Hello and welcome to the English Like a Native podcast, the listening resource designed for intermediate to advanced level English learners.
My name is Anna, and today we have yet another episode.
This episode will be peppered, littered with lots of interesting words and phrases.
So I highly recommend you listen with a pen or pencil in hand so that you can make notes as you listen.
If, of course, you're watching on YouTube, then you'll notice some of these words and phrases highlighted.
This is to point them out to you so you can go and discover them and then try and use them.
Of course, if you're a Plus member, then you can also get your hands on the transcript and vocabulary lists.
I'll leave links for you in the description.
But for now, let's get started.
Now, first off, we have to do a bit of housekeeping.
The word housekeeping normally refers to keeping your house clean and tidy.
If you're very well off, you might even have a housekeeper.
The person who does the housekeeping keeps the house nice and tidy and clean.
But, metaphorically speaking, housekeeping can be used to inform or prepare your listeners in order to keep your environment organized.
So in a meeting, for example, if you're running a meeting with colleagues in a new office, You might say let's do a bit of housekeeping.
And you're going to talk about things like where the toilets are located.
And if there's going to be a fire drill, you'll tell them where the fire exits are and where the meeting points are.
You'll talk about what your colleagues should expect in the new building if there's going to be building work going on.
You might tell them about new office furniture being delivered.
All those things are to do with the environment and to do with organization.
You're informing them and preparing them so they can be efficient at work.
So that's housekeeping.
If you are working in an English speaking company, then you will probably hear the word housekeeping.
So, housekeeping.
Let me begin with some housekeeping notes.
The English Like A Native YouTube channel hit a major milestone in February.
One million subscribers.
So if you are not already subscribed over there, then you are missing out, because this is where the party's at apparently, on YouTube.
So if you are watching on YouTube, then hey, how's it going?
Remember to give this video a like.
That'd be really, really awesome.
Okay, so next item on the housekeeping list is a bit of student feedback I'd like to share with you all.
The student writes, simply excellent.
A course or rather a learning experience that has exceeded my expectations.
I have been in the ELAN community.
ELAN is what we use to refer to English like a native.
I have been in the Elan community for over a year and have enjoyed every single class and seen my speaking confidence improve a lot.
I wish I had joined the platform earlier, as it has proven to be a fantastic learning resource and a unique chance to connect with like-minded people from literally all over the world.
I couldn't recommend Elan enough.
And that was posted on YouTube by Nat Cat Cat.
So Nat Cat Cat, thank you so much.
I really, really appreciate you sharing that.
And I am thrilled that you have had such a wonderful experience and been able to transform your speaking confidence.
All right.
Final item on the list is a joke that has been emailed into us from Pedro, who asks if I can explain the joke to him, because he doesn't get it.
So let me start by saying that a joke is generally never funny if you have to explain it.
But of course, I will help you here.
I will let you be the judge of whether or not this joke is funny.
So the joke you shared with me is, my wife told me to stop impersonating a flamingo.
I had to put my foot down.
Okay.
To understand why this is funny, you have to know the phrasal verb to put your foot down, which means to use your power or authority to prevent something from happening.
Now we often have to use put our foot down with our children or spouses when they're doing something that we don't like, a certain behaviour that we don't like.
So that's what that means.
Flamingos stand on one leg.
So if this man in this joke is literally putting his foot down, then it suggests he's standing like a flamingo on one leg.
The humour is in the dual aspect of that phrase.
Okie dokie.
So I'm going to read that joke one more time.
My wife told me to stop impersonating a flamingo.
I had to put my foot down.
Alright, okie dokie, it's time to start the third part of our amazing inventions series.
So fasten your seatbelts everyone, and get your engine running, because we're about to take a cruise through the ever-changing world of cars.
Their story begins in the late 19th century when horses and carriages ruled the roads.
The idea of zooming around in a metal contraption with an engine was as far-fetched as flying to the moon.
