Hello and welcome to the English Like A Native podcast.
My name is Anna and you're listening to week 47, day 4 of Your English Five A Day, the second season.
We've been working all week to build your vocabulary.
We are on day four now and I've got some fantastic words and phrases for you.
And if you need to recap, then you can do with ease by referencing the database, the vocabulary vault.
That includes all the vocabulary from the entire season and the the previous season.
So there's lots to sink your teeth into.
This is available via the link in the show notes.
Just look for the five a day database.
So without further ado, let's kick off today's session with our snapshot.
Mina opened her tote bag at lunch break and was shocked to find not her usual packed lunch but a tiny rubber chicken she definitely hadn't put there.
The moment she posted a photo of the strange discovery online, the image felt almost surreal and within hours it began to go viral, with people sharing wild theories.
Soon, an armchair detective messaged her claiming he could solve the mystery of the chicken, even though he had never left his living room.
Alright, some interesting vocabulary for us to sink our teeth into.
Starting with the noun, packed lunch.
A packed lunch.
Two words, packed, P-A-C-K-E-D, lunch, L-U-N-C-H.
A packed lunch, as you can probably figure out, is a meal that you prepare at home and take with you to eat later, usually at school or at work.
You pack it into your bag.
A packed lunch.
Here's an example.
During his lunch breaks at work, he sat alone with his packed lunch, sketching maps and checking details on his phone.
Next, we have the noun tote bag.
Tote bag.
Two words.
Tote.
T-O-T-E.
Bag.
B-A-G.
A tote bag is a large, simple bag with two handles.
It's used for carrying everyday items.
It's often just a soft canvas bag.
A tote bag.
Here's an example.
Each morning he prepared his packed lunch usually a cheese sandwich and an apple and placed it carefully in his faded green tote bag.
Fantastic.
Next, we have an adjective and it is surreal.
Surreal.
We spell this S-U-R-R-E-A-L.
Surreal.
If something is described as surreal, then it's strange or dreamlike, almost unreal.
Surreal.
Here's an example.
After he solved the crime, Oscar felt surreal sitting at his desk the next morning eating his sandwich.
Next we have the phrase go viral.
Go viral.
Go viral.
To go viral means to spread very quickly online, becoming extremely popular in a short time.
Have you ever gone viral?
You certainly must have come across things that have gone viral.
Here's an example sentence.
The video was beginning to go viral shared thousands of times across social media.
I'll tell you what hasn't gone viral this podcast.
Not yet anyway.
So if you'd like to help this episode or another episode probably this one go viral, then why not share it with someone who is also learning English?
That would be amazing.
I'd love this episode to go viral.
Anyway, back to the script.
Next we have a noun and it is armchair detective.
Armchair detective.
Two words.
Armchair.
A-R-M-C-H-A-I-R.
Armchair.
Detective.
D-E-T-E-C-T-I-V-E.
Armchair detective.
An armchair detective is someone who tries to solve crimes or mysteries from home, usually by watching, reading or discussing things, rather than being involved in real police work.
So they're not real police or detectives.
They're just people who try to figure things out.
Armchair detectives.
Here's an example.
He was an armchair detective, spending hours on his laptop investigating mysteries with an online community.
Alright, that's our five, so let's do a quick recap.
We started with the noun packed lunch, which is a meal that's prepared at home that you take with you to eat later, usually at school or at work.
A packed lunch.
We had the noun tote bag.
That large, simple canvas bag with two handles that we use to carry everyday items.
A tote bag.
We had the adjective surreal, which describes something that's strange or dreamlike, almost unreal.
Surreal.
We had the phrase go viral and I encouraged you to try and help my podcast to go viral in some shameless advertising.
And go viral means to spread very quickly online, becoming extremely popular in a short time.
Go viral.
And finally, we had the noun armchair detective, which is someone who tries to solve crimes or mysteries from home, usually by watching, reading or discussing them, rather than actually being involved in real police work.
An armchair detective.
Fabulous.
So now it's time for me to listen to you.
Please raise your voice and repeat out loud after me.
Packed lunch.
Packed lunch, tote bag.
Tote bag surreal surreal, go viral, go viral.
Armchair detective Armchair detective.
Fantastic.
OK, let's listen to our snapshot once again, shall we?
Mina opened her tote bag at lunch break and was shocked to find not her usual packed lunch but a tiny rubber chicken she definitely hadn't put there.
The moment she posted a photo of the strange discovery online, the image felt almost surreal and within hours it began to go viral, with people sharing wild theories.
Soon, an armchair detective messaged her claiming he could solve the mystery of the chicken, even though he had never left his living room.
OK, you have another chance to hear our vocabulary in context as we move into story time.
Story time.
Oscar's life followed the same pattern every day.
Each morning he prepared his packed lunch usually a cheese sandwich and an apple and placed it carefully in his faded green tote bag.
Then he walked to the bus stop, rode for 20 minutes and arrived at his office job at an insurance company.
His colleagues thought he was quiet, perhaps even a bit boring. had no idea about his secret life.
Every evening after work, Oscar transformed into something quite different.
He was an armchair detective, spending hours on his laptop investigating mysteries with an online community.
They called themselves The Network.
A group of amateur sleuths from around the world who analysed videos, shared theories and hunted for clues together.
One Tuesday evening, someone posted a disturbing video to a public forum.
It showed a person committing vandalism at various locations around a city, always wearing the same distinctive jacket.
The police had received reports but couldn't identify the culprit.
The video was beginning to go viral, shared thousands of times across social media.
Oscar joined a discussion thread with 50 other members of the network.
They started examining every frame of the footage.
One member identified a shop sign reflected in a window.
Another noticed a specific type of street lamp that only existed in certain neighbourhoods.
Oscar studied the background sounds.
He could hear church bells that rang in a particular pattern.
For three weeks, the group worked together comparing notes and building a timeline.
Oscar barely slept.
During his lunch breaks at work, he sat alone with his packed lunch, sketching maps and checking details on his phone.
His colleague noticed nothing unusual about the quiet man with the odd tote bag.
Then Oscar spotted something crucial.
In one frame, reflected in a car mirror, was a building with a unique blue door.
He searched online and found it.
A community centre in North London.
He cross-referenced the church bells, the street lamps and the shops.
Everything matched one specific street.
Oscar compiled all the evidence, his findings and the discoveries from other network members and sent it anonymously to the police.
He tried not to get his hopes up.
Three days later, the police announced an arrest.
They thanked members of the public for their assistance.
The news reporters called it an online investigation that had helped solve the case.
Oscar's forum thread had over 10000 replies.
Now, with people from different countries celebrating together,
Sitting at his desk the next morning, eating his sandwich, Oscar felt surreal.
Around him, his colleagues discussed their weekend plans, completely unaware that the quiet man nearby had just helped catch a criminal from his living room.
That evening, Oscar logged back into the network.
There was already a new case to investigate.
He smiled and opened his notebook.
After all, every detective needs a new challenge.
MUSIC
And that brings us to the end of today's episode.
I do hope that you enjoyed it and I really hope you'll come back again tomorrow as we bring together all of this week's vocabulary into one big story.
A story all about a hacker.
Join me for that tomorrow.
Until then, take very good care of yourself and goodbye.
I have added the vocabulary from today's episode, along with the definition and the example sentences, to the 5 a day database, which includes all the vocabulary from the whole 5 a day series.
If you would like to access this database then click on the link in the show notes.
