Welcome to My IELTS Classroom, the podcast where two English experts talk all things IELTS.
I'm Shelley Cornick.
And I'm Nick Long.
And today, it's our annual Christmas quiz.
Good evening, Nick.
Good evening.
How are you?
Season's greetings.
Festive West wishes, Nick.
I'm all right.
I'm doing good.
Very, very, very busy.
I'm looking forward to my time off very soon.
Christmas is coming.
It's coming quickly.
It is indeed.
I'm also really looking forward to Christmas.
Well, I have to say my Christmas is going to be much longer than I was hoping for, because we've got lots of strikes happening here in England at the moment.
Who is striking?
Have you felt like, has word reached you in Riga of who is striking?
Well, I've been reading the old BBC a couple of times and I think that the posts, the posties, are striking as well, aren't they?
Post office is striking, communications working, or whatever it is.
Um, and yeah, the train guys are as well, but i don't know who.
Is it network rail or is it somebody else who's?
It's everybody everybody, it's literally all of the trains.
So what about the tube?
Is that striking as well?
That is a very good question.
A couple of weeks ago, they also struck at the same time.
But this time, I don't think they are, which is a little bit of a saving grace.
Because you're going to London, aren't you?
Nice to see Auntie Shelley, but then Auntie Shelley gets a rest.
But now I have to go back on the day before the 23rd and come back the day after the 28th.
So Auntie Shelley will be a bit more tired.
Four days.
Yeah, but nurses are on strike as well.
Oh, wow.
And also, yeah.
And so are the people who do all of the border controls at the airports.
Wow.
So, you know, if you manage to... Absolute chaos here at the UK at the moment.
Yes.
Plus we didn't win the World Cup.
So congratulations.
If we've got any Argentinian students...
I was cheering for you.
Yeah, me too, actually.
Well done, Argentina.
Yes, it was great.
So yes, today, every year...
Well, for the last two years, in our final episode before Christmas, you and I Nick, have done a Christmas quiz.
Christmas quiz.
I'm not going to lie.
I don't really remember exactly the questions we have used in the previous two years.
Do you?
Nope.
And you said before we started recording that we did dingbats last year and I don't remember that at all.
So.
I mean, I am offended, Nick.
You don't remember the IELTS dimbacks that I made for last Christmas.
Oh wait, now I do.
No, now I do.
You're right.
Yes, I remember.
Do you?
I do.
Really?
Yeah.
Yes, wow.
I mean, if that's something you're interested in, then you go back to last yes, the December 2021 episodes where we did Christmas dingbats.
But yet again, Nick, what I've done.
And I guess actually, although this is going to be a Christmas quiz, so we're going to have a quiz about Christmas, literally.
The purpose of which I guess you know.
One of the things I love most about being English as a second language teacher is that
Well, one, I've got to travel the world, right?
So every time I visited a new country, I've got to learn about their culture and customs.
But today I don't even have to leave my living room.
To teach students all over the world.
And the best thing about that for me is learning just things that happen in those countries.
So, for example, last week our lovely Brazilian student taught me about a particular drink that they make.
In Brazil.
You know when it's time of Ramadan.
I get to understand what's happening there from our Muslim students in Pakistan.
So there's this great exchange of information.
So I would say today, considering that many of our students are planning to move to an English speaking country,
Yes.
It would not hurt.
I mean, this has got nothing to do with IELTS.
So if you're preparing for IELTS and you're tested in the next couple of weeks, go back to one of our previous 145 episodes.
I counted them today, Nick, because I thought it might be 150.
It's a lot, isn't it?
So we've got 145 episodes, two our Christmas quizzes, so 143 episodes of IELTS content.
If you're here to study and learn, please go back.
We've got so much information that we can share for you.
But today, I feel like, Nick, is us having a bit, letting our hair down.
Yep, which I can do as well now because it's getting pretty long.
Your hair is quite long, actually.
That is true.
We're letting our hair down and I guess we're just sharing what Christmas is to us.
For us, yeah.
Right?
Yeah.
So...
We're going to do that in the form of a quiz because it is the IELTS quiz, the Christmas quiz.
Let's talk about the most important part of Christmas, which Nick is.
Santa.
The presents.
Thank you very much.
Right.
So obviously, originally, and for many people, Christmas still is a religious celebration, right?
But for most English people...
I guess really it's, it's less about the religious aspect and more about the family aspect.
