10 c) 13

Neil: I said 13 but I want to change my mind and say b) 10.

Rob: Well, actually, that’s a good idea because it is 10. Did you know that one

unit equals 10 ml or 8 grams of pure alcohol, which is around the amount of alcohol the average adult can process in one hour? OK, before we go, please could you remind us of some of the words and phrases that we’ve heard today?

Neil: Yes, we heard:

attitude let my hair down binge drinking consumed intoxicated hangover abstaining willpower sober awareness campaigns boozing

Rob: Thanks. Well, it’s time now for a healthy glass of orange juice I think. We

hope you’ve enjoyed today’s programme. Please join us again soon for

Neil: Cheers!

🔹 Tu vung quan trong (Key Vocabulary)

🔹 Cau hoi thao luan (Discussion Questions)

1. What did you find most interesting about the topic of ‘Young, British and sober’?

2. Which new vocabulary words from this episode do you think will be most useful?

3. Can you summarise the main points discussed in this episode?

10 July 2014

🔹 Tom tat noi dung (Vietnamese Summary)

Bai hoc nay ban ve chu de ‘Brazilian economy’. Cac nguoi dan chuong trinh thao luan, giai thich tu vung va chia se nhung thong tin thu vi lien quan den chu de.

🔹 Transcript

NB: This is not a word-for-word transcript with me today. Hello, Grace.

Grace: Hi Rob!

Rob: Today we’re talking about the Brazilian economy, and we’ll have some language

related to money and investments. Grace, you know what? I want to be rich!

Grace: Oh, so do I, Rob. So do I.

Rob: But, should I invest my money in Brazil?

Grace: That’s a difficult question, Rob. Let me give you an easier question first, and then

we can listen to an expert who knows all about it.

Rob: OK – well ask me the easy question then.

Grace: What’s the name of the Brazilian currency? Is it…

a) the Brazilian peso b) the real c) the guarani

Rob: Mmmm… b) the real.

Grace: I’ll give you the answer at the end of the programme. And I can even show you

some Brazilian notes and coins.

Rob: OK, that’s exciting. You are going to show me Brazilian notes – pieces of paper

money, and some coins. Good. I love coins. And I know some people actually collect them.

Grace: But now let’s talk about the Brazilian economy. You’re going to hear BBC

business reporter Robert Plummer. Overall, does he think the Brazilian economy is strong? Robert Plummer, BBC business reporter: The Brazilian economy is at a crossroads. It’s now been two decades since the anti- inflation plan, which changed the currency in Brazil. But the government arguably has not really built on that legacy: there are structural reforms, the tax system needs changing; a lot needs to be done to put the Brazilian economy on a sustainable footing.

Grace: He’s says it’s at a crossroads – in a place where it could do well, but a lot needs

to change first – it could go either way.

Rob: Yes, 20 years ago there was an anti-inflation plan, a plan to stop inflation,

which is the continuous increase in prices of goods and services. It makes life very hard!

Grace: It was a very good plan, you know. Before that, you would go to a shop to buy

food and each month the same amount of goods cost more and more. The salary? Well, the salary remained the same. It was a real nightmare!

Rob: I can imagine. But he said, after that, the government hasn’t built on the plan’s

success. To ‘build on’ success is to use success to do more things and get more success, to achieve more.

Grace: Rob, earlier you asked about investing in Brazil. Let’s hear what the BBC expert

has to say about it. Which thing might attract investors? Robert Plummer, BBC business reporter: The Brazilian economy is as globalised as anywhere else. It’s offering investment opportunities for foreign investors. It has some of the highest real interest rates in the world so there’s a chance of a quick profit. But it’s also a risky place. People pay a premium to get a better profit. If, on the other hand, other investment opportunities arise elsewhere, this is ‘hot money’; it can flow out again as easily as it flowed in.

Rob: So the chance of a quick profit! It’s the money you earn after you pay costs.

Well, sounds good to me!

Grace: Yes, he says that’s because it has very high interest rates – which here means

the percentage your money grows when it’s invested.

Rob: But this extra money is not guaranteed. The analyst also talks about risk. He

says the Brazilian market is a risky place.

Grace: Yes… risky… it means that there is a possibility of something bad happening, like,

for example, Rob, losing all your money.

Rob: Oh dear! So I should think carefully, but… I think I’m in luck today. I think I got

the right answer to the question you put to me at the beginning of the programme.

Grace: The name of the Brazilian currency?

Rob: Yes, that’s it.

Grace: Well, the choices were: the Brazilian peso, the real or the guarani. And you said?

Rob: I said ‘real’.

Grace: Well, you’re in luck, Rob. I don’t know if you’re going to be rich but you know

already the name of the currency. The Brazilian peso does not exist and the guarani is Paraguay’s currency. The Brazilian currency had several names in the 20th Century: from ‘contos de reis’ to ‘cruzeiros’ and then ‘cruzados’. After that anti-inflation plan in the mid-90s, the name changed to ‘real’ – one ‘real’, ten ‘reais’ – this is for the plural. Here are some of the notes, Rob. Have a look.

Rob: OK. They are all different colours. We have two ‘reais’… with a picture of a turtle.

Ten ‘reais’ with it, a very nice picture of a parrot on the back…

Grace: Yes. And when I look at this parrot, Rob, to be honest, I imagine it saying to me:

“don’t spend it, don’t spend it”, so I can save and, maybe, make a nice pot of money.

Rob: And how much would I need to buy a ‘cafezinho’ – a small cup of Brazilian-style

coffee?

Grace: Well, one cafezinho in Sao Paulo, for example, can cost from 2.50 to 3.50 reais –

three reais and fifty ‘centavos’. Or even more, if you go somewhere a bit fancy. And if you go to a supermarket, you might be able to buy a bottle of one litre of coconut water for around 12 reais.

Rob: Good, good. I’ll hang on to these notes, thank you.

Grace: Well, our time is up but before we go, could you remind us of some of the words

we heard today, Rob?

Rob: Of course. We heard:

notes at a crossroads anti-inflation to build on interest rates profit risky

Grace: Now it’s time to say goodbye and go for a cafezinho, Rob.

Learning English. Ate logo (see you later).

Grace: Bye.

🔹 Tu vung quan trong (Key Vocabulary)

🔹 Cau hoi thao luan (Discussion Questions)

1. What did you find most interesting about the topic of ‘Brazilian economy’?

2. Which new vocabulary words from this episode do you think will be most useful?

3. Can you summarise the main points discussed in this episode?

17 April 2014

🔹 Tom tat noi dung (Vietnamese Summary)

Bai hoc nay ban ve chu de ‘Air pollution in China’. Cac nguoi dan chuong trinh thao luan, giai thich tu vung va chia se nhung thong tin thu vi lien quan den chu de.

🔹 Transcript

NB: This is not a word-for-word transcript Finn.

Finn: Hello Rob.

Rob: In this programme we’re talking about a serious problem that has been

affecting some of the big cities in China: that’s air pollution.

Finn: Yes, or better known as smog. Smog is polluted air that is a mixture of

smoke and fog. I’ve experienced this in Shanghai and it’s not a nice thing to breathe in.

Rob: It certainly isn’t good for your health. We’ll talk more about this soon and

explain some pollution-related vocabulary. But let’s start with a question for you, Finn. According to research by the World Health Organisation, which country has the city with the world’s worst air pollution? Is it: a) China b) India c) Iran

Finn: Well, I think it definitely used to be China. I’m going to say it’s still China.

Rob: We’ll find out if you are right later on. Let’s talk more now about the pollution

problem which is choking – or making it difficult to breathe in – many Chinese cities.

Finn: Pollution is a word that can describe anything that damages something that is

pure. So light pollution is when a pure dark sky is contaminated – or spoiled by street lights and lights in the city.

Rob: And noise pollution is when loud or annoying sounds like traffic noise spoil a

quiet and peaceful environment. But the smog affecting Chinese cities is a form of air pollution – clean air has become dirty.

Finn: Yes. Well, smog used to be a problem in other world cities like London, where

a combination of fog and smoke from factories and trains sometimes made the air quite dirty and dangerous.

Rob: Yes, sometimes the air was so dirty and so thick they described it as a ‘pea-

souper’ – meaning as thick as pea soup!

Finn: A ‘pea-souper’ – that’s good isn’t it! In Los Angeles, fumes – that’s the bad

gases from car engines – and poor weather conditions used to cause poor air quality. But now, new laws and a change in technology mean the air in these cities is cleaner and safer. So, Rob, why is it bad in China now?

Rob: Well Finn, China is becoming more industrialised. That means more factories

are being built, and more electricity is needed, and that often comes from coal-fired power stations. And of course, more people are driving cars.

Finn: Yes they are. Well, at certain times last year, the air was so poisonous in

Shanghai that children were not allowed outside and schools were closed.

Rob: Generally, the air is a threat to public health. It’s particularly bad for people

with asthma – and it could lead to lung cancer. In the capital Beijing, pollution regularly goes over the safety limits set by the World Health Organization (WHO). So what can be done?

Finn: Well, the BBC’s David Shukman has been investigating the problem and found

that the Chinese authorities are spending £180 billion on cleaning up the air. See if you can hear what the two main things are that they’re trying to do in

Beijing:

David Shukman, BBC Science Editor: Well first, they’re closing down any power stations within the city that burn coal, that’s the biggest source of pollution; next they’re trying to limit road traffic – greener cars will get priority. And officials say they’re confident they can clean up.

Rob: So the plan is to close down coal-fired power stations because they are the

source – or the place where most of the pollution comes from.

Finn: Yes, and the other plan is to limit – to set a maximum amount of – traffic on

the roads. Greener cars will be allowed on the roads first – they will have priority.

Rob: Of course ‘greener’ isn’t referring to the colour of the car, Finn – it’s a term to

describe something that causes less pollution and is better for the environment.

Finn: So these are the cars that use less fuel or might use cleaner fuel that has less

particles in it that usually make the air dirty. Officials believe that this green technology will clean up the air.

