Hello and welcome to the English Like a Native podcast.
My name is Anna and you're listening to week 37, day two of your English five a day, the second season.
I'm here as your English fluency guide to help you, step by step, build your vocabulary, improve your listening skills and, most importantly, Start to feel more like yourself when you communicate in English.
So let's begin today's episode as we always do with a snapshot of what's to come.
After the pest problem destroyed half his crops, James decided to stockpile a new pesticide that promised amazing results, even though the substance seemed questionable because it wasn't officially approved.
His desperate actions would go far beyond simple rule-breaking when neighbours began finding dead wildlife near his fields.
The toxic substance he had been using turned out to be far more dangerous than any normal pesticide should be.
Okay, let's dive deep into that vocabulary, starting with the verb stockpile.
To stockpile.
We spell this S-T-O-C-K-P-I-L-E.
Stockpile.
To stockpile is to collect and keep a large supply of something for future use.
Now, when I first read out this word, I instantly thought about chocolate and how I stockpile chocolate in my drawer here in my office so that I can have a cheeky little nibble whenever I fancy.
If I leave it in the kitchen, where it would normally live, then the others would descend and take away the chocolate and I would not have any when I wanted it.
So instead I stockpile the chocolate and that means I always have this stash that I can pick at.
Now, another thing that came to mind when I thought about stockpiling was lockdown and how people started stockpiling toilet rolls and then flour and pasta, and how all the shelves would just be empty of the most basic, mundane things.
But the toilet roll was the biggest thing.
How do you survive without toilet roll?
And some people went crazy and bought months and months worth of toilet paper.
And then it had to be rationed.
People were only allowed to buy so many packs of toilet roll at any one time.
It was crazy.
Okay, so stockpile.
Have you ever stockpiled anything?
Here's an example sentence.
People began to stockpile food before the storm.
Next, we have the noun pesticide.
Pesticide.
We spell this P-E-S-T-I-C-I-D-E.
Pesticide.
Pesticide is a chemical that's used to kill insects or pests that damage plants or crops.
So it's not ideal to have chemicals sprayed on the food that you're going to eat while it's growing.
But in some cases it's the only way to get a large, healthy harvest, because insects and pests can destroy crops.
So here's an example sentence.
Farmers use pesticides to protect their crops.
Now I grow some food in my garden, a few herbs, sometimes some fruit and vegetables.
I don't use any pesticides.
I have young children and very curious cats.
I also have foxes that visit the garden often and I don't like the idea of putting chemicals on the food that I'm going to eat but also around the garden where my pets and children play.
How do you feel about the use of pesticides?
All right, next we have the adjective questionable.
Questionable.
We spell this Q-U-E-S-T-I-O-N-A-B-L-E.
Questionable.
If something is questionable, then it's not certain or possibly not right or honest or safe.
For example, if I'm looking at an old bridge and the rope that holds the bridge in place is a little frayed and the wood looks rotten and there are a few boards missing, then I would say I don't think I'm going to cross that bridge.
I'll find another way around.
That bridge looks questionable to me.
Or if somebody is going out of their way to help you And this is a person who normally is very selfish and now they're wanting to really really help.
You might say that this person's motives are questionable.
They say they just want to be helpful, but you know that they're not a generous or selfless person.
So their motives, their reasons are questionable.
Here's an example sentence.
The safety of the old furnace is questionable.
Next, we have the noun substance.
Substance.
Lots of S's in there.
We spell this S-U-B-S-T-A-N-C-E.
Substance.
A substance is a material or chemical that something is made of.
Substance, for example.
Cleaning products often contain dangerous substances.
Alright, last we have the phrase go far beyond.
Go far beyond.
Three words.
Go, G-O, far, F-A-R, beyond, B-E-Y-O-N-D, beyond.
To go far beyond means to do much more than what is expected or usual.
For example, there are times when I go far beyond to help my students.
There are times when I will break away from my family at the weekend to write a message in response to a student that's having a hard time, or perhaps come out to my office in the evening and in order to do a one-to-one call to help a student that's really struggling with something.
In those circumstances, I go far beyond.
Another example is when a friend of mine who lived on the other side of London phoned me in a state she'd had the worst week ever.
And she said, Anna, I can't cope.
I'm locked out of my house right now.
I'm sitting on the step in the rain, in the dark.
And I can't cope with my life, with work, with the pressures.
It's all too much.
And so at that very moment, I jumped in my car and I drove across London.
I dropped all my plans.
I drove across London.
I picked her up.
I took her back to my house.
Gave her a warm bath.
I didn't give her a warm bath.
I let her have a warm bath.
Well, I made her some dinner and over dinner we talked about all the things that were bothering her.
And one of the things that she was struggling with was the pressure of teaching her weekend classes.
At the time, I wasn't a teacher, not of group classes anyway.
And she asked if I could possibly consider taking her classes for her.
And I said, I have never taught this subject before.
And I've never taught group classes before.
But...
I could do it for you.
