Aye, aye, my hearties.
It's Mike Bilbre back here again with another episode of Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson.
Chapter 10 today.
Some people have asked me what is the accent that I use.
When I'm reading the story.
The people in the story as well have an accent, and the accent is from the West Country.
We call it a West Country accent.
That is the southwest of England.
As you may remember, the story starts in Bristol.
And the accent that we have there and which was around in Robert Louis Stevenson's day more than now, I would say, with that sort of accent.
It's interesting really, because it's, I suppose, it's somewhere in between the standard English and American English in a way.
When I was a boy, I had a West Country accent, and so it's not difficult for me to reproduce that accent now.
So wherever you are driving a car, listening comfortably at home.
But where we're going is the Caribbean, where we are on Treasure Island.
I think I mentioned in another episode it was in the Pacific.
But that doesn't make sense really, unless
The ship went right down to the southern tip of South America and round Cape Horn and into the Pacific.
It makes more sense that it's closer to home, which would be just the other side of the Atlantic, in the Caribbean.
And apparently that's where it's meant to be.
The island itself is a fictional island.
Apparently Robert Louis Stevenson was in Scotland.
He drew an island, a treasure island with the different places on it.
And from that map, He invented the story.
Anyway, so here we go.
Today is going to be a B1 podcast.
And of course, this entire story is in B1 English.
I've got some interesting language.
If B2 listeners want to stay tuned and listen to these words, because they're interesting for B2 as well, I think.
So here we go.
Hello and welcome to Practicing English.
My name is Mike Bilbre and these are podcasts for students of English at B1 or B2 levels.
For transcripts, please go to practicingenglish.com.
Would you like to see my books for learning B1 and B2 level English?
Then go to the show notes at your podcast app and just below today's lesson you'll see a link to Amazon and there you'll be able to read about my new B1 book and my B2 book.
Check it out today.
So my first phrase is six I have in fact, actually.
Today at B1 level, To be on one's own.
To be on one's own.
And remember when we use the word one, we're referring to an impersonal pronoun.
So instead of saying you on your own, on his own, on my own, we can just say on one's own, which just means really to be alone.
I suppose really what it does, it gives a bit more emphasis to being alone.
I was on my own.
So my example phrase is, she lives on her own in a small flat.
Mary lives on her own in a small flat, so she lives alone in a small flat or she lives by herself.
There's another way of saying that, isn't there?
By yourself, by herself.
Next one, number two.
Okay, it's similar.
It is of one's own.
Okay, so we've got one again.
So this is one apostrophe s of one's own, which means that something that belongs only to a person.
So when would we use it then?
Well, perhaps just to emphasize the fact that what it is, is ours.
My example sentence is Dave wants a room of his own.
Okay, so Dave's a student and he's at university and he has to share with somebody.
Yeah, well, it's cheaper, isn't it?
But what he would really like, what he would really like So that he can just be by himself.
He wants a room of his own, of his own.
OK, so just putting more emphasis that he wants to be alone in this room.
He doesn't want to share a room.
We'll see some more examples.
And, of course, these are examples of language in the story which you need to listen for and listen for the context the phrases are used in
Number three, in the end.
So in the end is like an opposite of in. at the beginning or at the start.
So notice the preposition is at, at the beginning and at the start, but in the end.
So it just means finally, after everything has finished.
So it might be used, for example, if you're writing the B1 story and your last paragraph is what happens when the story is going to finish.
And you say, in the end, he found his way home and he was...
Happy again, reunited with his family.
In the end, my example sentence is, In the end, I chose the blue dress.
I think it was more appropriate, really, for the party.
Lovely colour, lovely blue.
So in the end that means somebody was taking a lot of time looking for a dress and in the end she chose the blue one.
Number four.
This contrasts with the other day in a chapter of...
Treasure Island.
I talked about the ship going up and down on the waves and making Jim Hawkins feel seasick.
So we have up and down.
And this is backwards and forwards.
So this is moving horizontally one way and the other.
So moving or repeating in both directions.
My example sentence is, the child walked backwards and forwards in his room, repeating.
THE SEVEN TIMES TABLE 177 27 14 37 21
OK.
So if you're concentrating, for example walking backwards and forwards, it can be used in lots of contexts.
Interestingly, in the same way that we don't say down and up, but we say up and down, we don't usually say forwards and backwards, but backwards and forwards.
Listen for the context it's used in in the story.
Number five.
Now, this is an interesting one which can be used in lots of contexts.
It's the verb keep, K-W-E-P, and to keep somebody busy. is the expression that I have in the story.