Rob: China is also going to use more renewable energy – this is power made by

natural materials that never get used up, such as wind and water. This would reduce air pollution caused by burning coal.

Finn: Yes, well of course, all these changes will take a long time. But Rob, it’s time

now for you to tell me the answer to today’s question.

Rob: Yes, earlier I asked you, according to research by the World Health

Organisation, which country has the city with the world’s worst air pollution?

Finn: I thought it was a) China.

Rob: You did but the answer is Iran.

Finn: Is it now?! Which city?

Rob: Apparently the city of Ahwaz. Now, before we go, Finn, could you remind us of

some of the vocabulary that we’ve heard today?

Finn: OK. We had:

air pollution smog choking contaminated pea-souper fumes industrialised poisonous asthma greener renewable energy enjoyed today’s programme. Please join us again soon.

Finn: Please do.

Rob: Bye bye.

Finn: Bye.

🔹 Tu vung quan trong (Key Vocabulary)

🔹 Cau hoi thao luan (Discussion Questions)

1. What did you find most interesting about the topic of ‘Air pollution in China’?

2. Which new vocabulary words from this episode do you think will be most useful?

3. Can you summarise the main points discussed in this episode?

30 January 2014

🔹 Tom tat noi dung (Vietnamese Summary)

Bai hoc ban ve khi nao nguoi ta thuc su truong thanh. Chuong trinh kham pha nghien cuu cho thay tuoi vi thanh nien co the keo dai den 25.

🔹 Transcript

NB: This is not a word-for-word transcript Finn.

Finn: Hello Neil.

Neil: Now, I have a question for you: what age did you leave home?

Finn: I left home at 18, Neil.

Neil: That’s quite young, isn’t it? Why did you leave home?

Finn: Well, I really wanted to see more of the world.

Neil: We could say that was the end of your childhood and the beginning of your

adulthood. It’s a time when you begin to stand on your own two feet.

Finn: You mean it’s when I started to be independent, to look after myself and act

like a grown-up – well, maybe, a bit like a grown-up!

Neil: Yes, it’s when you’re supposed to think and act like a man! Well, according to

some experts, the age when adulthood begins could be increasing. I’ll tell you more about that soon and we’ll look at some vocabulary to do with growing up. But before that, I have another question for you Finn. In England, people can get married without asking their parent – or without consent, at the age of 18. Do you know what the youngest age is men can legally marry in Bangladesh? Is it: a) 15 b) 18 c) 21

Finn: I honestly have no idea. So I’ll say b) 18.

Neil: OK. I’ll let you know the answer at the end of programme. Back to our

discussion about the age we really become an adult. Leaving home or getting married could be some of the signs of maturity and becoming a grown-up.

Finn: There are many other signs too but, certainly in the UK, people regard 18 as

the age when we reach the end of adolescence – a point where you’ve changed from being a child to being an adult. You should, in theory, think and behave like one.

Neil: Well, that is the theory. We know that people develop at different speeds and

some never grow up. I’m sure we know people like that!

Finn: One or two! But child psychologists – the people who study how children

behave – now think adolescence could last until the age of 25.

Neil: Twenty-five is when they stop being an adolescent. Medical and educational

professionals now have a better understanding of how our hormones – the chemicals in our body – develop and how our brain works.

Finn: Yes. They say that we keep developing into our twenties.

Neil: A child psychologist called Laverne Antrobus, who works at the Tavistock

Clinic in London, appeared in a BBC magazine article recently and said: “The idea that suddenly at 18 you’re an adult just doesn’t quite ring true… my experience of young people is that they still need quite a considerable amount of support and help beyond that age.”

Finn: So she says the idea that we become an adult at 18 doesn’t ring true – that

means, it doesn’t sound true. Young people need help and support until they’re older.

Neil: She also suggests that some young people continue to live at home because

they need more support during these ‘formative years’ – the time when you are growing up. Well, that might be true for some but I was ready to leave home at 18 – I was bored at home and ready for my freedom!

Finn: I know the feeling. Well, in the same BBC article, Frank Furedi, Professor of

Sociology at the University of Kent, thinks what you did is a good thing. He says: “There is a loss of aspiration for independence and striking out on your own. When I went to university it would have been a social death to have been seen with your parents, whereas now it’s the norm.”

Neil: So he thinks living at home makes you lose the aspiration – or the desire to

be independent, and he says in his day it would have been social death – so embarrassing – to be seen by others to live at home!

Finn: Yes, and I think he’s saying living at home stops you growing up quickly.

Neil: Does this mean we are developing a generation of big babies?

Finn: Maybe not Neil but this is an interesting subject. Could it be we are

mollycoddling young people for longer – that means protecting them and looking after them?

Neil: Yes, or it could be that young people are living at home for longer for

economic reasons – they can’t afford to leave home.

Finn: Or maybe there is some truth in the idea it takes longer for us to grow up? I

think I’ll go with that theory.

Neil: That would explain your juvenile behaviour Finn! Now, let’s find out if you

got today’s question right. Earlier I asked you if you knew what the youngest age a man can legally marry in Bangladesh is?

Finn: I said 18, I think Neil.

Neil: You were wrong. It was option c) 21. Apparently, it’s 21 for men, and 18 for

women. Now Finn, could you remind us of some of the growing up related words that we heard today.

Finn: Yes, we heard:

adulthood stand on your own two feet maturity adolescence psychologists hormones formative years social death mollycoddling juvenile

Neil: Thank you. We hope you’ve enjoyed today’s programme. Do join us again

Finn: Goodbye.

🔹 Tu vung quan trong (Key Vocabulary)

🔹 Cau hoi thao luan (Discussion Questions)

1. What did you find most interesting about the topic of ‘When does adulthood start?’?

2. Which new vocabulary words from this episode do you think will be most useful?

3. Can you summarise the main points discussed in this episode?

3 July 2014

🔹 Tom tat noi dung (Vietnamese Summary)

Bai hoc nay ban ve chu de ‘Are faster cyclists more attractive?’. Cac nguoi dan chuong trinh thao luan, giai thich tu vung va chia se nhung thong tin thu vi lien quan den chu de.

🔹 Transcript

NB: This is not a word-for-word transcript

Finn: And I’m Finn. Hi Rob.

Rob: It’s that time of the year for the famous Tour de France cycle race and today

we’re discussing research that says successful cyclists are seen as more handsome than their struggling colleagues.

Finn: Yes, we’re talking about professional cyclists – people who get paid for taking

part in cycle races. Not something you’d find me doing!

Rob: Nor me. Although I do enjoy cycling for fun – as a hobby and as a work-out

to keep fit. And I believe you bought a bike once Finn?

Finn: You’re right, I did – I was hoping to ride into work every day to save money

and, like you, to keep fit. But, sadly, I got a flat tyre and have never been on it since.

Rob: Oh dear. Well, this new research will make you feel even more deflated – or

sad and disappointed – and I’ll tell you why soon. We’ll also explain some vocabulary related to keeping fit. But first let’s start with a question.

Finn: A very fine idea, Rob.

Rob: This is about the Tour de France, which this year starts in the UK. The first

stage begins in the city of Leeds but do you know how long the first stage is? Is it: a) 151 km b) 191 km c) 221 km

Finn: I’ll say 151, a).

Rob: Well, we’ll find out if you’re right or wrong later on. One thing we do know is

the winner of this first stage will be the most attractive man in the race – that’s if we believe this research.

Finn: Yes, this is the research published in the Royal Society journal, Biology

Letters.

Rob: That’s right. Women were asked to rate – or score – facial attractiveness

among riders in the 2012 Tour de France, which was won by Britain’s Bradley Wiggins.

Finn: Yes, a man known for his distinctive sideburns, that’s the hair on the side of

his cheeks! And, being a world-class cyclist, he does of course have a lean body – one without any fat.

Rob: Like me?!

Finn: No, not at all like you, or me!

Rob: Now, Dr Erik Postma, from the Institute of Evolutionary Biology at the

University of Zurich, who carried out the test, found the 10% best riders were considered, on average, to be 25% more attractive than the worst 10%.

Finn: OK, I see. So this would suggest that healthy, physically fit and successful

men would, on average, be seen as more attractive by women. So, not really very good news for us is it Rob?

Rob: No. Other studies have also shown that women fancy – or are attracted to –

men with good sporting skills. Well, this study hasn’t just looked at physical skills, but more essential and basic characteristics such as stamina and endurance.

Finn: Yes. Stamina is the ability to keep going over a long period of time without

getting tired. And endurance is the ability to do something that’s hard, or difficult, also for a long period of time. Now, these are important things in a long-distance cycle race.

Rob: Yes, they are. But going back to the research, in total 800 women were

asked to score attractiveness – how the cyclists looked – not just stamina or endurance. And, as we mentioned…

Finn: …the best cyclists were seen as more attractive. So the man who was voted

the most attractive, did he win the Tour de France in 2012?

Rob: No, you mean Bradley Wiggins, he wasn’t included in the research. It was

actually French rider Amael Moinard who came top – perhaps not the fastest competitor but still much fitter than we’ll ever be. I don’t know what it is about his looks, and nor does Dr Postma, but scientists conclude that humans have evolved to recognise athletic performance in faces.

Finn: Well, I’m not a woman but I can see that all the men who take part in a race

like the Tour de France are fit and healthy and tough.

Rob: Well, your feelings are pretty normal. The researchers also found that men

who took part had a fairly similar view on who was handsome as the women did. I think it’s just jealousy!

Finn: Maybe, I think so.

Rob: But one thing that didn’t make much difference was smiling. It was rated as

likeable but not attractive.

Finn: So, you’re saying I should wipe the smile off my face and get on my bike for

a bit of training?

Rob: Well, before you pedal off, let’s reveal the answer to today’s question. Earlier

I said the first stage of the Tour de France begins in the city of Leeds but do you know how long the first stage is?

Finn: I had no idea, and I said a) 151 km.

