Hello and welcome to the English Like a Native podcast.
My name is Anna and you're listening to week 41, day 2 of Your English 5 a Day, the second season.
Come along on this journey with me to slowly but surely increase your vocabulary, improve your comprehension and feel more confident when you're communicating in English.
I'm here for you every day of the working week.
That's Monday to Friday, ready to tickle your eardrums.
All you have to do is tune in.
So without further ado, let's begin as always with a snapshot of what's to come.
Daisy suddenly pricked up her ears, catching a sound Emma couldn't hear.
As Emma climbed the hill, the cold air felt sharp in her lungs making her gasp slightly.
At the top, she paused, staring down at the sheer drop to the river below.
Just then, a squirrel darted across the path, making Daisy bolt forward in excitement.
Emma laughed, brushing away the damp leaves still clinging to her coat.
OK, let's dive into our vocabulary, starting with the idiom prick up one's ears.
Prick up one's ears.
So prick, P-R-I-C-K, up, U-P.
Wands, and that would be replaced by his, her, your, somebody's name.
Ears, E-A-R-S.
To prick up your ears...
If someone pricks up their ears, it means they suddenly become alert and they start listening carefully because they've heard something interesting or suspicious and they want to know more.
For example, have you ever been in a crowded room and you suddenly hear your name being dropped in a conversation and you think somebody's talking about me?
And suddenly your ears prick up.
You prick up your ears trying to listen in to hear what exactly is being said.
Or maybe you are lying in bed at night and you're just settling down to sleep.
And suddenly you hear something unusual, like a scratching or a knocking.
You prick up your ears.
You hold your breath and you listen closely.
Is there an intruder?
Is there a guest, an unwelcome guest in your attic?
A squirrel, a bird, a mouse?
Here's an example sentence.
Jason pricked up his ears at the sound of rustling in the bushes.
Next we have the adjective sheer, sheer.
We spell this S-H-E-E-R, sheer.
This adjective is used to emphasise the great size, degree or amount of something.
So here's an example sentence.
The bear towered above them, seven feet of sheer muscle and power.
Next we have the verb bolt. to bolt, B-O-L-T.
This means to run away suddenly and quickly, often out of fear.
You bolt.
My pussycat is not allowed outside at the moment because he had a terrible incident involving another animal that left him in a really bad way.
Poor thing, his tail is...
All strapped up.
He had to have five staples in his tail.
He was left in such a bad way.
But now he's on the mend and he wants to go outside, but he's not allowed yet because the healing process hasn't finished.
So I have to be very careful when I leave the house. because my cat tries to bolt out of the door.
As soon as he sees an opening, he bolts.
So I have to stop him from getting out.
Here's an example.
Most animals would have bolted at the sight of the bear.
Next, we have the adjective sharp.
Sharp.
We spell this S-H-A-R-P.
Now here, I'm referring to sharp as a sensation.
As a sensation, sharp is causing a sudden... biting feeling and it's usually unpleasant or painful.
You might talk about a sharp pain or a sharp feeling, a biting, unpleasant, painful feeling.
If you go to the doctors with pain, they might ask you, is it sharp or is it dull?
Here's an example sentence.
The air was so cold it felt sharp in his lungs as he inhaled.
Next, we have an adjective.
It's also a present participle and it is clinging, clinging.
We spell this C-L-I-N-G-I-N-G. clinging.
If something is clinging, then it's sticking tightly to something.
It doesn't easily come off.
We often use this to describe clothes or material.
We could also use it to describe people or, in the case of the example that I'm going to give you, something in general that sticks tightly.
Here's my example.
Snow was still clinging to the mountain peaks.
Alright, that's our five, so let's do a quick recap.
We started with the idiom prick up one's ears.
To prick up one's ears is to suddenly become alert and start listening carefully because you've heard something interesting or suspicious.
Prick up one's ears.
Next, the adjective sheer, which is used to emphasise the great size, degree or amount of something.
Sheer.
Then we had the verb bolt, which is to run away suddenly and quickly, often out of fear.
To bolt.
We had the adjective sharp.
