Hello, love.
I'm Maria.
And my name is Rory, and we are the hosts of the IELTS Speaking for Success podcast.
The podcast aims to help you improve your speaking skills, as well as your listening skills, along the way.
We started this super podcast because we want you to use high-level words and super gorgeous grammar in your IELTS speaking and in your English life.
Dear listener, if you're enjoying what we're doing, could you give us five stars on Apple Podcasts please?
What do I say?
No, you just should encourage our listeners to give us some stars.
Oh, can we have some stars, please?
Please, five stars.
Yes, that would be nice.
Oh, Rory, what shall we talk about today?
I have no idea.
Um, the last time we did songs.
On the subject of songs, I found a new song for myself.
Really?
It's called Walking on Sunshine.
Oh, wow, that sounds so nice.
Shall we talk about walking today?
Let's talk about walking.
Roy, do you like walking?
I imagine it depends why I'm walking.
Well, if I'm on urgent business or running late, then no, since I like a faster pace.
If I'm by myself on the way home or surrounded by nice scenery in the forest, like in Domjedeva for example, then it fits better with the pace of life.
Do you like to walk more now than in the past?
I'm not sure.
In some ways yes, because Moscow is a big town and you have to walk around a lot to get to all the places.
But I also take the metro more.
So on balance it's probably roughly the same amount of walking, but the travel is over a greater distance.
Do you like to walk on your own or with others?
Well, if it's with people I like and we aren't in a rush, then of course.
But if I've been I don't know cornered by someone that I'm not a great fan of and they keep bothering me with questions, then I'm not usually very pleased with the company I'm keeping while I'm walking.
It doesn't happen that often, though, thankfully.
So it's not usually a big deal.
Would you say that your city is a good place for walking?
Well, if we're referring to Moscow here, then absolutely.
You have to walk everywhere unless you're rich and then you can just get driven around places.
This place is gigantic.
Even with the assistance of the metro, there are sometimes 10 to 20 minute walks to where you want to be, at least back home in Scotland, in Dundee.
That's also good for walking actually, though people would prefer to walk along the beach or in the hills rather than in the city itself, But there are still some nice places to walk in the city, I suppose.
Do people in your country walk a lot?
Well, going by the size of some of them, they don't walk often enough.
I say that.
There is something of a trend to go walking these days.
Some people I know like hill walking or mountain climbing and they might walk to work or walk around town in short bursts, but they could definitely afford to do it more often.
Do you think you'll keep walking as part of your routine in the future?
Well, as long as I have a pair of legs, I would definitely say so.
Perhaps not as a hobby or a sport, but as a means of getting around, for sure.
Do you think walking in the countryside is better than walking in the city?
Everybody likes a breath of fresh air and maybe they have some romantic notions about the countryside or going there for the day.
The cities have their advantages too.
If we take Moscow, there are different parks and sites to see.
I would say they're both equally worthwhile, but for different reasons.
Rory, thank you so much for your answers.
Hopefully they were a walk in the park for people to understand.
Oh, a walk in the park.
There we go.
Yeah, dear listener, if you say it's a walk in the park, it means it's very easy.
It's like ABC.
It's super easy.
No problem.
It's like IELTS speaking is a walk in the park.
It's easy.
Piece of cake.
Now, we say walking.
You can say take a walk, go on a walk, or go for a walk.
Usually we say go for a walk.
And we say together, go for a walk.
Not just go for a walk.
No, go for a walk.
Rory said walk around.
Yes.
And there are other prepositions that go with walk, but what's probably important to talk about are the alternatives to the word walk like stroll wander.
Yeah, give it to me.
Take a stroll.
What's the difference between a stroll and a walk?
Well, a walk's a general word.
A stroll is more casual, usually it's at a slower pace, and there's less urgency about this.
You can say take a stroll, a casual stroll, or I enjoy strolling leisurely through the city.
You walk to a place, but you stroll around somewhere, so it's not like there's a specific direction to it.
You can take brief walks, long distance walks.
Rory said 10-minute walk or 20-minute walk.
And that's a very nice phrase because we say a 10-minute walk.
Because usually we say like 10 minutes, right?
But we use this expression, like phrase as an adjective.
So you say, it's a 10 minute walk from here.
Or, in the case of our studio, it's a 20 minute walk from here, which is why we so massively miscalculated our arrival.
You can say, like I enjoy taking after-dinner walks walk in the city, walk along the beach, in the hills.
Roy, you've mentioned hill walking and mountain hiking.
Isn't that an expression?
To take air.
Take air?
Yeah.
Hill walking.
No, no, no.
Not for hill walking, but it's like another expression for going walking.
One second.
Oh, it's kind of like, what would you take?
I take air.
Yeah.
Give air to me.
Let me just look this up because I've heard this before.
I don't want a coffee.
I take air.
Give it to me now.
Pack it in a bag.
Yes, so here we are in America to take the air is to go for a walk outside or a ride or a drive.
That's an Americanism though.
There must be one that's British as well.
No, it's always take the air.
I've only heard it take air.
But so take the air, people.
Take the air.
Take the air.
On a daily basis.
I don't frequently take the air because I'm lazy.
Take the air.
Okay.
You can take the air and you can also take your dog out for a walk.
You can, which is probably a lot more common than to take the air.
