Coffee Break English, season 2, episode 7.
Welcome back to Coffee Break English.
My name is Mark. Hi everyone, my name's Josie.
How are you today Josie?
I'm fine, thanks Mark.
How are you? Very well and excited about today's episode.
Yes, me too, because today we're off to an interesting island.
Sounds good. What about our language topic for today?
Is there a particular point that we're going to be looking at?
There is, Mark. Today we are going to be focusing on articles, so these are these little words, a and the.
We're going to look at when to use them correctly.
Perfect. Let's get on with the lesson then.
Hi everyone, this is Matthew and I'm back with another text.
Today we're venturing far out into the South Pacific Ocean.
Around 640 kilometres north of the island of Samoa, in the South Pacific Ocean, is the atoll of Pookapooka.
Pookapooka is the most remote part of the Cook Islands.
The total land area of the atoll is 3 square kilometres and the island has a population of just 785.
The coral atoll of Pookapooka is a very beautiful place and although it is extremely remote, many travellers think it is worth visiting for its amazing beaches and natural landscapes.
There are three main villages on the island called Takanumi, Kotipolo and Teilangakula.
However, in daily life, the islanders refer to the villages as Taipani, which means Japan, Malaiki or Amalika, which means the United States and O 'Lani, which means Holland.
During the regular sports events between the villages, they even used the flags of these countries.
But there is a mystery on Pookapooka.
During an archaeological dig, bones of a dog dating back to 300 BC were discovered.
But according to the Pookapooka people, dogs have never existed on the island.
The bones do not match Polynesian dogs or Australian dingoes and there are no matching fossils from Southeast Asia.
In fact, it seems that this particular dog has never existed anywhere else on earth.
Since it was discovered, not much more has been revealed about the fossil dog of Pookapooka.
So the mystery on this beautiful remote island continues.
An interesting story indeed.
I like a bit of mystery.
Yes, very mysterious.
Let's go back through the text now.
And Josie, do you want to read each sentence and we can talk about what's included?
OK, let's get started.
Around 640 kilometres north of the island of Samoa in the South Pacific Ocean is the atoll of Pookapooka.
OK, so we are heading to the South Pacific Ocean.
Josie, where is that?
Well, the South Pacific Ocean is basically in between Australia and South America.
OK. What about this first sentence then?
Is there anything you want to talk about here?
So as you said, we're in the South Pacific Ocean.
So this is the first rule I want to point out about when we use the word the.
So when we talk about oceans or seas and we mentioned their name, we use the article the.
So we have the South Pacific Ocean, the Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea.
OK, and as this text continues, we'll be seeing some other examples of this and also some exceptions.
That's right. This topic of articles can be a little bit difficult and there are many rules, but today we will point out a few of them.
Sounds good. Now, the place that we are talking about, Pookapooka, is described as an atoll.
Can you explain what an atoll is?
Yes. So an atoll is actually not a very common word in English, but it is basically a circular coral reef, which might include some coral islands.
OK, and coral? Yes.
So coral is a living thing which we find underwater.
It looks a little bit like rocks.
It's found in tropical waters and a coral reef is basically a wall or a structure made out of this coral.
OK, let's continue on with the text.
OK, Pookapooka is the most remote part of the Cook Islands.
OK, so it's the most remote part.
Remote would mean isolated or distant.
That's right, absolutely.
And here we have the superlative form of this adjective, remote.
The most remote. So this is another rule about articles.
When we use the superlative form of the adjective, we always use the, the most remote.
Could we say, for example, the most delicious cake in the world?
Absolutely, yes. Or we could say, English is the easiest language to learn.
We hope it is with Coffee Break English.
Absolutely, I hope so.
Now, we've also seen here Pookapooka, but there's no word for the there.
There's no article with Pookapooka.
That's right, absolutely.
And that's because when we use the names of islands, we don't use an article.
So we're saying the island of Pookapooka.
But when we just mentioned the name, we don't need to say the.
And can you think of any other examples of islands like this, Mark?
Yes, many. Sicily or Aruba, Majorca, one of my favorite places.
Absolutely. So we would say the island of Majorca, the island of Samoa, the island of Pookapooka.