Despite this, German engineer Karl Benz had a wild idea.
Why don't we stick a gasoline engine onto a set of wheels and make a vehicle that never needs to sleep or eat hay?
And so he did it.
In 1885, Benz built the world's first practical gasoline-powered car.
It was seen in public for the first time the following year and it looked like a compact, open carriage with a small wheel where the horse used to be.
Let's accelerate through the next couple of decades to 1908.
Perhaps the name Benz rings a bell, you know?
Daimler Benz?
Mercedes Benz?
I don't know about you, but I have been lucky enough to drive one of these vehicles.
Henry Ford revolutionized the industry in the early 20th century with his affordable Model T.
It came with a number of innovations windscreen options, steering wheel on the side of the car, toolkit included.
It is true too, that Henry did famously say that any customer can have the car painted any colour he wants, as long as it's black.
Between 1914 and 1925 that was the only colour available.
Most cars today are pretty comfortable and well equipped.
The timeline of innovation reads like this.
In the 1920s, attempts were made to install car radios.
Until in the early 1930s, they were finally able to be mass produced.
In 1940, the first car with factory installed air conditioning went on the market.
Shortly after this, push button control windows were introduced.
Then in the 1950s, seatbelts started to be widely used.
If you start to think about it, there are an astonishing number of innovations that we simply take for granted nowadays.
Cars help us get around to and from work or the supermarket, to the beach or even to the middle of nowhere if we feel like we need to get away.
They haven't just been about getting from point A to point B for a long time.
They've inspired songs, movies and even changed the way cities are designed.
Nowadays, it goes without saying we understand the detrimental effect that cars have on our environment, so we have to choose our options wisely.
I reckon they're here to stay, so we'd better be thinking about zero emission electric cars that are powered by renewable sources of electricity.
At the very least, we can go for a hybrid option, maybe one which uses regenerative braking, a way of capturing and storing energy to recharge the battery.
I've just had a thought.
Maybe you're listening to this podcast while actually being in a car.
Imagine you had a horse in front of you, no windscreen, so the only temperature regulators were the sun and the wind.
There might not be so much traffic around.
So, that rounds up our k for car.
We're now moving on to our next amazing invention, beginning with k.
How many English words are not actually English?
Well, of course, once they're in the dictionary, they count as English.
What I mean is that they come from words that are or have been in existence in other languages.
The answer is that there are a lot, an awful lot, Our next word is one of them.
Not only has this word come from another language, but what it represents has actually become one of the United Kingdom's favourite meals.
Rice, spices, sauce.
Have you guessed it yet?
We're going to tuck into the mouth-watering variety of dishes that we call curry.
What do you have in mind when we talk about curry?
You might be thinking about the sweet southern Thai curries cooked in coconut milk.
Or maybe a fiery vindaloo full of red chilli peppers marinated for many hours.
Or something in between.
There are versions of curries in Africa Indonesia Japan China Burma Vietnam, and well, the list goes on and on.
If you live in a city or a large town, I'm sure there's a curry house somewhere near you.
There is an enormous range of flavours and ingredients that can be combined to make a curry.
Vegetarian or even vegan recipes abound too.
Whenever I'm at a restaurant though, I personally think mostly about the degree of spiciness in what I'm about to order.
Some days, if I feel more like enjoying the flavour of the ingredients, I'll just go for a mild one.
Other times I might be more adventurous and order a medium or even a hot curry to start to get my pulse racing.
I don't think I'll ever go for the very hot option though.
Well, never say never.
The heat of curries is actually considered to have health benefits.
As well as triggering the production of endorphins, which act as natural painkillers, it can have a beneficial effect on digestion and even enhance our mood.
Spices such as the widely available ginger cumin, cardamom and coriander also contribute positively to our immune system.
The anti-inflammatory and antioxidant qualities of turmeric are well known too.
Be brave when you're in the kitchen and spice up your dishes.
