Coffee Break English Season 3, Episode 10.
Welcome back to the 10th episode, the final episode in this season of Coffee Break English.
My name is Mark. And my name is Josie.
How are you today, Josie?
I'm very well. Thank you, Mark.
I'm a little sad because it's our final episode of the season.
But we'll be back with another season very soon.
Today, we are traveling to Australia.
We are. We're going to talk about an important Australian landmark and we're going to focus on superlatives in English.
OK, we'll find out more about that after we've heard the text.
So it's over to Matthew in Australia.
Hi, everyone. Today, we're talking about one of Australia's most famous landmarks.
If you were traveling anywhere nearby, it's hard to miss Uluru, also known as Ayres Rock, this ancient rock formation towers three hundred and forty eight metres high in the outback of Australia's Northern Territory.
Uluru has a circumference of nine point four kilometres, making it one of Australia's biggest and most recognisable landmarks.
Part of what makes Uluru special is how it seems to change colour at different times of the year and even at different times of the day.
At dusk and dawn, the rock appears red.
To get the most impressive view of Uluru, there's another mountain called Katajuta, which is twenty five kilometres west of Uluru.
There are large viewing areas on the land around the mountain where people can go to get the best view of both mountains and see Uluru's colour change.
Uluru is mostly sandstone, which gives it its distinctive colour.
It's estimated that the rock was formed around four hundred million years ago.
There are many animals which are native to the area around Uluru and it's an important breeding ground for many species.
Some of the indigenous wildlife in the Uluru National Park include wallabies, pythons and kangaroos.
Uluru is one of the most important places in Australia for the native Pithon and Jara Anangu people.
They are one of the oldest human societies on earth.
And there are still around four thousand Anangu people in Australia today.
Uluru is an ancient sacred place for them and also an essential hunting ground.
Fortunately, they have welcomed the tourism industry with open arms, providing walking tours and giving information about the area's history and their beliefs.
Today, Uluru is one of the most popular tourist destinations in Australia and is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Thank you, Matthew.
OK, let's get started with the text.
OK, if you are travelling anywhere nearby, it's hard to miss Uluru.
Yes, so it's hard to miss Uluru.
You can't miss it. You will definitely see it.
And it's nice to see anywhere again.
That's right. The topic of the previous episode.
Also known as Ayers Rock, this ancient rock formation towers 348 metres high in the outback of Australia's northern territory.
Yes, so this ancient rock formation, this very old rock formation, that's what ancient means, and it towers 348 metres high.
What does tower mean as a verb, Mark?
Well, we know tower as a noun.
It's a tall structure.
And if something towers over something else, something dominates something else because it's a lot taller.
That's right. And it is in the outback of Australia's northern territory.
What's the outback, Mark?
The outback are the parts of Australia which are far away from towns and cities.
That's right. So very remote, isolated places.
OK. Uluru has a total circumference of nine point four kilometres, making it one of Australia's biggest and most recognisable landmarks.
Yeah, so it has a total circumference of nine point four kilometres.
The circumference of something is the distance around the edge of a circle or of a round place.
And it is the biggest or is one of Australia's biggest and most recognisable landmarks.
So we've got two superlatives here.
We have. So biggest, that's the superlative of the adjective big.
And what does superlative actually mean, Mark?
It's the most form.
It's not the comparative, which is the bigger form, it's the biggest.
So big, bigger, biggest.
That's right. So it's to say that this is the number one in terms of size in this case.
And there's good news.
The rules to form the superlatives are very similar to the rules to form comparatives.
So for a short adjective like big, we simply double the G and we add E S T to make the superlative form biggest.
But the adjective recognisable is not a short word.
No, it's not. It's a long adjective.
So we just add the word most before the adjective.
Perfect. Part of what makes Uluru special is how it seems to change colour at different times of the year and even at different times of the day.
At dusk and dawn, the rock appears red.
Yes. So dusk and dawn.
What is dusk, Mark?
Dusk is the time when it's not yet completely dark, but it's getting close to being dark.
That's right. So just before night comes and dawn, that's the time of the day.
Just before the sun rises.
When the light first appears in the sky.
To get the most impressive view of Uluru, there's another mountain called Katajuta, which is 25 kilometres west of Uluru.
Yes. So to get the most impressive view, this means the the number one impressive view.
And again, this is a long adjective.
So to make the superlative, we just add most before the adjective.
OK, there are large viewing areas on the land around the mountain where people can go to get the best view of both mountains and see Uluru's colour change.
Yes. So there are large viewing areas on this mountain, Katajuta.
And a viewing area is an area in a place that is used to look at something important or special.
