Hello lovely, I'm Maria.
Hi my name is Rory and we are the hosts of the IELTS Speaking for Success Podcast.
Podcast names tap you improve your speaking skills as well as your listening skills along the way.
We've started this podcast to give you gorgeous grammar and super vocabulary for your high IELTS school.
Your bad night's score.
Maria, are you alright?
Yeah, my pen just ran out and I needed to make a few notes.
Oh well, you should find one because we're going to talk about pens and pencils now.
Oh, are we? Pencils again?
Wasn't this one of our first ever episodes that we recorded?
No, the first episode was about robots.
Hey. Yes, but one of the first episodes, surely.
Yep. And we recorded an episode about pens back in 2020, Dielisna 2020.
So make sure you listen to that episode in 2020 about pens.
We also give you some very good vocabulary like phasor verbs and grammar.
And now to come back pens and pencils.
Do you usually use a pen or pencil?
Well, almost always a pen.
In fact, I can't remember the last time I did something with a pencil except for drawing something for a class.
Do you prefer a pen or pencil?
Um, I was writing pen these days.
I have no idea why. I think initially it just felt more grown up.
But the feel of the nibb meeting the paper is also better.
Also you don't need to sharpen a pen, though rubbing things out is an obvious challenge.
When was the last time you bought a pen or a pencil?
I think it was when I had to draw a model of something for one of my classes.
Since the kids had to use pencils, it was my only option.
I had to color it in by hand too to replicate the experience students might have.
Would you give a pen or a pencil as a gift?
I mean, if someone asked me to, I might.
But it would have to be a, well, either a very posh one or one with a particular purpose.
I don't think you could give someone a regular biorone, expect them to be pleased about it.
And have you ever received a pen or pencil as a gift yourself?
Yes. My parents sometimes buy me bioropens for my birthday or gel pens as well, actually.
I actually got an erasable gel pen recently.
So rubbing things out isn't such a problem.
Hey, so there is some to prepare for this topic, pens and pencils.
Please listen to our previous episode about pens and pencils.
So we use a pen or we use a pencil.
Rory, can I say I write with a pen, I write with a pencil, buy a pencil.
You could write on a pencil if you're making a note on it or writing your name on it.
Most people write with a pencil though.
So I write with a pen or with a pencil.
And the writing would be in pen or pencil.
Ooh, so I use a pen to write, I write with a pen.
And also I say I write in pen.
Yeah. I write in pencil, but no article, right?
Because it's written in pencil.
Exactly. And you can say that I usually use a pen, I usually write with a pen.
And I do some drawing in pencil.
Okay, but careful, deal with now with articles.
So I use a pencil, I use a pen, but I write in pen, I write in pencil.
I can also say I prefer pens, I prefer pencils, and careful as pens, pencils.
Rory, how do you say it? I prefer to write in or write with pens and pencils.
Yeah, pens and pencils.
You can say I always write in pen these days.
And I prefer pens because of this nib meeting the paper.
So the nib is just the tip of the pen, basically.
It's the part that makes contact with the paper.
Appointed metal parts at one end of a pen, that the ink flows.
Okay, so the ink is this thingy that we write with, so nib.
And you can say that I prefer pens because I like the feel of the nib meeting the paper.
So you don't need to sharpen a pen with sharpen a pencil because pencils rub off, they kind of become not so sharp.
So you need to sharpen them and you need a pencil sharpener because you sharpen a pencil with a pencil sharpener.
And with pens, you don't have to rub things out.
So you just like cross things out with a pen.
Now if you write with a pencil, you need to rub things out with what?
A rubber. A rubber or an eraser.
But the rub things that just means to remove the mistake.
It was when I had to draw something.
It was when I had to write something, okay?
Or I don't remember when I lost both the pen or pencil.
I had to color something.
I had to write something by hand.
Okay. Usually people give pens or pencils as a gift.
And if we talk about an expensive pen or pencil, it could be a nice present or a gift.
And Rory told us that I don't think I could give someone a regular biro, you said.
Yeah, biro pen is just like a very cheaply made ballpoint pen that you can get anywhere they're very cheap.
But the point is you don't really give that to people because they're so inexpensive.
It's kind of almost rude unless you're me in which case I'm like, ooh, pens.
Yeah, and you take a biro pen from a hotel, you know, for free and they go, they go, happy birthday.
But I'm getting from this is the Maria Steele's pens.
I don't steal pens. I liberate them.
They're for free in different hotels, you know?
Sell it to the judge. So they're just there for you to have and I have them and what is an irresable pen?
Um, just exactly what it sounds like.
It's got ink in it that you can rub out like you would a pencil.
It's really cool actually.
