Coffee Break English season 2 episode 5.
Hello and welcome to Coffee Break English.
Hello, I'm Josie. And I'm Mark.
And we're very pleased to be back with you today.
Josie, how are you today?
I'm very well, thank you, Mark, how are you?
I'm also very well today, and I'm pleased because today we're in our home country.
Yes, we are. Today we are looking at a text from Scotland.
And what's this text all about?
It's all about a very famous Scottish legend called the Loch Ness Monster.
That sounds interesting.
Are we looking at a specific language point today?
Yes, we are. Today we're going to be looking at verbs and expressions related to sight and seeing and the eyes.
OK, sounds good. Let's get on with the text then.
There are lots of places in the world with stories about a local monster, but the legend of the Loch Ness Monster is definitely one of the most famous.
Loch is the Scottish word for a lake, and Loch Ness is a 37 -kilometre -long freshwater loch in the Scottish Highlands.
It's the largest lake by volume in Britain and a great place to enjoy nature.
But it is most famous for the creature that people see lives in its depths.
The Loch Ness Monster, nicknamed Nessie, has lived in the Loch since the era of the dinosaurs.
Every day tourists flock to the loch to look at the water to try to see Nessie.
Particularly dedicated fans often camp nearby to watch the loch for hours or even days to try to catch a glimpse of her.
People who believe in the Loch Ness Monster continue to look for evidence of Nessie's existence.
For many years a photograph seemed to prove that Nessie existed.
The photograph was published in 1934 and was seen by people all over the country.
It appeared to clearly show the head and neck of the monster, and many people started to believe that Nessie was real.
However, others were still sceptical and in 1975 an article was published explaining that the photo was a fake.
The monster was made with a toy submarine and a wooden neck and head.
The town of Fort Augustus sits on the south end of the loch and has developed a successful tourism industry based around Nessie.
The shops there sell everything from Nessie toys to Loch Ness Monster mugs.
Whether she is real or not, tourists still love to come to Loch Ness to look for Nessie, keeping their eyes peeled for this mysterious Scottish legend.
Thank you, Katrina!
Okay, Josie, this sounds interesting.
Lots of interesting things about the Loch Ness Monster.
Shall we go back through the text and look at this more carefully now?
Yes, let's do that.
I'll start reading.
Go for it. There are lots of places in the world with stories about a local monster, but the legend of the Loch Ness Monster is definitely one of the most famous.
Okay, so what would we like to talk about here?
What are the interesting aspects of this sentence?
Yes, so here we have the word legend.
What does legend mean, Mark?
Legend is like a famous story that may or may not be true.
I'm thinking of Robin Hood or Bigfoot or El Dorado or the Kraken.
These are all legends.
Exactly, a legend. So the Loch Ness Monster is a famous legend.
Okay. Let's continue.
Loch is the Scottish word for a lake, and Loch Ness is a 37 kilometer long freshwater loch in the Scottish Highlands.
I think possibly for some of our listeners, the word loch might be a little difficult to pronounce.
Absolutely. So loch is a kind of unusual word in English because this ch sound, this c h that you make in your throat, this doesn't exist elsewhere in English.
It's a Scottish word.
As it says in the text, loch is the Scottish word for lake.
But this sound is found in other languages, isn't it?
It is indeed. Yes, I'm thinking of one.
It's also found in German, yeah.
Okay, so loch meaning lake.
So what about Loch Ness?
Yes, so Loch Ness is a 37 kilometer long freshwater loch.
So freshwater is the opposite of seawater, saltwater.
So when the water is not salty.
Exactly. It's an inland loch, an inland lake, not found joined to the sea or part of the sea.
That's right. And this loch is located in the Scottish Highlands.
Where are the Scottish Highlands?
The Scottish Highlands is an area which is found in the north of the country.
They're called the Highlands because there are many mountains in this area.
It's very high in general.
Okay. And there are the Scottish lowlands as well.
There are, so lowlands is the opposite.
It's a low area of country with not many mountains.
Good. Okay, let's continue on with the text.
Yes. It's the largest lake by volume in Britain and a great place to enjoy nature, but it is most famous for the creature that people say lives in its depths.
Okay, you know, this creature, a creature is a tricky word to pronounce.
Absolutely. So we have this T -U -R -E at the end, but the T is not pronounced T as in TU.