There are actually two expressions with the verb keep.
So to keep somebody busy means to make sure that they have something to do all the time.
All right, but I'm going to give you some other examples of keep as well.
So my example sentence for keep somebody busy is, This project will keep Jane busy all week.
It'll keep Jane busy.
All right, it means that she won't have any time for anything else.
But listen to other examples of keep.
To keep something simple.
Keep it simple means to don't let it get complicated.
Keep it quiet.
Keep it a secret, which means don't tell anybody.
Keep somebody motivated.
There's another one.
So, for example, at school, that's my job really to keep my students motivated, so they're always interested in learning English.
Keep the house tidy.
Don't let it get dirty.
You might say to your children, if they have their own room, keep your room tidy.
Don't let it get untidy or don't let it get messy.
Messy, which is the opposite of tidy.
Keep it tidy.
Pick things up and keep the place clean.
Neat and tidy.
Right, so that's five.
One more then.
Number six is to get together.
So this is an alternative of using the word to meet together.
Yes, at the weekend, I like to meet my friends.
Or you could say, I like to get together with, is a preposition, with my friends.
To get together.
To meet with your friends.
To have a Coca-Cola and a hamburger.
Or maybe a a fruit milkshake and a salad.
Let's keep this podcast nice and healthy.
I'm always talking about pizzas and hamburgers.
My example sentence is, we get together every Friday night.
Dave and I and we go for a drink down the pub, you know, and talk about what's happened over the week.
We get together every Friday night.
You can see these sentences at your podcast app, whichever podcast app you use, or you can come to Practicing English podcast 308 and see those sentences and examples there.
And you can also see the transcript to the story, which I'm going to read to you now.
So here we go then.
Listen out for those phrases.
I'll just mention them one more time.
On one's own.
Of one's own.
In the end.
Backwards and forwards.
Keep somebody busy.
And there's another one in there as well with keep.
And get together.
Here we go with chapter 10 of Treasure Island.
Treasure Island As soon as Ben Gunn saw the flag, he suddenly stopped.
He took my arm and sat down at once.
Now, he said.
Those are your friends, for sure.
Actually, I think they're the pirates, I replied.
No way, he cried.
No, no.
In a place like this, pirates like Long John Silver would show the black flag, the Jolly Roger flag.
You could be certain of that.
Oh, these are your friends.
There's been a battle, too.
I think your friends have won.
And there they are, on land, in the old fort built ages ago by Captain Flint.
Flint was a brilliant man.
No one was like him.
He was afraid of no one.
Well, maybe Long John Silver.
Well, I said, maybe you're right.
In that case, we should hurry up and join them.
No, mate. said Ben.
"'Ben Gunn is clever.
I won't go there, not even for rum, until I see your gentleman, and he promises me.'
And he looked at me, and touched the side of his nose, smiling like he was very smart.
"'And when they need Ben Gunn, They'll know where to find me.
Right here.
The man who comes must have something white in his hand.
And he must come on his own.
And say this.
Ben Gunn has reasons of his own.
I think I understand, I said.
You want to speak to the squire or the doctor, and I should inform them of where you are.
That's all.
And when, he added, from approximately midday till evening.
Good, i said can i go now?
You won't forget.
He asked reasons of his own, that's important.
All right, you can go off now.
And jim, if you see silver, you won't tell him i'm here, will you not for anything?
Suddenly there was a loud bang.
A cannonball crashed through the trees and landed in the sand not far from us.
At once, we both ran away in different directions.
For an hour, the island shook.
Cannonballs flew through the wood.
I moved from one hiding place to another, always feeling they were just behind me.
But in the end, I began to feel braver, and I slowly made my way down to the trees by the shore.
The ship, Española, was still there, but now the black pirate flag, the Jolly Roger, was flying.
As I watched, there was another shot, then silence.
The attack was over.
I lay there watching A small boat kept going backwards and forwards between the ship and the shore.
The men were shouting and laughing like children, but their voices sounded as though they had been drinking too much rum.
At last, I decided to make my way to the fort.
I carefully went through the woods until I reached the back.
I knocked on the wood of the fort wall and called out my name.
It's me, Jim Hawkins.
And immediately the doctor opened the door and let me in.
My friends welcomed me back warmly and were glad I was safe.
My friends explained to me how they had left the ship in a small boat.
They had brought guns and food with them.
Fortunately, this fort would give us protection, but the pirates had guns too, and there had been a battle.