Yeah, deal with it. Now, also here you can use such words as, I prefer ballpoint pens, ballpoint.
The best way to understand what I'm talking about is to open Google images and to write ballpoint pen and you'll see pictures and you understand what I mean, okay?
So ballpoint pens or a Rory you said like gel pens with gel.
So they don't have ink, they have gel inside.
Yeah, I'm not really sure what the difference is.
I think gel dries faster than regular ink, but I'm not sure about that.
Yeah. So we have novelty pens and novelty pen is for us like to amuse us and such a pen has different animals on top, different toys and it can play music for example.
It could be in the shape of an animal or yeah, some crazy, crazy pens.
Also fountain pens, what are fountain pens?
I think fountain pens are ones where you draw ink into them like a syringe and so that's how you refill them, but it's not something I've ever used.
So I don't know much about them.
How do you use fountain pen?
Yeah, so they have this ink reservoir or catfish, okay?
They have beautiful fountain pens, they are pretty expensive, you have Parker fountain pens and they have this metal nib.
Also, you can say that I usually use stylus pens.
So if you have this smartphone and you have a stylus, so you can say that, okay, I use a stylus pen and I use it on my smartphone.
Rory, what's the most expensive pen in the world in 2024?
Oh god, it's going to be something ridiculous, like it's going to be a million dollars or a million parents or something, isn't it?
So this pen, it has a strange name, the full-gore in nocturnal span is priced at 8 million dollars.
Of course it is. 8 million dollars, so it has rubies and 945 black diamonds.
Are you joking? And who buys this?
Who's going to buy this?
I don't know, maybe it's in a museum.
Oh wow, okay, it looks like a regular pen to be honest with you.
Yes, it is a regular pen, that is insane.
8 million. Oh my gosh, crazy.
So deal with that, you can go ahead and say, well yeah, I want to give a pen as a present.
I would buy the one that's a million's of birth, of course.
That's true. 8 million dollars, okay, with diamonds and rubies.
Sure. Okay, how about a pencil?
Oh god, are we looking at the most expensive pencil?
Yeah, because the most expensive pencil in the world.
Oh, you can buy a pencil for one million dollars.
Oh my god. That is beyond ridiculous.
Till it's not, now you know the prices.
Okay, so now you know the market, like what's going on and you can educate the examine all the prices.
Like would you give a pen or a pencil as a gift and you know like, and you know what?
I'd love to give the most expensive pencil and the pen and the prices range from blah, blah, to one million dollars.
And the examineer will be shocked.
That is crazy, but yes. And we wrap it up with a joke.
Oh really, I thought the prices were enough of a joke.
What's a pen's favorite day of the week?
Fantastic Friday. Looking very much for this day.
Roy explains the joke. Explain it.
I don't know what the joke means.
No, what do you think? What do you reckon?
You're an educator, you're an educated, an educator, so go ahead.
So what's a pen's favorite day of the week?
So have a pen. What's a favorite day of the week and the answer is, fantastic Friday.
I don't understand the joke.
I don't know why it's a joke.
You tell me. Maybe it's like a fantastic, sounds like a fantastic, and the joke is like a pen.
What's a pen's favorite day of the week?
Fantastic, fantastic.
So you have told the joke without understanding why it's funny?
Exactly. I thought you'd explain the joke.
It's your language. It's kind of your jokes.
Oh no, no, no. Don't try and fight this one off on me.
Oh, do you want to get the joke?
No, I think it's like a fantastic.
Oh, if you didn't then you're in the same boat as me.
Yeah, so we don't understand the joke.
So yeah, thank you very much for listening, and we'll get back to you in our next episode.
Bye. Bye. Fantastic. Who are you?
Do you usually use a pen or a pencil?
I've almost always a pen, in fact I can't remember the last time I did something with a pencil except for drawing something for a class.
Do you prefer a pen or pencil?
Um, I was right in pen these days.
I have no idea why. I think initially it just felt more grown up, but the feel of the nib meeting the paper is also better.
Also, you don't need to sharpen a pen, though rubbing things out is an obvious challenge.
When was the last time you bought a pen or a pencil?
I think it was only hard to draw a model of something for one of my classes.
Since the kids had to use pencils, it was my only option.
I had to color it in by hand, too, to replicate the experience the students might have.
Would you give a pen or a pencil as a gift?
I mean, if someone asked me to, I might, but it would have to be a, well, either a very posh one or one with a particular purpose.
I don't think you could give someone a regular biorone, expect them to be pleased about it.
And have you ever received a pen or a pencil as a gift yourself?
Yes. Um, my parents sometimes buy me bioropens for my birthday or gel pens as well, actually.
I actually got an erasable gel pen recently, so rubbing things out isn't such a problem.