It's family one.
Yep.
It's the big family celebration of the year.
It really is.
And I would say in England it might be.
Would you agree with me that it might be the only celebration in the year when everybody does come together?
Yeah, I think it's the one celebration that you don't really celebrate.
Well, it's the one holiday that you don't really celebrate with friends.
That often yes, new year is more of a friend sort of going to the town yes, be with friends or, you know, rent a cottage somewhere and celebrate all together.
But new, but christmas it's like everything is closed, really like, really closed, which is unusual, and most people i would say definitely most people celebrate with family and extended family rather than anybody else.
I think that's absolutely right.
I mean, there are obviously people who choose to spend it with friends, but i do feel that is the exception.
It's the exception.
I would say yeah yeah, and i think actually i haven't thought about it, but you're totally right.
I guess it really is the only day of the year where, if you walked onto the, the streets, They are empty.
All of the shops really are closed.
You might get a few corner shops like newspaper shops that might be open, but 999 of life stops really on Christmas day.
It does.
It's a great day.
It is a great day.
And I guess actually because we've just had the pandemic and the lockdowns, it did feel a bit like Christmas.
But I mean, Christmas Day is going to feel a bit like that, isn't it?
Because there's going to be nothing open and everyone on the streets.
So my first questions then, are about Christmas presents.
So I'm sure we've discussed this before in our first episode, because I remember I put some pictures on the podcast page of you and I as kids getting our Christmas presents.
Um, but do you remember any particularly good Christmas presents?
Nintendo 64.
That's right.
Yeah, that's right.
You got your Nintendo, didn't you?
Yep.
That was 1997, if I remember correctly, and it was the best Christmas present ever.
All the others fade into obscurity in comparison.
I mean in my childhood anything like that, any electronic game.
I think we got just a basic Nintendo one year.
Or something like a bike.
Yeah, I remember you telling the bike story, yeah.
I had like a scooter, which was a bit like a cross between a bike.
They are definitely the best presents, yeah.
I mean, presents are a big part of Christmas, rightly or wrongly.
So let's just do a little... I think this is quite interesting.
So...
This is really for the listeners, not for you Nick, because I know you know the answer to this question.
All right.
But on what date do English people then exchange their presents?
December the 25th.
Right, exactly.
So that is Christmas Day.
Christmas Day, yep.
However, not every country exchanges their gifts on actual Christmas Day.
No.
So, for example, next question then, when do German people exchange their gifts or their presents?
I don't know, but I'm going to guess December 24th.
Yeah, it's in the evening.
Yeah, before Christmas, yeah.
Before Christmas.
Now, I've actually got a German friend coming for dinner with me tomorrow.
It's a shame it was not yesterday and I could have asked her why do you exchange gifts on the 24th?
There must be a reason.
I do know that the reason, though, for the next question, so...
German people are on the 24th.
When do Spanish people exchange their gifts or their presents?
Do you know that one?
I don't, but I'm going to guess it's after the siesta very late in the evening.
Right, that is, it's very late, but not just in the evening.
They exchange gifts on the 6th of January.
Ah, it's old Christmas.
It is old Christmas.
I think that, is that Orthodox Christmas, is it?
Well yes, it would be, but that's a bit weird if they're doing that in Spain because it's a Catholic country.
I thought
Yes.
So there's definitely So.
We also have this kind of tradition of the 12 days of Christmas, and the 6th of December is 12 days after Christmas.
6th of January.
So the 6th of January is when Spanish people exchange their presents.
I know that because I did teach in Spain for a year.
And I also remember Nick...
The presents in Spain are not brought by Father Christmas.
Do you know who brings the gifts?
I can give you a clue if you would like one.
Go on, give me a clue.
You might say that, if you think about the Christmas story, these are the right people to bring the gifts.
Santa's little helpers, the workshop, the gnomes.
No, I'm thinking of the real Christmas story about when Jesus is born in Bethlehem.
The three wise men, yes.
The three wise men arrive, different wise men in each town.
And I just haven't.
If you're Spanish and you're listening, I apologize because I should have researched this better.
But in my memory, they arrive on public transport.
So they usually arrive on a train, right?
Bearing their gifts, not of frankincense, gold and myrrh, but of Nintendos and scooters.
Yes.
So even though Christmas, I guess, for us is really about the 25th, isn't it?
And we also get the day after Christmas as a holiday, which is known, Nick, Boxing Day.