It's pronounced CH like in cheese.
So we say creature.
Can you give us some other examples of the sound in other words?
Absolutely. So in fact, earlier in this phrase, we have the word nature.
That's another example.
We also have words like picture, adventure and century.
Excellent. So all these words have that same sound where the T becomes a little bit like a CH sound.
Absolutely. Okay. So at the end of the sentence, this creature that people say lives in its depths.
What are depths, Mark?
Well, the depths refer to the deep water.
The depth is the noun related to the adjective deep.
So the depths of Loch Ness are the deep parts of the lake.
Absolutely. Let's continue on and find out more about the Loch Ness Monster.
Okay. The Loch Ness Monster, nicknamed Nessie, has lived in the Loch since the era of the dinosaurs.
So, Josie, what is a nickname?
What does nicknamed mean?
Well, a nickname is like an affectionate name that you might give someone, an alternative name.
So for example, Elvis Presley, his nickname is the King of Rock and Roll.
Or we have people like Dwayne The Rock Johnson.
So The Rock is his nickname.
In this case, a nickname is a verb, two nicknames.
So to give someone an affectionate name.
Okay. Do you have a nickname, Josie?
Well, quite a lot of people call me Jos.
So they just shorten my name.
That's another way that we can make a nickname.
For example, someone called Elizabeth could be shortened to Liz, or Robert could be shortened to Rob or Bob, even.
And I think Mark is quite short already, so I don't think I can get any shorter.
Exactly. I don't think a nickname is necessary for you.
Okay. Let's continue on then.
So also in this sentence, we have the era.
Nessie has lived in the Loch since the era of the dinosaurs.
What is an era, Mark?
An era is like a period of time, and normally quite a long period of time.
So we could talk about the Elizabethan era, or the Victorian era.
Josie, can this word also be pronounced as era?
It absolutely can. Some people pronounce it era and some era.
There's no difference.
Okay. It means the same either way.
Exactly. Let's continue on.
Okay. Every day tourists flock to the Loch to look at the water, to try to see Nessie.
Okay. This is a nice word here.
Tourists flock to the Loch.
Yes. So the word flock, this is usually a noun used to describe a group of sheep or birds.
So a flock of birds or a flock of sheep.
But here it is used as a verb, meaning that a lot of people come at one time to the Loch.
So a flock of tourists, a lot of tourists.
We can imagine them arriving like a flock of birds to the Loch in an attempt to see Nessie.
Absolutely. Okay. So there we had a couple of words which are related to seeing.
Yes. So the first one is to look at the water.
So look at, this is important.
We always use the preposition at with the word look when it has this meaning.
In this case, it means to direct your eyes towards something and pay attention to it.
So Josie, what is the difference between to look at something and to see something?
Yes. So these verbs, they're very close in meaning actually.
But if we say to look at something, it's more active.
We are putting our eyes on something.
But if we see something, this is more of a passive verb.
It means to notice something with our eyes.
So for example, now I can see Mark, I can see a microphone.
I'm not trying to see these things, but my eyes can just find them.
Okay. And likewise, I can see Josie.
But I am looking at the text.
Absolutely. Yes. Okay, let's find out more about these tourists.
Okay. Particularly dedicated fans often camp nearby to watch the lock for hours or even days to try to catch a glimpse of her.
Okay, we've seen two more verbs linked to seeing here.
Yes, we have. But before that, we have the word fans.
What is a fan Mark?
Well, a fan is someone who really likes something or who is obsessed with something.
For example, I could be a football fan or an ABBA fan.
That's right. Yes. And this word fan actually comes from the word fanatic, which means yeah, obsessed and adjective to mean obsessed.
Good. Okay. So what about our verbs that are something to do with see here?
Yes. So we have the word watch.
So these fans, they camp nearby to watch the lock for hours.
So watch has a very similar meaning to look in that it's an active verb.
But it usually means that we pay attention to something for a long period of time.
And that the thing we are watching is moving or maybe changing in some way.
For example, we say watch TV, watch a football match, watch a concert.
Okay, so we've got to see something, to look at something, and to watch something.
That's right. And then at the end of this sentence, we have one more phrase to do with sight.
So these, these fans, these tourists, they watch the lock to try to catch a glimpse of her, to catch a glimpse of Nessie.