Rob: You’d be cheating because the answer is actually 191 km.

Finn: Oh yeah, taking a shortcut.

Rob: Yes. There are a total of 21 stages, covering a distance of 3,656 kilometres.

And it all finishes in Paris on July 27th. Now, before we go, Finn, could you remind us of some of the vocabulary that we’ve heard today?

Finn: Yes, today we heard:

handsome work-out deflated sideburns lean fancy stamina endurance jealousy enjoyed today’s programme. Please join us again soon. Bye.

Finn: Bye.

🔹 Tu vung quan trong (Key Vocabulary)

🔹 Cau hoi thao luan (Discussion Questions)

1. What did you find most interesting about the topic of ‘Are faster cyclists more attractive?’?

2. Which new vocabulary words from this episode do you think will be most useful?

3. Can you summarise the main points discussed in this episode?

10 April 2014

🔹 Tom tat noi dung (Vietnamese Summary)

Bai hoc nay ban ve chu de ‘Is there more of the world to explore?’. Cac nguoi dan chuong trinh thao luan, giai thich tu vung va chia se nhung thong tin thu vi lien quan den chu de.

🔹 Transcript

NB: This is not a word-for-word transcript Finn.

Finn: Hello Rob.

Rob: In this programme we’re talking about exploration – that’s a journey to a

place to learn something new about it. It’s a sort of educational trip.

Finn: Yes, you may have heard about famous explorers – the people who made

these journeys and learned new and amazing things – like Captain Cook or Christopher Columbus.

Rob: Yes, Columbus was the Italian explorer who explored the Americas over 500

years ago. There are many other people who travelled around the world seeking out – or looking for – new land, people, plants and animals. But now in the 21st century, do you think there’s any more of the world left to discover?

Finn: Ah, well, that’s a question we’ll be ‘exploring’ today and we’ll also discover

some exploration-related vocabulary. But first Rob, I’m sure you have a question for me?

Rob: Of course, yes. My question is about a modern-day explorer from the UK.

He’s called Ed Stafford. In 2011 he became the first person to do what? Was it… a) circumnavigate – or go all the way round – the world in a canoe b) ski down Mount Everest c) walk the length of the Amazon River

Finn: I’m going to say a) the first person to go round the world in a canoe.

Rob: OK, well, we’ll find out if you are right or wrong later on. So let’s talk more

about exploration. There are many reasons why people have wanted to explore.

Finn: Yes. Sometimes it was to find new natural resources – things like oil,

rubber or gold. Sometimes people wanted to find new land to occupy and build on; and sometimes people have just been inquisitive – or interested – in finding out what somewhere is like. That sounds a bit like you Rob?

Rob: Well, I do enjoy travel and adventure – and although I’ve explored places

that are new to me – I haven’t yet found an undiscovered river or island.

Finn: Well, I hope you do. With satellite technology and modern transport, maybe

every corner of planet Earth has already been discovered and there’s nothing left to find, I wonder?

Rob: Well, that’s not something that the travel journalist, Christina Lamb, would

agree with. She’s seen a lot of the world but says there’s still more to be discovered. Let’s hear from her now. What phrase does she use to describe somewhere that hasn’t been found yet? Christina Lamb, travel journalist There still are a few places in the world that are unexplored. I’ve travelled quite a lot in the Amazon and there, there really are still places where maps don’t have anything on them and it says uncharted territory, which I think is the most exciting thing you can see on a map.

Rob: So there are still a few places to explore – places that are not on a map!

Christina Lamb called them ‘uncharted territory’.

Finn: ‘Uncharted’ means a place that is completely new – and ‘territory’ is another

word for an area of land. So, uncharted territory – imagine discovering somewhere like that!

Rob: It would be amazing – but sometimes people are already living in these

places – these are the tribes – or groups of people – who have never had contact with the outside world.

Finn: Well, even if every tribe, every lost city, every piece of land had already been

discovered, a travel writer called Colin Thurbron claims we can still re-explore and discover new things. So, what things keep changing which mean we should never stop exploring? Colin Thurbron, author What there’s always a role for, is for reinterpreting a culture – going back there for every generation. Not just because the culture has changed but the judgements and priorities of every generation of traveller has changed too.

Rob: OK, so he talks about culture – that’s the way of life for a particular group of

people. Cultures change, but also our views change too: he says our judgements and priorities change – that means we keep seeing things differently.

Finn: So you mean we see things in a new way every time we go back and look at

them. In that case, maybe we will never stop exploring our planet.

Rob: Yes, there’s always something new to discover in the world and even beyond

it – people are already venturing into space, the universe – where next?

Finn: Yes, absolutely. But I think I still need to explore my own city first – there’s a

lot more to discover in London before I head off to Mars!

Rob: Maybe you just haven’t got any wanderlust – that’s the desire to travel –

unlike explorer Ed Stafford. Earlier I asked you what he became the first person to do in 2011?

Finn: I said a) go round the world in a canoe. I guess I’m wrong.

Rob: You’re wrong. Nice try! He was actually the first person to walk the length of

the Amazon River. Your challenge now Finn is to remind us of some of the vocabulary that we’ve explored today.

Finn: In a canoe? Of course. Well, we had…

exploration explorers seeking out circumnavigate natural resources inquisitive uncharted territory tribes culture venturing wanderlust enjoyed today’s programme. Please join us again soon.

Both: Bye.

🔹 Tu vung quan trong (Key Vocabulary)

🔹 Cau hoi thao luan (Discussion Questions)

1. What did you find most interesting about the topic of ‘Is there more of the world to explore?’?

2. Which new vocabulary words from this episode do you think will be most useful?

3. Can you summarise the main points discussed in this episode?

23 January 2014

🔹 Tom tat noi dung (Vietnamese Summary)

Bai hoc ban ve lac quan va bi quan. Chuong trinh kham pha nghien cuu khoa hoc ve cach suy nghi anh huong den cuoc song.

🔹 Transcript

NB: This is not a word-for-word transcript

Finn: Hello Rob.

Rob: You sound very cheerful – so, how are you feeling?

Finn: I’m good thanks. Things are going well. I’m here in the studio with you, I’m going

on holiday next week, and I’m really enjoying this cold weather.

Rob: Really – I think it’s miserable outside but I suppose you’re a good example of an

optimist – someone who always looks at life from a positive point of view. It’s a good thing, Finn. The opposite of an optimist is, of course, a pessimist.

Finn: Well Rob, there is some hope for pessimists because research is taking place to see

if people’s attitude to life can be switched from negative to positive.

Rob: Well I’ll drink to that! Finn, here’s a glass of lemonade to celebrate – the only thing

is – it’s half empty, there’s not much left in there.

Finn: Stop complaining Rob – that’s half full – look, there’s still enough to enjoy.

Rob: If you say so. We’ll explain more about that glass half empty saying shortly. But

first, how optimistic are you about getting today’s question right?

Finn: Extremely positive.

Rob: OK. Well do you know who wrote this famous quote: “A pessimist sees difficulty in

every opportunity. An optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty”. Was it: a) Winston Churchill b) Oscar Wilde c) Charles Dickens

Finn: It’s a good quote. I’m not sure but I’m think I’ll say b) Oscar Wilde.

Rob: You sound optimistic! I’ll give you the answer at the end of the programme. So we

are talking about being an optimist or a pessimist. It’s not something that can be easily measured; it more of a state of mind.

Finn: A state of mind is how you think or feel. There are many factors that can influence

– or affect this. Certain events in a person’s life, such as someone you know dying, or losing your job, can trigger – or cause – a negative feeling about life.

Rob: And people with depression – a medical condition where someone is very unhappy

– tend to be pessimistic.

Finn: Indeed. But scientists are now looking inside our heads to see what’s going on and

if there is a way to change how we feel.

Rob: A medical journalist and doctor called Michael Mosley has been looking into this. He

says our attitude to life – the positive or negative way we view life – affects our personality.

Finn: What phrase does he use to describe the importance of optimism and pessimism in

our characters? Medical journalist and doctor, Michael Mosley: Our personalities are a complex interaction of character traits that affect behaviour, emotions and ultimately the lives we lead. And one of the fundamental drivers is how optimistic or pessimistic we are. This is also one of the hottest new areas of scientific research.

Rob: OK, so he says one of the fundamental drivers in shaping our personality is how

optimistic or pessimistic we are. A fundamental driver means the most important thing that makes something happen.

Finn: So our outlook on life drives – or shapes – our behaviour, our emotions and

character traits – traits are the particular qualities we have. This subject is described as ‘one of the hottest new areas of research’ – hottest here means latest and most popular.

Rob: And the research may find a way to change people from seeing a glass being half

empty to one that is half full.

Finn: There’s that phrase again! We sometimes say pessimistic people describe a glass of

water or beer as being half empty – they have already drunk half of it and there’s not much left.

Rob: But someone who is optimistic, like you Finn, would view the glass as being half full

– there is still half of the drink left to enjoy. It really depends on your point of view – how you view things.

Finn: We asked our BBC Learning English audience how full or empty their glass is. What

have they been saying?

Rob: Mariola says “My glass is half full because I’m going on holiday next Friday!”

Finn: And Raquel says “My glass is always half full because it’s the best way to be

happy!”

Rob: But Mon Tran says “My glass is half empty. I’m far away from my family and

missing them so much.”

Finn: Well maybe scientists will be able to help Mon Tran and others to feel more

optimistic about life in the future? Well Rob, I’m optimistic that I got today’s quiz question right.

Rob: Let’s find out. Earlier I asked who wrote this famous quote: “A pessimist sees

difficulty in every opportunity. An optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty.”

Finn: I said b) Oscar Wilde.

Rob: You are wrong. They were the words of Winston Churchill. Ok that’s it for this

English.

Both: Bye.