Yes.
But not every country has Boxing Day.
No, they don't.
That's true.
No.
So what I thought would be an interesting statistic, I'm going to be honest, right?
I'm a little bit morally against the amount of money that people spend at Christmas.
I think it's all gone a little bit crazy.
Maybe that's because I'm not the child anymore.
I am the aunt who is buying all the gifts, right?
But I had a little Google today.
How much do you think British people spend per person?
Or how much is predicted that they will spend this year per person?
So that's in 2022.
Are we talking about one person buying gifts for all of the people that they know, or how much they spend per person that they buy gifts for?
That's a very good question.
I think it is...
Let's imagine you have got 10 friends.
Right.
And you buy each of them a gift.
What is the total that you will spend on those 10 gifts?
Over £100 at least then, £150 maybe.
Oh, Nick, where are you from?
1984.
It's much more than £100.
I was quite short, actually.
£440.
Wow.
440 pounds, which is a lot of money.
It is.
But if you think about parents buying presents for kids, I could imagine if you got two or three kids easily get to that number, maybe even higher.
Yeah.
I read something interesting today, just in case anybody is listening who still believes in Father Christmas.
Just pause now and don't continue.
Mm-hmm.
It's much better to say that the gift came from mummy and daddy than it is to say it came from Father Christmas.
And why is that?
Because there are some families who can't afford an iPad, who can't afford a really expensive gift.
So therefore they might get for Christmas, I don't know, a coat or something less flashy.
Mm-hmm.
And then if they think it's come from Father Christmas...
It's like, why did little John get an iPad?
And why did I get a lump of coal?
I don't know.
An apple in a sock.
An apple.
Yeah.
And be grateful.
No.
So yeah, someone said that it's better to sort of like have smaller gifts from Father Christmas, which I thought was quite a good idea.
My parents actually did that. not in the very beginning as well we would always have we would have like the santa presents in the morning which would just be a few small things and then we had the big present under the tree we all had one each um and we were only allowed to open that after we'd eaten dinner so usually around four or five o'clock the same as you basically yeah well yeah this is really interesting maybe that is actually the traditional English way It's to have, we would call it like a main present from mum and dad.
The big present.
Yeah.
And it was from mum and dad, not from Santa.
Yeah.
Yeah.
And my Santa presents were quite utilitarian.
They were things like, like things like, oh, bubble bath or new socks.
Yeah.
I think my mum was just like oh God, what rubbish do they need that?
You know socks, sometimes toothpaste.
I mean.
Gold coins.
Oh, gold coins that were chocolate.
Chocolate coins, yeah.
There were some gold coins chucked in just to keep a smile on our faces, yeah.
But actually, I just think I liked the act of unwrapping things.
Mm-hmm.
I tell you what Father Christmas also brought me.
Was did you ever get like?
Did you buy comics as a kid?
Not me, but my brothers did.
Because I always had like the Beano.
Yes.
The annual, yeah.
The Christmas Beano annual would be one of my stocking gifts, yeah.
But certainly not £440.
No.
The interesting thing is, actually, last year...
It was £548.
So I think the recession and the cost of living... Have impacted quite heavily, yeah?
Really impacted heavily.
Again, maybe people outside the UK don't realise, but...
Well, probably most people actually have been affected by the price of gas and electricity.
But it's extremely expensive to heat your home at the minute.
So, yeah.
So, £440.
The good news is Nick, I haven't spent that because my sister and I and my dad agreed we weren't going to get Christmas presents this year.
Oh.
Which is fine.
Which is fine.
Because we're all going to my sister's house.
Because you're just going to buy stuff for each other that you don't really need.
Exactly.
So we're all for the first time.
My dad's going to be there.
My uncle's going to be there.
We're all going to my sister's house.
And we all just decided, let's just go and like.
That will be our Christmas.
Just spending time with each other, eating, drinking, having fun.
Get the kids a little something, something.
I will get them a book, and then they will just throw it over their shoulder and never look at it again.
I will feel like I did something good.
Okay, so I'm actually impressed Nick, that you said presents first, because I thought you might say the second thing on my list, which is food.
Oh, yes.
I mean, food really is the big thing about Christmas, isn't it?
Yeah, it is.
It's always a big special meal.
We have two meals on Christmas.
We have Christmas breakfast.
Yeah.
What do you have for breakfast?
Full English.
Oh, really?