And so I did.
I took on her job for a whole term every weekend teaching her classes and I don't regret it.
I went far beyond for her, and that's because she's one of my best friends, and that's what friends are for.
So when have you gone far beyond for somebody else or when has someone else gone far beyond for you?
So here's a final example sentence.
His help went far beyond what I had hoped for.
Okay, let's now do a quick recap.
We started with the verb stockpile, which is to collect and keep a large supply of something for future use.
Stockpile.
We had the noun pesticide, which is a chemical used to kill pests or insects that damage plants and crops.
Pesticide.
We had the adjective questionable, which means that something is not certain or it might not be right.
It's maybe not honest or safe.
It's questionable.
Then we have the noun substance, which is a material or chemical that something is made of.
Substance.
And finally, the phrase go far beyond, which is to do much more than what is expected or what is usual.
Go far beyond.
Okay, so let's now do this for pronunciation purposes.
Please repeat after me.
Stockpile Stockpile Pesticide Pesticide Questionable Questionable Substance Go far beyond.
Go far beyond.
Great.
Now imagine five days ago, you cooked the most delicious lasagna one of my favourite dishes and you put it in the fridge.
Today you got it out and you looked at it and thought this has been in the fridge for nearly a week.
Is it still okay to reheat this and eat it?
And it looks okay.
It smells okay.
But as you cook it, the smell just doesn't seem quite right.
In this case, you might think that you're not sure whether or not it's safe to eat.
What adjective would you give to this lasagna? questionable.
Yes, this lasagna is questionable.
Maybe let's get a takeaway instead.
Now, if you're worried about running out of food, at some point you might decide to collect and keep a large quantity of food in your larder.
What is that action called when you collect and keep a large supply of something for the future?
What are you doing stockpiling.
Yes, fantastic.
What's the noun that is a chemical used to kill insects and pests that damage plants and crops?
A pesticide.
Yes, absolutely.
And what's the phrase that means to do much more than what is usual or what's expected?
Go far beyond.
Yes, very good.
To go far beyond.
And finally, what noun is a material or chemical that something is made of?
Substance.
Fantastic.
OK, let's now revisit our snapshot.
After the pest problem destroyed half his crops, James decided to stockpile a new pesticide that promised amazing results, even though the substance seemed questionable because it wasn't officially approved.
His desperate actions would go far beyond simple rule-breaking.
When neighbours began finding dead wildlife near his fields, the toxic substance he had been using turned out to be far more dangerous than any normal pesticide should be.
Dun, dun, dun.
OK, let's now listen out for our target vocabulary once more as we head into storytime.
Thomas wiped the sweat from his forehead as he stood in his empty barn.
The wooden shelves that once held his father's simple tools now contained something far more dangerous.
Row after row of bright yellow containers lined the walls.
Each one bore warning labels that made his stomach turn.
But he had learned to ignore them months ago.
He had begun to stockpile the banned chemicals after his first harvest failed.
The government inspector had been clear.
These substances were illegal now.
Too many bees were dying, and the evidence pointed straight to pesticides like the ones Thomas kept hidden.
But what choice did he have?
His neighbours were selling their land to developers and his own debts were mounting.
The substance inside each container was questionable at best.
Thomas knew this, yet he continued to use it on his crops every few weeks.
The results were undeniable.
His vegetables grew larger and his grain yielded more than ever before.
But the cost was becoming visible everywhere he looked.
Where once the sound of buzzing filled the summer mornings, now there was only silence.
The apple trees that had bloomed beautifully for decades produced almost no fruit this year.
His neighbour Nellie, who kept beehives, had lost three colonies in the past month.
She blamed disease, but Thomas knew better.
Last Tuesday he had found dozens of dead bees scattered across his field like tiny black dots on green paper.
Their bodies were still and lifeless, their wings folded against their sides.
He had quickly buried them before anyone could see his hand shaking as he covered the evidence with soil.
The local newspaper had started asking questions.
A young journalist called Mara had knocked on his door twice, wanting to interview farmers about the declining bee population.
Thomas had sent her away both times, claiming he was too busy.
But her questions haunted him.
How could he explain that his actions might go far beyond simple law-breaking?
He wasn't just risking his own farm, he was contributing to an environmental disaster.
That evening, as Thomas sat at his kitchen table counting the money from his latest crop sale, he heard a car pull into his driveway.
Through the window he saw Mara getting out, notebook in hand.
Behind her was a man in a dark suit carrying official papers.
Thomas's heart began to race.
He looked towards the barn and back at the approaching visitors.
The yellow containers seemed to glow in his mind, screaming their presence.
He had known this day would come.
The question was no longer whether he would be caught, but how much damage he had already caused to the world around him.
The knock on his door echoed through the quiet house, breaking the silence that had become too familiar in his once thriving valley.
And that brings us to the end of today's episode.
I do hope that you learned something new and that you enjoyed it, of course.
Until tomorrow, take very good care and goodbye.
