Hello and welcome back to your English Five a Day on the ELAN podcast.
This is a short daily podcast designed for intermediate to advanced level English learners who really enjoy building natural English vocabulary through stories.
My name is Anna and this is week six, day two of our story, following Gabriel, who is currently in York.
Now, yesterday, Gabriel arrived in the city and soaked up timeless streets and historic buildings.
Today, he discovers that York's history doesn't just belong to the past.
According to some stories, it's very much alive.
Supporting materials for today's lesson are available at wwwjoinelancom, forward slash plus plus.
But let's begin with a quick snapshot of what's to come.
As Gabriel reads about York's past, he learns that the city is said to be haunted, filled with eerie locations.
Legend has it that spine-chilling sounds echo through ancient cellars.
And if it's true, then Gabriel is definitely in for a treat. fabulous.
Let's now break down that vocabulary.
We're going to look at five expressions today, starting with spine chilling.
Spine-chilling, two words connected with a hyphen, spine-chilling.
This describes something that is so frightening that it makes you feel cold and scared.
Spine-chilling, for example.
It was a spine-chilling scream.
Next, we have the word haunted.
Haunted. haunted.
If something is haunted, then it's believed to be visited by ghosts and spirits.
For example, the house is said to be haunted.
Next, we have the word eerie.
Eerie.
This has an unusual spelling.
E-E-R-I-E.
Eerie.
Eerie.
If something is described as eerie, then it's strange and frightening in a quiet, mysterious way.
Eerie.
For example, there was an eerie silence in the room.
Next we have the phrase, legend has it.
Legend has it.
This is a phrase that is used to introduce a traditional or popular story.
So I might say, legend has it that the castle is cursed.
Then we have the phrase, you're in for a treat.
You're in for a treat.
This is used to say that something enjoyable or exciting is coming.
For example, if you like history, you're in for a treat. fabulous.
Now I want you to listen carefully for those items of vocabulary as they appear very naturally in today's story.
Gabriel couldn't believe his eyes.
There in front of him, on the bank of the River Ouse, was Sophie.
The word Sophie, that is.
A cafe called Sophie.
He went straight in and ordered, what else, an iced coffee.
He read some brochures while he was waiting.
York is reputed to be the most haunted city in Europe and there are several different ghost tour operators.
For a moment, Gabriel laughed to himself, imagining two groups of tourists wandering around a haunted castle in the dark, jumping at every shadow and terrifying one another as each mistook the other for ghosts.
You're in for a treat on our tour of eerie locations in historic York, began one brochure.
Gabriel was now reading about the Treasurer's House, right behind York Minster.
Legend has it that at night the cellar becomes a gateway to York's past.
Multiple ghosts roam the rooms, including an entire marching Roman legion.
In 1953, 18-year-old Harry Martindale was working alone on the heating system deep in the cellar when the air suddenly filled with a spine-chilling sound, a strange looping trumpet call that echoed through the stone.
Then the wall itself began to open.
From solid brick emerged a Roman soldier in a plumed helmet, followed by a cart horse, and then rank after rank of soldiers marching through the room.
Visible only from the knees up, they appeared trapped between worlds, their lower bodies lost beneath the modern floor.
The legion passed the terrified young man and descended to the level of an ancient Roman road buried beneath the cellar.
Then one by one, the soldiers vanished into the far wall.
As young Harry raced upstairs, terrified, he ran into the curator of the house.
He took one look at Harry and said, You look like you've just seen the Romans.
All right, let's pause there and bring today's ghostly language back into focus.
I'm going to revisit all of the target vocabulary from today's episode.
As I say each one, I'll do it twice.
I'd like you to repeat it out loud after me, and then I'll give you a quick reminder as to what each item means.
So here we go.
Repeat after me.
Spine-chilling.
Spine chilling.
This means that something is so frightening it makes you feel cold and scared.
Next, repeat after me.
Haunted.
Haunted.
This describes something you believe is visited by ghosts or spirits.
Next, repeat.
We have eerie.
Eerie. eerie.
This describes something that's strange and frightening in a quiet, mysterious way.
Next, we have the phrase, legend has it.
Legend has it.
This phrase is used to introduce a traditional or popular story.
Finally, you're in for a treat.
You're in for a treat.
Fantastic.
This is something that we say when something exciting or enjoyable is coming.
So that brings us to the end of today's episode, but Gabriel's evening in York is far from over.
Tomorrow night, Gabriel joins a ghost tour, and what he experiences inside an ancient house leaves him questioning what's real and what isn't.
That's all from me for today.
If you've enjoyed today's episode, then please take a second to leave a like, a rating or review, and feel free to drop a comment.
I do love reading what you have to say.
Until tomorrow, take care and goodbye.
