Learn English Vocabulary Daily #12.3 - British English Podcast

Hello and welcome to The English Like a Native Podcast.

My name is Anna and you're listening to Week 12, Day 3 of Your English Five

a Day, a series that aims to increase your vocabulary by five pieces every

day of the week from Monday to Friday.

Today we're starting with the word plaque, plaque.

This is a noun and it's spelled P L A Q U E.

Quite an unusual spelling, plaque.

Now in this case we're referring to a flat piece of metal or stone or wood

or plastic that has writing on it.

And it's attached to a wall or a door or an object.

Now these plaques are used to show that something is special or that

a place is special, usually in the memory of someone or in the memory

of work that someone has done.

So, you'll find plaques on benches or special houses, maybe where

famous writers, or comedians lived.

Sometimes, plaques are just added to give you some information about a place.

For example, you might have a plaque on the door if you walk

into a legal firm, and there are many solicitors working there.

There might be plaques on each door to name which solicitor is in that office.

So, it might be, "Miss Fierce works here."

So, there would be a plaque there.

My mum has a plaque in her garden that we bought her saying, like, "Nana's Garden."

Or, I think, "Nana's Garden Shed."

So, she has this plaque that's made of wood with her name and "Nana's

Garden Shed" carved into it, and she has that on the door of her shed.

So, sometimes it's just for information or for fun.

Here's an example sentence.

"There was a brass plaque outside the door listing the various dentists' names."

Moving on, we have a noun.

Temptation.

Temptation.

We spell this T E M P T A T I O N.

Temptation.

Temptation.

Temptation is the wish to do or have something that you know you

should not do or should not have.

For example, I have to fight the temptation to eat the chocolates

that sit in my cupboard.

They were a gift, a nice big box of chocolates, a gift from a friend, over

the winter period and, I put them in my cupboard so that I could try and ignore

them, just have one every now and again, but I really have to fight the temptation,

that desire, to eat them, even though I know that it's not good for me, and

I just, I become addicted to the sugar.

If I have one or two, then I want to have more and more and more.

Okay, let's have an example sentence.

I'm now thinking about chocolates.

Here we go.

"You've got to resist the temptation of eating that chocolate.

You've managed three weeks without it so far, another week won't hurt."

Okay, next on the list is a verb and it is to draw, to draw.

We spell this D R A W, draw.

Now I'm not talking about taking a pencil in your hand and making a pretty picture.

I'm talking about draw as in to attract attention or interest.

So, a street performer might draw a lot of attention.

So, when someone stands in the street and starts singing or doing some

fantastic physical tricks or playing the guitar, then people turn their

heads and they look at that person.

They draw attention.

Here's an example.

"So, what draws you to the same city, and the same hotel every year?

Doesn't it get a bit boring?"

Next on the list we have an adjective and it is bustling, bustling.

We spell this B U S T L I N G, bustling.

Bustling.

If something is bustling, then it's usually a place.

It just means it's full of activity.

It's busy.

So, we often describe a town or a city as bustling, the streets could be bustling,

or the shopping centre might be bustling.

Just means there's a lot of activity going on.

Lots of people milling about.

Here's an example.

"This used to be a bustling town, but a lot of people have

moved away over recent years."

I did my older lady voice there.

Okay, moving on, we have an idiom and it is get hold of, get hold of.

We spell this G E T, get.

Hold, H O L D.

Of, O F.

Get hold of.

To get hold of something is to find it or obtain it.

So, it's to get something, usually something that's harder to obtain,

harder to get, or harder to find.

So, I might say to you,

"Oh, I really need to get hold of some very special cat food because my

cat has some specific health needs.

I can't just buy the normal stuff in the supermarket.

I need to get hold of this very special cat food.

Do you know where I can find it?"

"Oh yes, you can get hold of that from petfoodonline.com."

I don't know if that's a real URL.

I might just be unwittingly promoting a pet food company.

Okay, let's move on to the example.

"Where can I get hold of a tourist map for the Inca Trail?

I need to plan my route before I head off in the morning."

Alright, that's our five for today.

Let's do a quick recap.

We started with the noun plaque, which is a small piece of metal or stone

or wood that has writing on it to say that something is special or to tell

you more about that thing or place.

We had the noun temptation, which is the desire or the wish to have

something you shouldn't have or do.

Then we had the verb draw, to attract attention or interest.

We had the adjective bustling, which is full of busy activity.

We had the idiom get hold of, which is to find or get something

that's often not that easy to get.

Let's do it now for pronunciation.

Repeat after me.

Plaque.

Plaque.

Temptation.

Temptation.

Draw.

Draw.

Bustling.

Bustling.

Get hold of.

Get hold of.

Good.

You'll notice that actually pronouncing that T in 'get',

you can put it in or drop it.

Both are quite common.

Get hold of or get hold of.

So, just do whatever comes more naturally to you.

Alright.

So, what would I say if I was describing a shopping centre that's really busy?

I'd say it was bustling.

And how would I describe attracting attention?

What verb could I use instead of attract?

Draw, draw.

"This dress draws too much attention."

Next, what's another word for a desire for something that I shouldn't have?

A temptation.

And what's that little piece of metal on the back of the

bench with someone's name on it?

It's a plaque.

And I need to find something that's quite hard to find.

What idiom could I use?

To get hold of, to get hold of.

Okay, let's bring these all together in a little story.

I recently attended a special event in my local park.

The town councillors had worked hard to get hold of as many

residents, old and new, as possible.

We were there to witness the unveiling of a new bench, a special

bench, a bench in memory of Mr.

Jones.

When my kids and I got there, a huge bustling crowd had already gathered,

drawn to this event, even on a cold, wet, and windy day because Mr.

Jones was a well-loved community member who had dedicated 30 years of service

to the town, and its young people.

He was a teacher, a mentor, a friend and a hero.

He had inspired, supported and helped countless students and families.

He'd made a difference in many lives.

There was the temptation to get a famous local celebrity in to unveil the park's

new fixture, but in the end it was decided that the mayor should do it.

He had been one of Mr.

Jones students, and he owed a lot of his success to Mr.

Jones.

Mayor Mullins pulled the cloth and revealed the bench.

It was simple but elegant and set in the middle was a brass plaque.

The plaque read:

"In loving memory of Mr.

Jones, who taught us to learn, to grow, and to care.

Thank you for everything."

As we all clapped and cheered, you could feel a mix of emotions:

sadness, gratitude, and joy.

The bench was not just a bench.

It was a tribute, a reminder, and a legacy.

It was a place to sit, to think, and to remember.

It was a place to honour Mr.

Jones, to follow his example, and to continue his work.

And that brings us to the end of today's episode.

I do hope you found it useful.

Until next time, take very good care and goodbye.