When we get older, we go past being a child, childhood being a teenager, and grow up.
We become more conventional and we think that the things that we need to do should be very conventional, the life that we should lead and the profession that we should follow should be conventional.
Or rather, there doesn't seem to be a lot of choice really.
But i think that many children perhaps know exactly what they want to do when they're quite young.
It just needs developing somehow.
It needs somebody to explain to them what it is that they're good at by observing a child or a teenager.
When I was young before I was a teenager, and afterwards as well to some extent I was very interested in fossils.
Fossils are the ancient remains of animals and plants crustaceans mollusks, going back millions and millions of years, and you can find them today, and they tell us about what prehistory was like.
And I collected hundreds of these fossils and I classified them and I kept them in boxes and I was very proud of my fossil collection.
When I was a teenager, around about 16, a careers officer came to our school And he spoke to all of us about what we would like to do when we leave school, which direction we should take.
And I remember I had this interview with the careers officer and he gave me a sheet of paper.
And on that paper, there were a list of professions.
Lawyer, doctor, policeman, plumber, mechanic, artist. architect, etc., etc.
And I looked at the list of jobs he had on his piece of paper and I said I don't really want to be any of those.
I'd like to be a paleontologist.
The careers officer said to me Oh no, you want to choose something on my piece of paper, something conventional.
For example, why don't you choose to be a teacher?
Your father's a teacher, isn't he?
I said, well, yes, he is.
All right, then I'll be a teacher.
Interestingly, that decision decided the rest of my life.
Perhaps that careers officer, looking back over the years, I imagine he was pretty badly trained.
And maybe these days, young people get better advice.
But perhaps it's true as well that we should observe and look at our children and see what they are really interested in, instead of pushing them in directions into careers that perhaps they don't want to do.
But just because everybody else does it or because you can make a lot of money.
Anyway, the story is about this today really,
About a girl who once was very good at something but had never used it in her profession.
Right.
What I'm going to do, I'm going to read the story to you.
It's fairly long.
It's over 400 words.
And there is a short song at the end as well.
OK, so because the podcast will be rather long, if I analyze all the vocabulary in the story.
I'm going to limit my analysis to the phrasal verbs, the B2 phrasal verbs in this story.
OK, so before I read the story to you, I would just like to ask you to listen out for one of the phrasal verbs, which means to avoid doing something.
And if you're not sure what avoid means, well, avoid is to try to find a way to not do something.
OK, so there are a lot of things in this life that we don't want to do because they're unpleasant.
They could be just doing the washing up or something like that.
So we avoid doing them some way or other, usually by buying a dishwasher.
What is the phrasal verb equivalent for to avoid?
Here is the story.
It's called The Christmas Festival.
Hello and welcome to Practicing English.
My name is Mike Bilbre and these are podcasts for students of English at B1 or B2 levels.
For transcripts, please go to practicingenglish.com.
Would you like to see my books for learning B1 and B2 level English?
Then go to the show notes at your podcast app, and just below today's lesson you'll see a link to Amazon and there you'll be able to read about my new B1 book and my B2 book.
Check it out today.
The Christmas Festival.
So Miss Jenkins, said the mayor, As the town's new councillor for cultural events, it'll be your turn this year to organise the Christmas Town Festival.
Yes, Mr. Mayor, I'm aware of that.
Jenny Jenkins answered.
Councillor David did a marvellous job last year.
A difficult act to follow, Miss Jenkins.
"'I understand you used to direct pantomimes at Christmas, and you would sing yourself in them.
You sing well, so I've been told.'
"'Well, they were just school pantomimes, Mr. Mayor, when I was a teenager.
Nothing professional.'
Then she added, "'The experience will help, of course.'
'We're all convinced you'll do a splendid job, Miss Jenkins'.
I'll do my best, mr mayor.
However, quite honestly, jenny jenkins wasn't sure she could live up to everyone's expectations.
Last year's event had been perfect and people kept reminding her of the fact.
Still, she had decided to take on the challenge.
Trying to get out of it was useless.
It was her job, after all.
At first everything went smoothly, until the main singer suddenly dropped out of the program a week before Christmas.
Jenny tried not to panic, but she kept putting off finding a replacement.
She hoped someone would magically appear, but Christmas magic seemed to be running late.
Two days before the festival, the town mayor pointed out that the schedule still had an empty space where the singer should be.
Jenny realised she could no longer ignore the problem.
Finally, she caught up with her long list of tasks and started calling local musicians.
It was Christmas Eve, the morning of the festival.
There had been a heavy fall of snow the night before and everything was looking very Christmassy.
Jenny was exhausted but proud.
Everything was ready.
The mayor had told her he'd found a singer himself and she'd be the style of the festival.
Jenny felt relieved, whoever it might be.
Jenny was on the stage in the market square making final preparations.
The mayor walked across the square towards her from the town hall.
He was wearing a thick coat, a hat, and a scarf to keep out the icy wind and snow.
Curiously, he was holding a paper bag in his hand.