But if we were just talking about the island itself, we just call it by its name.
That's right. But in this sentence, Josie, we can hear also the Cook Islands.
That's right. So when we are talking about groups of islands, so more than one island, we have to use the.
So for example, the Cook Islands, the Galapagos Islands, the Seychelles, the Hebrides here in Scotland.
That's right. These are our local islands.
OK, so let's find out more about Pookapooka then.
OK, the total land area of the Atoll is three square kilometers, and the island has a population of just seven hundred and eighty five.
So that means that only seven hundred and eighty five people live on the island.
That's right. So it's quite small.
Let's continue. The Coral Atoll of Pookapooka is a very beautiful place.
And although it is extremely remote, many travelers think it is worth visiting for its amazing beaches and natural landscapes.
OK, so Pookapooka is very beautiful and it's also described as extremely remote.
What does extremely mean, Josie?
Yes, so extremely means very, very.
So it's very, very remote.
OK, very, very remote.
And many travelers think it's worth visiting.
That's an interesting expression.
Yes, we have seen this expression before a few episodes ago.
So what does worth mean, Mark?
It means something has value.
So it's worth learning English because it's very useful.
Absolutely. So to be worth, to have value.
So it's worth visiting.
There is value in visiting Pookapooka even though it's very remote.
And why is it worth visiting?
For its amazing beaches and natural landscapes.
Good. And there are other reasons too.
Let's continue. OK.
There are three main villages on the island called Takanumi, Kotipolo and Te Langakula.
OK, so three main villages.
That's interesting.
Yes, so main is a synonym for principle.
It's another word for principal.
OK, so like the most important one.
Absolutely. So, for example, we talk about the main entrance of a building, which means the principal entrance, the most important one that everyone uses.
OK, or could we talk about a main road?
That's right. So that means a big important road.
So the main villages are called Takanumi, Kotipolo and Te Langakula, but they've got different names in everyday life.
They have. Let's find out about them.
However, in daily life, the islanders refer to the villages as Taipani, which means Japan, Malike or Amalika, which means the United States and Olani, which means Holland.
OK, so they are referred to by these names, which are names of countries.
Let's talk about the articles here.
Yes, so for most countries, we do not need to use an article.
So we have Japan and Holland without an article.
We don't say the Japan, the Holland.
But when it comes to the United States, we do use an article.
We do. The reason for this is that the United States contains a common noun.
So states is a noun.
Other examples of countries like this include the United Kingdom.
Kingdom is a noun and the Czech Republic.
So Republic is a noun as well.
OK, now Holland is sometimes known as the Netherlands.
That's right. This is sort of another exception.
And this is because the Netherlands is plural.
So the Netherlands, which means the low countries, we use the article here.
Good. OK, anything else in this sentence?
Yes, so earlier on in the sentence before these countries, we have the islanders refer to the villages.
First of all, what is an islander, Mark?
An islander is someone who lives on an island.
That's right. So we have the islanders referred to the villages.
Here we are using the article, the.
And this is because the first time that we mentioned these villages, we didn't use an article.
We said there are three main villages.
And this is because it's the first time we're mentioning them.
But now that we know which specific villages we're talking about, we can use the makes things more specific.
Exactly. So, for example, if I said, I saw a dog yesterday, that's not yet specific.
But if I say the dog was very big, I'm being specific about which dog I saw yesterday.
Absolutely. Let's go on and find out a little more about the villages.
OK, during the regular sports events between the villages, they even use the flags of these countries.
OK, why do we see the flags here?
Well, we say the flags because we know which flags we're talking about.
We've already named these countries.
They're Japan, the United States and Holland.
So they are flags of specific countries, specific flags.
Good. OK, we're going to take a short break there.
We'll be back in just a moment.
Welcome back. Today we are in the South Pacific Ocean on the island of Pukapuka.
But there's something strange about this island, isn't there, Josie?
Yes, there is a mystery on Pukapuka.
During an archaeological dig, bones of a dog dating back to 300 B .C.
were discovered. But according to the Pukapuka people, dogs have never existed on the island.
OK, right. An archaeological dig.
Archaeology is this study of human activity by finding objects from the past in the ground.
Yes, usually in the ground.
