Hello, lovely.
I'm Maria.
And my name is Rory, and we are the hosts of the IELTS Speaking for Success podcast, a podcast that aims to help you improve your speaking skills, as well as your listening skills, along the way.
We started this podcast to give you a look at how a super native speaker would answer some of the most common IELTS speaking questions, using gorgeous grammar and high-level vocabulary for a high score.
A band 9 score.
Rory, what's the joke today?
Oh, I don't know.
Have we not laughed enough?
It's ironic because we're going to be talking about laughter today.
Yes, dear listeners, in IELTS Speaking Part 1, they can ask you questions about laughter, laughing and jokes.
Romy, do you often laugh?
Yeah, I think I laugh every day.
I either crack a joke or someone makes me laugh.
When was the last time you laughed?
Probably today, but the memory that comes to mind most easily is on Sunday.
I was on the phone with my friend Rob and we'd tell inappropriate jokes and make each other laugh.
Do you like watching funny TV programs?
Yeah, I love them.
I think they really take the edge off reality.
I think... I don't know what my favorite one is.
I quite like American Dad and Archer, for example.
What about live comedy shows?
I can watch them for sure, but most of the shows that I watch on TV are animated ones.
Stand-up?
I like stand-up comedy, yeah.
But again, like I say, most of the viewing that I do is of animated comedy shows.
What kinds of things make you laugh?
I like dark humor and sarcasm and probably jokes that are a bit vulgar and inappropriate as well.
But you know, there are some things that make me laugh as well.
That don't usually like dad jokes, for example, or deadpan humor.
I quite like that.
Do you like making other people laugh?
I think everybody likes to make people feel good.
And I do get a kick out of it sometimes when I well no, not sometimes all the time when I make people laugh, because it's nice to see people smiling and everybody feels great when they all have a laugh together.
Do you think it's important for friends to laugh together?
Yeah, absolutely.
It builds bonds between people and I suppose it builds up a sense of camaraderie as well, when you're having fun together and when you're laughing.
It's not so nice when you're laughing at people.
Why not?
Well, if you're laughing at people in your friendship group, then it makes them feel uncomfortable, probably unless they're in on the joke too.
But more broadly, and everybody does it, so if you do this, don't feel bad.
It's just something that you probably shouldn't do.
But if you're laughing at other people, even if they don't know, you're doing it Probably not a very nice thing to do.
Rory, thank you so much for your answers.
That's okay.
I had a laugh.
Haha.
Lol, so did I.
Right, when we talk about laughter, so first of all, the word itself, yeah?
The verb is to laugh.
Yeah.
In the past, what do you say?
You laughed or right now I am laughing.
Right.
And the noun is laughter.
Yes.
So, my laughter.
For example, like Rory's laughter is contagious.
Well, laugh can also be a noun as well.
Like you can have a laugh, which is like have a good time together laughing.
Or you could have a silly laugh, which is like how you laugh.
Like this.
That's not silly.
That's unnerving.
Oh, come on, come on.
Give me a silly laugh.
I don't have a silly laugh.
I have a very serious laugh.
Sorry, I said giggle.
Right.
Oh, yeah, we can giggle.
You can giggle.
I'm not giggling.
Oh, no?
No.
Yeah, girls usually giggle like this, you know.
And Rory laughs his head off.
Yes, I do laugh my head off.
Like, yeah.
Yeah, so contagious.
When I say that my laughter is contagious, like when other people hear me laugh, they all start laughing, right.
Yes.
Is your laughter contagious?
Probably not but I like to think my jokes are contagious so that other people pass them on.
I like to think that but it's probably not true.
It's true.
Your happiness can be contagious.
Diseases can be contagious, right?
We can crack a joke, right?
So make a joke or crack a joke, right?
Both, yeah.
Can I use the phrasal verb crack up?
Meaning that I laugh a lot.
I laugh my head off.
I was cracking up when I was watching this film.
Absolutely, yes.
We can also talk about a good sense of humor.
So Rory does have a good sense of humor.
Do I?
Yes, absolutely.
Are you just saying that to be nice to me?
Yes, I want to be nice to you.
So you're lying to me.
It's a white lie.
No, no, I do mean it, yes.
You do have an outstanding sense of humor.
And you enjoy dark humor, right?
And vulgar jokes.
Mm-hmm.
Vulgar?
What is it?
Vulgar is just like rude.
It's usually or something like inappropriate.
So something that you probably shouldn't say.
But I like it.
I think it's funny.
It makes me laugh.
And also you enjoy dad jokes.
What are dad jokes?
Dad jokes or father jokes?
They have like... Dad jokes have punchlines.
That's the answer of the joke that are really obvious.
So something like...
What's the disadvantage of eating a clock?
There's no time left.
No, it's time consuming.
That's an example of a dad joke.
It's like Christmas cracker jokes.
Yeah, Christmas cracker jokes and dad jokes have a lot in common.
Okay, what about this one?
Why are Russian dolls selfish?
I don't know why.
Tell me!
Because they're so full of themselves.
Oh, my God.
Do you get it?
Do you listen to that, right?
So, Russian dolls, you know, they're full of themselves.
Okay, that's why they're selfish.
See, it's more funny when you explain the joke.
Yes, the joke dies in the process, like a frog.
Okay.
We make people laugh, and we can laugh at ourselves.
For example, sometimes I laugh at myself, but if I laugh at other people, it's wrong.
It's not a good idea to laugh at others.
Right, Rory?
