Please double-click on the English subtitles below to play the video.
00:08
Hello and welcome to The English We Speak
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with me, Feifei…
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…and me, Roy.
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In this programme, we have an expression to
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describe when someone is very tired and has
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used all their energy. It can also be used
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for things when they’re out of battery or
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fuel. Speaking of which, Roy - you look exhausted!
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Thanks, Feifei! Do I look that bad? I do
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feel tired though!
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Roy, you look like you’re running on fumes.
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You mean my car has run out of petrol? I usually
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say my car is running on fumes when the fuel
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needle shows empty, but somehow the
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car keeps going!
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Yes, the phrase ‘running on fumes’ does
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relate to cars, but we also use it to talk
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about people! You look like you have no energy,
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so you’re running on fumes!
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I suppose I am. It must be all the hard work
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I’m doing to help people learn English.
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Hard work?! I saw you sleeping at your desk
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the other day!
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Exactly! I was so tired and running on fumes
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that I fell asleep!
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Hmmm anyway, let’s listen to these examples…
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He’s been working so hard at work recently,
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he’s running on fumes. I’m worried about
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him.
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Towards the end of the match, the footballer
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said she was running on fumes.
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I was running on fumes yesterday. I couldn’t
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concentrate in the meeting.
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This is The English We Speak from BBC Learning
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English. We’re talking about the expression
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‘running on fumes’, which describes a
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situation where you have no energy, but you
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keep going. So why else are you so tired?
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Well, I have a baby and he cries a lot. I
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spend all night looking after him, so I have
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no energy.
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Ahhh, that makes sense. Why didn’t you call
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me to say you you’d be in work later?
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Well my phone was running out of battery.
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It was running on fumes.
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Sounds like everything in your life is
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running on fumes! You. your car, your phone!
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True, but I’m really impressed you compared
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me with a car earlier. If I were a car, I’d
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probably be a really expensive sports car.
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Roy, if you were a car, you probably wouldn’t
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even have all four wheels. Bye!
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Bye.
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