🔹 Tu vung quan trong (Key Vocabulary)

🔹 Cau hoi thao luan (Discussion Questions)

1. What did you find most interesting about the topic of ‘Glass half full’?

2. Which new vocabulary words from this episode do you think will be most useful?

3. Can you summarise the main points discussed in this episode?

26 June 2014

🔹 Tom tat noi dung (Vietnamese Summary)

Bai hoc nay ban ve chu de ‘Brazilian food’. Cac nguoi dan chuong trinh thao luan, giai thich tu vung va chia se nhung thong tin thu vi lien quan den chu de.

🔹 Transcript

NB: This is not a word-for-word transcript colleague Grace, who’s from Brazil. Hello Grace.

Grace: Hi Rob. It’s good to be here. But I hope you don’t mind my Brazilian

accent.

Rob: Of course not. Most people have an accent – the important thing is to be

able to communicate… and your accent is charming, Grace! So, you’re going to talk about Brazilian culture?

Grace: Yes, Brazilian food is on the menu today, and we will whet your appetite

with language about food.

Rob: Great! Well, nothing makes me happier than tasty food! And I’m a bit of a

gourmet, you know.

Grace: Well, if you are a gourmet – someone who likes high-quality food – you

will not be disappointed if you go to Brazil. But first, let me put a question to you.

Rob: OK, I like a challenge.

Grace: Brazil is the biggest coffee producer in the world. According to the

International Coffee Organization, which of these countries is in second place? Is it… a) Colombia b) Indonesia c) Vietnam

Rob: Yes, all places that produce coffee but I’m going to go for: a) Colombia.

Grace: We’ll find out if you’re right or wrong later. Now let’s talk about food.

Rob: Good, yes. I’d like to know: if I go to a Brazilian family’s home, what will I

eat? What’s the staple food of Brazil?

Grace: The basic food in Brazil – the staple food – is rice and beans. You can

have it with fried eggs, a steak or some salad. But there’s a special dish called ‘feijoada’. Thomas Pappon, a Brazilian who blogs about food, explains what it is. And then, tell me: what kind of dish is this? Thomas Pappon, Brazilian food blogger: There’s a sophisticated version of rice and beans which is served during festivities and in every restaurant on Saturdays. It’s called ‘feijoada’. It’s a stew made of black beans and with pieces of pork. The main dish is served with side dishes such as fried greens and toasted manioc flour. There’s no room left for dessert after this!

Rob: It’s a stew! I like a good stew – a kind of food in which meat or fish or

vegetables are cooked slowly with just a little bit of liquid. But no dessert?! I need my dessert, Grace!

Grace: The main dish is quite filling, Rob. You won’t need a pudding, sweet or

fruit afterwards. And there are lots of side dishes with it.

Rob: These are small dishes which accompany the main one – and they sound

very appetising too.

Grace: They sound appetising; in other words, it makes you really want to eat

them. And at the end of the meal you wash these dishes down with a ‘caipirinha’.

Rob: A caipirinha?

Grace: A very special Brazilian drink. Thomas Pappon can give you the traditional

recipe for it. Listen out for what he does with the lime. Thomas Pappon, Brazilian gastronomy blogger: You cut a lime into quarters, put it in a glass with a tablespoon – a generous tablespoon – of sugar. You break up the lime by pounding and pressing the lime with a wooden spoon until the sugar is dissolved into the lime juice. Then you add crushed ice, mix it very well and add – of course – the main ingredient here, ‘cachaça’ which is a spirit made of sugar cane. I tell you, be adventurous. Why not experiment with other fruits like passion fruit, strawberries or kiwis. Some people dilute this cocktail with a bit of water, but most Brazilians like myself, take it without any water at all.

Grace: There you go. The traditional caipirinha!

Rob: So you break up the lime by pounding it – by hitting or beating it very

hard. I think I can do that.

Grace: Yes. And, a surprise for you, Rob, I don’t have a caipirinha here but I

brought a bit of Brazilian cachaça in this little cup. I brought the bottle from my native Sao Paulo. It’s a spirit – a strong alcoholic drink – so be careful with it.

Rob: I’ll have a little sip first time, OK.

Grace: Strong, huh?!

Rob: Yes.

Grace: Are you still on your feet?

Rob: Just about, just about.

Grace: Good, well let me tell you the answer to the question from the beginning

of the programme. Brazil is the biggest coffee producer in the world. I asked which of these countries is in second position. Is it… Colombia, Indonesia or Vietnam?

Rob: And I said Colombia.

Grace: Well, Rob, I’m afraid it’s not right. The correct answer is: c) Vietnam. The

other two countries, they are really great producers of coffee as you know but Brazil has been consistently the biggest producer and Vietnam has kept the second place, with roughly half of what Brazil produces. The main types of coffee exported are Arabica and Robusta. Good strong coffee, Rob!

Rob: Indeed. Sounds good.

Grace: Talking about coffee makes me want a cafezinho, which is a good strong

coffee in a small cup as we have in Brazil. And you might need one after the cachaça, Rob.

Rob: I might, indeed.

Grace: But first let’s recall the words we heard today:

Rob: OK, we heard:

gourmet staple food stew side dish dessert appetising pounding spirit

Grace: Thanks, Rob. Now, shall we go and have our cafezinho?

Rob: Well, actually, I’d like some more cachaça, if that’s possible? Please join

Both: Saúde! (Cheers!) Bye.

🔹 Tu vung quan trong (Key Vocabulary)

🔹 Cau hoi thao luan (Discussion Questions)

1. What did you find most interesting about the topic of ‘Brazilian food’?

2. Which new vocabulary words from this episode do you think will be most useful?

3. Can you summarise the main points discussed in this episode?

🔹 Tom tat noi dung (Vietnamese Summary)

Bai hoc ban ve doc lap va quyen tu tri, dac biet la cuoc trung cau dan y o Scotland. Chuong trinh thao luan ve y nghia cua tu do chinh tri.

🔹 Transcript

NB: This is not a word-for-word transcript

Neil: …and me Neil.

Rob: Today we’re talking about national independence – that’s when one

nation is free from control by another country. Neil, can you think of any countries that have become independent?

Neil: Well, Scotland is talking a lot about this at the moment.

Rob: Yes, it is. It’s a big political issue which we’ll talk more about soon. And of

course we’ll be looking at some words related to independence. But let’s start with a question. How well do you know your history? The Declaration of Independence was made by thirteen American colonies that were fighting for freedom from the British Empire. But do you know what year that declaration – or announcement – was made? Was it: a) 1776 b) 1786 c) 1796

Neil: I am pretty sure it’s a) 1776.

Rob: You sound quite confident, don’t you, but I’ll let you know the answer

later on. Let’s talk more about independence. We often hear about groups of people campaigning or fighting for independence from the country that rules them.

Neil: Yes, like the Basque people in Spain, or the Kurds in Iraq. This is when a

certain group of people want their own homeland to preserve – that’s keep alive – their culture or beliefs.

Rob: And sometimes, a whole nation wants to break away from the country

that rules it because it feels it would be better for its people. That’s what’s happening in Scotland right now, isn’t it Neil?

Neil: Well, not quite. Not everyone in Scotland wants to break away from the

United Kingdom. This is a plan suggested by the ruling political party in Scotland – the Scottish National Party. But they are asking people to vote on the decision.

Rob: And this vote on a single issue – or referendum – is happening in

September. Politicians who want Scotland to be separate from the UK are trying to persuade the public to vote in favour of independence. Other politicians are trying to persuade people to vote ‘no’.

Neil: Independence would mean Scotland would be able to control things like its

tax system, its immigration policy and people would have a Scottish passport.

Rob: Well, let’s hear from Alex Salmond, the Leader of the Scottish National

Party, talking when he first announced there would be a referendum. What words did he use to describe how he wanted the debate – or discussion – on independence to be? Alex Salmond, Leader of the Scottish National Party Divergent views are the very essence of democracy; robust debate is part of what makes us Scottish. The exchanges, the criticism and the debate must be passionate – how else could it be in Scotland? But let these contributions be based on fact, reason, logic, rather than smears, or allegations or misinformation.

Neil: Alex Salmond said divergent views are the very essence of democracy –

so all different views are important and that is what makes a democracy. And he encouraged debate about independence.

Rob: Yes and he said the debate should be robust – so strong, firm and

determined…

Neil: …and it should be passionate – expressing powerful emotions.

Rob: But most importantly, the debate should be based on real information –

facts – not misinformation or what he calls smears – in other words, lies.

Neil: Well, Scottish people will go to the ballot box in a few months’ time to

vote. And if they vote ‘yes’ for independence, we, Rob, might have to show our passports if we cross the border from England into Scotland.

Rob: Imagine that! And the Scottish people might lose the BBC – the British

Broadcasting Corporation – and get their own smaller Scottish Broadcasting Corporation.

Neil: Of course, there’s always been a – let’s say – friendly rivalry between the

two countries. And we are used to our nations competing independently in football and rugby tournaments.

Rob: Of course, being an Englishman I know who’s best! But seriously, the idea

of an independent Scotland isn’t that strange. The Act of Union, which brought Scotland together with England and Wales, only came into being in 1707. Before that, Scotland was independent.

Neil: And only last century, Ireland fought for its independence from Britain.

Rob: And in 1947, India succeeded in becoming independent from British rule,

a day that’s now commemorated – or remembered – as a national holiday.

Neil: But, while some countries aim to have self-rule – another word for

independent rule – others want to share things which are usually unique to a country. For example, the member states of the European Union work together in trade and some share the same currency – the Euro. Well, this brings us back to your question Rob, when some American states declared independence from British rule.

Rob: Yes, that was the Declaration of Independence – but what year was it?

Neil: I said a) 1776.

Rob: And of course, you were right. It was 1776. This was the beginning of a

new nation that became the USA – and Independence Day is now celebrated every year on the 4th of July. I wonder if Scotland will be celebrating its own independence day in just a few years’ time? OK Neil, please could you remind us of some of the independence-related words that we’ve heard today.

Neil: OK, here we go:

independence declaration campaigning referendum in favour of debate divergent views robust passionate smears rivalry commemorated self-rule us again soon for another programme.