Rory, you said that you would take a walk if you have some urgent business.
That's a nice collocation, urgent business.
I would.
And as an example of urgent business right now, we've just received a message from our producer saying that we need to take a picture of ourselves.
And that will supersede everything that is happening right now, including the recording.
So say cheese.
Oh, I'm taking a picture of myself.
Say cheese, Maria.
Oh wow, there's really no saving this face.
Okay.
Beautiful.
So hopefully Vanya will appreciate us taking pictures when we should be recording the podcast, like he's always telling us to.
I know, so professional.
When you want to say that you're late, you can say when I'm running late.
Yes, but I'm never usually running late, except until recently.
Yes, and actually I'm surprised Rory, because I thought you're always on time and it's the second time you've been late, you know.
I know.
I'm a celebrity now.
I don't have to be on time for anything.
Yeah, we're celebrities now, so we just, you know, we are booking the studio.
We don't bother to come in on time.
Well, why not?
Like, we have good lives and we can afford to take things at a more relaxed pace.
Shall we talk about pace?
Pace.
Pace is the speed at which one walks.
It's also the length of your foot.
So like you can take five paces.
So if you stand your foot end to end, that's like one after the other five times, then that's five paces.
Oh, wow.
It is, yes.
It's an old-fashioned way of measuring things.
Of course, we don't use it now because everybody's got a different size of feet.
Rory, you've said that if I've been cornered by someone...
Yes.
Sometimes you can be cornered by people.
And that means it usually means that someone's got you in a corner and you can't escape them.
But more generally, it just means someone's talking to you and you can't escape them.
So, yes, that happens sometimes.
It's not a very pleasant experience.
Anyone who's ever had a conversation with someone they don't like but they are forced to by the situation or by the person being overbearing, has been cornered.
Hopefully you have escaped being cornered by your person that you do not like.
And we've talked about walking in different places.
So Rory told us about hill walking or mountain.
Mountain climbing.
Mountain climbing.
Or mountaineering.
Mountaineering.
Yeah.
Is there a difference between mountain climbing and mountaineering?
Probably not.
Walking is definitely worthwhile.
Yes.
So if it's worthwhile, that means it's a good idea to spend your time doing this.
Yeah, because, you know, like walking is the best medicine and it could be the best exercise.
And for people who are lazy and can't be bothered to go to the gym, they can just walk.
You know, take short walks.
And if I go to the gym, Rory, and what do you call this machine that I run on?
Yeah, I like going on the treadmill.
I don't like it as much as lifting, but treadmills are okay.
Yeah, we can say that I enjoy walking on a treadmill.
Yes, you can warm up on a treadmill.
There we go.
Now we're just adding in things that I didn't actually say, but it's a good phrasal verb to use, if you can, for talking about exercise.
But again, it's good.
I don't normally walk in the city, but I enjoy going to the gym and walking out on a treadmill.
And walking usually prevents weight gain.
While you're walking, you have less stress on your joints.
What was that?
You do?
Yes, I do, I do.
Can't speak properly.
Thank you very much for listening.
Remember that it's your road and... Only you can walk it.
But someone may walk it with you.
But don't be afraid to take a walk on the wild side with your vocabulary.
Because you might find some interesting pieces there.
Yeah.
Bye!
Right.
Do you like walking?
I imagine it depends why I'm walking.
If it's... Well, if I'm on urgent business or running late, then no, since I like a faster pace.
But...
If I'm by myself on the way home or surrounded by nice scenery in the forest, like in Domjedeva for example, then it fits better with the pace of life.
Do you like to walk more now than in the past?
I'm not sure.
In some ways yes, because Moscow is a big town and you have to walk around a lot to get to all the places.
But I also take the metro more.
So on balance it's probably roughly the same amount of walking, but the travel is over a greater distance.
Do you like to walk on your own or with others?
Well, if it's with people I like and we aren't in a rush, then of course.
But if I've been I don't know cornered by someone that I'm not a great fan of and they keep bothering me with questions, then I'm not usually very pleased with the company I'm keeping while I'm walking.
It doesn't happen that often, though, thankfully.
So it's not usually a big deal.
Would you say that your city is a good place for walking?
Well, if we're referring to Moscow here, then absolutely.
You have to walk everywhere unless you're rich and then you can just get driven around places.
This place is gigantic.
Even with the assistance of the metro, there are sometimes 10 to 20 minute walks to where you want to be, at least back home in Scotland, in Dundee.
That's also good for walking actually, though people would prefer to walk along the beach or in the hills rather than in the city itself, But there are still some nice places to walk in the city, I suppose.
Do people in your country walk a lot?
Well, going by the size of some of them, they don't walk often enough.
I say that.
There is something of a trend to go walking these days.
Some people I know like hill walking or mountain climbing and they might walk to work or walk around town in short bursts, but they could definitely afford to do it more often.
Do you think you'll keep walking as part of your routine in the future?
Well, as long as I have a pair of legs, I would definitely say so.
Perhaps not as a hobby or a sport, but as a means of getting around, for sure.
Do you think walking in the countryside is better than walking in the city?
Everybody likes a breath of fresh air and maybe they have some romantic notions about the countryside or going there for the day.
The cities have their advantages too.
If we take Moscow, there are different parks and sites to see.
I would say they're both equally worthwhile, but for different reasons.