Mm-hmm.
So usually around 10 o'clock.
Yeah.
And it's like tons of bacon, French toast, eggs, sausages.
So it's just a usual Sunday breakfast because my mum does an English breakfast every Sunday.
Does she?
But big.
Okay.
So then I'm guessing then you don't really sit down to eat your christmas dinner until quite late, usually around four o'clock.
I would say yeah, between three and five, depending on how the day's gone.
Usually my dad falls asleep, my mom sometimes falls asleep as well, so really, if that happens it's going to be a bit later, But about four or five.
Yeah, I think we're not that different, actually.
We aim for more like 230, but it never happens.
We go the opposite.
Well, kind of.
We have scrambled eggs and smoked salmon for breakfast.
So it's something special, but it's a little bit lighter.
Mm-hmm.
Because we know the big thing.
The big thing's coming, yeah.
It's coming, yeah.
So let's start then because, in terms of the big thing, the Christmas lunch, I'm guessing everybody knows we eat turkeys, don't we?
Some people do.
You don't have turkey.
We don't eat turkey on Christmas.
We don't eat turkey at all, actually.
My mum does a duck on a Christmas.
Does she?
Mm-hmm.
Oh, I'd like that.
But do you still have all of the roast trimmings?
Oh, yeah, everything else.
Do you have, like, the roast potatoes?
Yeah, everything that goes with it, yeah.
Okay.
Yeah.
All right, so then that might actually influence your answer to the next question, which is how many turkeys are eaten, do you think, in the UK every Christmas?
All right, let's figure it out.
So there's probably around 65 million people in the UK.
Are there?
Probably around between 20 and 25 million homes, maybe a bit less.
Yeah.
So half of those, 12, let's say 12, no.
Yeah, around 10 to 12 million.
I'm impressed.
It's 10 million.
There we go.
Your logic is perfect.
Right.
And so you're one of the families who's not in that 10 million.
No, we never eat turkey.
Because if you base it on that, if you think about it, it really is most families.
Yeah.
It's a huge bird.
As well as then the turkeys, what else do you think of when you think of Christmas food?
Christmas food.
Well, I don't personally like it, but there's always some kind of crumble that my mum does for dessert.
Maybe Christmas pudding is, I guess, more common, but we don't do it usually.
Right.
Not a big fan of sultanas or raisins.
Yes.
Right.
So Christmas pudding, very, very similar to a Christmas cake, right?
As you've just described.
So it's got raisins and sultanas.
That's like dried grapes.
What's the difference between a raisin and sultana?
I can't remember.
One a red grape and one a white grape.
Not sure.
But it's like a brown, heavy, it's got a lot of brown sugar in it type of thing.
So my mum used to make an amazing Christmas cake.
It was full of brandy.
She used to like pour the brandy over it three or four times before Christmas Day.
How long traditionally before Christmas do you think you should start making a Christmas cake?
I don't know.
I'm gonna guess three or four days though.
It's two or three months.
What?
Yeah, because it has to moisten.
I mean, it sounds crazy, but it's because of all the alcohol in it, basically.
So it's got all the sherry and all the brandy and it makes all of the raisins become plump.
I think maybe all you do is soak the raisins that early.
Yeah.
And then maybe make the cake a month, two or three weeks before.
Mm-hmm.
Yeah.
What about a mince pie?
Mince pies.
Now that could shock a few people if they buy this.
What is inside a mince pie, Nick?
Is it meat?
No, it's not, is it?
No, it's not.
So mince is a type of meat, isn't it?
It's when you've got beef, which is like ground into small pieces.
Mm-hmm.
But a mince pie, how would you describe what's in that?
Isn't it like some berries or something like that?
It's, again, it's raisins, sultanas.
The same sort of stuff.
Some sort of spices, like nutmeg, cinnamon.
I'm not a big fan of mince pies, to be honest.
Are you not?
No.
I've been looking at some that I handmade for my Christmas party last week.
It's also got suet in it.
What's that?
And I was like, what is suet?
I remember my mum talking about suet.
It's just literally beef fat.
It made me feel sick.
No, no, no, that's what you want.
Healthy.
Christmas Day, you're allowed.
Well, that is the thing.
I mean, you can eat anything you want on Christmas Day, can't you?
The other thing I don't have a question about is there's always a big when I was growing up, a big box of chocolates, usually Quality Street.