When talking about a sensation, sharp means sudden or biting and it's often unpleasant or painful.
A sharp feeling or sensation.
And we had the adjective or present participle clinging, which means sticking tightly to something not easily coming off.
Clinging.
All right, now it's your turn.
Please repeat out loud after me.
Prick up one's ears.
Prick up one's ears.
Shear Shear Bolt Bolt Sharp Sharp Clinging Clinging Very good.
Right, let's revisit our snapshot, shall we?
Daisy suddenly pricked up her ears, catching a sound Emma couldn't hear.
As Emma climbed the hill, the cold air felt sharp in her lungs, making her gasp slightly.
At the top, she paused, staring down at the sheer drop to the river below.
Just then, a squirrel darted across the path, making Daisy bolt forward in excitement.
Emma laughed, brushing away the damp leaves still clinging to her coat.
Right, it's time for my favourite part of the episode.
All you have to do is listen out for our target vocabulary as you sit back, relax and enjoy Storytime.
Jack's breath came out in clouds as he trudged across the frosty field.
The air was so cold it felt sharp in his lungs, like tiny needles with every inhale.
It was just past sunrise and the world was silver with dew.
The kind of quiet morning farmers live for until something goes wrong.
And this morning, something had gone wrong.
He reached the gate and groaned.
Wide open, the latch hung loose, swaying gently.
Beyond it, faint hoofprints trailed across the muddy track and into the next field.
His sheep, twenty of them, had escaped.
Oh, brilliant, he muttered, stamping his boots.
Just brilliant.
Jack whistled sharply and his collie Tilly, came bounding across the yard, tail wagging, tongue lolling.
She stopped beside him, eyes bright, body tense with energy.
Then she suddenly pricked up her ears, catching a distant bleat somewhere beyond the hedgerow.
Go on then, girl, Jack said.
Find them.
Tilly took off like a shot, cutting across the frosted grass.
Within moments her bark echoed through the valley.
Jack followed puffing hard, the cold air biting deep into his chest.
At the top of the hill, he stopped dead.
The view below was chaos.
Pure, sheer chaos.
Sheep dotted the neighbour's vegetable patch, happily helping themselves to cabbage, kale and whatever else they could find.
One bold ewe was nibbling on a hanging basket.
Oi!
You lot get back here!
Jack shouted, waving his arms.
The flock froze.
Then...
As if on cue, they began to bolt in every direction hooves clattering, wool flying, bleats filling the morning air.
"'Tilly!'
Jack yelled.
The dog sprang into action, circling the flock with swift precision.
Her barks were sharp and commanding, pushing the sheep back toward the gate.
It was a sight to behold, man and dog moving in sync, Instinct and training working hand in hand.
Jack slipped in the mud, nearly lost his balance, but managed to grab the fence post just in time.
Oh, for heaven's sake, he grumbled.
Tilly, meanwhile, seemed to be having the time of her life.
After a few minutes of frantic chasing and shouting, the last of the flock stumbled back into their pen, bleating indignantly as if he were the problem.
Jack slammed the gate shut, double-checked the latch and leaned on the post to catch his breath.
His jacket was splattered with mud, straw and grass clinging to it in messy patches.
Tilly trotted over, panting proudly. eyes sparkling.
Jack chuckled and scratched behind her ears.
Good girl, he said.
You've saved my bacon again.
He looked out at the muddy footprints, the half-eaten kale, the bent fence post.
Chaos, yes, but this was life on the farm.
Quiet one minute, wild the next.
Come on, lass, he said softly, tugging his cap down as they headed back across the field.
Let's put the kettle on.
The morning sun climbed higher, melting the frost from the grass.
The cold air no longer felt biting or harsh.
It simply felt alive, fresh, bright and full of promise.
And that brings us to the end of today's episode.
I do hope that you enjoyed it.
And of course, that you found it useful.
Remember, you can access all of the vocabulary from today's episode and every episode of the Five A Day series by coming over to the Vocabulary Vault.
I'll leave a link in the show notes for you.
And I hope to be tickling your eardrums again tomorrow.
Until then, take very good care of yourself.
And goodbye.