Jenny wondered what might be in it.
"'Here,' he said, and handed Jenny the bag.
Then, without another word, he turned and walked off.
Jenny opened the bag cautiously.
Inside was a microphone and a note which said, Congratulations, you're the singer for the festival.
Happy Christmas.
Oh no, whispered Jenny.
Snow falls off.
The world holds still.
Were we lost or did we fall?
If we are ever done Is it angels up above?
Or just my deepest fear that I am not enough.
Another Christmas, another day, Another Christmas, far away.
Okay, so today there was a short song after the story.
Presumably that was Jenny singing at the Christmas Festival.
I'd like to say thank you very much to Dimitri Taras for the arrangement of that song.
And you can find out other music that he arranges at pixabay.com.
OK, so let's have a look at some of this language.
Now fortunately, you can find the complete audio script of the story at your podcast app in the show notes.
Or if you come to Practicing English podcast 283.
And there you'll find all the audio script with the B2 words in bold, so you can see which are the B2 words.
As I've explained, I can't analyze all those words today.
I'm just going to concentrate on the phrasal verbs, though I probably do need to point out some words which are essential to understand the story.
So in this story there is a mayor, and a mayor is a person who runs a town, usually in a political way.
And he lives or works in a town hall.
And the people who work for him, usually with different tasks, are called councillors.
So we're talking about the system that you would find in the UK.
And Jenny Jenkins is the counsellor for cultural events in the town.
So let's go straight to the phrasal verbs.
And so I'm going down about a third of the story now.
You can look at this in the text yourself if you want.
However, quite honestly says the text, Jenny Jenkins wasn't sure she could live up to everyone's expectations.
So to live up to somebody's expectations is a B2 phrase, which means that somebody before you has probably done a very good job and therefore you need to do something which is as good or better.
People are expecting that of you.
Feel that you should be able to produce something as good or better.
To live up to someone's expectations.
It's a nice phrase to remember.
And then it says in the story, still she had decided to take on the challenge.
Phrasal verb, be to.
To take on something is to agree to do a task, to take it on.
You say, yes, I'm going to do it and this is my job.
And the next one is to and this was the answer to the question I asked you what was the phrasal verb, which means to avoid doing something?
And the answer is to get out of something.
Get out of something or get out of doing something.
To avoid doing it because you don't want to.
But here it says, trying to get out of it was useless.
It was her job after all.
Next phrasal verb is to drop out, and the sentence in the story reads At first everything went smoothly until the main singer suddenly dropped out of the programme a week before Christmas.
If you drop out, you abandon.
OK, so we have that duality again.
Don't we of the phrasal verb and the Latin based word abandon something?
A project, though.
Not abandon a ship, but abandon a project, an idea, something that you've been doing and you say I'm not doing it anymore.
So you drop out.
I suppose in a way it's sort of like the opposite of to take on something.
You take on a task or a commitment and then you drop out.
You say that you're not going to continue.
And the next phrasal verb is to put off.
A B2 phrasal verb which means to postpone.
To do something later.
Usually something that you should do now. but you don't because you're lazy or very busy.
And here in the story, Jenny tried not to panic, but she kept putting off finding a replacement, a replacement being somebody else who could sing at the Christmas festival.
And then, two days before the festival, the town mayor pointed out that the schedule still had an empty space where the singer should be.
So to point out something is to tell somebody or remind somebody of something important that they should know.
You point it out.
Say, hey, come on, you've got to find this singer.
We don't have anybody. to point something out.
And the next phrasal verb and the last one is to catch up with something.
In the story.
The sentence reads Finally, she caught up with her long list of tasks and started calling local musicians.
To catch up with.
She caught up with her long list of tasks means that she finished them.
If you catch up with something, you manage to finish, to complete it.
So the job is done.
You have caught up with some task, some job.
I do recommend that you look at the other words in the story, which are in bold.
That means dark type.
And there you'll see that those are B2 words.
And look them up yourself if you don't know the meaning.
They're useful B2 words you should know if you're studying B2.
OK, so I will give you a short test, but I'm going to limit it to the sentences with the phrasal verbs.
So I'm not reading the whole story again.
OK, so on we go with the test.
As you know in the test what you need to do.
There'll be a bleep when the whole phrasal verb has been omitted or taken out.
And you have to say what the phrasal verb is.
Okay?
Here we go.
However, quite honestly, Jenny Jenkins wasn't sure she could everyone's expectations.
Live up to.
At first everything went smoothly until the main singer.
Suddenly the program a week before Christmas dropped out of
Jenny tried not to panic, but she kept finding a replacement.
Putting off.
Two days before the festival, the town mayor That the schedule still had an empty place where the singer should be.
Pointed out.
Jenny realized she could no longer ignore the problem.
Finally, she... with her long list of tasks and started calling local musicians.
Caught up with.
That's the end of the story and the end of the podcast.
I hope you've learned some interesting phrasal verbs.
I'll be back with you shortly.
Goodbye for now.