Neil: Goodbye.

Rob: Bye.

🔹 Tu vung quan trong (Key Vocabulary)

🔹 Cau hoi thao luan (Discussion Questions)

1. What did you find most interesting about the topic of ‘Scottish independence’?

2. Which new vocabulary words from this episode do you think will be most useful?

3. Can you summarise the main points discussed in this episode?

🔹 Tom tat noi dung (Vietnamese Summary)

Bai hoc nay ban ve chu de ‘Business English: Misunderstandings’. Cac nguoi dan chuong trinh thao luan, giai thich tu vung va chia se nhung thong tin thu vi lien quan den chu de.

🔹 Transcript

NB: This is not a word-for-word transcript

Neil: And me Neil.

Feifei: How are you Neil and what are we talking about today?

Neil: I’m very well, and today we’re talking about misunderstandings. A famous

French writer once said that “Language is the source of misunderstandings” and with me in the studio today are colleagues Conrado and Stephani, who have come in to tell us all about a misunderstanding they had recently. Conrado and Stephani, welcome.

Stephani: Thank you.

Conrado: Thank you.

Neil: So, tell us about your story.

Conrado: Well, we work in the same company, but in different offices. And one day I

was speaking to Stephani on the phone, and I asked her a question, and she didn’t know the answer, so she said “hang on”.

Stephani: ‘Hang on’ means wait. I wanted him to wait while I found the answer.

Conrado: But I got confused, I thought ‘hang on’ was the same as ‘hang up’, and

‘hang up’ means ‘put the phone down, finish the phone call’

Stephani: So when I came back with the answer, he was gone! So I called him back

and told him the answer, then he asked another question, so I said ‘hang on’ again, and again he was gone! Three times I had to call him back!

Conrado: I didn’t understand why she was getting angry with me. She got really

angry actually, before we sorted it out.

Neil: Hang up, hang on… That’s a really good one!

Feifei: If only you’d had Business Betty there to help…

Neil: Ah Business Betty. (The door opens) Ooh here she is now.

Neil / FF: It’s Business Betty! BB: Hello!

Neil: Hello Betty and may I say you’re looking absolutely fantastic as ever.

BB: Thank you Neil and how can I help you?

Neil: We need some tips on avoiding misunderstandings.

BB: Certainly. If language is the source of misunderstandings, the best way to avoid misunderstandings at work is to check what people mean when they’re talking to you. There are several ways to do this. You can simply say “What do you mean by that?”

Neil: What do you mean by that?

BB: That’s right. Or you can tell the person what you think they mean, in your own words. Say “Do you mean…?”

Neil: Do you mean…?

BB: Or “So, are you saying…?”

Neil: So, are you saying…?

BB: Or “Correct me if I’m wrong, but do you mean…?”

Neil: Correct me if I’m wrong, but do you mean…?

BB: Good Neil. You can say “Sorry, I’m not sure if I got that. Are you saying…?”

Neil: Sorry, I’m not sure if I got that. Are you saying…?

BB: Or you can ask the other person to explain what they mean. Say something like “Sorry, what exactly do you mean by that?”

Neil: Sorry, what exactly do you mean by that?

BB: Or say “Sorry, could you go over that again?”

Neil: Sorry, could you go over that again?

BB: “Could you expand on that?”

Neil: Could you expand on that?

BB: And finally, another way to avoid misunderstandings is to check that the person you’re talking to has understood you. Just ask them! Say something like “Is that clear?”

Feifei: Is that clear?

BB: Or, after an explanation, say “Does that make everything clear?”

Feifei: Does that make everything clear?

BB: And never forget the golden rule of avoiding misunderstandings – if in doubt, ask! It’s better to ask now than make a mistake later.

Neil: Thanks Betty.

BB: You’re welcome. Bye! Neil/FF: Bye! (Door closes)

Neil: She’s so good… don’t you think so, Conrado and Stephani? Don’t you think

she’s brilliant – Business Betty? C & S: Oh yes!

Feifei: Well that’s very good because we’re about to put it to the test!

Neil: Yes Conrado and Stephani. Let’s imagine that you’re back there now in

your offices you’re having this conversation that got you into so much trouble. But this time use some of Betty’s tips and see if you can get it right.

Feifei: Does that make sense? Have another go at the hang on / hang up

conversation, but this time do what Betty suggested. OK? Are you ready? C & S: Yes, we are ready. Role-play

Conrado: Ring ring!

Stephani: Hello, Stephani speaking.

Conrado: Hello Stephani, it’s Conrado. I just wanted to ask if the reports are ready.

Stephani: The reports… do you mean the monthly reports or the yearly reports?

Conrado: Oh sorry, yes, the monthly reports.

Stephani: The monthly reports. OK, just hang on.

Conrado: Sorry, I’m not sure if I got that. Are you saying “Wait a minute”?

Stephani: Yes, just hang on a couple of minutes please.

Conrado: OK.

Stephani: (A couple of minutes’ later) Hello Conrado, sorry to keep you waiting. The

monthly reports are nearly ready – the accountant is finishing them this afternoon.

Conrado: Correct me if I’m wrong, but do you mean they’ll be ready by the end of

today?

Stephani: Yes, they’ll be ready by 5 o’clock today. Does that make everything clear?

Conrado: Oh yes, thanks, that’s great. Thank you very much!

Stephani: You’re welcome.

Feifei: And that’s the end of today’s role-play!

Neil: How was it for you two?

Conrado: It was great, much much better.

Stephani: Yes, I wish we’d done it that way in the first place.

Neil: That’s good and that’s it.

Feifei: Are you saying that we’ve reached the end of today’s programme?

Neil: Yes we have, so thanks for helping us out today Conrado and Stephani. It’s

All: Bye!

Misunderstandings: Key phrases

Checking what someone What do you mean by that? means Do you mean…? So are you saying…? Correct me if I’m wrong, but do you mean…? Sorry, I’m not sure if I got that. Are you saying…? Asking someone to explain Sorry, what exactly do you mean by that? what they mean Sorry, could you go over that again? Could you expand on that? Checking that someone has Is that clear? understood you Does that make everything clear?

🔹 Tu vung quan trong (Key Vocabulary)

[Vocabulary section could not be extracted from this PDF]

🔹 Cau hoi thao luan (Discussion Questions)

1. What did you find most interesting about the topic of ‘Business English: Misunderstandings’?

2. Which new vocabulary words from this episode do you think will be most useful?

3. Can you summarise the main points discussed in this episode?

🔹 Tom tat noi dung (Vietnamese Summary)

Bai hoc ban ve nghien cuu xoa ky uc bang lieu phap soc dien. Chuong trinh thao luan ve ung dung dieu tri PTSD.

🔹 Transcript

NB: This is not a word-for-word transcript

Rob: And I’m Rob.

Finn: Rob, I’m going to ask a personal question – do you have any bad memories?

Rob: Yes. When I was young I was bitten by a dog. And he bit my arm. Not nice.

Finn: Really? Do you ever wish you could delete – or remove – that memory?

Rob: Oh yes, absolutely. Yes. I don’t want to remember that.

Finn: OK. Well, today we’ll be talking about new research that has successfully

deleted memories. We’ll also explain some vocabulary related to the brain. But, as always, first let’s start with a question.

Rob: A good idea Finn.

Finn: We’re talking about the role of neurons in the brain – these are the cells

that transmit information. So, roughly how many neurons do scientists think we have? Is it: a) 8-10 million b) 8-10 billion c) 80-100 billion

Rob: Wow. I know we have a lot of neurons; however, a 100 billion would be a lot

to get into your brain, so I’m going for the small number, 8 to 10 million.

Finn: OK, Rob. We’ll find out if you are right or wrong at the end of the

programme. So, how have scientists managed to remove specific memories? Well, the research was carried out in the Netherlands at Radboud University, Nijmegen.

Rob: Yes, they’ve been using something called ECT – electroconvulsive therapy –

this treatment involves electric pulses through the brain.

Finn: Yes – it’s quite a controversial treatment, partly thanks to films like One

Flew over the Cuckoo’s Nest, where a terrified patient is strapped to a table and forced to receive these shocks…

Rob: But it’s used as a last resort – a last option – for people with severe

depression. Now, in this study they’ve been looking at neurons – and memories are actually stored in the connections between these neurons, according to Dr Martin Kroes on the team.

Finn: He says these connections take some time to become permanent, and “if you

disturb this process, you lose the connection between the brain cells altogether”.

Rob: So, if you lose the connection – you lose the memory. That was the idea.

Could they make it work in an experiment? Listen to BBC reporter Anna Holligan talking about what happened to the patients. BBC reporter Anna Holligan: Participants were patients already being treated with ECT. They were shown two sets of picture cards each telling a story. Then just before an ECT session they were shown one of the stories again to reactivate that particular memory. The results were remarkable, after the ECT they forgot the story they just looked at, while the memory of the other story was unaffected.

Finn: So – patients were shown two sets of cards. Then, just before ECT, they were

shown one of the sets again to reactivate it – to make it active again.

Rob: They then had ECT – and when they woke up, they forgot the memory of the

card they had just looked at – the one that had just been reactivated.

Finn: Yes. Now, we should mention that one of the side-effects of ECT is memory

loss – so why is this surprising? It’s because they were able to target specific memories.

Rob: OK. Well, it’s thought that this new technique could help people with PTSD –

post-traumatic stress disorder. It’s a memory-related illness where people who experience something very stressful and upsetting, something traumatic, such as war, continue to be affected by it psychologically.

Finn: Yes, the hope is that these traumatic memories could be deleted.

Rob: Which would be an exciting development. Now, before we forget, let’s remind

everyone of today’s question.

Finn: Yes, very good. Well, it was about the number of neurons in the human

brain. Now, are there: a) 8-10 million b) 8-10 billion c) 80-100 billion

Rob: And I thought it was just a mere 8 to 10 million.

Finn: Well there are, supposedly, 80 to 100 billion of these things in our brains.