Quality Street, Celebrations, Cadbury's Heroes.
Roses.
Roses, yep.
Yeah.
And you can just take sweets throughout the day.
And there's the ones that people like, the ones that people don't like.
And then you open one of them and there's a sewing kit inside it.
Or like miniature playing cards.
Yeah, exactly.
Right now.
Selection box.
Sorry as well.
Did you ever get a selection box?
Oh, a selection box.
I used to, that would actually often be in my stocking from Santa.
My grandma used to get me a selection box.
So a selection box is where, if you've got the Cadbury selection box, you'd get one of each type of Cadbury's bars, wouldn't you?
Different Cadbury's chocolate.
Yeah, Milky Way.
Oh no, that's Nestle.
You'd get like a dairy milk, a caramel.
Whisper.
A whisper.
A crunch.
Crunchy.
Mm-hmm.
Oh, I love a crunchy.
Yeah.
Oh, I always hoped for the Cadbury's rather than the Nestle.
That is true.
Now, I saw this question today and I don't know how I knew this answer Nick, but I think I watched or I listened to a podcast about it.
But if we're talking about food, obviously other countries celebrate Christmas.
So in which country is it a tradition to eat KFC, that is, Kentucky Fried Chicken, for Christmas dinner?
I don't even want to guess.
I'm scared of knowing the answer.
Right, well, it's obviously not a country which traditionally celebrates Christmas.
Is it an Asian country?
It is an Asian country, yeah.
Is it East Asian like Thailand around there or is it like Middle Eastern?
I'm going to say it's closer to Thailand than it is the Middle East, but it's kind of neither of those regions.
Yeah.
I'm not sure.
Maybe... It's closer to Korea.
Japan?
It's Japan, yeah.
I was going to say Korea or Japan, actually, yeah.
I saw a podcast about it, or a TV clip show.
I think it was just one Christmas.
KFC just did this amazing advertising campaign which was like something I think you got like your KFC, but it came with like mashed potatoes and gravy.
And it was like the hit campaign.
Of the Christmas.
And then it just became this huge tradition that now everybody gets KFC for Christmas dinner.
So if you're listening in Japan, is that true?
We're often told things.
I'm always a bit skeptical if that's the truth.
Okay, let's leave food because, as you said Nick, I think once we have eaten our main dinner, quite often then we just move to the sofa and start watching television or consuming media.
So there are lots and lots of films which people traditionally watch at Christmas, right?
Mm-hmm.
I would say when I was growing up, there was always, every year on the BBC, The Sound of Music.
Not anymore, I guess.
Not anymore.
I don't think of that as a Christmas movie now because it's not about Christmas.
But what do you think is the most popular Christmas film in the UK?
Right now.
Yeah, i remember them showing harry potter every christmas for some reason, so maybe it's harry potter, it might be harry potter, and now, actually that's interesting because that might be the most popular film or the film that is watched most at christmas, but it is not actually a christmas movie.
No, it's not, no.
So i guess my question a better see this is why die hard?
Oh, which is considered, which is that's one where people are like is it a Christmas movie?
Is it not a Christmas movie?
But it's set at Christmas, isn't it?
But it's definitely not a Christmas movie.
Set at, no, but I am going to watch Die Hard over Christmas.
No, it's not Die Hard.
I'll give you a clue, Nick.
I recommended you watch this film a couple of years ago and you really enjoyed it.
Yeah.
So it must have, maybe it's come into my rotation because I have a Christmas film rotation.
Do you?
Yeah.
Okay.
What's in your Christmas film rotation?
So Love Actually, Every Year Without Fail.
Yeah.
And I would say about four years ago, I added The Holiday into it.
Right, which has that got Jack Black?
And It's Jack Black, it's Cameron Diaz, it's Jude Law and Kate Winslet.
Yeah,
Yes, that is a definite Christmas movie.
It is.
That is very popular.
Right, that's still not it.
No, the other films are Russian films.
Oh yeah, because there are a lot of traditional Russian New Year films aren't there, like Slavkin Parim?
No, it is Elf.
Yes.
You watched that, didn't you?
We watched that last year.
Yeah.
Not on Christmas Day, but after Christmas, yeah.
Yeah.
If you've never seen Elf and you want to know a Christmas film, that is a good Christmas film.
What's the name of the guy in it?
Will Ferrell.
Will Ferrell, that's it, yeah.
Yeah, it is.
All right.