So an archaeological dig, the verb to dig means to move Earth.
And we usually do this with a tool or maybe with our hands and usually to make a hole.
And in this case, a dig, an archaeological dig, it's being used as a noun to describe this event.
OK, so during this dig there were bones found.
That's right. So bones of a dog were found.
So with both of these nouns, bones and dog, we are not using the because this is the first time we are mentioning both the bones and the dog.
So when we have a plural, non -specific noun, we don't use an article.
Bones, not the bones.
And when we have a singular, non -specific noun, we use a dog.
OK. And these bones dated back to 300 BC.
Absolutely. So this expression dating back to 300 BC.
This means that the bones can be traced to the year 300 BC.
They are from the year 300 BC.
But strangely, according to the Pukka Pukka people, dogs have never existed on the island.
And there's no article there either.
Dogs. Yes, there's no article here.
And that's because here we are talking about dogs in general.
All dogs, not some specific dogs.
So, for example, I could say, I like strawberries.
And that means I like all strawberries, strawberries in general.
Or I could say, I like the strawberries which grow in my garden.
And here I'm talking about some specific strawberries.
So I say the strawberries.
Excellent. OK. Let's continue on to find out more about the bones.
OK. The bones do not match Polynesian dogs or Australian dingoes.
And there are no matching fossils from Southeast Asia.
OK. Now fossils are parts of very old plants or animals which have been preserved in rock.
Yes, that's right. And it's worth mentioning that at the start of this sentence I said, The bones.
The bones do not match Polynesian dogs.
Now, why do you think I'm using the article, The, here, Mark?
Because you're referring to the bones which we have now already mentioned.
That's right. So these are specific bones which we know about now.
The bones of this dog.
OK. And what about this particular dog?
So, in fact, it seems that this particular dog has never existed anywhere else on Earth.
Wow. OK. This particular dog?
Yes. Particular, I think it could be a kind of false friend in some other languages.
So maybe other languages have a similar word which doesn't quite mean the same thing as it does in English.
What does particular mean in English, Mark?
In this case it's like this specific dog, this particular dog.
That's right. It just means specific.
Yes. OK. So let's finish off the text.
Since it was discovered, not much more has been revealed about the fossil dog of Pukapuka.
So the mystery on this beautiful remote island continues.
Now, here we're seeing the fossil dog.
Why is the article used here?
So here we're using the fossil dog because we've been talking about this dog for a while now.
And we know exactly which one it is.
It's this specific, well -known famous dog of Pukapuka.
The fossil dog of Pukapuka.
OK. Let's hear the text one more time and hopefully now everything will make sense.
Around 640 kilometres north of the island of Samoa in the South Pacific Ocean is the atoll of Pukapuka.
Pukapuka is the most remote part of the Cook Islands.
The total land area of the atoll is three square kilometres.
And the island has a population of just 785.
The coral atoll of Pukapuka is a very beautiful place.
And although it is extremely remote, many travellers think it is worth visiting for its amazing beaches and natural landscapes.
There are three main villages on the island called Takanumi, Kotipolo and Teilangakula.
However, in daily life, the islanders refer to the villages as Taipani, which means Japan, Malaiki or Amalaka, which means the United States, and Olani, which means Holland.
During the regular sports events between the villages, they even used the flags of these countries.
But there is a mystery on Pukapuka.
During an archaeological dig, bones of a dog dating back to 300 BC were discovered.
But according to the Pukapuka people, dogs have never existed on the island.
The bones do not match Polynesian dogs or Australian dingoes.
And there are no matching fossils from Southeast Asia.
In fact, it seems that this particular dog has never existed anywhere else on earth.
Since it was discovered, not much more has been revealed about the fossil dog of Pukapuka.
So the mystery on this beautiful remote island continues.
Very interesting today.
I enjoyed learning about the fossil dog of Pukapuka.
Now, if you'd like to find out more about this text and get more practice, then head over to coffeebreakacademy .com, where you'll find more information about this text and indeed about all the texts covered in our series.
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.
Next time we are back in the UK.
So I'm looking forward to that episode too.
Me too. See you next time.
Bye -bye. You have been listening to a Coffee Break Languages production for the Radiolinguine Network.
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