Gray, a sailor who had joined us, had a bandage on his face from the fight, and old tom, another good sailor, lay dead under a british flag.
He had been killed in the battle.
Then i looked around.
The house was made of rough wood, the floor was raised above the sand, There was a small entrance and under it a small stream came up from the ground, flowed into a big iron pot and back down into the ground.
Drinking water.
Inside there was not much, no furniture, just a place for a fire.
The cold wind blew through holes in the wooden walls and sand got everywhere in our eyes, our food, even in the water.
Smoke filled the room, making us cough.
If we had done nothing, we would have felt very depressed.
But Captain Smollett kept us busy.
He divided us into two groups.
Some collected wood.
Others dug a grave.
The doctor cooked.
I watched at the door.
The captain went around, helping everyone and telling jokes to keep us cheerful.
Then the doctor asked me, Is this Ben Gunner a real man?
I'm not sure, I said.
He may not be right in the head.
Three years on your own on an island changes a man.
Did you say he likes cheese?
Yes, I did.
Well, said the doctor, I have some parmesan cheese.
That's for Ben Gunn.
Before supper, we buried Tom and stood quietly around the grave.
We had some food and drink.
Then the leaders got together to talk.
They were worried.
We had little food.
But their plan was to fight the pirates.
The pirates were already fewer in number and some were injured.
We could hear them singing late into the night.
If they can't kill us, said the doctor, they'll soon want to give up and leave.
First ship I ever lost, said Captain Smollett.
I was very tired that evening, and soon I fell asleep.
When I woke up, I heard voices.
A white flag, someone said.
Then another voice cried, It's Long John Silver himself.
At once I jumped up and ran to look outside.
And that's the end of chapter 10 of Treasure Island.
Did you hear the phrases that I used at the beginning of the story for you to listen to?
I'll just tell you what the context was they were used in.
On his own was.
The man who comes must have something white in his hand and he must come on his own, said Ben Gunn.
And then Ben Gunn has this message that he wants Jim Hawkins to give to the captain and to the doctor and the squire
And his message is that Ben Gunn has reasons of his own.
So it means he has his own reasons.
He doesn't say what they are.
It's a bit mysterious.
We'll find out what he meant in a later chapter.
And the next one, in the end, was I moved from one hiding place to another, always feeling they were behind me.
But in the end, I began to feel braver.
And backwards and forwards was a small boat.
Kept going backwards and forwards between the ship and the shore.
Next one was kept us busy, though the past tense of keep is kept, K-E-P-T.
But Captain Smollett kept us busy.
He divided us into two groups.
And then it's used again, this verb to keep with an adjective.
And that Captain Smollett told us jokes to keep us cheerful.
Right.
So that we were happy all the time and not depressed.
And then to get together.
In the story, it said we had some food and drink.
Then the leaders got together to talk.
Here's a quick test on those stories. phrases.
And what I'll do, I'll just read some sentences and I'll ask you a question about them.
Remember that the phrases that I'm testing you on are on one's own, of one's own in the end.
Backwards and forwards, keep somebody busy and get together.
Number one.
My friend and I met up to talk about the holiday.
What's another way of saying we met up?
Got together.
We got together to talk about the holiday.
Number two.
Giving children games to play stops them from getting bored.
Using the verb keep, what is another way of saying to stop somebody from getting bored?
Keeps them busy.
Giving children games to play keeps them busy.
Number three.
Well, my father isn't very well so today.
Well, I visited him several times to take him things you know from the shop food and things like that.
What's another way of saying to visit somebody several times?
Go backwards and forwards.
Go backwards and forwards with food and things from the shop.
4.
Well, I've been working all night on this really, but finally I think I've got everything finished and I can hand it in tomorrow to the boss.
What's another way of saying finally?
In the end.
In the end, I've got everything finished.
Well, quite honestly, I don't like to depend on my boyfriend to take me into town every day in his car.
I prefer to have just my own car.
What's another way of saying, to have my own car?
I'd prefer to have a car of my own.
Well, Jimmy, it seems like your bike has been fixed.
I fixed it myself.
Nobody helped me.
Well done.
And you're only eight years old.
What's another way of saying, I fixed it myself.
Nobody helped me.
On my own.
I fixed it on my own.
Right, those are the six sentences.
I hope that you've learned a little bit more B1 English today and enjoyed the story.
To be able to keep these podcasts free, I do depend on some money coming in from my book sales.
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The book I'm referring to is the B1 English Vocabulary Builder 22 short stories for learning the words and phrases students need to pass the B1 exam.
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Until next time, goodbye for now.