OK, and from these viewing areas, people can get the best view of both mountains.
That is another superlative there.
That's right. This is actually an irregular superlative.
So which normal adjective is this related to?
This is related to good.
That's right. So good.
And then we have better for the comparative and best for the superlative.
OK, I think this is the best time to take a short break.
We'll be back in just a moment to find out more about Uluru.
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Welcome back to Coffee Break English.
We're talking about Uluru and about superlatives.
OK, Uluru is mostly sandstone, which gives it its distinctive color.
Uluru is mostly sandstone.
First of all, what is sandstone?
Sandstone is a type of rock used for building and it contains a lot of sand.
Exactly. Yes. And it's usually red or reddish and it's mostly sandstone.
So this means that most of the rock is made of sandstone, the majority of it.
And that sandstone gives it its distinctive color.
That's quite a tricky word.
Hmm. Distinctive means something is easy to recognize because it has a special feature.
So in this case, the red color is the special feature.
OK, it is estimated that the rock was formed around 400 million years ago.
There are many animals which are native to the area around Uluru and it is an important breeding ground for many species.
Yes, so it's an important breeding ground for many species.
What's a breeding ground, Mark?
That is the place where animals go to breed or to reproduce.
Exactly. OK. Some of the indigenous wildlife in Uluru National Park includes wallabies, pythons and kangaroos.
Yes, the indigenous wildlife.
So indigenous means that something originates naturally in a place.
It lives naturally in a place.
OK. Uluru is one of the most important places in Australia for the native Pityanchatyara and Angu people.
Yes. So Uluru is one of the most important places in Australia.
It's one of the top places in terms of importance for these native people.
They are one of the oldest human societies on Earth, and there are still around 4000 Anangu people in Australia today.
Yeah, so we have another superlative here.
They are one of the oldest human societies on Earth.
So old is a short adjective, so we just add E -S -T to the end.
Oldest. OK. Uluru is an ancient sacred place for them and also an essential hunting ground.
Yes. So Uluru is an ancient, very old sacred place for them.
What does sacred mean, Mark?
A sacred place is a place that is spiritually important.
That's right. And Uluru is also an essential hunting ground.
So essential means very important or needed.
And what's a hunting ground, Mark?
It would be a place where people hunt.
So it could be a place where people chase and kill wild animals for food.
Yeah, that's right.
Fortunately, they have welcomed the tourism industry with open arms, providing walking tours and giving information about the area's history and their beliefs.
Yeah, so they have welcomed the tourism industry with open arms.
What does it mean if you welcome something with open arms, Mark?
You are very pleased to welcome people.
You're very pleased to greet people and welcome them to your home or your area or your town.
Exactly. So it's as if you are welcoming someone to your home.
You open your arms to give them a hug, maybe.
Today, Uluru is one of the most popular tourist destinations in Australia and is a UNESCO World Heritage site.
Yeah, so it's one of the most popular tourist destinations.
Again, popular is a longer adjective.
So we add most to the beginning to make the superlative.
OK, let's listen again to the text and this time see if you can spot all of the superlatives in this text.
If you were traveling anywhere nearby, it's hard to miss Uluru, also known as Ayers Rock.
This ancient rock formation towers 348 metres high in the outback of Australia's Northern Territory.
Uluru has a circumference of 9 .4 kilometres, making it one of Australia's biggest and most recognisable landmarks.
Part of what makes Uluru special is how it seems to change colour at different times of the year and even at different times of the day.
At dusk and dawn, the rock appears red.
To get the most impressive view of Uluru, there's another mountain called Katajuta, which is 25 kilometres west of Uluru.
There are large viewing areas on the land around the mountain where people can go to get the best view of both mountains and see Uluru's colour change.
Uluru is mostly sandstone, which gives it its distinctive colour.
It's estimated that the rock was formed around 400 million years ago.
There are many animals which are native to the area around Uluru, and it's an important breeding ground for many species.
Some of the indigenous wildlife in the Uluru National Park include wallabies, pythons and kangaroos.
Uluru is one of the most important places in Australia for the native Pittenanjara and Angu people.
They are one of the oldest human societies on earth, and there are still around 4000 Angu people in Australia today.
Uluru is an ancient sacred place for them, and also an essential hunting ground.
Fortunately, they've welcomed the tourism industry with open arms, providing walking tours and giving information about the area's history and their beliefs.
Today, Uluru is one of the most popular tourist destinations in Australia and is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Thanks for listening to this episode of Coffee Break English.
This was the final episode for this season, but we'll be back very soon with some more episodes.
We hope you've enjoyed the whole season and learned lots about English speaking places and also about the English language.
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We will see you again soon.
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