Actually, you could add a bit of spice to almost any dish, albeit in moderation at first.
Now, we have the classic traditional curries, but also fusions.
These days, people are constantly experimenting, trying out different combinations, blending Eastern and Western methods, innovating to create fusions.
Indo-Chinese, Afro-Indian.
You'll find these and many more at different restaurants around the world, but I want to go back to Britain now, for what I'd say is the most famous of them all.
Chicken tikka is a traditional chicken dish from the Indian subcontinent consisting of boneless chunks of meat that are baked or grilled and served with chutney or onion rings, for example.
Chicken tikka masala, however, is a British invention.
Various sources have staked a claim to be the creators.
Did you get the pun there, curry creators, curators, curators?
Anyway, let's move on.
But it really doesn't matter when you're sitting in front of one, salivating at the prospect of what's in store.
Chicken tikka masala is now a true British national dish, not only because it is the most popular, but because it is a perfect illustration of the way Britain absorbs and adapts external influences.
Chicken tikka is an Indian dish.
The masala sauce was added to satisfy the desire of British people to have their meat served in gravy.
Now, you might be thinking that curry isn't really an invention, it's a creation.
Technically, you'd be right, but don't tell me you didn't enjoy hearing about it.
We're staying in India for the next invention, something else that has undergone numerous changes and developments over many years.
We're on the letter C but unlike car and curry this one doesn't start with a k sound.
It starts k-h so we have ch.
It's a game played on a checkered board.
A meeting of minds fought out with knights and bishops and queens protecting and attacking powerless and restricted kings.
And it has trillions of different possible positions.
Have I checkmated you?
I'm sure I haven't.
We are, of course, talking about chess, a game that I really enjoy, but just wish I had a little bit more time to play.
Dating back around 1500 years, early versions of chess started spreading across continents, reaching Persia before making its way to the Islamic world and Europe.
It wasn't until around the 16th century that chess had more or less assumed its modern form.
So if you're wondering why a game was invented in India with bishops as pieces, then you're right to do so.
It wasn't.
Can you guess what the original pieces were?
Elephants.
The highest ranking chess players are known as grandmasters.
Maybe you've heard of Garry Kasparov?
In the 1990s, he played matches against the IBM supercomputer Deep Blue.
It was a very close series, won the first set of games but lost the second, which made Deep Blue the first supercomputer to defeat a reigning world chess champion.
A clear example of artificial intelligence being superior to human intelligence.
Away from all the highbrow stuff now.
Louis USA, or that the most expensive chess set ever created, adorned with diamonds sapphires, rubies and 18-carat gold, boasts a price tag of 600000.
Chess has also inspired a musical called you've guessed it Chess, with music written by the boys Benny and Bjorn from ABBA.
It's the story of a Russian and an American grandmaster competing for the world title, set against the backdrop of the Cold War.
More than that though, the two champions also end up involved in a love triangle with the American player's manager.
In this musical, the game of chess is highly symbolic as it stands, both as a symbol of the political and tactical maneuvers taking place between the USA and the Soviet Union at the time, as well as the patient and complex battle for the heart of the female character.
I'll leave you then by mentioning a modern update to chess.
Chess boxing.
You play one round of chess for three minutes and then a three-minute round of boxing, then back to the chess, and so on until someone is knocked out or checkmated.
Each player is allotted nine minutes for their moves, so you can also lose by running out of time on the board.
It's not simply a case of brain versus brawn.
All right.
Well, I do hope that you found today's amazing inventions.
What did we have?
Cars, curry and chess.
As amazing as I found them.
And I also hope that you just enjoyed absorbing some more English.
Until next time, take very good care and give that hip hip, hooray.
I'll be back on the 8th.
Until that day, let's laugh and wait.
Anna's away.
But the joy's here to stay.
Old shows new smiles.
Hip hip, hooray.
Anna's away.