Well if you're, I don't know, like I'd like to think that despite all of the terrible jokes that I tell that I'm quite a nice person and I don't really like laughing at people, even when I do it I feel quite bad about it afterwards.
Or you can laugh at your mistakes, for example.
Yeah, that's better.
Rory, you said that laughing or watching comedy shows helps you to take the edge off.
So if you take the edge off reality, it's just like reality is quite harsh sometimes.
And if you take the edge off it, it means it makes it seem less harsh.
So whenever I feel sad, sometimes I like to watch comedy shows and that makes me feel a bit happier.
So it's taking the edge off of emotions and reality.
You've also used a good one.
Get a kick out of it.
Yeah.
So if you get a kick out of something, it's something that you really, really enjoy.
So I get a kick out of making people happy or making people laugh.
But you could get a kick out of baking.
I don't know why I picked baking, but there you go.
Yeah, baking, because it's one of the IELTS Speaking Part 1 topics.
Is it?
It is, yes.
Let's talk about baking.
Haven't we talked about baking?
No, our listeners voted against it, and we talked about something else.
Well, that was very rude.
Dear listeners, please let us talk about baking, a subject that I know absolutely nothing about.
I can't bake.
I can't cook.
I'm not good at these things.
He's good at eating fish.
I'm good at talking about eating.
Baking.
Yeah, we can talk about eating.
We can watch stand-up comedies, right?
So we can listen to stand-up comedians.
And these shows could be hilarious, right?
If something is very funny, we say it's hilarious.
But there's another word, which is ridiculous.
So what's the difference between hilarious and ridiculous?
Well, hilarious is really funny, whereas ridiculous is really silly.
But in a negative way?
Usually, yeah.
Something could be ridiculous and it's not super negative, but it's usually this way.
Yeah, like with this red hat on and yellow t-shirt, you look ridiculous.
I don't wear a red hat or a yellow t-shirt.
Oh, right.
Yes, you're wearing a black t-shirt and no hat.
Pierre Cardin, it's your favourite.
Which one?
It's the Pierre Cardin show.
Oh, yes, my favourite.
Do you not remember?
You were like, Rory, Rory, Pierre Cardin, come on.
And you were saying it for like the whole episode.
And I was like, why has it suddenly become like a feature of speech?
Anyway, moving on.
When friends laugh together, they build bonds, right?
Bonds meaning?
Well, the things that hold their friendship together.
Yeah, connections, like building bonds.
Could you give us an example with bonds?
How else can we use it?
We have a strong bond of friendship.
We do have it, yes.
I love the pause there before you said yes.
I was considering it.
Maybe, sometimes.
Yes.
And a sense of camaraderie.
Camaraderie?
Camaraderie is just like a really nice way of saying friendships.
It's like being comrades almost.
Yeah, but we don't say comrade.
Comrade Petrov is like the Soviet Union times.
Yeah, it's like...
It's more than friendship.
It's like shared friendship between friends that spend a lot of time together.
That's quite good, isn't it?
Yeah, like we play sports together and we feel this camaraderie.
Or it creates, it builds up this sense of camaraderie.
We make the podcast together and it builds a sense of camaraderie.
Yay!
We'll laugh our heads off together.
If we played sports together, it probably wouldn't because you'd beat me at sports, I think.
You think so?
Well, I'm not very sporty.
I'd beat you at squash.
If you want to go up against each other for weightlifting, it might be all right, but not for playing basketball.
Weightlifting?
No way, no.
I don't do weightlifting.
How about running?
Let's just get on with the podcast, shall we?
Yes, let's get on with the podcast.
Let's not talk about all the sports I'm terrible at.
Because there's a lot.
Thanks for listening, everybody.
We hope you got a laugh out of it.
Now you can listen to Rory's answers again, and this time notice all the vocabulary and grammar he's just used.
Thanks for listening.
Bye.
Bye.
Take care.
Okay.
Rory, do you often laugh?
Yeah, I think I laugh every day.
I either crack a joke or someone makes me laugh.
When was the last time you laughed?
Probably today, but the memory that comes to mind most easily is on Sunday.
I was on the phone with my friend Rob and we'd tell inappropriate jokes and make each other laugh.
Do you like watching funny TV programmes?
Yeah, I love them.
I think they really take the edge off reality.
I think, I don't know what my favourite one is.
I quite like American Dad and Archer, for example.
What about live comedy shows?
I can watch them for sure, but most of the shows that I watch on TV are animated ones.
Stand-up?
I like stand-up comedy, yeah.
But again, like I say, most of the viewing that I do is of animated comedy shows.
What kinds of things make you laugh?
I like dark humour and sarcasm and probably jokes that are a bit vulgar and inappropriate as well.
But you know, there are some things that make me laugh as well.
That don't usually like dad jokes, for example, or deadpan humour.
I quite like that.
Do you like making other people laugh?
I think everybody likes to make people feel good.
And I do get a kick out of it sometimes when I well no, not sometimes all the time when I make people laugh, because it's nice to see people smiling and everybody feels great when they all have a laugh together.
Do you think it's important for friends to laugh together?
Yeah, absolutely.
It builds bonds between people and I suppose it builds up a sense of camaraderie as well, when you're having fun together and when you're laughing.
It's not so nice when you're laughing at people.
Why not?
Well, if you're laughing at people in your friendship group, then it makes them feel uncomfortable, probably unless they're in on the joke too.
But more broadly, and everybody does it, so if you do this, don't feel bad.
It's just something that you probably shouldn't do.
But if you're laughing at other people, even if they don't know you're doing it, it's probably not a very nice thing to do.