So what would be a glimpse?
A glimpse is when you look at something for a very short time.
So maybe you turn your head and look for a second with your eyes.
And you may be lucky enough to catch a glimpse of Nessie.
That's right. So if you catch a glimpse, it's when you are happy to see something for only a few seconds.
Okay. Have you seen Nessie, Josie?
Unfortunately, I have never seen Nessie.
No, how about you, Mark?
I have travelled to Loch Ness and I love the area around Loch Ness, but so far I've not yet seen Nessie.
You have not caught a glimpse of her yet.
I have not yet caught a glimpse of Nessie.
Okay. We'll be back in just a moment.
Each episode of the Coffee Break English podcast is free and you can use our podcast to help you improve your English.
But there's more. That's right.
We have a full course available on our website, which will help you make faster progress and understand everything much better.
For every lesson, we offer videos, bonus audio recordings, lesson notes with exercises, and vocabulary lists in lots of languages.
All this is available on the Coffee Break Academy.
So visit coffeebreakacademy .com Welcome back.
Today, we are talking about Nessie, the Loch Ness Monster.
Yes, we are. Let's continue with the text, shall we?
People who believe in the Loch Ness Monster continue to look for evidence of Nessie's existence.
Okay. So some people believe that the Loch Ness Monster exists and some people don't believe that the Loch Ness Monster exists.
But those who do believe look for evidence.
Another seeing verb, Josie.
That's right. Look for.
This is different to look at.
So we look at something.
We direct our eyes onto something.
But look for actually means to search for.
It's just a synonym for search for.
Okay. And what are they searching for?
Yes, they are searching for, they are looking for evidence of Nessie's existence.
What is evidence, Mark?
Evidence would be like proof, an object or a sign that shows that something is true.
For example, we could say that Sherlock Holmes looks for evidence to solve a mystery.
That's right. Absolutely.
Okay. Let's continue.
For many years, a photograph seemed to prove that Nessie existed.
Okay. So here we have this verb prove, which you used the word earlier, Mark.
Proof. And so proof is related to prove.
And to prove something means to show that something is true, often by using evidence or using proof.
Okay. It's all linked.
That's right. That's right.
So yes, this photograph showed that Nessie existed, supposedly.
Let's continue. The photograph was published in 1934 and was seen by people all over the country.
Okay. So this photograph was published.
It was shown in newspapers, for example, in 1934.
And it was seen by people all over the country.
Can you help us with was seen?
Yes. So we've already seen the word see, of course.
And seen is the past participle of the verb see.
Be careful because it's irregular.
So we have see saw seen.
In this case was seen is the passive form, which we saw a couple of episodes ago, didn't we?
Yeah. So lots of people all over the country saw this photograph.
And if we change it around, then the photograph was seen by lots of people all over the country.
That's right. Okay, let's continue.
It appeared to clearly show the head and neck of the monster.
And many people started to believe that Nessie was real.
Okay, so this photograph was showing it clearly showed the head and neck of the monster.
Josie, could we see it appeared to show clearly the head and neck of the monster?
Absolutely. We could.
We have two alternatives here.
Either it appeared to clearly show or it appeared to show clearly.
Both work here. Okay, so many people started to believe that Nessie was real after seeing the photo.
Indeed. Let's continue.
However, others were still skeptical.
And in 1975, an article was published explaining that the photo was a fake.
Oh, dear. Mmm. Okay, some people were skeptical.
This is a tricky word.
It's a difficult word.
That's right. So skeptical to be skeptical means to to have doubts or to be unsure if something is true or not.
And in the US, we have a different spelling of the word skeptical.
In the UK, we spell it s c e p t i c a l.
So a c at the beginning.
And in the US, how is it spelled Mark?
In the US, it would be spelled S k e p t i c a l skeptical.
It sounds the same.
Exactly. The pronunciation doesn't change.
Okay, so in 1934, the photograph was published.
But in 1975, an article was published, explaining that the photo was a fake.
That's right. So a fake in this case, it's a noun.
And a fake is something that is not real.
So this photograph was not real.
Fake can also be an adjective.
So the photograph was fake.
It wasn't real. Let's find out more about why it wasn't real.
The monster was made with a toy submarine and a wooden neck and head.