Not all scientists agree on the exact number. But still it’s about as many as there are stars in the whole Universe.

Rob: It would take forever to count those!

Finn: I don’t know who’s counting – one by one! Now, Rob, can you remind

everyone about today’s vocabulary?

Rob: I think that memory has been removed!

Finn: Oh, it’s been deleted? OK!

Rob: Only joking.

Finn: You have it?

Rob: Yes, I have it now, it’s come back to me! We heard:

delete neurons pulses controversial a last resort depression reactivate PTSD (post-traumatic stress disorder) traumatic hope you’ve enjoyed today’s programme. Please join us again soon.

Rob: Bye.

Finn: Bye.

🔹 Tu vung quan trong (Key Vocabulary)

🔹 Cau hoi thao luan (Discussion Questions)

1. What did you find most interesting about the topic of ‘Deleting memories’?

2. Which new vocabulary words from this episode do you think will be most useful?

3. Can you summarise the main points discussed in this episode?

27 March 2014

🔹 Tom tat noi dung (Vietnamese Summary)

Bai hoc ban ve y nghia cua tu do trong nhieu boi canh khac nhau. Chuong trinh kham pha tu do ngon luan, binh dang va nhan quyen.

🔹 Transcript

NB: This is not a word-for-word transcript

Finn: And me, Finn. Hello.

Rob: In today’s programme, we’re talking about freedom. It’s a big subject and

it’s something the BBC has been exploring in its Freedom 2014 season.

Finn: That’s right. There’s been a season of programmes about what freedom

means to different people.

Rob: Well, we’re going to try and summarise what freedom really is and look at

some related vocabulary. But first a definition – what does freedom mean?

Finn: According to the Oxford English Dictionary, freedom is the power or right

to act, speak, or think as one wants.

Rob: Yes, it’s something many people expect to have – we consider it our right

– but certain people in some of the world do not get to experience the feeling of freedom.

Finn: You mean some people are restricted and controlled in what they can

and can’t do.

Rob: Some organisations try to rank countries – or give them a score – based

on how free its people are. It’s calculated according to certain factors – and my question for you today Finn is, according to the World Freedom Index 2013 by the Canadian Fraser Institute, the people of which country came out as number one, in terms of having the most freedom? Was it: a) the USA b) Sweden c) New Zealand

Finn: I’m going to say c) New Zealand.

Rob: We’ll see if you’re right later on. So let’s talk more about freedom – a

word that means many things to many people. We sometimes hear about political freedom – where people are able to vote in elections to choose who runs their country – and where people are able to challenge what their leaders do. We often refer to this system as a democracy.

Finn: Many people would say that any system of democracy should

automatically include the right to free speech – that’s the right to say what you want about anything you want. We also hear about freedom for women – when they have the same rights as men. This is one form of equality. We also hear about equality for people of different colour, religion or sexual orientation. People usually don’t feel free or equal if they are treated differently because of something like their race, colour, gender or disability. One example of this is the system of apartheid, which passed laws to restrict the freedom and rights of black people in South Africa.

Rob: Many of those laws are no longer in existence – but freedom is still an

issue around the world today. The BBC Freedom 2014 season looked at examples of modern-day slavery in the Thai fishing industry. There is forced labour, where people are made to work in terrible conditions for little or no money.

Finn: There’s also secrecy and surveillance – when you’re being watched by

the government; these can also be seen as ways of controlling someone’s freedom. And some say that blocking the public’s access to certain information limits freedom.

Rob: Yes, the American computer expert Edward Snowden famously disclosed

thousands of confidential – or secret – documents held by America’s National Security Agency so people could see what information was being kept about them.

Finn: But possibly the most personal example of having your freedom restricted

is when you are held unfairly against your will – in prison or as a hostage, which is what happened to Norman Kember, a British man who was taken hostage in Iraq in 2005.

Rob: He says the only thing that kept him free was his mind. He would picture

something good in his head. So, although as a hostage his body wasn’t free, he could still feel free by thinking about his garden – the flowers and trees and the sound of birdsong. Simple pleasures.

Finn: Freedom really came for him when he was eventually rescued during a

military operation on 23 March 2006, and the first thing he did when he returned to England was… walk in his garden. It must have been a great feeling.

Rob: In different situations, people around the world have fought to win their

freedom in many different ways. They have held protests and marches, and campaigned for a change in laws and attitudes – changing the way people think.

Finn: And when people living under a regime want to make a change for the

better they sometimes take to the streets to chant, shout and sing. Lots of songs have been written about freedom. But if you can’t sing, there’s another, newer way to make your voice heard: people use social media to spread their message and hopefully get support for their cause. It’s what happened in a number of uprisings in the Middle East, such as the Arab Spring.

Rob: Let’s get back to the question I asked you earlier about which country

came first in the World Freedom Index 2013, according to the Canadian Fraser Institute?

Finn: I said c) New Zealand. Was I right?

Rob: Yes, well done, the answer is New Zealand. The freedom index was based

on a number of measures such as freedom of speech, religion, economic choice and women’s rights. You can find more detail about the BBC Freedom Season on the BBC website. We’ll be back with more 6 Minute English very soon. Please join us then.

Both: Bye.

🔹 Tu vung quan trong (Key Vocabulary)

🔹 Cau hoi thao luan (Discussion Questions)

1. What did you find most interesting about the topic of ‘What is freedom?’?

2. Which new vocabulary words from this episode do you think will be most useful?

3. Can you summarise the main points discussed in this episode?

12 June 2014

🔹 Tom tat noi dung (Vietnamese Summary)

Bai hoc ban ve bong da Brazil va vai tro cua no trong xa hoi. Chuong trinh thao luan ve Pele, di dong xa hoi va niem dam me the thao.

🔹 Transcript

NB: This is not a word for word transcript football and that’s what we are going to talk about today. Let’s kick off the programme with Pele! Pele, Brazilian football player: I was invited to go to Italy, to Spain. I was okay in Santos, it was my team. The team used to win almost all the tournaments. And then I never have, you know, desire to play outside Brazil or to play for money.

Rob: So that’s Pele, one of the most celebrated football players in the world. And

I’ve invited Grace, my Brazilian colleague, to have a chat about football in her home country.

Grace: Hi Rob.

Rob: Hi there. Well, is Pele still popular in Brazil?

Grace: As far as football goes, Pele’s record speaks for itself, Brazilians love him; but

when he talks about politics, well, he’s often criticised. But you started – you kicked off – the programme talking about Pele, so of course our quiz question today is about this fantastic player.

Rob: Okay, well, shoot!

Grace: How many goals did Pele score in his career? Was it…

a) About 700 goals b) About 1,200 goals c) About 1,600 goals

Rob: Well, I know he was a great player, but 1,600 sounds too many, so I’ll go for

the middle answer – around 1,200 goals.

Grace: We’ll find out if you are right or wrong a bit later. Now let’s get this ball rolling

and talk about football.

Rob: Yes, good idea. It’s interesting that Pele mentioned in the clip that he wouldn’t

leave his team – Santos – to play football abroad…

Grace: Yes, although, he did end his career with the New York Cosmos. In any case,

Pele said he didn’t play for money. When he said that he was already well known and had some money in his pocket, but Pele came from poverty.

Rob: Yes, his family didn’t have much money at all. They lived in poverty.

Grace: Football has changed the lives of many youngsters in Brazil. Listen out for the

expression Brazilian sports reporter Daniel Gallas uses to describe how football can help someone. Daniel Gallas, Brazilian sports reporter: Football is very important for social mobility in Brazil because not many people have the chance to move from poverty into higher classes. For a while football was also a profession which young men could follow through a proper career that they wouldn’t have in other areas. But nowadays middle class guys are becoming well known.

Rob: So football is important for social mobility – the ability to go from one class of

society to another.

Grace: And poor youngsters who have a natural talent to play football can become

middle class – they can own a home, have a car, live comfortably. Nowadays some players come from the middle class already. And they… well, they become millionaires!

Rob: Lucky them! They do earn their money but they are very exposed when they

play. Supporters can be very demanding. I know I am. I want to see my team score goals!

Grace: Let’s hear what reporter Daniel Gallas has to say about what Brazilians – and

Rob – like to see on the pitch. Listen out for the positions of the players who are not very famous, not very celebrated in Brazil. Daniel Gallas, Brazilian sports reporter: Brazilians like to see attacking football. They want to see strikers like Ronaldo, Bebeto, Romario always aiming for the goal and not just passing the ball around from one side to the other or backwards… they just want to move forward all the time. Brazilians don’t tend to boast too much about their goalkeepers.

Rob: So we have the goalkeepers – the players who are between the goalposts –

that area in football where you have a frame and a net. They try to prevent the other team from scoring goals…

Grace: And Brazilians, to be honest, they don’t tend to pay too much attention to

them. They cheer like mad when the strikers score.

Rob: The strikers are very important – the players who go on the attack, who strike

the ball and hopefully score! These are the ones we like to boast about!

Grace: I speak proudly – I boast about – Neymar, veterans like Ronaldo, Bebeto. And

obviously, the best player of all time, Edson Arantes do Nascimento – our Pele!

Rob: Pele, yes. Well, I have my heroes too, you know. Here in England we have

David Beckham of course our great footballer of modern times, but there’re some classic players like Bobby Charlton and have you heard of George Best?

Grace: Yes, George Best, I’ve heard about him…

Rob: Very famous, yes. Well, look, we are running out of time but first, I want to

know if I got the answer to the quiz right.

Grace: How many goals did Pele score during his career as a footballer? The figure

was rounded off to make it easier for you. The options were: about 700; 1,200 or 1,600.

Rob: And I said 1,200. Was I right?

Grace: Oh, yes. Scored the goal, Rob! According to the international governing body

of football, FIFA, Pele scored 1,281 goals in his career. In one match against Botafogo in 1964, Rob, Pele hit the back of the net no less than eight times.

Rob: Wow, amazing!