So...
I would say today.
You know, if I look at my sister and her kids, they are watching loads of Christmas films.
They are listening to Christmas music, but the Christmas music they're listening to is like pop music, right?
Like Mariah Carey, All I Want for Christmas.
It is the best Christmas song, I would say.
But when you and I were growing up, I guess at school we had to sing a lot of carols, right?
We did.
So what do you think?
What would if you think of Christmas carols?
What are some of the first Christmas carols?
I mean, if you're listening at home, can you name three Christmas carols?
We Wish You a Merry Christmas.
Oh, perfect.
Yeah.
Something about Three Kings.
We Three Kings of Oriental.
Yeah.
Oh, Holy Night.
Oh, goodness.
I don't remember what that one goes like.
I can't remember either.
I've Got Away in a Manger.
Away in a Manger, yes, of course.
Classic.
Maybe the best, well, Jingle Bells.
Jingle Bells, yeah.
Because that's an easy one to sing.
What about the Six White Boomers?
That's the Australian Christmas song. you've not heard of that one we used to sing that at school unfortunately it's it's it was sung by rolf harris but we used to get super excited when we were allowed to sing that at school it's like it's an australian christmas song obviously it's set in the summer because they have yeah and there's like the whole story is basically there's no snow santa can't use his reindeers so he gets six white boomers instead So six old men to pull his sleigh.
I don't know if it's boomers like that.
This is like a 90s song.
The word boomer.
I think it might be baby boomers.
Is it?
But I don't know.
Maybe.
I don't know.
But it's funny anyway.
Okay.
I'm going to Google it and listen to it.
My favorite was always Deck the Halls.
Because that's the one where you get to go.
Fa la la la la la la, la la.
There's that long bit where you just made those noises and everyone ran out of breath.
That was good.
Okay, that's my media question.
Let's just do a little bonus round, right?
Yeah, what color are mistletoe berries?
Red, Are they?
Nick, you fell for it.
No.
That's holly berries.
Ah, mistletoe.
Well, mistletoe is green, I guess.
Yeah.
The berries, then, I'm not sure you're going to have to tell me.
They're white.
Are they?
Yeah.
Oh, that's right.
Yeah.
That's right.
Yeah.
Because... And the thing about mistletoe... I mean, mistletoe, it's like... It's just a berry, isn't it?
On a sharp leaf, a bit like holly.
But what you should do... And I haven't seen any mistletoe this year, unfortunately.
But...
If someone holds mistletoe above you, the idea is that you're supposed to kiss the person that you're next to, aren't you?
Yeah.
Okay.
So that was a good question.
Second question, and this answer surprised me.
What is the coldest ever temperature recorded during a UK winter?
Now, while you're thinking, my logic behind this question is that if you're thinking about the UK, you know, when you think of Christmas, you think of sort of white Christmases, don't you?
Snow, all that kind of thing.
It's very unusual in England to actually have snow at Christmas, isn't it?
It is.
Yeah.
I know it snowed in London last week, I know.
Yeah, I mean, it's the type of thing where people make bets earlier in the year.
They do, yeah.
Like you can bet, will it snow on Christmas Day?
And you get quite good odds.
I think it's like 10 to 1 or something like that.
So it is kind of unusual for it to snow in England.
From my memory, I would say once every four or five years we had a white Christmas.
Yeah, I think that's about what it is.
Definitely not every year or close to every year.
No.
It doesn't even snow every year, actually, where my parents live.
But my grandma used to live in Scotland and it did almost always snow in Scotland at Christmas.
Maybe not a lot, but she lived like high up in the mountains.
Not in the mountains, but yeah.
But still, so I think when we're looking, what surprised me was how cold this temperature is.
Because I would say last week here in England, it went down to minus five.
That's about as cold as I can ever remember it getting in the UK.
Really?
I think, yeah.
Because I grew up, though, right in the South.
That's true.
2011.
Yeah.
I was telling a student about this the other day.
It was 2011.
We had minus 21 for about a week where I lived with...
I lived in my own house close to my parents.
And we had, obviously in England, all the pipes were on the outside of the house.
In York?
Yeah, in York, yeah.
It was minus 21 for about a week.
I remember driving to work.
My car sometimes wouldn't start.
Sometimes it was completely frozen over.
It was like maybe not a week, maybe like four or five days, but it was so cold that my heating like packed up.
It froze over.