Okay, what is a submarine?
So a submarine is a kind of warship, which can go entirely underwater.
So maybe you know the song by the Beatles called Yellow Submarine.
Indeed. And this is a toy submarine.
So it's a child's submarine that a child would play with.
That's right. It wasn't a real full size submarine, I don't think.
But they had added a wooden neck and head.
That's right. So wooden, we can recognize the word wood.
So wooden is an adjective, which means made from wood.
When we add this en on the end, it gives us this adjective.
We can do this with other materials as well.
For example, woollen means made from wool or golden means made from gold.
Okay, so all of this happens in Loch Ness.
Let's find out more about the area.
Okay. The town of Fort Augustus sits on the south end of the Loch and has developed a successful tourism industry based around Nessie.
Okay, so Fort Augustus is the town at the south of the Loch.
It's a lovely town.
I actually have never visited Fort Augustus, I'm ashamed to say.
You must visit and of course buy a Nessie souvenir.
I will of course. Let's find out more about the Nessie souvenirs.
The shops there sell everything from Nessie toys to Loch Ness Monster Mugs.
Okay, what's a mug?
A mug is basically a cup which holds hot drinks like tea or coffee.
Okay, so you can buy your Nessie toy, your Nessie mug, your Nessie keyring, your Nessie postcard in Fort Augustus and many other places around the Loch.
That's right. Let's finish the text.
Whether she is real or not, tourists still love to come to Loch Ness to look for Nessie, keeping their eyes peeled for this mysterious Scottish legitimate island.
Okay, whether she is real or not, can you explain that Josie?
Yes, so this word weather, this basically means if, so if she is real or not.
And we usually use the word whether, with or not to mean it's not important if she's real or if she's not real.
Because tourists still love to come to Loch Ness.
And what do they do there?
Well, they come to Loch Ness to look for Nessie, so to search for Nessie as we saw previously.
And they are keeping their eyes peeled for her.
Okay, what does that mean?
So basically keeping their eyes peeled, this means they are keeping their eyes very open.
They are keeping their eyes wide open to try to see Nessie.
To catch a glimpse of the famous monster.
That's right, exactly.
Okay, let's listen one more time to the text now and hopefully you'll understand everything.
Let's listen. There are lots of places in the world with stories about a local monster, but the legend of the Loch Ness monster is definitely one of the most famous.
Loch is the Scottish word for a lake and Loch Ness is a 37 kilometer long freshwater loch in the Scottish Highlands.
It's the largest lake by volume in Britain and a great place to enjoy nature, but it is most famous for the creature that people see lives in its depths.
The Loch Ness monster, nicknamed Nessie, has lived in the loch since the era of the dinosaurs.
Every day tourists flock to the loch to look at the water to try to see Nessie.
Particularly dedicated fans often camp nearby to watch the loch for hours or even days to try to catch a glimpse of her.
People who believe in the Loch Ness monster continue to look for evidence of Nessie's existence.
For many years a photograph seemed to prove that Nessie existed.
The photograph was published in 1934 and was seen by people all over the country.
It appeared to clearly show the head and neck of the monster and many people started to believe that Nessie was real.
However, others were still sceptical and in 1975 an article was published explaining that the photo was a fake.
The monster was made with a toy submarine and a wooden neck and head.
The town of Fort Augustus sits on the south end of the loch and has developed a successful tourism industry based around Nessie.
The shops there sell everything from Nessie toys to Loch Ness monster mugs.
Whether she is real or not, tourists still love to come to Loch Ness to look for Nessie, keeping their eyes peeled for this mysterious Scottish legend.
Okay, that's all for this episode of Coffee Break English.
And we hope that you have enjoyed the episode.
If you would like to get more materials to help you with your English, then head to the Coffee Break Academy and that is at coffeebreakacademy .com.
That's right, Mark.
And if you'd like to practice your English, you can also do so on social media.
Just search for Coffee Break English on Facebook and on Instagram, where we post regular language challenges and cultural information.
Okay, we'll be back again soon with another episode of Coffee Break English.
And next time we are heading to the United States of America.
See you soon. Bye. You have been listening to a Coffee Break Languages production for the Radiolingua Network.
Copyright 2021 Radiolingua Limited.
Recording copyright 2021 Radiolingua Limited.
All rights reserved.