Grace: Indeed. And now we must go. But let’s remember the words we heard today.

Rob: Yes, we heard:

to kick off poverty social mobility middle class striker goalkeeper to boast goalposts Learning English.

Both: Bye.

🔹 Tu vung quan trong (Key Vocabulary)

🔹 Cau hoi thao luan (Discussion Questions)

1. What did you find most interesting about the topic of ‘Brazilian football’?

2. Which new vocabulary words from this episode do you think will be most useful?

3. Can you summarise the main points discussed in this episode?

9 January 2014

🔹 Tom tat noi dung (Vietnamese Summary)

Bai hoc ban ve nhung ‘Casanova’ o Y va anh huong cua suy thoai kinh te den loi song xa hoa. Chuong trinh gioi thieu tu vung ve tinh yeu va tien bac.

🔹 Transcript

NB: This is not a word-for-word transcript Finn.

Finn: Hi Rob.

Rob: Today we are talking about Casanovas. Finn, could you explain what one

is?

Finn: Yes a Casanova is a man who is a smooth talker, very charming and great

at seducing women – to be blunt, or to be honest, they are good at getting women into bed!

Rob: Yes, they have many sexual partners. Do you know anyone you could call

a Casanova?

Finn: No, nobody. The name is often related to Italian men because it comes

from the 18th Century Italian adventurer and writer, Giacomo Girolamo Casanova, who was known for his sexual adventures.

Rob: Well the modern-day Casanova could be in trouble, as we’ll be explaining

soon. But first, a question for you Finn.

Finn: I hope you won’t be asking how many sexual partners he had?

Rob: Nothing like that. Do you know which Italian city he was born in?

a) Florence b) Rome c) Venice

Finn: I consider Venice the city of love so let’s say c) Venice.

Rob: I’ll let you know the answer at the end of programme. So let’s talk more

about Italian Casanovas. These promiscuous men are suffering because of today’s economic problems.

Finn: Yes – unlike me and you Rob – they’re struggling to woo women – that

means to attract them and give them attention. They often do this financially – by spending money on them.

Rob: So these Italian Casanovas used to buy their ladies gifts and treats, like

meals or a night in a swanky hotel, but now they can’t afford it.

Finn: Well, no sympathy from me. But like all of us, they have had to cut costs –

but in Italy, where unemployment is more than 12%, they’ve had to make some bigger sacrifices.

Rob: Ha, you mean they have had to give up some of their women – or at least

cut back – reduce – the gifts they are buying. It means the Italian women they woo will have to lower their expectations – they’ll have to expect less!

Finn: Or go elsewhere! This is something the BBC’s Emma Jane Kirby has been

investigating for the programme From Our Own Correspondent. She discovered real life examples of men who are downsizing – in other words, spending less.

Rob: Let’s hear some of her report now. What word is used to describe a

Casanova’s secret girlfriend’? And what gifts did the Casanova traditionally give her? BBC Correspondent, Emma Jane Kirby: The economic crisis has hit Italian men where it hurts most; with their country still in recession and the cost of living soaring, the Latin lover has had to rein in his appetite. The traditional kept mistress, secretly hidden away in her fully paid-up flat and lavished with furs and jewels, has been consigned to history.

Finn: That’s Emma Jane Kirby describing the economic situation in Italy. She

says the country is in recession – that means the economic situation is bad. It also means, as she said, the cost of living is soaring – so going up.

Rob: And it’s these rising costs that has hit Italians ‘where it hurts most’.

Finn: That sounds painful! But of course she means ‘in the pocket’ – in other

words the biggest pain men are suffering is financial. Financial pain.

Rob: Did you hear another name the correspondent used for a Casanova? It

was a Latin lover. The Latin lover has had to rein in his appetite – so he’s had to learn to control or limit his romantic habits.

Finn: And one of his habits was having a kept mistress – so another woman he

would support financially. These women were kept secret, hidden away but lavished with furs and jewels.

Rob: Lavished – that’s a good word – it means to give a lot – so these men

were giving their mistresses lots of gifts. But not any more!

Finn: No. Now some of them can only offer simple pleasures like a cup of coffee,

a walk in the park and if they’re eating out they might have to ‘go Dutch’ – that means split the bill 50:50.

Rob: It sounds tough being a Casanova these days. But I wonder what their

wives think about this?

Finn: Well, they probably don’t know, but the number of people getting divorced

is going down as the Casanova can no longer afford to support two women. So maybe the recession in Italy is having a positive effect for married women at least!

Rob: For now, the Casanova can only rely on his charm and good looks and

possibly just stick to window shopping – or just eyeing up women without taking things further.

Finn: It sounds like hard work being a Casanova Rob. I’ll stick with women one

at a time!

Rob: Very wise. Now let me reveal the answer to today’s question. Earlier I

asked you which Italian city was Giacomo Girolamo Casanova born in?

Finn: I said c) Venice.

Rob: You were right. He was born in Venice in 1725. Well that’s it for this

Learning English.

Both: Bye.

🔹 Tu vung quan trong (Key Vocabulary)

🔹 Cau hoi thao luan (Discussion Questions)

1. What did you find most interesting about the topic of ‘Downsizing for Italy’s Casanovas’?

2. Which new vocabulary words from this episode do you think will be most useful?

3. Can you summarise the main points discussed in this episode?

20 March 2014

🔹 Tom tat noi dung (Vietnamese Summary)

Bai hoc ban ve su khac biet giua nao nam va nao nu. Chuong trinh kham pha nghien cuu ve cach nao bo duoc ket noi khac nhau.

🔹 Transcript

NB: This is not a word-for-word transcript and with me is Rob. Hi Rob.

Rob: Hi Finn.

Finn: Rob, I have a question for you. Are you good at reading maps?

Rob: I have to say, I am, I really enjoy reading maps and I understand them well.

Finn: That’s interesting. And today we’re talking about new research into the

differences between men’s and women’s brains, and looking at some vocabulary about brains and thinking. Now, this research says that men are better at some things, like reading maps.

Rob: Yes, well, I’m good at reading maps and even my wife would agree. She

makes me do all the map reading in the car.

Finn: But women are better at other things – like remembering faces. That’s

according to this research. And before we look at it, I have a question about this incredible and mysterious thing – the human brain. Rob, you’re a brainy – that is, an intelligent guy, but how much does the average human brain weigh? Is it: a) 1.4 kg b) 2.2 kg c) 3.6 kg

Rob: I’ll have to use my brain for this. I’m really racking my brains – that means

to think very hard. Right, well, I think: c) 3.6 kg.

Finn: OK we’ll find out if you’re right later on. Now this research was by a team

from the University of Pennsylvania in the US. They looked at the brains of nearly 1,000 men and women and found they are ‘wired differently’.

Rob: Yes – so they are connected in different ways.

Finn: Let’s listen to Dr Ruben Gur talking about the connections in each

hemisphere – each half or each side – of the brain. What’s the difference between men and women? Dr Ruben Gur, University of Pennsylvania: What we found was that in males, the stronger connections run within each hemisphere, within each half of the brain. In women the stronger connections are between the two sides of the brain.

Finn: So: men have better links – that’s stronger connections – inside each half of

the brain. So the connections inside the right hemisphere are good, and the connections inside the left hemisphere are good too.

Rob: But women have stronger connections between each side – the links are

better going from one side to the other, from left to right. But what does that mean?

Finn: Well, they say these differences might explain why men are better at learning

and performing a single task, like cycling or navigating – that’s reading maps and finding your way around.

Rob: And it explains why women are often better at multi-tasking – that’s doing

several things at once.

Finn: The research also showed women are better at remembering words, faces

and information about other people, and they also had longer attention spans – that means they could concentrate on a task for longer without becoming distracted. Rob? Rob? Are you there?

Rob: Ah sorry. I was miles away. You might be right Finn! But not everyone

agrees with this research.

Finn: No, Professor Heidi Johansen-Berg from the University of Oxford says the

connections inside the brain are not ‘hard-wired’: in other words, that means they are not permanently fixed and they keep changing.

Rob: She said the brain is very complex – so you can’t make generalisations

about it – generalisations are statements that are often true but based on a limited amount of information.

Finn: But overall I think it’s an interesting idea. We asked our audience on social

media what they thought about the study.

Rob: Cremildo from Mozambique said he’s a man and agrees with the survey, and

he admires his mother who is able to do a lot of things by herself.

Finn: Pen Pae from Thailand says it depends on the individual – she’s good at

reading maps and multi-tasking – but don’t ask her about language or driving.

Rob: And Hana Potki from Iran agrees – she said it took her five times to pass her

driving test!

Finn: Now Rob, earlier I asked you if you knew how heavy the human brain is, on

average:

Rob: And I said c) a heavy 3.6 kg.

Finn: Very very heavy brain and a lot heavier than the average human brain. The

answer was in fact a) 1.4 kg. This compares with the average of 7 kg for whales and 1.4 for dolphins. Albert Einstein’s brain was only 1.2 kg; that’s lower than average, so size isn’t everything. Now, Rob, before we go – would you remind us of today’s brain-related words?

Rob: Of course. We had:

brainy rack my brains hemisphere navigating multi-tasking attention spans hard-wired generalisations

Finn: Great. Thank you Rob. And thanks everyone for listening. Join us again for

Rob: Bye.

Finn: Goodbye.

🔹 Tu vung quan trong (Key Vocabulary)

🔹 Cau hoi thao luan (Discussion Questions)

1. What did you find most interesting about the topic of ‘The male brain, the female brain’?

2. Which new vocabulary words from this episode do you think will be most useful?

3. Can you summarise the main points discussed in this episode?

2 January 2014

🔹 Tom tat noi dung (Vietnamese Summary)

Bai hoc ban ve xu huong mua sam ‘showrooming’ – xem hang tai cua hang nhung mua truc tuyen. Chuong trinh thao luan ve tuong lai cua ban le.

🔹 Transcript

NB: This is not a word-for-word transcript

Finn: And me, Finn.

