Hi Everyone, this time, let's learn listening together.
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And here under is the transcript. But I'd like to suggest you to listen the audio 3 times without looking at the transcript first. Then listen again while looking at the transcript; that will improve your listening and understanding faster.
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Dan:
Hello and welcome to this week’s 6 Minute English. I’m Dan Walker Smith and today I’m joined by Kate.
Now in today’s programme and in next week’s programme we’re talking about tree climbing. So I want to ask you Kate when was the last time you climbed a tree?
Kate:
Ooh I think it was quite a few years ago now actually; probably when I was a child, around 10 years old. We used to live in the countryside and I remember climbing a tree in the garden with my brother. But it’s been a long long time; I haven’t climbed a tree for years.
Dan:
Exactly, climbing trees is usually an activity that’s associated with childhood. But these days it’s also a growing sport for adults as well. And there are professional tree climbers, and competitions and tree climbing centres across the world.
So this week's question for you Kate is: In what year was the first ever International Tree Climbing Championship held? Was it:
a) 1964
b) 1971
c) 1976
Kate:
Well I’m going to guess that this is quite a recent sport. So I’m going to go for the latest date, which is c) 1976.
Dan: OK, well we’ll see if you’re right at the end of the programme. Now the benefits of climbing are well-documented; it’s great exercise in the open air, and gives you a sense of attachment to the natural environment.
Let’s listen to the professional tree climber James Aldred, as he explains how he developed his love for climbing. Where did he live as a child, and how did it help him decide to start climbing trees?
Extract 1
Well I’ve been into climbing from a very early age. And I was never into rocks or mountaineering; it was always trees. I grew up in a forest, and if I was going to climb anything, by default it was always going to be trees.
Kate:
OK, so James grew up in a forest. To grow up is to change from being a child to being an adult. So, because he spent his early years surrounded by trees, by default, he learnt to climb them. The phrase by default here means that there were no alternative choices or competitors, so trees were the natural things to climb.
Dan:
And what did he mean there Kate when he said he’d ‘been into’ climbing from an early age?
Kate:
Well, to be into something is a slang way of saying you’re interested in something or that you’re a fan of it. For example, you could be into football or into watching tennis.
Dan:
OK well, let’s have a listen to James again as he describes his first experience of climbing a tree. He says he was terrified, which means he was extremely frightened or scared. And he also uses the word scampered – he says that his friends ‘scampered like squirrels’ up the tree. What does he mean here Kate?
Kate:
Well, to scamper means to run with quick short steps. It’s a term that’s usually used to describe animals. So when James says his friends scampered like squirrels he means they were moving quickly, like the furry-tailed little animals that live in trees.
Dan:
So have a listen to the next extract; how long did James stay on the lower branches of the tree?
Extract 2:
I was absolutely terrified the first time I climbed this tree. And the two friends I was with, they just scampered up like squirrels, went right to the top, and left me on the lowest branches for about two hours, absolutely terrified.
Kate:
Well James said that he stayed in the lowest branches for around two hours. A tree’s branches are the woody arms that grow from the trunk. And the trunk is the name of the central part of the tree.
Dan:
Now before we listen to the final extract, I just want to talk about the different parts of a tree. You mentioned there the trunk and the branches, and I want to know what the other parts of a tree are?
Kate:
Well the parts below the ground are called the roots, which keep the tree in place and absorb water and nutrients. Above the roots you have the trunk, as we said, and at the end of the branches you have leaves. A leaf is the flat green part of a plant.
You also have bark, which is the outer covering of a tree. And the thick sweet liquid you find inside the trunk is called sap or resin.
Dan:
OK, let’s have a listen to the final extract for today. This is tree expert Tony Russell, describing the fragrance of a tree, that is the smell or the aroma. He uses some quite complicated words here Kate, so could you please explain some of them?
Kate:
Of course.
Dan:
What does he mean by the foliage and cones, for example?
Kate:
Well foliage is the term for the leaves or the green parts of a plant. And the cones here are the hard woody fruits of a pine tree.
Dan:
Also listen out for the word resinous, which he uses to describe the aroma from the tree; what particular part of the tree does this refer to?
Extract 3
It has this great fragrance to it as well, which comes off the bark, but it also comes off the foliage and off the cones. And on a really warm day you get this tremendous fragrance which is sort of resinous.
Kate:
By resinous, he means it smells like resin or sap.
Dan:
OK Kate, well we’re almost out of time for this week, so let’s go over some of the vocabulary we’ve come across today:
- to grow up
- to choose something by default
- to be into something
- to scamper
- trunk
- branch
- roots
- leaf
- bark
- sap or resin
- foliage
- cones
Kate:
Wow, that’s a lot of words we’ve had this week, but all very useful when talking about trees.
Dan:
Exactly, and we’re coming back to this topic next week for the second part of our tree climbing programme.
Kate: Oh good, I can’t wait.
Dan:
Exactly. And there’s just time as well for today's question. I asked you Kate; in what year was the first ever International Tree Climbing Championship?
Kate:
And I went for the latest date, which was 1976.
Dan:
Exactly, 1976. It was set up by the Californian businessman Dick Alvarez to make sure that people in his tree surgery business had the skills to prepare them for tough climbs. The competition grew, until it’s now a worldwide event.
Kate:
Gosh that’s very interesting. I had no idea people took this sport so seriously.
Dan:
Well it’s a growing sport, and I think it’s one which is becoming more popular as the years go by.
But we’ll hear more about it next week. For this week, from all of us here at BBC Learning English, thanks for listening, and goodbye!
Kate:
Goodbye!
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I hope everyone notices the strange pronunciation of some words:
climbing
default
Enjoy learning together!
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