I couldn't turn on the taps because the taps, the pipes had frozen.
So I had to go with my parents for a few days.
Well, that's, I mean, that's interesting you say that because that is what is happening here.
People's pipes are freezing mostly because the cost of living crisis.
People can't afford to have the heating on very often.
Because if you have it switched on, it stops that happening, doesn't it?
It stops that happening.
So people are switching off their heating and kind of like living in one room or two rooms.
But then pipes are bursting in other rooms.
Yeah, it's a nightmare.
So, based on that, then if that was in York and it was minus 21, what do you think the coldest recorded temperature?
It's probably going to be in the north of Scotland.
Yeah.
Can you tell me the year?
I haven't got a year.
It didn't tell me.
No, it didn't even tell me the place.
I just assumed it was Scotland.
Probably around minus 40.
Okay, right.
No, minus 27.2.
Is that all?
Yeah, which I thought was really cold.
That's like the record.
If you can remember that it was minus 21 in York, that isn't that cold.
Mm-hmm.
And I've definitely been in temperatures that cold in other places.
Yeah.
Me too.
Okay.
Well done, Nick.
I think you're good though.
The fact that you remembered maybe actually put you off that score, put you off getting that question.
And my last question is really Well, I guess it should have been in the media round, but I thought it would be a good.
Final question because I guess this year is going to be a bit unusual, because every year usually people around England
You know, it's the only day of the year where people would get a direct connection between us and the royal family.
And for my whole life, that has been known as the Queen's Speech, right?
So the Queen's Speech would be on BBC One.
It was only, I think, 10 minutes or five minutes.
It's 10 minutes long-ish, isn't it?
It's very short.
Yeah.
The queen would come.
She'd sort of summarize the year.
She'd say something usually quite hopeful or quite philosophical.
And then they play a little montage of the Queen shaking people's hands.
Obviously this year, I don't know what they're going to do.
Well, no, it won't be the Queen speech, will it?
It's obviously going to be the King speech for the first time in my living memory.
Many people's living memory.
And I'm assuming...
It will happen even though he's not the king yet.
That's true.
Or he hasn't been crowned the king.
Maybe it will be like the king in waiting speech or something like that.
Yeah, literally that.
So my question is just what time is the queen speech or this year the king speech?
Three o'clock, isn't it?
It is three o'clock, yeah.
Which is the time when most people have finished their Christmas lunch.
Yeah, we always eat after.
So you've watched it and then you've eaten it after, yeah.
And I have to say, I was not really very much of a royalist, Nick, growing up.
But the last few years, because my sister's husband's family, they all love the Queen.
I did start watching it.
I have to say, I did get, despite myself, a feeling of warmth listening to her each year.
It was nice.
Mm-hmm.
Which brings us then to the final few moments of our Christmas quiz, which is last year I did Dingbat.
You did.
This year.
What I'm trying to do is in the evening in my house.
You've had your food, you've watched the telly, you've watched the film, you've sung the Christmas songs.
All that's left is to start playing Christmas games and to start shouting and fighting at one with one.
So do you play games at Christmas, Nick?
Yeah, we do sometimes, yeah.
Yeah.
So I love a Christmas game.
So Dingbats was a game that we played at Christmas.
What I've done today is I've done a very simplified version of another game.
Now this was my mum's game, right?
She would hand you a piece of paper and on it... there would be a list of clues, right?
So I'll read you the first one.
So the first one, it would say 24 H in a D, And your job would be to understand what does the H stand for and what does the D stand for.
So I'll say it again.
24 H in a D.
A day.
So the way to solve these is just to focus on the numbers.
If you think of the number 24, what comes into your head?
What is associated with 24?
Oh, I know the answer and I know what the answer is, but I'm going to say that 24 is not enough.
There needs to be a lot more.
It's 24 hours in a day.
Exactly.
So...
Your job, as Nick has done perfectly, is to understand what do the letters represent in each of these examples, right?
So why don't I read all six?
Right.
And then the listeners can pause and have a think.
Mm-hmm.
And then we'll come back and we'll do these.
And you can imagine that you are little Shelley as a 13 or 14 year old, with a piece of paper, scratching her head, not understanding.
Okay.
So question number one, then 26 L in the A. Number two, nine P in the S S.
Question number three, 11P on a FT.
Question four, 52C in a P. Lots of P's in this, aren't there?
Question number five, 12M of the Y. That's a nice one.