Rob: Hello Finn. Well, Happy New Year to you. Here we are in 2014, the festive

season is over – so Finn, did all that Christmas shopping break the bank?

Finn: You mean, did I spend too much money? Well, yes I did, but I put most of

it on plastic – my credit card – so I’ll pay for it next month.

Rob: Well, clearly you didn’t have enough money to buy me a present! Anyway,

today we are talking about shopping and a relatively new style of shopping called showrooming.

Finn: Yes, showrooming – this is where customers visit shops to see and test

products before going online to buy them.

Rob: We’ll be discussing that soon and looking at vocabulary to do with

shopping. But before we do, Finn, you’re a man who likes to shop – but do you know which country has the most people who shop online? Is it: a) The United Kingdom b) The USA c) Korea

Finn: Well, I know the internet is very big in Korea but I think the USA has

more online shoppers.

Rob: OK, well, I’ll let you know the answer at the end of programme. So today

we’re talking about how technology is changing the way we shop and how it could spell disaster – or be very bad for – the high street.

Finn: The high street – this is a term we use in Britain to mean the collection of

everyday shops that we normally see in our town centres. Things like shoe shops, newsagents, supermarkets.

Rob: We know that the high street is competing with the internet. I buy things

like CDs, electrical goods and food online, from the comfort of my home.

Finn: Ah but have you ever ‘showroomed’ before, Rob? That means going to a

shop, having a look at something and then going home to buy it online.

Rob: Yes, I bought a camera at a knock-down price online, although it was

from the same retailer as the shop that I saw it in. I know I’m not alone in doing this though. Research by a company called Foolproof, found 24% of people ‘showroomed’ while Christmas shopping last year.

Finn: And a market research company called TNS found one third of consumers

around the world said they used this tactic – or this type of shopping.

Rob: Now, although people do it to try and save money, there are other

reasons for this too, as we can hear from the Head of Technology at TNS UK, Amy Cashman. See if you can hear what the three reasons are: Head of Technology, TNS UK, Amy Cashman: There’s basically three main points that this kind of behaviour can overcome. People are short on time, short on money and they want reassurance about the products they are buying. So they use the internet in store and online on their mobile which we found is particularly prevalent, to do things like try and get to the bottom of where they can find a cheaper price elsewhere but also get information, product reviews and also do things like look at store layouts and see where products are so they can go and find them faster.

Finn: So she says there are three main reasons for people to showroom: They

are short on time, short on money, and they want reassurance.

Rob: Yes, reassurance – so they want to know what the product really looks like

and they want to be confident they are buying the right thing.

Finn: I think that’s true, I like to inspect what I am buying. If you go to a shop

and look at the real thing, you get a much better idea of what it’s like than from a photo on the internet or in a catalogue – but I also want a bargain – in other words, the best price.

Rob: That’s why Amy Cashman said customers sometimes use the internet in

store – so in the shop – to ‘get to the bottom of’ where they can get it cheaper. We could say they use the internet to shop around.

Finn: That’s a good phrase, meaning to look around for the best deal. Using a

smartphone is an increasingly popular way to do this.

Rob: Smartphones are also useful for getting product reviews – these are the

kind of opinions or comments about the product.

Finn: Yes, and you can also use smartphones to scan the barcodes on the

product and compare prices that way.

Rob: So it seems browsing – that’s looking at things to buy – but not actually

purchasing something in store – is set to increase. Does this mean the death of the high street, Finn?

Finn: I think it will have to adapt or make changes. It could try to compete on

price more or offer more incentives when you are in the shop.

Rob: Incentives – these are things to encourage you to buy the product there

and then. Perhaps a discount voucher or a free gift?

Finn: And we mustn’t forget that buying in a shop means you can get expert

advice from the sales assistant and you can get good aftercare.

Rob: Well, I didn’t need expert advice buying my Christmas presents this year.

Finn: Oh, why was that?

Rob: Well, I bought gift vouchers for everyone! Now Finn, it’s time to see if you

belong to the nation with the biggest online shoppers. Earlier I asked you if you knew which country has the most people who shop online – is it: a) The United Kingdom b) The USA c) Korea

Finn: I said b) The USA.

Rob: A good guess but you were wrong. The answer is the UK. I don’t know if it

means we’re the laziest people or just the best bargain hunters! Well, BBC Learning English.

Both: Bye.

🔹 Tu vung quan trong (Key Vocabulary)

🔹 Cau hoi thao luan (Discussion Questions)

1. What did you find most interesting about the topic of ‘Showrooming and shopping’?

2. Which new vocabulary words from this episode do you think will be most useful?

3. Can you summarise the main points discussed in this episode?

13 March 2014

🔹 Tom tat noi dung (Vietnamese Summary)

Bai hoc nay ban ve chu de ‘Are you a winner?’. Cac nguoi dan chuong trinh thao luan, giai thich tu vung va chia se nhung thong tin thu vi lien quan den chu de.

🔹 Transcript

NB: This is not a word-for-word transcript Neil.

Neil: Hello Rob.

Rob: Now Neil, I have a question for you – do you think you are a winner?

Neil: You mean someone who has a lot of success in everything?

Rob: Well, not exactly – I’m just talking about competitions – do you have a lot of

success or luck in winning them?

Neil: Competitions? No, not at all. I don’t think I’ve ever won a competition.

Rob: Ah, bad luck. That means you’re not a ‘comper’. That’s an informal name for

someone who takes part in – or enters – competitions on an almost semi- professional basis. They spend a lot of time trying to win something.

Neil: You mean winning prizes – or free gifts.

Rob: I do. And Neil, you could win a prize if you can correctly answer today’s

question. So, are you ready?

Neil: I’m ready.

Rob: Well, a lottery is one kind of competition where the prize is money. The

biggest cash prizes can be won in the USA – but do you know what the biggest ever cash prize to be paid in America is? Is it: a) $590 million b) $890 million c) $1 billion

Neil: Well, things tend to be big in America, so I’m going to go for c) $1 billion

dollars.

Rob: I’d like to win that. We’ll find out if you are right or wrong later on. So let’s

talk more about ‘compers’ – people who regularly take part in competitions. We could say they are hooked on – meaning addicted to – taking part.

Neil: Yes, the lure – or attractiveness – of winning big prizes means these people

just can’t stop answering quiz questions, writing slogans and captions or solving puzzles.

Rob: Some people go to great lengths – or put a lot of effort into winning

something – even if it’s just a box of chocolates or a coffee mug. It’s just the excitement of winning.

Neil: But sometimes there are big prizes to win – a new car, a speedboat or a

holiday of a lifetime. The only problem is that these prizes are either not easy to win or there are millions of people trying to win them.

Rob: I’ve certainly never won anything as fantastic as that – but one man who has

had plenty of good luck is Martin Dove, who is a retired lecturer and an expert ‘comper’.

Neil: He certainly is. He’s won a yacht, a racehorse and lots of smaller prizes too.

Let’s hear from him now. Listen out for the names he says people have called him… Martin Dove, a ‘comper’: I’ve been a comper for 40 years. It’s like admitting some addiction isn’t it really! Some people have called me the Master of Comping, the King of Comping, the Guru of Comping, but it’s just a word, it’s just a phrase, it’s just I was fairly high-profile.

Rob: So, he says he was fairly high-profile – that means he was often seen in

public, mentioned in newspapers, or appeared on television. And because he was high-profile he got called a few nicknames…

Neil: …names like the master of comping – so someone who is very good or

skilled at it. And the king of comping – not an actual royal king but someone is the best at doing something. And the guru of comping – that’s someone who other people respect and go to for advice about comping.

Rob: Well, he knows his stuff and he still checks out competitions on cereal boxes

and crisp packets for the next big win. He’s even written books on the subject and offered advice to other compers.

Neil: But comping has changed, Rob. There are lots of competitions to enter on

the internet now. Every webpage you look at seems to tempt us with a fantastic prize to be won.

Rob: That’s true. But Martin Dove doesn’t think that is necessarily a good thing.

Can you hear why? Martin Dove, a ‘comper’: The thing is now competitions are far easier to enter than they ever were. In the old days I could spend a fortnight crafting a slogan and really working hard and really being proud of it. Now all you have do is ‘click, click, click, click, click’ and because it only takes 30 seconds to do, 20 minutes you can knock out 40 competitions. And you can get a million entries now, so it’s a million to one.

Neil: So, competitions online are easier to enter – you just have to click. Martin

said he could enter about 40 competitions in just 20 minutes!

Rob: But because it’s so easy, more people enter and so the odds – or chances of

winning are less. Sometimes, a one in a million chance of winning – a very rare or unlikely chance. I wonder what your chances are of getting today’s question right Neil?

Neil: One in three maybe?

Rob: Maybe! Well, earlier I asked you what is the biggest ever cash prize to be

paid out in a lottery in the USA? Is it: a) $590 million b) $890 million c) $1 billion

Neil: I said it was c) $1 billion

Rob: And you are wrong. It’s actually only $590 million; that was won by an 84-

year-old woman in Florida last year. Neil, what’s the biggest prize you’ve ever won?

Neil: I think I once, about 10 years ago, won £10 on the British National Lottery.

Rob: Wow, that’s a big win! Well, for getting today’s question wrong you get the

consolation prize of reminding us of some of the words that we’ve heard today.

Neil: OK, we heard:

luck comper prizes lottery hooked on the lure slogans high-profile master guru the odds one in a million

Rob: OK. Thanks Neil – you really are a winner. Well, we hope you’ve enjoyed

Learning English.

Both: Bye!

🔹 Tu vung quan trong (Key Vocabulary)

🔹 Cau hoi thao luan (Discussion Questions)

1. What did you find most interesting about the topic of ‘Are you a winner?’?

2. Which new vocabulary words from this episode do you think will be most useful?

3. Can you summarise the main points discussed in this episode?

This appendix contains all 229 vocabulary items from all 33 episodes, sorted alphabetically for easy reference and revision.