Would you like to have a microadventure? 6 Minute English

Rob: Hello I'm Rob and welcome to 6 Minute English -

the show that brings you an interesting

topic and authentic listening practice...

Neil: ...and don't forget vocabulary to help you

improve your language skills. I'm Neil by the way

and today we're off on an adventure.

Rob: But not a very big adventure Neil -

it's just a mini or microadventure -

but if you have wanderlust - a strong desire to travel -

I think it may appeal.

Neil: It will appeal to you Rob

because you love to travel - haven't you circumnavigated

the globe - I mean go all the way round the world?

Rob: Almost Neil - but today's mini-adventure

doesn't involve travelling too far from home.

We'll explore the topic more in a moment

but not before we've set today's quiz question.

So Neil do you know how far it is around the world

measured at the equator - in other worlds

the circumference? It is approximately...

a) 30,000 km, b) 40,000 km, or c) 50,000 km

Neil: Well, I haven't walked it but I know

it's a long way - so I'll go for c) 50,000 km.

Rob: Right, I shall keep you in suspense and tell you

the answer at the end of the programme.

Now, our topic for discussion today won't be travelling

so far - it's about a new trend for small adventures.

Neil: What you mean are shorter breaks, closer to home.

They're less expensive of course

but also instil a sense of adventure -

that's the feeling of doing a new, exciting and

sometimes dangerous activity.

Rob: Well, adventurer, Alastair Humphreys

has coined the phrase 'microadventures'

to describe this. 'To coin' here means to use a word

or phrase that no one has used before.

Neil: Now he's someone who goes on big trips

and expeditions to the four corners of the globe

and writing books about his adventures.

But he wanted to prove

you don't have to go far to find adventure.

Rob: Let's hear from him now -

speaking on BBC Radio 4's You and Yours programme

- about what he did.

How did he describe his first microadventure?

Alastair Humphreys: I'd been doing big adventures

for years and I had this hunch that

you didn't need to go to the ends of the world

to have some sort of adventure.

You didn't nee to be in beautiful Patagonia to have this

spirit of adventure. So I decided to try and prove

my theory by doing the most boring, ugly adventure

I could think of. And I came up with the idea

of walking a lap of the M25 in the snow

in January. And time and again as I walked round

the M25 I just kept thinking to myself

this experience is exactly the same as the four

years I spent cycling round the world.

Smaller, of course, a bit silly but definetely felt like

an adventure And that's when I really started to come up

with the idea of microadventures.

Neil: So a microadventure is a boring,

ugly adventure?

Rob: No Neil. It may not be glamourous

but it is an adventure. He walked around the London

orbital motorway - called the M25 - to prove his hunch

that you don't need to go far to to find adventure.

A hunch is an idea you have based on feelings

but there's no proof.

Neil: Well his hunch was right.

But walking alongside a motorway

isn't my idea of adventure.

Rob: It doesn't have to be Neil. Just getting out

on your bike and exploring somewhere in your locality

that you haven't visited before is an adventure.

And how about camping?

Neil: Ah yes, I do like to camp out -

that's a phrasal verb to mean sleep outside in a tent.

You can be so close to nature

and breathe in the fresh air.

Rob: Ah yes and you don't need to go far

for a camping adventure - and being out a night

really adds to the sense of adventure.

That's what Alastair Humphreys believes...

Alastair Humphreys: We humans are so boring

these days - we so rarely spend time out

in the darkness to see the stars

and to see how the world feels different by night.

I get a little bit nervous still - I still imagine ghosts -

but that's part of the charm of making a little frisson

of adventure. And then in the morning the sun

comes up, the birds sing, jump in a river,

back on the bus, back to your desk for 9.00.

Rob: Seeing how the world feels at night is a nice idea.

Getting a bit nervous - anxious

maybe - is part of the pleasure or enjoyment -

what Alastair calls 'charm'.

Neil: I agree - and he used another word 'frisson'

meaning a sudden, strong feeling of excitement, or fear.

Rob: My biggest fear would be returning to my desk

for 9.00! But Alastair is right,

there is an adventure to be had on your doorstep -

that means close to where you live.

Neil: But only a small adventure Rob!

Unlike an adventure round

the circumference of the Earth.

Rob: Yes that was my question earlier:

how far it is around the world measured at

the equator - in other worlds the circumference?

It is approximately... a) 30,000 km, b) 40,000 km,

or c) 50,000 km

Neil: I said c) 50,000 km.

Rob: Sorry Neil - too far.

The Earth's circumference has been calculated to be

40,075km.

To travel that distance would be a major adventure.

Neil: OK, I think we should remind ourselves

of the some of the words and phrases

we've discussed today - starting with wanderlust

- a strong desire to travel.

"Rob has wanderlust, he's never at home!"

Rob: That's because I have a sense of adventure.

That's the feeling of doing a new, exciting

and sometimes dangerous activity.

"Neil has no sense of adventure because he likes his

holidays to be planned out with no surprises!"

Neil: That's a little unfair Rob -

I just like to be 'holiday happy' - that's a term

I've just coined, which means used a word

or phrase that no one has used before.

You can also say 'to coin a phrase' after using

an expression that is well known

and possibly used too much.

Rob: Next we heard hunch - that's an idea

you have based on feelings but there's no proof.

"I have a hunch Neil wants to go to the pub -

he's packing his bag!"

Neil: Your hunch is correct Rob.

But not before we recap our next word

charm - that's part of the pleasure

or enjoyment of something.

"Part of the charm of going to the seaside

is eating ice cream and walking down the pier."

Rob: And finally we heard on your doorstep

- which means close to where you live.

"There's a pub right on your doorstep,

so why don't you make the most of it!"

Neil: I intend to Rob but first let me to remind you

that you can learn English with

us at bbclearningenglish.com.

That's it for today's 6 Minute English.

We hope you enjoyed it.

Bye for now.

Rob: Bye.