And then question number six, I made this one up, Nick.
2W on a B. All right.
Right.
So let's go.
So you can, obviously, if you're listening at home, you can have a look at those.
Listen again.
Pause if you really want to play.
It's just a bit of fun.
So the first one I did write for our students.
26L in the A. So that's 26 letters in the alphabet.
Very good.
Nice easy start.
The A might have helped us.
Right.
Next one's more difficult.
9P in the SS.
Oh, fuck.
9p in the ss, yeah nine.
Is it connected to ielts in any way or not?
No, it's not.
This is just a world.
This is a general knowledge quiz.
I'll tell you what recently.
I'm not sure if this is actually still true, because recently i think one of the p's may have been downgraded um to no longer be a pea but be something else, according to scientists.
That's the clue there.
So what would scientists?
Ah, nine planets in the solar system, of course.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Am I right, though, that Uranus is now maybe not planet?
I don't know.
I know Pluto used to be, and then that all got downgraded, didn't it?
Did it?
Maybe it's Pluto.
I don't know.
Okay.
Question number three, 11P on FT.
FT.
11 P on an F T, on a F T or an F T, I guess.
If it's not the letter F, then if it's a full word, then it will obviously be a F T, Yeah.
11, 11 P.
P, on a FT.
On a FT.
11... FT.
Maybe I'm going to need a little clue here.
Okay, I'll give you a little clue.
I did this one because for the last month, what have you and I been doing?
Outside of IELTS or teaching.
Mm-hmm. probably on the television, has been until yesterday.
Ah.
Ah, 11 players on a football team, of course.
Yes.
Oh jeez, actually the, the one that the, the one i looked in my mum's quiz was 15p on an rt rugby team, a rugby team, and i just didn't get that because i don't associate 15 with rugby.
But i did think maybe 11, but i don't know football.
Yeah, it's not.
Yeah um, 52c in a p 52.
Now, 52, that number sounds familiar, but I, ah, no, 52 weeks, but no.
Right.
It's familiar because it's 52 weeks in a year, isn't it?
But there is another number of 52s.
In a P. If I say to create the 52 of four groups that make up the 52.
52 countries?
Oh God, no, nothing as complicated as that.
No.
Well, it's good for Christmas because when we play games, this is what we often play games with.
It's what you play games with.
Yeah.
Traditional English, or any games, like gambling games, you play with a...
Ah, 52 cards.
Yes.
In a pack.
In a pack.
Yeah.
Of course.
Right.
12 M of the Y was quite easy.
12 months in a year.
Yeah.
And 2W on a B.
2W.
Very good IELTS teachers on a beach.
Oh, I wish.
It's two wheels on a bike.
There we go.
So that was a little taste there of the fun we were having in the 1980s in England.
So thank you so much for joining us for our Christmas quiz this year.
I hope you enjoyed it.
We are taking a short break next week.
I think if you could see Nick, you would just tell him, just go and sleep.
Go and eat your duck and sleep.
So next week we will be replaying one of our favorite episodes.
I think I might replay the how to get a band eight episode, because that's usually one that students enjoy.
And then the following week we will do our roundup of the year.
Yep.
Year in review.
Year in review.
We'll link you to some of our favorite episodes.
We'll talk about any changes that have happened in IELTS over the year.
And then following that, we will be back for a whole new year of IELTS.
My IELTS Classroom Podcast 2023.
The fun never stops, Nick.
It's going too quickly.
It is going too quickly, actually.
Life is going too quickly.
So if you are celebrating Christmas, I hope you have a wonderful one.
If you're not, just have a lovely couple of weeks.
Your time to celebrate will come shortly, I'm sure.
And Nick and I will be back in two weeks with our roundup.
Until then, Merry Christmas.
Take care.
Merry Christmas.
Merry Christmas.
My IELTS Classroom podcast is a production of My IELTS Classroom Limited.
Nick and I do not represent IELTS, and everything you heard in this episode is our own personal opinions.
You can find the show notes and transcript for this episode on our blog.
That's blog.myiosclassroom.com.
And if you're looking for our video courses, speaking lessons and marking service, You can find that at wwwmyiotsclassroomcom.
If you have a question or query or just want to chat, you can email Nick and I at hello at myiotsclassroomcom.
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Have a great week.
Study hard.
And remember, this is my IELTS classroom.
Thanks for listening.
We'll see you next week.
